Vale’s Divine Sense swept through the spatial ring, cataloging the corpses one by one. His eyes suddenly widened as he paused on a familiar face.
"Brylle..." Vale whispered.
The corpse was unmistakable even if he hadn’t seen the guy for a long ti...
Brylle had once been a student of Rakmiths, the Academy of Elental Arts. Vale rembered him clearly from the Twelve Academy Competitions he had joined years ago.
Brylle had been one of the more remarkable students back then... He was ambitious, and gifted with elental control that had impressed even the judges.
Now, his lifeless body lay among the others.
Vale gaze stopped at his corpse for a mont, recalling what Brylle had shown in the competitions. Then, from the faint traces of aura still clinging to the corpse, Vale could tell Brylle had reached the level of a Master-Class Arcanist before his death.
It was a pity. Such talent, wasted.
As Vale continued to inspect the ring, more familiar faces appeared. Several other competitors from the Twelve Academy Competitions were among the dead. He rembered their figures, their rivalries, their youthful arrogance. Now, they were nothing more than corpses...
A heavy silence filled the chamber. Vale couldn’t help but feel curious.
’What happened to them? Were they killed by Chaos Immortals? Or did they fall to other enemies?’
He closed his eyes and reached out through telepathy.
"Magnus... these corpses. So of them are from the Academy Competitions... I an... I know a few of them... What happened to them?"
Magnus wasn’t sure what corpses he was referring to... Nonetheless, he just reminded Vale of what he knew.
"They ca from many places. Most of the Arcanists I collected died attempting advancent. They tried to fuse their Spells, but failed. Their bodies collapsed under the strain, and their souls had scattered. I preserved what remained... Ehem... They were sold to us to be exact. They knew that we paid well to obtain these corpses."
Vale was stunned... Failed advancent was a common risk, but to see so many promising talents fall this way was unsettling.
"We’re paying people to get corpses? Isn’t that going to be dangerous? What if they tried to kill these Arcanists just to get so corpses to sell?" Vale had no idea about this project at all.
"Ahh... It’s being done by the Arcane Bureau for us. We’re ensuring that the Arcanists die from natural causes or from fighting evil creatures or sothing similar. In short, the Bureau would take care of it."
Vale was still concerned about this, but they were doing this for his sake.
Furthermore, it was indeed a pity not to get these corpses extracted. Normally, they’d just get cremated, ensuring that their corpses would not turn into Evil Creatures... However, with this project, Vale could indeed slowly get stronger.
"As long as we’re not pushing people to kill each other. You can go ahead." Vale said in the end.
Magnus then continued.
"As for the Chaos Immortal corpses, those corpses ca mostly from Lisa, rlin, and the Ti Manipulators. They fought battles you never saw, Lord Vale. Lisa’s vampire bats were also a key to our success during so secret assassination missions... rlin’s Formation Arts also helped a lot. As for the Ti Manipulators... they froze entire battlefields, leaving only corpses behind."
Vale gently nodded as he also knew that while he was away, these people fought many battles to scare off the Chaos Immortals...
"And there was the purge," Magnus added after a few monts. "In the Kingdom of Dravemir, the royal council ordered a cleansing of rogue Arcanists. Hundreds were executed. We salvaged what we could. So of the bodies here are from that purge. Others were taken from border skirmishes, assassinations, and failed rituals. Even the Dark Arts faction lost many when their experints backfired."
Vale’s Divine Sense swept deeper, confirming Magnus’s words. He found corpses of nurous Third-Class to First-Class Arcanists. Of course, there were also those Chaos Beasts with chira-like forms, Evil Creatures, and rogue Arcanists based on their clothing...
Each one had fragnts of power, waiting to be extracted.
Vale exhaled slowly as he decided to just accept these corpses. They would be put to good use anyway...
"So many paths ended here... but their deaths won’t be wasted. Thank you again, Magnus."
Magnus smiled and replied through telepathy.
"That’s why I kept them. You can turn their failure into strength. They will not be wasted. Extract what they could not control."
Vale nodded silently as he began with his extractions...
"Brylle... and the rest of you," Vale murmured. "Your essence will not vanish. I’ll carry it forward."
***
In the anti, while Vale was focused on using his Divine Extraction System within the Immortal Tower, far away in the halls of the Church of the Fortune Goddess, the Avatar of the Fortune Goddess, Farah, summoned her two most loyal followers.
Clara and Teresa, high priests of the Untainted Sentinels, knelt reverently before her.
Seeing the two’s incredible advancent over the past few years, Farah felt satisfied. After a few monts, she gave them instructions.
"This year’s recruitnt for the Marshall Academy will be unlike any before. The threads of destiny converge upon it. The finest young Arcanists from across the continent will gather there. It will beco the central hub for genius, a vessel where the future of this realm will be forged."
Clara and Teresa exchanged uncertain glances. They had not heard of such a prophecy, nor did they understand why the Academy would suddenly beco so important. Yet, they did not question. To doubt the Avatar of the Fortune Goddess was to doubt fortune itself.
Farah continued...
"You will send your strongest students. The Untainted Sentinels must have a presence within the Academy. Those who rise there will shape the balance of the continent. If fortune favors them, they will stand at the peak."
Clara bowed her head. "We will obey, Fortune Goddess."
Teresa added. "Your will is ours."
Though they did not fully grasp the aning, both trusted Farah completely. If she foresaw greatness in the Academy, then it was their duty to act.
After a mont of silence, Clara spoke again...
"Then... we shall send our little sisters. Galatea and Irene. They are gifted, though still young. If fortune guides them, they will rise among the chosen."
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