Arcane Calendar 40 years, Africa mainland.
World Gate landed steadily at the predetermined coordinates after a burst of space shock.
Ian walked out of the hatch and was greeted by a wave of energy that was so rich that it almost suffocated him.
"So much magic."
He took a deep breath and felt the active magic particles in the air. Five years ago (Prime Universe time), he launched [Global Magic Revival Plan] and planted tens of thousands of Magic Tree trees around the world. Today, these trees have completely changed the ecological environment of the earth.
"Not just magic..."
Ian squatted down and pressed his palms on the ground.
Although he lost Gate of Truth, his soul as high as Fifth Tier still keenly captured the Leyline Energy surging deep in the earth's crust. This proves that his theory in Fullmetal World is universal: as long as there is a planet, there is Dragon Vein.
"Very good. In this way, the foundation of Arcane Rune System will be established."
Ian was not in a hurry to return to the palace, but like an emperor visiting privately incognito, he applied Disillusionment Charm to himself and teleported to the nearest super city.
Cairo, Magic District.
This place has been completely transformed into a futuristic city where cyberpunk and magic styles are mixed.
In the sky, anti-gravity speed cars shuttle between neon light tracks, and children on Goblin Glider chase and play among skyscrapers. Magic projection advertisements that can be seen everywhere are promoting the latest alchemy potions and household Golem.
But there is also one incongruous place.
In the center of the city, there is an area covered by a translucent shield. A huge warning sign hangs at the door:
[No-Magic Zone]
Ian walked into this area and found that people here were wearing special bracelets. The bracelets emitted a repulsive frequency that blocked out the magic in the air.
These people are Magic Rejection Syndrome patients.
In high Magic Rings situations, magic is a fatal poison to them.
"Strange..." Ian connected to the Empire's database, "I remember that Genetic Engineering Department developed a cheap gene correction surgery a year ago that can cure this disease. Why are there so many people here?"
After checking the data, Ian's face darkened.
The reason is ironic: greed.
There is a rumor circulating among the people: As long as they endure the pain of magic erosion for a long time, ordinary people have a chance of awakening their magic talents.
Therefore, this group of people who can obviously be cured would rather take off their bracelets every day and endure hours of excruciating pain than undergo gene correction surgery for the sake of the illusory "awakening dream."
"Foolishness."
Ian commented coldly. But he did not interfere. People have the right to choose to suffer.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This is still the holy land of Wizarding World, and the ancient castle appears even more majestic under the nourishment of magic.
Ian was walking in the corridor, originally just wanting to feel nostalgic, but his eyes were attracted by a duel on the playground.
Those were three students wearing Hufflepuff school uniforms, attacking a senior Slytherin student.
But the battle situation was a one-sided crushing.
That Slytherin didn't even move. With just one wand, he easily defused the three people's attacks. Finally, he used a beautiful "Expelliarmus" to knock all three people's wands away.
"A bunch of trash."
Slytherin The boy looked at the three people who fell on the ground with contempt, "You mages (referring to those who are made Magic Core the day after tomorrow) can never beat us wizards (referring to those born with blood)."
"You!"
"What? Not convinced? The facts are in front of you."
Slytherin The boy walked away with his followers, leaving behind a string of harsh laughter.
The other college students who were watching, including Gryffindor, actually chose to watch with cold eyes, and some even showed the same contempt in their eyes.
Ian frowned.
He approached the three losers invisible and heard their whispers.
"John, don't pay attention to those Pure-blood words." One of them comforted.
"How could I not care?!" The boy named John clenched his fists with a look of dissatisfaction on his face, "Our Magic Core is too unstable! It will overload as long as we exert force! And the upper limit is only one-twentieth of theirs! This is not fair at all!"
"Be patient. At least... we are stronger than those Muggles." The third person whispered.
"Shhh! 'Muggles' is a racial slur! Do you want to be fired?"
Ian listened to the whole thing in the shadows, his face getting increasingly ugly.
He immediately retrieved research reports from the past few years.
It turns out that as the global concentration of magic increases, the magic in the environment becomes more violent and active than in the laboratory.
This led to a serious consequence: those "mages" who had artificial Magic Core implanted through acquired surgery developed large-scale [Core Rejection Reaction]. Their cores could not adapt to this violent natural magic power, and often overloaded or even collapsed.
Although Hermione urgently developed a stabilizing agent, this agent is expensive and treats the symptoms rather than the root cause.
This resulted in the "mage" class being far behind in terms of strength by the "wizard" class who were born with a stable bloodline.
What followed was a serious chain of class solidification and discrimination:
Pure-blood wizard > Half-blood Wizard > Artificial Mage > Muggles (Magicless).
This kind of discrimination is no longer just based on blood, but based on the actual power gap.
"It has only been five years since I left, but have social conflicts intensified to this extent?"
Ian looked at those aggrieved students without much anxiety in his heart.
Because he brought back the solution.
"Magic Core is unstable? I have [Core Inscription] and [Arcane Runes] to reinforce it."
"The upper limit of magic power is low? I have [Undetectable Extension Charm] to expand it."
"Even..."
Ian remembered the [Battle Aura system] he developed at Fullmetal World.
"What if mages can not only cast spells, but also engage in melee combat? By then, those weak Pure-blood wizard will probably be pressed to the ground and rubbed by these 'battle mages'."
But he also knows very well that simple technical means can only alleviate symptoms but cannot eradicate people's prejudices.
To truly bridge this rift, a deeper change is needed.
"It seems that I came back at the right time."
The figure of Ian disappeared at the end of the corridor of Hogwarts.
Next stop: the Consul's Palace.