Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

After leaving the Golden Dragon Wizard Academy, Richard and Jolord took a few more airships, during which Richard saw many fascinating sights, such as the Uninhabited Zone he was currently observing.

"This area, according to the map, is called the Bartow Peak," Jolord pointed to a massive basin not far away. "During the Wizard War, this peak was transformed into a fortress by the Alchemy School. A great wizard from the Evocation School destroyed it, leaving nearly permanent spatial distortions in the area."

As he spoke, Jolord cast a Fireball spell into the basin.

With a "boom," the basin's space warped, creating spatial rifts from which elemental torrents erupted, forming an elemental storm that filled the basin.

Anything caught in the storm was shredded into its most primal elemental form.

"Behind these spatial rifts lies the Realm of the Four Elements. The elemental creatures we summon, including your fire elemental giant, all come from there."

Richard watched the spectacular sight unfold in the basin, instinctively beginning to record data.

His years of travel had ingrained in him the habit of documenting any strange phenomena he encountered.

Jolord glanced at Richard, nodding with satisfaction, his eyes filled with approval.

For a wizard, the thirst for knowledge is paramount.

After leaving Bartow Basin, Jolord and Richard flew towards the Tower of Truth.

...

"Is that the Tower of Truth?" Richard asked, staring at the shadow on the horizon that resembled a mountain range.

The shadow connecting heaven and earth didn't look like a tower; if Richard had to describe it, "pillar of heaven" seemed most apt.

"Yes and no," Jolord replied.

"What do you mean?" Richard was puzzled.

Jolord sighed as he looked at the shadow of the Tower of Truth. "That's only part of the Tower of Truth. Its true core is hidden in the void, visible only to those who are permitted."

With that, he waved his staff, flying towards the Tower of Truth with Richard.

Jolord flew swiftly, yet Richard felt they weren't getting any closer to the Tower of Truth.

For the first time, Richard experienced what it meant to see a mountain but never reach it.

After flying for about a day, they finally arrived at the base of the Tower of Truth.

Richard now saw the giant tower for what it truly was—a colossal tree reaching skyward.

Richard found it hard to describe the tree with words, for no matter how grandiose the adjective, it felt inadequate.

The tree's canopy spanned hundreds of kilometers, nearly blotting out the sky. Swarms of firefly-sized insects flew beneath it, creating an illusion of night despite it being day.

Looking at it all, a word popped into Richard's mind—World Tree.

Only this term seemed fitting for such a tree.

"The main structure of the Tower of Truth consists of five World Trees from other worlds. These trees absorb magic to grow, with virtually no growth limits. The great Truth Wizards fed them massive amounts of magic stones, resulting in the Tower of Truth's main structure," Jolord explained as they flew.

The entrance to the Tower of Truth was a bluish portal at the base of the giant tree, resembling a colossal eye. The portal was vast enough for airships to pass through easily. Numerous wizards moved in and out, each exuding an aura of profound power.

"Let's go, it's time to advance to wizardry."

Entering the portal, Richard felt a familiar nausea, but with his increased mental strength and physique, the sensation was bearable.

As his vision cleared, Richard found himself in a dazzling space.

Before him, countless wizards flew in the sky, tracing brilliant paths. The ground was dotted with diverse buildings, some resembling office towers, others like nests woven from branches, creating a surreal landscape.

Looking up, Richard saw not a ceiling but a real sky, complete with a sun.

"Is this a secret realm?" Richard asked, uncertain.

"Correct."

Jolord flew with Richard through the area, where they saw many bizarre creatures, likely slaves brought from other worlds by the wizards. Eventually, they reached a portal similar to the one leading into the Tower of Truth.

"We are on the residential layer, the first thirty layers of the Tower of Truth, where wizards live. These wizards reside here, forming the primary forces for planar wars," Jolord explained.

"Primary forces?" Richard was confused. "Aren't the wizards trained by the academy enough?"

Jolord shot him an exasperated look, as if Richard had asked a foolish question.

"We are the Black Wizard Academy. When we engage in planar wars, where do you think our white wizard corps comes from? Plus, academy-trained wizards aren't indentured to the academy. Once they participate in a planar war for the academy, they're essentially free.

The residential layers of the Tower of Truth are for these freed wizards.

Besides, wizard academies also establish wizard communities here in the residential areas for those who have contracts with the academy but prefer not to take teaching positions, making it convenient to draft them for planar wars."

Richard blushed, embarrassed.

He hadn't considered this aspect.

Passing through the portal, they quickly left the residential layer.

Above the residential layer was the commercial layer, where the wizarding world's guilds sold exotic goods from across the world and even other realms, along with various otherworldly slaves.

Jolord led Richard on a brief tour, during which Richard saw a dozen different alien creatures.

These creatures wore slave collars, their auras dim but still detectable to Richard as primary creatures.

"Primary creatures being sold like merchandise?" Richard asked, incredulous.

In his view, primary creatures should be premium slaves, with most wizards using apprentice-level slaves.

After all, most wizards were primary creatures, equivalent to first-circle wizards.

"Don't overestimate the rarity of primary creatures, Richard," Jolord chuckled. "You think they're out of reach because you're a wizard apprentice and haven't seen much.

In reality, primary creatures are the basic soldiers in planar wars.

Only at the primary creature level do you qualify for the battlefield.

In every planar conquest, wizards capture tens or hundreds of thousands of primary creature slaves from conquered realms.

A small portion of these slaves are sold to offset the great wizards' war losses, while the majority are kept as slave armies.

After all, we're facing a world with an academy. Without cannon fodder to deplete the natives' strength, our losses would be significant."

Richard nodded thoughtfully.

He realized these slaves' remains might make excellent materials for creating synthetic beasts after their deaths.

A thousand dead slaves could produce plenty of synthetic beasts for continued use as cannon fodder.

No wonder synthetic beasts were a staple skill for every academy.

"Of course, don't underestimate yourself."

Jolord paused, feeling he might be discouraging Richard, who was about to advance.

His student had fought hard for a qualification, only to hear he'd be cannon fodder on the battlefield—it was demoralizing.

He reassured Richard:

"Wizards are different from these creatures. Though both are primary creatures, wizards are far superior to these native aberrations."

Leaving the commercial layer, Richard immediately noticed a drop in magical energy in the air. The surroundings changed to cold metal, and when he looked up, magic lamps replaced the bright sun.

They were in a steel hall, with numerous wizards present. As Jolord appeared, their gazes turned toward him.

"We are now in the working layer, under the jurisdiction of the Legal Department of the Council of Truth. Any illegal activities are severely punished here," Jolord whispered. "I've heard punishments here are twice as harsh as outside."

Richard nodded nervously, following Jolord to a corner of the hall.

"Advancing to wizardry," Jolord said, handing the wizard scroll to a staff member.

The staff member took the scroll and infused it with magic.

A beam of light shot out, striking the crystal on the staff member's forehead.

"Alright, is this child the one advancing?" the wizard glanced at Richard.

"Yes."

"Child, come here."

Richard obeyed, approaching the wizard, who looked human except for the colorless crystal on his forehead.

The wizard had Richard extend his hand, marking it with a magical imprint.

"The imprint is complete. You have three minutes to talk. After that, you'll be automatically transported to the advancement room," the staff wizard said flatly.

Richard looked at Jolord, who was looking back at him.

Neither spoke emotionally. Jolord simply walked over and patted Richard's shoulder.

"Wizards face a trial called the Dark Night of the Soul during advancement. When you fall into the Dark Night, you'll enter a space of endless darkness, where your sense of time will distort. Some wizards feel they've been there for an era when they awaken.

But I'll tell you—don't panic.

As a wizard, boredom and loneliness are our constant foes. When you fall into the Dark Night of the Soul, remember one thing.

Persevere."

Jolord's voice was calm, as if teaching Richard regular knowledge. But those who knew him could tell it was softer than usual.

Advancing to wizardry is a life-or-death trial.

Jolord had had many students, and many had fallen at this hurdle.

"I understand, teacher."

Richard smiled, and as the time expired, his figure vanished in a flash of white light.

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