Chapter 126: The World of Cheat Users

Andy was stunned by the blue screen and the garbled code on the Magic Mirror. He never expected this device to suffer from a blue screen of death. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to reboot it. After waiting for about five minutes, the mirror finally returned to its normal state. Undeterred, Andy asked his question again, only for the mirror to crash into a blue screen once more. This confirmed to Andy that the Magic Mirror was incapable of finding information about the "Fragments of the Endless Secret Stele."

The more it resisted, the more curious Andy became. He figured that if the Magic Mirror couldn't find it, the item must be extraordinary. Furthermore, the fact that the Dean of Grim Academy placed such high importance on it, maintaining a long-standing S-rank bounty, only reinforced his suspicion.

Andy considered going to the Task Hall to inquire about the origins of this item, but the thought of the girl with that attitude gave him a headache. Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind—perhaps he could get some information from him. It was the skinny guy who had helped him buy contribution points earlier!

As expected, the skinny guy was still soliciting business in front of the Task Hall. Andy walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. The skinny guy turned around, delighted to see Andy, and greeted him warmly. As soon as Andy mentioned he had some questions, the man patted his chest and promised to tell him everything he knew. Before Andy could even ask, he handed over a small purse containing a few dozen magic stones. The skinny guy hesitated only for a moment before accepting it, his smile becoming even more enthusiastic.

Andy then asked about the top-pinned task in the Task Hall. The skinny guy immediately understood. "Oh! You’re confused about what the 'Fragments of the Endless Secret Stele' are, right? They’re just Source Energy Crystals."

Andy had heard of Source Energy Crystals during his introductory studies on witchcraft; he knew they were important materials for crafting secret treasures. He just didn't know what they had to do with this so-called Endless Secret Stele.

"Why are Source Energy Crystals called Fragments of the Endless Secret Stele?" Andy asked immediately.

"I don't know about that," the skinny guy replied. "That name comes from the Dean, who brought it from another plane. Most people still call them Source Energy Crystals. However, I do know why the Dean is buying them. I’ve heard that the academy’s greatest treasure, the Grim Stele, can be upgraded using Source Energy Crystals."

Andy had heard of the Grim Stele, though he only knew it was kept on the top floor of the library; its specific function remained a mystery to him. The idea that the Grim Stele could be upgraded with Source Energy Crystals stirred something in Andy. If he remembered correctly, his own Magic Mirror was also upgradable. He wondered if it required the same material.

After parting ways with the skinny guy, Andy stopped by the Task Hall to turn in his mission. The same girl was at the desk, and she gave her usual grunt as she processed his completion. Andy ignored her, swiped his student card on the alchemy terminal to claim his contribution points, and then asked to post a new bounty for potions that could improve meditation efficiency. He handed her a list, and after swiping his card to deposit five hundred contribution points for the procurement, he couldn't help but smile at the girl’s stunned expression. He thought that if he were back on Earth, he would definitely turn her reaction into a meme.

He took the opportunity to ask the girl about the S-rank mission. Her attitude was significantly better this time, though she didn't know much more than the skinny guy.

After leaving the Task Hall, Andy tried using the Magic Mirror to look up information on the Grim Stele, but it hit him with a blue screen again. Once it recovered, he asked if the mirror itself could be upgraded with Source Energy Crystals. This time, it didn't show a blue screen—it went completely black.

It seemed he couldn't rely on the Magic Mirror for this; he would have to dig for information himself. If he was lucky, he might eventually find a way to upgrade the mirror.

Just as he was thinking about how to proceed, an opportunity arrived. When he returned to his dormitory, Oliver was waiting for him. It turned out Oliver had heard about Andy being taken to the disciplinary headquarters and had come to check on him. Andy briefly explained that he had simply been caught up in the aftermath of the "Green Phoenix Society Assassination Case" and was now fine. He then invited Oliver out for a drink.

Over drinks, Andy asked about the S-rank mission. As a member of a noble family, surely Oliver would know some secrets. As expected, Oliver shared some of the lore passed down within his family.

According to Oliver, the Victorians on the Doran Continent were not native to this world; they had migrated over four centuries ago from a place called the Victoria Islands, located on the other side of the sea. The Victoria region was a place where wizard civilization was far more prosperous than on Doran, and they had even maintained contact with other planes. Dean Rossman of Grim Academy had come to their current Azure Plane from one of those other worlds, which was why he retained the naming conventions of his home, calling Source Energy Crystals "Fragments of the Endless Secret Stele."

The reason for this name was that Source Energy Crystals were actually formed over time as fragments of the original Endless Secret Stele absorbed ambient magic. The story went back ten thousand years to the ancient Arcane Empire.

Legend had it that the Emperor of the ancient Arcane Empire, Morpheus Augustus, gathered the empire's top arcane elites in the capital, the Sky City, to conduct forbidden experiments using the empire’s holy relic, the Endless Secret Stele. The experiment went wrong, causing the Stele to explode into countless fragments that scattered across numerous planes. The entire Sky City was sucked into a distorted space-time rift created by the explosion and vanished without a trace.

Following this, the leaderless Arcane Empire collapsed through internal strife and external attacks, eventually fading into history, which paved the way for the rise of the Wizard World.

The scattered fragments, through various evolutionary processes, became the Source Energy Crystals. Wizards discovered that by using a certain amount of these crystals, combined with other resources and specific magic formations, they could synthesize various secret treasures that could be upgraded with additional crystals. Since then, Source Energy Crystals had become highly sought after across all planes, with prices remaining consistently high.

Andy learned a great deal from Oliver, but he was more fascinated by what lay beyond the Azure Plane. He had previously imagined the Arcane Empire as a glorious place he might one day visit, only to realize it had been dead for nearly ten thousand years.

He continued to press Oliver for information about other planes, and the revelations left Andy’s head spinning. The Azure Plane was just a minor component of the Wizard World. Wizards, in essence, were researchers of runes; their meditation techniques and spell models were all composed of various magical runes. The "Wizard World" was the collective term for the civilization of runes spanning various planes.

Beyond the Wizard World, there were two other equally influential civilizations. One was the "Faith Civilization," comprised of planes developed by celestial deities, and the other was the "Bloodline Civilization," ruled and influenced by abyss demons. The former was known as the Alliance of Gods, and the latter as the Abyssal Tribes.

"Damn! Alliance and Horde?" Andy exclaimed, taken aback. "Why do the other civilizations have such catchy names, while our 'Wizard World' sounds so plain?"

"What are you talking about?" Oliver countered. "Wizard World is just the official designation. It’s said that the other civilizations once independently gave our world a much more fitting name."

"The Cheater World!"