The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Kaze Antuun felt a genuine sense of dread at the School Lineage's methods. They were simply terrifying.

So silent… If they had been discovered just a year later, the School Lineage would have likely swooped in and stolen the three spots.

"You also need to be wary of this Wang Ya Harak. He was the one who discovered the Evil God incident, and most of his methods are unknown. What we know so far is that he has mastered some form of Fire Elemental Energy Witchcraft—the extent of which is unclear—and he has a cultivated crow. The crow's cultivation progress is also unknown, but judging from its performance, it probably isn't complete yet."

Kaze Antuun reiterated, "You must be careful of this Wang Ya Harak. He is shrouded in mystery. The fact that he returned safely from the Evil God incident is proof enough of his caliber. Unless it's absolutely unavoidable, do not engage him in the Secret Realm's competition. Just secure one of the top three spots. A fight to the death is not our objective."

"I understand, Father."

A strange light flickered in Zack Antuun's eyes. 'Wang Ya Harak, is it? The strongest and most mysterious opponent… I'm actually looking forward to it.'

Thinking of the methods at his disposal, his nervousness faded slightly.

'There's no way I can lose.'

Meanwhile, in the territories of the other Wizard Clans, their own talented young members were receiving similar briefings, working to shore up their weaknesses in combat.

An unlimited supply of Extraordinary Resources, along with excellent Level 3 Wizard Apprentice tutors. The creatures required for Extraordinary Cultivation Witchcraft were chosen from the very best, with cultivation beginning directly with Extraordinary Creatures... Over two years, the improvement for a Wizard under these conditions was immense.

This was the foundation of a Wizard Clan—the fearsome power of a united family.

...

In a forested mountain region lush with black trees and dense vegetation, deep within a grim, imposing Ancient Castle, behind the tightly sealed doors of a laboratory.

A figure in a Wizard Robe stood before a cultivation tank. Its mirrored surface reflected his fair face, which possessed a sickly beauty. A mole near the corner of his eye added a touch of the bewitching to his appearance, his gaze locked on the tank's interior.

A bizarre, lumpy mass of flesh with black and gray patterns made contact with a scarlet, fluid-like mass of active flesh. As time went on, the two began to merge.

The black and gray seeped into the scarlet, and vice versa. No, this wasn't a fusion. It was mutual consumption and rejection.

An ear-piercing shriek managed to penetrate the isolation glass, causing Wang Ya to frown.

Powerful Spiritual Power radiated from his Sea of Spirit, dispelling the psychic assault. It then formed a fluid tentacle to inspect the situation inside.

However, before the tentacle could reach its target, there was a loud SPLAT. A mass of flesh and gore exploded, splattering against the isolation glass.

A viscous piece of flesh landed on the glass directly in front of Wang Ya and began to slowly slide down, revealing his somewhat somber expression behind it.

He then took a logbook from his pocket and began to write, his face devoid of expression.

Experiment #6 Failure: The Flesh Embryo, created using the bloodline of the Shadow-Feathered Crow as a foundation, failed to fuse with the Gendas Flesh.

Hypothesis: The experiment is fundamentally flawed. This is the wrong approach. A new direction may be required.

Wang Ya slowly lowered the logbook, his gaze falling, weary.

'I've failed. Uncovering the Extraordinary Essence of the Gendas Flesh is even more difficult than I anticipated.'

Two months had passed. While his progress in the Extraordinary Course was excellent, he still couldn't make any headway with the Gendas Flesh. He couldn't even complete the most basic physical experiment.

WHOOSH!

He let out a long breath, as if expelling all the pent-up frustration.

Wang Ya pulled himself together. 'Nothing in life is ever smooth sailing; difficulties and setbacks are always encountered along the way.'

'All I have to do is work hard to overcome them.'

He was in no mood to clean the laboratory. His Spiritual Power told him that the flesh inside was dead—an irreversible death.

The two Powers had clashed and annihilated each other.

Wang Ya walked into the laboratory that housed the Night Moon Elf. Inside a nutrient tank was a single test subject, designated 'Number Three'.

Test subject 'Number Four' was under observation in its own dedicated cultivation tank, ready for the implantation of Gendas Flesh at a moment's notice. However, the repeated failures of his physical experiments made Wang Ya hesitate, so he had temporarily refrained from conducting any virtual experiments.

'I must have gone wrong somewhere,' he thought. 'I need to analyze the fundamentals.'

As he entered the room, the brow of the figure in the nutrient tank furrowed. Its pale skin was bloated from long immersion in the nutrient solution, and its eyelids seemed about to flutter open.

Back at the research workbench in the laboratory, Wang Ya ripped the draft notes before him to shreds. His expression was terrifyingly grim, and he couldn't resist slamming his fist down on the metal tabletop.

A fist-shaped dent appeared in the metal. The skin on his hand was only slightly red. He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing down the turmoil of emotions inside him.

'I was wrong. I was so incredibly wrong.'

'How could the relationship between the virtual and the real be so simple to figure out? Countless Dark Land Wizards had failed to do it.'

'Gundas' Dog itself didn't possess great Power. Its value lay in the Balance it achieved between two states and the Traits that resulted from it. This was clearly the work of a much higher-order power.'

'Trying to leap across such a vast gap in understanding was simply impossible for me. My foundation, my resources—none of it was enough to support such an attempt.'