After receiving word that the barrier had been completed, Benjamin rose from beside the fountain and withdrew his spread-out mental power.
Half an hour of continuous scanning had not placed much burden on his mind, but continuously sorting through Fate Lines had exhausted him badly.
Fortunately, with the Fate System assisting him, it was still within his limits.
"Even after one's life form has transformed into Information Beings, controlling fate is still exceedingly difficult..."
Benjamin sighed, rolled his neck, and faint clicks came from his bones. Then he headed toward the gathering point designated by the Dark Blue Robed Wizard.
The gathering point was set in a fruit storage cellar north of town.
It was a semi-underground stone building that remained cool and dry year-round, used to store fruit harvested in autumn.
The inside of the storage cellar had already been cleared out. The wooden crates that had originally been stacked there had been moved against the walls, leaving a sizable open space in the center.
When Benjamin pushed open the door and entered, most of the other eight wizards had already arrived.
The storage cellar was permeated by the faint sweetness of fermenting fruit, mixed with the damp smell of the stone walls.
Several glowing crystals had been embedded into the walls, casting a soft, cold radiance that brightly illuminated the entire space without hurting the eyes.
The Dark Blue Robed Wizard stood in the center, holding a palm-sized crystal test tube.
Half the test tube was filled with blue liquid. Its color was so deep that it was nearly opaque, and tiny ripples occasionally spread across its surface, as if some invisible force were stirring it.
"This is..." Benjamin stepped closer, his gaze falling on the test tube.
"The core of the bait." The Dark Blue Robed Wizard