Paradise City is located at the intersection of two aerial trade routes, giving it a unique geographical advantage.
The constant flow of airships brings abundant resources and immense wealth to this city, and wealth breeds corruption.
In Paradise City, there are no mundane laws; the city is ruled by Nine Stars Commerce, a Wizard Chamber of Commerce, where Wizards are only bound by the laws issued by the Council of Truth.
As a result, the mortal district of Paradise City has become a veritable den of vice.
As long as you have money, and you are a mortal without extraordinary powers, you can do anything you want in Paradise City.
Hallucinogens, slave trade, murder parks... any depraved behavior a mortal can think of can be found in Paradise City. If you are still not satisfied, you can even find Wizards to serve you—provided you can afford the price.
This kind of indulgence is extremely dangerous; for mortals, a slight misstep by a Wizard can result in broken bones. A moment of displeasure can scare a mortal to death with Life Radiation.
Yet, despite this, many wealthy tycoons who made their fortunes through trade still spend lavishly, just to experience the feeling of being above Wizards.
...
On the airship, Richard sat in his room, quietly arranging the Rune Array before him.
In the air, runes of magical energy continuously shifted positions, forming a special model structured like a Devil's Work Ball.
As Richard moved one rune's position, the entire model suddenly became extremely unstable, with the runes deviating from their original positions under the influence of magic, further exacerbating the magical effects.
In just a few milliseconds, the originally stable rune model transformed into a magical bomb on the verge of exploding.
"Gah, you failed again."
The out-of-control Rune Golem suddenly froze in mid-air, then a shadow enveloped the entire model, which shrank to the size of a jellybean and was swallowed by Ulysses.
Richard's expression remained unchanged: "What experiment doesn't fail? Besides, I'm modifying the model of the Heart of Annihilation; you know the principles behind that thing."
"Gah, to be honest, I don't recommend you continue researching this Annihilation Reaction. It's not only highly dangerous, but its potential is also quite limited," Ulysses unusually offered Richard some advice.
"The basic principle of your spell is the annihilation of two elements, but controlling high concentrations of elements is very energy-consuming.
If your element compression efficiency is low, the spell's power will decrease. If you want to pursue power, you must seek more efficient compression methods.
But there is a limit to compression.
Once you reach a peak, moving forward becomes increasingly difficult, and the returns are minimal."
Richard once again condensed a rune in his hand, seemingly ignoring Ulysses' suggestion.
"I've known this for a long time, but you can't deny that this spell is very useful at the mortal stage.
I didn't hide the news that came three days ago from you; you should know my current situation."
Three days ago, Richard received several Magic Messages simultaneously.
The senders were Jolod, Anna, Chuckes, and Ellie.
All these messages mentioned one thing: the Academy War.
The Black Tower Wizard Academy was about to face an Academy War.
Due to the devastating consequences of the Great War during the Enlightenment period, the current Wizard World not only prohibits Great Wizards from taking action within the Wizard World but also forbids them from walking in the Wizard World in their true forms.
In this context, if two Great Wizards have enmity, their conflicts can only take two forms.
One is to engage in a true 1v1 battle in the Astral World.
The other is what Richard received in these messages, which mentioned the Academy War.
The so-called Academy War is when Great Wizards do not intervene, allowing their subordinate lesser Wizards to fight among themselves.
Each Wizard Academy has a large number of faculty and staff, and Great Wizards recruit these individuals not only for the convenience of Plane Expeditions but also to prepare for the Academy War.
Once the Academy War begins, the guardians of the Wizard World will transfer the two academies, along with all their Wizards, into a Truth-Tier Magic Gear known as the World of Mirror.
At that time, the two academies will engage in a fifty-year Academy War in a space similar to a Secret Realm.
Any actions taken during the war do not violate the laws issued by the Council of Truth.
After the war ends, the two Great Wizards cannot initiate another Academy War for a thousand years.
...
There is no win or lose in the Academy War; each side has its own standards.
The most common standard is to destroy the opposing academy's Core Wizard Tower to be considered victorious.
The Core Wizard Tower is of utmost importance to an academy.
It is not only the core of a Wizard academy but also one of the foundations of a Great Wizard.
The Wizard Tower is the daily residence of a Great Wizard and symbolizes their presence in the Wizard World. Losing this Wizard Tower means the Council of Truth will not recognize your identity as a Great Wizard.
Moreover, almost all Great Wizards will leave behind contingencies in their Wizard Towers to prevent themselves from encountering accidents during interdimensional expeditions or while traversing the Astral World, which could lead to their complete demise in a foreign land.
If the Wizard Tower is destroyed, those contingencies will certainly be lost as well.
And due to the principle that Great Wizards are not allowed to intervene, once the Core Wizard Tower is destroyed, it will require other Wizards to undertake a lengthy repair process.
During this period, the Great Wizard cannot recruit new students, cannot conduct interdimensional expeditions, and cannot participate in any activities held by the Council of Truth.
Furthermore, if the Great Wizard fails to reconcile with the victorious Great Wizard after the Academy War, then after the Wizard Tower is rebuilt, the opposing side may very well declare war again after the thousand-year cooling-off period.
At that time, the Great Wizard will find themselves trapped in a cycle.
"Gah, I have to say, your Academy War is indeed a clever approach," Ulysses commented.
"For a civilization, these World Master-level powerhouses are the backbone. If such powerful beings die due to internal strife, it is a loss for any civilization.
And you 'mortals' are not as precious.
Moreover, I estimate that although your Academy War is not mandatory, any Great Wizard would choose to engage in it.
This war serves as a stepping stone.
Losing the war only reflects poorly on their subordinates, not on the Great Wizard themselves, allowing both sides to save face."
Richard remained silent for a moment, his tone filled with resentment as he said:
"No matter how much analysis there is, or how wise the decision is, it doesn't matter how well you understand Wizard Language.
For me right now, it is the worst strategy."
"Gah, that may be true for others, but not for you," Ulysses countered, "this time you are fighting against Wizards.
If you get a bit lucky, with your furnace, your strength will definitely soar after this."
Richard shot him a glance and retorted:
"First, I need to survive. The World of Mirror cannot accommodate World Master-level powerhouses; you are just a cheerleader in this war."
Ulysses scratched his head awkwardly:
"...Gah, this is a situation where risks and opportunities coexist. Go for it; I have faith in you."
...
[Paradise City has arrived. Passengers reaching their destination, please disembark.]
[Paradise City has arrived. Passengers reaching their destination, please disembark.]
Hearing the airship's announcement, Richard dispersed the runes before him and tidied up the scattered Magic Books in the room.
He opened the window and flew out of the airship.
Outside the airship, thousands of airships were taking off and landing in the vast airship field. Passengers continuously streamed out of the airships, gathering together like rivers converging into the sea.
Richard took out a Crystal Ball and sent a magical Magic Message.
In less than half an hour, a rather ornate spherical flying vehicle landed next to the airship Richard was on.
The passengers around the airship looked on in amazement at the flying vehicle, but some elegantly dressed wealthy individuals immediately bowed their heads slightly upon seeing the symbols on the vehicle, not daring to glance at it again.
"Sir, what is this..."
"Fool, that is the VIP airship of Nine Stars Commerce; the person it is here to pick up is not someone you can look at!"
The flying vehicle opened, and Bob, wearing monocles, stepped out. Upon seeing Bob's Wizard Robe, even the slowest person would understand the need to show respect.
Among the crowd, Richard, who was looking around, stood out particularly.
"Ha ha, Richard my brother, you finally made it."
Bob spotted Richard and immediately opened his arms. Richard smiled and stepped forward, and the two embraced tightly.
"Bob, you still have your charm; with that joyful look, I see you've been promoted recently."
"Ha ha, just lucky, just lucky."
As Bob chatted with Richard, he welcomed him into the flying vehicle.
Then the vehicle's door closed, transforming into a streak of light as it flew toward the center of Paradise City.
Throughout the journey, Bob did not spare a glance at the mortals below, even though some of them were immensely wealthy, rivaling nations; others held power over life and death with a single decree.
In the crowd, someone murmured, "Who is this big shot that even Vice President Bob personally came to greet?"
...
Inside the flying vehicle, Richard and Bob sat in a spacious room that seemed disproportionate to the size of the vehicle, engaging in small talk.
Around them, it felt as if there was no metallic shell to the vehicle; they had a clear view of the scenery outside.
"Richard my brother, I heard you've struck it rich recently. The reputation of the Richard Jolod Chamber of Commerce is about to become the Little Tesla in our circle."
Bob sat opposite Richard, holding a long cigar, his smile appearing very friendly.
Richard humbly replied, "Not at all; you are just flattering us.
We were just lucky to make a weapon, and it happened to catch the eye of some big shots from the White Wizard Legion. The Tesla Chamber of Commerce is the leader in the Alchemy Weapon industry; what we have is nothing compared to them."
Bob took out a box of cigars from his pocket and offered it to Richard:
"Too modest, my brother. Here, try this; it's a premium product specially provided for our VIPs."
Richard opened the box and found it filled with brown cigars. He took one and sniffed it, frowning slightly.
"This contains Azure Heavenly Hemp Stem; if I remember correctly, its effects should be hallucinogenic and stimulate the brain to secrete pleasure hormones."
Bob nodded, praising, "As expected of someone who can design a Magic Support Vehicle; you know the properties of this Alchemy Material like the back of your hand."
Richard put the cigar back and stuffed the whole box into his pocket.
"This stuff will impair judgment; I'll enjoy it later."
Bob smiled slightly: "Come on, my brother, don't be so serious. We are Wizards; we should enjoy ourselves more."
Richard did not respond but calmly asked:
"There's plenty of time to enjoy later. Bob, you didn't invite me here just to attend an auction and have a little fun in Paradise City, did you?"
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