Chapter 546 - 219: This is Fraud, yo~

[Yog Fred’s attention toward you +1??? Current ranking is 345...]

Besides the panel’s teasing, what surprised Wei’en was the increase in the God of Contract’s attention toward him.

If he remembered correctly, the last time he’d signed an equal contract with Clelia, the ranking he saw was just a few question marks. This time, however, it had jumped directly to 345th place. He had no idea how many people he’d just surpassed...

’What a shrewd god, isn’t he?’

Wei’en sighed. Looking at the contract in his hands, the only reason he could think of had to be related to its contents.

’Could it be just as the panel’s evaluation said? Was even Yog Fred, the God of Contract, shocked by the contents of the equal contract I signed with the Spiritual Mystery School?’

But he had to admit the terms were indeed very favorable to him...

’It’s great that the Spiritual Mystery School agreed to such terms, of course, but it’s also unsettling...’

From Wei’en’s understanding of the Extraordinary World, the Spiritual Mystery School would never have taken the initiative to offer him an equal contract unless there was a significant benefit for them.

’Is it really just because of the flaws in the Magic Runes?’

He knew that resolving those Magic Rune flaws would grant the Spiritual Mystery School a massive boost in overall strength. Even so, that alone shouldn’t have been enough to make those Legendary Spirit Secret Mages offer such generous terms.

’Forget about someone like me, who has little connection to the Spiritual Mystery School. Even Chief Ragnar’s own son probably couldn’t get the benefits listed in this contract, could he?’

Therefore, Wei’en had reason to believe the Spiritual Mystery School had run into some trouble.

And it was no ordinary trouble—so serious that they were willing to sacrifice some of their own interests to find a faster way to resolve the flaws in their magic...

’’This choice... Are they trying to increase the School’s overall strength in a short amount of time?’’

Wei’en had a strong feeling this conclusion wasn’t far from the truth.

What he couldn’t understand, however, was what kind of trouble could make an ancient Wizard School—one with a legacy spanning three Eras—so desperate.

Tsk.

’Whatever. It doesn’t matter what kind of crisis the Spiritual Mystery School is facing; it has little to do with me.’

’An equal contract isn’t a slave contract. I just need to abide by its terms and provide up to four flaws for each Magic Rune. That’s it.’

’As for the rest... I can just enjoy the benefits of the contract with a clear conscience.’

A smile spread across Wei’en’s face. Things had been so awful lately that he’d almost forgotten the last time he felt happy.

’Hmm, it was probably that time Clelia brought me roasted meat...’

With that thought, Wei’en took out a sheet of parchment to write his reply.

According to the contract, there were only two ways to receive the protection of the Legendary Destiny Barrier Spell.

The first was to meet with the Legendary Mage who specialized in divination. The second was to provide an aura of his Origin; the Legendary Mage could then trace him along the River of Destiny, lock onto his Origin, and cast the Destiny Barrier Spell directly.

It seemed surreal, but upon reflection, this method of casting was the same as the one used by the Forbidden Item that had guided him: 0-38, the Bell of Truth.

The Forbidden Item’s power was clearly far greater, however; it could pinpoint his location using just a codename and some vague information.

Whereas the Legendary Mage needed to obtain his Origin Power to cast the spell...

"My deepest thanks to Chief Ragnar Yasmani Blackmore and the Legendary Mages of the Spiritual Mystery School for agreeing to these terms. I will abide by the requirements of the contract and provide as many details about the magic flaws as I can."

"Additionally, I require access to certain knowledge, primarily: runology, knowledge of Element magic, Era Relics or research reports related to Mechanical Puppets and mechanical modification, the study of Magic Potions, and alchemy. I hope to acquire as much as possible, provided it does not involve your noble School’s core legacy. (The total value should not exceed ten thousand gold pounds.)"

"Furthermore, if your noble School has any specific Element magic flaws that require my attention, please provide the legacy of the corresponding Magic Runes. After all, I am not a Spirit Secret Mage and don’t have access to many Elemental Runes..."

Now that they had signed the equal contract, he could redeem knowledge from the Spiritual Mystery School for a tenth of the price, according to its terms.

It might look like he was only spending ten thousand gold pounds, but the Spiritual Mystery School was providing him with knowledge worth one hundred thousand gold pounds.

In truth, what he wanted most was knowledge related to mechanical modification. He’d only broadened the scope of his request to prevent them from connecting it to his own research after they made contact with the phantoms.

But for him, it didn’t matter if the Spiritual Mystery School provided knowledge on mechanics or not; he would benefit either way.

Whether it was runology and the study of Magic Potions—two fields where he had already unlocked knowledge trees—or alchemy and knowledge of Element magic, all of it would further enhance his power.

’He couldn’t lose either way!’

As Wei’en wrote his reply, he was also mulling over the Magic Rune flaw that caused a loss of spiritual control.

From what he knew of the Elemental Runes he’d mastered, only the initial Elemental Heart Spell was free of the loss-of-control flaw. All other Element magic had a chance of casting failure, and that specific flaw increased the failure rate by a full thirty percent.

Even after being fixed, there would still be some chance of casting failure, but this would already be enough to drastically increase the power of the Spiritual Mystery School’s Wizards.

After a moment’s thought, Wei’en decided to fulfill his end of the bargain first—he wrote down the details of the loss-of-control flaw and the method to fix it.

"...Regarding the part of the rune flaw that causes magic casting failure, my research has so far confirmed three related defects in the Magic Rune. First, there is an extending line in the pattern at the lower-left of the rune’s core star-ring. Second, there is the line extending inward at the rune’s left corner, and at the lower-right..."