The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Kaze Antuun leaned back in his chair, sitting there expressionlessly. The atmosphere in the room was extremely oppressive.

He had arrived an hour early and had been sitting here for that entire hour.

He had thought about many things, but nothing came of it.

In the end, he simply stopped thinking. Things were what they were.

The Antuun Clan’s only chance, their last chance, had still ended in failure.

The best choice now was to simply fulfill the terms recorded in the Wizard Contract.

Kaze Antuun looked at Wang Ya, who was pushing the door open and entering. His gaze wavered. He still couldn’t suppress the turmoil of his emotions.

After all, the young, black-robed Wizard before him had thwarted the Antuun Clan’s plans twice in a row.

It could be said that this man was the cause of all their current circumstances.

But one had to honor a lost bet. Kaze Antuun took the corresponding Wizard Contract from his Wizard’s Ring and placed it on the table.

”I’ve already signed my name on the contract. Once you sign, the Wizard’s Residence and the shop in the Business District will all be yours.”

”As for the Magic Stones and Dark Points, I will transfer them to you through the Resource Management Department. You can go there directly to collect them.”

Kaze Antuun spoke quickly and didn’t look at Wang Ya again. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions. Fatigue clung to his entire body, and even his once-straight back was now slumped.

A sigh that started in his heart seemed to spread through his body, down to every cell and fiber of his being. ’He was just so, so tired.’ From the moment he took over from his father as the head of the clan, full of fiery ambition, to his current state of dejection—all of it played out in his mind.

’No matter. It was all set in stone.’

’The Black Sun Badge couldn’t be recovered.’

’Wang Ya Harak was a disciple of the Illusory Dream Wizard, a Heritage Wizard of the School Lineage, and a member of the Dark Cultivation Plan. Each of these facts completely blocked off any path he could think of.’

Wang Ya glanced at the Wizard Contract on the table, signed his name just as decisively, and stored the contract in his red metal ring.

When the red metal ring was revealed, a complex look appeared in Kaze Antuun’s eyes. He let out a sigh, stood up, and moved to walk past Wang Ya.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. The instincts of an Extreme Wizard Apprentice kicked in, and he spun around, snatching the object flying toward him out of the air.

It had the feel of metal, a simple and ancient black, with intricate patterns on its surface.

This was something Kaze Antuun would never forget. Its memory was etched into his very bones.

It was the very opportunity that had allowed the Antuun Clan to rise from that remote Overseas Wizard City.

The heritage item of the Black Sun Wizard—the Black Sun Badge.

”You!” Kaze Antuun froze, staring dumbly at Wang Ya. He looked down at the Black Sun Badge in his hand, his expression turning to one of complete confusion.

Wang Ya’s expression was perfectly calm. In a placid tone, he said, ”You need the Black Sun Badge for no other reason than to get the location of the Black Sun Ruins recorded within. However, there is a great deal of information about the ruins, and it’s impossible to determine which is real and which is fake. You are more skilled at this than I am, better able to distinguish truth from falsehood. After all, your Antuun Clan has been studying this Black Sun Badge for a very long time.”

”As it happens, I am also interested in the Black Sun Inheritance. How about we cooperate? If we find the Black Sun Inheritance, the Antuun Clan and I will split its contents equally.”

”In exchange for this Black Sun Badge, you will be responsible for the search and for distinguishing the real ruins from the fakes. However, once the location of the true Black Sun Ruins is confirmed, I am willing to explore it with you.”

Wang Ya added, ”Of course, if there is anything I find useful, I must have first choice.”

Two Wizard Contracts appeared in Wang Ya’s hands. He looked at Kaze Antuun with a serious expression. He wouldn’t have thrown the Black Sun Badge to him unless he was absolutely certain he would agree.

Everything Wang Ya said was true. This was the best way he had devised to handle the Black Sun Badge and maximize his own gains.

He was pressed for time and couldn’t afford to waste a large amount of it investigating the Black Sun Badge, even if his Eye of Truth could analyze the coordinates of the Black Sun Ruins on it.

But there were far too many sets of coordinates. Who knew which were real and which were fake? Wasn’t it Isar of the Antuun Clan who, while exploring the Black Sun Ruins, encountered a fake one, was cursed, and died a miserable death on the Island Continent?

It was better to hand the Black Sun Badge over to the Antuun Clan, with the Wizard Contract, the Illusory Dream Wizard behind him, and his status as a Child of the Dark as guarantees.

He believed that as long as this Kaze Antuun thought about it seriously, he would understand the pros and cons.

He could even gain an ally of convenience—or several—who was an Extreme Wizard Apprentice.

The terms on the Wizard Contract he had prepared were also very strict, including a clause about calling for backup to a certain extent.

In a nutshell, Wang Ya wanted the prize but didn’t want to put in the effort.

Kaze Antuun gripped the Black Sun Badge tightly in his right hand. It was real. Even the feel of it was exactly the same.

Something he thought was lost forever had now, against all odds, been returned to him.

The emotions in Kaze Antuun’s heart were incredibly complex, yet he was also thrilled.

He thought about many, many things. As he took the Wizard Contract from Wang Ya’s hand, his own hand was even trembling slightly.