Chapter 544 - 218: What a... Domineering Contract

Nasimir waved his hand. "In any case, reply to His Excellency Faceless as soon as possible, just as I’ve told you. We can agree to his demands, but we also hope he can provide as many Magic Rune defects as possible."

Olifuna nodded emphatically. "Teacher, I understand what to do."

"Also, here is a contract. Give it to him along with the letter."

"This is?"

"A contract to put his mind at ease. After all, he is a Wizard from the Ghost Soul School and has few ties to us in Spiritual Mystery. Therefore, after a discussion between the Chief and the others, the School has decided to sign a contract of equals with him."

"The, the School?" Olifuna’s eyes went wide. "You mean him, one person, is an equal to our entire Spiritual Mystery School?!"

"According to the divination results, we have less than a year left. The Chief, the two Vice Chairmen, and the several legends are all in agreement. Rather than expending massive effort on researching and improving the Magic Runes, it’s better to just get the defects directly and increase our strength as quickly as possible."

Nasimir sighed, a weary look on his face, and continued, "Although the School will suffer some losses in the short term, if the divination is real, then every bit of strength we gain will help us reduce our casualties."

"I’ll go write the reply at once."

Hearing such momentous news, Olifuna didn’t dare ask any more questions. She hurried back to her bedroom on the thirty-third floor of the tower and began to write the reply.

"Honorable Faceless Great Wizard, after deliberation, the School agrees... Also enclosed..."

Meanwhile, Nasimir returned to the meeting room at the top of the tower. He saw it was filled with Wizards and calmly walked to the end of the table.

"Chief Ragnar, I have replied to the Faceless Mage as you instructed..."

Although he appeared calm, his voice still wavered slightly upon seeing the Wizards present.

Only half an hour had passed since he went to find Olifuna, yet the number of legends in the meeting room had increased by thirteen. Among them were even two of Chief Ragnar’s rivals from his own generation...

’It seems the results of that divination are even more serious than I imagined!’

"Mm."

Ragnar’s aged face was grim. He swept his gaze over the Wizards present. "I trust you all understand the gravity of the situation. If we hadn’t received those two Magic Rune defects, we would never have realized how close the danger truly is!"

"I hope you can all set aside your past grievances for the time being and prepare as quickly as possible."

"Hmph. Ragnar, if the results of my own divination didn’t match yours, I wouldn’t even be here!"

"Same here!"

"..."

Several Wizards in blue robes with gold trim could not hide the aversion on their faces toward Ragnar.

But the other Wizards knew that the very fact these few were still sitting here was proof enough of how serious the problem was.

"Vera, Daniel," Ragnar said in a low voice, "thank you very much for coming. And thank you both for your understanding and support. Now, I will announce a few arrangements..."

"After completing the transaction with His Excellency Faceless, we will arrange for all Great Mages and above to screen for and repair the Magic Rune defects. Once we’ve confirmed everything is fixed, we will update the School’s legacy of knowledge."

"Vera... Senior, I need you to make a trip to *that place*. Inform *those people* of the situation here and seek their counsel. If necessary, you can even abandon the defense of that area!"

"Wizard Daniel, I need you to go to the Northern Continent and do your best to secure the aid of the Ghost Soul School. Their Undead Creatures can reduce our losses during the crisis."

"I will contact the Mechanical School and the Blood Spirit School..."

After laying out the arrangements, Ragnar suddenly stood up. "The legacy of our School, spanning several epochs, is at stake. I’m counting on you all!"

"Hmph, we are also part of Spiritual Mystery, don’t think that..."

"Daniel, that’s enough," said the Witch named Vera. A faint smile touched her exquisite face. "Contradictions or discontent should be set aside in the face of a crisis. However..."

"I am very curious about who, exactly, is targeting us. Ragnar, did your vision have any clues?"

"It should be the ones who modified the Magic Runes," Ragnar’s voice was cold and harsh. "But I didn’t see them. I only saw a pair of hands in the River of Destiny."

"Hands?"

"Hands stained with filth and blood, and fragments of blue robes..."

...

...

It wasn’t until four in the afternoon that Wei’en saw the little Messenger appear on his workbench. It spat out a Space Ring as if showing off for a reward, then waved its few short tentacles, letting out a series of hisses.

Food... food...

"Food? Eat my ass!"

Wei’en glared at it. After witnessing the eye-bleaching scene that morning, he had decided he would rather let the little Messenger starve to death than let it feed on the dreams of the pirates on the ship again.

That scene, which was basically an orgy, had truly made him uncomfortable.

HISS... (’Not hungry yet...’)

Wei’en ignored the dejected Nightmare Worm, whose eyes had turned a dim gray. He picked up the Space Ring and probed it with his Spiritual Power. Inside were more than ten blue-striped books, a letter, and a roll of parchment.

He took the items out and opened the letter to read it.

"Honorable..."

Wei’en scanned it, a look of confusion and surprise appearing on his face.

’The Spiritual Mystery School agreed to all my conditions?!’

’No, they agreed to all of them *except* the first one...’

"...there is one point, regarding the first condition about the number of Magic Rune defects. The School hopes to amend it to a maximum of six rune defects."

"As a show of good faith, the School has already provided you with the legacy of knowledge regarding the system of fate and divination. However, you will not be able to view its contents until you have signed the contract."