Chapter 68: Chapter 68: The Use of the Power of Rules

’Power of Rules?’

Pei Ze froze for a moment.

Beside the three words, "Power of Rules," was a fourteen to fifteen-centimeter-long silver bar that shimmered faintly.

As he focused his gaze on the silver bar, relevant information quickly appeared in his mind.

’It can be used to speed up tasks?’

Pei Ze was surprised. ’Could this be my extra reward from the Realm of Truth?’

He tried issuing a command: accelerate the analysis of Will Rune No. 18 by one day.

In an instant, the silver bar flashed brightly and shortened by a nearly imperceptible amount. At the same time, the remaining time needed to analyze Will Rune No. 18 was reduced by one day.

Pei Ze’s eyes lit up. After a moment’s thought, he issued a new command.

’Eye of Omniscience, quantify the Power of Rules using a standard of one point per day.’

In a flash, the silver bar vanished. In its place, a number appeared after the words "Power of Rules."

438!

Pei Ze was ecstatic.

’I never thought the Power of Rules would be this powerful.’

’A full 438 days’ worth of acceleration... that’s enough for me to construct six or seven Will Runes!’

’Others comprehend specific knowledge in the Realm of Truth, while I directly received the Power of Rules. Now I can choose what knowledge to learn for myself.’

Pei Ze was inwardly delighted.

’Clearly, this happened because of the Eye of Omniscience.’

’But this is good, too. Instead of gaining a spell or some other knowledge, I’d much rather have the Power of Rules, which I can use to ’allocate points’ freely.’

’This stuff is amazing!’

Pei Ze looked up at the entrance to the Realm of Truth, a burning fervor in his eyes.

’If I can enter the Realm of Truth just once or twice more, the Power of Rules I absorb should be enough to construct all the remaining Will Runes.’

’That would drastically shorten the time it’ll take for me to be promoted to a Wizard.’

’Only merit points can be exchanged for a slot to enter the Realm of Truth.’

’Looks like I’ll have to take that mission to hunt down the heretics after all.’

Pei Ze quickly made a decision.

With the Dark Well and the Ghost Realm both inaccessible, Pei Ze glanced at the two rooms, then left the underground hall with Fan He without lingering.

After exiting the underground hall, he thanked Fan He, then left the General Affairs Department and hurried straight to the mission plaza.

The plaza was as bustling and crowded as always, a sea of moving heads.

Most of these people were gathered before a large wooden mission board deep in the plaza, pointing at it and whispering amongst themselves.

Pei Ze approached the board and saw that it was indeed the mission to hunt down the heretics.

Merit Mission 01

Mission: Assist in the hunt for heretics. Duration: 30 days.

Requirements: Third-level Wizard Apprentice. Must have mastered at least two One-Ring Spells or possess one Glimmer-grade Magic Item.

Reward: Merit points, based on individual contribution.

Pei Ze read it over, then looked away and walked toward a large building nearby.

The first-floor lobby was much livelier than usual. Upperclassmen, normally a rare sight, were now here by the hundreds. They were scattered across more than a dozen counters, all drawn here by the heretic hunt, no doubt.

Anyone who made it to their third year in the highly competitive High Tower Academy had almost certainly been promoted to Third-level Wizard Apprentice.

Pei Ze picked a counter with a shorter line and got in queue.

The line moved quickly, and his turn came in just over ten minutes.

"Merit Mission, code 01."

Pei Ze handed over his Apprentice Badge.

The staff member behind the counter took it and froze. ’A first-year student?’

But after scanning the name inscribed on the Apprentice Badge, his confusion cleared.

’Ah, so it’s this year’s top freshman.’

’I heard he’s already a Third-level Wizard Apprentice.’

The staff member’s expression softened considerably. He smiled and asked, "You’ve read the requirements, I presume? Which one will you be using for verification?"

"To verify your spells, please go to the Magic Laboratory next door. To verify a Magic Item, you can just show it to me here."

"A Magic Item." Pei Ze pointed to the gray robe he was wearing.

The staff member understood. He picked up a badge from the countertop and aimed the side engraved with an eye at Pei Ze’s gray robe.

In the next moment, the eye on the badge seemed to come to life. It blinked, and the eyeball swiveled about, staring at the gray robe as a faint red light flashed across its surface.

After a few seconds, the staff member put the badge away and nodded with a smile.

"That’s it, verification passed. I’ll register you for the mission now."

The paperwork was finished in a moment. The staff member handed over a slip of paper and said, "You have three days to prepare, then report to the address written here. If you’re late without good reason, your eligibility for the mission will be revoked, you’ll be blacklisted, and you’ll be barred from accepting any missions for a full year."

"Thank you."

Pei Ze took the slip of paper and glanced at it. The address seemed familiar.

After a moment, he recalled that it was one of the City Guard Army’s garrisons in the Outer City.

Pei Ze immediately understood.

’It seems our role as Third-level Wizard Apprentices in this mission is to support the City Guard Army.’

...

Back at his apartment, Xiaoyi was asleep on the sofa. On the coffee table beside her sat a cup of richly fragrant Ten Thousand Flowers Honey.

Pei Ze nodded in satisfaction. ’Looks like the little one didn’t slack off while I was out.’

After putting away the Ten Thousand Flowers Honey, Pei Ze took out a Magic Stone Coin and flicked it into the air.

Simultaneously, a wisp of black fog shot out from his wrist like an arrow, speeding toward the Magic Stone Coin. Mid-flight, it morphed into the shape of Wuyu, snatched the coin in its beak, and swallowed it whole.

CAW!

Wuyu landed on Pei Ze’s shoulder and gently pecked his cheek.

Pei Ze smiled and stroked Wuyu’s smooth, cool feathers.

With the recent surge in his Spirit attribute, Wuyu’s power had also grown considerably.

These days, even a Grand Knight was no match for the little creature.

Therefore, Pei Ze had been letting Wuyu go out and convert more of its kind with complete peace of mind.

The number of Fog Crows within it had now increased to over twenty-seven hundred.

Nowadays, when Pei Ze went out, he rarely saw crows flying wildly overhead.

Wuyu had absorbed more than half of all the crows in the Outer City.

One could say the little creature had single-handedly made a great contribution to the Outer City’s public image.

’Once the rest of the crows in the Outer City are converted, the number of Fog Crows should reach five thousand.’

’After that, though, I’ll have to find other ways to increase the number of Fog Crows.’

Just as Pei Ze was lost in thought, Xiaoyi stirred and woke up groggily on the sofa.

Rubbing her bleary eyes, she soon noticed Pei Ze in the living room and joyfully flew toward him.

"Eee-eee."

However, she quickly spotted Wuyu on Pei Ze’s shoulder. She stopped dead in the air, then immediately turned and flew back to the sofa without hesitation. There, she curled into a ball in the corner, trying her best to make herself invisible.

’Ever since she’d personally witnessed Wuyu "swallowing" several of its own kind, it had become a creature more terrifying than the Great Demon King in her eyes.’

’No, much, much more terrifying!’

’The Great Demon King didn’t bully her anymore. As long as she behaved and did her work, he would give her all the honey she could eat.’

’But this demon that "ate" even its own kind was different.’

’If I get too close, who knows, I might get eaten one day.’

’I’m just a skinny little pixie. I wouldn’t taste good at all.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Wuyu paid Xiaoyi no mind, simply preening its feathers.

Watching the two little creatures’ antics, Pei Ze couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle.

He let Wuyu go off on its own, returned to his bedroom, and sat cross-legged on the bed to figure out how to best distribute his new Power of Rules.