"Your name, identity, and the purpose of your appearance here?"
"Going to the fishing village by the sea, preparing to take dried goods to sell inland."
"How much do you know about these guards?"
"If ordinary people like us see a wizard’s spell or something very powerful, we might be affected."
"Are they all like these, losing even their human form after seeing it? Does everything from powerful wizards have this effect?"
"No, this is a rare case. From the rumors I’ve heard, the worst situation for ordinary people is to end up with a permanent disability. An encounter like turning into a monster is unheard of. I just boldly guessed at your abilities, sir."
With the help of the decree spell, Ronald effortlessly obtained the answers he wanted from these traders.
What happened today also seemed to be an extreme rarity.
From the information Ronald had previously, he inferred that this was a result of the combined effects of the spirit pollution and physical transformation abilities of the Bapulor spell system.
If the original was of a typical harmless type,
just like the spell from "Bradshaw’s Railway Guide" that Ronald held, even if ordinary people saw it and understood its implications, it wouldn’t harm them.
Thinking this, Ronald glanced at Bapulor.
Although both were previously unaware, the instigator of this incident ultimately was the spell system of this heretical magician.
It was likely only the robe owned by the leader of his sect that could cause such a tragic scene.
Bapulor, noticing Ronald’s gaze on him, smiled somewhat sheepishly. Then, he put the matter behind him and stepped forward to question the traders:
"Tell me, is there going to be any big movement in this world soon?"
"Like a lot of casters... a lot of wizards gathering together?"
Upon hearing Bapulor’s question,
the faces of the traders under the control of the decree showed confusion.
They waited several seconds before one of the older traders spoke up:
"Sir, we are just ordinary people, we don’t even have the privilege to look up at the Academy Tower. How would we know of the wizards’ movements?"
At this answer, Bapulor blinked.
Meanwhile, Ronald, without hesitation, posed another question:
"I’ll ask something else then."
"As traders, you should be particularly sensitive to business activities. So, in the past few years, outside the normal range of business circulation of goods, have there been any unusual circumstances?"
No sooner had this question been asked than Bapulor walked over and exclaimed, "Ronald, your mind works really fast. I hadn’t even thought of it, and you’ve already found a solution!"
Ronald merely shrugged nonchalantly:
"It’s just a habit when encountering such problems."
After a brief exchange in low voices, the traders also didn’t lag in their area of expertise, and answers naturally came forth:
"About that... I know that Barrier Mountain has been consuming rapidly increasing amounts of materials these past few years!"
"I was fortunate to deliver a batch of magic materials six months ago; there were indeed more people handling the logistics than in previous years when I entered the city and stored them in the warehouse."
The traders chimed in one after another, quickly pinpointing a place called Barrier Mountain. According to them, the whole world, or rather the "Infinite Negative Domain," showed a trend of converged resources towards that location recently.
Thus, Ronald pressed his hand down to cut off their bean-spilling-like narrative.
Then he pushed the topic further:
"Alright, now tell me everything you know about Barrier Mountain."
A trader spoke up without hesitation:
"Ever since those evil mages divided the world, Barrier Mountain has always been the center of our world. The wizards established the Academy Tower there, always..."
The perspective of the trader might have a twisted and beautified narrative.
But in Ronald’s eyes, these things could be summarized approximately as follows.
—Time started from the day they were sealed.
After about two years of mutual conquest, the casters sealed in the "Infinite Negative Domain" finally recognized the current situation, and then, a far-sighted wizard, Edith, came forward.
He led the losers of the Dark Age to Barrier Mountain and established a spell research organization that shared resources across all schools, placing ability above all.
So that in the differing flow of time between two worlds,
those who were sealed wouldn’t fall behind in their magical capabilities.
Under a common threat, people tend to become truly cooperative.
Over seven years, the academy organization on Barrier Mountain integrated all the schools within the "Infinite Negative Domain," then began wholeheartedly cracking the original text and nurturing a new generation of casters.
Thanks to their indefatigable efforts,
the environment of the "Infinite Negative Domain" has undergone three significant changes, and the abilities of these casters are no longer comparable to the standards of the Dark Age.
Currently, around the Academy Tower on Barrier Mountain, a society completely ruled by the wizards has formed and stabilized; the process of decoding original texts and improving spells progresses swiftly.
Even though the traders have no related news...
But in Ronald’s eyes, looking at it, the casters sealed within the "Infinite Negative Domain" have definitely fully embarked upon the path of a magical civilization ruled by spells.
If the "Nine Commandments Conclave" could break the seal on the outside world’s harvest day...
No, there’s even no need to think that way!
Even if the "Nine Commandments Conclave’s" actions on the harvest day outside fail, one day, the casters within the "Infinite Negative Domain" will inevitably break the seals and return to the original world.
Since they can cooperate so sincerely.
Then, with the premise of progressively increasing magical capabilities, this is an inevitability.
Past powerful spells will eventually be resolved in the face of relentlessly progressing casters!
Ronald was able to deduce this information.
As a leader of a sect, how could Bapulor possibly not realize.
Watching as Ronald finished questioning and then had the traders forget their memory and faint,
The heretical magician took the initiative to deal with the blood-flesh monsters the guards had turned into.
He simultaneously asked:
"Ronald, what do you think of this situation?"
"With our current situation, I’m not very optimistic about the outcome."