Nathan and his companions had been waiting for half the day.
Seeing poor Benson still attempting to cover things up, they didn't say much but simply detained everyone present.
However, unlike the previous confidence, Benson's complexion was terribly grim this time.
The four of them advanced, collectively seizing all the resonance pills available.
By then, personnel from the Inspectorate Department had appeared, and onlookers from other exchange windows gradually turned their attention to the unfolding scene.
Many had just heard about Nathan's confrontation at the magic equipment window the day before, and witnessing today's episode at the magic potion window, they all wore expressions of disbelief.
To them, it seemed the entire Inspectorate Department had gone mad.
However, as the crowd of spectators grew larger, Frank arrived at the magic potion window, flanked by two elite magi.
"I am Frank, and I order you to immediately put down all magic potions and leave this place," he stated with a cold and uncompromising tone.
"Otherwise, I will have you apprehended for destroying public resources."
With those words, the two elite maguses by his side raised their staffs, aiming them at Nathan and his group from afar.
Realizing the situation, Nathan understood they couldn't take these people away today.
They were no match for the two elite maguses of the Resource Department.
Unwilling to be outdone in spirit, Nathan openly challenged them in front of everyone: "I suspect there's something wrong with these batches of resonance pills."
Saying so, he slapped open a box of resonance pills, grabbing and crushing a handful, revealing numerous yellow larvae eggs.
Some of the eggs even had yellow larvae squirming inside.
"What is this?" Nathan demanded harshly.
Upon witnessing this scene, the surrounding students instantly showed horror.
It was their first time seeing a magic potion composed of larvae eggs.
Some, triggered by their fear of clusters, began clutching their hair and retching.
Learning that this was the much-hyped resonance pill shocked many.
They had classmates from the Potionology Guild who had once boasted about the effects of resonance pills.
Now, seeing these items were actually made of larvae eggs, they expressed their disbelief.
However, the most shocked of all was Luna.
She had once been trapped in a bug nest on the hight-60 floating island, where Anthony attempted to feed her this same substance, not called a resonance pill but a Mystic Spirit Pill.
Later, in the cave, during their last stand, these yellow larvae demonstrated their terrifying power.
If not for Nathan's compressed fireball, she feared she would have been devoured by those creatures on the spot.
Seeing such an item brazenly for sale at the Resource Department's magic potion exchange counter was something she found hard to accept.
Recalling their first entry into the circular underground chamber, how a warrior freshman had uncontrollably sat on that chair, triggering a series of consequences.
Coupled with Anthony's insistence on feeding her that pill, she almost concluded that this substance could definitely control a person's mind.
At this thought, a shiver ran through her entire body, and her eyes reddened.
Yet, what she hadn't expected happened next.
Frank walked over to the shattered resonance pills, picked one up, placed it in his palm, and then showed it to everyone before swallowing it directly.
Following the swallow, he let out a derisive laugh.
"A hundred years ago, the astonishing invention by Master Rhode is being ridiculed by a group of inexperienced juniors as a scourge. How laughable."
"I'm telling you, this is the most authentic resonance pill. You may feel unsafe and choose not to buy it, but you cannot deny the reliability of this magic potion." "Alright, I've demonstrated the magic potion to everyone. Whether or not to take it is up to you. Also, this is not a marketplace; you can't just take whatever you want. Put the items down!"
Nathan sneered coldly.
With one move, Frank had sealed the gap concerning the resonance pill, preventing Nathan from making further accusations.
However, Nathan became even more convinced.
Frank was the true culprit behind the previous incident.
Nathan returned the taken resonance pills but kept a small box of them.
Seeing that he had essentially controlled the situation, Frank then invited everyone into a large conference room to clarify today's events.
"I believe the Inspectorate Department acted out of duty, with good intentions. And as for today's incident, I don't wish to pursue who was at fault."
"However, if your Inspectorate Department targets our Resource Department again in the future, don't blame us for withdrawing your department's resources."
Nathan acted as if nothing had happened, promptly leaving with his people.
At this time, Benson from the Resource Department had tallied all the resonance pills and hurried to report to Frank.
Frank's expression immediately turned grim.
...
On a partially developed elite floating island, purple crystals floated around.
Within the giant rock pillars, elemental monsters roamed around the purple crystals.
Daniel had been here for five days.
Five days ago, he received a mission to investigate the disappearance of a teaching assistant.
Upon receiving the mission, he made detailed records, thoroughly organizing information about the case initiator and the entire process, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
He had searched this floating island thoroughly but still hadn't found any trace of the missing teaching assistant.
Perhaps they had discovered something and entered some special space.
Such scenarios were not impossible.
He had experienced one himself.
Back when he was an advanced magus, during an exploration of a floating island, he accidentally fell into a deep underground abyss.
There, he encountered endless heavy water and it was there he comprehended the advanced Promotion Magic, Ethereal Orchid Dream, stepping into the ranks of elite magus and becoming a supervisor in the Resource Department.
Therefore, after an unfruitful investigation, he deemed it unnecessary to continue probing.
He was about to leave the floating island when a figure in black suddenly appeared in front of him.
Daniel halted his steps.
The figure was entirely shrouded in a black robe, only half of their face visible under the hood.
Yet, Daniel could still feel the strange gaze fixated on him, evoking the sensation of prey being watched by a venomous snake.
"Your Excellency, may I help you?"
Daniel's hand was slowly brewing a cluster of ethereal blue flame, ready to strike lethally at any moment.
However, the figure in the black robe silently tossed a card towards him.
Daniel saw the person's lips move slightly, uttering a single syllable: "Windbound."
Just as the Ethereal Orchid Dream began to flow from his hand, a spray of blue luminous fluid suddenly solidified mid-air, and Daniel's swiftly retreating figure also abruptly became sluggish.
"Stellarspeaker!" he exclaimed, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Soulbane!" In the next moment, another card exploded in front of him.
The world in Daniel's eyes began to fade, his consciousness blurring.
...
In the midst of a desolate desert, a long tail stirred in the sand.
Attached to the tail was a long, pointed head.
This was an anteater of unusual size, its body scales each as large as a palm.
Its eyes, constantly shifting colors, cautiously scanned for any potential dangers.
In front of it was an anthill, from which it was devouring a delicious meal.
But suddenly, the anteater stopped in its tracks, then violently rolled over.
It let out painful shrieks.
Far from alleviating its suffering, these actions intensified its thrashing.
Its movements were utterly helpless and futile.
Moments later, clusters of pale flowers, formed by white feathers, sprouted from beneath the scales of the anteater.
These pallid flowers quickly grew into swarms of winged insects.
In just a few breaths, the anteater's body ceased its contortions.
Accompanied by a rustling feeding noise, the skeleton of a large lizard was laid bare in the sandy sea.
Not far away, a similar skeleton lay.
Further afield, such scenes played out constantly.
Not just anteaters but camels, hawks, hunting dogs, scorpions, and cacti—anything alive didn't take long to turn into a pile of bones.
Deep beneath the desert, in a space resembling a tomb, the ground was littered with dry grass and grains, alongside several charred pottery jars.
Strips of dried meat hung from the walls of the tomb.
A sliver of sunlight seeped through a crack, making this subterranean space slightly less dark.
A robed old wizard sat cross-legged on the ground, with a thoroughly bored Anthony by his side.
"How can my life be wasted in such a dreary, barren place? If that's the case, please let me die," Anthony moaned in anguish, then suddenly turned around, his eyes wide, and said, "Mentor, I want to see Frank."
"If he continues to hide and not contact us, I'd rather leave this place and return to the Gale Empire."
The old wizard let out a sigh, "Where else can you go besides here?"
"Where can I go?" Anthony flashed a defiant smile.
"Mentor, you always say one thing and do another. I'm not a child anymore; how could I not hear that you're deceiving me?"
The old wizard fell silent, but his eyes shimmered with a complex and indecipherable light.
Since Milo ascended to a legendary magus a hundred years ago, he had merely been clinging to existence.
He had never considered leaving Nebula Academy.
Time had passed so long, and he had aged so much, that he had lost interest in the outside world.
However, from the day this boy was brought here by Stellarspeaker, he sensed a long-lost vitality and wildness in him.
Perhaps... before leaving this world, I should take one last look.
Once this thought took root, it became unstoppable.
The old wizard rubbed his cracked lips with his dry hands.
But before that, there was one more thing to do.
"Kid, wait here for me. If all goes well, in a couple of days, I'll take you away from this godforsaken place."
"No, I want to see Frank first. Then I'll decide where to go," Anthony stated firmly.
He clasped his hands behind his head and lay back down.
At this moment, in his heart, he was thinking of another person.