The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 346 The Planeswalker (Seeking monthly votes!)

The book lay there quietly.

The exquisite relief, as beautiful as moonlight, seemed to exist on a different level from the rest of the world, endlessly cycling.

Weber felt that the atmosphere of the entire room was permeated by the slowly flowing, cold, silvery light.

The air seemed to become stagnant, as if blocked, but it did not feel heavy or sticky.

So--

Perhaps you'll discover more if you open it.

With a damp, fishy smell and the pain of exhaustion, he was almost lying on the ground, his aching arms reaching for the book cover, then stopping as if remembering something.

Her soft, bluish-gray hair was matted together with sweat, and she awkwardly brushed aside the strands that were obstructing her vision.

She pursed her lips, her voice still carrying a hint of nervousness.

"Rider... I'm going to open it again."

But unlike that somewhat rapid breathing, and unlike that physical tension—

At this moment, Webber Velvet undoubtedly had enough courage to bring it up himself.

……

Beside this gaunt figure, Iskandar's body resembled that of a robust calf.

He crouched close to Weber, and a rare hint of complexity appeared on his usually magnanimous face.

"Hey kid, you could actually take a break."

Iskandar gently patted his Master, his voice carrying a familiar, stubborn helplessness.

"After all, you cooked so much seafood into... well, energy boosters."

"It's being refined!"

The magician protested, annoyed that he was being mistaken for a chef.

But the Conqueror's interruption calmed his anxious heart.

"and--"

Weber's voice lowered.

"Only three bottles of the energy booster have been made. They should be used in critical moments."

On this day, both physical strength and magical power were on the verge of exhaustion.

At this moment, what pained Webber was that his fingers couldn't even clench to express his master's discontent.

Kenneth's past self-criticism echoed in his mind again.

Even Rider's recent mockery of his own physical abilities is an example.

Not only do I lack innate magical talent, but I also lack decent physical fitness.

These circumstances, no matter how you look at it, limit his ability to perform.

Just like when I almost failed to hypnotize two ordinary people before.

A somewhat disappointed look crossed his eyes as he stared at the three glass bottles of medicine on the table beside him.

Even when refining stamina potions, they can't make perfect use of the materials.

But this self-pity was quickly dispelled by the carefree voice from the side.

"So... you've already decided to join that alliance?"

For some reason, Weber could detect a somewhat complex emotion in Rider's voice.

The young magician carefully examined it in his mind, and he even sensed a faint sadness.

"This must be my imagination."

As Weber thought this, his peripheral vision involuntarily drifted to the burly man who had been burning with passion.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Iskandar turned his head.

When their eyes met, the victor was, of course, the king.

Weber, however, inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

The inexplicable guilt in his heart vanished in that pure and fervent expression of encouragement.

"After all, that force has already set its sights on me, hasn't it?"

Weber’s gaze returned to the Möbius strip symbol, and he simply answered Rider’s question.

"If this organization really insists on my joining, they'll come knocking on my door even after the Holy Grail War ends."

"Looking at it this way, maybe it's the right thing to do now, while Rider is still here, to find out their true colors."

Unlike in the past, Rider did not burst into his usual thunderous, hearty laughter at Webber's words.

They didn't ask as many questions with enthusiasm as before.

"Hmm, as expected of my master, it's good that you have such thoughts."

After that brief compliment, the air fell silent again.

Rider's unusual remarks made Webber feel very uncomfortable, as if he had done something wrong.

"And... moreover, the use of that spell last time was actually due to borrowing the magic power of the spellbook!"

Weber lowered his head, not wanting to see Rider's accusing gaze, which was directed at him for showing off.

"I haven't learned the [Detect Evil] spell at all. I drew it again when I was making the energy potion, but I still can't use it."

"Now that I think about it, it really makes sense."

"Such a large-scale spell, even if it is cast with the help of the earth's ley lines, should be powered by a magic furnace. Even if a magician like me with poor aptitude were to be drained of all his magic power, he still couldn't do it."

The magician shouted out in despair.

In Webber's view, having previously deceived a king like Rider, he shouldn't be worthy of regaining Rider's trust and appreciation.

"Let alone Hephaestus becoming a Rider, he'll probably be subjected to his angry rebuke soon."

The thought of being rejected again, and the fear of losing Rider's approval and friendship, made Webber's heart tremble with fear.

but--

Why would I voluntarily reveal this?

If this deception continues, or even if they use the excuse of not having enough magic, this clueless, burly man who knows nothing about magic probably won't notice.

Completely unaware that the conflicted expression on his face betrayed his true thoughts.

Weber even suddenly felt a pang of regret, wondering why he had suddenly "self-destructed" and laid everything bare.

Now, can I really still be with Rider as—

"Boom!"

A loud tap on the head interrupted Weber's reverie.

"Don't get discouraged at the beginning."

Iskandar sighed inwardly.

This dishonest guy is really giving me a headache.

"Didn't I say it before? The fact that my Master is being targeted by such an organization clearly means he is an extraordinary treasure!"

After saying that, Rider scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, and then added another sentence.

"Besides, I clearly mentioned before that I would interrupt you before you were misled. But now it seems that I also made a mistake."

This usually loud and clear-voiced spirit was now mumbling incoherently.

"After all, it's really too unfair to lure people in with a map that reveals the whole picture and the promise of changing their fate."

A bright, wide smile appeared above his red beard.

Weber unconsciously turned his head to the side.

"What?! To compare me to maps and stuff like that? I'm at least—"

"In short, Webber Velvet."

The Conqueror King's stern voice rang out.

He pronounced Webber's full name.

At this moment, Iskandar's face showed nothing but a serious expression, as if he were facing something indescribable.

This heroic spirit seems to be trying to confirm whether an existence called Waver Velvet has truly decided to take a completely different path.

"Are you really sure you want to join that so-called alliance?"

“Yes, otherwise it would be too late.” Weber nodded.

He thought Rider was going to say something about the important matter of deciding not to acknowledge him as Master.

"After all, once the magic power was exhausted in the morning, the familiars used to observe the Tohsaka family also lost contact."

"If we don't find a way to restore it as soon as possible, we might miss some very important intelligence."

Rider replied, "Reconnaissance and such, as the Rider in the mortal realm, I can also do that—"

"Enough with the nagging! As the Master, I should at least do something!"

The Conqueror King's words were interrupted by Weber in a fit of exasperation.

That's how things always are.

Whether it's reconnaissance, fighting the enemy, or even helping to transport supplies...

For a magician who participated in the Holy Grail War with the aim of "proving himself," the feeling of doing nothing was truly shameful for Waver.

This answer certainly surprised Rider.

He was taken aback at first, then burst into a strange laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha--!"

The young man in front of me seemed to be mixed up with a certain figure from my memory.

Rider's laughter was undoubtedly interpreted by Webber as mockery of his own abilities.

Feelings of shame and anger mixed together, he couldn't help but complain aloud.

"Damn it! I did this to... to help you save your magic!"

"Otherwise, it would be your turn to go there now—"

The Conqueror King placed his large hand on Waver's head and patted it, shattering Waver's complicated and awkward emotions like bubbles.

"Alright, alright, Webber, let's open it again and take a look. Anyway, it doesn't seem to be hostile to us."

The consideration and reflection on the future in his eyes disappeared after Weber made his decision.

"Anyway, it's the same as last time. If you really have any questions, I will interrupt you before that happens."

"Honestly... think about what happened last time you said that..."

Weber muttered.

Rider's words made him feel completely insecure.

But in any case, I certainly won't let go of that [Detect Evil] spell.

"Even if there really is a problem, I'm afraid I'll still fall into this trap in the future."

He pondered this in his heart.

Weber knew very well that this one magic trick alone was enough to make any magician unable to give up the possibility of continuing to study it.

"after all……"

He murmured, "This is the possibility of breaking free from the dependence on magical qualities and directly using the ley lines to cast spells."

This is also what Weber felt after thinking about it carefully today—

That faction claims to have found a completely new system of magic, which may not be entirely unfounded.

In Waver's mind, since the end of the Age of Gods, directly using magic from the "Great Source" has become an almost impossible thing.

Ultimately, the Magic Circuit is the organ responsible for transforming "life force" into "magic power".

If there is another source of magic, then this innate talent, or even attribute, becomes unimportant.

According to Waver, who frequents the Clock Tower library, this spellcasting method seems more like that of a divine magician—

Although the planet's atmosphere no longer contains abundant mana, it is possible to utilize the terrain in this way.

Therefore, it could even be said that the magician himself is a kind of "workshop".

Seeing Iskandar's strange expression, Weber's face showed a kind of ecstasy.

He was daydreaming again.

At that moment, Weber briefly imagined the end of this road.

Perhaps in the future, there will be a type of magician who will specifically try to intercept the earth's veins and create magical costumes to carry on their person.

They might even travel all over the world just to acquire more ley lines to use as a source of magic.

Webber had even come up with a name for this kind of magician—

They are called "Buddhist Practitioners".

Wait, something seems off...

Weber Velvet felt a sharp shock from the sudden delusions in his mind.

Shock struck him like a bolt of lightning, his eyes widening and pupils contracting.

The body, which had been lying limply on the ground like a slug, suddenly sprang up from the floor as if it had a spine.

"Eh--?!"

"Kid? Did something suddenly come to mind?" Rider's puzzled voice rang out.

But Weber couldn't care less about any of that at the moment.

A sharp, incredulous scream emanated from his throat:

"Severing a ley line?!?"

The contents of that note in the bottom right corner of that page from not long ago immediately came to mind—

Please do not lose these valuables.
Weber swallowed nervously.

His gaze, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, was fixed on the magic book lying on the ground.

Could it be that……

The reason this magic book can withstand such a huge consumption of magic power and can connect with the earth's ley lines is because it is actually an earth ley line itself!
After Weber shared his theory, Rider stroked his fiery beard and looked enlightened.

"Well, it's very likely."

"No matter what, the strength a single spirit origin can withstand is limited. Unless it's a spirit origin at the level of a god, it's impossible to plunder the ley lines like that—"

"No, perhaps even the spirit foundation of a god would be unable to accommodate it."

A loud clapping sound rang out.

Rider clapped his hands, and his large face turned towards the grimoire along with Waver's.

"I'm becoming increasingly curious about this power, after all, I remember before—"

Rider suddenly stopped talking.

"Anyway, kid, you should officially channel your magic into it and sign a contract with that power." Rider's words brought Waver back to his senses.

He nodded as if waking from a dream, reached out and picked up the magic book in front of him, and poured magic into it.

"Oh, I'll do it right away."

Now that things have come to this, I realize that I actually channeled magic and signed a contract back then.

I simply can't bring myself to say it anymore.

……

The feeling of magic flowing into the pages was completely different from what Weber had expected.

There was none of that feeling of being stripped of magic, almost to the point of exhaustion, that I had felt before.

It's a feeling that's impossible to describe in words.

It's not like when you first used [Detect Evil], where your consciousness and perspective were at a higher level, looking down from "the surface of the water".

More like—

Something seemed to have been elevated.

A chilling sensation, sharp enough to send shivers down one's spine, circulated through one's soul and spirit before finally settling peacefully within one's magical circuitry.

"It's like... it's like I've activated a magic circuit again..."

Weber was certain that this must be something related to the ley lines.

In fact, in his "perception," the thing in his hand was no longer a book, but some kind of treasure that seemed to have consciousness.

Is it... calling me?

Perhaps it was the illusion of trembling with excitement, or perhaps it was a genuine expression.

Like a treasure long covered in dust, finally awakened in the hands of its rightful owner, it is eager to shine with its due brilliance.

The grimoire trembled slightly in his hand.

Abundance —

At this moment, only this word can accurately describe Weber Velvet's feelings.

There's a reason why magicians who come into contact with the "Grimoire" immediately become detached from desires.

Even out of concern for intelligence leaks, Weber clearly did not directly connect to the TDD database at this moment.

But he still felt a sense of fulfillment.

The body is like returning to the womb, like merging with all things in the soup of the world, not being emptied but filled.

No magician who has experienced this kind of physical omnipotence would ever think of getting rid of it.

Weber then felt as if he had become the source of magic himself, like a full glass of water... overflowing.

That immense magic not only circulated between the book and him, but also seemed to infinitely dissipate from his "full" body.

In just a moment, the concentration of magic in the small bedroom soared to a terrifying level.

The air became thick and heavy, as if filled with invisible, shimmering dust.

The great source of magic called Mana is so dense that it can "condense" into tiny gem dust in the air, like mist!

Such a level of achievement is rare even in the Age of Gods.

It can only be felt in the lairs of powerful monsters or in the temples of gods.

At this moment, this mediocre magician even felt breathless because of it—

I could hardly breathe because of a kind of magical, intoxicating dizziness and suffocation.

It seemed as if something was about to be "reflected" onto Weber.

The colors of those imaginary numbers emerge within this surging torrent of magic—

The bedroom walls, the ceiling, the piles of clutter...

Everything began to blur, like the reflection of a stone thrown into water.

A series of layered geometric lines, shimmering with silver light, extend outwards from the magician as the center.

……

"Wow, wow, wow, this is really..."

Standing beside Weber, Iskandar let out a pure exclamation.

"What a grand display!"

It seemed as if the moment of being summoned had reappeared, and his tall, sturdy body was clearly illuminated by the sudden burst of light.

The red cloak moved automatically even without wind.

It was as if a dry riverbed had been suddenly blessed with rain, or as if a river had flowed naturally through a low-lying area.

In this almost terrifying magical environment, Rider discovered that his spirit origin was involuntarily and unusually active.

It greedily absorbed the almost endless surging magic power around it, letting the "dust" in the air crash into its body.

A long-lost, incredibly powerful sense of comfort flowed through my entire body.

But the changes are not so much physical.

Unlike poor Weber, who was happily "in a coma" in this environment.

One of the silver rays from the flowing ring "quietly" slipped to Rider's side and then "poked" him.

Rider glanced at the guy who was fast asleep.

Recalling what he had first seen when he opened that book in the library, he sighed with a sense of helplessness.

"It's really... how should I put it..."

"This kid is always so careless every time I see him. This time he really dragged me onto the pirate ship too."

Iskandar shook his head with a slight chuckle, but in the end, he reached out his hand towards the ray of light.

"Forget it, I'm just a fragment of a spirit anyway, so I'll just play along with his nonsense this once."

after all--

To conquer one's true destiny or something.

For a king whose name is synonymous with "conquest," just thinking about it makes one's blood boil...

My heart is pounding with excitement.

……

Just like Caster's betrayal.

At this moment, the [spirit] named Iskandar revealed its spirit origin without reservation.

Let that wisp of silver light slip in like a fish and then disappear.

However, this feeling of being controlled by others still made Iskandar frown.

"Tsk... Joining another faction for the first time is really unpleasant."

Hmph, it's time for this kid to take responsibility.

The scene just now, along with the three seconds of jumping, disappeared.

Feeling somewhat frustrated, Rider brought his mouth close to Webber's ear.

"Kid—! How long are you going to sleep?!"

……

Weber felt as if he had entered an incredibly magical, yet bizarre, dream.

In his dream, he saw countless versions of himself.

Most of them are taller and more composed than they are now, and even exude an aura of wisdom that comes from having experienced many vicissitudes.

Weber even had a feeling that it was like the wise demeanor of "Zhuge Liang" from the East.

This inexplicable association surprised even Weber himself.

It's strange, why would I think that way?

What's even stranger, or rather, what's subtly shocking, is—

These countless "Webers," each one of them is like...

They are all incredibly powerful, surpassing even the power of the universe.

Weber could "see" them traveling freely between universes using some kind of complex and incomprehensible magic.

Is that even the "outside of the world"?

The soul, which lies deep within the surface of the world, seems to reveal its distinct differences at a glance.

Weber "saw" that those versions of himself seemed to have built a city connecting the entire multiverse on the "outside of the world".

It was a magnificent city that stood tall in the chaotic void, beyond description.

Countless shimmering magical base plates and interwoven towering buildings form its foundation and framework, seemingly growing slowly in one direction.

Countless magic workshops, layered like a honeycomb, filled the gaps in those skeletons like flesh and blood.

Those windows shimmered with the glow of various kinds of magic and experimentation.

Various analyses and studies on "Roots" and "Magic," some even completely different from his understanding of the magic system, and many related to technology, are also common...

Countless "selves".

With varying expressions—joy, grief, indignation, or utter despair—they arrived in this miraculous city.

It harbors a steadfast purpose that transcends the "soul".

They then worked together, trying to use the city as a base to go somewhere or explore some results.

"Warning, warning! Detection of a [Waver Velvet] individual with emerging self-awareness!"

"Unauthorized access to the central database of Weber Velvet's Magic Castle has been detected through a deep connection between the [Soul] and the [Root]!"

The cold, efficient mechanical sounds echoed in a vast, seemingly boundless central hall.

Weber "saw" many versions of himself and immediately stopped what he was doing, running quickly toward the control panel-like device.

“Tracing the origins of the world's encoding, and reverse mapping this [spiritual] characteristic, the mapping is complete.”

“The source is the second branch, 7,321 parallel sectors.”

"Retrieving detailed branch information..."

Weber's consciousness only had time to capture these fragmented pieces of information.

The next second, he realized that he seemed to be surrounded by many versions of himself in a device that looked like a "frame".

Around the device, a dozen or so "selves" with serious expressions and scrutinizing and curious eyes had gathered around.

However, they hadn't had time to take any further action or make any further inquiries—

"Waver! I sense a fight breaking out at the Tohsaka family's place!"

As a message about the Holy Grail War appeared in his mind and above the frame in front of him.

"The Holy Grail War has begun!"

A sense of anxiety surfaced, and the next moment, Weber regained consciousness.

He looked up and saw that Rider seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.

"call--"

"I say, kid, you really startled me. I didn't expect such a big commotion."

Weber rubbed his head.

He felt as if he had just taken a long trip, no, a ten thousand long trips.

It's even a hundred times worse than the jet lag you feel after flying from London to Japan.

It felt as if I had been spinning in a washing machine for a very long time, trying to empty my mind of everything.

He asked somewhat groggily, "How is it?"

Rider was somewhat puzzled, so he repeated Weber's question.

"what's the situation?"

The physical strength and mental weakness gave Weber a feeling of nausea.

The once aggressive and defiant voices have now died.

Now on stage is——

A softer, more glutinous Webber.

"Is it the situation at the Tohsaka mansion?"

Weber patiently spoke up, "Didn't you say there was a problem, Rider?"

"Ah, actually, that was just to wake you up; I said it offhand."

Rider's words successfully "invigorated" Weber's somewhat dejected spirit.

"Rider! You—"

"In short, there seemed to be a powerful magical fluctuation just now. Quickly use that spell to see what exactly happened."

……

But neither Webber nor Rider were able to use that spell in the end.

Because they discovered something more important, or rather, something more interesting.

At this moment, two pairs of eyes stared at each other, wide-eyed at the contents of the magic book, which seemed to have completely changed.

Apart from the first page, which is a commemorative title page, the entire book has thirty-three pages.

When Weber turned to the second page.

He discovered that where the content page for the [Detect Evil] spell should have been was now a table of contents:
[CYZ Alliance Magic Book - Table of Contents]

Welcome to this magic book.

Please enter the magic value or interact using the CYZ effect value.

1. Personal Panel (Current Status and Personal Information)

2. Equipment/Wages/Supplies (Resources and Storage Page)
3. [Action and Defense Layers] Action/Research Missions... (Mission List and Research Progress)
4. [Logistics and Support Layer] Equipment Supply... (Equipment Exchange and Support Request)
> 5. [Research and Exploration Layer] Spell Acquisition, Research Exchange... (Currently only the [Magic Research Department] related regulations are available, with a list of purchasable spells attached)

> 6. Procedure records, pages 1-33 (procedure record area)
"This……"

Looking at the table of contents, Weber was momentarily speechless.

He glanced back at Rider with an uneasy expression—

It felt as if something within me had changed forever from that moment on.

And under the encouragement of the Conqueror King and the equally curious gaze.

As if it were an instinct already instilled in the body, the magic subconsciously touched that page of the [Personal Panel].

next moment--

Weber Velvet's eyes widened.

(End of this chapter)