Dreamscape Marketplace.
Once teeming with people and bustling with life, the marketplace now lay desolate, its grounds blanketed with dreariness.
TAP...
Crisp footsteps pierced the thick fog as a figure slowly approached the Wizard Tower.
"You’ve co."
Carl opened his eyes, gazed at the ’Rebel,’ and shook his head.
"A puppet?"
"Heh... Not even your true self dares to co. It seems you also fear getting entangled in the trouble surrounding ."
"It’s natural," the visitor said.
"The Badden you killed was a core blood relative of the Green family. No one in the Magic Forest dares to shelter you."
"Not even you?"
"Not even us!"
Carl sighed.
"No wonder you’ve been skulking in the shadows for so many years. If you can’t even handle this small matter, what kind of ’Rebellion’ are you?"
He knew he had caused significant trouble this ti. After much thought, he could only try to seek help from the Rebellion to see if they could offer any. Unfortunately, even the Rebellion wanted no part in this kind of trouble.
"..." The visitor was sowhat speechless.
"With the Four Major Forces of the Kaliem Continent pressing down on us, it’s already extrely difficult for us to survive."
"As for the Green family..."
"That family is said to have Five-Ring Wizards!"
Five Rings!
Compared to Divines, that would be akin to a Middle-Level God. Moreover, a Wizard’s thods are more versatile than those of a Divine. With a Wizard Tower and a demi-plane at their disposal, they would be untroubled unless trapped within the Divine Domain of an Upper God.
In the vast Magic Forest, Five-Ring Wizards hadn’t been seen for tens of thousands of years, let alone Four-Circle Wizards.
"Well then!" Carl sighed lightly.
"Can you help look after the others?"
"Don’t worry," the visitor said.
"Anglie has joined us. Harvey and his wife have also received the organization’s protection. Old Brin took Evgeny to the border, and we can’t trace exactly where they’re hiding. They should be safe."
Carl breathed a sigh of relief.
"You should not contact anymore." Eyeing Carl, the figure slowly stepped back, vanishing into the dense fog.
"Even if you do, I won’t respond unless you manage to escape this catastrophe. And lastly..."
"Good luck!"
「* * *」
Barn, his face icy, pulled over a chair and sat down.
Many people were present in the room, yet not one made a sound. Not even a breath could be heard, as if they were afraid to break the silence.
But such deathly stillness was bound to be shattered.
"Hmph!"
Scanning the room, Barn snorted coldly.
"Does no one have anything to say?"
"Or is it that, even now, my nephew’s death remains a mystery, with no one having figured anything out?"
He had just erged from seclusion when he heard the news of his nephew’s murder, leaving him bewildered and incredulous.
Badden was dead? Dead in a barren place like the Magic Forest?
"Senior," soone stood up, their legs trembling, faltering.
"According to our investigation, the one who... who killed Young Master Badden is likely Conni, the owner of the Dreamscape Marketplace."
"Likely?"
"It was him!"
"Then..." Barn’s voice turned cold.
"Is Conni still at the Dreamscape Marketplace?"
"No." Soone below shook their head hurriedly.
"After Young Master Badden’s incident, we contacted Vulcan of the Six Rings Tower. He brought two Three-Circle Wizards to investigate and cast a Secret Technique to lock onto the murderer."
"A few days ago, the fog shrouding the Dreamscape Marketplace began to recede. By the ti we arrived, no one was there."
"No one?" Barn’s voice rose slightly.
"You couldn’t find him?"
"Yes," the responder nodded.
"We tried various tracking thods, but none could locate Conni, including... the thod you ntioned."
"Hmm..." Barn narrowed his eyes. Shadows flitted deep within them, resembling a colossal wheel.
The pseudo-Fourth-tier Witch Artifact—Wheel of Fate!
This Witch Artifact could find anything its controller sought. With just a thought, it could indicate the approximate location. Combined with the Green family’s thods, they should have been able to lock onto the murderer.
A mont passed.
Nothing.
The needle on the Wheel kept moving, never settling, signifying that the target had sohow evaded the Secret Technique’s tracking. If the target were dead, the needle wouldn’t react.
The core bloodlines of the Green family all bore a special mark. If one of them was killed, the murderer would be stained with this mark, allowing them to be tracked even to a demi-plane.
Yet now, the Wheel of Fate couldn’t trace anyone?
No wonder they dared to lay hands on Badden.
Gritting his teeth, Barn muttered somberly, "Bring all recent investigation docunts relating to Badden and the Dreamscape Marketplace. I want to review them."
"Yes."
Soone complied, presenting a stack of docunts.
Barn rapidly flipped through the docunts. His gaze paused on one page, then he lifted his head to look at the others.
"Mick?"
"Barrier Master Mick. He possesses a Secret Technique to mask his aura. Young Master Badden had originally planned for Mick to lure Conni out from the Dreamscape Marketplace, but Conni wasn’t fooled. We’ve investigated Mick; there are no issues with him."
"Is that so?" Barn closed the file.
"Where is he?"
「...」
Barrier Masters are not common in the Magic Forest, and Second Order Barrier Masters are even rarer.
Mick had beco a Second Order Barrier Master partly due to talent and partly due to his lifespan. Having entered the Wizard World through Bloodline Magic, he had, by chance, obtained a rather special Bloodline. Although he was still a First Circle Wizard, he had a lifespan of over four hundred years. After more than two hundred years, he finally advanced from a First Order Barrier Master to a Second Order one, becoming renowned in the region.
At this mont, he was introducing his research results to a client.
"Mr. Du," Mick pointed at an enormous corpse in the laboratory and said, "My research primarily focuses on the physical body, using the body itself as a Barrier to isolate the inside from the outside, ultimately rendering it impervious to all magic."
"This ’flesh golem’ was assembled from twenty-seven dissected bodies and incorporates over a dozen types of Barriers. Combined, these Barriers form a large-scale Second Order Barrier, suitable for exploring most demi-planes."
"Impressive!" ’Mr. Du’ stroked his beard, nodding in admiration. "As expected of the foremost Barrier Master in the Magic Forest. Wizard Mick, your thods are... truly eye-opening."
"Hmm... Are these bodies... alive?"
"Yes!" Mick nodded. "Only living people can be used to craft my secret Barriers. Once a person dies and their body becos rigid, it’s no longer possible to form the Barriers."
"However, Mr. Du, rest assured. Their original consciousnesses have been erased by and replaced with specific programs, responsible only for maintaining the Barriers’ operation."
"A clever technique!" ’Mr. Du’ applauded. He glanced toward the maid serving coffee, a flicker of interest in his eyes. "Is she also one of Wizard Mick’s ’materials’?"
"Exactly!" Mick nodded, spreading his hands with pride. "All the living people in this manor are my research materials. I purchased them from human traffickers."
"Ordinary people are fine, but sotis I need those with Wizard Talent, which makes so materials quite expensive."
He seed accustod to experinting on living people. The maid serving coffee, however, turned deathly pale.
"Hmm," ’Mr. Du’ responded, his face expressionless. "I heard Wizard Mick is researching the Kolong people?"
"Correct." Mick’s eyes lit up. "Mr. Du, your Life Elixir thod has inspired greatly. I wonder if I could learn more about its subsequent stages..."
"Let’s not rush," ’Mr. Du’ said with a smile. "I wish to engage your services, Barrier Master Mick, to design a Barrier. However, it would require us to go out. Do you have the ti?"
"This..." Mick hesitated.
He had been warned by the Green family not to leave the manor during this period, and to keep his Wizard Tower operational at all tis. This was a precaution against a certain dangerous individual. However, the Life Elixir thod ntioned by ’Mr. Du’ had given him much inspiration and could potentially help him progress further.
Just then.
BUZZ...
The alarm from the Wizard Tower sounded, activating on its own.
"It’s ," a cold voice resonated from above. "Stop the Wizard Tower."
"Senior Barn!" Mick’s eyes brightened. He hurriedly halted the Wizard Tower’s operation and looked up from the courtyard. "What brings you here?"
Barn, hands clasped behind his back, floated down slowly from mid-air. His gaze swept past Mick, resting montarily on ’Mr. Du’ standing behind him.
He casually asked, "Has anyone from the Dreamscape Marketplace contacted you recently?"
"No," Mick bowed in reply. "Since I received the warning, I haven’t left the manor. No one has contacted during this ti."
"Hmm," Barn nodded. "And who is he?"
"This is Mr. Du," Mick hurriedly introduced. "Mr. Du is a Wizard with profound achievents in the School of Life. His Life Elixir thod is truly remarkable..."
"And this is Senior Barn from the Green family."
"Senior Barn!" ’Mr. Du’ exclaid, his face alight with excitent. He quickly ca forward to pay his respects. Then, turning to Mick, he said, "Wizard Mick, since you have an esteed guest today, I won’t intrude. I’ll visit again in a few days."
"This..." Mick looked reluctant. Seeing Barn’s stern, silent face, he could only nod. "Mr. Du, you must co again!"
"Certainly," Mr. Du agreed, bowing and taking his leave.
Just as he was about to exit the manor, Barn, who had been silent, suddenly furrowed his brows.
"Wait a minute!"
Barn raised his hand, and ’Mr. Du’s’ body instantly froze in place.
He looked at ’Mr. Du’ and said slowly, "Co back. Let have a closer look at you."
"This..." ’Mr. Du’ slowly turned around, his expression grim. "Senior, what is it you wish to see?"
"Your face." Barn squinted, pacing closer to ’Mr. Du’. His gaze swept back and forth across the man’s face. "It looks like it’s been altered."
"Yes," ’Mr. Du’ spoke quietly. "I’ve also practiced Bloodline Magic and made a few minor modifications..."
SWOOSH!
Before he could finish speaking, dozens of tentacles suddenly shot out, aiming straight for Barn and Mick.
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