Chapter 389: Arrogance

Night fell, everything was silent, only the stars shone through the high windows, casting indifferent clear light into the hidden private study.

The air was filled with the scent of ancient parchment and herbs, and a calm-faced middle-aged scholar sat comfortably in an armchair, his expression unprecedentedly focused.

In front of him, on a special leather paper treated with troll blood, mercury, and other alchemical materials, the ink flashing with magic light was moving slowly like a worm, arranging itself into rigorous and neat lines of text.

This was an encrypted magic letter.

And its recipient was one of the power-holders of this Great Sage Tower, the master to whom Mentor Moke was absolutely loyal—Professor Alistair Thorne.

The content of the letter was enough to shock anyone who knew the secret of the 178th Void, and Alistair was naturally no exception.

【To Professor Alistair Thorne:

Regarding the mistake of the 178th Void, the subordinate feels deeply guilty.

Due to my personal stupidity and incompetence, I failed to grasp the essence of your teachings, causing the experiment to suffer an irreversible failure, failing your trust and expectations. And I am infinitely grateful for your generosity, giving me this opportunity to make up for my mistakes.

Under Prince Kelin's generous promise, I had the honor to observe his subsequent research on the void. To be honest, the subordinate has to admit that Prince Kelin's theory on void interference does have its excellence, which really opened my eyes!

He saved this dying void with means that could be called artistic!

That was not any kind of magic or transcendent power, but a precise dissection of the context of civilization and the essence of the soul! Every step of his was like playing a grand symphony, turning the weaknesses of human nature and the roots of contradictions into the notes at his fingertips. I must admit, this insight is a terrifying power that we often ignore in the tower.

We might have underestimated him...

】

Seeing this, a sneer appeared at the corner of Alistair's mouth.

He knew very well that Moke raised the Prince so high in the report, not so much to remind himself not to underestimate this guy, but to dilute the responsibility for his own failure, while cautiously testing his own attitude.

However, as a chess piece, Moke's caution was qualified.

He really had to handle the relationship with this Prince carefully, especially recently, the school he advocated seemed to have a trend of "getting worse."

Some professors had begun to feel impatient with that grandstanding theory, thinking he should go to the Holy City Royal Academy of Arts to talk about these twists and turns.

Alistair didn't care about the harmless little schemes of the loser, but continued to look down with great interest.

In the second half of the report, Moke finally stopped repeating those humble words, but began to try to analyze the new world of the 178th Void, which had evolved for ninety-nine years, from the perspective of a scholar.

And this part of the content was exactly what Alistair cared about the most.

He still thought highly of Moke's academic ability.

【... Just as Prince Kelin judged, we have not truly separated from the 178th Void, and the people behind the void still harbor a trace of longing for our voices.

Through the acceleration behind the void, we successfully established a stable spiritual connection with a native named 'Jon' behind the void. And according to his description, we learned that since the death of the previous "God's Envoy" Kyle, the timeline inside the void has advanced ninety-nine years!

Ninety-nine years of time have completely changed the face of the entire void, if it weren't for the creatures active behind the void still being the appearance I am familiar with, I would almost suspect that this is another completely different world!

The Gray Men living on that land have completely ended the wasteland, and the material scarcity has ended with the rotation of the era, although it has been replaced by spiritual barrenness.

But even so, they still created miracles that could be called brilliant in the limited time. Even if it was just a hurried glance, I still saw a scene that shocked me incomparably!

Towering Mage Towers occupy the earth. What constructs them are materials I have never seen before. Not only that, their outer walls flash with colorful light, comparable to the light and shadow of high-level illusion magic!

If my speculation is correct, this should be a highly dense "Mage Tower Architectural Complex" that integrates illusion defense magic arrays!

Countless "horseless carriages" shuttle endlessly on the overpasses between the Mage Towers, their speed is extremely fast, even exceeding the wyverns and griffins we keep!

Besides that, according to the description of the new God's Envoy 'Jon,' a strange magic device called a "refrigerator" circulates in their civilization.

I speculate that this is another mineral similar to "magic crystal" discovered by the Gray Men after the disappearance of "Wraith Charcoal"!

If there are no accidents, it might become a new renewable specialty of the 178th Void after the disappearance of 'Wraith Charcoal'!

And the most incredible thing is that attached to this 'magic crystal' is a micro-void called an "advertisement." It is said that as long as a sentient being stares at this 'magic crystal' with the naked eye for more than thirty seconds, their consciousness will be briefly pulled into an independent void!

Unbelievable!

In their world, the void is actually a thing that can be attached to 'magic crystals' and can be observed and studied by everyone!

At present, we don't know how they did it, nor do we know if they can conversely observe the world we are in through this technology, but there is no doubt that these Gray Men are far ahead of us in material prosperity!

In addition, this "God's Envoy" 'Jon' chosen by Prince Kelin also mentioned concepts such as "company" and "bank loan" that we hadn't observed before. In their world, "company" is different from our world as just an operating unit, but a social organization that transcends guilds and noble fiefs, possessing absolute power to dominate individuals.

And "bank loan" is a harsh contract that allows individuals to advance wealth, but must be mortgaged with their future, and even their souls! When talking about this concept, the fear spiritual power ripple shown by that Gray Man individual exceeded Kyle's reaction when talking about predators!

This might be a highly reference-worthy insight for us.

Also, if you could persuade Prince Kelin to help us mine some "Wraith Refrigerators," I would really like to figure out what that thing is...】

】

"Hehe, truly stupid."

Seeing Moke's curiosity and obsession with the refrigerator, Alistair smiled faintly, a flash of disdain for a wise man in his eyes.

Although he didn't directly participate in the research of the 178th Void, just from the literal meaning and the context, he deduced the general concept of "refrigerator."

If Wraith Charcoal is a medium that attaches to the Gray Men's faith and desires, then this refrigerator is naturally a magic device that "can collect cold resentment"!

It is not difficult to analyze this conclusion, the key to the problem is what kind of magic device can actually collect the resentment component in spiritual power.

He heard that hell has similar technology, and he thinks this is also the reason why they can parse this information through the void lens.

The prerequisite for the existence of the void channel is "resonance," and information outside of cognition cannot trigger spiritual resonance, let alone be transmitted through the void.

Silently noting the important intelligence of "Wraith Refrigerator," Alistair's gaze continued to move down, falling on "company" and "bank loan."

Unlike Moke, who only knew a little, Alistair was no stranger to these concepts.

Although the Academy doesn't have this, it exists in the commercial systems of the Empire and most of its vassal states.

As a scholar who is good at playing with power, Alistair often deals with chambers of commerce and companies in the Luo De Kingdom, but he never thought that they could be combined into such an efficient and perfect exploitation mode.

A curve of genuine interest appeared at the corner of Alistair's mouth.

What a delicate enslavement this is!

Through clever rule design, it doesn't need swords, doesn't need chains, and doesn't even need supervisors. It only needs to make every soul believe that everything they do is for a "better tomorrow."

And as long as this tomorrow never arrives, this self-circulating and infinitely proliferating system can continue to expand!

"Ah... what a beautiful work, I even feel a bit reluctant to let that Prince break this wonderful tranquility." Alistair smiled and whispered to himself.

In front of the tightly organized company, the Thorne Society, maintained by economic and academic interests, is simply as crude as a child's sandcastle.

It turns out that power can be played like this!

For him personally, this is probably a void insight more valuable than that Wraith Refrigerator and the Gray Man research report.

With the mood of discovering treasure, Alistair read Moke's report to the end, and only put it back on the table after reading it twice.

His movements were very light, just like taking care of a fragile piece of art.

Moke's report was just a preliminary conclusion based on his hurried glance at the void, and a more detailed report on the 178th Void had to wait until the paper from the Kelin Tower came out to be seen.

Currently, Prince Kelin has let students start writing papers, and if optimistic, they should be able to see them before the All-Souls Festival at the end of the month.

And before that, perhaps they can unearth more interesting things...

Moke was full of optimism about this.

It can be seen that this God's Envoy named "Jon" seems to be much more reliable than the "Kyle" he chose before.

Alistair stood up slowly and walked to the window of the study.

Looking down at the Artisan Street and the snowfield that were still brightly lit in the middle of the night, his face was intertwined with admiration and jealousy, and it took a long time before he spat out a reluctant compliment.

"Genius..."

Even though he had a considerable prejudice against the nobles of the Empire, he still had to admit that this Prince Kelin was a true genius!

Just as Moke mentioned in the letter, this means of turning decay into magic had transcended simple transcendent power.

It is more like an art.

An art belonging to "gods" that plays with civilization and human hearts in the palm of one's hand.

If only such talent could be brought under his command!

Alistair couldn't help but feel this emotion in his heart more than once, but soon the admiration from the bottom of his heart was replaced by a trace of faint chill.

If the success of the 440th Void could be explained by coincidence, then the experimental reproduction of the 178th Void would undoubtedly let this Prince ascend to the true altar!

No one understands better than him how to develop void resources!

This achievement is not only enough for him and his school to stand firm in the Great Sage Tower, but will also attract countless Mages who crave truth to follow.

The name Kelin will become a rising star!

And the light of this star will inevitably occupy and squeeze the original positions of other stars!

Alistair's gaze fell on those high and low towers of the Academy, his eyes becoming complex and cold. As if what entered his eyes was no longer a hall of knowledge, but a steel forest of the jungle.

Just like the steel forest Moke saw in the void!

"Although the Academy's towers are very high," he muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "but actually... it's very crowded."

Especially the ecological niche under the spire!

The core power of the Academy is firmly held in the hands of the thirteen sages, and there are very few corners that the sages' will cannot penetrate.

And the "Thorne Society" he painstakingly managed for more than ten years is just a spider curled up in these shadows.

Now, someone has entered his territory, and doesn't seem to be satisfied with just passing by.

A sense of anxiety, choked by the survival crisis, crawled all over Alistair's body. And this was the first time he had felt such clear anxiety since becoming a diamond-level Mage!

Just when his soul was being burned by the nameless fire, a soft and strange voice suddenly rang from the depths of his soul.

"An interesting trouble."

The voice appeared without warning, scaring Alistair, and almost activating the defensive amulet on his body.

"Who?!"

Alistair turned around suddenly, his face, which was always calm and composed, showing shock for the first time.

His powerful spiritual power was like an invisible giant net, instantly sweeping through every corner and every inch of shadow in the study!

However—

No one was there.

There was no one in the study except himself, only the moonlight spilling in from the window, and a lonely shadow cast by the magic lamp on the table.

That voice seemed to be his illusion.

No—

This is definitely not an illusion!

Alistair extended his withered hand, gripped the magic wand he didn't know where he got, and his tense nerves were highly alert.

"When the rise of a genius inevitably covers the light of another genius, you were once an emerging scholar in the field of void research, but that was twenty years ago... Now you see the former self, what will you do? Is it to kill him, or... obey?"

That voice rang again, carrying a hint of playful laughter, as if it were watching a game that had nothing to do with it.

A layer of fine cold sweat oozed from Alistair's forehead.

He was sure that his study and spiritual world were shrouded by the top defensive magic arrays, and no existence could invade without alarming him.

Unless—

This intruder's strength was far above him, even surpassing the Great Sage sitting at the spire!

"Who exactly are you?"

Alistair lowered his voice and asked this sentence to the empty room. Although his voice tried to maintain composure, it was hard to hide a hint of trembling.

That mysterious whisper was silent for a moment.

Then, it gave an answer that made Alistair feel bone-chilling cold in an intimate and treacherous tone.

"I am you."

"..."

That intimate whisper like a lover was colder to Alistair than the most vicious curse.

His brain went blank for a moment, but the steel-like willpower tempered for decades still allowed him to quickly break away from the impact that was enough to make ordinary Mages mentally disordered.

"You are fooling me!"

Alistair's voice became sharp and shrill, the emotion of fear completely turned into anger, completely tearing apart his disguised elegance and composure.

His powerful spiritual power set off an invisible storm in the study, blowing the book pages to rustle.

However, the mysterious whisper was not affected at all, and instead carried a hint of laughter that seemed to be sighing.

"It is you, fooling yourself. You don't admit the fear in your heart, don't admit your jealousy of that 'genius,' and don't want to admit... that this innate arrogance is the truest you under the mask, why don't you accept yourself? This is not a bad thing."

"Get out of my head..."

Alistair growled threats, but the voice from the underworld just laughed lightly.

"I have always been outside, if you don't believe me, look at the mirror."

Mirror?

Alistair turned back suddenly, looking at the huge black sandalwood floor mirror on the wall of the study used for tidying up his appearance.

The next second, his pupils contracted suddenly, and the blood in his whole body seemed to freeze in an instant.

The mirror was as clean as new, clearly reflecting the scene in the study, and also reflecting his own face, which was slightly distorted by shock.

However, what was incredible was that right beside that "self" in the mirror, a gray mist that was constantly changing shape was floating quietly!

That gray mist seemed to have life, it gathered and dispersed from time to time, the surface constantly rolling, and countless twisted and painful faces could be vaguely seen flashing in it, as if they were making silent screams and wails.

It didn't reflect any light, but instead like a miniature black hole, greedily swallowing all the light around it, emitting chaotic and crazy emotions.

Alistair subconsciously turned his head to look at the real space beside him—there was nothing there.

But when he looked at the mirror again, that ominous gray mist still occupied the side of his reflection, just like a part of him!

A fear that completely subverted the cognition of reality tightly gripped his heart.

With his diamond-level magic attainments, he couldn't explain what this power was, or why it appeared here!

The only thing he could conclude was one thing, that this was not an illusion, nor a spiritual attack...

"What... exactly is this thing..."

Alistair's voice was dry, he instinctively raised his hand, and the pale blue source power radiance began to condense at his fingertips, trying to parse every inch of space in this study again.

He had to figure out what this weird gray mist was!

However, just as he was about to cast the spell, a clear and rhythmic sound of footsteps rang in the corridor outside the study.

Following that, there were three respectful and restrained knocks on the door.

"Professor... it's me, Skain, your most loyal servant." A young and humble voice came from outside the door.

Seeming to worry about the weight of his voice, he added a sentence after hesitating for a moment.

"I have some discoveries about 'Prince Kelin,' perhaps important enough to report to you... You told me before that any new clues should be reported to you at the first time."

Alistair was silent for a long time, dispersing the light at his fingertips.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart, and the corner of his eye flew to glance at that huge floor mirror.

The ominous gray mist in the mirror was still there.

It seemed to notice the visitor outside the door, rolling more violently, and countless twisted faces seemed to be showing a mocking and expectant smile at him across the mirror.

"The opportunity for verification has come... another me."

"Shut up..."

Alistair squeezed a sentence from between his teeth, then closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, all the shock on his face had disappeared, and he put on the mask that belonged to Professor Alistair again.

"Come in." He said in a steady voice without any emotional fluctuations.

The door opened automatically.

Skain walked in respectfully.

This young guy kept his head down from beginning to end, so as not to offend this moody professor with his gaze.

He walked quickly to the desk and reported quickly in concise and capable language.

"Professor, I noticed that Prince Kelin has been very close to a preparatory student named Ilana Octavia recently. Although there is no direct evidence to prove what kind of contact beyond friendship has occurred between them, that Prince seems to have a good impression of this lady, not only handing her many important tasks, but also providing her with a lot of academic help in private... to the point of causing jealousy in some people."

Alistair raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue with his eyes.

Skain paused and continued: "And what's more interesting is that this Miss Ilana seems to have fallen into quite a bit of trouble recently."

"A lady named Lastina, because of jealousy, is uniting her small group, preparing to teach Miss Ilana a lesson in the upcoming 'All-Souls Festival Labyrinth Trial'."

"Although you might not be interested in such boring little things, if we can help Prince Kelin solve this trouble at a critical moment, not only can we sell him a personal favor, but we can also win over Miss Ilana, who is closest to him..."

Skain's words stopped abruptly.

He was about to continue elaborating on the plan, but suddenly felt the professor's gaze like a real sharp needle, looking directly at him with an unprecedented sharpness, as if to pierce his soul on the spot!

Skain's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a chill down his spine instantly.

He only felt that his throat was held by a hand, unable to make a sound, and unable to squeeze in any air.

In front of a diamond-level powerhouse, a mere bronze-level apprentice was as tiny as an ant crawling under a spider web.

Just when Skain was about to feel suffocated, the pressure on him suddenly loosened.

Alistair spoke.

"Skain, did you... see anything beside me?"

His voice was a bit dry, like a corpse ghost in a labyrinth, making people shudder.

"Something?" Skain responded tremblingly, then looked up blankly, following the professor's gaze.

There was nothing beside the professor, only the ancient tapestry on the wall and the bookshelf on the side, as well as the mottled shadows cast by the moonlight over the curtains.

"Professor, I don't understand what you mean." Skain answered nervously, but his heart became more and more uneasy.

"Nothing."

Alistair withdrew his gaze, and the waves in his eyes calmed down in

He confirmed it.

Skain could not see the gray mist hovering beside him, nor could he hear the whispers from the void that seemed to come from another dimension.

Alistair pondered for a moment, as if the previous loss of composure had never occurred. He refocused his attention on the intelligence Skain had reported and gave a calm instruction.

"You observe him first; you may step in to do him a favor when necessary... but do not use my name, and do not do anything superfluous."

"If there is an opportunity, you can use it as a chance to get close to Kelin."

"Yes!"

Skain felt a sense of relief, his taut nerves finally relaxing.

He respectfully accepted the order and quickly exited the study that made him feel extremely oppressed, as if fleeing from the place.

The heavy door clicked shut, isolating the inside and outside into two different worlds.

The mask of calm on Alistair's face vanished instantly; he turned abruptly and stared fixedly at the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall.

"Interesting," his voice carried a hint of playfulness, "only I can see you."

The ominous gray mist in the mirror churned even more violently, as if enjoying his loss of composure and his growing interest.

"Of course."

That intimate yet eerie whisper sounded again, accompanied by a sinister laugh, "After all, I am a part of you; I grow deep within your soul."

"Stop playing god and acting like a ghost; who exactly are you?" Alistair said, enunciating each word, "I will ask you one last time."

Just before Alistair was about to completely lose his patience, the voice from the void finally gave its final answer.

"I am the arrogance in your heart."

"Or rather—your divinity."

Divinity?

The anger in Alistair's eyes froze the moment he heard the word, then transformed into utter bewilderment and shock.

"Divinity..."

He repeated the word in a low voice, as if savoring the sweetest honey in the world, and a morbid smile gradually spread across the crazed face in the mirror.

"That is truly interesting... do you mean to say that I am a god?"

"Yes, congratulations. Do you need me to present you with an award?" A mocking voice drifted from the twisted gray mist, making it impossible to tell if it was ridicule or praise.

Alistair suppressed his smile.

"No need, but I just want to know why me?"

He still harbored a trace of caution in his heart.

As a scholar who explored the void, he would not be foolish enough to believe whatever someone said.

And—

He suspected that the voice actually came from somewhere else, such as the void they had been staring into all along.

The gray mist let out a light chuckle.

As if it did not take his wariness to heart, it said in a casual tone.

"Actually... there is no special reason."

"You are not the best choice, and you were not the person I was looking for at the beginning."

"But, you can also be the one."

(End of chapter)