The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

'It's only been ten years!!'

She was terrified by how quickly his Power had grown. 'What terrifying potential!'

'He's a formidable enemy, a rival I'll have to fight to the death!!'

'If he's allowed to mature, he'll become a huge problem for the Natural Ring Tower's plans.'

She knew it was time to leave. She was no match for them in this situation.

If that Extreme Wizard Apprentice weren't here, she might have had a chance against Wang Ya Harak by relying on her vast number of Black Souls.

She might even have been able to kill him and reclaim the Black Core.

As it was, Wang Ya Harak's Power was already no less than her own.

Once that Extreme Wizard Apprentice noticed something was wrong and returned, her fate would be sealed.

After casting the Dark Chaos Cave, the Shadow Robe seemed to enter a cooldown period. The Extraordinary Fluctuations it emitted had dimmed somewhat.

Rilis clutched the corner of her robe, glared venomously at Wang Ya, and shrank into her garment, transforming into a shadowy ripple.

However, a Super High-Temperature Cluster Particle Wave pierced the shadowy ripple, instantly breaking her out of her Shadow State.

Covered in Energy Flames in his Flame Demon Doppelganger state, Wang Ya had his finger raised, accumulating a massive amount of Fire Element Particle Energy. He was the one who had just fired that beam.

His pupils held a faint white luster as the Dream Gap descended completely. A torrent of distorted, colorful lines poured out from the gap, filling the surrounding area.

Wang Ya's Dream Territory was about to manifest.

On his shoulder, the white, linear patterns beneath Harak's black feathers began to glow.

Thanks to the corner of the Dream Realm brought forth by the countless Black Souls within his Infinite Black Core, Wang Ya's Dream Territory remained stable and completely enveloped the surrounding area—even here, in this desolate region, ten thousand meters high amongst the floating clouds.

"A trick you've used once won't work on me a second time."

That Dark-colored Wizard's Robe, while possessing special and subtle abilities imbued with the power of the Shadow World...

...one shouldn't forget that Harak also possessed the Extraordinary Trait known as 'Shadow Head'.

It could travel through shadows at will, making it simple to detect any fluctuations within them.

Wang Ya's own Dream Sense was also extremely keen when it came to this type of perception.

The Shadow Robe's ability to conceal one's form and aura and to travel through the void might fool the perception of Extraordinary Spiritual Power, but it could never fool his eyes.

He only needed to add some Dream Power to the Middle-tier Witchcraft, Super High-Temperature Cluster Particle Wave, and he could track the shadowy ripple with pinpoint accuracy, knocking her out of her Shadow State.

"Wang Ya Harak, you're courting death!" Rilis, wrapped in her Shadow Robe, seemed furious and flustered, her ferocity a mere bluff.

Her only answer was another high-temperature cluster particle beam fired from Wang Ya's fingertip.

A blinding red light pierced through the air at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow.

BLOOP!

One after another, seven-colored bubbles materialized in the void, floating up and down erratically.

Rilis had just fended off that troublesome Witchcraft Attack when her heart suddenly leaped into her throat. A look around sent a chill down her spine.

At some point, the entire surrounding area had been filled and enveloped by the seven-colored bubbles.

Above, below, left, and right—there wasn't a single gap, only the relentless pressure of the encroaching seven-colored bubbles.

'What the hell is this? It's making me feel uneasy, panicked.' Rilis's physical body suddenly swelled, and the Soul Body within her spewed black smoke from her seven orifices, attempting to corrupt everything around it, including those bizarre seven-colored bubbles.

'Is she kidding? Who does she think I am?'

The corner of Wang Ya's mouth twitched as he watched, a strange look in his eyes.

It seemed this woman had realized there was a problem.

All he could say was that her actions were certainly brave.

Meanwhile, Kaze Antuun tore "Rilis" to shreds with his bare hands. His expression was exceptionally grim. He had been tricked—and by a mere Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

It was a disgrace, especially in front of an ally of the Antuun Clan. Kaze Antuun's face burned with shame. His keen Spiritual Power sensed two bursts of Particle Energy fluctuations.

One of the fluctuations was Wang Ya Harak's, which he recognized. It was already completely suppressing the other.

As expected, he had won.

Kaze Antuun took a deep breath. 'I've really lost face this time, letting Wang Ya Harak clean up my mess.'

But he had to face what he had to face. He reached up to adjust the Face of Residual Dreams on his face, shifting his state and turning his skin a bronze color.

That way, no one could read his expression.

.....

Kaze Antuun slowly flew back to the battlefield, only to find the fight was already over.

Residual Particle Energy radiation was spreading, but at such a high altitude, it wouldn't cause much pollution.

Wang Ya sat on his Flying Griffin, the Black Mask gone from his fair face. He wore a faint, subtle smile as he looked at Kaze Antuun.

The latter coughed. The Face of Residual Dreams maintained its deadpan expression as he met Wang Ya's gaze before returning to his own Flying Griffin with perfect nonchalance.

The two didn't exchange any words, acting as if the encounter with Rilis and the ensuing battle had never happened.

The Flying Griffins continued on toward the Dark Land, their Speed now considerably faster than before.

After all, this was the Land of Decay's sphere of influence. The Particle Energy fluctuations from an Extreme Wizard Apprentice would certainly attract attention. As long as the Land of Decay wasn't completely oblivious, they would send Wizards to investigate.

After causing such a commotion, it would be trouble if they got caught. They had to move fast.

Wang Ya idly toyed with the red metal ring on his finger, his pupils shimmering with fine, deep blue specks of light.

He had defeated Rilis and successfully killed her.

The Dark-colored Wizard's Robe and the unique, Blood-stained Cross Longsword she carried were now his spoils of war.

The results of his analysis of the Dark-colored Wizard's Robe were in.

[Target: Shadow Robe]

[Level: Level 1 Ascension Witchcraft Artifact (Special)]

[Details: The Shadow Robe possesses the abilities of Invisibility, Hidden Aura, Shadow State, and Entering the Shadow Gap. However, it has a significant limitation: it requires Special Particle Energy to perfectly utilize its internal Magic Core and activate its Extraordinary Abilities.]

[Note: Without Special Particle Energy, it can only perform its basic functions. The Magic Core will spontaneously absorb natural particle energy to stay charged, but the efficacy of all abilities will be drastically weakened.]

This robe likely belonged to an Official Wizard from the Natural Ring Tower, one who went by the title of Dark Bat.

Rilis had borrowed this special Witchcraft Artifact from the Dark Bat Wizard. However, without the unique Special Particle Energy created by him, she couldn't unleash the Shadow Robe's true power.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Wang Ya to detect her location with his Dream Sense.

If its Extraordinary Abilities were at the level of an Official Wizard, Wang Ya wasn't sure if even Harak would have been able to spot her.

Undeniably, it was a fine item.

It was probably the highest-Grade Extraordinary Item Wang Ya now owned.

Thinking of the Shadow Slayer Blade still in his pocket, Wang Ya decided that on this trip back to the Dark Land, besides calling for backup, he also needed to find the Divine Blood Wizard and use the opportunity to have a Witchcraft Artifact custom-made for him.

He was sorely in need of a suitable, personal Witchcraft Artifact.

The Power boost from an Extraordinary Witchcraft Artifact was immense.

Wizard Yi Si with the Witchcraft Cube was definitely far stronger than he would be without it.

The Heart of Illusion on his right hand had also provided a significant boost. Otherwise, his Dream Territory wouldn't have manifested so quickly during the fight with Rilis; it had been practically instantaneous.

[Target: Unknown Cross Longsword]

Wang Ya's expression turned serious. This was the item he was most curious about, the one that concerned him the most.

For some reason, the sight of this rusty, blood-stained Cross Longsword made him think of his own golden pocket watch.

[Level: ???]

[Details: .....]