CHAPTER 713: CHAPTER 708: CHANGE OF RULES

Ronald and his party did not wait too long.

Or rather, those from the Sorato School who can survive in Yizi Forest today cannot possibly have slow reactions; otherwise, how could they escape from the various dangers posed by the animals and plants in the forest?

So, shortly after Costate announced their arrival with magic power.

In just over a quarter of an hour, several individuals whose attire gave no hint of being casters arrived at the location.

Ronald scrutinized the newcomers carefully.

There were three individuals from the Sorato School who had come out to investigate the situation, composed of a team with two men and one woman, wearing intricately crafted woven shirts with dyes that served as camouflage.

...

In some sense.

This was indeed an attire quite suited for movement within the forest.

As Ronald sized up the others, the three from Sorato School were similarly observing the composition of Ronald’s party: Costate with her maid-style attire, Il with his ever-present smile, and Helle, who was not yet of age...

Excluding these three who obviously did not look like team leaders.

The leader among the three from Sorato School soon focused their attention on Ronald.

"Sir, was it you who triggered the spell we left behind?"

The other party inquired with a tone that was calm and serious, showing no overt friendliness or hostility.

Ronald responded,

"Yes, it was us who triggered the spell."

"We entered Yizi Forest from the direction of Grid and are currently looking for a way to deal with the situation in the forest."

"..."

The Sorato School member paused before carefully asking,

"Are you... an investigator?"

As this question was raised,

The caster from Sorato School was actually feeling very conflicted.

Given the vast area of Yizi itself, although several countries have claimed this forest at one time or another, none could truly control this region.

And those coming from Grid like Ronald and company...

Leaving their national borders to perform such a thankless task would most likely be those respected Grid investigators.

But on the other hand,

According to the actual geographical location, this place was already quite far from the southern forest near Grid and was closer to the territory of Entrode.

Would an investigator really come all this way?

Seeing the confusion of the Sorato caster, Ronald immediately clarified his identity:

"We are not staff from the investigation department."

"We have come into Yizi hoping to deal with the problems here."

"..."

Upon hearing such an explanation, the suspicion of Ronald in the eyes of the opposing caster increased greatly.

In the current chaotic world situation,

Were there really people who would go out of their way to meddle in other affairs?

"Sir, did you travel all the way from Grid to our location?"

Ronald nodded:

"We first found Banica, and after obtaining some information there, we continued on to find your position."

"That’s impossible!" Upon hearing Ronald’s reply, the caster from Sorato responded somewhat vehemently, "The elders in our school have said—Banica is currently under the rule of a vast shadow."

"How could a normal person possibly leave there safely!"

"..."

Ronald immediately turned to look at Il.

Under the watchful gaze of the smile of this mastermind behind Banica, Ronald sighed and turned back to continue explaining:

"You should be familiar with the surname Adler, shouldn’t you?"

"Adler..."

The caster from Sorato was indeed lost in thought.

As a legacy of an ancient school, and situated within the Yizi Forest,

it was natural that he had heard the name Adler before.

Ronald did not intend to let the other party continue to be perplexed, and after revealing his identity, he also released an appropriate amount of his magic fluctuation:

"As for strength, I do have some confidence on my side."

"..."

"How powerful."

"An original tome holder?"

"Something like that."

Such a direct demonstration immediately changed the other party’s attitude.

After a brief discussion in whispers, Sorato’s team leader immediately sent someone back to the school to inform them of the situation, while he and another companion led Ronald and his two companions inside.

"Mr. Adler, Sorato welcomes the visit of friends."

"Please follow me."

Ronald also returned a friendly smile:

"Ronald Adler, just call me by my name."

"..."

With an insider from Sorato school leading the way, the process of going deeper into the forest became simpler.

At least within the range covered by the barrier.

Ronald and the others did not encounter any species that were the slightest bit dangerous.

This place was entirely controlled by human casters and still belonged to a rather safe residential area.

After walking for several minutes,

the headquarters of Sorato school appeared in front of them.

The architecture here showed a highly unified style, almost exclusively constructed of cut or stacked stone.

The areas for normal living, trading activities, and casters dealing with affairs were clearly delineated—one could tell it was the result of long-term operation and ultimate refinement.

During the deeper exploration,

Ronald did not forget to observe the situation of the residents here.

The number of residents here was less than a thousand, with both faces of casters and ordinary people visible within the encampment. However, the ordinary people mostly displayed an appearance of having survived a calamity and the minority of casters had tense expressions, clearly aware of the current dangerous situation in Yizi.

And during this process,

the caster who was leading the way noticed Ronald’s gaze and spoke up straightforwardly:

"Mr. Ronald, you might be puzzled by the situation here."

"In fact, about a week ago, when the world underwent a profound transformation, the fundamental rules of this world changed."

"Oh?" Ronald feigned uncertainty.

The guiding caster continued:

"According to what our elders have discovered, now in human settlements with populations over a hundred, even if the number of casters exceeds a certain threshold, ’the world’s metamorphosis’ will not occur, and the restrictions on the dissemination of spell knowledge have been completely broken."

"At our Sorato headquarters, the original permanent population was actually controlled to be under a hundred, all of whom were casters. It is just because of the large number of victims from Yizi Forest, and even the surrounding areas, that we took in these ordinary people for sanctuary out of moral obligation."

"So that’s the case... A commendable choice."

Ronald appreciated Sorato school’s actions, and the guide’s expression also showed pride in the conduct of his school.

But at the same time,

the thoughts in Ronald’s mind began to drift further away.

He recalled Catherine from the "Infinite Negative Domain."

The Sorato caster had already clarified that the gathering of a large number of casters or, to put it another way, the gathering of a large number of "seeds," would no longer trigger the kind of ’world’s metamorphosis’ as before.

And this point in time,

perfectly coincides with the world’s transformation after the cosmic change!

Could it be that the tower master of the astronomy department’s true aim is related to this?