Chapter 421: Star River Floater (Patreon)

Chapter 421: Star River Floater

As the Old Wizard suddenly appeared before him, Richard felt a chill run down his spine.

Before the Old Wizard had spoken, Richard hadn’t detected even the slightest trace of his presence. If this had happened on the battlefield, he would likely already be dead.

"Esteemed Master, you—"

"You are Master Delis!"

Before Richard could finish speaking, Stio exclaimed in shock.

Delis? Even for someone like Richard, who wasn’t particularly well-informed, this name was thunderously familiar.

Harvester Delis—a legendary Black Wizard of the four-ringed Tower of Truth. Legends spoke of this Black Wizard participating in over thirty Plane Wars, slaying countless natives and accomplishing countless feats deemed impossible.

The most legendary among them was stalling a World Master.

In one Plane War, Delis had held off a World Master on the battlefield for a full half-hour.

This single act had directly altered the course of the war, allowing the Wizards to successfully conquer that world.

Yet, according to rumors, this legendary Black Wizard had perished during his ascension to Great Wizard.

Richard scrutinized the Old Wizard before him. His appearance was that of a standard human, with no obvious bodily modifications or fused native bloodlines.

His face was utterly unremarkable—the kind you wouldn’t spare a second glance at in a crowd.

His build was average at best, perhaps slightly more robust than most.

As for Life Radiation and energy fluctuations… the Old Wizard had indeed done an exceptional job. There was almost no detectable energy spillage or Life Radiation emanating from him.

And Richard, relying on his mastery of radiation rules, could barely achieve the same.

"It’s me," the Old Wizard replied calmly. "I know the outside world believes I died in the Great Wizard ascension ritual.

But I didn’t die—I merely failed."

Ascension failure…

At these words, Richard and Stio couldn’t help but shudder inwardly.

Though Delis spoke of it lightly, the failure of a Wizard’s ascension typically cost them at least half their life.

Yet Delis had survived a failed ascension to Great Wizard. This alone proved why he was hailed as a legendary Wizard.

"Let’s skip the pleasantries, Chairman Richard. I’d like to invite you to join my plan," Delis said.

His voice was eerily calm, devoid of any emotion, as if synthesized by a machine.

"Plan?" Richard raised an eyebrow. "I’m all ears."

"I’ve discovered a hideout of a native resistance group, but my strength alone isn’t enough to eradicate them. So, I plan to invite a few Wizards of sufficient power to join me in wiping out this native stronghold."

Delis’s words were calm, but Richard detected something unusual beneath them.

"Sufficient power? What qualifies as sufficient?"

Delis looked at Richard, his placid gaze making Richard slightly uneasy.

"Your strength is sufficient. His is not. Personally, I suggest you take his points—better you than someone else.

Because even if he enters the inner circle, he’ll immediately become someone else’s points.

His rules… are far too few."

Delis's words weren't very pleasant, but Stio didn't argue at all. Instead, he even nodded and said, "That's true. My combat ability really can't compare to those geniuses."

"Not geniuses," Delis corrected. "Every Wizard who passed the first round of screening is far from mediocre. The gap between you and them lies in luck, resources, or a sudden spark of inspiration—not in innate talent."

Stio was momentarily stunned by these words, then lowered his head. "Master, there's no need to comfort me. I'm not so—"

"I'm not comforting you," Delis interrupted. "I'm just stating facts. Just like how I advised you to hand over your points to your companion now and go attend that pointless gathering."

"Are those natives dangerous?" Richard suddenly spoke up.

"Extremely dangerous," Delis corrected. "Those natives are the most dangerous I've ever seen in my life. It's hard to imagine how many Wizards the mediocre military forces must have sacrificed to conquer this world."

Delis's words weighed heavily on Richard's heart. If his guess was correct, these so-called "natives" were likely remnants of another civilization's military forces left in this world.

"Could you elaborate?" Richard asked quietly.

Without further ado, Delis pulled out a palm-sized biological specimen from his pocket and tossed it to Richard.

"I've temporarily named this the Star River Floater—a semi-gestalt organism. These floaters share a psychic link but retain individual personalities. This makes them exceptionally flexible in combat. In small-scale battles, they don't even need commanders—their individual coordination is enough to handle localized engagements."

The more Delis described, the more Richard's heart sank. Against such a species, unless Wizards could overwhelmingly dominate in high-tier combatants, their civilization would hold no advantage in a full-scale conflict.

Richard took out his tools to examine the specimen. This Star River Floater was at the peak of a first-tier organism's strength. Its physiological traits closely resembled common floaters in the Wizard World—compound eyes, chewing mouthparts, three pairs of thoracic legs, and three caudal filaments.

But there were differences too. For instance, the Star River Floater's wings were covered in fine scales, much like a butterfly's.

"Individually, they're not very strong, are they?" Richard handed the specimen back to Delis. "If these creatures had high individual combat power, the military would never dare use this world as a venue. They'd have destroyed it outright."

"Indeed not," Delis said, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. "Most individuals are only first or second-tier, with very few third-tier existences. Moreover, their combat effectiveness is weak—they must act in groups to pose any real threat."

"Then I think Stio could still participate," Richard replied. "Spells like Chain Lightning should prove very useful soon. And my friend here specializes in the Rule of Thunder."

Delis glanced at Stio and gave a slight nod. "That would work. But before that, I must say—his strength is insufficient. Even if he joins us in hunting the natives, his score won't reach the top hundred."

"Moreover, if the natives trigger his protection mechanism, you won't get his points either."

Richard shrugged indifferently, "I don't lack points, and I'm not that eager to join the military department."

Although joining the military would allow him to exchange military merits for qualifications to advance to Great Wizard.

But the original Great Wizard selection process hadn't been canceled due to the new regulations.

Richard could still directly participate in the Archmage Trial to obtain his chance for promotion.

Don't assume that participating in the Archmage Trial means being sent to meat grinder battlefields. If they joined the military, these Third Circle Wizards wouldn't be able to avoid such slaughterfields anyway.

Delis gave Richard a deep look upon hearing this.

Richard's condition was the same as his - no energy fluctuations or Life Radiation detectable. But Delis had honed this ability through countless battles.

Richard clearly didn't share his experience.

"Radiation rules?"

Delis had already guessed.

He took out a map from his pocket and handed it to Richard.

"Here's the map with the nest location. I need to find another Great Wizard apprentice next, so I won't accompany you."

With that, Delis melted into the shadows right before Richard's eyes. Yet even so, Richard couldn't detect Delis's traces.

"What a terrifying Old Wizard," Richard remarked with some awe.

He unfolded the map - the contents were rough but contained all essential information.

"Only a hundred kilometers. Not too far."

As he spoke, Richard was about to call Stio to head for the marked nest location.

But when he turned, he saw Stio hesitating, "Actually, I could just give you my points directly. In such dangerous operations, I'd only hold you back."

Stio knew his own limitations well - forcing himself into situations beyond his capability would only lead to disaster.

"Come now," Richard said helplessly, "I told you your rules will be useful later. Why hesitate now? Let me tell you, these creatures are valuable. We'll likely be fighting them for years to come."

"Fighting for years?" Stio looked puzzled, "However troublesome these creatures are, even if the military Wizards are incompetent, they should clean them up in fifty or sixty years."

"Who told you these creatures only exist in this single world?" Richard said ominously.

"What do you mean?"

An inexplicable unease flashed through Stio's heart. Richard's words sent chills down his spine.

Subconsciously, he'd been ignoring certain implications.

But Richard's next words mercilessly dragged these ignored truths into the light.

"Stio, in this vast Astral World, do you think there might exist another major world like the Wizard World?"

"Could beings from that world also have broken through their world's barriers, expanding their influence across the Astral World like Wizards do?"

Stio's expression darkened. The Wizard World's longstanding culture had conditioned Wizards to view themselves as enlightened superior beings.

Gradually and imperceptibly, Wizards had subconsciously come to regard themselves as the "chosen ones" among the myriad races in the Astral World.

But this subconscious belief carried a significant flaw.

Given the immense span of the Astral World's history, what made Wizards the first enlightened race?

If a race more "enlightened" than Wizards existed, wouldn't that make Wizards the primitives? The thought of the creatures Wizards dismissed as primitives sent a shiver down Stio's spine.

He forced a weak laugh. "Richard, you must be joking. We're Wizards—those primitives..."

"Stio," Richard interrupted coldly, "my judgment may be flawed. This insect might not belong to another civilization.

But you must face the truth—Wizard civilization is not unique.

Somewhere in the Astral World, other civilizations exist, competing with us for dominion.

Otherwise, how could The Lost Ones have vanished?"