Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

Gu Chen leaned against the cold stone wall. His right arm was still very painful, but leaning against the stone wall could temporarily relieve the physical pain.

"Many years ago...so long ago that even star charts could be shifted,"

The tomb keeper spoke slowly, his voice carrying an ancient, weathered quality.

"Something fell from the rift in the astral plane. It was neither flesh and blood nor a form of energy. It was a desecration of order, more like a concept."

Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat, and the corner of his mouth twitched again.

Astral rift? Conceptual entity?

What is this thing?

This is beyond his current understanding of the power system in this world.

"What the hell... But gods do exist in this world."

Gu Chen listened carefully to the words on the stone tablet.

"The creatures that first came into contact with it were perhaps wild beasts that strayed into the area, or perhaps curious wizards. After hearing its unconscious whispers, they all developed physical distortions."

"It's not just physical mutation; everything has gone completely out of control."

"Flesh and blood will turn into iron, shadows will detach from the body and crawl, language will lose its logic, memories will become completely chaotic, and even the brain will run into the body."

The tomb keeper's description sent a chill down Gu Chen's spine...

"What's even more terrifying is that this distortion is contagious; it can spread not only through contact but also through contaminated magic."

"Where it goes, the rules of reality become loose and chaotic."

"The original group in the Gray Tower weren't very strong; they were just the weak third-ring wizards you see."

"Of course, I don't blame you. The original group is indeed ridiculously weak in the eyes of the Gray Tower now."

The gravedigger spoke calmly, without a hint of self-deprecation, simply stating the facts.

"They were the first to discover this...thing, and realized that if it wasn't contained, the entire Black Forest, and even further beyond, would become a nightmare of broken rules."

"Back then... back then, there was no Gray Tower Academy here, only a few research outposts that barely managed to establish themselves on the edge of the Black Forest."

Gu Chen's gaze swept over the skeletons surrounding the stone tablet. Their eyes were empty, but he felt that they, like himself, were gazing at that long-forgotten past.

"They didn't have the power to destroy it, or even to fully understand it. But they found a way."

"That is the seal."

"It's not a simple magical seal."

"Blood, oaths, and sacrifices have built a cage."

Gu Chen could sense an indescribable emotion in the tomb keeper's voice.

sad?

Or is it pride?

Perhaps both.

"They used their bloodline as a guide and their souls as a pact, completely binding their lives to this land, to this cave, and to this stone tablet that bears the ancient suppressing runes."

"They became part of the seal, reinforcing it with their will while they were alive, and even after death... the lingering obsession in their bones continues to fulfill their vows, guiding the earth's ley line magic and maintaining the seal's operation."

"You can also see the fire of the soul in the eyes of these skeletons, the embers of their will."

"They are not the dead, they are my friends... my comrades."

"As for what's sealed away,"

The gravedigger paused, as if even mentioning it required immense courage.

"We call it: the throat of silence."

The moment the name was uttered, Gu Chen clearly felt the surrounding light seem to distort, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

A sense of unease washed over my mind...

Gu Chen seemed to hear countless whispers behind thick frosted glass, chaotic and meaningless.

It suddenly made him feel irritable and uneasy.

The light from the stone tablet flickered rapidly a few times, and the skeletons on the ground also lit up and dimmed simultaneously, before the commotion quickly subsided.

"You felt it?" The gravedigger's voice was even weaker.

"Simply mentioning its name will attract its attention."

"A name is power, and also pollution."

"The more you know, the clearer you hear, the closer you get to madness and distortion."

"That's why, in later records about the Gray Tower, almost all information about it was erased, leaving only vague warnings and prohibitions against touching it."

Gu Chen took a deep breath, suppressing his discomfort. He understood the tomb keeper's previous ambiguity.

Meanwhile, the corner of his mouth twitched more and more violently...

What is this...? Have I accidentally stumbled into an abyss?

"So, what the Antinoya family and the Lorian rebels want is the power that the Silent Throat leaks, a power capable of distorting the rules?"

Yes and no.

Gravekeeper's Way

"The Throat of Silence is itself the ultimate chaos, and cannot be directly utilized by any ordered entity."

"But its existence continuously exudes a power we call 'Chaotic Source Matter'."

"This source substance, a mixture of death, distortion, and faint fragments of rules, is of great interest to certain unconventional, or perhaps more accurately, to wizards who are eager for quick success and willing to pay any price..."

"This is an extremely tempting material?"

Gu Chen asked,

"Yes, that's right... and Chaotic Source Matter has even more special uses, especially... for driving or enhancing certain forbidden things, such as the Soul Forge?"

"A Soul Forge?"

The previously chaotic clues suddenly connected in Gu Chen's eyes.

It seems that the Grey Tower built the Sealing Tower on the edge of the Dead Wasteland not just to collect dead materials to power the Soul Forge; my and Ysera's previous speculations were too simplistic.

It now appears that what is being collected may not be just ordinary death magic, but rather death energy contaminated by the "Throat of Silence"!

The power of death is everywhere, and most importantly, the chaotic source of matter is contained in the desolate wasteland!

"What does this have to do with the Lorian royal bloodline?"

"The Lorian royal family were just ordinary mortals, and the Kingdom of Lorian was just a mortal kingdom. Although third-ring wizards are not uncommon in the Gray Tower now, they were an extremely powerful force back then."

"What's the deal with using the Lorian royal bloodline as a key?"

"Why can mortal blood become a key?"

Gu Chen pressed for an answer.

"That was part of the seal design, or rather, an insurance policy, or a test."

The gravedigger explained,

"The original seal keepers foresaw that future generations might covet this power. They granted the authority to open the seal to a family possessing a special, ancient bloodline at the time."

"To break the seal, the blood of a pure-blooded descendant of this family is needed as a medium and guide."

"This is both to link risk with a specific responsibility and to encourage future rulers to treat it with caution."

"Clearly, within the current Lorian royal family, someone has chosen to betray this ancient pact, using bloodlines as bargaining chips."

It seems that Jim's blood might be the key to breaking the seal.

But that's not right.

Why was such an important key almost thrown into the Soul Furnace?

Gu Chen was confused; the clues that had been pieced together were now jumbled up again, so he asked.

"What if someone with that bloodline is thrown into the Soul Forge?"

"..."

“…………”

Upon hearing this, the stone tablet suddenly fell into a long silence.

There was no sound of wind in the cave, only a growing sense of oppression due to the silence.

"You're really daring..."

"What do you mean?"

The words emanating from the stone tablet carried a distinct air of anger this time.

"Think about it, what would happen if you threw a key into a place full of locks?"

"The door has been opened?"

"What if behind all these doors are magical traps, and behind each trap is a magical bomb that explodes if the wrong key is inserted?"

I go……

Gu Chen's lips started twitching uncontrollably, and even the corners of his eyes started to twitch.

Okay, so your unintentional act almost saved the world, huh...?

Well, saving the world is probably out of the question. There are many capable people in Gray Tower Academy, so they should be able to solve the problem. I should be helping the academy avoid a major crisis.

"Will it explode?"

"certainly!"

The tone coming from the stone tablet this time was noticeably higher!

You can feel the anger emanating from it!

"And that's not all; the chain reaction triggered by the Soul Forge, and the anger, resentment, pain, despair, and confusion felt by the bloodline holders the moment they enter the Soul Forge..."

"I wonder how big of a reaction this will cause!"

"This isn't just a simple breaking of the seal; that thing might even awaken!"

"At that time, the entire edge and central areas of the Black Forest will be filled with chaotic source matter!"

"It will come!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated the stone tablet became. It seemed that if there were a person inside, they would be furious by now...

"...Damn it."

"Please come here, I will give you a gift to help you."

"Gift?"

Gu Chen keenly grasped this keyword.

"I will inject a portion of safe and controllable chaotic source matter into your arm to enhance your strength."

"Don't worry, it's safe and controllable... and because of the properties of the chaotic source matter, this power can also help you control the power in your right arm."

Gu Chen thought about it for a while.

This does seem to be a good thing.

Since this stone tablet clearly requires my help, it's unlikely to harm me, so I can accept it directly.

This can be considered a reward, since the strength is real.

"it is good."

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the stone tablet, and dark purple energy surged out like a living thing.

Immediately, the tomb keeper began chanting ancient incantations, and the dark purple energy was guided into a thin stream, forcibly penetrating into the dark gold patterns on Gu Chen's right arm.

"..."

Although it hurt a lot, Gu Chen remained expressionless.

got used to.

"Not bad willpower. Alright, feel it now."

Gu Chen felt the power in his right arm; this power was very... unique.

Originally, the three forces of death were supposed to counterbalance each other, but most of the time this balance was far from stable.

As a result, after adding this dark purple power, it actually became more stable.

However, from Gu Chen's internal perspective, the three forces in his arm, after stabilizing at the beginning, began to look out of control!

"you…………?"

Gu Chen immediately looked up at the stone tablet, and began to gather his inner magic power in his hands, preparing to attack.

What does that mean? Could it be that I've been tricked?

Although it seems pointless for the other party to scheme against me, it's also possible that I can't think of anything right now, since I do have too little information.

"Don't be afraid..."

The stone tablet remained unmoved, its voice weary yet still confident.

"This is the Core of Chaos... It is a condensation of a sealed source substance."

"Chaos is its nature...it will definitely affect you."

"Don't worry, I will help you continue to guide you."

Then, a melodious tune resounded in Gu Chen's mind, directly affecting his spirit.

At the same time, the veins forming on Gu Chen's arm began to flash with a dark golden light. Guided by the stone tablet and aided by the spontaneous power of the dark golden patterns, a new, more complex, and unstable energy vortex was formed.

It is not simply a core, but rather like a miniature nebula, with a violent and turbulent interior where gray, gold, black, and purple energy flows intertwine and collide.

Finally, with guidance, they gradually stabilized.

Eventually, a slowly rotating vortex was formed.

"Chaotic vortex..."

Stone tablet path:

"It is neither stable nor extremely stable; it is full of unpredictability..."

"Make good use of it; that's what chaos is all about—chaotic and unpredictable."

Once the chaotic vortex stabilized initially, the energy conflicts in other areas of the right arm gradually subsided.

The three death forces returned to the roughly three-layered sealing structure, but the boundaries between them were somewhat blurred, and they all carried a very faint purplish-black chaotic aura, while the dark gold patterns shrank back below the shoulders, their light dim, clearly indicating that they had consumed a lot of energy.

"Thanks."

After the energy stabilized, Gu Chen looked up at the stone tablet, bowed slightly, and thanked it.

"It's alright... You just need to continue with your plan, that's the best arrangement for me."

"My time is running out."

The gravedigger's voice grew softer and softer, and the light from the stone tablet became extremely dim, like a candle flickering in the wind.

"Let's go quickly."

As the words fell, the light on the stone tablet completely went out, leaving only the faint green glow provided by the dome crystal. The soul fire in the eye sockets of the skeleton on the ground also seemed to have exhausted its last strength, slowly dimming and no longer flickering.

The cave returned to silence, with only the faint sound of underground water flowing.

Black Stone Forest lives up to its name.

After following the directions on the stone tablet for a short while, Gu Chen successfully found the stone slab and then came directly here.

He was crouching behind a clump of dark blue shrubs with sharp edges, squinting at what lay ahead.

The place looked as if it had been ravaged by a great fire, and seemed to be permeated by some ominous force, with all the rocks showing a dull, pitch-black color.

The rocks stood jagged and grotesque, and the air was filled with a smell that resembled a mixture of metal and ash.

"There's a very strong aura of necromancy... Aiden shouldn't be lying to me."

According to the rescued alchemy apprentice named Aiden, Jobeck's camp was deep within this rocky forest, near the upstream of the dried-up riverbed.