Chapter 531 - 215: Chaos, the Source of Everything

"The flaw in the Magic Rune was discovered by one of our Ghost Soul Wizards?"

"It was one of our Ghost Soul Wizards?"

Boras stood on the high-backed chair, his short skeletal body waving a black staff. The red Gemstone at its tip traced a crimson arc through the air as he looked at the other Wizards in the conference room, his jaw clacking open and shut.

He scanned the seated Wizards, all clad in the black robes of the Ghost Soul School. His staff swept over them one by one, finally stopping on a Witch at the other end of the conference table. "Anius, recount what happened one more time!"

"Yes, esteemed Boras Legend."

Anius stood and respectfully performed a Wizard’s salute to those around her. The robes she wore were stretched taut in two prominent arcs over her chest.

"Tonight, as arranged with Wizard Olifuna of the Spiritual Mystery School..."

After recounting the events of the gathering, she placed special emphasis on the mysterious Faceless Mage. He was wearing the Wizard Robe that represented their Ghost Soul School, and the Ghost Soul emblem on his chest was so conspicuous that it was still recognizable within the Nightmare Realm World.

The flaws in the Blink Rune were the focus of her report, so important that she replicated his every word and pause perfectly.

"CLACK CLACK... You all heard that, didn’t you? Faceless, a Great Mage from the Ghost Soul School, an expert in runology. And the very rune he used as an example just so happens to be a key research topic at every Research Center..."

Boras spread his short, crystalline bone arms. The grating of bone on bone as his mouth moved made a harsh sound, lending his tone an even greater gravity.

"Therefore, I want all of you—find him! We *must* find him!"

Just then, his partner, Anenep, raised a hand. "Shouldn’t our priority be to investigate all the Magic Runes within our school?"

"Of course, of course. That’s important too, but..."

Boras lowered his head slightly, the red glow in his eye sockets shifting as he looked at Anenep. "That is a matter for the major Research Centers! Whether it’s here, or the Feng Enliso, Tino Bayen, and Dalko Research Centers—or even those two forbidden sites—they will all have to test every single Magic Rune."

"However, finding that Faceless Great Wizard is also crucial! I am very concerned about the third rune flaw he mentioned—the one about spiritual concussion, about the loss of control caused by a failed casting—"

"Boras Legend, perhaps there are only two flaws..."

"Perhaps?"

Boras turned to the speaker, his two red points of light staring him down. "Wizard Kaylo Larna, you’re using such an ambiguous word to make a judgment about flaws in Magic Runes?"

"My apologies, that’s not what I meant. I just feel there might not be a third flaw." A young, disheveled-haired Wizard sitting in the middle of the conference table gave a wry smile.

"You *feel*? Kaylo Larna, you are the school’s youngest fifth-level researcher. Are the results of your research all based on your intuition?"

"Again, my sincerest apologies..." The young Wizard gave another wry smile and lowered his head, his dark green eyes flickering. He didn’t dare say anything more.

"Apologies? I don’t want your apologies, Kaylo!"

At this, Boras leaped onto the conference table, flailing his arms. "Our Ghost Soul School is built upon the foundation of three entire eras! If... hmm, what I mean is, if even our *legacy* runes possess such flaws, then the secrets likely involved... I don’t need to spell it out for you, do I?"

"So you suspect our Wizarding inheritance has been altered?" Anenep tapped his five bony fingers on the conference table in a steady rhythm, looking up at the raging Boras.

"No, not just us! I suspect *all* the schools!" Boras said slowly and firmly, his gaze sweeping over every Wizard.

"That can’t be possible, can it? If the Magic Rune inheritance of every Wizard School has been compromised... then..."

"Lord Boras Legend, it would be best to verify this before we..."

"How is that possible? To accomplish something like that and for it to only be discovered now... it would have required planning and infiltration starting a very, very long time ago..."

"Quiet!"

Hearing the chatter from these Wizards—all of them at least Advanced Great Mages—Boras abruptly raised his staff, shooting a gray beam of light that pierced the ceiling.

RUMBLE—

A moment later, the crimson light of a red moon streamed through the gaping hole, washing everyone’s faces in its glow.

"For now, this matter will be handled by the Intelligence Department. Director Amiditch, find any and all clues, no matter how small. I want to know when this problem began!"

"Understood, Lord Boras Legend!" the Werewolf at the end of the conference table replied, rising calmly to give a salute.

"Also, gather intelligence on the other schools’ activities, especially the Spiritual Mystery School and the Shadow School," Boras’s voice grew low. "If anyone is capable of something like this, it would be them. Of course..."

"That also includes us!"

As an Undead Mage who had been at the legendary level for many years, he knew perfectly well that the Blood Spirit and Mechanical Schools were more focused on self-modification. They rarely used Magic Runes, so it was highly unlikely they could have altered them.

’Or rather, they lack the ability...’

Therefore, only three schools—their own Ghost Soul, the Spiritual Mystery, and the Shadow—had the capability to alter the runic inheritance. Not even the gods...

’Those empty husks in the Divine Realm, bereft of their essence, don’t yet have the power to infiltrate the Wizard Schools!’

"I know what to do, Lord Boras Legend!" The Werewolf sat back down, his vertical pupils filled with gravity. ’Now is the time to test our Intelligence Department.’