The Key

Punk's plan had been carried out perfectly. Every golem he had released had already taken to the streets of White Stone City, and according to the feedback from the rabbit dolls, children had no resistance whatsoever to the sparkling magic wands and adorable Donald Duck characters.

Those impatient little brats who wanted to "use magic" only needed a few seconds to use up all three Minor Transfigurations stored in a wand. Then, after exhausting their wands, the children would chatter away as they received brand-new ones from the rabbit dolls and continued playing.

After all, the plush rabbits standing on the streets seemed to possess an endless supply of magic wands. No matter how many the children took, the big rabbits with their simple, honest smiles could "conjure" another pile of wands somewhere no one could see.

However, the little brats joyfully waving their pretty little wands had no idea that every wand they used, every "Donald Duck" they created, and every rabbit doll they encountered occupied Azterlan's sensory capacity.

Once the White-robed Mage had to constantly allocate his limited perception to track every magical toy in White Stone City, his surveillance efficiency over a certain Legendary Mage inevitably declined.

Thanks to Azterlan's busyness, Punk could finally begin putting his plan for researching the Magic Lock into action...

Of course, Whisper of Destruction's research kept him very busy as well. He had to be careful not to be locked onto by surveillance spells, test his key theories, and occasionally find time to "restock" the rabbit dolls whose magic wands had been depleted...

It had to be said that the behind-the-scenes Archmage was truly busy beyond measure. Perhaps in White Stone City at this moment, only Kane, who appeared to be wandering about aimlessly, was living the most leisurely life.

"..."