Aftermath

Inside the Awakening Hall, the large group of Mage Apprentices seated below stared at the scene before them in stunned silence, having no idea what was going on.

Some people had specialized aptitudes and were sensitive to one of the eight schools. When they sat upon the throne, they would stand out.

For example, those of the Change School might have an accessory on their body transform directly.

For those of the Abjuration School, they might directly receive the protection of a "Mage Armor" spell.

Even those without visible effects might, upon sitting down, find a path suited to their future through the ideas that came to mind.

This was also why Mystra arranged Feat learning after awakening.

But these Mage Apprentices had never heard of anyone simply vanishing into thin air.

Even stranger, that young man reappeared after disappearing for a while.

By the time the cloaked female Wizard teleported away with him, many of the students had yet to react.

"This privilege is being flaunted way too blatantly, isn't it? I bet those NPC Mage Apprentices over there are furious. Someone actually got to cut in line like that, show off, and then leave so casually." A tall, thin man in the players' corner said.

"Give it a rest. Wasn't the one who just sat on it also an NPC? This is just an internal conflict between their classes. Sigh, everyone else is eating meat while we Wizard players keep getting brutalized by this game." The fat man seated beside him complained.

"But didn't you notice that he had an Eastern face too? He might be a player."

"If he's a player, I'll jump off the Floating City and challenge Chain Feather Fall."

"You really dare to bet on that?"

"My brother was on this game's preparatory team. Do you think he didn't know what kind of game this was before the promotional video came out? The company executives pushed it through layer by layer, promoting it at any cost. The only screening threshold was the 299 account fee. No one knew who had decided on the game's content. Some people even guessed that most of it had been generated by AI."

Growing more animated, the fat man continued in one breath.

"If we're talking about generation, there are precedents. But have you ever seen a game as highly detailed as what we've encountered these past few days? I was practically brainwashed. Nineteen zero-level spell models—I was tracing their strokes even while bathing, feeling as if I could really cast spells. When I have time later, I'll write them all out from memory in the real world and get someone to authenticate them. With a game this insane, you think there's some backdoor route? If there were, I'd be taking it first."

"So I'd bet that the status and treatment that guy just received means he's a descendant of some Mage Association tycoon. Otherwise, that old man Mokar would never have been so deferential. Didn't you see how arrogant he was toward that princess of the Eastern Land Empire?"

"In real life, I'm the one showing off privilege to others. Who would've thought that in a game, I'd get taught a lesson by these NPCs?" The tall, thin man said helplessly.

Wang Ningwei had no interest whatsoever in the meaningless chatter of the two men in front of her. Her gaze fell directly upon the nine mysterious figures at the front.

Seven of them appeared to be of noble status and stood near the center, while the other two were entirely in the posture of bodyguards, each stationed at a corner and scanning their surroundings.

"What brings you here?" The elderly Wizard presiding over the ritual lowered his head respectfully. He had no choice but to be respectful.

A hundred years ago, when he had entered Mystra, the being before him had already assumed the position of president of the Mage Association headquarters.

"Nothing much. That girl Antinoa took him away?" Os, president of the Mage Association headquarters, paced beside the throne as he pondered.

"Yes, right after that apprentice reappeared," the old Wizard replied.

President Os ignored everything else. With a wave of his hand, he cast a spell that cut off the view of the novice Wizards below, then crouched down to inspect the throne.

The remaining three members of the group of six also stepped forward in turn to examine it.

The two guards remained at their respective corners, unmoving.

Only after silently investigating for five minutes did they stand up.

"Always making a mess for us to clean up. Let's go. The show's over; there's nothing left to see." President Os waved his hand.

Following the seven, a middle-aged man who had also been guarding both sides from the very beginning directly cast a spell.

"As for Mokar, interrupt the ritual later. Tell those apprentices to come back in five days."

"Uh, yes, President." Even though Mokar knew, he had still underestimated the impact caused by that young man.

The many apprentices below had no idea that their awakening as Wizards had been invisibly delayed by five days because of one person.

Only a few Mage Apprentices who had visited Mystra's upper echelons in advance with letters of recommendation, and knew the true identities of the seven or eight mysterious figures before them, covered their mouths in disbelief. They could not believe that a simple awakening ritual had drawn the attention of such giants.

What he did not know was that all seven giants of Mystra were present on the stage.

If these seven gathered together, even should a Divine Incarnation appear in Arthur's prime material world, it might not escape their joint siege.

Only after the illusory curtain they had set up dispersed did the spell apprentices realize that the mysterious group had already left. Most of them were still eagerly watching as the elderly Wizard Mokar stepped onto the stage, waiting for him to announce the start of the awakening ritual.

In the Supreme Council Chamber, the seven giants who had just gone to the Awakening Hall emerged one after another through the Gate of Another World.

This small meeting room appeared completely undecorated, containing only an ordinary circular nanmu table and twelve chairs.

Yet every directive issued by the Mage Association headquarters was discussed in this meeting room before being sent out.

Countless people in the association who sought to climb upward dreamed of gaining a dedicated seat in this meeting room.

"To run into something like this in the middle of a meeting—it really is quite a coincidence." Nu Feng, the last among the seven giants to become a Legendary Mage, said as he sat down.

"When was the last time the throne caused such a huge commotion?" Vilanser, the only woman and the only Elf among the seven, sank into thought.

Reno, one of the seven giants, did not sit down. Standing by the windowsill with a pipe in his mouth, he said, "More than a hundred years ago, it was that kid Kroll. He became a Legendary Mage in thirty-five years. That speed was absolutely among the very best in the association's records. Back then, he merely summoned a hatchling Time Dragon out of thin air."

"If I hadn't reacted quickly and sent it back, you would have seen two Time Dragons and a Scroll Dragon descend upon the Floating City." Nu Feng said irritably.

"That Earth adventurer named Midsummer is no simple person either. The impact borne by the Arcane Throne will take at least three or four days to repair. The disturbance Kroll caused back then was handled in two hours, without delaying that batch of apprentices at all," Reno added.

"Heh, it wasn't that he was extraordinary. It was the person he went to see who was extraordinary," Nu Feng corrected him impatiently.

Everyone present had already learned the rough outline of the matter from Antinoa.

Zhao Xu had just reversed time and met Sisylvina, the Third Generation Goddess of Magic, before she became a god, when she had already reached the end of the Wizard's path.