Chapter 24: The Cold Reality

The Revelation Continent, compared to the Old Earth Continent, could be considered a true continent; the Old Earth was, at most, a peripheral island. Although the Revelation Continent still could not be compared to the Prosperous Continent, its importance was at least recognized within the world of wizards.

Dev was a handpicked exchange student of the Silver Egret Royal Wizard Order, sent to the Hurricane Tower in the southern region of the Prosperous Continent for "exchange learning."

At least, that is what Dev said himself.

In reality, the Talented ones on the ship knew perfectly well that the so-called Silver Egret Royal Wizard Order was actually just a group of apprentices from the Hurricane Tower who had failed to promote to official wizards and had started their own thing after leaving their sect. By relying on old connections from the Hurricane Tower, they could secure recommendation slots for Talented individuals.

Thus, the term "exchange student" was pure nonsense. Would an organization with a thousand years of heritage and official wizards in residence engage in an exchange with a group of wizard apprentices composed entirely of the old, weak, and disabled? They must still be dreaming.

However, while everyone knew the truth, they kept it to themselves because no one dared to offend Dev. After all, no matter how old, weak, or disabled they were, they were still transcendent beings. Rumor had it that the Silver Egret Royal Wizard Order even included a close apprentice of an official wizard, who had returned to the Central Empire in disgrace simply because they lacked the talent to promote.

With this connection, combined with the immense wealth and resources of the Central Empire itself, no one dared to cross Dev. No matter how arrogant and profligate his behavior was, they endured it silently in their hearts.

As Dev stepped into the dining hall, the surrounding noise immediately died down.

Because of this, Angell heard someone whispering nearby: "Huh, why is he alone today? Where is his entourage?"

Dev seemed to hear it as well. He glared fiercely at the speaker, and only after seeing the person shrink back in fear to bury their head in their food did he laugh loudly and walk away.

But as Dev moved through the crowd, his arrogant expression instantly turned cold.

He had just gone to look for his followers, but all their rooms were locked, and he had no idea where they had gone.

"Those damn bastards," Dev cursed under his breath through gritted teeth. Without his followers to serve him, he even had to fetch his own food.

Although Dev was used to being tyrannical among the Talented, he had clearly heard that the *Zijin* had significant backing, so he did not clash with the chef. He obediently carried his tray and found an empty seat to sit down.

Angell had glanced at him when Dev entered, but he had not paid him any further attention.

He was currently caught in a small moment of doubt. After Dev stepped into the dining hall, Angell had clearly heard the floorboards creak twice, yet Dev was the only one who entered.

Could it be that he was experiencing auditory hallucinations from overworking his brain these past few days?

Since childhood, Jon had trained Angell to cultivate the instinct to observe his surroundings. This training was not for seeking fortune or avoiding disaster, but to combine the capturing of details with self-realization—to derive inspiration and opportunity from all things. In short, it was to enhance his ability to reflect his own knowledge.

Angell had always taken pride in his instinct for capturing imperceptible details, but today, it seemed to have malfunctioned.

Shaking his head, Angell abandoned thought on this somewhat eerie detail. It had nothing to do with him; it was a waste of time.

He enjoyed the explosion of flavor that fine food brought and would even indulge in it, provided it was truly "fine food." For the food on his plate that served merely to stave off hunger, he chose to accept it without indulgence. As he ate, his thoughts began to wander again, performing mental calculations on various unsolved questions.

A scream from not far away interrupted Angell's thoughts, which had already drifted to some distant planet.

"Aaaaah! Who are you? Come out!" A sharp male voice pierced through the entire dining hall. This was followed by the clattering sound of tableware being smashed.

With a sense of annoyance, Angell frowned and looked over.

Not far away, the once-proud Third Prince of the Central Empire was in a state of total disarray. He was clutching his neck with one hand, blood seeping through his fingers. With his other hand, he was frantically waving the tablecloth around, sending ceramic tableware shattering across the floor.

Dev was like an enraged bull terrier, flailing his limbs in all directions. But it was useless, for there was no one within twenty meters of him.

"Huh, is he having another fit? No! Why is he bleeding?"

"Don't you see the knife wound on his neck?" someone muttered. "Strange, but there's no one around him."

"Could it be a ghost?"

The observing Talented individuals discussed it amongst themselves, but no one thought to step forward to help. Setting aside Dev's terrible personality, the sheer strangeness of the situation gave them pause.

"The blood is flowing fast, but it hasn't reached the stage of spurting; it should be a severed vein," Angell noted with a glance, thinking to himself, *Even if it's just a vein, at his current rate of blood loss, he will certainly die if he doesn't receive emergency aid within ten minutes.*

"There is a knife wound, but no one holding a knife." Angell's eyes scanned the area. Seeing no one near Dev, he suddenly remembered the strange second creak of the floorboards. His brow relaxed, and a glint appeared in his eyes. "Interesting."

An invisible person? A wizard apprentice? Or perhaps, a fellow Talented individual?

Angell leaned toward the latter. If it were a wizard apprentice, there would be no need for invisibility to assassinate, and they certainly wouldn't miss their first strike.

As Angell pondered, Dev continued to go mad, though his voice grew weaker as time passed. Suddenly, as if hearing something, he grabbed a bottle of red wine from a nearby table and violently splashed it toward the southeast window.

The crimson liquid did not hit the wooden wall as expected; instead, it was forced to stop mid-air five meters away.

The wine slowly trickled down, and a red silhouette gradually emerged.

"There really is someone! And they were invisible!" someone cried out, pointing at the man whose form had been revealed by the wine. "Could it be a Great Wizard?"

"A Great Wizard? Don't be ridiculous. How could a lofty Great Wizard use invisibility to assassinate us? If they wanted us dead, they would only need to spit on us, and we would die ten thousand deaths without a chance to rise," someone sneered.

"Wait and see, we'll know who it is soon," a nearby Talented individual said, pointing at the invisible man. "I remember Lord Cormen mentioning invisible spells: Phantom Hiding, which relies on illusions; Divine Hiding, which hides one in another dimension; and invisibility that relies on light and shadow to create visual illusions. The first two can only be practiced by official wizards. Below official spells, the only thing with an invisibility effect is the Level 0 cantrip—*Light and Shadow Interplay*."

The Lord Cormen mentioned was the guide of the wizard organization "Gravity Forest" and a Level 2 wizard apprentice.

"Light and Shadow Interplay. Anyone using that cantrip will definitely be revealed if they are touched by an external object."

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that the person is using an invisibility alchemical tool. However, even Lord Cormen couldn't afford such a tool."

As the man spoke, the invisible person drenched in red wine revealed his true form.

Angell looked over, his eyebrows arching. It was a handsome youth in tattered cloth clothes, his face filled with defiance.

Angell did not recognize him, but judging by his clothing and movements, this Talented individual likely came from the bottom tier of the poor.

A youth from the slums, and a noble, profligate prince.

The slum youth looked on with a face of unyielding defiance. Looking at the bleeding Dev, a wild, bloodthirsty smile spread across his lips, faintly carrying the pleasure of revenge.

The once-noble prince, upon seeing the slum youth's true face, had eyes filled with disbelief and venomous rage, with a hint of regret hidden within his distorted expression.

"Interesting. The story behind these two might be so melodramatic that Mana will gossip about it for an entire year," Angell smiled, recalling how the Mana Head Maid once gossiped about the famous cheating noble of Waterford.

Angell shook his head and prepared to leave the dining hall; he had no desire to waste time on such soap opera drama.

Just as he stood up, a middle-aged woman with a noble air and silver hair appeared at the scene of the chaos.

Angell had heard of this elegantly dressed lady: Madam Merlin, a Level 3 wizard apprentice stationed on the *Zijin*, from the wizard organization—the Hurricane Tower.

Since Madam Merlin had appeared, the fate of the slum youth who had drawn blood was likely predictable... right? Wait?! Angell's gaze suddenly sharpened. He saw Madam Merlin walk into the center of the scene. She completely ignored the half-dead Dev lying on the ground; instead, with an expression of pleasant surprise, she scrutinized the youth who had wielded the knife.

With a wave of her hand, the filth on the youth's body was swept clean.

"What is your name?" Madam Merlin asked the youth.

"Isli. Respectable Madam Merlin, my name is Isli," the youth said respectfully. He did not provide a surname, because he had no "surname." A surname represented a family lineage; he was an orphan, and his name was the name of a wolfhound once owned by a noble he had served. To earn that name, he had fought that wolfdog until he was covered in blood, and only after he snapped the dog's neck did the noble grant him the name "Isli."

"Isli. Very well. I will remember your name."

"You are excellent! To have already drawn out the mana flow in such a short time... could it be that your innate mental strength is higher than 20 points?" Madam Merlin suddenly reached out, her hand moving directly toward Isli's forehead.

"As I thought, your innate mental strength is naturally 23 points. This will save you a great deal of time in the early stages—at least ten times faster than an ordinary Talented! No wonder you were able to guide the mana flow out so quickly." Madam Merlin beamed, saying to the youth, "Only half a month ago, I explained the principles of *Light and Shadow Interplay* to you all. The fact that you can use it means you have already understood the basics of light and shadow. This is very good, very good!"

"Remember, a wizard's spells are built upon the foundation of knowledge and mana; neither can be lacking. You have now stepped through the gates of a junior wizard apprentice. From today onward, move to the top floor."

After saying this, Madam Merlin turned and left without looking back.

On the ground, Dev had already entered his final moments. As Madam Merlin's silhouette disappeared from the White Lily Restaurant, Dev's despairing eyes slowly turned dull... In the end, with no one extending a helping hand, Dev's body grew completely cold amidst the gaze of the crowd.

The killer, Isli. Looking at the cold corpse on the ground, a slight smile played on his lips as he also turned to leave.

No one condemned him, and no one dared to call out to him. At least on this ship, Isli had completed a metamorphosis, becoming an existence that could master the lives of others.

Angell left silently. He now felt deeply that there was truly no distinction between black and white among wizards; good and evil were simply not worth mentioning in their eyes.

The Silver Egret Royal Wizard Order behind Dev belonged to the same wizard faction as Madam Merlin, yet even so, Madam Merlin had refused to help, not even sparing a glance for Dev. It was evident that the wizards' attitude toward mortals was both indifferent and cruel.

After this incident, Angell made even greater efforts to minimize his presence. Before possessing strength of his own, the Reaper's scythe would always hang over his neck. This was reality—the cruelest reality of the wizard world.