Clinging to the Witcher world to become a god of martial arts

Chapter 200 The Academic School: Its Operating Mode

The transaction ended, and I only had a little over two hundred merit points left, which I exchanged for a black metal box containing "Faceless".

Ignoring the gains and losses, Lorne picked up the metal box and left the old shop quickly without lingering.

The trading area is bustling with people, and there are no secluded areas. Changing hands on the spot could easily attract the attention of outsiders.

Just now, Lorne didn't dare to put it on directly in front of the shop owner. It would be terrible if the other party remembered his face. He needed to find a relatively quiet and deserted place to change it.

Pulling his hood even lower, Lorne strode through the bustling spiral staircase to the teleportation array, his destination the Academic School.

The surrounding discussions grew louder and louder, with almost every passing wizard intensely debating the deeds of "Lorne," the third-level apprentice.

The news spread far too fast; Cologne is expected to launch the Prodigy Battle soon under pressure from public opinion.

The teleportation array lit up before his eyes, and Lorne stepped inside, heading towards the academic faction.

After the slight dizziness caused by the spatial shift subsided, the surrounding environment instantly became quiet.

The academic style is quite different from the style of other areas of the Black Tower.

The space before me suddenly became incredibly vast, with blue skies and clouds, and birds soaring across the sky.

Judging from the scene before you, you might forget that you are inside the tower.

It must have used a spatial expansion array.

Towering stone towers stand tall, walls are covered with lush green vines, and the air is filled with the faint scent of herbs and old parchment.

Occasionally, wizards dressed in various colored robes would hurry by, most of them with furrowed brows, engrossed in their own research, and unconcerned about anything outside.

Compared to those outsiders who reap the rewards and think about how to make contributions every day, these academic researchers are the real wizards.

This was exactly what Lorne wanted.

He quickly found a narrow corner between two stone towers, and after confirming that no one was around, Lorne opened the metal box.

The pure white "Faceless" mask lay quietly on the black velvet, the flowing black ripples on its surface making the mask seem almost alive.

He gently reached out his hand, his fingers touching the mask, feeling a cool, jade-like texture.

Without any hesitation, Lorne put the "Faceless" on his face.

The moment the mask touches the skin, a strange sense of fit washes over you, and the two become inextricably linked.

Then, the edges of the mask warmed slightly, and tiny threads of energy tried to penetrate the mind and establish a connection with itself.

With a thought, Lorne released his mental defenses, allowing the faceless energy to enter his mental sea.

The next second, a slight "humming" sounded in my mind, and my mental sea calmed down after churning a few times.

He felt absolutely nothing... Lorne only felt that his face was covered by an invisible film, but it did not affect his vision or breathing.

Even more strangely, this mask seemed to have formed some kind of deep connection with itself, blocking the release of mental energy fluctuations.

Adjust the output intensity.

The moment a thought arises, the outward fluctuations of spiritual energy immediately change, becoming even weaker.

It can only be modified to a lower level, and cannot simulate mental power exceeding its own strength, that is, from a first-level apprentice to a third-level apprentice.

Each wizard's spiritual power is unique, and the different fluctuations of spiritual power bring different feelings to outsiders.

Lorne took control of the Faceless One, and his mental power became obscure and weak, as if he were just a beginner who had just touched the threshold of a first-level apprentice.

Even if one tries to actively release their own spiritual power, it will be absorbed and transformed by the "spiritual stasis field" when it enters the mask, and what dissipates in the end is still a faint aura of a first-level apprentice.

"Trading 50 merit points isn't too bad..." As long as you don't encounter a formal wizard of level two or above, there's no chance of being exposed.

Lorne looked down at his wizard robes, thought for a moment, then took out his previous apprentice robes from his moonlight pouch and put them on over his robes, completely covering the robes that symbolized his formal wizard status.

Right now, from his appearance, he is just a plainly dressed, low-level apprentice with weak spiritual power, and not at all remarkable.

After doing all this, Lorne emerged from the shadows and went outside to examine the academic-style buildings, pondering how to find Sadiq.

After their last meeting, neither of them added any communication information to their wizard tokens, so even after arriving at the academic school, neither of them knew where to find the other.

The academic area was very large. Lorne wandered around outside for a long time but couldn't find any relevant staff. He was blocked in front of the inspection device and couldn't get inside for a long time.

Outside, Lorne saw a light screen similar to the Star River Hall, playing the edited footage from Cologne on a loop.

Most academic wizards ignored it, while a few who were relaxed would stop to watch for a moment, then shake their heads, whisper a few words, and leave.

These academic researchers, knowledge seekers, and truth pursuers are more focused on their own academic research and have little interest in events happening outside.

The Black Sun Tower is an extremely complex wizarding organization that requires capable wizards to lead the operation of its internal structure.

Each position has a screening mechanism; those wizards who are dedicated to research and possess formidable strength cannot be placed in the corresponding positions if they lack the ability to handle affairs.

Unlike other wizarding factions, it is not simply a matter of powerful wizards being able to sit in high positions and have corresponding decision-making power.

Responsibilities are clearly defined.

If wizards who pursue truth and worship power focus on research and become engrossed in academics, their interpersonal skills will deteriorate, and their ability to handle affairs will naturally be greatly weakened.

By placing ambitious wizards in positions of power, they become distracted by administrative tasks and have no time for cultivation.

Even if someone wields great power, they cannot do anything rebellious if they are not strong enough.

Lorne couldn't help but marvel at how ingenious the design was; no wonder the Black Sun Tower held a firm position as a top-tier wizarding power within the kingdom.

When power and ambition converge in a single wizard, it can lead to disastrous consequences.

Separating power and authority means that even with ambition, there are no fundamental conditions to realize one's ideas.

In addition, the Black Tower's merit system requires wizards within the tower to contribute to its development in order to obtain cultivation resources.

Given all these factors, it would be very difficult for the Black Sun Tower to decline even if it wanted to.

Lorne couldn't help but wonder why other wizarding factions didn't follow the Black Sun Tower's operating model; there should be some degree of infiltration between the various wizarding factions.

Even someone like me, who has been inside the Black Tower for almost half a year, has a general understanding of how the Black Tower operates. How could other wizarding forces not follow suit?

The only explanation is... that they lack the ability and resources to emulate it.