"He looks unfamiliar. I don't think I've ever seen him before. Who exactly is this Ryan Harak?"
"Does anyone know anything about him? He doesn't seem to be a freshman with Top Aptitude, either. Lord Ethan said he killed that many freshmen? How did he do it? Is this a joke?"
The new students discussed him in hushed voices, watching Ryan with mixed expressions. Most of all, they were skeptical.
He had killed more than a hundred freshmen, including members of Wizard Families. What kind of feat was that? And he had done it in just two or three days! Those Wizard Family freshmen had been formidable, with no shortage of resources or backing.
How had this seemingly ordinary fellow done it?
"Lord Ethan wouldn't joke about this. He said it because it happened. It's a fact." A few freshmen with Top Aptitude remained. After days of physical and mental torment and trials, their mindsets had begun to change, drawing closer to a true Wizard Heart.
They looked at Ryan with grave expressions and barely concealed shock. Only those who had lived through it knew how hard such a feat was.
This fellow was stronger than any of them had imagined. He had hidden it far too well.
Even his mediocre aptitude had been a disguise. If not for the killings of the Wizard Family freshmen, he might never have revealed himself, waiting until the end to astonish everyone.
Though he had more or less done that already.
He was a terrifying opponent. It would be best if they could make him a friend.
As their thoughts turned, they also began considering what awaited them at the Wizard Academy. Perhaps they needed to join forces with others who had great potential. This fellow was frightening, but he would also make an excellent ally.
After all, having survived the events on Ancient Forest Mountain, they could all enter Umbral Wizard Academy. From what they understood, the academy also had students from other New Student Camps. Another round of competition was inevitable.
"The fact that it's true is what makes him so scary. He killed so many people. Doesn't he have nightmares? He's like a murderous fiend." Many freshmen had grown afraid when they looked at Ryan.
"Yeah, a murderous fiend. Ghost King Ryan!"
Ryan noticed the change in their gazes, but he paid it little mind. Staying hidden had its advantages. Now that he had been exposed, he would simply act differently, in whatever way benefited him most.
His greatest secret was the Eye of Truth. No one could discover it. As for the wizardry he had learned and the opportunities he had gained, truly powerful Wizards with deep foundations probably would not think much of them. Wizard Ethan had not even mentioned them.
By contrast, the Sensory Deprivation Wizardry Wizard Ethan had given him was immensely valuable and held great potential. It was like a foundation a Wizard could build upon and alter with his own ideas. What it would become could only be learned through practice. Wizards sought to verify truth through practice.
Wizard Ethan had deliberately exposed him. Ryan did not believe for a moment that he had done so without a reason. Wizards never acted without purpose.
It was as if he were forcing Ryan into the open, making him stand out and draw every eye. If that was how it had to be, so be it. Ryan could not resist, so he would astonish them and become their so-called outlier.
A murderous fiend? Ghost King Ryan? He felt a trace of derision. Anger was pointless. Thinking rationally and changing the situation was the right course. One day, he would settle the score!
Wizard Ethan smiled. "I must say, you're very fortunate. Ancient Forest Mountain is undergoing a transformation. After this, there will be no Ancient Forest Mountain. You will receive the Wizard Mark of the Umbral Expanse and officially become members."
Before anyone could celebrate, Wizard Ethan's voice sounded in their minds. It was a request for their preference, asking them to choose a precise location.
"Please choose where your Wizard Mark will be inscribed!" Ryan heard the voice, thought for a moment, and chose a spot.
Bzz!
Once everyone had made their choice, Wizard Ethan opened his right hand. The familiar Cube Metal device appeared again, fine currents of electricity winding around it.
After studying Supernatural Knowledge systematically and strengthening his weak foundations, Ryan could now recognize it as an Alchemical Wizard Artifact of an exceptionally high grade.
Target: Void Cube Category: Alchemical Wizard Artifact Grade: High (over-limit Spell Circuit under construction) Functions: ???
Ryan now understood the limitations of the Eye of Truth. If an object was too far beyond his current level of strength, it probably could not analyze it completely.
Suddenly, the Void Cube broke apart into countless tiny streaks of light that filled the great conference room. Each streak sought out a student and settled on the part of their body they had chosen.
A faint sting prickled Ryan's palm. It felt as though something had rooted itself beneath his skin and flesh. No, there was more to it: a bond with his soul. Surprise flashed through his eyes as a message reached him, telling him that if he agreed to the binding, the Wizard Mark would form and connect to the core hub of the Umbral Expanse's Wizard Technology, granting him Secondary Permission.
He would have to form the Wizard Mark before he could learn what else it could do.
Ryan did not hesitate for long. He let the foreign presence flow in. The black streak of light formed a strange, dark symbol on his palm, enclosed by a circular line.
So this was the Wizard Mark. It seemed that part of a Wizard Array Spell had also been implanted beneath the skin of his palm. Ryan could sense the mark with his mind and direct it to connect somewhere else. It was peculiar, almost like the internet.
This was probably an application developed after the reforms in Wizard Technology.
The black streak flew out of his palm. Ryan saw that it was a tiny metal component. It joined the others in Wizard Ethan's palm, forming the metal cube once more.
"Congratulations. You are now students of Umbral Wizard Academy's Lower Court and Wizard members of the Umbral Expanse. For now, contain your excitement and your thirst for knowledge. Your Wizard Marks will tell you everything."
Wizard Zephyr stepped forward and quieted the room.
Wizard Lando said with a broad smile, "Next, you'll travel to the Umbral Expanse. Are you ready to see the real Wizard World, little ones?"
Their answer came almost in unison. "Of course, honored Wizard!"
Ryan felt excitement rising in him too. The real Wizard World was about to lift its mysterious veil. The secrets of the supernatural, the Knowledge Inheritance of wizardry, the Wizard System, and the many forms of Wizard experiments all stirred his intense curiosity.
Traveling from Ancient Forest Mountain to the interior of the Wizard Continent and entering the Umbral Expanse was not as simple as heading there directly. Led by Wizard Ethan, Ryan and the other students boarded another Wizard Ship.
They were reportedly bound for a Wizard City on the continent's inland sea, where they would use a Teleportation Array.
Ryan was stunned by the reach of the Umbral Expanse's power. And this was only its so-called coastal frontier.
Sunlight fell across the deck, which was crowded with new students. Their shadows stretched long beside one another as they gazed ahead. In the distance, the outline of a city gradually came into focus.
There lay the path of the Wizard they had yearned for and pursued.
Before you continue