The first thing Victor did after becoming Patriarch was to summon all the elders and key family members for an emergency meeting. Sitting in the middle and largest chair made of elemental marble, he dropped the bombshell without beating around the bush.

  “I want to relocate the entire Asteriscus family to the Thornwood Forest,” he announced bluntly.

  This wasn’t a suggestion. It was a declaration of intent.

  The real reason he had seized control of the Asteriscus Magus family was to get all the official Magi in the family to become professors in his academy. That was the whole point of this venture. Since the Merlin family was poised to launch an offensive at any moment, there was no time left to waste. Staying in the ancestral manor would be reckless and pointless, and it would be better to abandon this place entirely and concentrate all the forces in the Thornwood Forest.

  “What?!” an elder finally exclaimed, rising from his seat in disbelief. “You want us to abandon our ancestral home and flee from our enemy? Just like that?”

  “This land has been ours for generations,” another protested. “Our ancestors are buried here. The Asteriscus name is bound to this soil.”

  “To flee is to admit defeat… What difference would that make us from cowards?” the gloomy elder stated.

  “Are you serious, Patriarch?” Alvin questioned. “Have you thought this through?”

  “I’m completely serious.” Victor had expected this reaction and met their objections with a calm, unwavering gaze. “Naturally, I wouldn’t propose such a drastic relocation without preparation. I’ve already secured a strong foothold there. Deep within the Thornwood Forest, I’ve constructed a Magus academy called Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi. As of now, it houses over a thousand acolytes, and the number keeps rising with each passing day. Moreover, several Magi loyal to me are already stationed there, overseeing its development.”

  The room fell into silence as the elders exchanged glances, unable to believe Victor’s words. It sounded implausible. Reaching the peak Elemental Adept rank was one thing, but building an entire Magus academy from the ground up, complete with a thousand acolytes, in less than half a year? Not even Victor himself would have believed it if he were in their shoes.

  Well, technically, these acolytes were players he had tricked, but there was no need to share that detail.

  “We are Magi,” he continued. “Our legacy isn’t defined by bricks and tombstones. It’s forged through knowledge, survival, and power. And right now, the Merlin family is gathering their forces, preparing to strike at any moment.”

  His gaze swept across the chamber, sharp and unyielding.

  “Rather than splitting our forces and losing a war of attrition, it’s wiser to pull back—to fight them in the Thornwood Forest, where the terrain and our manpower will give us the upper hand. We can strike when they least expect it.”

  Several elders began murmuring among themselves. Some still wore expressions of deep reluctance, clinging to the idea of their ancestral lands, especially given how abundant the resources here were. But others — the more pragmatic ones — were beginning to nod.

  Sensing the change, Victor pressed on. “What’s more, I have discovered a mana crystal mine hidden within the Thornwood Forest and potentially more such places with rich resources. The Thornwood Forest is vast, unclaimed, and brimming with untouched resources. What we stand to gain there far outweighs what we leave behind.”

  He paused, letting his words sink deep into their hearts.

  “This is not a suggestion; it is an order. If we want the Asteriscus name to echo across the kingdom—and beyond—we must evolve. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. We understand,” the elders answered in unison.

  Deep down, they knew Victor was right.

  Actually, there was another reason why Victor chose full migration instead of just bringing a handful of official Magi to serve as professors in his academy. It was because of the new main and side missions:

  —— [Headmaster’s Journal] ——

  Mission: Migrate Your Whole Family to the Thornwood Forest

  Now that you’ve taken control of the Asteriscus Magus family, the Merlin Family is mobilizing their full force against you. Migrate all members and servants of the Asteriscus family to the Thornwood Forest safely and hold off the Merlin family’s advance units.

  Type: Main mission

  Migration Progress: 0%

  Reward: Deeper insights into the Omni-Elemental Fusion Method

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  ————————

  Mission: Among Us

  A spy hides among the high-ranking members of the Asteriscus family. Identify the traitor and eliminate them before they can sabotage your plans.

  Type: Side mission

  Reward: 2,000 academy points

  …

  Victor’s gaze swept across the gathered crowd. Although he had spoken of the Thornwood Forest’s abundant resources, a small but stubborn part of the group still harbored doubts. And among them, Victor had already identified a potential traitor. Fortunately, he had a plan to accomplish two objectives in a single stroke, quelling their doubts and smoking out the spy.

  “If you are still not convinced,” Victor said in an authoritative voice, “then allow me to show you something I found in the Astrology Cavern.”

  Rather than explaining verbally, Victor gathered all the elders and important family members and personally led them into the Astrology Cavern, straight toward the hidden room behind the final chamber. Since Victor had already destroyed the jester mannequin guarding the place, there was no longer any obstacle barring their entry.

  As they arrived at the final sealed room, now standing open, Victor gestured for them to step inside. The elders entered cautiously, their steps slowing down as they took in the contents of the chamber. Contrary to their expectations of a glorious treasure vault or a long-lost high-rank meditation technique, what greeted them was something entirely different—a forgotten fragment of their own history.

  Inscribed across the ancient walls were murals and records, preserved through powerful magic. They depicted a time long ago, during the Dark Era, when the Asteriscus family had not been solely noble Magi, but also a family of court magicians and jesters. Surprisingly, among the paintings of the ruler that the family served, there was a woman who unmistakably resembled Valeria, but not in her ghostly form. Here, she appeared fully human, clad in royal garments, with a commanding expression.

  It appeared that what Valeria had said to Victor in the past was not just a joke… despite Victor’s disbelief.

  The room was deathly silent as everyone took in the truth of their past.

  “This is the truth that was buried,” Victor said calmly. “This is the foundation of the Asteriscus family. And this is not the only one.”

  Aside from being a lineage of court magicians and jesters during the Dark Era, Victor revealed that before that time, in the forgotten ages preceding the darkness, the Asteriscus family had been something far greater: a line of Astrologers. Magi who specialized in cosmic magic and astral navigation. They were once the explorers of astral space — the chart makers of different planes and worlds, voyaging through numerous planes of existence where few dared to tread.

  Some elders staggered back at the revelation, their eyes wide in shock.

  Astrologers were almost extinct in the current Seraphia, and the Asteriscus family had once been a renowned line of Astrologers. At their peak, the family had even produced a Magus who stood above the Sigil Conversion rank, which was a rank that the current rank of the strongest Magus in the kingdom had.

  Victor let them absorb the truth in heavy silence before positioning himself beneath the mural of Valeria’s human form. “What if I told you that one of the rulers that the family once served is still alive and might be able to teach the Asteriscus Family the old ways we have lost?”

  Of course, Victor didn’t mean for them to become court jesters again. In truth, he believed the label of “court jesters” had probably been nothing more than a derisive slang term—or perhaps a long-running joke at the time — mocking their role as court magicians who were on the decline as Astrologers.

  “Is that even possible?”

  “It’s been thousands of years… perhaps longer.”

  A ripple of shock ran through the elders. Some of the elders were visibly stiffened, unable to fathom the idea that a figure from the Dark Era could still exist, much less offering them guidance.

  “Well, time to find out.”

  With this, all the important family members could no longer refute Victor’s plan for a huge migration, as Victor had pointed the way to something greater.

  A high-ranking family member of the Asteriscus family moved swiftly through the dim corridors of the manor after learning what was hidden behind the final chamber of the Astrology Cavern. In his hand, hidden beneath his sleeve, he clutched a smooth, rune-inscribed communication crystal—a magic tool capable of transmitting messages across vast distances undetected by most means.

  His heart pounded heavily against his ribs. He had to report everything he had discovered: Victor’s plans for a large-scale migration to the Thornwood Forest, the forgotten truth about the family’s origins, and, most importantly, the strategy to counter the Merlin family’s looming threat. Such information was invaluable. If he succeeded in delivering it, he could secure a prestigious position within the Merlin family—perhaps even leadership of his own branch. No longer would he have to serve under those he had secretly despised for so long.

  Finding a secluded alcove just beyond a dark corner, he pressed the communication crystal to his lips and began channeling mana into it.

  But before a single word could be transmitted, a crack of space appeared before him. A hand emerged from the void and seized his wrist, wrenching the crystal away. Startled, instinctively tried to resist, but his entire body was locked in place, frozen by an invisible force.

  “You should have been more careful, Uncle,” Victor said coolly, stepping out of the distortion with an ethereal blade gleaming faintly in his free hand.

  Indeed, the spy was none other than Gardacle Asteriscus — Victor’s uncle.

  Gardacle’s eyes widened in horror. “You—!”

  “Caught you.” Victor’s smile was cold. With a squeeze of his fingers, he crushed the communication crystal into glittering dust.

  “H-How did you know?”

  “A little bird told me.” Victor shrugged.

  Only then did Gardacle realize they were not alone.

  From all corners of the corridor, the elders emerged one by one. They had been watching from the beginning, having suspected Gardacle when he was among the first to hastily leave the meeting.

  Victor had orchestrated it all perfectly.

  “Gardacle Asteriscus,” Victor said, his voice cutting through the silence with authority, “you are hereby stripped of your title and rights as a Magus of the Asteriscus Family. You will be imprisoned and brought to trial for your crimes.”

  “No! You can’t do this to me!” Gardacle howled, struggling against the invisible force restraining him. With desperate effort, he managed to activate his sigils, and for a brief moment, the surrounding air dropped in temperature, mana stirring violently.

  Without hesitation, Victor slashed the ethereal blade across Gardacle’s chest. Blood splattered onto the stone floor as Gardacle crumpled, incapacitated, before he could unleash a single spell.

  “This is the fate of those who betray the Asteriscus Family!” Victor declared to the assembled elders, his voice cold and absolute. “Let this be a warning.”

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