Chapter 319 – Side Story One. Collapse (Three)

“I intend to break down the Wall.”

It was a declaration.

And simultaneously, a proclamation.

The moment the rumor was confirmed, immense shock and confusion swept through the hall.

“Huh, am I hearing things right now?”

“Breaking the Wall… what on earth….”

It was then that someone among the seated audience abruptly raised their hand.

A relatively young man in his thirties.

It was Edmund, the School Master of the Kinesis School, which primarily dealt with Telekinesis-type Magic.

Ranked 7th among the Schools, he held considerable sway, and hostile emotions were swirling within his Vessel.

“Yes, please speak.”

The surroundings fell silent.

Edmund rose from his seat.

“Just like a year ago, School Master Ray, you surprise us once again. Originally not being from this city, you might not fully understand, but breaking the Wall doesn’t merely mean destroying a physical barrier.”

His expression and tone were impeccably polite, but the content had bite.

“I know.”

“No, I don’t think you fully─”

“The Wall collapsing means the city will connect with the outside world. That’s precisely what I want.”

Instantly, the tension in the hall swelled.

Those harboring antipathy began to openly show discomfort.

“He’s out of his mind.”

“Shh, lower your voice.”

“I wondered what he’d talk about, and it turns out that absurd rumor was true after all.”

Edmund’s expression also turned cold.

As if representing the voices of discontent, he asked.

“Connection with the outside world? Why would you want such a thing?”

“Because water that stagnates in a puddle, unable to flow out, can only rot.”

Stagnant water—no one failed to understand that it referred to the Wizards living inside the Wall in this city.

The faces of Edmund and many others contorted sharply.

But Ray paid no heed and continued, looking around the seated audience.

“As you all well know, I propagated a new Magic system named Imagination in this city. One only needs to freely visualize Magic in their mind; complex formulas and rules are no longer necessary.”

Ray looked at the audience on his left.

“Those who can use it are still a tiny minority compared to the city’s total population, but the numbers are clear and steadily increasing.”

This time, he looked at the audience on his right.

“It will take time, but I believe an era will come when everyone can use Magic solely according to their will, unhindered by complex calculations.”

Hoo.

After pausing briefly to steady his breath.

“That’s what I’m preparing for. The reason I intend to break down the Wall.”

He looked directly at Edmund again.

To summarize Ray’s subsequent argument, it was that to enhance Imagination, the Wall must be torn down to advance into a wider world.

The foundation of Imagination was the power to form clear images in the mind.

And the intense emotion that could breathe life into Mana.

In other words, rich experience was needed.

“In a closed space like this city, what new experiences can one have, and what emotional stimulation can one receive?”

No one in the assembly hall could theoretically refute that statement.

Because the speaker was none other than the founder and supreme authority of that very theory.

Moreover, among the School Masters, not a single one had succeeded in blooming Imagination.

Even if someone who hadn’t experienced it firsthand argued back and forth, they were more likely to lose their stake than to be persuasive.

As everyone was cautiously watching in the silence, there was someone quietly smiling.

‘Looks like I don’t need to review separate scripts for him anymore.’

It was Khan, the School Master of the Harmony School.

Whether it was the result of special training or not, Ray’s oratory skills had developed astonishingly compared to a year ago.

Feeling proud with a fatherly heart, Khan remembered his task and spoke up.

“Everyone, may I add a word?”

Instantly, all eyes turned to him.

Starting with Khan, the School Masters who had previously discussed with Ray stood up and lent weight to the argument for breaking down the Wall.

The gradually depleting resources within the city.

The land with no space left due to building saturation.

And the magical discourses that, before the breakthrough of Imagination, had been hitting the Wall and merely repeating steps in place.

“…Hmm, it’s not entirely without persuasion.”

“Certainly, that aspect….”

One could see the sentiments of those among the audience who had maintained a neutral stance gradually turning favorable.

Indeed, Wizards were rational beings.

Logically pointing out the practical benefits they would gain was more effective than emotional appeals.

The fact that the speaker was Ray, who had opened a new horizon of Magic for the entire city.

The fact that those adding supporting arguments were also School Masters with formidable influence.

These points also contributed to swaying the audience.

“Ultimately, it’s for the development of Magic. That is why I intend to break the Wall.”

Ray put a period on his argument.

Edmund, who had been listening with a face full of discontent, reacted to the phrase ‘development of Magic’ and spoke as if he had been waiting.

“I acknowledge the advantages you mentioned. But development of Magic… I have doubts whether the city’s Magic can truly develop in the long term.”

Edmund turned his body as if appealing and continued, looking around the seated audience.

“If we break the Wall and begin exchanges with the outside, the city will inevitably see an influx of population from Beyond the Wall. Of course, no immediate noticeable issues may arise from that. But, after several generations, after a long time passes─”

The hall fell silent at his deeply appealing voice.

Edmund, as if savoring the gap, deliberately paused further before concluding.

“─The Wizard bloodline, purely preserved over long ages, will become contaminated. One cannot control every individual’s love, and inevitably, inferior blood from outside will mix in.”

Instantly, a considerable number of the audience could be seen nodding slightly in agreement.

Ray asked with a blank stare.

“You’re a Purist. School Master Edmund.”

Purists.

Those who believed magical talent was determined by bloodline and harbored the strongest antipathy and disgust toward those from Beyond the Wall.

Not much was publicly known about them.

How large their overall scale was.

Who the key figures were.

Even after commissioning the Information Broker Nila, no major information could be obtained.

Only that the ideology was spreading rapidly among high-ranking officials of various Schools.

And now, a Purist had appeared before his eyes for the first time, shedding their veil.

Edmund, who had fallen silent briefly as if organizing his thoughts, opened his mouth with a confident attitude.

“Yes, I am a Purist. Is that a problem?”

“No. It’s no problem at all. For you, School Master Edmund. Everyone has the right to think freely.”

But.

“The ideology of Purism itself seems problematic. Isn’t there a counterexample to the proposition that blood from Beyond the Wall is inferior right here before us? Do I appear as an inferior being in your eyes, School Master Edmund?”

“…….”

Despite his young age, he was the figure wielding the greatest influence in the city.

If such a figure was inferior, then no Wizard in the world could be non-inferior.

Edmund, as if expecting this rebuttal, lifted the corner of his mouth and replied.

“School Master Ray, you commit the fallacy of citing a rare case not even one in ten thousand as the basis for your rebuttal. That’s nothing but subjective leap, an infantile expansion of thought. May I dare ask, among the School Masters present here, is anyone from Beyond the Wall?”

No one raised their hand.

Only silent air flowed.

As if feeling the atmosphere was flowing according to his intent, Edmund’s smile deepened.

“There’s no need to cite the high position of a School Master as an example. Although not a large number, the proportion of the population from outside is gradually increasing in the city currently. I understand a not insignificant number have established themselves to some extent through legal channels. But among them.”

Edmund’s gleaming eyes swept over the seated audience.

“Is there even a single renowned Wizard?”

Again, no answer returned.

Thinking it was a perfect rebuttal, Edmund admired himself.

“I dare say there is not a single individual from Beyond the Wall who possesses outstanding magical talent. This is a fact proven by considerable data.”

People nodding.

Edmund’s momentum growing increasingly haughty.

But faced with Ray’s utterly composed demeanor, one couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable unease.

“Do you have nothing to say? What will you….”

“Can you take responsibility?”

“Huh?”

“That statement. That those from Beyond the Wall are inevitably inferior in magical talent.”

Edmund frowned.

“…Isn’t that obvious? There’s nothing to take responsibility for; it’s already a proven fact.”

“I wonder.”

Staring at the anxiety and impatience contained in Edmund’s Vessel, Ray spoke.

“I may not know of any renowned Wizards from Beyond the Wall besides myself, but I do know one Wizard whose name will become known in the future.”

Ray’s gaze turned toward the wall.

The assistant waiting there approached the podium with nervous steps and ascended.

“That child….”

“Huh, I have no idea what’s happening right now.”

The School Masters who recognized the assistant’s face let out sighs.

It was none other than Joshua.

The exchange student who first bloomed Imagination, recently emerging as a promising talent in the magical world.

Why was such a boy appearing at this timing now?

Countless questioning and confused eyes were fixed densely on Joshua’s body.

‘I’m so nervous I could die.’

Joshua felt dizzy.

Cold sweat streamed down his entire body.

As he was contemplating giving up and stepping down even now, his eyes met Ray’s.

‘Ray, can I do this?’

‘I think I didn’t lock the door when leaving the Mage Tower earlier.’

Joshua nodded resolutely, understanding your message.

‘Thank you. For telling me I can do it, to have confidence. I’ll try to be brave.’

Receiving the microphone, Joshua looked at the audience seats.

He steadied his breath and parted his lips.

“Good day, respected School Masters. I am Joshua, a staff member of the Stona School. I have come up here today to confess one fact. Externally, I am known as the child of a wealthy Merchant family within the city, but that is not the truth.”

Joshua paused briefly.

A suffocating silence and stillness flowed.

And, at the moment the tension in the hall reached its peak.

“I was born Beyond the Wall.”

He spat out the confession.

Instantly, suppressed murmurs and whispers exploded like a bomb.

“That child is also from Beyond the Wall?”

“School Master Mehel, is what he’s saying now true?”

Amid the crucible of confusion, Edmund shouted with gritted teeth.

“That’s impossible! He’s been put up to it by School Master Ray! Lying about his origins!”

But that shout was useless.

Because documentary screens were already displayed on the screen above the podium.

The documents submitted to the checkpoint when Joshua first entered the city as a slave.

Ray’s voice pierced Edmund’s ear clearly.

“How strange. Currently in the magical world, Imagination is classified as a privilege only those with talent can bloom.”

“……!”

Edmund couldn’t say anything.

He merely glared at Ray with a face filled with anger and frustration.

“School Master Edmund, from a prestigious family Inside the Wall, yet unable to bloom Imagination.”

And.

“Joshua, from the Slums Beyond the Wall, yet having bloomed Imagination.”

The corner of Ray’s mouth twisted.

“Which one is truly inferior?”