Alevia returned to her seat and began to explain slowly.

"The Underworld... it’s a remnant of a battlefield from ancient times.

In ancient times, a great war that spanned countless planes erupted between the Wizard World and the Abyss World.

Though our predecessors ultimately achieved victory and expelled the Will of the Abyss, some battlefields were left with a contamination that could never be fully purified.

The Underworld beneath our feet is one such place."

Malena held her breath, her mind flashing with images of countless glorious yet brutal battles.

"The Underworld is filled with an omnipresent Abyssal Aura—a twisted, maddening, and malicious Energy Field."

Alevia’s voice grew somber. "With prolonged exposure, a creature’s sanity is eroded until they devolve into Abyssal Creatures—monsters that know only slaughter.

The subterranean races are countless, their forms endlessly varied, but they all share the same traits: they are mad and twisted.

You’ve never taken part in a war in the Underworld. If you run into these Demons, you must be extremely careful!"

She traced her fingertip through the air, and her Magic Power condensed into several blurry images.

Thousand-Faced Worm: A gigantic, worm-like creature formed from countless tormented human faces stitched together. Each face can scream independently, unleashing chaotic mental shrieks and spewing corrosive pus.

Shadow of the Abyssal Echo: A translucent, wraith-like creature whose form shifts with the fluctuations of nearby sound. It can mimic its prey’s voice or memory fragments to set a mental trap. Contact with it causes a gradual loss of self-awareness.

Shadow Weaving Demon: A bizarre, half-corporeal, half-energy creature. Its appearance is that of a humanoid figure woven from black silk threads, constantly weaving and reorganizing itself. After killing its prey, it turns them into ’Silk Puppets,’ which retain some of their former abilities to fight on its behalf.

...

Alevia dispersed the images with a wave of her hand, her expression solemn.

"Besides those, there are numerous bizarre and tenacious humanoid races, too many to list.

But they are all deeply corrupted by the Abyssal Aura. Their sanity is gone, leaving only an instinctual hatred for surface dwellers and a lust for slaughter.

They will frantically attack any living creature that enters their perception, and they will not stop until one of them is dead."

Malena’s face paled. "With Demons like that... why not completely purify the Underworld?"

"Because the cost is too great," Alevia said with a bitter smile.

"Although the Wizard Civilization was victorious in the ancient war, the Abyssal Aura has already fused with a part of the Underworld’s very origin. Forcible Purification could destabilize the entire continent’s Earth Veins and trigger a catastrophe.

The power of His Radiance, ’Endless Holy Light,’ is mostly used to maintain the barrier on the surface, preventing the aura from rising.

Meanwhile, deep in the Underworld, the Abyssal Aura accumulates to a peak every fifty years. A massive culling is required. Otherwise, when it can no longer be suppressed, a Demon tide will break through the seals and surge to the surface."

She looked at Malena, her eyes serious.

"When that happens, the mortal kingdoms will be the first to suffer. Millions of frenzied Demons will pour into towns and villages... It would be a cataclysm of extinction.

That is why the Silver Ring periodically organizes a Demon Hunting campaign, conscripting Wizards from across the continent to venture deep underground before the aura reaches its peak. Their mission is to cull the Demon population as much as possible, destroy any new nests, and reinforce the sealing nodes."

Malena murmured, "So the conscription includes all Official Wizards and High Level Apprentices..."

"Hothouse flowers can’t survive in the Wizard World."

Alevia sighed softly. "This is a Rule set by His Radiance. It is both a responsibility and a trial.

Actual combat, life-and-death crises, fighting the corruption of the Abyss... these experiences are vital to a Wizard’s growth.

In fact, many Wizards who are stuck at a bottleneck achieve their breakthroughs during the Demon Hunting campaigns. Of course, the mortality rate is also very high."

She paused, her voice turning distant.

"It is said that during the Demon Hunting War, those who perform exceptionally well will earn the recognition of the World Will and receive a sliver of the World Origin as a gift. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

And that is a temptation no Wizard can resist!"

"The World Origin!" Malena’s pupils constricted violently.

’With the World Origin of the Wizard World, even a tiny sliver, one would face no more bottlenecks before becoming a Level Four Wizard!’

"The Tower Master confirmed the rumor is true, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually receiving it. Perhaps..."

Alevia shook her head. ’Anyone who obtained something so precious would surely keep it a secret.’

As Malena processed this information, a thought suddenly struck her. "Then Ian..."

"As long as he’s still on this continent, he will be conscripted. Wandering Wizards, clan Wizards, recluses... no one is exempt."

This is the Will of a Morning Star Wizard. Those who defy it will be marked by the Holy Light and hunted by the entire Wizard World.

Alevia and Malena already knew that Ian had advanced to High Level Apprentice.

They had been utterly shocked when they heard the news.

The time it had taken Ian to advance from Middle Level to High Level Apprentice was simply too short!

The room fell into a brief silence.

Malena gripped her teacup, her head bowed in silence.

She thought of the taciturn, black-haired boy who always managed to work miracles, and she recalled his calm gaze.

’He’ll survive,’ she told herself silently.

Alevia didn’t respond, merely gazing south, her eyes seeming to pierce through every barrier to look upon the Glowing Forest.

Ian stood before the window, gazing at the abnormal Magic Power flowing faintly in the night.

After his mind achieved complete Vaporization, his Perception of Energy had sharpened severalfold.

At this moment, he could "smell" the subtle changes in the ambient Magic Power. It wasn’t a natural fluctuation; it seemed to be an "aftershock" left behind by the intervention of some immense Will.

’Just as I thought... something big is about to happen.’

He sat back down at his workbench, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the tabletop.

The cryptic words of Amos surfaced in his mind, along with the subtly growing tension that had pervaded the Glowing Forest for the past seven months.

Ian tried to extract keywords from the information he had, but he couldn’t form a complete picture of the situation. He needed more intelligence.

...

The next morning, Ian left his tent early and headed for the Dream Weaver’s Cottage.

Mira seemed to have anticipated his visit and was already waiting in the quiet room in the back courtyard.

She was dressed much more formally than usual in a silver-trimmed gray robe. Pinned to her chest was a small, ring-shaped silver emblem—the mark of a member of the Silver Ring.

"You’ve noticed," Mira said, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point.

Ian nodded. "I have, but I want to know why."

Mira gestured for him to sit and poured two cups of Clear Heart Grass Tea. "You must be young!"

Ian’s heart jolted, but his expression remained unchanged. "What do you mean?"

Mira watched Ian with a wry smile. "Because this kind of change in the Magic Power happens once every fifty years."

Ian sighed inwardly. ’This was the drawback of secluded Cultivation; there was so much information he had no access to.’

"Prepare yourself. In about a month, the Silver Ring’s Supreme Wizard Tower will issue a conscription order to the entire continent."

"And it’s mandatory. The consequences for evading it are worse than death.

Your aura will be marked by the Silver Ring, and you’ll be a fugitive in Anoraya, unable to take a single step freely. Any Wizard will have the right to capture or kill you.

So, don’t think you can get away with it."

Ian’s heart sank. "Are wandering Wizards also being conscripted?"

Mira nodded silently. "Of course. All High Level Apprentices and above must participate. Myself included."

"Why not announce the information about the War in advance?" Ian asked, but understood the answer as soon as the words left his mouth.

’High Level Apprentices are no longer considered wards in need of protection. No one was obligated to inform them beforehand.’

’Many people were likely already exploiting this information gap to make a fortune.’

’Besides, in a war of this scale, those who failed to get the news were probably just cannon fodder.’

’They were irrelevant.’