Wizard Ethan finally reined in his emotions. His face grew calm again, though the excitement in his eyes was still hard to hide.
This rather unusual youngster might have surprised him, but what had happened over the past few days was the true source of his elation.
After five years, he could finally cut out the tumor entrenched in Ancient Forest Wizard City.
With this achievement to his name, he could return to the Umbral Expanse and gain more resources.
No, it had been ten years. The rules governing Ancient Forest Mountain had been set long ago. Two wizards from the Supernatural School had come here first to investigate. After learning the situation, they had drawn up the plan that followed.
It was a chance to advance his career. The two wizards from the Supernatural School would receive generous rewards as well.
Wizard Ethan turned and seemed to step into the void, leaving no trace of himself in the world.
When he reappeared, he was at the very top of Ancient Forest Tower, in its innermost room: his office as Ancient Forest's administrator. His robes stirred gently as he spread them and sat down.
Two figures in Wizard Robes stood before him, as though they had been waiting for some time.
One of them wore a Black Wizard Robe. He had golden curls and a mask covering half his face. Wizard Zephyr smiled at his return. "It seems you got what you wanted, Wizard Ethan."
"I have you two to thank. Without the information you've gathered over the past ten years, it wouldn't have been so easy to catch these people out." Wizard Ethan smiled too.
Wizard Lando was thin, dressed in a Black Wizard Robe, with perpetually dull eyes and a languid air. He said, "We're all wizards of the Supernatural Faction, but the Wizard Families in Ancient Forest Wizard City have gone too far. Do they really take the leaders of the Umbral Expanse for fools? Even without us, a reckoning would have come for them sooner or later."
Wizard Zephyr nodded in agreement. "Some Wizard Families elsewhere on the Wizard Continent have grown so powerful that they're hard to deal with. But a Wizard Family in some little port town on the frontier, pulling underhanded tricks? They must be dealt with."
"But it all falls to you, Wizard Ethan. We're only here to assist."
A memory flashed through Wizard Ethan's mind: the day he had been sent to Ancient Forest Mountain as its Management Wizard.
His teacher, the Bone Wizard, had told him himself that an unprecedented upheaval was coming. Problems had quietly arisen within the Umbral Expanse, not only in its lower ranks but in its upper ranks as well.
The root of those problems lay with the Wizard Families.
When wizards from those families entered the Umbral Expanse, all was well so long as they did not rise to high positions. Once they did, they could bend rules that had long been settled.
Those rules had been accepted since the Umbral Expanse was founded. They were, undeniably, a means of maintaining balance, but they also brought fairness and allowed the Umbral Expanse to keep growing stronger.
Wizards from the Wizard Families were different. They favored their own families and quietly disregarded the rules, causing one problem after another.
Now the conflicts and tensions within the Umbral Expanse were growing fiercer, gradually dividing it into two factions.
Wizard Ethan did not know what the future would bring. All he could do was seize the opportunity before him and uphold the rules the Umbral Expanse had followed since ancient times.
Once, he too had been a freshman whose Wizard Aptitude was discovered in a mortal kingdom on the Wizard Continent. Through hardship, diligent study of Supernatural Knowledge, and immense effort, he had earned his place in the Umbral Expanse. Yet there, he had seen a freshman from a Wizard Family who had failed the selection appear on the list of those admitted. The Commoner Freshman who had held the last place on that list was never seen again.
Back then, he had not understood. What was wrong with the world? Why had this happened? Why had the freshman who earned his place through hard work disappeared?
Someone who hadn't qualified had taken his place! Ethan had been furious. The rules were written plainly, so why had they been broken? It was strange. He had had nothing to do with the freshman who disappeared, yet the anger inside him had almost burned him alive.
Many years passed, and he went through countless things. Only after joining the White Bone School did he finally understand it all.
But the spark of that old anger had never gone out. It had only grown hotter. Why the hell should they get away with it?!
A fierce light surged in Wizard Ethan's eyes, and his aura burst out. The entire office seemed to tremble faintly. The two wizards before him paled and were about to react when the pressure vanished, replaced by a sensation as gentle as a spring breeze. It was as though they had imagined it.
"My apologies, both of you," Wizard Ethan said without expression.
Wizard Zephyr belonged to the Withered Wood School in the Umbral Expanse and was on fairly good terms with the wizards of the White Bone School. He spoke up at once. "Senior Ethan, it would be best to keep your emotions steady right now."
Wizard Lando's dull eyes had flown wide with fright. So this was the strength of a Core Member of the White Bone School? It was absurd. Wizard Ethan was almost certainly a Limit Wizard Apprentice. Even if he was not, he was only a step away.
With all the advanced Supernatural Knowledge available in the White Bone School, he would surely be terrifyingly strong even among Limit Wizard Apprentices.
Lando felt a pang of bitterness. Why were all the wizards in the Water Marsh School so hands-off? There was no support or resources. They just left the Supernatural Knowledge there for him to read and study on his own. Otherwise, why would he have had to take a Quota Mission arranged by the White Bone Faction?
Sometimes a man had no choice but to bow for two thousand measures of rice!
Wizard Ethan gave Wizard Zephyr a silent nod, then said, "With what has happened on Ancient Forest Mountain these past few days and the evidence we've gathered, those from the Wizard Families in the Umbral Expanse will have to swallow any objections. As for what we do..."
A chilling smile touched Wizard Ethan's lips. "We follow the rules, of course."
"I've said it before. If anyone breaks the rules, then no matter who they are, if they're involved in the slightest, they die!"
"The rules cannot be broken. Not by anyone!" His tone was absolute.
Wizard Lando coughed. "Well, Senior Ethan, I'll take charge of protecting the freshmen on Ancient Forest Mountain. You know me. Fighting isn't exactly my strength..."
Wizard Ethan stared at him without expression.
Wizard Zephyr gave him an odd look too.
Wizard Lando immediately declared with sudden ferocity, "The Purple Gold Flower Family and the Bailin Family deserve death! Anyone connected to them must die, whether wizard, mortal, or freshman. It's our duty to uphold the rules!"
"This is the list of targets I've gathered over the past few days, Senior Ethan. Please take a look."
With that, he pulled a stack of papers from his sleeve.
Quite a few freshmen's names had been marked in red. At the top were Moss Bailin, Cardi Purple Gold Flower, Anna Karina, and other Wizard Freshmen connected to the recent events.
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