Chapter 529 - 214: He Was Right

At that moment, in a room at the top of one of the high towers, thousands of meters in the air, dozens of old men clad in the uniform blue robes of the Spiritual Mystery School sat quietly at a round table.

"Baptiste, how much longer?"

One of the old Wizards—this one with a full head of white hair and wearing sunglasses—looked to his left. His eyes were bright as he asked calmly, "Does the Elemental Research Institute really take this long even for a simple verification experiment?"

"My apologies, Chief Ragnar. I’ll go and inquire again."

"There’s no need!"

The old Wizard—no, he was Ragnar Yasmani Blackmore, the Chief of the Spiritual Mystery School.

He swept his gaze over the other Wizards at the table and continued in a cold tone, "All this time, I haven’t involved myself in the school’s research institutes. I’ve rarely monitored your progress, nor your mastery of elemental knowledge or the art of divination."

"But it’s clear now that this was my negligence, my mistake!"

"Chief Lord Ragnar, we have yet to definitively confirm the authenticity of the defects related to that rune. Why don’t we wait a bit longer..." a middle-aged Wizard with short, mixed red-and-white hair sitting diagonally across from him couldn’t help but interject.

"Benno, Chief Ragnar must have his reasons for saying so. You..."

"Benno Blancard!"

Just then, a beautiful, fair-skinned Witch seated to Ragnar’s left glared coldly at the middle-aged Wizard. "You, of all people, should be well aware of the state of the school’s Research Center! Compared to the Ghost Mages, it’s not even close!"

"That’s right. Never mind that young fellow back in the Caster City State; the Wizard from this recent gathering in the Nightmare Realm was also a Ghost Mage..."

"I’m astonished that their research on Magic Runes has progressed this far. It makes me wonder just what topics our own Research Center is working on all day."

"Wizard Benno, stop trying to make excuses for the Research Center. The fact is, we’ve fallen behind..."

"Enough," Ragnar raised his hand, interrupting. "The facts are right in front of us. Just as Charles said, judging by the recent performance of the Ghost Mages across the continents, they are ahead of us—at least when it comes to runology!"

"And that is what I find most heartbreaking!"

"We all know that for several eras, those bags of bones from the Ghost Mages—aside from their own specialty, the necromantic system—have built all their other systems by plundering, plagiarizing, and imitating the various schools through despicable means..."

"And we’re talking about Magic Runes! The very Magic Runes that were systematized and innovated by the founder of our Spiritual Mystery School, the Wizard Heiyalmar Delisi! They are the foundation of all Magic!"

"But today, a Wizard has emerged from that band of thieves, the Ghost Mages, who can surpass our school in runology—is this not enough of a wake-up call for all of you?"

As he spoke, a pained expression appeared on Ragnar’s face. His gaze swept coldly over every Wizard before finally landing on the middle-aged Wizard who had tried to argue. His tone became even harsher as he asked, "Wizard Benno, do you believe the Blink Rune has flaws?"

"I..." The middle-aged Wizard was speechless. The truth was, for Wizards of their legendary renown, there were countless ways to verify such a claim. He knew perfectly well that the Blink Rune truly possessed those two flaws.

"You know the truth. All of you know the truth," Ragnar’s gaze betrayed a flicker of disappointment. "And I am even more certain of it. The flaws in the Blink Rune are exactly as that Ghost Mage claimed. Both of them exist!"

"Chief,"

At this point, an old, black-haired Wizard sitting to his right, his face deeply wrinkled and his voice hoarse as if from exhaustion, looked at Ragnar and said, "Although you are correct, the school’s Research Center still has its merits."

"Oh? For instance?" Ragnar glanced sideways at him.

"For example, regarding the crimson moon..."

"Two days ago, the Ghost Mages published their latest research on the crimson moon’s radiance. They announced that its corruption intensity has increased by one percent over the past century. What are our latest findings?"

"Well... We also have research findings in runology that clarify the conditions required for a Mutated Mage’s further advancement..."

"Mutated Mages?" The sagging skin on Ragnar’s face seemed to gather shadows. "Vice Chairman Ducaquis, are you suggesting that the Spiritual Mystery School’s elemental Wizards should focus on the path of mutation?"

"Of course not..."

"Let me tell you, the path of mutation is a single-plank bridge! For any one type of corrupted Extraordinary trait, only one Wizard can reach the end. All others will become his food!"

The corners of Ragnar’s mouth curved up into a smile, but his eyes were murderously cold. "In that case, do you still think research into the mutation system is such a great achievement?"

"No," Ducaquis’s expression changed slightly. He glanced at the others, then lowered his head in silence for a few seconds before speaking. "Then, Chief Ragnar, what you mean is..."

"I simply wish for all of you to be more focused! Stop putting all the attention on yourselves while neglecting to train the next generation!"

Seeing the man’s dejected tone, Ragnar snorted. "Even if our students can’t reach the level of that Wizard, Wei’en Loft, we must at least remain competitive. Or..."

"Do you want to experience the tragedy of the Fourth Era all over again in this Divine Prohibition Era? To have those bags of bones from the Ghost Mages beat down our doors again, forcing us to hand over more of our Era Relics?"

"Absolutely not!" the Witch to his left said coldly. "If that day ever comes, I will personally blast any invader to smithereens!"

"Vice Chairman Rosa, this is just a precautionary..."

Ragnar had to cut in to steer her away from that line of thought. "I trust you all understand what I’m saying. For the foreseeable future, you will focus your efforts on restructuring the Research Center, while also ensuring the proper training of our younger Wizards..."