Chapter 8: The Meaning of War

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Meaning of War

"Then what arrangements will you make for me?" Chen Shang felt much calmer now.

The wizard pushed the instrument aside and spoke, "Let me officially introduce myself. My name is Haimer. Seventh Satellite, Starfall Laboratory, Third Level Wizard.

"Chen Shang, are you willing to study under me?"

Chen Shang’s mind BUZZED. Not only was he spared from death, but he also had the opportunity to become a Wizard? Something he wouldn’t even dare dream of was presented right in front of him.

He blurted out almost instantly, "I am! I’m willing!" Then he tried to scramble up, intending to perform a mortal’s apprenticeship bow.

"No rush." Haimer reached out to stop him, his tone solemn. "Wizards are a race that evolves through wisdom. We respect knowledge, and thus we respect the vessel that imparts it. Therefore, the master-apprentice relationship is something we take very seriously.

"You may study under me for now, but you cannot be considered my student yet. Once you have made up for your lack of foundational knowledge and proven your worth, we can discuss formal apprenticeship."

"Alright, I’ll follow your arrangements!"

Haimer nodded and continued, "Since you are a late starter, there is a lot you need to catch up on. I will arrange for someone to guide you through the basics: Runes, history, rules, common sense... You will learn these while simultaneously practicing preliminary Meditation."

He walked over to another device and tapped it a few times. A new holographic panel materialized in front of Chen Shang, displaying a single number: 34321.

Haimer said, "There are currently 34,320 documented individuals who, like you, have achieved Acquired Spiritual Power enhancement. Your file will be merged with theirs and categorized under the overarching ’Spiritual Power Development Project Group.’

"Once we return to the Wizard World, you will need to visit the project group to assist the relevant Wizards with tests and experiments. This is an obligation for all Wizards, including Apprentices.

"Of course, your cooperation won’t be uncompensated; you will be rewarded with relevant knowledge."

Chen Shang nodded. He was no longer afraid.

Thirty-four thousand three hundred and twenty-one. He wasn’t unique; he was just one of countless samples. His data would be modeled, analyzed, and integrated into that systematic, large-scale torrent. But because of this, he would truly step into that world.

Haimer packed up the instrument and walked toward the door.

"That’s all for today. There are still people outside waiting to collect their money and go home. You head out first; someone will come looking for you tomorrow."

With Haimer gone, Chen Shang finally breathed a sigh of relief and had time to review the prompts in his mind.

[Target detected: Haimer (Third Level Official Wizard). Extractable attributes: Energy Control, Elemental Affinity, Rule Fragment: Electromagnetic, Radiation Origin, Vector Manipulation, Energy Suction, Material Identification, World Will Resistance...]

The dense cluster of attributes dazzled Chen Shang. They were almost entirely Blue, with quite a few Purple ones mixed in.

Extract!

Extraction failed... Extraction failed... Extraction successful!

[Energy Control·Fragment (Green): Enhances the ability to perceive, guide, and manipulate various types of Energy.]

Chen Shang froze. Out of dozens of attributes, only one succeeded. And it wasn’t even complete, having downgraded from Blue to Green.

Was it because his own capabilities were lacking and couldn’t bear the load? Chen Shang didn’t know.

The next morning, a soft KNOCK sounded at Chen Shang’s door.

He opened it to find a young, petite girl standing outside. She looked him up and down, as if observing some novel curiosity.

"Chen Shang?" she asked.

"That’s me."

"I’m Leia, a Second Level Apprentice," she said with a nod. "Lord Haimer sent me to show you the ropes."

Chen Shang stepped aside to let her in.

After they sat down, Leia cut straight to the chase. "Do you know what a Wizard Apprentice has to learn from a young age?"

"I was told a bit about it yesterday. Runes? History? Common sense?"

"Close enough," Leia said. "Runes, Arrays, Elemental Theory, Alchemy Basics, Plane Common Sense, Wizard History... Normal people start studying at five or six years old. They study into their teens and must pass an assessment to become official Apprentices. You didn’t have that environment."

Chen Shang nodded without speaking.

"So you can only catch up while you learn." Leia took a palm-sized object from her pocket and pushed it across the table toward him. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, its edges engraved with a dense ring of Runes.

"This is a Celestial Net Access Device," Leia said. "It has the basic textbooks downloaded into it: Introduction to Runes, Wizard Common Language, Basic Elemental Theory, Three Thousand Common Sense Questions... It’ll be enough to keep you reading for a while."

Chen Shang picked up the Round Disc, turning it over and over in his hands.

"Can this thing... connect to the Celestial Net from anywhere?"

Leia shook her head. "No. It only works in places with a Wizard Tower. Once the High Tower is established, the area falls under its coverage. You can think of it as a relay that connects back to the Wizard World’s main network through the High Tower."

Chen Shang nodded thoughtfully, recalling the sensation he felt when the High Tower lit up yesterday.

"Speaking of which, when the High Tower was erected, I felt as though this world... went quiet?"

Leia’s eyes lit up slightly. "You’ve got sharp perception. Perhaps you have a talent for Space."

Leaning back, her tone became formal. "Do you know what lies at the deeper level of a Plane War?"

Chen Shang shook his head.

"It’s a contest between world wills. This world has its own will, which you can think of as the instinct of the rules themselves.

"When we outsiders step in, it rejects us. It drives everything it possibly can to expel us. Those indigenous creatures attack us so frantically not because they hate us, but because the world’s will commands them to.

"But it’s different once the High Tower is established. The High Tower is our anchor; it’s an extension of the Wizard World’s will. The moment it was erected, our world’s will was transmitted over, suppressing this world’s will and forcing it to shut up."

Chen Shang fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Senior, I have a question."

"Ask."

"Since we are invaders, why don’t we just plunder indiscriminately? We could haul all the resources away and massacre the natives to end it once and for all. Why establish so many rules and exercise restraint toward them?"

Leia suddenly laughed.

"That was how Wizards operated in ancient times. We would invade a world, slaughter all the natives, hollow out all the veins of Ore, and take everything that wasn’t nailed down, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

"And what do you think happened after that?"

Chen Shang was taken aback. "After that? Then... go to the next world?"

"Right. Go to the next one, then the next, and the next," Leia said. "Do you know what the result of doing that was?"

Chen Shang stayed silent.

Leia continued, "The result was that after fighting wars for tens of thousands of years, the Wizards found they hadn’t grown much stronger.

"Because all those things that could be taken away—like Ore, Energy, and Materials—are everywhere in the Endless Star Sea. The Ore you painstakingly mined after slaughtering an entire world might not even be as valuable as a random stone you picked up in another."