Chapter 309: Dark Sword, The Tower of Scholars

"The Perfect Fractal Lens must have recorded the battle between me and those bell-ringers, right?"

The Chariot's power flowed back from the void into Wang Yu's body as he turned to ask Avia, who stood beside him.

"Yes, everything has been recorded, including the space that the darkness led to. Protected by the Chariot's power, the Perfect Fractal Lens remained unaffected by the force that erases existence."

The girl nodded, busy organizing what the Perfect Fractal spell had captured from that darkness—the resurrected deity and the bell-ringers of the Lightless Cult.

"I have never heard of this name, but based on what they said to you, they must have been established since the time of the God of Night. It is likely a secret society hidden in the shadows of history."

She searched her memories, yet found nothing associated with the name "Lightless Cult."

"That is the case for me as well. At least since I first set foot on this continent, I have never heard of such an organization."

Zieg also admitted he was unfamiliar with the name. If two such learned scholars were unaware of it, Wang Yu certainly stood no chance.

As for Lady Night, her memories essentially began from the time she was merely a deity in Sewentan folklore; strictly speaking, she was younger than Zieg.

"I will contact Eamon and the others later. We must be wary of attacks from this Lightless Cult. Although I piloted Eamon's body to smash two of those bell-ringers, to be honest, I cannot confirm that I actually killed them."

Wang Yu shook his head. There was no peace to be found anywhere; trouble was always brewing. Zieg had the Dragon-Worshipping Cult, and Lady Night had this Lightless Cult popping up, intent on wiping out all her followers. Fortunately, they were currently in the Sky Mechanical City, where the number of entities capable of causing such chaos was few and far between.

"Lady Darkness, how is the power of the ancient deity that resurrected within you? Is it still growing?"

With the matter of the Lightless Cult and Elliot's group temporarily set aside, Wang Yu needed to confirm Lady Night's status. If that power continued to fester and spread, they would have to initiate the plan they had previously discussed.

"Those powers have vanished. They are no longer growing on the Tree of the Night Sky. However, they left something behind—something I find familiar, which I have sensed among the believers of the Blades of Night."

Lady Night projected an image of the Tree of the Night Sky for everyone to see. The pure darkness that had been spreading had indeed dissipated, leaving the stars in the night sky twinkling as brilliantly as ever.

Around the Tree of the Night Sky, however, new things had appeared. They looked like a flock of black night-birds, circling the tree, neither approaching nor retreating, simply orbiting in a rhythmic dance.

"The Mark of the Heavenly Gloom?"

Wang Yu guessed as he watched the birds. Existing both on the followers of the Blades of Night and connected to the God of Night, this was the only thing that came to mind. Had the Marks of the Heavenly Gloom from the Blades of Night collapsed, bringing the mental corruption along with them to Lady Night?

"More or less. These powers have no true master; I can command and drive them, and they seem to resonate quite well with me."

As she spoke, Lady Night made a grasping motion. The night-birds circling the tree responded to her call, flying toward the tree in unison, converging and clinging to it, before finally passing through a tiny void crack she had opened to land in her hand.

In her palm appeared a pitch-black longsword. It was a standard military straight sword, yet the blade reflected no light—it cast no shadow. It looked as if Lady Night were holding a two-dimensional object with its texture stripped away.

"A Dark Sword?"

Wang Yu realized he was constantly encountering things in this world that felt strangely familiar. The black straight sword in Lady Night's hand was no exception.

"Does this thing have any use?" Wang Yu asked with curiosity.

"Could you give me an object you no longer need?" Lady Night tilted her head and reached out her hand toward Wang Yu.

Avia snapped her fingers, pulled a piece of slag from a smelted ore about the size of half a fist out of a phase gate, and handed it to Lady Night.

Taking the slag, Lady Night tossed it into the air. The "Dark Sword" in her hand slashed upward with an incredibly unprofessional and awkward motion, slicing through the falling debris.

As the slag touched the blade, it sank into the pure darkness that composed it and, under the gaze of the group, vanished into nothingness.

"A power similar to that resurrected force—it renders things into a state of 'non-existence,'" Lady Night explained. After making the slag disappear, the Dark Sword in her hand shrank significantly, becoming the size of a dagger.

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. He wrapped his right hand in the Chariot's power and reached into the empty air where the slag had vanished, successfully grasping something in the nothingness.

He held a piece of "non-existent" stone. The sensation was truly bizarre—invisible, inaudible, intangible. Thinking about it, the Dark Sword in Lady Night's hand was quite terrifying; one strike, and a person would likely evaporate entirely.

"Phew... that will have to do for now. We will collect as much information as possible here in the Sky Mechanical City to see if we can find anything about the Lightless Cult. You continue with the plan we discussed."

Wang Yu looked at Lady Night and outlined the next steps.

"But, are you truly prepared to ensure the independence of the existence known as 'Darkness,' even if it means losing all your power?"

He then asked her, with great seriousness.

"Yes."

Lady Night confirmed it, brief but resolute.

"Good. That is exactly like you. If there are any variables, contact us at any time."

Wang Yu smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

...

This was all Wang Yu and his companions could do regarding Lady Night’s situation. Observation, waiting, and gathering more intelligence were the tasks that lay ahead.

He used the prayer communication network to contact Elliot and the others, confirming that the believers of the Church of Night were unharmed. The thick fog that had come from the Endless Sea had also dissipated after Wang Yu hammered those two bell-ringers into oblivion.

Alastair and the various human kingdoms had been in chaos for a while, all because the Marks of the Heavenly Gloom had failed. It seemed that Alastair was not the only one utilizing the legacy of the God of Night; other kingdoms had been using it as well.

With the cooperation of the army and the Blades of Night, the riots in the Abyss-Fallen Prison, which had lost some of its effectiveness, were quickly suppressed. As for the failed Marks of the Heavenly Gloom, the Blades of Night, already backed by the prayer communication network, no longer needed such a side-effect-ridden tool.

When contacted, the current leader of the Blades of Night, Shael, complained that he would soon compile a report on the Abyss-Fallen Prison and the Marks of the Heavenly Gloom for Wang Yu and his team.

With the general arrangements made, Wang Yu and his group continued their development in the Sky Mechanical City. No matter what, improving their strength was a priority that could never be neglected.

A few weeks later, Zieg, Avia, and Wang Yu walked through the streets of the Sky Mechanical City toward the tower located at its center.

"Having to undergo a combat trial just to upgrade one's status as a spellcaster—that is truly baffling."

Wang Yu shrugged, complaining about the bizarre regulations for status upgrades in the Sky Mechanical City.

Avia and Zieg were on their way to take the status upgrade exam. There were five ranks in the Sky Mechanical City: Citizen, Scholar, Mentor, Professor, and Sage.

Upgrading from Citizen to Scholar only required passing the ability assessment at the Scholar's Tower, a sub-tower of the central spire. To advance further, one had to produce research results worthy of submission to the Central Council and acceptable for the library's collection.

Above Sage, there was technically one more rank, but the holders of that status were fixed—the true owners of the Sky Mechanical City, those ancient monsters in the Central Council who had lived for who knows how many years.

The meta-magic research Icarus and the others were conducting was, in Icarus's estimation, enough to grant Wang Yu and his fellow peripheral participants the status of Mentor directly.

The purpose of Zieg and Avia's exam today was to gain the Scholar-level authority to access public materials in the Central Library.

Although it was only public material, the accumulation of this massive, sprawling city was vast, and it would provide Avia and Zieg with significant knowledge.

"This must have been a rule set at the city's founding. It was a turbulent era of war, and the Sky Mechanical City was originally used as an ultimate weapon of war. Its current status as an academic sanctuary was formed much later," Avia speculated based on what she knew. As a spellcaster, she would have to undergo a simulated combat test after passing the academic assessment.

Chatting as they walked, the three soon arrived at the central tower. The tower stood over four hundred meters tall, and to Wang Yu, it felt much like a skyscraper in a metropolis.

The central tower was divided into three sections: the Scholar's Tower, the Machina Tower, and the Perpetual Motion Tower, corresponding to the three vital components of the Sky Mechanical City. The status upgrade exams were held in the Scholar's Tower.

Entering the bustling tower filled with scholars, they verified their ID cards as those scheduled for the upgrade exam. Avia and Zieg went off to take their academic tests.

Wang Yu found a seat in the lounge provided for visitors on the first floor of the Scholar's Tower and waited for them to finish.

He was confident in the girl and the professor; passing the exam would be a breeze. He browsed the bookshelf in the lounge, which was mostly filled with miscellaneous essays. He pulled out a book with a familiar-looking title, intending to read it to pass the time.

"The Greatest Alchemist Merlin, the Greatest Wizard Roland, the Greatest Mage Sura... and the Greatest Chef Geiger." What an absurdly long title, he mused, wondering if this was merely a gimmick using famous names to peddle the author’s own wares.

Wang Yu recited the excessively wordy title, smacking his lips in bewilderment as he tried to discern the author’s intent in linking such disparate, unrelated figures together.

Yet, he had to admit, the title had piqued his curiosity; he was determined to see what the book actually contained—surely it couldn't be something as preposterous as the romantic escapades of Roland.

He had barely cracked open the first page when his latent chariot-force sensed something watching him from behind.

Turning around, Wang Yu saw a potted plant sitting on the shelf, its ceramic basin split down the middle to reveal a mechanical core, from which a camera-like lens protruded, staring directly at him.

"What are you looking at?"