Tavern

In this multiverse, although the various planes were separated by dimensional barriers that were difficult to breach, that did not mean they never interacted with one another.

On the contrary, the planes would always intersect for one reason or another.

On the small scale, they summoned each other and fought side by side;

On the large scale, they invaded one another and wars erupted.

If the God of the Internet truly was not a god of the Aizeya Continent, then things had become complicated!

At best, he might merely be here to spread his faith and harvest Source Essence;

At worst, he might harbor some unspeakable evil purpose, such as plundering souls and resources, or even directly occupying the plane.

Judging by the God of the Internet's prayer—"Great existence from the Azure Star"—the mages could almost certainly conclude that he was an Outer God.

Then what was his purpose for coming here?

No one could guess.

This emergency meeting ultimately ended in a heavy atmosphere.

Three of the Kevil Empire's Four Pillars decided to meet the God of the Internet.

The overwhelming momentum stirred up by Internet Divine Art was no longer something they could stop, unless they killed the God of the Internet and eliminated the deity at the root of the problem.

But gods were not so easily killed.

Therefore, meeting him, gaining a deeper understanding of him, and then making a decision was undoubtedly the most rational choice.

In a meditation chamber covered in Magic Runes, Dendall, under the protection of Zimor and Bethany, chanted the God of the Internet's prayer and summoned the Internet.

Then Dendall fell silent.

He was waiting for the God of the Internet's response. The God-Forbidden Magic Array here had already ceased operating. Given the uniqueness of his Soul Power, he believed it would surely attract the God of the Internet's attention.

He waited for half an hour.

"This..." Dendall frowned.

Zimor and Bethany exchanged glances.

After a brief pause, Dendall stirred his Soul Power and said softly, "I am Dendall, Dean of Felix Magic Academy. Respected God of the Internet, I believe there may be some misunderstanding between us. Could we meet and discuss this in detail?"

Before two seconds had passed, the Virtual Scroll suddenly flashed.

Dendall's brows rose. In the unique social account formed according to his soul fluctuations, someone had suddenly sent him a message.

He opened it and found that an Internet user had inexplicably appeared on his friends list—the God of the Internet himself.

The message read, "Sure! I hear the Warrior's Blood at the Mage's Hat outside your academy is quite good. Let's meet there at eight tonight!"

Feeling somewhat awkward, Dendall replied, "As you wish, respected God of the Internet."

The chat ended, and Dendall wore a strange expression.

This God of the Internet seemed... rather amiable?

No, no, no!

Evil Gods were best at disguising themselves. He must not be fooled.

The night was dark, and a gentle breeze drifted by.

Inside the Mage's Hat Tavern, Desova sat at the bar, silently sipping Pioneer Punch.

The tavern's liveliness seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Although the academy had yet to officially issue an expulsion notice, after causing such a scene in class, he had decided to leave on his own rather than give the academy the chance to expel him.

This drink would likely be his last in Willis City.

Tomorrow, he would leave this place and struggle for freedom.

Did he regret it?

Perhaps.

After all, this was where he had pursued knowledge and magic, where he had first made a name for himself, and where he had met...

Forget it. His reputation was in ruins now. Everyone avoided him like the plague. Friends? Better not think about them.

"Hey, buddy, can you buy me a drink?"

The greeting interrupted Desova's melancholy. He looked over and saw a young man dressed strangely in a black jacket over a white shirt, paired with blue coarse-fiber trousers, smiling at him.

Well then, Felix's famous magical genius had fallen so low that even vagrants were mooching drinks off him?

Desova tipped his chin toward the bartender, signaling the man to order for himself.

"Thanks. One Warrior's Blood."

After calling out his order, the young man sat beside him. "Brother, you look like you're in a terrible mood. Did your girlfriend dump you?"

Desova rolled his eyes.

The bartender brought over a Scarlet Cocktail and teased, "He's Felix's magical genius. He's the one who dumps people—who would dare dump him?"

Desova snapped at the bartender, "You sure have a big mouth!"

Grinning, the bartender said, "This Warrior's Blood is on me. Oh, and thanks for the Mithril Ring you gave me. I have to say, it opened the door to a whole new world for me. Now I can barely count as a Magic Apprentice!"

As he spoke, the bartender proudly spread open his right hand, and a flicker of flame sprang from his palm.

It was the most basic and most useless Fire Element magic—Burning Hand.

And also a mage's romance!

"Congratulations!"

Desova smiled knowingly.

The happiest moment on the path of practicing magic was often the first time one successfully cast a spell.

No matter how useless or impractical it was!

"This future Great Mage accepts your congratulations!" The bartender wore an unbearably smug expression.

However, his pride was quickly shattered.

"Pfft. Being able to conjure a little flame makes you a noble Magic Apprentice? If that's the case, then I count too, right?" At the bar, a young mercenary in leather armor raised his hand, and a scarlet flame fiercer and brighter than the bartender's burst from his palm.

"My gods, Little Colin, you became a Magic Apprentice?"

"When did you all become Magic Apprentices?"

The young mercenary and bartender immediately drew cries of surprise from countless tavern patrons.

"If I'm not mistaken, you learned through the Internet, right?" Someone disliked the young man showing off and deliberately exposed the key point.

"Internet? What's that?"

"There, this is the Internet! Take my advice—buy a few more Internet Rings and give one to every relative and friend. From now on, not only can you contact each other anytime, anywhere, you can also learn magic, Battle Qi, and Divine Art. Anyway, it has everything inside, even recipe books!"

"You can learn magic through that?"

Those at the bar who did not know about it were stunned!

Farther away, some patrons even fell silent, pricking up their ears as they looked over.

"Of course. As long as you have Points, you can even learn Forbidden Magic! Look at this Library—I'd bet it has more books than Felix Magic Academy!"

"Besides magic books, there are Online Courses too. Here, this one. It's like Felix Magic Academy, except the classes are held online. I listened to the Young Mentor's lecture last night, and it was absolutely incredible! I have a feeling I'll become a powerful mage!"

"You're lucky. The latest Internet update lets you log in through prayer. Back then, I spent two Gold Coins just to get a Mithril Ring. It still makes me furious!"

"But logging in through prayer isn't very good. You get tired easily. It's best to log in through Magic Runes."

At that moment, those who did not know were itching with curiosity and desperately asking questions.

Those who knew, meanwhile, mostly did not treat it as any secret. They directly activated Internet Divine Art and enthusiastically introduced it, their hearts swelling with satisfaction as they watched others stare in stunned disbelief.

"Commander Hariman, have you applied to become an Online Course instructor? I read the recruitment rules. With your Battle Master cultivation, you can definitely become a Battle Qi instructor."

Someone called out to a mercenary corps commander.

"Haha, to be honest, I've already applied. I passed the review this afternoon. Once I finish dealing with a few things over the next couple of days, I'll start teaching!"

Commander Hariman said with a glowing face. In the Kevil Empire's social culture, instructors were an exceptionally noble and respectable profession.

To become an instructor, even Commander Hariman, who could be considered middle class, found it immensely honorable!

Though he said he would teach once he finished handling some business over the next few days, what business did he even have? He was simply nervous and timid, too afraid to start broadcasting.

Over the past few days, he had been constantly thinking about how to teach in a way that would make him seem knowledgeable and worthy of his status as a Battle Master.

Thinking of how, in a few days, he would become a glorious Battle Qi instructor—

Not only gaining fame throughout the Kevil Empire, but also earning vast amounts of Points to exchange for advanced Battle Qi techniques—Commander Hariman excitedly raised his cup and shouted, "Praise the God of the Internet!"

"Praise the God of the Internet!"

"Hahaha, I fucking love the God of the Internet!"

Some echoed him.

Others, drunk, expressed their devotion to the God of the Internet in their own unique ways.

For a time, the tavern became even livelier.

In fact, this had started several days ago.

Whenever anyone mentioned the Internet, the tavern atmosphere immediately rose to another level, and everyone eagerly joined the discussion.

From magical power within reach, to stories taking place in some distant town, to conspiracies of the gods mentioned on the Forum, they always had endless topics to discuss.

When the conversation grew lively, strangers who had only just met would even activate Internet Divine Art, add each other as friends, and agree to return for drinks together next time.

Without realizing it, everyone suddenly discovered that life had become more hopeful.

Amid the bustle, Desova looked at the young man mooching drinks, who had been listening with his head turned to the side, and tipped his chin at him. "Hey, brother, do you have an Internet magic item?"

"Hm?" The young man froze.

That brief stunned expression told Desova everything. He took off his Mithril Ring and tossed it over. "It's yours! Pour in Soul Power... well, if you're not a mage, just focus on the ring and stare at it. That'll activate it too. Pick a kind of power that suits you, and work hard!"

The young man caught the Mithril Ring, his face full of astonishment.

Desova stood, drained the Pioneer Punch in his cup in one gulp, and prepared to leave.

Just then, the tavern suddenly brightened. The tavern's clamor instantly quieted by a third, and countless people instinctively looked over to see a group of noble mages pushing through the door with imposing presence.