The wizard era begins with the alchemist wizard

Chapter 997 Ashes to dust, dust to dust

Although Richard only speculated about the methods for advancing to level eight and a half, the Titan King's observation of the advancement data of civilization devourers made up for this.

With this data, Richard has a 70% chance of being promoted and a 10% chance of stabilizing his position after the promotion—the difficulty in advancing to level eight and a half lies in stabilization, not in reaching that level.

The Titan King achieved ascension solely through the deductions of the Supreme Being, but even after ascension, he didn't know how to maintain stability at that stage.

But now, Richard had some confidence.

"Lord of the community?" Rakkat, the leader of the Bewitching Ones, asked first, "What do you need us to do?"

At this critical juncture, it would be foolish to concern ourselves with personal gains or losses. If we don't help Richard succeed, the entire Wizarding League will be destroyed.

Richard solemnly declared, “I need your civilization’s most precious treasures, I need your civilization’s dimensions to acknowledge me as king. I need all dimensions to unite as one, I need the era of lone wolves to become history, and this world community to be unified—a civilization of alliances.”

Fragmented civilization dimensions cannot sustain a community leader. Richard needs a sufficiently large civilization dimension to bring about a qualitative change in civilization, and he also needs a sufficiently large civilization dimension to provide him with the dimensional power required for advancement.

If Richard wants to be promoted, he needs to cultivate a large-scale cellular dimension within himself, and use this large-scale cellular dimension as the core to connect all other cellular dimensions together, thereby forming a community-like dimensional structure.

This requires a massive amount of dimensional power.

Even a civilization like the Wizarding Civilization would need to empty an entire dimension... and it might not even be enough.

Expanding the cellular dimension requires dimensional power, connecting dimensions also requires dimensional power, and in addition, it requires a massive amount of dimensional power as its foundation.

These things are not enough for one civilization.

Richard's words shocked the leaders of other civilizations, and even the Great World Tree was astonished by Richard's ideas.

"You intend to make the Wizard Alliance a true civilization?" Wild Wind's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

To be honest, the name Wizarding Alliance already reveals the nature of this alliance. Now that Richard wants to make Wizarding Alliance a true civilization, it is basically a declaration of his intention to annex them.

Only Richard could say such a thing, because the leaders of the civilizations present had all dealt with Richard before, and they knew that this wizard was not very interested in things like power and territory.

If it were the Energizing Corona or the Alchemist Corona saying this, the Alliance would still split up, even with the threat of the Civilization Devourers.

“Yes, this is a civilization in the truest sense. I know you have many concerns, but I can make a vow here that the future governor of the Wizarding Alliance will be replaced every ten thousand years, and any civilization or race can become the governor of the Alliance.”

Richard's voice was extremely solemn; he knew that the longer the alliance issue dragged on, the more difficult it would become.

He must take an immediate stance to quell the doubts of the other leaders.

"How do you get elected?" Sha Mantian suddenly asked.

"You can vote or take turns serving. It's up to you all."

The leaders looked at each other, and finally the Great World Tree spoke up: "Let's have a rotation, otherwise none of us, Lingmo, or even the gods, will be able to be elected."

Richard looked toward Rakkal and Wildwind, two leaders with a close relationship, who were exchanging views.

Finally, they all said at the same time, "It's a rotating shift."

They also worried that Richard would deliberately suppress other civilizations after defeating the civilization devourers.

"In that case, let's draw up a contract."

Richard tore a piece of skin from his own body, wrote the contents of the contract on it with his blood, and signed his name.

He then wrote the message again in Abyssal script and signed his name once more.

Upon reaching the Great World Tree, they wrote the contents on it in the official language of the Natural Federation and signed their names—a gesture of acknowledgment that civilization was aware of everything and agreed to the contents of the contract.

Following that, the Cursed Demon King Wild Wind and the Eye Demon Leader Lakat also left their respective civilization's writing on the contract.

They don't need a fate contract, because they already have one.

They only need to make a statement, and the dimensions of civilization will merge on their own.

The dimension is the ship, and the leader is the captain.

The captain decides where the ship goes.

In the end, only the Divine Civilization and the Spirit Desert Civilization were left with some problems. Sha Mantian was not a civilization leader, or rather, not entirely a civilization leader, while the Divine Civilization only produced dimensional treasures, but its leader had not yet appeared.

“The matter of Lingmo can be put on hold for now,” Richard said. “The Lingmo civilization is on the verge of collapse. Whether or not we integrate, it doesn’t really matter. We can discuss joining the alliance later.”

But the gods…

"I'll sign it."

The Treasure of Civilization, Twilight, suddenly spoke.

"You? Can you replace the leader?" A hint of surprise flashed across Richard's face. "Can a dimensional will replace a leader?"

Twilight, or rather, the embodiment of the divine dimensional will, calmly said, "He is incapable of making a decision at this moment, so I am."

"Then sign it."

Twilight wrote the contract in the script of the gods and signed his name.

As dusk fell and the contract was signed, the dimensional entanglement, resembling a hemp rope, began to tremble in the endless dimensions.

The six dimensions of civilization began to melt, eventually merging into a single, vibrant, multicolored dimension. Then, Richard descended upon this newborn dimension, instantly transforming it from vibrant colors into the gray hues symbolizing the wizarding dimension.

The dimensional avatar appeared as a guardian, holding a contract already written, lacking only a name.

"Your Excellency Richard, are you ready?" the Keeper of Secrets asked.

Richard said softly, "I've been prepared for this for a long time."

"Very well, then you shall usher in the era of wizards."

The dimensional avatar presented the contract, and Richard signed his name on it.

The next moment, the vast Alliance dimension instantly linked with Richard, and a tidal wave of dimensional power continuously poured into his body. Under this infusion of dimensional power, Richard's cellular dimensions began to grow at an astonishing rate.

At the same time, the dimensional fluctuations also reached the interior of the civilization. All the world lords who remained behind noticed the dimensional fusion.

"This is?"

Ellie looked at the sky, her face filled with utter shock.

She could sense that the wizard dimension had suddenly disappeared for a moment, and then become several times stronger.

The next moment, she heard Richard's voice, which she hadn't heard for twenty years.

"Ellie, go prepare the men and equipment. The rest of the battle depends on them."

"People? Who?"

"Anyone will do—wizards, Titans, abyssal demons…any major race within the Alliance is acceptable. Remember, prepare infants. Also, prepare a group of researchers and inform them that they will be conducting a closed-door experiment that will last until the end of their lives."

This is not mandatory; it's voluntary.

In addition, when organizing, remember to prepare teachers and teaching materials...

Ellie was a little dizzy from Richard's series of requests. These things were not difficult to prepare, but she was a little confused about what the purpose of preparing them was.

"Only this?"

"That's all. Also... Project Firestarter is starting, and you're the leader."

"What?!" Ellie's voice suddenly turned shrill. "Have someone else do this!"
If you die, I will never live on! Never!

"...If you're unwilling, then let the Mithril Hand do it. Hurry up and prepare what I need."

Richard did not try to persuade Ellie; they were all old wizards, and their words were decisions made after careful consideration.

Since Ellie is unwilling, he will not force her.

Moreover, the Spark Project requires a willing and rational individual, and Ellie's attitude does not meet the requirements of the project.

Endless dimensions.

Li looked at the massive storm before him and once again unleashed his true form to enter it.

He needs dimensional power, the more the better. Although the Wizard Alliance has provided a lot of dimensional infusion, this dimensional storm will give him no less dimensional power.

A raging dimensional storm enveloped Richard's body, and under the transformation of the cellular dimensional barrier, these dimensional storms began to transform into dimensional power and continuously flow into his body.

With the infusion of dimensional power, the main dimension that Richard cultivated began to expand continuously, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would become the Great World within a year.

During the process of devouring the dimensional storm, the dimensional nematodes that caused the dimensional storm were also attracted to Richard.

These dimensional pests approached silently along with the dimensional storm, but Richard did not prevent them from entering the cellular dimension.

According to the Wizarding Alliance's data, they were delayed for twenty years in that time-space storm. If nothing unexpected happens, he should have twenty years to complete his advancement.

However, no one knows how long the promotion will take.

Therefore, Richard needed to take a risky approach, using dimensional nematodes to connect numerous cellular dimensions.

This was a dangerous move, so Richard prepared ample ether and an army to hunt down the out-of-control nematodes.

Time is like running water.

In the first year after the birth of the Wizard Alliance civilization, Richard completed the construction of the main dimension world. At the same time, the colonization team prepared by Ellie also began to enter Richard's main dimension.

This was Richard's backup plan.

Three years after the birth of the Alliance civilization, Richard used dimensional nematodes to complete the dimensional connection, linking all the cellular dimensions together.

With the help of a portal and a proper path, an organism within a cellular dimension can enter any other cellular dimension.

The moment the connection was completed, Richard sensed the boundary.

If he takes just one more step, he will enter a completely new social class.

In the midst of the dimensional storm, Richard took one last look in the direction of the Wizarding World. He whispered to himself, "Let's end this."

He took out from his pocket the Civilization Treasures of the Wizard Alliance, the Wizard's Book of All Laws, the Thorn Crown of the Cursed Demon, Ragnarok, the Eye Demon's Scepter of Truth, the Federation Chains of the Natural Federation, and the Civilization Treasures of the Abyss Civilization—the Abyss Authority System.

Yes, the Abyss Civilization's dimensional treasure is none other than the Abyss Authority System, which controls all Abyss creatures.

These treasures of civilization floated around Richard, and then a massive array, large enough to encompass an entire world, unfolded.

The six treasures of civilization slowly merged into Richard's body, and the rules of the six civilizations blended within him.

The invisible boundary also dissolved.

It has been 20 years and one day since the League was founded.

In the void, monitoring airships from the Wizarding Alliance conduct their daily surveillance work. Their main task is to observe the advancement of the civilization devourers.

Of course, this is just for comfort.

If the Civilization Devourer successfully advances, no creature in the entire Wizarding Alliance will be able to stop it.

Information from these surveillance airships might reach the Wizarding Alliance even slower than the civilization devourers. "Locke, how's the situation?" The white-robed wizard walked to his beholder colleague, holding the Alliance's latest trendy drink—a coffee-colored, sparkling, sweet beverage.

In this empty void, only sweetness and the news of getting off work can warm people's hearts.

“Everything is normal,” Locke replied softly.

His large eyes gazed silently at the solidified void before him. In fact, time in this void was not completely solidified; it was just that the flow of time was extremely slow.

That's why they were able to observe what the interior of spacetime looked like.

If time were to stand still, this spacetime would be completely dark, and nothing would be visible.

Of course, it's not much different now.

The wizard approached him, gazing at the stagnant spacetime in the distance, and said softly, "Twenty years have passed, and the Alliance's release date has arrived. But this thing looks exactly the same as it did fifteen years ago."

“Yes. Nothing’s changed,” Locke replied casually. “This is the best-case scenario; if it had changed, that would have been the worst…”

Locke stopped speaking before he could finish.

Because it saw that this stagnant spacetime, which had remained unchanged for twenty years, suddenly moved.

……

Boom!Boom!Boom!
At a point that no one expected, the somber tolling of the bell, signifying the fall of the ruler, suddenly rang out.

The bell tolled continuously, as if it were stuck.

The tolling of the bell signifies only one thing: the civilization devourers have returned.

In the endless dimensions, the civilization devourers slowly and methodically swallowed the dominion before them, bite by bite.

Although He became an eighth-and-a-half-level being through the machinations of the previous generation's civilization's devourers, His foundation was still insufficient.

He needs to devour some civilizations to gain resources.

The rulers trapped in the stagnant deep space were naturally the best choice.

Faced with absolute power, even a leader cannot resist the attack of a civilization devourer.

Moreover, to be more efficient, He opened dimensional gates while consuming the Overlord. The familiar Hearthman fleet reappeared; they would spread contamination for the Civilization Devourer, accumulating resources for this behemoth.

The Wizarding Alliance can fight against the Legion, but war itself is the food of civilization devourers.

War has once again engulfed this world community...

"I think this war should end."

In the endless void, the civilization devourers, who were feasting, suddenly stopped eating.

Before him, a figure in black robes was silently watching him. He sensed an aura emanating from this figure, aura identical to his own.

Richard.

The civilization devourer recognized Richard.

I can leave.

This community is yours now.

The civilization devourer is the purest form of evolution; though greedy, it possesses just as much rationality as greed.

Since Richard has advanced to the level eight and a half, it is obviously not worth fighting him.

In the astral plane, world clusters are like grains of sand; He can simply find another one.

“But I disagree,” Richard replied softly.

"You have devoured so many people, devoured so many lives, devoured so many civilizations."

I don't agree with simply leaving like this.

【Then let's fight to the death.】

In an instant, time and space froze.

Two beings who had surpassed the realm of the Overlord simultaneously entered a state of suspended time and space. Without reaching this level, one couldn't even spectate.

As Richard looked at the civilization devourer, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

It was both mockery and confidence.

"You've already lost."

I don't think so.

The civilization devourer shifted its form, its tentacles, as large as stars, surging towards Richard like a raging dragon.

On these tentacles, countless faces wailed loudly.

After becoming a level 8.5 being, the pollution from these wailing cries was enough to corrupt even the soul of the Overlord.

But Richard simply swung his fist, and the tentacle turned into minced meat.

After his advancement, Richard's power underwent a qualitative leap. The total area of ​​his cellular dimensions was now equivalent to ten Great Worlds, meaning that each of Richard's attacks was equivalent to ten Great Worlds colliding simultaneously.

This force is so immense that it could shatter a great world.

And this is just the simplest punch.

"I suddenly realized why the Titan King, who was just promoted to the rank of lord, was able to knock you, who had been promoted to the rank of lord for many years, down from your level."

Richard looked at the civilization devourer and said softly, "Because the easiest creatures to survive in this world... are insects."

……

"Huh? Is that all?"

In the room with the fireplace burning, young children surrounded the wizard on the chaise lounge, their faces full of curiosity.

"Was that monster so easily crushed by Grandpa Governor?"

The black-robed wizard surrounded by them smiled.

"I don't know. After all, their war takes place in a frozen spacetime, which is just a matter of a moment for us."

However, if you study hard and get into a top university in the Alliance, you might be able to ask him about it in person someday.

"I'm sure I'll get into the Alliance University. When I see Grandpa Governor, I'll definitely come back and complete your story."

The black-robed wizard patted the child who had spoken, his face showing only a kind smile.

"Okay, okay. I'll wait for you to come back and finish the story for me."

"It's time to eat, little ones."

A voice came from the next room, and then a tall woman with light blonde hair walked in.

"Today's dish is stewed beef. Don't fight over it; there's enough for everyone."

Upon hearing this, the children cheered and then said in unison, "Yes, Grandma Ellie."

The children dispersed, and Ellie approached the black-robed wizard with a mocking smile on her face.

"How many times have you told this story? Do you feel so accomplished telling these kids about your past?"

“More than that,” Richard said, shrugging. “Just looking at them gives me a huge sense of accomplishment.”

Richard opened his arms, and Ellie immediately lay down inside.

"So how did you win back then? There's no record of it in the league's documents."

“Well…” Richard smiled, “I was able to win mainly because of you.”

"I?"

"Yes. As for the rest... use your wisdom to explore. As a wizard, you must make good use of your brain."

"Tch, you're just keeping me in suspense." Ellie pulled away from Richard's embrace. "I'm going to feed the kids."

"Go ahead. Remember to save me a portion, just beef, no potatoes."

"Have some shame, Richard, taking meat from a child."

"Hahaha."

As Richard watched Ellie leave, his thoughts drifted back to that battle.

"Sigh, I've made it so obvious, how come you still can't guess?"

Richard's cellular dimension is not entirely illusory; the four-elemental environment within it is entirely real. This means that it possesses the conditions necessary for the birth of a civilization.

Richard wasn't sure how long his battle with the civilization devourers could last, but he was certain that he couldn't gain dimensional power by fighting in a time-stagnant environment.

In other words, this battle is purely a contest of strength and experience.

The palm-sized demon kingdom, capable of intercepting dimensional power, naturally possesses absolute strength.

The colonization team that Ellie originally prepared was for the Palm of the Demon Kingdom.

Richard shook his head and casually picked up his information armor. Information from various parts of the Wizarding Alliance flowed continuously across the armor.

A major breakthrough in global seed technology makes planting crops worldwide a reality.

[The latest witchcraft from the School of Miracles, the Great Wish Spell, will grant you all your desires.]

News has come from the pioneers: a new member of the Wizarding Alliance.

……

"Full of vitality, all things are thriving."

Richard casually closed the information and his figure immediately appeared in the conference hall of the Alliance dimension.

All the Alliance's rulers were already in place around the round table in the hall.

Second generation of the Power-Shaping Crown, second generation of the Soul Crown, second generation of the Undead Crown, first generation of the Divine Kingdom Crown, second generation of the Underworld Ruler, second generation... Richard's ascension was a little late, so a considerable number of rulers were devoured.

Wuni survived only because he was too far from the civilization devourers and too weak.

Looking at the assembled rulers, a helpless smile appeared on his face.

"Ugh, meetings are such a nuisance."

I hereby declare the Wizarding Alliance's Thirty-Second Alliance Meeting of the Wizarding Era officially open.

(End of this chapter)