Translator: AnubisTL
Preparing for the Planar War involved numerous complex tasks, but the most crucial was registration.
This wasn't Jieming's first experience with planar warfare.
At Noren Academy, every five years, upon the graduation of each class of apprentices, the academy would send them to a plane in need of conquest.
At the time, this seemed like a "trial" for the graduates, but in reality, it was a benefit provided by the academy.
Generally, each selected plane was sufficient to fulfill the military service requirements of an entire class of graduates.
Combat Department wizards typically led the initial invasion and exploration, charging into battle to scout the plane's main features.
Logistics Department wizards then took charge during the mid-stage siege warfare, eliminating the most troublesome enemies, assisting in establishing strongholds, and overseeing the final planar cleanup and reorganization.
Occasionally, particularly challenging planes would serve as "textbooks" for two consecutive graduating classes, providing long-term training opportunities.
However, once this academy-provided "benefit period" (i.e., mandatory military service) ended, it became much more difficult for ordinary wizards to join the war.
The planes used for expansion were spatial coordinates painstakingly discovered by high-rank wizards, who had invested vast resources and even risked their lives to find them.
As the core strategic resources of various wizard factions, these planes were naturally not casually made available for ordinary wizards to participate in.
Jieming's situation was somewhat unique.
Normally, even if the plane used for graduation "textbook" exercises was conquered relatively smoothly, after five years of preparation, new graduates could still return to their previous planes for "work."
After all, even after eliminating most enemies, the subsequent tasks of mopping up resistance forces, inventorying resources, surveying materials, and planar transformation would keep logistics wizards occupied throughout their extended military service.
However, the Elosia Plane Cluster had been designated by the Noren Workshop as the site for the new Noren Academy. With the intervention of numerous high-rank wizards and senior scholars, the pace of post-conquest operations accelerated dramatically.
Within just a few years, the entire plane cluster was thoroughly combed through, and even the plane origin itself was branded with the Noren Workshop's mark.
If Jieming had left for the Planar War as early as Amy and Victor, he could have joined the previous graduating class as an apprentice soldier.
If he had waited a bit longer, until the next graduating class, he could have benefited from their "textbook" perks.
However, his current timing placed him squarely in the awkward gap between the two classes' deployments.
Therefore, he had no choice but to follow the methods of Senior Wizards who had already completed their mandatory military service and volunteered for the Planar War—by registering.
Fortunately, Mentor Clark provided Jieming with an excellent solution and even introduced him to a wizard familiar with the process.
"Viola... Madam?"
Jieming was surprised to see the familiar figure on the communication screen.
He double-checked the serial number to confirm he hadn't made a mistake; the communication target was indeed the serial number provided by his mentor.
"Oh my, Jieming! I didn't expect to see you again so soon! I've regretted not exchanging contact information with you after our transaction for so long."
On the communication screen, Viola greeted Jieming with her usual familiarity, though she seemed even more lively than when she had negotiated with Amy and him before.
"I never imagined you were also a student of Mentor Clark! What a small world!"
"Also?" Jieming noticed the implication in her words. "Are you a student of his as well, Ms. Viola? I thought you specialized in potionology."
"Call me Senior Sister!" Viola crossed her arms, a smug expression on her face. "Of course! Unfortunately, my innate talent for alchemy is abysmal. I can only affect inorganic matter, so I had to shift my focus to potionology. Still, I managed to graduate with honors."
"But you... you developed such a powerful magic potion, yet your true expertise lies in alchemy?"
Now that she knew Jieming was her junior, Viola's demeanor became even more animated, making no attempt to conceal her emotions.
As she spoke, her face betrayed a clear mix of envy and jealousy. "It's infuriating! You geniuses are just too enviable!"
"Ah... ha ha..." Jieming chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
Fortunately, Viola didn't dwell on the matter and quickly steered the conversation to the main topic:
"Mentor Clark has already briefed me on the general situation. You're planning to participate in the Planar War, so you need to register first, right?"
"Yes... I'm not entirely sure how the process works," Jieming nodded.
Viola waved her hand dismissively. "No problem. I happen to be looking for a battlefield myself, so I can take you to register. Don't be too nervous—it's essentially a mercenary system, to put it simply..."
Through Viola's explanation, Jieming gradually understood the registration process.
In essence, if a newly ascended high-rank wizard discovered a new plane coordinate but found that the plane was guarded by sixth-tier beings or had an extremely complex environment, they would be unable to conquer it independently before their own war system was fully developed. In such cases, the wizard who discovered the plane would issue missions, inviting other wizards to assist and pool their strength.
This was the typical way Low-Rank Wizards participated in Planar Wars, much like mercenaries, as Viola had explained.
As a seasoned wizard with years of experience, Viola was well-versed in the intricacies of this system.
Under her guidance, Jieming learned that the nearest Planar War registration point wasn't within the Noren Workshop's territory but rather at the border between the Noren Workshop and two neighboring wizard factions: the Tower of Annihilation and the Chaos Secret Sect.
While these three factions were fiercely competitive, they often chose to cooperate when facing external planar expansion.
Therefore, whenever a major Planar War mission arose, wizards from all three factions would join forces, sharing the spoils of war.
Out of respect for Mentor Clark and their shared history fighting side-by-side on the Elosia Plane, Viola offered to personally escort Jieming to this special location at the intersection of the three factions' territories.
Since Viola was still stationed on the Elosia Plane, the two quickly arranged to meet.
Using the Noren Workshop's interplanar teleportation formation, they made several complex spatial jumps before finally reaching their destination.
As Jieming stepped out of the teleportation formation, the feedback from his mental power immediately alerted him to something amiss.
He subconsciously activated the Universal Eye, observing the surrounding energy environment and spatial coefficients. The conclusion he reached was astonishing:
This wasn't a complete plane at all, but a massive fragment of space adrift in the endless void!
The fragment was vast enough to contain an entire kingdom, yet its edges were jagged and torn, surrounded by swirling stars and void storms—a spectacle both magnificent and eerie.
"Oh? The Universal Eye?"
Viola sensed Jieming's energy fluctuations, and to his surprise, she recognized the spell he was using.
"Nothing to be surprised about," Viola said, waving her hand dismissively. "This spell is a well-known observation method among researchers. Even if they can't construct it themselves, many will purchase witchcraft models to build it. But..."
She narrowed her eyes, stroked her chin, and leaned closer to Jieming, scrutinizing his mental fluctuations.
Her up-and-down appraisal reminded Jieming of his pet dog from his previous life.
Fortunately, the surrounding wizards seemed unfazed by Viola's behavior, even finding it rather ordinary. Several of them, sensing something unusual, approached and quickly fell into the same entranced state as Viola.
"Oh? Did you construct this Universal Eye yourself?"
The voice didn't belong to Viola, but to a wizard who had rushed over to join the crowd observing Jieming.
The figure was draped in a black wizard's robe, their entire body shrouded in a faint, dark mist that completely obscured their features. Judging by the voice, it seemed to be an elderly man.
He wasn't alone; the other wizards observing Jieming were similarly dressed, suggesting they belonged to the same faction.
Hearing the question, Jieming instinctively raised his arm in a defensive gesture. However, sensing the third-tier wizard's energy radiating from the man, Jieming restrained himself, suppressing any overt hostility.
Noticing his wariness, the elderly wizard who had asked the question and the other wizards who had gathered to observe him stepped back slightly.
"You actually constructed this Universal Eye yourself?!" Viola's voice finally broke through, though her tone was slightly distorted.
Startled by her surroundings, Viola quickly realized what was happening. She immediately shielded Jieming behind her like a mother eagle protecting her young.
"What's going on here? Back off! All of you, move aside! Don't crowd around!"
Seeing Viola's protective stance, the wizards shrouded in faint black mist didn't retreat. Instead, they chuckled and pressed closer.
"Aiya, don't be so tense! We just want to make a friend."
"Exactly! It's been ages since we've seen someone independently construct a Universal Eye. We're just a little excited."
"Hey, kid! What observation systems did you load into your Universal Eye? Did you include a fate system? If so, I'll pay top dollar for your construction model!"
"Are you crazy? This kid's only a first-tier wizard! How could he possibly load a fate system?"
"Then let's at least add each other as friends! When you eventually load a fate system, you absolutely have to sell me the witchcraft model!"
"Yeah, yeah! The Universal Eye witchcraft models in the database haven't been updated in centuries. They're such a pain to use..."
(End of the Chapter)
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