Chapter Fifty-Six: Touch and Search

At this moment, Lando felt as though he were stepping into a river surging with hidden currents; the black-red radiance and the white radiance ceaselessly assailed him, their influence growing ever more violent. He strove to find his balance between the two forces—indeed, two sides. In the beginning, the Heart of the World treated him like its own child; whenever the black-red radiance tried to affect him, the white radiance would shield him. But as time passed, the exclusivity of the Heart of the World began to show. Though it still sheltered Lando from storms, it also started to reject him.

By the time he was halfway through, the faint repulsion suddenly intensified, whether due to the passage of time or the closing distance, and even his advance was hindered. When only a quarter of the way remained, the repulsion grew stronger still, and now the assault of the black-red radiance became a strange kind of aid. Lando pressed on, using the opposition of the two forces to inch forward with great difficulty.

When only a fifth of the journey remained, he could move no further. The repulsion was visibly strengthening. Lando had foreseen this. He turned his attention to the system, where the talent [Shattered Destiny (Violet)] began to gleam with violet light. Wisps of a peculiar aura seeped out, enveloping him.

As the strange aura surrounded him, the repulsive force of the Heart of the World diminished greatly. His eyes lit up; without further hesitation, he strode boldly toward the Heart of the World.

This method was the simplest and most effective among the materials provided by Teacher Moritz. For other arcanists, they would need to carry a special vessel and scour the world for a 'special power.' The material did not specify what this power was, but Lando suspected it was 'the power of destiny.' Now, it seemed his guess was correct.

Though the black-red and white radiances were powerful, they seemed devoid of self-awareness. As Lando drew closer, their only response was to intensify their energy output—mechanical, rigid, and lifeless.

When Lando was only a few steps from the glowing sphere, the immense repulsive force became an oppressive pressure, making it hard for him to breathe. A trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. [Shattered Destiny (Violet)] suddenly exploded, unleashing a torrent of 'destiny power.' With all his might, he leapt forward and pressed his hand onto the Heart of the World.

...

Three days passed in a flash, and the busy Sico had finally dealt with nearly all his affairs.

Stretching lazily, Sico complained to Moritz, “What a loss this has been. I thought this would be an easy job. Had I known, I’d rather have stayed cooped up in the mage tower.”

He finished speaking only to see Moritz looking preoccupied, as if he hadn't even heard. Annoyed, he called again, “Hey, Moritz?!”

“What?” Moritz snapped back to attention.

“What’s wrong with you? Still worried about that young arcanist? If you ask me, he probably went back long ago.”

Moritz didn’t reply. In fact, he’d already checked with the academy and knew Lando had not returned. Instead, he asked, “Is there any news about those two powerful combatants?”

“You mean those two bastards who nearly destroyed the world? The exploration team found their last battlefield, but unfortunately, there was nothing there.”

Moritz fell silent again. Sico’s eyes flickered, and he said casually, “If you care so much about that young arcanist, I can grant you full-power observation access. That way, at least, you can track his movements for the past thirty days and locate his last known position.”

“No need!” Moritz blurted out, immediately realizing his mistake.

Sure enough, Sico shot to his feet. At the same moment, Moritz noticed the lights in the command room flicker slightly—a sign Sico had activated full defensive power, causing a brief energy overload.

“My old friend, I think you owe me an explanation. That young arcanist didn’t offend you, did he? Are you trying to teach him a lesson? As his mentor, would you really harm your student? Or has your core processor overloaded and fried your brain?”

Though Sico’s tone was harsh, it was clear he was trying to excuse Moritz, which moved him.

Noticing the rest of the command crew subtly shift their attention toward them, Moritz made up his mind and whispered, “Let’s talk privately.”

Sico stared into Moritz’s eyes; Moritz met his gaze without flinching.

A barrier suddenly shimmered into existence, blocking out all sight and sound.

Sico produced a metallic sphere and let it float in the air—a recording device.

“Don’t worry. I’ll only keep a record; it’s not connected to the battleship’s core.”

Moritz nodded, then began to recount everything he had done and deduced.

At first, Sico’s expression was impassive, but soon his mouth started to twitch, and finally, dark lines covered his face as he roared, “Are you kidding me?!”

Moritz wore a look of innocence. “That’s how it is. I don’t know how you could have misunderstood so badly.”

“A misunderstanding?! You stopped me from searching for that student because you thought he might be absorbing the Heart of the World. Are you crazy, or am I?!”

“...”

“Wait!” Sico suddenly spotted the flaw. “You could have just told me! I wouldn’t have believed you, but at least I could have laughed at you for a while, couldn’t I?”

“...”

“You really believe he could succeed? And you don’t trust me? So you didn’t tell me? After all we’ve been through, you don’t trust me?!”

“...”

“Damn it! I’m furious! Just you wait for the strictest investigation! Mark my words, if that young arcanist who hasn’t even fully constructed his Arcane Furnace really obtains the Heart of the World, I’ll take this battleship and—”

“—And do what?” Moritz blinked, asking.

“Hmph!”

“It’s only a guess, but what if it’s true? You ought to understand, the fewer people know of such things, the better!”

“Hmph!”

“...”

After a long silence, Sico suddenly smashed the floating metal sphere to dust.

The barrier vanished. The entire command room turned to look at them; some even aimed strange devices their way, apparently some kind of listening tool. When the barrier dropped, everyone instantly scattered, pretending to be busy.

Sico’s face darkened as he strode toward the storeroom, Moritz close behind.

They fetched backup tracking instruments and left the battleship to search for Lando’s trail.

A day later, Sico checked his device repeatedly, confirming the location. He stared at Moritz in shock.

Moritz returned the same stunned look.

This was precisely the site of Lando’s final battle with Prince Sandy.

This seemed to suggest that one of the combatants was Lando?!

Sico suddenly said, “Wait, perhaps we’re being too optimistic. Maybe one of those two killed Lando, took his wristband, and that’s why we’re seeing these results. After all, didn’t you say his Arcane Furnace wasn’t even fully formed before entering this world? It’s unlikely he became that powerful all of a sudden.”

Moritz froze. His elation faded, and his face grew grim. “I have to admit, that’s probably the most likely scenario. Damn it, could I have gotten Lando killed?”

Sico’s expression was grave as well. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Since the wristband’s signal vanished here, there might be some kind of spatial anomaly, or at the very least, residual spatial fluctuations. I’ll have the battleship deploy the World Membrane Analysis Device immediately. If it’s Lando, so be it. If it’s someone else, hmph...”

“Yes, and we can’t rule out the best-case scenario. For now, let’s proceed carefully and avoid causing any further harm.”

“Agreed.”