The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Meanwhile, outside the airport.

Kate was confused. "How can there be nothing?"

This string of lucky numbers was a vanity number he had specifically obtained after getting rich. Many people had competed with him for it at the time, but he had simply outbid them. Following that line of thought, even if he didn’t exist in the "New World," the number should have at least brought up someone else. How could it come back with "no such person found"?

"Maybe the format of our ID numbers is just wrong," Sean said.

In the Real World, depending on the region, social security numbers were usually 6-9 digits long. They were typically a combination of numbers, with capital letters added in some cases. The numbers in the "New World" might be longer than nine digits, or perhaps shorter than six. Otherwise, it was unlikely that all four of them would come up empty.

Without another word, Kate walked to the side and stopped a middle-aged couple.

"Hello, I’m a plainclothes officer conducting a routine check. I need your cooperation. Please show me your identification."

Sean: "..."

Normal people don’t just show their IDs to any stranger, especially one who was dressed so bizarrely. He didn’t look like a good person, and it was precisely because he looked so intimidating—under pressure from the domineering aura Kate was radiating—that the middle-aged couple timidly took out their IDs and showed them to him.

But one look at the IDs left Kate dumbfounded.

The ID number was actually eleven digits long, just like in the Era of Polymath.

’How many years has it been? And they’re still using such an outdated format?’

"That can’t be right," Elvire questioned. "If they’re all eleven digits, how did the ticket agent not realize our numbers were wrong?"

The difference between a nine-digit and an eleven-digit number is huge; you’d know right away that something was missing.

Besides, the system shouldn’t have displayed "no such person found." It should have said "format error."

"How strange."

A peculiar feeling bloomed in Elvire’s heart, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was so strange about it.

"It gets stranger," Sopea said, returning with a map.

He had wanted to buy a map earlier on his way to find Sean and Elvire, but he hadn’t dared to delay, worried they might be in danger. Their purpose for coming to the "New World" was so specific that they had overlooked a lot of preparations they should have made before they set out.

For instance, this map.

Normally, one would buy plane tickets on a phone, using GPS to locate the current city and then inputting the destination. Since they had no phones, they opted to buy tickets in person. People usually don’t consult a map during this process; you just tell the agent where you want to go, and they’ll find the next available flight for you.

And until now, they had all been treating the "New World" as if it were the Real World. They assumed that whatever existed in the Real World would also exist in the "New World," and that naturally included the map’s geography.

But the reality was, even if their ID numbers had been correct, their destination was unsearchable.

Because there was no Siracle State in the "New World."

Not only was there no Siracle State, but Krim State was also missing from the map. Even the world’s center, New Elderidge, had changed. It was no longer "New"—it was just Elderidge.

Like the eleven-digit ID numbers, this was also a place name from the Era of Polymath.

This included Kovri, which was designated a forbidden zone; the Winterless Sea, the largest ocean on the eastern side of the continent; and the Medanzo Flame Territory, where the Blazing Angel Family resided... Over half the entire map was composed of place names from the Era of Polymath.

"This is not good news," Sean said, looking at the map and rubbing his temples with a headache.

They had initially thought the "New World" was similar to the Real World. Now, it seemed Sopea’s earlier theory was correct: the timeline of the "New World" was chaotic. Things that existed here didn’t necessarily exist in the Real World anymore; they only *used* to exist.

Kate’s eyes widened in frustration. "Then have we been wasting our time all this while?"

The Holy Sanctuary doesn’t even exist in the Real World, so what’s the point of us looking for it?

"No, no, no, it exists... It has to," Sean said. "Even if it doesn’t make sense logically, the Holy Temple Ruins must exist."

Everyone: "..."

’The Sean Postulate.’

’The classic "reality doesn’t have to be logical" argument, is it?’

In truth, it wasn’t that Sean didn’t want to be logical; it was that the situation defied explanation.

Because he had always believed that the Kovri Ruins he "logged out" to from the Void Technique Space was the real world, and that this Kovri was the same one as the Kovri in the "New World." Everything they did in the "New World" should leave traces that could be found in those ruins.

The method of proof was simple.

"Wait for me here. Don’t move."

Leaving them with those words, Sean vanished before their eyes.

Elvire: "?"

"What’s he up to this time?"

’Why did he just up and leave?’

"No idea. Let’s just wait," Sopea said, closing his eyes to rest.

’Lord Blake must have his reasons for doing this.’

"I’m going to go ask a few more people." Kate couldn’t stay idle. He wasn’t a "bookworm" like Sopea, who could just stand there and retreat into his own world anytime, anywhere. Rather than just wait around for Sean to return, he’d rather dig up more information. What if he found more clues?

"Don’t go too far," Elvire reminded him. "If you run into trouble, we won’t be able to help you."

"I know." Kate blended into the crowd.

He was gone for nearly two hours.

Although he stayed nearby, "asking for directions" was a time-consuming and laborious task. The only convenience was that this was an airport, full of tourists from out of town from whom he could learn about the local customs and conditions of various places.

Just as Kate returned, Sean reappeared.

But what confused Elvire and Sopea was that Sean didn’t just *pop* into existence.

They hadn’t moved an inch, afraid Sean wouldn’t be able to find them when he came back online. But his "spawn point" upon his return wasn’t in front of them; instead, he was approaching from another direction.

"What took you so long?" Elvire asked, puzzled. "Didn’t you just log off?"

She hadn’t sensed Sean using any Magic, nor had she heard him recite a Spell. ’Has his technique for vanishing become so advanced that even I can’t detect it?’

"No, I did log off," Sean said. "I just used a different method to log back on."

This time, he had entered through the statue in the Void Technique Space.

Different entry methods, yet he arrived at the same place and met the same people. This was enough to prove that the "New World" was indeed the "Real World" one entered after leaving the Void Technique Space.

Sopea stared at Sean’s body, which seemed to have an ethereal, illusory quality to it. He couldn’t help but ask, "Is this current body of yours a Puppet?"

"Yes," Sean nodded.

He couldn’t just drive the statue over here; Elvire would have probably beaten him up.

It was also because he was figuring out this Puppetry Art that he took so long. Otherwise, traveling at full speed, it wouldn’t have taken him two hours to get from Kovri to Selona Airport.

"Wait for me one more time," Sean said, and vanished again.

This time, however, he didn’t keep Elvire and the others waiting long. He reappeared with a *pop* a moment later.

Sean still wasn’t very proficient with Puppetry Art. Compared to the Puppet, he much preferred his own body.

But this only confused Elvire more. "So, what is this ’other method’ you were talking about?"

In other words, what other method could possibly achieve the same effect as the Fallen Nether Technique, which was jointly written by numerous Mystic Scholars?

"Don’t tell me you invented another method for entering the Consciousness Riverbed," Elvire said in disbelief.

There should be a limit to one person’s genius, otherwise it just makes other geniuses look like idiots.

Sean didn’t answer, changing the subject to ask Kate, "I see you just got back too. Did you find anything?"

"Yes."

Not just something. The findings were significant, and completely unexpected.

After making his inquiries, Kate’s expression had become much more complicated.

"A tourist from near Elderidge told me that it’s the Holy City of the Church Court, and they still have the custom of using horse-drawn carriages."

"What’s more, the High Nobles, including the Blazing Angel Family, the Gwenster Great Knight Family, the Vile Bloodline... and even the Royal Church Court Elderidge, which represents the highest authority and status—all of their family names are unchanged."

This meant that Elderidge and New Elderidge were two different cities.

More importantly, it meant this wasn’t the "New World" at all.

Quite the opposite. It should be called the "Old World."

It might sound unbelievable, but this was the distinct feeling Kate now had.

He looked at Sean and the others and said, word by word, "My friends... I think we may have returned to the Era of Polymath."

...

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