Integers and Fractions

The people of the world faced an unprecedented upheaval.

For most Source Mages, it was nothing less than the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

For ordinary people, however, going out to work became safer. They no longer had to worry that the fruits of a year's hard labor would be destroyed by sudden disasters. This was a tremendous blessing.

Thus, the development of all things always had two sides; it depended on whose position one stood in and how one viewed the matter.

However, the beginning of fusion still triggered no small amount of turmoil.

Most mages suddenly discovered that they faced a problem: they had no jobs!

Only then did they realize how terrifying it was to be unemployed!

Of course, the small number who thought unemployment felt great could be ignored.

It was precisely during such sudden upheavals that a person's true nature was revealed.

As the old saying went: when you fell into extreme hardship, only then did you know whether those by your side were human or ghost.

The same held true when one's own interests suffered severe damage.

Many people grasped the key point and spread word of how the Mage Association had collected Source Pearls in advance. They won the sympathy of a great many people, then incited some hot-blooded fools with poor judgment to openly clamor at the mage higher-ups, demanding a reasonable explanation and that they hand over the Source Pearls they had previously purchased.

The Mage Association possessed a vast number of Source Pearls. Were they afraid?

Of course not! Harmony Mage let out a long sigh. "This is the perfect chance to pick out the mages harboring ulterior motives, those unable to share hardship, and clear them out of the Mage Association before the overall situation is settled!