By the time Victor arrived back in the vicinity of the academy, the stars had scattered across the night sky.

  After taking as many treasures as he could with him, he went to the library in the citadel. To his surprise, even though the citadel was a weapon of war, the library contained tens of thousands of books, rivaling even the greatest libraries on Earth. Such was the obsessiveness of Magi’s pursuit of the truth. They might have hidden their treasures in a no man's land, but they had brought their vast collections of books and memory crystals even to the front lines.

  Fortunately, Victor’s Master Shadowlink Mark allowed him to record a book’s contents with a single touch and turned it into an e-book. Even with this convenience, it took hours to touch every single book in the library. And, of course, time was spent searching for any clue regarding the ancient, forgotten war. It was a miracle that he managed to accomplish this within a day.

  But the truth really weighed heavily on Victor’s mind.

  No matter how much Victor searched through the countless books in the citadel’s vast library, he found nothing — no mention of the Armageddon War that had supposedly obliterated the Magus Dynasty Era. It was as if the event had been erased from history. This left him with two possible explanations: either the war had occurred so abruptly that no one had the chance to document it, or the ancient Magi had deliberately concealed the information.

  But the former explanation seemed ludicrous, given Magi’s tendency to record even the most trivial details. The idea that they would overlook something as catastrophic as the Armageddon War was almost unthinkable. Yet, if the latter was true — if they had indeed hidden the truth — then the question would be why? What could have been so terrifying, so catastrophic, that even the most powerful Magi chose to bury it in secrecy?

  So many questions were swirling inside Victor’s head. He had convinced himself that he wouldn’t live long enough to face the threat that had destroyed the ancient Magi… Nevertheless, once it had imprinted itself at the back of his mind, he couldn’t get rid of it.

  “But now, I need to organize an expedition to Brightmoon City…” Victor muttered to himself as he rode on Lumen’s back. He would need to issue a main mission to the players, selecting only the most capable to accompany him. To do that effectively, he would need to roll out the intermittent update as soon as possible.

  The citadel’s library had provided him with precious magical knowledge that only a real Magus academy would have. If he could harness this knowledge— No, if he could make the players fully utilize the gained knowledge and combine it with modern science, he couldn’t imagine the potential that would entail, as it might yield results beyond his wildest dreams. It was something to look forward to.

  But those were thoughts for another time. Right now, Brightmoon City held the resources essential for restoring the citadel, and that was his immediate priority. The expedition to the city would be crucial; it could mean the difference between success and failure in his grand plan. Besides, this was exactly what his new main and side missions were about.

  —— [Headmaster’s Journal] ——

  Mission: The Grand Expedition

  With the citadel now in your control, your next step is to embark on a crucial expedition to one of the cities in the Luminos Kingdom. Your goal is to locate the resources necessary to repair the citadel’s mechanical golems. Secure these resources and establish a reliable supply channel to expedite the citadel’s recovery.

  Type: Main mission

  Locate and acquire the required resources: 0/1

  Secure a consistent supply channel: 0/1

  Reward: 2,500 academy points and 10 chances to pull Elemental Adept lootboxes

  ————————

  Mission: Preparation For the Expedition

  Select a group of at least ten players to accompany you on the expedition and ensure all necessary supplies are gathered and preparations are complete, as unforeseen dangers may arise during the journey.

  Type: Side mission

  Reward: 1,000 academy points

  …

  As Victor dismounted from Lumen, the majestic creature that had accompanied him on so many of his adventures, he couldn’t help but smile as he patted her soft, silken neck. “Thank you, partner,” he said.

  “Woof!” she responded.

  He then entered the Headmaster’s Building with her following him closely in her normal size.

  “Greetings, respected Headmaster.”

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  “Good evening, Sir Astralium.”

  “Respected Headmaster, about my proposal to make an opera house from before…”

  “…”

  The chorus of voices that lined the corridors and hallways echoed as he walked toward the Headmaster’s Office. Their gazes were filled with respect and reverence. But you couldn’t be fooled by this since they were all clearly expecting something from him. He acknowledged their greetings with a nod, but his mind never lost focus on the task ahead.

  Once inside his office—

  “Master! You’ve returned safely!” Victor barely had time to settle before Lizbeth appeared out of nowhere, swiftly latching onto his face like an overexcited pet. “I’ve got some great news while you’re gone. The first group of players who challenged the dungeon has returned, and it seems one of them obtained the inheritance of a powerful Magus!”

  “I know.” Victor sighed, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he gently peeled Lizbeth off his face and set her on the desk. Ignoring the lingering tingling sensation on his face, his fingers instinctively traced the smooth edge of his desk as he activated his Shadowlink Mark and projected a holographic screen in front of him to access the official website forum.

  The forum was, as always, filled with players sharing their in-game experiences and discoveries. Now, there were more and more guides and tutorials circulating in here, covering everything from combat to life skills. Surprisingly, some players even created class guide videos, explaining the materials taught in the academy. The fact that these guides were becoming more popular was proof that the players were steadily mastering the intricacies of magic in the game.

  Victor, however, had a singular focus. He scrolled through the forum with ease, zeroing in on KuroUsagi’s latest post, which had quickly climbed to the top of the trending list.

  The title was as attention-grabbing as ever: “I Found a Fallen Magus’ Inheritance, and No, I’m Not Lying!”

  “Yo, yo, yo! KuroUsagi is back here to deliver you a fresh update on my and my friends’ findings in the new dungeon. Some of you might have watched the live stream and were wondering why it was suddenly cut short. But don’t worry, I’m here to explain it all…”

  Victor skimmed through the post from start to finish without stopping. This guy sure had a knack for storytelling, weaving together suspense and humor while keeping the readers on the edge of their seats. However, true to form, KuroUsagi took his time getting to the main point until the very end. But as entertaining as the post was, Victor’s interest lay in the exact nature of the Magus’ inheritance.

  “All right! Here comes the main point you’ve been waiting for! So, when I touched the crystal on the pedestal, I was immediately transported into a dreamland. It was dark — so dark and vast that I couldn’t see anything more than a meter away. Then suddenly, a mysterious man wearing a cloak appeared, someone who seemed to be an ancient Magus. At that moment, I thought, ‘Wow! I must have fulfilled a condition to meet a hidden NPC to receive a hidden class. Yippee!’”

  A dreamland? Victor stroked his chin in contemplation as he read further.

  “Well, sure enough, he offered me his inheritance in exchange for fulfilling his wish, which seems to be vengeance, as written on the pedestal. Of course, as a goose on the loose, I accepted it without a second thought.”

  “Stupid!” Victor cursed. Players like him had no idea how dangerous these ancient Magi could be. They might offer their legacy but rarely was it without strings attached. Actually, more often than not, such an offer came with sinister ulterior motives. The worst of these was when a Magus would brainwash their successor, using them as a pawn to orchestrate their resurrection or even as a vessel for their soul.

  However…

  When he thought about it again, this situation was even more alarming. A soul contract formed by vowing to exact vengeance on the Magus’ behalf was not something to take lightly; it wasn’t just a simple agreement written in code. Players, despite having an “immortal” body, still had their souls connected to their real bodies back on Earth. This meant that the contract should be etched deep into their souls, which meant any accident like failure to fulfill the contract’s terms might result in their death.

  The chilling thought of a headline flashed through Victor’s mind: “A Man Playing a VRMMORPG Game Magus Academy Online Was Found Dead.” Even if the System could protect their souls to some level, it’d require some serious experimentation to understand its limits and dangers. Guess I better investigate this further in the future…

  “I actually have no clue what’s written on the pedestal, but I have it recorded. I mean, remember how, when we first started the game, we were suddenly able to understand and speak a different language? Well, this one is of a different language than that since I can’t understand it. See below for the screenshot I posted.”

  Victor looked at the screenshot that KuroUsagi sent on the post. As he expected, the inscription on the pedestal was written in ancient Seraphian language — no wonder that he had no idea what it was all about.

  It read:

  “To any who dare claim my legacy, know this: My life was undone by the hand of my mortal enemy, a foe whose power rivaled my own. To draw me out from the shadows, he slaughtered my kin, leaving none alive. Their blood stains the earth, and their cries for justice echo through the ages. You who stand before my monument, I charge you with a task of blood and vengeance. Hunt down the descendants of my enemy and eradicate their line from existence. Let no trace of them remain, so that my wrath may be sated, and my knowledge and power will be yours to command.”

  Crap, it’s a task about retribution. Although it wasn’t the worst he’d seen, it was definitely among the troublesome ones. After all, to find these descendants of the dead Magus’ mortal enemy wasn’t something that Victor could accomplish, much less KuroUsagi, the hapless player in question.

  The only silver lining here was that there didn’t seem to be a hard time limit. That, at least, offered some flexibility. But it was still a ticking time bomb of a task. Additionally, the inheritance seemed to be of a very high quality, maybe a Sigil Conversion Magus inheritance at least. Luckily for Victor, KuroUsagi’s Shadowlink Mark should have a copy of the dead Magus’ legacy.

  “Pfft! This idiotic Black Bunny dug his own grave.” Lizbeth giggled, holding her tummy as she burst into laughter.

  “It’s not a laughing matter, you know…” Victor sighed, rubbing his temples as he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Welp, it’s also my fault that I never considered this scenario…”

  He didn’t feel any guilt since this was a risk that these players would have come to face sooner or later. It was just that this wasn’t a game, and the players weren’t aware of that. The consequences of taking such a reckless action could have real-world implications, especially if they involved soul-binding contracts.

  Unable to hold himself, Victor posted a reply on the thread, stating that inheriting power from a Magus in the game came with serious consequences if players failed to fulfill the required promises. The penalties ranged from severe debuffs to the permanent deletion of their characters. His post quickly caused a stir among the players, sparking heated discussions and concerns across the community.

  Regardless of this, maybe some sort of solution was required to fix this issue. The last thing he wanted was for KuroUsagi or any other player to end up in a similar situation without knowing the consequences.

  It was then that a solution presented itself before Victor’s ears.

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