50: Wizard Mark—Moving Forward (The Next Volume Begins)

"He looks so unfamiliar. It's like I've never seen him before. Just who is this Wang Ya-Harak?"

"Does anyone know anything about him? He doesn't seem to be a Wizard Freshman with Top Aptitude either. Lord Yis said he killed so many freshmen—how did he do that? That has to be a joke!"

The Wizard Freshmen whispered among themselves, their gazes varying as they looked at Wang Ya. More of them were doubtful than anything else.

Killing over a hundred freshmen, even dealing with freshmen from Wizard Families—what kind of concept was that? And he had done it all within just two or three days! Those Wizard Family freshmen were formidable, lacking neither resources nor influence.

Just how had this seemingly ordinary fellow done it?

"Lord Yis wouldn't joke with us. He would only say it if it had happened. It's the truth." Some freshmen with top aptitude remained. After days of torment and trials in both body and mind, their mentality had changed, leaning toward a true Wizard Heart.

Their gazes toward Wang Ya carried gravity and suppressed astonishment. Only those who had experienced it firsthand knew just how difficult it was to achieve such a thing.

This guy's strength was beyond everyone's imagination. He had hidden himself far too deeply.

Even that mediocre aptitude had been a disguise. If not for the killings involving the Wizard Families, he probably would never have exposed himself, waiting until the very end to make a single cry that astonished everyone.

Though now, it was more or less the same.

He was a terrifying opponent. If they could become friends with him, that would be for the best.

As their thoughts turned, they also considered what would come after entering the Wizard Academy. It seemed necessary to join forces with some beings of great potential. This fellow was truly frightening, but he was also an excellent candidate for an ally.

After all, following the events at Ancient Forest Mountain, they could all be said to have secured entry into the Umbral Wizard Academy. From what they understood, there would also be freshmen from other New Student Camps at the academy. When that time came, a new round of competition would inevitably begin.

"Precisely because it's true, this guy is terrifying. He killed so many people—doesn't he have nightmares at night? He's like a murderous ghost." Quite a few freshmen had already begun to fear Wang Ya.

"Yeah, a murderous ghost. Ghost King Wang Ya!"

Wang Ya could sense the change in the freshmen's gazes, but he did not pay it much mind. Concealment had its benefits. Since he had been exposed, he would simply adopt another way of acting, as long as it benefited him most.

His core secret was the Eye of Truth. No one could possibly discover that. As for the Wizardry he had learned and the opportunities he had obtained, truly powerful Wizards with deep foundations probably would not even spare them a glance. Wizard Yis had not even mentioned them.

Instead, the Sensory Deprivation Wizardry bestowed by Wizard Yis was extremely valuable and held great potential. It was akin to a foundation, allowing a Wizard to add to and alter it according to their own ideas. What it would ultimately become required experimentation afterward. Wizards themselves verified Truth through practice.

Wang Ya simply did not believe that Wizard Yis had exposed him so openly without some purpose in mind. Wizards never took meaningless actions.

It was as though he was being forced to step forward, forced to make a single cry that astonished all and draw every eye toward himself. Since that was the case, so be it. He could not resist it; he could only make that cry and become some so-called anomaly.

A murderous ghost, Ghost King Wang Ya? A trace of mockery rose in his heart. Anger was meaningless. Rational thought and changing all of this were the correct path. There would come a day of reckoning!

Wizard Yis smiled. "I have to say, you are very fortunate. Ancient Forest Mountain has undergone a transformation. There will be no more Ancient Forest Mountain in the future. You will receive the Wizard Mark of The Umbral Expanse and officially become part of it."

Before the crowd could grow excited, Wizard Yis's voice rang through their minds. It was an inquiry of intent, asking them to confirm an exact location.

"Please choose where to inscribe your Wizard Mark!" Wang Ya heard the voice, pondered for a moment, and chose a location.

Buzz! Buzz!

After receiving everyone's chosen answer from their hearts, Wizard Yis spread open his right hand. The familiar Cube Metal device appeared once more, fine electric currents coiling around it.

After systematically studying Supernatural Knowledge and making up for the weakness in his foundations, Wang Ya could already recognize it as a kind of Alchemical Wizard Artifact—and one of an extremely high grade.

Target: Void Cube

Category: Alchemical Wizard Artifact

Grade: Advanced (Super-Limit Spell Circuit Under Construction)

Function: ???

Wang Ya now understood the limitations of the Eye of Truth. If an item's level exceeded his current strength by too much, it probably could not be fully analyzed.

Suddenly, the Void Cube shattered, transforming into tiny streams of light that filled the entire grand conference hall. They sought out each Wizard Freshman in particular and descended upon their chosen body locations.

A faint prickling pain arose in his palm, as though something had rooted itself beneath his flesh. No, it was not only that—there was also a binding upon his soul. Astonishment flashed through Wang Ya's eyes. In the unseen depths, a piece of information told him that after he agreed to the binding, the Wizard Mark would form and connect to the Wizard Technology core hub of The Umbral Expanse, granting him Secondary Permission.

Its specific functions could only be learned after the Wizard Mark had formed.

Wang Ya did not hesitate for long. He opened himself to the intrusion of the foreign object. The black stream of light formed an eerie Umbral Darkness-colored rune upon his palm, encircled by a ring of lines on the outside.

This was the Wizard Mark. It seemed that part of a Wizard Array Spell had also been implanted beneath the flesh of his palm. Wang Ya could sense the Wizard Mark through his consciousness and manipulate it to connect to somewhere else. It was very strange, like the internet.

This should have been an application born from the reforms of Wizard Technology.

The black stream of light flew out from his palm. Wang Ya saw it clearly—it was a small metal piece, which reassembled into the metal cube in Wizard Yis's palm.

"Congratulations. You have become students of the Lower Court of the Umbral Wizard Academy, as well as Wizard Members of The Umbral Expanse. First, restrain your excitement and your urgent Thirst for Knowledge. The Wizard Mark will tell you everything."

Wizard Fengxing stepped forward, quieting the hall.

Wizard Lando said with a beaming smile, "Next, you will head to The Umbral Expanse. Are you ready to witness the true Wizard World, little ones?"

Their voices rang out almost in unison. "Of course, esteemed Wizards!"

Wang Ya's heart also stirred with excitement. The true Wizard World was about to lift its mysterious veil. Whether it was the mysteries of the supernatural, the Knowledge Inheritance of Wizardry, the Wizard System, or the differences among all kinds of Wizard Experiments, they all drew upon his curiosity with irresistible force.

Traveling from Ancient Forest Mountain to the inland regions of the Wizard Continent and entering The Umbral Expanse was not as simple as going directly there. Under Wizard Yis's guidance, Wang Ya and the other Wizard Freshmen boarded a new Wizard Ship.

They were said to be heading for a Wizard City in the continent's inner sea, where they would travel onward through a Teleportation Array.

Wang Ya was shaken by the extent of The Umbral Expanse's sphere of influence. And this was merely the so-called remote coastal frontier.

Sunlight poured down. The deck was crowded with Wizard Freshmen, their shadows stretching long beside one another. They all looked into the distance, where the outline of a faraway city gradually sharpened within their sight.

That was the Wizard path they longed for, the path they pursued.