My setting is above yours!

Chapter 4 Disciplinary Inspection
"How on earth did you do that?"

The old magician, who was staring intently at Ron, frowned, not understanding how Ron had managed to block his grand magic trick.

He was just an ordinary person...

Could it be because of the ban on classical texts?

He discovered a way of using it that the church had never been able to find before.

The old magician was filled with doubt, but Ron ignored him, focusing instead on the Dimensional Update Manual—

[Setting: Ignorant Servant] has been loaded.

The next moment, he felt a chill seep into his body, flowing silently through him like water.

Looking at the grotesque corpse that was baring its fangs at him, Ron felt a strange sensation welling up inside him...

Unlike the previous ability that relied on [Illusion Dissolve] to smash the corpse shell with one punch, this [Ignorant Servant] is not a passive ability that lacks any real feeling.

Instead, it granted him a special, extraordinary power that he could wield with ease—

Just like awakening a mind-based superpower, the corpse in front of Ron became "telepathically connected" with him the moment he activated [Minister of Ignorance]!
Suppressing the smirk on his lips, Ron savored this unique, extraordinary feeling.

Is this... what it feels like to have superpowers?

—It was something he had strived for over a decade, trying his best to awaken, but he could never obtain it no matter what he asked for.

Right now, it's in the palm of your hand.

Now, with just a thought, the corpse will instantly turn around and tear its original master to shreds—

Simply because it is obligated to obey.

"..."

For some reason, but in just a moment, the old magician suddenly sensed that Ron had changed.

Cold, lonely... and the indifference of death.

It was as if this high school student, who didn't even have superpowers, had suddenly become a veteran necromancer, with the magic of death permeating his very bones!
It doesn't even look like a human anymore; it's more like a corpse transformed by a ritual!
What kind of trick is this now...?

The old magician grew wary and, without hesitation, stroked the emerald ring on his hand, preparing to once again activate the forbidden creature he had summoned, but...

The body shell is gone.

He rubbed his eyes, looking incredulously at Ron, who stood there smiling...

The body that was supposed to pounce on Ron's corpse as he commanded had vanished into thin air!

What about me, such a forbidden creature?

At that moment, Ron pointed behind him and whispered:
"Look behind you?"

later?

The old magician instinctively turned around, only to be pinned to the ground by withered claws. All he could see was a gigantic mouth full of black, yellow, and rotten teeth, and a green light shining from the throat of the corpse...

This corpse is clearly completely under Ron's control!

It was clearly a corpse he summoned using a ritual, and a contract he inscribed...

But why is it that in the end, it's me who's pinned down by the corpse's claws?!
He tried to escape, but was held down firmly by the sharp claws of the corpse, becoming nothing more than fish on a chopping board.

Finally, he could only look at Ron in despair, his voice hoarse with rage:
"You...you can't be someone without abilities! Nor can you be someone with superpowers!"
"Who exactly are you?!"

"Just an ordinary high school student passing by?" Ron casually dusted off the corner of his clothes and chuckled.
"Who knows?"

"you……"

The old magician wanted to say something more, but the husk's claws had already crushed his shoulder and scratched his face, instantly tearing half of his face apart.

"Do not!!!"

He cried out in pain, but the next second, a shrill, decaying stench swept over him, piercing his head in an instant, splashing out red, white, yellow, and green...

ended.

Ron let out a soft breath.

The old magician's frail and decaying body was powerless to resist the cleansing power of death, and in the blink of an eye, it went through decay, rot, and decay...

The screams abruptly ceased, and the hunched old magician transformed into a withered, rotting corpse in a matter of seconds, as if he had been dead for a long time.

But Ron was in no hurry. He continued to command the husk to exert its power, releasing life-consuming shrieks at the already dead corpse.

The allure of death leaves its mark on corpses in countless ways: flesh, hair, bones...

Everything decayed in the shimmering green light, turning into gray dust.

Even at this point, Ron still hadn't stopped.

Until the carcass's claws broke off, its fangs fell out, and the magic that sustained it was completely exhausted, it turned into a puddle of white ash along with the old magician's corpse, and gently scattered with the wind...

The noise and commotion of the surrounding residents could be heard from the narrow alley, the air conditioner outdoor unit was humming, and the condensate was still dripping, as if nothing had changed from before.

Business as usual.

"clatter."

Only then did Ron, holding the spellbook, move his feet and leisurely walk towards the thin pool of white ash—

Pick up the emerald ring that had fallen on the pile of ashes, shimmering with an alluring light.

He examined the ring, lost in thought.

This... is the medium for summoning the husk?

The old magician used this ring to control the corpse... Could it be some kind of magical item?
Something seems off...

Although the old magician had demonstrated these powers based on "mystery," Ron did not consider them "magic."

As explained in the manual's description, the era in which Ideal City exists is an era that completely dismantles fantasy.

All the mysteries of the Potions era should have been completely erased in this era; there shouldn't be any superhuman beings like the Old Magician who control mysteries...

But this did summon a husk... Hmm, I need to test it out.

Ron pondered for a moment, then opened the Dimensional Update Manual and switched to [Embers of the Age of Gods].

[The setting: Embers of the Age of Gods is facing resistance from the "Anti-Mystic Equation."]

[Performance impairment: 1%]

A chill immediately surged from his heart throughout his body, his vision blurred for a moment, and then brighter colors appeared.

Based on the settings, Ron activated his magical vision and looked at the emerald ring in his hand—

He couldn't see even a trace of the shimmering magic light above.

As expected... this wasn't a magical item at all!
Ron uninstalled [Embers of the Gods] and carefully examined the area before finally finding a groove inside the ring.

That's a neural interface!

The old magician had actually modified his finger with a prosthetic to keep the ring in place.

It's hard to imagine that someone who looks like an old wizard from a story would actually use technological means...

What kind of neural access device could this little thing that looks like a magical object be?
Ron looked at the ring with some curiosity, pondered for a moment, and then opened his personal brain-computer interface and pulled out a data cable.

Since it was a clean item that the old magician used personally, Ron wasn't worried about any viruses in the ring and directly connected it to his brain-computer interface.

[Integrating identity authentication, detecting user...]

A message popped up on the brain-computer interface, and Ron's heart tightened, only to find that a green light had lit up on the interface:

[Necromantic power detected. Welcome, Master Karen.]

The old magician actually used "necromantic magic" as a password for identity verification?
Fortunately, I have the magic from [Ignorant Servant]...

But if it can be used as a password, wouldn't that prove that necromancy is also extremely rare for magicians? However, why would a technologically advanced device, clearly connected to a prosthetic body, be able to detect such elusive magic...?

Ron seemed to be thinking about something, and then he saw two more programs appear on the brain-computer interface.

"Magic" and "Association"!
What are these?
Ron clicked on the "Magic" option, which contained nearly ten options, ranging from "Necromantic Fire" to "The Scream of the Withered Dead," all of which seemed to be magic from the so-called "Necromantic School."

But none of that matters. What matters is...

He clicked on "Necromantic Fire," and the ring glowed with a soft light. Then he felt a wave of dizziness. His extremely weak personal reality had been activated by the ring, constructing a temporary ability model!

An exquisite magic circle was projected above the ring, within which a tiny green will-o'-the-wisp flickered, emanating a faint chill...

There's no magic involved!
This is clearly just a superpower called "magic" driven by personal reality!
This ring isn't a magical item; it's simply a "reality amplifier."

An expensive device for those with low-level abilities, used to temporarily enhance their power!

This so-called magician is nothing more than a superpowered person who relies on external objects.

However, this ability model is indeed somewhat unique...

In Ideal City, most of the superpowered individuals rely on ability activation experiments to construct a unique ability model to unfold their personal reality and form so-called "superpowers".

For them, superpowers are unique. Even if someone tries to replicate another person's ability model using their own reality, it is impossible to unleash the same ability.

But the fact that magicians could use their abilities based on these temporary, magic circle-like ability models was simply unheard of...

Ron closed the "Magic" interface and opened the "Association" interface.

Welcome, Master Karen of the Necromancer School.

A series of notification sounds rang out, followed by a black screen displaying a webpage.

[Seeking Purchase: Urgently need Mandrake solution and fragments of undead creatures to help me brew a sequence potion from the previous era...]

[Help Needed: The hyenas in Ideal City have tracked me down, and I need to get away from them.]

[Help...]

A dense barrage of posts popped up on the page. Ron glanced at them briefly and was astonished to find that the entire website was filled with posts about "The Magician"!

These requests from magicians are submitted and accepted on this website, making it like a platform exclusively for magicians...

Who organized this?
The Magicians' Association?

Ron fell into deep thought when suddenly the page trembled and a message notification sound rang out.

A red dot popped up in the message notification in the upper right corner of the page.

what is this?
Ron opened the message interface in confusion—

[Anonymous] Authorized poster:

Master, we have already made appointments with several other magicians.

Please arrive promptly at Laboratory Ω8631, Area C, Ideal City, at 12:00 noon thirteen days from now. We sincerely welcome your arrival to resolve this problem that has been troubling us for so long.

The old magician had actually taken on a mission before coming to Ideal City!
Ron frowned, searched briefly, and sure enough, found the old magician's old commission among the unfinished commissions—

[Help Needed: A supernatural disturbance has occurred in Noah's Medicine's biological laboratory. The original administrator was a master of necromancy, but during a botched magic experiment, he awakened all the corpses in the laboratory...]

Among these zombies, it is said that several forbidden creatures have appeared.

Therefore, we cordially invite a necromancy master who understands how to handle "corpse shells" to resolve the extraordinary disturbance in this laboratory and minimize its impact.

So, behind the old magician, there's an organization unique to magicians?!

Just by looking at the sophistication of this association's forum, it's clear that this organization has been deeply rooted in Ideal City for a long time and is obviously very powerful.

And...Noah Pharmaceuticals?
Those are the three giant enterprises of Ideal City!
The junior college his teacher recommended was just a tiny one among the countless schools invested in by Noah Holdings...

Why would a company like this be associated with magicians?

Ron frowned, feeling a sense of urgency.

The singularity city that conquered nature, the ideal garden for mankind, revealed to him only the tip of the iceberg that had never been known before...

Science and magic... the vortex of two completely unrelated things seems to be drawing him in.

but……

Ron's brows gradually relaxed, and the ring in his palm reflected a faint green light.

A crisis can also be an opportunity.

Like now.

He opened the spellbook, where the potion recipe for the "Gravekeeper" potion was gleaming.

The path to salvation lies therein.

The ninth sequence of the [Death] pathway... perhaps it holds the power to protect oneself in this vortex!

With that thought in mind, Ron looked at the readily available ingredients and made a decision.

Tonight, he will take the Gravekeeper's Potion and become a Sequence Nine Extraordinary!
Thinking this, he picked up his overturned electric scooter and sped off towards the shopping mall in Zone D...

Not long after.

The soft, red moonlight spilled down, cockroaches crawled through the shadows, the air conditioner unit still hummed, and the alleyway remained the squalid, chaotic place of the slums.

But then several swiftly moving black shadows suddenly appeared, passing through the gaps between the steel jungle of Ideal City, and as if being dragged by air, they lightly jumped down, landing in a dark corner of the alley, startling cockroaches and rats into scurrying away.

The figures were dressed in simple black uniforms with work badges hanging around their necks, bearing their names and the words "Discipline Inspector".

They pressed themselves against the wall, making way for the area: "This is the area where the monitoring signal is blocked, Captain."

A tall girl in a black dress walked into the alley, passed through the scaffolding and steel plates scattered on the ground, and immediately saw the large hole in the concrete ground not far away.

The girl's nose twitched, and then she subconsciously fanned herself in front of her eyes:
"A faint stench of decay is coming from a crack in the ground... Is something crawling out of there?"

She frowned and looked closely, noticing a thin layer of white ash scattered around the breach.

The girl dipped her fingertip in the white ash and rubbed it in, causing the space around her to ripple slightly.

She instinctively flicked the white ash from her fingertips, and at the same time, it was as if a frame of the world had been ripped out—

The girl flashed and appeared out of thin air several meters away, the space around her rippling.

"It can actually affect my personal reality... what kind of ability is this?"

She frowned, and the team members immediately donned full gear, looking nervously at the pile of white ash.

"And... ashes? Someone died here?"

The girl muttered to herself, carefully searching her surroundings, but couldn't find any clues.

After a moment's thought, she unlocked the pager that was fastened to her collar.

"This is Team C-112, and I am Executive Officer C01. The investigation of the signal-blocking area is complete, and a Class B supernatural incident has been confirmed."

"The incident has resulted in the death of at least one citizen of Ideal City. After a brief investigation, it is believed that an unidentified person used their superpowers in this case and is suspected to be the murderer."

It is speculated that the suspect has fled into the D district of Ideal City, within the area of ​​Tian Ting 271 block. The nature of his abilities is unknown, but they seem to have the effect of influencing the personal reality of others.

Because all surveillance cameras in the area have been destroyed, we need Artemis's investigative assistance to help us find the killer, or any possible eyewitnesses. Over.

"This is the Patrol Bureau." Soon, the pager responded: "In accordance with the armed upgrade policy, we have unlocked some access to [Artemis] for you."

The girl activated her personal brain-computer interface, and a line of text quickly appeared on the screen:
[Artemis: Based on observation data from this neighborhood, we have identified all possible eyewitnesses during the period when the surveillance signal was lost.]

The ID information of hundreds of residents appeared on the girl's brain-computer interface, with more than a dozen of them locked by red borders and flashing faint red exclamation marks.

One of the photos shows a young and handsome man, looking somewhat颓废 and tired, just like most high school students in Ideal City.

—This is Ron.

(End of this chapter)