The atmosphere turned awkward.
Richard's words struck a nerve. If an enforcement Wizard couldn't even remember the regulations issued by the Council of Truth, then all his past achievements would now be called into question.
Who knew if there were any wrongful convictions among them?
The black-robed Wizard was rendered speechless by this remark. He took the scroll back from Richard's hands, scrutinizing it repeatedly, trying to find any loopholes.
But it was all in vain.
The five seals of the Tower of Truth pierced his eyes like steel needles; the scroll was undoubtedly genuine.
But if the scroll wasn't fake, then the problem lay with him.
The black-robed Wizard returned the scroll to Richard, feigning nonchalance as he said, "So it's this regulation. Indeed, it was my oversight. This regulation has never been used since its enactment, and I was careless."
With that, the black-robed Wizard bowed slightly to Richard. "I apologize for the disturbance, Master."
Seeing the black-robed Wizard's humble demeanor, the surrounding security Wizards widened their eyes in shock.
When had the enforcement officers from the Legal Affairs Department ever been so submissive?
Richard put away the scroll, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"So, even enforcement Wizards can forget about obscure laws."
Hearing this, the black-robed Wizard's expression darkened. He hurriedly explained, "No, no, this was an exception. This regulation... it falls under special provisions."
But whether it was a special provision or not, forgetting was forgetting, and not knowing was not knowing.
For an enforcement Wizard, misremembering or forgetting the law was a serious offense, warranting internal investigation.
If the investigation revealed no issues, the Wizard would simply be fined. But if problems were found, the consequences could range from losing their job to facing the death penalty.
Though the black-robed Wizard was confident in his past cases, what if something had slipped through?
He had been an enforcement Wizard for two thousand years. Who could guarantee that there were no mistakes at all?
Seeing the black-robed Wizard sweating profusely, Richard decided not to press further and said with a smile, "Master, don't be nervous. This regulation is indeed quite rare; other enforcement Wizards have forgotten it too.
However, it's not ideal for me to constantly be under investigation by enforcement Wizards.
Master, since we've crossed paths, why don't you just register them directly, so I won't have to undergo further scrutiny?"
Hearing Richard's conciliatory tone, the black-robed Wizard immediately relaxed.
"Of course, of course. I'll register them right away to spare you further inconvenience."
"Then, Master, please wait a moment. I'll call them over..."
Before Richard could finish, the black-robed Wizard interrupted, "No need, no need. Just have someone guide me directly."
He was eager to leave this troublesome situation as quickly as possible, avoiding any further complications.
Bob nodded slightly to Bruto's attendant, who then approached the black-robed Wizard, offering to guide him to the dwarves.
With a guide secured, the black-robed Wizard didn't want to stay a second longer. He grabbed the attendant and fled into the transition zone like a man escaping a disaster.
The security Wizards burst into laughter at the sight, the air filled with a lively atmosphere.
Bob laughed heartily as he said to Richard, "It's not easy to make these Legal Affairs Department officials eat humble pie. That guy was just trying to extort us, and now he's running away like he's being chased.
Brother, you really helped me vent some frustration this time."
Richard raised an eyebrow. "He was that bad? Maybe I shouldn't have let him off so easily."
Bob shook his head with a smile. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment. But he is an enforcement Wizard from the Legal Affairs Department. Pushing him too far wouldn't do us any good.
They're like mosquitoes—annoying but not a big problem. Let them be."
Soon, all thirty Magic Dwarves were registered.
Under Bob's arrangement, Richard joined the Nine Stars Commerce trade route, preparing to head to the First Circle Tower of Truth...
Cross-domain trade routes differed significantly from conventional trade routes.
Conventional routes typically relied on airships as the basic unit, forming a caravan that followed fixed paths within the Wizard World.
But cross-domain trade routes were different.
They required passing through the Tower of Truth's portals to reach worlds already conquered by Wizards, then hopping between worlds before finally arriving at a new Tower of Truth.
During this process, the caravan's goods often underwent multiple changes. The longer the cross-domain route, the greater the profits for the commerce guild.
This reminded Richard of a game mechanic from his previous life called "trade running."
The Nine Stars Commerce route wasn't particularly long, passing through only five worlds. A single trip took about a year.
In contrast, some established guilds' cross-domain routes could take over a decade to complete, with net profits reaching nearly 100,000 Magic Essence.
A long trade route was like a golden goose.
Bob arranged a small airship for Richard as his personal transport, then had him follow the caravan to the Tower of Truth.
Throughout the journey, Richard didn't even need to disembark; he simply followed the caravan.
A month later, the caravan arrived at the Tower of Truth.
Seeing the endless line of airships waiting, Richard contacted the caravan supervisor. Upon learning that the wait would take over a month, he immediately disembarked.
This would be the perfect time to handle some personal matters.
Entering the residential layer, Richard quickly arrived at the Frost Wizard Academy's outpost. Through the outpost's portal, he entered the Crimson Sun World.
The Crimson Sun World was as scorching as ever. The Fire Lizard King Minal had been dealt with, and only one massive sun remained in the sky.
The King's Fall.
Richard opened the Secret Realm and began relocating its contents.
The Fire Lizard craftsmen gradually moved out the Alchemy Machines from the Secret Realm. The machines had already been disassembled, awaiting this day.
Kallion and Sulina were the first to step out of the Secret Realm. After taking a deep breath of the fire-element-rich air of the Crimson Sun World, they both showed a hint of nostalgia on their faces.
"You'll be staying in the Crimson Sun World for about twenty years. Does that feel good?" Richard asked with a smile.
"It does, Master," Kallion sighed. "Your Secret Realm is excellent, but the Crimson Sun World is our homeland.
This is the environment most suited for our survival."
"If it's the best fit, then make the most of it," Richard said, patting Kallion on the back. "You'll have plenty of work over these twenty years.
Besides producing Alchemy Ink and parts, you'll also need to focus on optimizing the armor.
The current armor is too expensive to be used as standard equipment."
Kallion looked puzzled. "Master, I don't quite understand why you're so determined to make the Sacred Armor standard.
Wouldn't an elite approach be better?"
Richard shook his head. "You misunderstand. I'm not abandoning the elite route; I'm pursuing both paths.
The current Personal Armor has limited room for improvement. To make significant progress, I need to unlock the secrets of the power core. So now is the perfect time to research how to make the armor more accessible."
"Alright, Master," Kallion said, scratching his head. "We'll do our best. Honestly, transitioning from having all materials readily available to searching for substitutes is quite an adjustment."
Richard patted Kallion's back again, his tone firm. "Adapt to it. I believe in your abilities.
The optimizations you make aren't just for me. The better the armor you develop, the lower the casualties will be when the Fire Lizards go to war."
The equipment relocation took two days. As the final piece was moved out, Ulysses flew out of the Secret Realm and sealed the Mystic Realm Rift.
The rift wouldn't open again for another twenty years.
"Achoo! The Element Imbalanced World is still as uncomfortable as ever," Ulysses complained, rubbing his nose.
Richard ignored him and turned to the Fire Lizards loading the machines onto carts. "If any equipment is damaged, go to the mining area and find the Wizards. They'll provide the materials.
I have other matters to attend to, so I won't see you off. I hope you have a pleasant twenty years."
With that, Richard grabbed Ulysses and headed for the portal.
"Huh? What's going on? Aren't we spreading the faith?" Ulysses asked, confused.
"Not for now. We have other things to deal with."
Returning to the Tower of Truth, Richard inquired about Iyad's unclaimed inheritance, then returned to his Wizard Tower.
He still had a Silver Star Medal to collect.
After the Academy War, many black towers in the community had become vacant.
Richard greeted a few familiar Wizards along the way and soon arrived at his Wizard Tower. In the front yard, a white pigeon perched on a tree, motionless.
Upon seeing Richard return, the pigeon flew down and spoke in a human voice:
"Wizard Richard, this is your Wizard World Second-Class Honor Medal. Thank you for your contributions to the Wizard World."
With that, the pigeon spat out a thumb-sized Alchemy Medal. The medal was entirely golden, shaped like a shield, with a silver pentagram engraved on the front and Richard's name on the back.
Richard weighed the medal in his hand and couldn't help but marvel. "Such extravagance. The medal is made of pure mithril and pure adamantine. That's practically a reward in itself."
The Honor Medal was merely symbolic. Richard's identity had already been recorded in the Tower of Truth's tower spirit system. Even without the medal, Richard would still be a Silver Star Medal recipient, entitled to all its privileges.
After putting the medal away, Richard returned to the still-waiting caravan.
"Where are we going now?" Ulysses asked, looking at the long line of airships with confusion.
Richard pointed to the Magic Dwarves in the airship's cabin.
"I'm planning to visit the First Circle Tower of Truth. I'll take these Magic Dwarves back to their ancestral land and also gather some information about the Dreamwalker Club."
Richard's power was on the verge of breaking through to the Third Circle, but he still lacked a significant amount of spiritual energy.
Thus, he intended to seek out the Dreamwalker Club to obtain the technology for entering the Nightmare Wizard World.
As long as he could enter the Nightmare Wizard World, the spiritual energy he lacked would no longer be an issue.
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