The next morning, Ian sat upright in his tent, his eyes closed in concentration.

Gaga’s advancement was complete, making it his strongest trump card.

He decided he would take the Limit-Breaking Edition of the Rock Bear Potion today to prepare for the Demon Hunting War.

His consciousness sank into his Sea of Spirit, and the panel that only he could see quietly appeared.

[Name: Ian Marcus]

[Age: 18]

[Realm: High Level Wizard Apprentice (91.6%)]

[Talent: Moderate Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skills: Star Moon Middle Level Meditation Method (Limit-Breaking First Stage), Energy Shield (Skilled), Invisibility Technique (Mastery), Secret Magic Mark (Skilled), Bloodline Purification Technique (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Scorching Beam (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Crystal Energy Barrier (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Secondary Frost Freeze Beam (Limit-Breaking Second Stage), Others...]

[Magic Potion Science: Rock Bear Potion (Limit-Breaking First Stage), Others...]

Looking at the data on the panel, Ian felt a sense of calm.

The special property of [Earth Vein Resonance] would grant him a qualitative leap in power.

’When the time comes, with my transformed, powerful body, combined with Gaga’s Shadow Jump and Omen Eye...’

Ian was contemplating his next move when, suddenly...

The wind stopped.

Not in a normal way. In an instant, the entire world’s sense of "flow" had frozen solid.

Leaves outside the tent hung motionless in mid-air. Droplets from the creek hovered without falling. The chirping of insects came to an abrupt halt.

It was as if someone had pressed pause on the entire world.

Then, an indescribable "presence" took the place of the natural wind, sweeping gently past.

It was not wind, yet it replaced the wind. It was not sound, yet it reverberated through the soul.

It was not a gaze, yet every living being it swept over felt "watched" for an instant, from the inside out.

It ignored distance, ignored barriers, ignored all physical laws, brushing equally over every inch of land, every leaf, and every living creature.

No distance was too great, no place beyond its reach.

The hair on Ian’s body stood on end!

It was not fear, but the instinctual tremor of a living being facing a higher-order existence, like an ant gazing up at the stars.

The wave lasted only for a breath before receding like the tide.

The wind began to flow again, the creek resumed its rush, and the light began to dance once more.

It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

But Ian knew it wasn’t.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the throbbing in his heart, and looked to the northeast, toward the headquarters of the Silver Ring.

The Silver Ring’s Supreme Wizard Tower: the Crown of the Star Dome.

Its spire pierced the clouds and vanished into the endless Void. The tower’s body was constructed from hundreds of millions of silvery-white metal blocks, engraved with Star Orbit Runes that flowed with a liquid-like halo in the sunlight.

At the apex of the Wizard Tower was the Observatory.

A figure in a plain white long robe stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The robe bore no adornment, yet it was as if the entire starry sky had been tailored and draped over his shoulders. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

His face was a blur, veiled in a hazy Holy Light that made it impossible to see clearly. One could only faintly make out his pupils, within which countless stars seemed to be born and annihilated, civilizations rose and fell, and the Rules of the world flowed.

He was Anoraya’s only Morning Star Wizard: "Endless Holy Light"!

He did not speak. He simply raised his right hand, his five fingers hovering just above the Crystal Star Disc at the center of the Observatory.

HUMMM...

The entire Wizard Tower—no, all the Energy Nodes, Rune Arrays, and Earth Vein networks within the Silver Ring’s territory—resonated in unison!

A stream of silvery-white light spiraled up the tower’s body, converging at the apex into a pillar of light that connected heaven and earth, pierced the firmament, and disappeared into the endless Void.

The Wizard Tower was "breathing."

With each pulse, it drew an unimaginable amount of Primordial Magic Power from the Void. This energy was then converted, purified, and amplified by the Runes on the tower’s body before finally converging on the Star Disc.

Within the pillar of light, the figure of "Endless Holy Light" gradually became ethereal, merging as one with the Wizard Tower and the network of Laws governing this land.

He was the Tower, and the Tower was him.

At that moment, through the resonance of the Wizard Tower, his Will silently spread across the entire continent, following the Earth Veins, the Magic Tides, and the foundational pathways of the world’s Rules.

The voice of "Endless Holy Light" was not spoken aloud, but through the resonance of the Wizard Tower, it transformed into an invisible torrent of information, transmitted with perfect precision into the consciousness of every qualifying individual.

[The Demon Hunting War has begun.]

[All participants are to immediately proceed to their assigned war zone’s gathering point to receive their token.]

[Those who fail to arrive in time will be considered deserters. You will be hunted down via a soul imprint and enslaved for eternity.]

The message was brief, cold, and absolute.

Accompanying the message was a simple map, marking the locations and numbers of the major war zones, as well as the dozens of smaller gathering points within each zone.

The area where Ian was, the Glowing Forest, was clearly marked as "Eastern Seventh War Zone, No. 19 Gathering Point: Misty Creek."

Inside the tent, Ian slowly opened his eyes.

He had "heard" the message and understood what he had to do.

’But... why was the time moved up?’

He stood up and packed all the important items in his tent. He sorted the Potions, materials, and Magic Stones into his gray Dimension Bag, leaving only essential combat supplies in his Ring for easy access.

"Gah! What was that just now? It felt so scary..."

Gaga poked its head out of his pocket, a trace of lingering terror in its small eyes.

"That was the Morning Star Wizard of the Silver Ring," Ian said, stroking its head.

"The Demon Hunting War has started. We’re going to Misty Creek now."

"War? Ga! I’m ready!" Gaga immediately puffed out its chest, but then asked in a small voice, "It’s dangerous, isn’t it?"

"Very dangerous," Ian confirmed, not hiding anything. "But it’s also an opportunity. Let’s go."

He sighed inwardly. ’Looks like I’ll have to wait for the right moment underground to use the Rock Bear Potion. Good thing Gaga already broke through to the next stage.’

He pushed open the tent flap. The morning mist had not yet dispersed, but a grim tension already permeated the forest.

In the distance, he could faintly hear hurried footsteps, low voices, and even the hum of small airships taking off.

The Demon Hunting War, a war machine that had lain dormant for many years, was now operating at full throttle.

"Ian, let’s go together," Hawke said, standing before the tent with a grave expression.

"Mr. Ian, Uncle Hawke, you two must take care of yourselves!"

Talia and Dora stood at the entrance, their faces filled with worry.

「Misty Creek. In front of the Dream Weaver’s Cottage.」

The once-serene forest clearing had now been converted into a temporary camp.

A dozen or so simple tents were arranged in a circle. In the center stood a three-meter-tall, silvery-white metal pillar, atop which floated a constantly rotating, diamond-shaped crystal.

Mira stood beside the metal pillar, clad in battle attire.

She had shed her usual Wizard Robe for a suit of silvery-white Light Armor and held a Magic Staff in her hand. The gentle air of a scholar was gone from her brow, replaced by the sharp competence of a battlefield commander.

"Ian." Mira saw him and nodded. "Just in time. Go get your token."

She pointed to a long table beside the metal pillar. Two Official Wizards in silvery-white uniforms sat behind it, writing something down.

Forty or fifty people were already lined up in front of the table. They were all High Level Apprentices from the vicinity of the Glowing Forest, most with grave expressions, occasionally speaking in low voices.

"The token is a ’Demon Hunting Jade Token’," Mira explained in a low voice.

"You’ll need to leave a Secret Magic Mark on it. It’s used to record the number of underground Demons you kill. The Jade Token must be handed in at the end of the war."

Ian nodded and walked toward the long table.

The line moved quickly. When it was Ian’s turn, the middle-aged Wizard behind the table handed him a palm-sized Jade Token without looking up.

The Jade Token was a dark cyan color, warm and smooth to the touch. The front was embossed with the crossed badges of the "Silver Ring" and "Demon Hunting," while the back was as smooth as a mirror.

"Infuse your Spiritual Power, leave your mark," the Wizard said curtly.

Ian did as he was told. The back of the Jade Token lit up with a faint glow, and a line of small text appeared.

"Eastern Seventh War Zone - Sixth Cleaning Team - High Level Apprentice - Ian."