CHAPTER 82: I KNOW YOU’RE PANICKING, BUT DON’T PANIC YET

The conversation in the study ended with Silvia’s victory. Planck swore a solemn oath to never appear before Wayne again. His reasoning was that as a respected senior in the circle, he appreciated Wayne’s talent, so he showed his love by letting go.

Silvia didn’t believe that for a second. The old man was wicked. She couldn’t trust a word out of his mouth.

Planck left, but not before giving Wayne a big hug and a wink, further fueling Silvia’s anger. Even so, there was nothing she could do. Aside from Planck being the director of the Red Leaf Asylum, essentially making him both warden of the mage prison and chief justice, he was also a legendary mage whose power alone prevented her from making a move.

Planck had too many bargaining chips. He could easily win a young man over by offering him benefits. The thought that her dear student would succumb to temptation and become corrupted made Silvia’s chest ache; the heartache was so serious that she could barely breathe.

She covered her chest and groaned in the living room. Meanwhile, Wayne decided to go to the basement to train after feeding his messenger bird.

The battle between the two powerful beings last night had ravaged the space itself. When immortals fought, mortals suffered. Who knew how many of his old friends had been left displaced? Thinking of them wandering without a home to return to, leading a life worse than dogs, Wayne’s kind heart ached for them.

Don’t worry, my friends! I’ll make sure you live as well as a dog!

Before he could take two steps, though, his master grabbed his collar and dragged him back to the couch.

“What’s going on?” Silvia asked, staring at him with a heavy gaze. “Why did the Lord of the Void chase you so relentlessly?”

“Master, you should ask the Lord of the Void the question,” Wayne said petulantly. “How would I know what a madman was thinking?”

Fair!

Silvia knew that, but while Wayne felt wronged, she felt even more so! She had barely had her precious student for more than a few months after stealing him away, and a legendary mage already had his eyes on him. What she wouldn’t give to travel back in time and punch her bastard husband. If he hadn’t scared the boy into fleeing Londan, he wouldn’t have encountered the Geocentrism Sect and the Lord of the Void, and then he wouldn’t have attracted that crazy asylum director.

Everything’s your fault! I should never have married you!

But if not for her bastard husband's unintended help, she wouldn’t have met Wayne at the train station and taken him as a student out of curiosity. He would’ve joined the Church of the Moonlight then.

Silvia sighed. Gold glittered no matter the environment. Even though she had desperately kept Wayne a secret, the fly Planck still noticed him.

“What do you think of the Free Mage Alliance, Wayne?”

“Rarely. A loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolutely not loyalty at all. They think they’re taking advantage of the gods, but sooner or later, the gods will punish them. It won’t last.”

That was Wayne’s honest opinion.

There was a saying about the workplace: Don’t treat others as people if you’re above them, and don’t see yourself as a person if others are above you.

Such was the simple truth of success, applicable in any office, and even more so when it came to gods and their followers.

The Free Mage Alliance was powerful due to freedom of faith, but they should consider why the gods would turn a blind eye to them; there had to be a reason. The alliance treated the gods like tools when they were likely the tools themselves. Their blind belief that they were above punishment would one day be their downfall.

However, the alliance had shown Wayne a path, leading to a door that opened to a new world.

I don’t blindly believe that I’m above punishment. I’m actually different since I have a cheat!

“Goddess blesses us, it’s wonderful that you think this way.” Overjoyed, Silvia raised her arms to hug Wayne. He dodged away successfully, only to be grabbed by the collar and yanked back.

)`‸눈)

Master, I know you’re panicking, but don’t panic yet. Planck was right. Your student is destined to become shared property between the goddesses.

Silvia patted Wayne’s head, finding Planck more and more detestable. She gritted her teeth. “The magic circle didn’t protect you well enough. That was my fault. Otherwise, the old man from the asylum wouldn’t have found an opening. Don’t worry. I’ll get you a better house in a couple of days.”

“This place is fine.” Wayne scooted sideways. His old friends couldn’t do without him.

“No, I considered a lot of things, but not the possibility that a Gold-rank mage would come for you in person. There won’t be a next time.” Silvia thought of Sidney’s ancestral home, a magical fortress built over the years. In theory, it was private property, the sacred ownership of which should not be violated. Even the High Reverend had no authority to dispose of it.

However, the rules were dead, and people could be dead, too. Sidney had been thrown into the Red Leaf Asylum, going from studying others to being studied by others. He wouldn’t get out for another three to five decades. It would be a waste of resources to leave such a fine ancestral home sitting empty. Corrupt officials would surely find excuses to claim it for themselves, such as tax evasion.

Since it would be stolen anyway, why couldn’t it become her student’s? There would be one last case of corruption, and the government’s reputation would be safe. Even the current cabinet would thank her for that.

Now that she had convinced herself, she no longer felt any guilt about taking the house. She patted Wayne’s shoulder and told him with a smile that she would give him a property deed.

Wayne didn’t reject her. It wasn’t because the offer was too good to be turned down. It was just a mansion, and he wasn’t someone easily dazzled by money. He simply believed that as master and student, they were beyond polite rejections. Besides, his master was insecure because of Planck, which would make her lose sleep, and without sufficient rest, her work would be affected, leading to her losing her job and returning home as a full-time housewife.

For his master’s career and for the future of exploiting subordinates and chilling with Holy Maidens at night, Wayne gritted his teeth and accepted the gift.

A property deed? Bring it over for me to sign!

“Is the place big, Master?”

“It’s alright. A little bigger than this house.”

Then it’s massive!

Wayne’s eyebrow jumped. A house that big would need a butler, and if he was going to hire a butler, he should hire the best one.

Veryl!

Perseverance would always be answered one day. It was his first time feeling this close to his dream butler. In the future, he would no longer be Young Master Wayne, but Master Wayne.

There was one issue, though: Veryl was the Lando family’s loyal butler. No amount of money would buy his allegiance. And even putting aside his loyalty, his current master, Mr. Lando, had nothing if not money as a banker. Wayne could never compete financially.

If he offered two thousand for Veryl’s contract, Mr. Lando would just dismiss him with twenty million. And Wayne would gladly take the money and call him father.

“How pathetic. I can’t even turn him down in my fantasy...”

Wayne thought of Veronica then. With all the money talk, his only solution was his magical girl friend.

“What are you muttering about?” Silvia raised an eyebrow. “Turning whom down?”

“I’m thinking about the house, Master,” Wayne said regretfully. “Do you remember Butler Veryl from Enrod? I want him so badly, but he’s the Lando family’s butler. I can only dream of having his service.”

“Veryl...” Silvia smiled mysteriously. “If that’s what you want, I can help you.”

“Do you know people from the Lando family, Master?”

“A few. Not many.” She patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll handle this. Just focus on your study and don’t think about anything else. The asylum sounds like bad news, right? The old man may be a lunatic.”

“Don’t worry, Master. I’ve already forgotten who Schrödinger is.”

“Schrödinger?”

“The asylum director earlier. Did you forget already, Master?”

After a moment of silence, Silvia said with a stern face, “That’s right. That’s the name. Don’t mention him again.”

***

Silvia drove away, leaving Wayne with good news before departing: Sidney’s unclear connections to the Lord of the Void meant that his faction was destined to be purged, and more than that, they would be under thorough, repeated investigations to make sure no bad actors remained. Once the matter was settled, Londan would be peaceful again. Then Wayne could move freely without worrying about his being Silvia’s student causing him trouble.

Also, he’d accompany his master to a family banquet.

Wayne called Veronica to tell her the good news first thing, but when making the call, he realized that the house’s landline had been cut off.

“Damn, as expected of a Gold-rank mage. He was much more thorough than the four amateurs from before.”

He went to the street to find a phone booth to share the news with Veronica second thing. Due to his cautious nature, he didn’t tell her who his master was, only that his master had dealt with her troubles, and he would be free soon.

“How much of the diary have you written?” Veronica asked without preamble.

“Um, is that all you care about? Can’t you ask after me?”

“Why would I?”

“Because I write diaries!”

“...”

She couldn’t find any fault in that logic. To celebrate Wayne’s release from the protective cage and the beginning of his second life, she planned to throw a small party, inviting Senior Kristen and Vera. She scheduled it a week later.

Wayne considered the time. His master was a woman of action. One week should be enough for her to clean up the remnants of the old regime. He readily agreed.

“Remember to bring your diary, Wayne. Write more in the next few days.”

“Do you really like non-fiction so much?”

“Not really. It’s just that the detective novels Kristen writes are terrible, but she always makes me read them.”

“Senior likes writing novels? Interesting. I’ll have to read them sometimes,” Wayne said. “By the way, may I ask if the party will be sponsored by our dear Miss Veronica?”

“Yeah, what else? You’re gonna pay?”

“No, I was just asking.”

Wayne smiled awkwardly. He didn’t dare argue despite Veronica’s haughty tone. He had gained a general understanding of the Lando family from his conversation with Veryl. He was in no place to talk back to her when her father ran his business on the principle of serving the people with what he took from the people; he was currently the police department’s biggest benefactor. Wayne wasn’t even a competition in that regard.

Hanging up, he sighed deeply, feeling the two thousand sillings in his pocket. He needed to get some decent clothes soon if he didn’t want to embarrass his master.

“Speaking of which, this was Veronica’s payment to me...”

He thought back to his life over the past six months. For the first three months, he had been living on potatoes, but for the past three months, he had been living off Veronica’s money or freeloading at his master’s house. His income was basically zero, and he led the life of a sugar baby.

“What a wonderful life!”

***

In the basement, Wayne lay sprawling on the floor to ensure maximum contact with the four elements nearby. The collision between two legendary mages had left large amounts of elemental particles homeless.

This time, they truly had no home to return to. The Lord of the Void had died, and with him gone, the elements’ home was gone, too. They roamed the sewers aimlessly before being gathered by the magic circle in the mansion’s basement. Wayne opened his heart to welcome them into their new abode.

As before, he really should kowtow thrice at the Lord of the Void’s grave for his generous offer. The Lord of the Void had given his life to help Wayne progress in his training. Even in his death, his disciple would give up his home to Wayne.

“Goddesses, no matter who you are, your devoted follower Wayne has something to say. Please bless the Lord of the Void with a next life and lead him to meet me again.” Wayne prayed devoutly as his life essence filled up with the endless supply of the four elements. It felt like he was back in the mansion in Enrod, enjoying the gift the Lord of the Void gave him.

There were so many elemental particles gathered in the basement that he didn’t even need to use his tentacles. He just had to lie down, and fire elements would come to him with other elements.

Basically, the fire elements were the ones rushing toward him, but the other three elements got caught in the stream and entered his body as well.

Five days later, his life essence was filled to max capacity. At that moment, a hexagram flashed, sending a shiver down his spine. He couldn’t describe the extraordinary pleasure with words. It was a mental sublimation, and he felt his spirit and flesh becoming more closely connected, establishing a link between him and the world. When he sensed the world with his thought, he could see more clearly than before.

I’ve come to understand all of it!

Rip!

Looking down at the big eyeball on his chest, he punched it shut.

“Who’s telling you to look? What does this have to do with you?”

His life essence was filled, but the hexagram only lit up for a fleeting moment. Earth, water, and wind elements remained unlit, while the already-lit fire element advanced that much further.

He remembered his master telling him to first fill up his life essence and light up the six points, and after everything balanced out, he would link the points to form a hexagram.

“I’ve got too much fire. What to do...”

Wayne faced a dilemma. He was too appealing to the fire elements, and earth, fire, water, and wind would never reach a balance at this rate. He might be able to reach a balance by exhausting his reserve of fire elements through fire magic, but he was a hoarder and couldn’t bear the waste. Moreover, the books had said that lowering an element’s reserve would weaken the hexagram. Only after reaching their ceiling should a mage apprentice start the next step of balancing.

Once his earth, fire, water, wind, void, and self had achieved perfect balance, an apprentice wouldn’t have to do anything; the hexagram would naturally form.

“So the problem isn’t too much fire, but too little of the others!”

He frowned. Now, the issue was when the goddesses would lead the second Lord of the Void to him. He glanced at the Book of Greed. It had such a large reserve of elements—it had been the greediest when splitting the spoils.

The book looked away, avoiding his gaze. If it had a mouth, it would be whistling nonchalantly.

There was nothing he could do about the book, so he needed another solution. Counting on the goddesses was unrealistic. In the end, everyone only had themselves to rely on.

He thought of Planck. The terrible old man lusted after him so much that he probably wouldn’t mind spending on him as long as he agreed to join the old man.

It wouldn’t cost much anyway—the Lord of the Void had paid the majority of the price.

“I choose you...”

“Free Mage Alliance!”