Wizards begin with Occlumency.

The Lark-class starship proceeded toward its designated coordinates.

The Shadow City interdimensional pioneering team finally completed pioneering and resource collection before the deadline.

The wizards returned to their own interstellar warships, preparing for their return journey.

Christina handed over the "valuable" supplies she had collected and then sat alone in a corner of the warship, head bowed in silence.

She had no idea that she would suddenly receive a summons from the upper echelons of Shadow City to participate in this interdimensional pioneering.

Christina had actually heard some rumors about this special world before she set off.

It is said that a disciple of a ninth-level sage, who made the prophecy of a great upheaval unprecedented in thousands of years, possesses a portion of the legacy of the school founded by the Saint of Nostrodam in this special world.

This was a last resort forced upon the sage after he foresaw his own demise and the extinction of the school he founded.

In order to allow the school of thought to be revived and reappear in the world amidst the unprecedented changes of thousands of years.

Christina immediately sensed a strong undercurrent of conspiracy.

The Shadow City discovered this special world that supposedly holds a legacy, and as is customary, they would definitely keep it a secret.

How could they possibly behave so poorly and let rumors spread?

Isn't this deliberately provoking those who covet it?

Or is the discovery of this special world by the Shadow City itself a trap?

Is it a trap set by some wizarding organization to lure Shadow City into a trap?

Christina was puzzled, but at the same time, she sensed the danger involved.

One wrong step could cost you your life.

Therefore, before setting off, she hurriedly sent her daughter Garona to Link Grand.

Hopefully, Link will take care of Garona out of consideration for their shared hometown and because Christina is unwilling to admit it, but must acknowledge, that Garona has some research value.

Christina asked for nothing more than for her daughter to grow up healthy and strong.

If she could, Christina was a little greedy, hoping that her daughter could have a smooth and carefree life.

The thought of her daughter made Christina's mood even more melancholic.

I wonder how Garona is doing with Link Grand, and whether we'll ever meet again in this life.

After feeling down for a while, Christina rallied her spirits and began to check her condition and prepare for battle.

This expedition into another world lasted for more than a month, and the whole process seemed quite absurd.

The so-called special world is actually nothing special, such as the arrangements that prevent mid- to high-level wizards from entering.

The interdimensional pioneering team dispatched by Shadow City this time consisted of only 6 first-level wizards and 6 second-level wizards.

Forget about sage-level wizards, we haven't even seen a shadow of a level three wizard.

Moreover, after setting off and before entering the special world—a very tiny planet—the team members were not informed of the mission details.

It wasn't until the alien pioneering team landed on the tiny planet that the captain informed everyone of the mission objectives and requirements.

Christina found it utterly absurd after hearing it.

They were simply allowed to wander around freely, collecting whatever they deemed valuable.

Everything else is ignored.

This doesn't look like a proper exploration of another world at all.

Everything was based on intuition, with absolutely no method.

It's like the higher-ups in Shadow City just organized a group of wizards to try their luck.

If you bump into something, you've struck gold; be happy!

It doesn't matter if we don't hit it, since the investment isn't large anyway.

Even if it really is a trap, the loss would only be a team of 6 first-level wizards and 6 second-level wizards... that's all.

All these unusual occurrences kept Christina's heart constantly in turmoil.

Moreover, according to her observation, the other wizards in the group, including the captain, had similar thoughts to her.

For example, right now, the warship is about to return home carrying the troops and the collected supplies.

The 12 members of the otherworldly pioneering team were all silently making preparations for the battle.

It seemed that everyone was convinced the team would be intercepted.

What the hell is going on here?

Is this a mass hysteria?

No.

Nobody's a fool!

The University of Mesopotamia is now completely closed off, with no entry or exit permitted.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

Do they think we're fools?

what?

No wonder you're getting worse and worse every year!

"If you can't even do this small thing right, who will fall on hard times if not you?"

In the principal's office, Dean Forrest pointed his finger at Principal Leopold and shouted angrily.

The sound was so loud that it echoed throughout the entire campus.

Everyone—mentors, ordinary wizards, and wizard apprentices—heard it clearly.

Subsequently, a soundproofing spell and an anti-eavesdropping rune barrier enveloped the principal's office.

The sounds from the principal's office could no longer be heard from outside.

However, everyone now knows one thing: the University of Mesopotamia has done something that has angered Rivosos College again.

As a result, Dean Forrest brazenly broke through the closed gates of the University of Mesopotamia, forced his way into the president's office, and angrily rebuked President Leopold.

Immediately, all sorts of speculations arose.

The University of Mesopotamia, which should have been isolated from the world, was suddenly riddled with holes.

All sorts of rumors and intelligence circulated from here.

Extra number! Extra number!

Why did the Dean of Rivoli School, Forrest, angrily rebuke the President of the University of Mesopotamia, Leopold?

A recount of the long-standing feud between Rivosos College and the University of Mesopotamia.

What happened that turned former staunch allies into mortal enemies? We'll tell you the story today.

The decline of the University of Mesopotamia was caused by the backstabbing by Rivosos College!

Shocking! The Great Sage Soth failed to advance his career, and the reason was that the University of Mesopotamia held him back!

In the principal's office.

Principal Leopold glared and puffed out his beard, clearly displeased.

Acting is acting, but there's no need to go this far, is there?

How will he manage his subordinates in the future?

Wasn't it just that you pretended to be deaf and dumb last time to test the waters?

Is this retaliation?

You're something else, Forrest.

That's absolutely brilliant!

Dean Forrest smiled and sipped the tea brewed with Pu'er and dried tangerine peel, savoring it with relish.

They didn't take Principal Leopold's angry glare seriously at all.

Silence. Silence reigns in the principal's office today. (╯□╰)

After a moment, Principal Leopold broke the silence and asked in a low voice, "Forrest, what exactly is the purpose of all this you've been doing lately? I just don't understand it."

"That's right, you don't understand it."

Dean Forrest put down his teacup and said smugly, "I'm just messing around, you know? Even I don't know the deeper meaning behind my recent arrangements. So how can anyone else know? Let them guess."

Principal Leopold could tell that Forrest was telling the truth.

This……

What the hell is going on here?

Is it really possible that a scheme has emerged that even the architect himself couldn't understand?

Leopold didn't believe that the cunning Forrest would do something pointless.

Even if it's just a joke, there must be some deeper meaning behind it.

perhaps……

Based on his understanding of Forrest and Forrest's earlier remark, "Guess hard," Principal Leopold suddenly realized a possibility.

Although it seems a bit outrageous, upon closer inspection, it actually makes a lot of sense.

Leopold turned to look at Forrest, his feelings a mixture of emotions, unsure how to express them.

Dean Forrest was also deep in thought at that moment.

He did not deceive Leopold.

He genuinely didn't know the deeper meaning behind the arrangements he had recently made.

After his grandmother, the Great Sage Soth, secretly completed her advancement without telling anyone in the Michel District, and his elder brother followed suit, also successfully advancing to the seventh level of Great Sage.

Forrest then changed his strategy of causing trouble once again.

All the talk of providing cover for the staunch ally, the University of Mesopotamia, and joining forces with the other three top powers in the Michel District to deal with the Great Sage Tower of Michel was thrown aside.

I'm not playing this game anymore.

Forrest now has only one goal: to destabilize the situation in the Michel district through constant meddling and reckless actions.

Even if it doesn't cause utter chaos, it will at least create a complete mess, leaving all other forces with no time to spare.

In this way, Rivoss Academy was able to obtain a better environment to quietly digest this wave of improvement, and then wait for the special "exotic guest" Iris Clark to pass the test.

That will be the time for the upgraded Rivoss Academy to truly shine.

The small Michelle district is no longer taken seriously by Rivoss College.

Principal Leopold looked at Dean Forrest, who made no attempt to hide his smugness, and sighed slightly.

Many things don't need to be explained in detail; a few hints are enough to get the gist of it.

Given that the Great Sage of Mesopotamia has yet to advance to the ninth level of Great Sage, the Rivosos Academy must have already made a breakthrough.

It's unclear whether this breakthrough should be attributed to the Great Sage Soth or to the two sixth-level sages who aspire to become Great Sages.

Or perhaps... Principal Leopold instinctively didn't want to speculate on that possibility and promptly stopped his daydreaming.

Otherwise, why would Forrest resort to such methods to disrupt the situation and fish in troubled waters?

Fortunately, Rivosos College values ​​its alliance and did not abandon the University of Mesopotamia.

Otherwise, Forrest wouldn't have needed to subtly remind him in this way:

Our strategy at Rivoss Academy has changed, so don't get led astray and rush headlong down the previously established path. In addition, you need to hurry up and not fall behind.

With another soft sigh, Principal Leopold picked up a cup of tea, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

May the University of Mesopotamia, like this cup of tea, experience a bittersweet turn for the better.

Don't fall behind.

Otherwise, allies?

vassal!

in the starry sky.

The star system where the special world discovered by Shadow City is located.

Besides the interstellar warships from Rivosos Academy and Shadow City, interstellar warships from two other organizations are also sailing among them.

Judging from their respective routes, the target is the same predetermined coordinate.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the warships of the four wizarding organizations will arrive near the coordinates one after another.

At that time, a chaotic battle, pre-arranged using certain means or rules, will naturally erupt.

The rest of the "story" will then unfold.

Link wanted to cause some surprises.

Many people are willing to be pawns, acting with the self-awareness of pawns, following the control of the player, attacking wherever instructed, and never overstepping their bounds.

These people do not include Link.

He has always sought freedom and did not want to be a puppet.

Therefore, after considering all aspects and finding that he had a good amount of leeway to make his own moves, Link decided to be willful and do something.

As long as it doesn't affect the execution of the mission, it's unlikely that the academy player or those chess players behind the scenes will be punished.

If the law doesn't prohibit it, then it's permissible.

"Increase speed and change course."

Sitting in the captain's seat, Link, having carefully considered his options, issued a new instruction to the tower.

This order surprised not only the 11 team members, but also the wise Fletcher Domingo, who had been hiding in the shadows.

What's the purpose of this sudden turn of events?

"Warning! Warning! This command does not conform to the preset settings for this voyage mission."

Instead of immediately accepting the instruction, the tower spirit issued a reminder.

Link had anticipated this when he saw the warships set off automatically once the fleet was assembled.

However, Link disregarded any pre-set mission instructions and issued the same command again: "Increase speed and change course."

"warn!……"

Just as Tarling replied to Link for the second time, beginning with "warning".

Link abruptly flipped the AI ​​on the captain's seat over and pressed a red button on the back.

This button is generally not used.

Once deployed, the interstellar warship will be grounded for a considerable period of time.

For example, right now, the lights, facilities, equipment, and engines inside the "Lark" class starship suddenly all shut down.

Even the starship itself lost power and gradually slowed down after its engines suddenly shut down.

Link actually activated emergency measures directly, using his captain's authority to manually uninstall the starship's spirit!

That'll teach you to talk too much nonsense.

Moments later, the interstellar warship's emergency response was successfully activated.

The backup tower spirit has come online and taken over the warship.

One by one, the lights came on, and various facilities and equipment resumed operation.

The engines restarted, generating thrust and increasing the warship's speed.

The smart screens on the control panels where the 11 team members were located, the smart screen in front of Link, and the large main screen directly in front of the cockpit all lit up simultaneously.

Data and instructions flooded the screen like a waterfall.

Link's actions did not end there.

His fingers flew across the screen, outputting command after command on the newly lit smart screen.

At the same time, Link also directly took over the highest authority of the backup tower spirit through brain-computer interface and continued to "re-engineer" it.

All the pre-set plans and control mechanisms made by the academy were cleared by Link one by one.

Link personally took over all authority over the starship, even down to flushing the toilet, leaving no room for oversight.

The 11 team members encountered a sudden change without Link's guidance. Even if they had opinions, no one stepped forward to question Link's actions at this time.

Sage Fletcher Domingo made it very clear that during the mission, everyone must follow Link Grand's orders.

Captain Link Grand also gave them a chance to express their thoughts.

The team leader was a level 5 sage, and the captain's combat power was comparable to that of a level 3 wizard. Although neither of them made any threats, their underlying intentions were very clear.

Whatever you want to say, I'll give you a chance before you speak; otherwise, don't fucking spout nonsense.

Otherwise, I'll kill you.

That's roughly the idea.

Before long, under the watchful eyes of the 11 team members, each with their own thoughts, Link completed the four steps he had planned:

Uninstall the tower spirit, start the backup tower spirit, "refresh" the backup tower spirit, and take over all permissions of the warship.

Only then did Link truly gain control of the "Lark"-class starship and become a true captain.

Instead of being a puppet with the title of captain but no real power.

All the programs preset by the academy were rendered useless, and the "Lark" class interstellar warship could no longer be remotely controlled.

These are the knowledge and techniques that Link learned while studying alchemy and crafting the Mothership.

Once used, it gave Link the initiative.

Knowledge alters your fate.

After manually inputting the new sailing speed, route, and target, Link removed his hands and gaze from the smart screen and looked at the 11 team members, making eye contact with each of them.

After a moment, Link asked in a deep voice, "Does anyone have any questions? Say whatever you want, and I will answer if I can."

Lanny Taylor was the first to stand up, ignoring the gazes of the other team members, and said, "I think if the captain has any thoughts about this mission, she can be honest with us. If we communicate beforehand, we can work together towards a common goal when problems arise, instead of scattering and lacking unity."

"Hmm. Good suggestion."

Link nodded. "Do you all think so too?"

"agree."

"agree."

Voices of agreement rang out one after another.

The remaining 10 team members, whether they were first-level wizards or second-level wizards, all reviewed Lanny's opinion.

"I have no idea."

Facing all eyes, Link stated frankly, "As of now, I have no thoughts on the mission itself, because the situation is unclear."

After a pause, Link countered with, "Does anyone among you know the background and purpose of this mission?"

No one answered.

College recruitment is different from individual recruitment.

The former is mandatory, with a maximum of two times per year, while the latter is a two-way choice.

Of the 12-person team, apart from Link, who was recruited by both the Academy and the Sage Fletcher Domingo, the rest were recruited by the Academy.

Therefore, even if the task description was unclear, no one had a choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

After boarding the warship, they finally received the mission details assigned by Link.

After reading it, I found that there wasn't much useful information in it.

Furthermore, there are some restrictions that are laughable.

For example, one cannot be too ruthless and must not harm the Shadow City wizards.

This is absolutely outrageous.

To launch a sneak attack, one must even tie one's own hands and feet, unable to easily harm others.

What if the other party attacks ruthlessly and you get killed in return?

There's nowhere to cry.

Therefore, as the team leader, Link dared to withstand the pressure and "go against" the academy's original intentions to do some things.

The team members were very supportive, regardless of whether their actions would be effective.

But they really didn't know the mission's background or purpose, so they could only remain silent.

"You don't know, do you?"

Link waited a while, and seeing that no one spoke, he chuckled, "I don't know either!"

Without needing to say everything, everyone else understood Link's meaning.

Since the college was vague and did not explain clearly, they could naturally adapt to the situation.

In any case, the premise of completing the mission is to protect oneself.

Having subtly unified the team's thinking and achieved mutual understanding, Link then officially began to fulfill his duties as captain, presiding over the team members' introductions, division of labor and team assignments, tactical planning, and plan rehearsals.

Three days of sailing and one day of preparation—four days is enough to bring together a hastily assembled team and form a fighting force.

This is the most distinctive characteristic of wizards trained by the Rivosos Academy.

Two and a half days passed quickly.

After a jump, the Lark-class starship arrived at its new destination half a day ahead of schedule.

This is a meteorite belt that Link specifically selected based on the star map.

Link parked the starship behind the asteroid belt and activated full-power stealth.

Eleven team members were then dispatched to six shuttles and dispersed to various locations within the asteroid belt.

The meteorite belt is only 10 minutes away from the academy's original coordinates, even at the shuttle's fastest speed.

Whether it's advancing or retreating, fighting or withdrawing, it's all very convenient.

Having completed these preparations, Link, alone and without any equipment, activated his innate sorcery, donned his interstellar life-sustaining stealth armor, and stealthily headed towards the academy's original coordinates.

"Flandre".

At the same time, Link felt a call from within.

"Yes, sir."

Flandre responded sweetly, emerged from the "small world," and explored the surroundings with Link as the center.

After the fourth evolution of "Little World" was truly completed, Flandre's ability to switch between reality and illusion improved.

Link had tested it, and even the reconnaissance systems of the Sage Legion's main starships operating at full power could not detect Flandre, who was trying to hide, in a short period of time.

Therefore, Flandre is perfectly suited to be a scout.

The two searched and moved forward, gradually approaching the academy's original coordinates.

Sage Fletcher Domingo, who had been hiding in the shadows and following the group the whole time, was somewhat puzzled by Link's arrangement and wondered what the deeper meaning was.

As the team leader, why is he leaving the team behind and acting alone? What is he trying to do?

What is Link planning to do?

He only wanted to use his superior combat power, high mobility, and the flexible Flandre reverse summoning to conduct a close reconnaissance and find out which forces would be involved in this incident.

If given the chance, try to steal the supplies quietly.

If all else fails, we still need to seize it by force. This way, we can know ourselves and our enemy, calmly choose tactics, and command the battle.

"Master, master, look what Flandre has discovered!"

Flandre's slightly excited voice echoed in Link's mind.

Before she could finish speaking, Flandre had already shared her view with her.

A familiar flagship appeared "before" Link's eyes.

It was the flagship of the three-point wizard Vena, the very ship that Link had once stabbed in the butt with.

"The Flame and Metal Trading Company has arrived, so how far behind can the White Tower Alliance be? Will the University of Mesopotamia come?"

Link considered that he should have Flandre ignore the main ship for the time being and continue to expand the reconnaissance range.

He also improved his stealth capabilities and became more cautious while moving.

Before long, Flandre discovered another unfamiliar warship belonging to the White Tower Alliance in another suitable hiding place.

They continued searching for a while but still couldn't find any trace of the University of Mesopotamia's warship.

I don't know if they haven't arrived yet, or if they haven't gotten involved.

Link ignored it for the time being and carefully recalled the original coordinates of the academy, the locations of the Flame and Metal Merchant Guild warships, and the White Tower Alliance warships.

Three warships were found positioned on a semi-circular arc, blocking the 12 o'clock, 9 o'clock, and 6 o'clock directions.

In other words, the three warships joined forces to set up a pocket formation.

We wait patiently for the Shadow City interdimensional pioneering team to come to us.

Then take a bite! (End of Chapter)