Searching the Worlds, Finding a Target

Green's Wizard Tower stood in the Sun Mountain Range. Viewed from above, three smaller Wizard Towers rose at the mountain's foot, forming an equilateral triangle around it, each the same distance from Green's Wizard Tower.

A rune-covered track ran from each tower to Green's Wizard Tower. With Green's Wizard Tower at their center, the four towers seemed to form a single whole.

Across the mountain range, individual Formations stood here and there.

At the mountain's foot, one large open-air Formation was undergoing its final inspection. A figure moved through it.

The Formation was circular, with numerous stone pillars around its perimeter. A round World Stone rested atop each pillar, while a massive World Stone more than twenty meters across sat at its center.

The School had spent considerable resources obtaining those massive World Stones.

Where life had once occasionally appeared near the Wizard Towers, nothing remained. For this experiment, Green and the School had cleared everyone from the site. They had even driven away ordinary, unintelligent creatures with Sorcery.

At the center of the Formation stood Will, the School's deputy speaker and its foremost expert on World Stones. He was conducting the final inspection, making sure every rune was where it belonged.

The runes on the ground were so dense and complex that ordinary Formations could not compare. Even their shapes were unlike the usual runes: a tangle of seemingly chaotic lines with no discernible pattern, yet an eerie sense of order.

Only after checking the final rune and finding no errors did Will wipe the sweat from his brow and let out a long, quiet breath.

"Finally, the inspection's done!"

The prolonged work had left even his strengthened body dizzy.

After a brief rest, he sent out his Arcane Sigil.

"Auxiliary Formation Twelve has been inspected. No errors found!"