Chapter 388 – Investigation

“What’s the meaning of this? Why are you blocking my way?”

Before the gates of the Thought of Truth Branch, Punk stared coldly at the two strange birds guarding the entrance. The tension of a potential confrontation at the slightest disagreement was palpable in his demeanor.

The closer he had gotten to the Thought of Truth along the way, the more uneasy Punk had felt. This premonition finally peaked upon reaching the gates of the Thought of Truth Branch. In his current foul mood, Punk was like a powder keg, ready to explode and obliterate anyone foolish enough to provoke him.

Faced with the killing intent of an eighteenth-level Master-Level powerhouse, the two stone statue bird guards were nearly paralyzed with fear. If not for the commands deeply engraved in their souls forcing them to carry out their duties, these bullies who preyed on the weak would have turned and fled without a second thought. At this moment, Punk radiated the aura of a monster ready to devour anyone in its path. Merely being within his perception range felt like a life-threatening risk.

But… the two strange birds had no choice but to follow the cumbersome procedure:

“R-respected Master Cyan, w-welcome… welcome back. Y-you need to present your identity badge. Additionally, according to regulations, you must also explain the whereabouts of… Master Nokani, who left with you on the mission…”

After uttering these words, the strange bird felt as if its stone body was going limp. It wasn’t entirely due to cowardice—the soul-level suppression exerted by a Master-Level powerhouse was enough to suffocate any creature of insufficient level.

“Here’s the identity badge!”

Not wanting to waste time on these trembling, rattling birds, Punk directly tossed his identity badge over. At the same time, he leaned forward, revealing his ice-cold eyes from beneath the shadow of his hood:

“Master Nokani is dead. So, do you need more specific details about his whereabouts?”

“No, no, Master Cyan! Such significant matters are not for minor figures like us to meddle in. We don’t want to know anything more…”Upon hearing the lowly spoken words, ‘Master Nokani is dead,’ the two strange birds hurriedly and respectfully returned the verified identity badge.” The death of a Master-Level powerhouse was far beyond the purview of mere gatekeepers like them.

Ignoring the two still-paralyzed birds, Punk strode directly into the Thought of Truth Branch.

However… the moment he stepped through the branch’s barrier, Punk’s expression instantly turned grim and icy. Unprecedented rage made him clench his fist tightly around the Emerald Staff in his hand.

In Punk’s perception, the vast Thought of Truth appeared completely normal. The magical formations were operating without issue, and the daily routines of apprentices and mentors remained unchanged. But… what shocked Punk the most was—Anya was gone.

“Damn it, what’s going on here? It’s only been just over a month. Did that bastard Kirk Weilen discover something? Impossible! If that Chairman from the good-aligned branch had truly made a move, I would have faced an attack the moment I returned!”Punk simply couldn’t accept the potential loss of his important Eerie Eyeball. Under the influence of his agitated emotions, the mana around him began to churn violently, with dust shadows affected by the overflowing mana even forming eerie, dancing claws. As a newly advanced mage, Punk still couldn’t properly control his emotions, and… right now, he had no time to regulate them anyway.

Without any hesitation, the moment he sensed Anya’s disappearance, Punk began casting one Divination Spell after another. The fragment of laws within the Eerie Eyeball represented an opportunity for him to advance to Legendary rank – losing it was absolutely unacceptable. At this moment, Punk had already made up his mind: even if the culprit was that level nineteen branch director Kirk Weilen, he would still take the risk. After all, he had now reached level eighteen, and Kirk Weilen might not be more difficult to deal with than the level nineteen Master-Level peak expert Ovakain.

After releasing a series of Divination Spells without regard for mana consumption, Punk soon discovered something unusual.

Before transplanting the Eerie Eyeball into Anya, Punk had actually implemented numerous tracking measures. Although these tracking methods were now somewhat obscured by interference, Punk could still faintly detect Anya’s direction. This was undoubtedly good news, as it at least indicated that his worst fears hadn’t come true.

Anya’s disappearance likely had nothing to do with Kirk Weilen. Otherwise, Punk didn’t believe that a level nineteen Master-Level expert specializing in Divination Spells would be unable to counter the tracking measures he had set up.

“Good, as long as I don’t have to confront that old man, there’s still hope. Although precise divination isn’t working… with directional locking, there’s still a chance to recover the Eerie Eyeball.”

Though he didn’t stop casting Divination Spells, Punk breathed a sigh of relief. Recent events had been incredibly frustrating – nothing had gone smoothly since joining the Thought of Truth. His spell modification experiments remained indefinitely suspended, his research on the Eerie Eyeball hadn’t progressed at all while nearly losing the artifact itself, and during a mission he had inexplicably provoked a half-step Legendary terrifying black dragon…

“Indeed, any Master-Level caster seeking advancement must scramble for resources everywhere, and anyone scrambling for resources must face life-and-death battles. Vedrasha was absolutely right about that.”

Thinking this, Punk couldn’t help but sigh.

Someone like Ben Lajie could hide safely in his Mage Tower for thousands of years enjoying life, but that would mean having no resources and no hope of advancing to Legendary rank. For those seeking Legendary advancement… resources must be desperately fought for, opportunities must be desperately sought, numerous enemies will try their best to hinder you, and success ultimately requires no small amount of luck… The saying “the path to Legendary is a path of gambling with your life” was definitely not just empty words.

Wanting to advance to Legendary peacefully without causing trouble? Dream on.

Smiling self-deprecatingly, Punk readjusted his mindset. Gambling with his life? There would be plenty more of that in the future.A tranquil mind might indeed provide some enhancement to divination spells. As Punk’s emotions returned to a state of profound calm, his “Contact Retrieval Spell” finally yielded useful results.

Though the information gathered by Punk—who minored in divination spells—remained somewhat vague, this clue still provided him with some leads:

“A mage apprentice is often with Anya. She knows many crucial pieces of information.”

After pondering this repeatedly, Punk decided it would be wiser to gather more intelligence before pursuing his target. At the very least, he needed to understand why Anya had suddenly defied his orders and chosen to leave the Thought of Truth. Charging headlong into a potential trap set by some Master-Level powerhouse would be far too troublesome.

Gathering information about a mere apprentice was quite simple. With just a basic “Identity Detection” spell, Punk obtained most of the apprentice’s details.

“Moli… a third-tier mage apprentice? This little girl seems to be Anya’s sidekick. Time for an interrogation then!”

(End of Chapter)