The Synthesis Wizard

"Master, Matu and Osen have sent a letter."

As Sunan stepped out of the meditation room, he saw Karolaina approaching hastily, handing him a letter.

Sunan raised an eyebrow in surprise and took the letter.

He had thought that the Red Widow and the Black Duke had decided to abandon Lake U City and join forces to combat Kasham, given their long silence. Now, it seemed there was movement after all.

The letter's contents were simple, an invitation to meet.

The three city lords would meet without any troops, alone, at Black Valley in three days to discuss matters concerning Kasham.

"Master, did the Red Widow and the Black Duke mention anything?" Karolaina asked cautiously.

Sunan said nothing, handing her the letter.

After Karolaina finished reading, Sunan asked, "Where is Black Valley?"

"It's roughly at the intersection of the lines connecting Matu, Osen, and Lake U City, a black valley," Karolaina explained, understanding what Sunan wanted to know.

"Black Valley is a unique place. Using elements or magic there results in severe backlash, the stronger the power, the worse the backlash. That's why Ursula, the Red Widow, and the Black Duke always chose to meet there, ensuring no ambushes."

Sunan was intrigued.

It sounded somewhat like an anti-magic zone.

However, an anti-magic zone prevented spellcasting and energy particle manipulation.

In contrast, Black Valley allowed manipulation but with backlash.

It had similarities.

No wonder the Red Widow and the Black Duke chose it as the meeting place.

There, they wouldn't worry about Sunan attacking them.

Similarly, Sunan didn't need to worry about any plots from them.

"Are you going, Master?" Karolaina asked.

Though Sunan hadn't expressed it, Karolaina sensed he wasn't keen on cooperating with Matu and Osen.

Initially, Karolaina wanted to persuade Sunan otherwise.

But after seeing several elite Twin-Blade Spiders and high-grade stone golems in the golem factory, she abandoned the idea.

Why cooperate?

With the golem army, Matu and Osen were irrelevant; Lake U City could handle the insect disaster alone.

Now it was Matu and Osen who should worry about handling the disaster!

"I'll see what they're planning."

Sunan smiled meaningfully.

Though he didn't plan to cooperate, probing Matu and Osen's intentions wouldn't hurt.

After dealing with Kasham, it would be their turn.

Know your enemy, know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger. Gathering intelligence in advance was never a bad idea.

"Reply to them that I agree."

After Karolaina left, Sunan headed to his study.

Scrolls of parchment were piled on the desk. Sitting down, Sunan picked one up and began reading.

It contained secrets about wizards.

These were secrets the Starlight royal family had secretly collected. Upon discovering this, Ke Yi had sent it to him immediately.

Perhaps because their ancestor was a wizard, the Starlight royal family had always valued wizards, investing considerable resources annually to gather and organize wizard secrets from the southeastern part of the Starlight Continent.

Over the years, they had achieved significant results.

According to the records, there were one hundred eighty-four known wizards.

Among them were thirty-one first-level wizard apprentices, one hundred forty-eight second-level wizard apprentices, and five third-level wizard apprentices.

The numbers showed a stark contrast between second-level apprentices and the other levels.

But this was understandable. First-level apprentices, lacking power, acted discreetly and rarely got noticed.

Third-level apprentices were simply few in number.

Second-level apprentices had enough power to seek benefits and resources, making them the most active group.

Notably, over seventy percent of these wizards had died over centuries.

The remainder were scattered across the southeastern continent's nations.

The intelligence detailed each wizard apprentice's approximate strength, current country and town, and allied noble factions.

Sunan reviewed them, noting almost all had noble support.

Understandable, given the resource scarcity, securing enough resources alone was challenging for apprentices.

Interestingly, Sunan found himself in the records.

Before the Shimmer Territory's rebellion, the records estimated his power at only the second-circle legendary level.

It was an underestimation.

It explained why, in Lake Blue Province, the Spark Church sent only one chief priest with a sacred artifact to protect the marquis.

Besides him, there were four other third-level wizard apprentices.

One was the Starlight royal family's third-level apprentice, killed by Oveich.

The second was Ugo of the Immortal Society.

The records described the Immortal Society as a reckless and aggressive wizard organization with an estimated eight to ten members.

They operated across the Starlight Continent, using force to control small nations' nobles and even royal families, gathering resources.

The Immortal Society would go to any lengths to increase power.

They captured civilians for experiments, let altered creatures slaughter villages to gather data, and planted evil magical plants in densely populated urban areas, causing mass deaths. Such atrocities were rampant!

One case involved an Immortal Society apprentice exterminating an entire nation's population for experimentation, reducing it to ruins!

This incident shocked the southeastern continent.

To avoid panic, neighboring nations' leaders quietly suppressed the news, claiming the nation's destruction was due to a severe plague, leaving the populace and minor nobles unaware.

Throughout the southeastern continent, only a few powerful nations like the Cangjin Empire, Starlight Duchy, and Jinghua Duchy deterred the Immortal Society. Other nations suffered their havoc.

But the Immortal Society's power was overwhelming, and these nations had to endure in silence.

"As Night Owl said, the Immortal Society is a group of madmen."

Sunan didn't need to guess that their catastrophic actions were likely in pursuit of immortality.

They'd do anything for eternal life!

Fortunately, other rational wizards existed on the continent to restrain them, or the Immortal Society's actions would soon render the continent desolate.

The already harsh training environment would worsen.

The only good news was that, like the Forest Cabin, the Immortal Society's structure was loose.

Members operated independently, trading resources, intelligence, and assistance, with no strong ties.

Ugo's earlier threats were likely bluffs.

His claim that the divine remains were the Immortal Society's priority was probably to intimidate him.

Ugo probably wanted them for himself.

However, Ugo might later persuade other members to help for a price.

Regardless, unless the entire Immortal Society mobilized, Sunan wouldn't worry too much.

Reading further, the remaining two third-level apprentices had backing from the Cangjin Empire's royal family and the Jinghua Duchy's royal family.

To Sunan's surprise, the records indicated both were Forest Cabin members.

"Forest Cabin members linked to royalty..."

Sunan immediately thought of Scepter and Rose.

From his observations, they were the most aristocratic members of the Forest Cabin.

Unsurprisingly, these two third-level apprentices were likely Scepter and Rose.

Judging by the names, Scepter was probably the one backed by the Cangjin Empire's royal family.

As for Rose, she was likely the one allied with the Jinghua Duchy's royal family.

With them around, the Immortal Society apprentices dared not target those nations.

For the Starlight Duchy, it was Evans and the apprentice killed by Oveich.

These were the known wizard apprentices.

As for those who appeared or left clues but whose existence or whereabouts remained uncertain, their numbers were likely greater.

Like the Immortal Society members other than Ugo.

The same applied to the Forest Cabin; besides the known Sunan, Scepter, and Rose, others weren't in the records.

The Starlight royal family's intelligence focused on the southeastern continent, making it difficult to gather information from other areas.

After over half an hour, Sunan finished reading the intelligence, gaining a general understanding of the southeastern continent's wizard situation.

Compared to the tens of millions in the southeastern continent's nations, the number of wizard apprentices was pitifully small.

The ratio wasn't even one in ten thousand.

In comparison, Sunan's base likely had more apprentices than the entire southeastern continent.

Though his base's apprentices were mostly first-level.

But it was understandable given the Starlight Continent's current state, making it hard to produce many apprentices.

Most current apprentices came from two backgrounds.

The first were lucky individuals with wizard potential who discovered introductory texts, awakening mental energy and embarking on the wizard path. If fortunate and talented enough, they could advance to second-level apprentices and seek noble patronage, stepping into the spotlight.

Apprentices from this path were rare.

The second were noble or royal offspring.

Some noble families and royal houses, aware of wizard secrets or with wizard ancestors, used introductory texts for aptitude testing.

When a child showed wizard potential, they invested heavily in their training.

These apprentices were more common and often advanced to third-level apprentices due to their backing.

Scepter and Rose were examples of this background.

There was also a third, where apprentices trained students.

This was rare.

Apprentices often lacked resources themselves, rarely having spare resources to train others.

Sunan, who invested heavily to train dozens of students simultaneously, was unheard of.

Others trained guardians of states and families or successors, while Sunan built his own force.

As his students matured, the base could become the strongest wizard force on the Starlight Continent.

"The intelligence suggests no formal wizards remain on the Starlight Continent."

"At least not in the southeast."

If a formal wizard existed in the southeast, the Starlight royal family would have found clues over the years.

As for other areas of the continent, more investigation was needed.

"Next time we meet, I'll ask Big Brother to keep an eye out for related intelligence."

Setting aside the intelligence, Sunan flipped his wrist, producing a runic stone in his palm.

It was the key from Evans to find and enter the Tower of Stars.

"The next appearance is in twelve years."

Sunan contemplated the runic stone, pondering.

According to Evans, entering the Tower of Stars involved trials.

Given that anyone with wizard potential could enter, even those not first-level apprentices, the trials likely weren't too difficult.

But other possibilities existed.

Perhaps different levels of apprentices faced varying trial difficulties.

Only entering the Tower of Stars would reveal the truth.

Sunan estimated that twelve years would suffice to construct eighteen star rings and raise his mental energy above 60 points.

The remaining challenge was constructing the talent crystal.

This was the most difficult hurdle to becoming a formal wizard.

Many third-level apprentices were stuck here, unable to take the final step before their lifespan ended.

"Given the continent's current state, even with the cube, constructing the talent crystal would take forty or fifty years."

"But if the Tower of Stars has resources to aid advancement, it might shorten this hurdle."

Sunan had a hunch that his path to becoming a formal wizard lay within the Tower of Stars.

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