Vincent's shock, an invitation, the Pattern-Eyed Ancient Tree, and a well-connected newcomer to the laboratory!

Late at night!

The area around Vincent's Wizard Tower was silent until Anton's knocking broke the stillness.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door soon opened.

"Anton?"

Vincent looked at the Wizard before him. Anton was not much weaker than he was and was another pillar of the Academy.

Wasn't he supposed to be overseeing the Study Tour while recovering from his injuries?

What was he doing here at this hour?

They knew each other well, so Vincent dispensed with the pleasantries and asked directly, "What brings you here?"

"Let's talk inside. I have a document here. Read it before you say anything." Anton pushed Vincent into the room.

That only left Vincent more puzzled.

They entered a reception room and sat down. Vincent took the document and quickly began reading.

A document about the Pattern-Eyed People, at the first-ring level?

A hint of dismissiveness flashed through his eyes.

But as time passed, he flipped through the pages faster and faster, his gaze growing increasingly serious.

Finally, he finished reading.

He raised his head.

"Tell me, who wrote this?" he asked.

"What do you think of it?" Anton asked instead of answering.

"It's excellent."

Vincent said, "The Academy's current research into the first-ring Frequency Method of the Pattern-Eyed People falls far short of this document. It even analyzes the flaws in their first-ring Frequency Method and ways to counter them. From what I've read, following this line of thought would let us devise specialized methods for dealing with first-ring Pattern-Eyed beings."

"Did you do this? No, this isn't your specialty. Was it some Third-Ring Scholar who sent you to see me?"

He looked up at Anton.

Conquering the world of the Pattern-Eyed People was currently the Gray Tower's highest priority. The sooner they conquered it, the sooner they could rest easy.

But