Chapter Thirty-Three: The Pause

After the communication ended, the Watcher took the now-shattered crystal, storing it away—cross-world communication never came without a price.

“Was it really necessary to go this far? You’ve violated the regulations; I’m afraid you won’t escape punishment this time.” The Watcher looked at Moritz with a puzzled expression. “And even if you passed that knowledge to Lando, what could he possibly do? He hasn’t even completed the first stage as an Arcanist.”

Moritz smiled faintly, with no intention of explaining himself.

In truth, Moritz hadn’t planned on this at first. But when all the other exploratory Arcanists had returned and only Lando remained, he felt something was amiss.

He remembered once hearing his elder brother Otto recount how, during an exploration, he’d been inadvertently caught up in turmoil and trapped in another world. He underwent a marvelous journey; only much later, after becoming a third-stage Arcanist, did he realize just what opportunity he’d missed back then. If only he’d seized that chance, his rise to Grand Arcanist would have come far quicker and with much less difficulty.

It was this recollection that made Moritz insist, despite all objections, on letting Lando make his own choice. And as he’d hoped, Lando chose to stay.

Sharing knowledge was not a problem—after all, it wasn’t classified. But persuading a student to remain in a dangerous region was a grave crime at the academy, one that admitted no exceptions. The academy didn’t care about a teacher’s intention, no matter how well-meaning; such interference was never tolerated.

There had once been a case where a teacher, supposedly acting in a student’s best interest, had revealed certain combined truths to his pupil, resulting in the student making a fatal choice. The full story only came out much later, when the teacher committed a serious crime and his mind was thoroughly searched. Before that, though he’d been disciplined for the student’s death, the culture of the Silver Tower school—and indeed the entire Arcane Empire—had long viewed advancing one’s own students as one of its traditions. The teacher had even been named an outstanding instructor for other reasons!

Since then, the academy had set a strict rule: when it determined that any region posed a threat to students in training and called for their return, no one could interfere in their choice for any reason.

Every student was a treasure to the academy, and the Silver Tower spared no effort in protecting its own.

If Lando came to no harm this time, Moritz would at worst face some disciplinary action. But if Lando were truly lost, Moritz would find it hard to escape dire consequences.

The crucial point was that Moritz couldn’t explain his motives. He couldn’t simply say he believed Lando would surely benefit from this ordeal.

So, the Watcher sighed, puzzled, unable to understand Moritz’s purpose.

But Moritz had his own reasons, the most important being that if Lando could profit from this unexpected event—even gaining the chance to become a Grand Arcanist—then any punishment would be worth it.

“Let’s wait and see,” he said—words that, to the Watcher, seemed utterly inexplicable. With that, Moritz departed at a measured pace.

...

“World… destiny… So that’s how it is? Or could it truly be?” Lando’s eyes grew ever brighter as he absorbed the insights Moritz had transmitted.

“Enough. No point in overthinking now. Step by step is the only way. At the very least, I have three more months to accumulate a great deal of soul essence—not a bad deal at all!”

Originally, Lando had planned to head for the Kingdom of Flames. But after acquiring the soul of Prince Shakas, he’d been tempted to go to the Kingdom of Earth instead. The reason? It’s always easier to squeeze the weakest fruit. Yet, since his time in this world was almost up, he stuck to his original plan—until, quite suddenly, three extra months fell into his lap. How could he not take this chance to stir things up in the Kingdom of Earth?

“Damn, I should’ve just finished off that kid Locke when I had the chance. Now, after getting to know him so well, how am I supposed to make a move? Fate’s chosen of the Kingdom of Earth, you’d best be as easy to deal with as Shakas was. Otherwise, if my pure-hearted persona ends up ruined by you…” He snorted. “You’d better watch yourself!”

Having mentally planted his flag against the unseen champion of the Kingdom of Earth, Lando began to redraw his plans. After all, there was still plenty of wool to be gathered along the way.

...

In the Palace of Dreams, capital of the Kingdom of Flames—

The king, Prince Sandi, and the ever-weakening Dreamseer enacted a scene that had played out before. The only difference: the Dreamseer was now at his very limit, seeming on the verge of dying in his sleep at any moment.

“We can’t wait any longer. At this rate, teacher won’t survive!” Prince Sandi muttered, perhaps to himself, perhaps to the king, as he moved to rouse the Dreamseer.

The king did not stop him, only remarked coolly, “Even if it means risking the fate of the world, you don’t care?”

Interrupting the Dreamseer’s vision would halt his decline, but it would also erase all the knowledge he’d gathered—everything would be lost.

Prince Sandi’s hand froze in midair. On one side was the teacher he cherished as family; on the other, the fate of the world and countless lives. In the end, he withdrew his hand with difficulty and sank, defeated, to the floor.

The king’s eyes narrowed, a subtle, unreadable smile flickering across his lips. He spoke gently, “The Dreamseer’s duty is to prophesy. Don’t let his efforts go to waste.”

Prince Sandi closed his eyes, hiding his pain and confusion.

...

In the south of the Kingdom of Flames lay vast, fertile lands that produced forty percent of the realm’s grain. To prevent any one house from growing too powerful, the kingdom had divided the region among three viscounts and several barons. The three viscount families were the Best family, the Degado family, and the Ginas family.

Time passed, rulers changed, barons came and went, and though the three viscount families sometimes waxed and waned, they had all put down deep roots in this land.

Recently, the Best family had encountered a bit of “trouble”: a large silver mine had been discovered on their estate.

Though these southern viscounts controlled the kingdom’s grain stores, they faced many rivals. The barons below eyed their positions hungrily; the other viscounts balanced their power; and above all loomed the might of the crown. Life was far from easy.

But the discovery of silver changed everything. The Best family was already the strongest of the three; with such newfound wealth, it might not be long before the entire south answered only to them.

When that day came, would the rich and powerful Best family settle for a mere viscount’s title? Would there still be a place for the other families and barons?

Fearing future retribution, the southern nobles began to unite—ostracizing, resisting, and suppressing the Bests, even plotting to seize the mine.

In the midst of this turmoil, as the Best family struggled on all sides, two mysterious guests quietly bypassed all eyes and met privately with the current family head—Asor Best.