The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

The rain gradually subsided, leaving the Yin Wood Forest even more sodden. Murky water flowed over the tree roots, and wriggling carnivorous insects began a frenzied feast. Skeletons, gnawed clean, were washed by the filthy water, exposing the grime beneath.

A figure in a black Wizard Robe was surrounded by a faint red halo, which evaporated the lingering moisture. His drenched Wizard Robe quickly dried.

[Current Dark Badge Count: 103]

The Dark Light in his palm gradually receded. His robe concealed his lowered hands. Wang Ya looked up at the sky, which remained a dreary, dim gray. The shifting clouds seemed to be gathering for an even greater storm.

The area around him was scorched black, as if frozen in time. The soil was completely dehydrated, and in the most intensely affected spots, crystals had formed.

Farther out, Yin Wood trees were uprooted, and the ground looked as if it had been plowed over, a testament to the ferocity of the battle.

High-intensity Particle Energy radiation would linger in this area for a very long time. Even Soul-Devouring Snakes could not survive in such a harsh environment.

The effects of the radiation, though invisible, were fatal to living organisms. This wasn’t benign energy, but highly corrosive Witchcraft Particle Energy.

Even benign radiation was only beneficial to the physical body of its corresponding Wizard.

One man’s poison is another man’s Nectar.

Riley Shebel had been defeated. At the last moment, he chose to leave the Secret Realm.

As a consequence, all the Dark Badges he possessed became Wang Ya’s spoils of war.

There was also the thing Wang Ya had been most looking forward to: the experimental Witchcraft creation born from the combination of a Blood Wizard and a Bloodline Wizard.

A Soul-Devouring Snake, pitch-black with gray spots, opened its mouth wide and swallowed a human right arm covered in white, serpentine scales.

The arm was slender and streamlined, its scales arranged in a tight, compact pattern capable of defending against most physical and Energy attacks.

The cut was perfectly smooth; Wang Ya had severed it himself with the Shadow Slayer Blade.

Wang Ya snapped his fingers. The Soul-Devouring Snake flicked its tongue and slowly slithered away.

’Without a storage weapon, I have to use other methods to preserve it for now.’

A Soul-Devouring Snake infected by the Harak Phage could undergo flesh-and-blood restructuring of its internal anatomy, even its organs, to develop new functions.

As long as a gene fragment existed within the Harak Infinite Blood Core, the memories carried by the Bacteriophage could be replicated in the corresponding infected individual.

It could simulate a gastric environment capable of maintaining the viability of the arm’s cells.

’Next, I need to consider how to acquire more Dark Badges.’

Harak appeared like a phantom from the shadows where light and dark intertwined, landing steadily on his shoulder.

The number of phage-infected entities was increasing rapidly, spread throughout a hundred-thousand-meter radius. They had already discovered upwards of twenty Wizard Freshmen.

If necessary, Wang Ya even considered having his phage-infected entities spread across the entire Erosion Forest.

He was very patient. A true Hunter needed such patience.

When the time was right, it would be time to close the net.

But Wang Ya was not the only one with such an idea.

「Swamp Zone.」

Towering Yin Wood trees anchored themselves to the swamp floor with thick, powerful roots. The trees here were ten times the size of those in other areas.

A moss-like substance covered the entire surface of the swamp like a floating blanket, obscuring the view ahead and behind.

One could even travel to other parts of the Swamp Zone through the gaps between the massive Yin Wood trees.

In this monotonous environment, a moment of carelessness could easily lead to getting lost.

Zack Antuun crouched down, placing his palm on the flat head of the Lizard Crocodile Dragon at his feet. Its shallow intellect couldn’t convey precise meaning, so he had to perceive its thoughts through his Spiritual Power.

The core principle of Puppetry Witchcraft was to create a main puppet to serve as the central hub for all other puppets.

Zack could control the main puppet through Witchcraft, and through this medium, connect to even more puppets like a spiderweb.

The only drawback was the inability to establish a mental link, which meant he couldn’t directly experience what the puppets observed.

The Lizard Crocodile Dragon at his feet was a secondary puppet he had created to serve as a hub, and a vast amount of information from it was being transmitted into his mind.

A smile gradually formed on Zack’s lips.

Because it didn’t involve a mental connection, the number of puppets he could create reached a terrifying one thousand.

Under normal circumstances, he could control a hundred puppets at most.

This gave him a tremendous advantage. He was certain that his count of Dark Badges was definitely among the highest.

As long as he maintained this State, a spot in the top three was practically guaranteed.

Searching for Dark Badges with one person versus a thousand was a completely different concept.

There was just one thing that puzzled him: the number of Extraordinary Creatures, including Yin Souls and Soul-Devouring Snakes, was dwindling, as if someone had dealt with them in advance.

This wasn’t normal. The Secret Realm was vast, and the number of creatures should have been massive—in the soil, on the Yin Wood trees, and even in the waters of the Swamp Zone. And yet, even the creatures in the swamp were becoming fewer and fewer.

Before, he had to be vigilant against danger, but now he no longer needed to worry at all.

Zack couldn’t for the life of him figure out the reason for this drastic reduction in Extraordinary Creatures.

The Wizards who had lasted this long all had their own methods; their intelligence and insight were not to be underestimated. Quite a few had noticed the anomaly, just like Zack, and they all tacitly quickened their search for Dark Badges.

A strange sense of urgency grew within them.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!

「Two days later, in the Dense Forest Zone.」

”Brother, it’s time. If we delay any longer, those Wizard Freshmen searching for Dark Badges might choose to leave the Secret Realm. We can’t let the situation become so passive.”

The Combat Platform Base that Guterres had built was completely transformed. It now covered a twenty-meter area and was forged from various Extraordinary Materials, mixed with some conductive Extraordinary Metals.

Most of the materials had been sourced locally. After finding Aitri, the two worked together to build more mechanical assistants, taking their utilization rate of the Secret Realm’s native materials to a whole new level.

Guterres was using a modified Mechanical Tentacle arm to mix the bones of a Soul-Devouring Snake with a Metallic Liquid. Soon, a mechanical serpent with pupils glowing a cold red coiled on the workbench, flicking its sinister tongue.

Aitri, bald and dressed in a black Wizard Robe, had run out of patience. He stood at the entrance of the mechanical gate, constantly peering outside.

The surrounding Yin Wood trees had been completely cleared. The ground was littered with debris and waste from processing raw materials. There were no Extraordinary Creatures to be found; they had either fled or been captured by the two brothers and turned into special metallic-mechanical creations.

”What are you still waiting for, Brother? With the two of us working together, not a single Wizard Freshman will be our match. Not even Rod, the genius of the Stark Clan, could stand against us.”

”The number of ’Red’ combat mechanical assistants has reached about three hundred. And the one hundred ’Lan’ support mechanical assistants can sustain us through several intense battles. Add in these other modified metallic-mechanical creations, and we can simply bury those Wizard Freshmen under a pile of them.”

The Mechanical Tentacle extending from Guterres’s right hand gradually cooled at the tip. Its crimson glow faded to a stiff, cold gray as it retracted back into his wrist.

With his other hand, he attached a new palm, fitting it into a specialized socket.

”Have a little patience, Aitri. We aren’t the only Hunters. There are other freshmen who think just like us.” Guterres stood up, his eyes calm.

”But, just as you said, our preparations are complete. Now is the time for the harvest. We won’t leave a single Wizard Freshman remaining in this Secret Realm.”

”If we collect all the Dark Badges the freshmen have found in the entire Erosion Forest Secret Realm, I’m confident no one, not even those in the Heaven-Filling Fire Secret Realm, will surpass us.”

The corner of his mouth curved up at an astonishing angle, forming a grotesque and inhuman smile.

No one knew to what extent a Mechanical Wizard could modify their own body. It wouldn’t even be surprising if one could live on after having their brain removed.

Aitri flashed his white teeth and grinned. ”I knew what you were thinking, Brother. In that case, let’s start with the Wizard Freshman targets locked onto by our ’Gray’ scout mechanical assistants.”

Guterres smiled. ”Of course!”

As time passed, the situation in the Erosion Forest Secret Realm grew increasingly tense, like the calm before a storm.

Even the remaining Extraordinary Creatures, like the Soul-Devouring Snakes, had instinctively gone into hiding, concealing themselves in their nests within the roots of the Yin Wood trees.

”It seems the final competition in the Erosion Forest is about to start ahead of schedule. Have these freshmen who chose to be Hunters all tacitly begun their hunt?”

”Interesting. How very interesting.” The smile returned to the Xugus Wizard’s face, as if nothing in the world was worth his concern.

The others at the Salon Association meeting grew serious.

This battle might very well decide the final rankings.

The title of Child of the Dark would very likely be born from among these Wizard Freshmen.

The freshmen who were eliminated early would naturally miss out on a good score. Even if they chose to settle their results and withdraw, hoping for a top rank was nothing but a pipe dream.

”Let’s see... a Wizard Clan freshman who plays with Puppetry Witchcraft, two freshmen on the Mechanical Wizard Path who can even cooperate... how terrifying,” the Xugus Wizard mused, adjusting the content of the projected image via his Wizard Mark.

”There’s also a special little guy in the Chaos Zone, and another ruthless character here... As expected, the ones who last until the end are all powerful.”

The Xugus Wizard flashed his white teeth in a brilliant smile. ”It really makes you wonder who will be the most ruthless, most venomous Hunter in the end.”

”Yi Si, do you think it will be the one who surprised us all, Wang Ya Harak?”

Wizard Yi Si’s brow furrowed slightly as he answered seriously, ”I don’t know. His Power is greater than mine was at that time... much, much greater!”

”The title of Child of the Dark... it’s enough to make one jealous. In an instant, they’ll be on equal footing with us,” the Green Demon Wizard grumbled. Hadn’t every Wizard present schemed and strived for that very same title?

...

The changing situation in the Erosion Forest Secret Realm also attracted the attention of more Wizards in the Dark Land.

Many Wizards even shifted their gazes from the Heaven-Filling Fire trial.

They were also incredibly interested in this dark horse who had appeared out of nowhere, Wang Ya Harak.

In the betting pools, his Magic Stone Pool had already exploded. Even the odds on him winning a top-three spot were not far off from the other popular freshmen in the Erosion Forest.

Previously, Riley Shebel had been the hot favorite. His performance was outstanding, and many had bet on him. But the final result was his defeat by Wang Ya, which made countless jaws drop.

It was simply outrageous. Many people didn’t even know where this Wang Ya Harak had come from.

Now that he had a track record, he earned the trust of more people.

”Little Junior Brother, you’re truly full of surprises. You’d better take one of the top three spots. Otherwise, I’m afraid Teacher will lose face.”

Deep within the first floor of the Library, in his office, Wizard Kelan watched the contents of the projection, a cryptic look in his eyes.

Beside him, Wade, who stood with his head bowed awaiting further orders, was filled with shock.

Just now, the Illusory Dream Wizard had relayed a message to Wizard Kelan. He had overheard it, but he didn’t dare speak a word of it.

It was news that would cause a massive earthquake throughout the entire Dark Land.