Translator: AnubisTL
The wizards' meeting was astonishingly efficient.
It stood in stark contrast to the meetings Jieming had attended in his past life—those that dragged on for hours, with layers of bureaucracy and endless talk that ultimately said nothing.
Wizard Noren was concise and clear. In less than ten minutes, he had laid out the purpose and preliminary arrangements for the formation of the Elite Combat Unit with absolute clarity.
As Wizard Noren's projection faded, the brief silence in the conference room was replaced by a low murmur of discussion.
Just as Jieming stood up, he caught Mentor Clark's gaze.
Understanding the unspoken signal, he left with Viola, who had appeared beside him without him even noticing.
The two followed Mentor Clark out of the bustling conference room and back into the office, which was filled with the peculiar scents of various alchemy materials.
"Sit," Mentor Clark said, gesturing to the nearby chairs. He walked behind the workbench, his gaze first landing on Jieming. "Your mental power is stable; it seems you've maintained your condition well. I heard about your performance on the Giant Spirit Realm Battlefield. You did well. It appears you haven't neglected your accumulation of knowledge."
"Yes, Mentor," Jieming replied respectfully, accepting his mentor's praise.
Clark nodded in approval.
He then got straight to the point, calmly elaborating on details from the meeting that hadn't been fully explained. "You should have grasped the core of the news Lord Noren brought. Let me give you a detailed briefing on the situation at the frontline."
"The frontline is divided into two parts. The first-line battlefield is personally commanded by the Ninth-tier Masters, with their primary objective being those powerful planes that possess ninth-tier creatures—threats capable of undermining the very foundations of the wizarding world."
He paused, picking up a crystal on the table that flickered with unstable energy and tossing it idly. "Therefore, the second-line battlefield you are about to be deployed to will, in theory, not encounter any ninth-tier entities."
"After the initial 'clearing' by the main first-line forces, the maximum level of the remaining resistance has been locked down. Furthermore, eighth-tier wizards are typically stationed in the rear areas to ensure that no extreme circumstances arise where an entire combat unit is instantly annihilated by an unknown risk."
Jieming listened intently. This aligned perfectly with his previous deductions.
In large-scale wars, top-tier powers check and balance each other, leaving the tasks of clearing out fodder and occupying secondary regions to the main and reserve forces.
"However," Mentor Clark's tone shifted, his gaze sharpening, "do not let your guard down because of this. Every plane designated as an 'Elite Trial Ground' and requiring an Elite Combat Unit for containment is a tough nut to crack."
"They may not have top-rank experts, but they invariably possess unique and troublesome characteristics—perhaps an extremely harsh environment with bizarre rules, some incurable curse or plague, or indigenous creatures with special innate talents that make them extremely difficult to eradicate."
"The protection of an eighth-tier wizard is limited to the strategic level; they cannot and will not concern themselves with the life and death of every individual. If you are unlucky or insufficiently prepared and perish, you can only blame your own lack of skill."
"I understand, Mentor." Jieming nodded solemnly.
He had long recognized the cruelty of war. Relying on others for one's safety was the most foolish course of action.
True strength and a full hand of trump cards were the only foundations for survival.
Seeing Jieming's clear gaze, devoid of any trace of flippancy or fear, a flicker of barely perceptible satisfaction crossed Clark's eyes.
He set the crystal down and gave one final instruction: "As members of the Elite Unit, you will receive a more generous resource quota and higher authorization than ordinary wizards."
"But rights and duties are commensurate. The level of danger you'll face will inevitably increase. Before you set out, do everything you can to improve your survival capabilities—whether through raw power or... those interesting little gadgets of yours." He shot Jieming a pointed look.
"Yes, I will," Jieming nodded again.
"Alright, you may go." Clark waved his hand, signaling Jieming to leave.
Jieming bowed and turned to go. Just as he was about to take a step, he felt someone tugging at the hem of his robes.
He glanced down to see Viola, her neck shrunk into her shoulders, winking and gesturing silently for help, trying to slip away with him.
However, Mentor Clark's deep voice had already cut through the air: "Viola."
Viola's body stiffened. She slowly turned around, a perfectly obedient smile plastered on her face. "Teacher..."
"I heard," Mentor Clark's expression remained as still as an ancient well, but the air around them seemed to grow heavy in an instant, "that you've been calling me 'old man' behind my back lately?"
Viola's eyes widened in shock. "How did you find out?!"
Then she immediately realized her mistake and shook her head like a rattle. "No! Definitely not! You must have misheard, Teacher!"
As she denied it, she frantically shot Jieming pleading glances, hoping he would stand up for her.
Jieming returned her gaze with a look of helpless pity, shrugged slightly, and then, without hesitation, closed the office door.
In the final instant before the door shut, he caught a glimpse of Viola's beautiful silver-gray hair, which seemed to have lost some of its luster from despair.
The door blocked his sight, but not entirely the sound.
Mentor Clark's low, emotionless voice faintly drifted out: "I heard you think you're already a qualified sixth-tier wizard? Come, let me see how well you've mastered the 'Pain' rule."
"Wait! Teacher! How—how do you know the Pain Rule?! Isn't that my research direction?!" Viola's voice was filled with incredulous terror. "Isn't your primary research direction fate?!"
"This kind of thing..." Mentor Clark's tone was as flat as if he were stating that one plus one equals two. "I learned it just by looking at it."
"Nooooo—!!!"
Viola's piercing scream was muffled by the thick door, but it still made Jieming, who was standing outside, flinch involuntarily.
He silently offered a half-second of condolences for his senior sister, thinking to himself, It seems the possibility of Senior Viola surpassing the Mentor in the short term has once again approached zero.
Come to think of it, he mused, although both Viola and I are called "geniuses," didn't Mentor Clark also step on the shoulders of countless geniuses to rise to his position back in the day?
True powerhouses never stand still.
Ignoring the "tragedy" that might be unfolding in the office behind him, Jieming used the academy's teleportation formation to return directly to his laboratory in the Elosia Plane.
The moment he set foot on this land, the communicator he carried began to vibrate.
Jieming glanced down. It was a message from Dean Avery Knight.
Jieming dared not delay. Following the instructions in the message, he rushed without pause to Noren Academy No. 147 on the Elosia Plane.
It was another conference room, but much smaller in scale.
The attendees were no longer the motley crowd of low-rank wizards from Main Academy No. 13. Instead, the room was filled with the senior mentors of Academy No. 147 and distinguished alumni who had graduated over the academy's centuries-long history and achieved significant success. This was the very essence of Elosia's Noren Academy.
Dean Avery Knight stood on the platform, as composed and efficient as ever.
Without wasting time on pleasantries, he spoke directly: "Everyone, you have undoubtedly received the message from Master Noren and through your own channels. I will not elaborate further on the Federation's strategic decision to establish the Elite Combat Unit. Now, on behalf of the academy, I announce two specific arrangements that directly affect all of you here."
"First, all wizards selected for the Elite Combat Unit will be automatically relieved of their regular duties within the academy. Your future battlefields lie in the sea of stars, in the planes that require elites to pioneer or garrison. You will no longer need to be distracted by the academy's internal teaching and administrative affairs."
"However," Dean Avery emphasized, "even after stepping down from your teaching positions, you will still enjoy benefits and privileges equal to those of the academy's mentors. Specifically: low-rank wizards will be granted longer intervals between missions and more time for rest and recuperation, while high-level wizards will have shorter mandatory service periods or rotation cycles. Noren Academy No. 147 has operated smoothly for centuries, and there are successors to maintain its daily operations. You may all proceed without worry."
This announcement brought smiles to the faces of many elite wizards present who had held teaching positions. It meant they could now devote more energy to enhancing their strength and pursuing more challenging research tasks, freed from the burden of trivial affairs.
"Second," Dean Avery continued, "given that the Elosia Plane has undergone nearly a thousand years of continuous transformation and construction, its ecological environment and energy concentration have stabilized and been optimized. Noren Academy's foundation of rule is now firmly established, and all its facilities are complete."
"With the approval of Noren Workshop's Main Academy, effective immediately, the 'Elosia Plane' is officially renamed 'Noren Plane No. 147.' This signifies its full integration into the core territory of our Noren Workshop system."
The renaming seemed like a mere formality, but its underlying significance was far from trivial.
This marked the end of the plane's pioneering phase and its transition into a new stage of stable development and deep exploitation. Its strategic importance and resource value had now been officially certified.
After announcing these two decisions, Dean Avery Knight brought the meeting to a swift close and left immediately, leaving the attendees to process the information and discuss it among themselves.
Jieming mentally calculated the impact of these changes on his own situation.
The removal of his teaching duties was exactly what he'd wanted. Although the Logistics Department rarely had students, he could now focus entirely on managing his Purgatory Sulfur Plane. This would allow him to concentrate on optimizing his own system in preparation for the upcoming second-line battlefield mission.
As for the plane's renaming, it meant that its security and stability had been further enhanced, making his home base even more reliable.
He had just risen with the crowd and was about to leave the conference room when a voice—somewhat familiar but also sounding like it came from a distant memory—called his name from behind:
"Jieming!"
Jieming paused and turned around.
Standing there was a tall wizard in a standard gray robe. His face looked much more mature than Jieming remembered, but his eyes still held that same arrogant glint.
It was David.
(End of the Chapter)
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