After successfully graduating from the Basic Campus, Hyacine's life became even simpler. Previously, she still had to attend classes, but now she could just find a comfortable spot in Anaxa's office and play on her phone.
According to the Arcane Federation's rules, whether she graduated or not depended entirely on Anaxa's word. In essence, Hyacine had skipped straight from high school to university life, becoming even more carefree.
Of course, when Pela was around, Hyacine would put on an act, sitting up straight with a book in her hand, pretending to study diligently.
Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded: Anaxa and Hyacine sat in their respective places, each absorbed in their own pursuits, while in the same room, the Necromancy Tower Master earnestly lectured Pela on the fundamentals of various magic disciplines, and Pela listened intently, eager to learn.
However, the Necromancy Tower Master and Pela couldn't stay all day, so Hyacine usually enjoyed plenty of downtime.
Another seven days passed. This morning, before Hyacine had even gotten out of bed, she heard a commotion outside. She blinked her bleary eyes open and slowly climbed out of bed, her long pink hair cascading wildly over her smooth shoulders. After stretching languidly, she finally swung her legs over the edge of the bed and began to dress.
By the time Hyacine had leisurely washed up, tied her hair back, and opened her door, she saw life-sized Magic Puppets patrolling the streets, chanting, "The Arcane Federation is entering a state of maximum alert! All foreign merchants and tourists must leave the capital city by the end of the day. I repeat, all foreign merchants and tourists must leave the capital city by the end of the day!"
The sudden announcement left most people bewildered. What's going on? You haven't even explained why we need to leave!
Then, in the next instant, Hyacine felt the ground beneath her feet begin to tremble slightly, the tremors gradually intensifying.
A merchant and tourist who had been arguing with a Magic Puppet suddenly paled. "An earthquake?!"
The tremor was only about a magnitude 3 to 4 by Hyacine's past life standards—not particularly strong—and it quickly subsided. Meanwhile, the Magic Puppets continued to relentlessly repeat their earlier warning: "All foreign merchants and tourists must leave this city by the end of the day!"
A rational person's first reaction would naturally be to assume that this so-called 'Arcane Federation's highest alert status' must be due to an impending major earthquake.
But upon further reflection, that didn't make sense. If a major earthquake were imminent, why would they only evacuate foreign merchants and tourists? Shouldn't everyone be evacuated?
The merchant who had been arguing earlier furrowed his brow and demanded, "You must give me a reason! Why should I—Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Before he could finish, the Magic Puppet grabbed him, hoisted him onto its shoulder, and began marching toward the city gates, declaring, "In cases of non-compliance, forced expulsion will be carried out. Please remain still. If you resist, my enforcement measures will escalate accordingly."
Hearing this, the merchant, now dangling over the puppet's shoulder, immediately froze. He was just an ordinary person, while the Magic Puppet was a magical construct—he had no chance against such a creature.
This was the capital of the Arcane Federation, after all. Even if he could defeat this one Magic Puppet, how would he fare against the inevitable swarm that would follow?
Thus, the merchant dared only to hurl verbal abuse. He began cursing the Magic Puppet's entire family, its creator, and the entire Arcane Federation with furious abandon.
"Damn it! All my assets are here! How dare you just throw me out like this? What about my money?!"
"Just you wait! I'm going straight to the Alliance to report your actions. I'll expose the Arcane Federation's ugly face to the entire world! Think you can still do business after this? Dream on!"
"Ouch! Easy, easy! My back!"
Hyacine watched as one merchant after another was carried away before her. Of course, some cooperated and walked on their own, but they were few and far between. The Magic Puppets seemed to know precisely where every 'outsider' was, expelling them with surgical precision without disturbing any local residents.
As for Hyacine and Anaxa, thanks to the 'spy' merchant's falsified documents, they had been registered as local residents from the start and were naturally exempt from expulsion.
Hyacine frowned slightly at the scene before her. After a brief pause, she broke into a jog toward Pela's house, as she usually went to pick her up early each morning, and they would walk to school together.
She had barely taken a few steps when the ground began to tremble again, the tremors similar in intensity and duration to the previous ones. They stopped quickly, giving the impression of frequent minor tremors preceding a major earthquake.
But the truth was far more complex. Though Hyacine wasn't the kind of "Demigod" known for her Perception, she could still clearly sense an immense surge of Magic Power emanating from deep underground, permeating every corner of the city.
Hyacine inexplicably recalled a remark the Necromancy Tower Master had once made: Whenever something strange happens, blame it on the Headmaster's Project X—you'll probably be right. It seemed this time was no different.
She soon arrived at Pela's doorstep, where she found her friend looking panicked. "H-Hyacine... what's happening? Is it an earthquake? Are we still going to school today?"
Hyacine was speechless. Is this what a model student is like? she thought. Her first reaction to an earthquake is to worry about whether she can still go to school?
She paused, then said, "I think... it shouldn't affect things. We can still go to school normally, right?"
Reaching the school and meeting up with Anaxa would even be safer. Just then, Pela's parents seemed to have overheard Hyacine's words. A wrinkled woman appeared at the door and said, "If everything's alright, hurry off to school! Don't let your studies fall behind!"
Hyacine was speechless at this family's priorities. She took Pela's hand and headed toward the Transmutation Tower. During their walk, the ground trembled lightly several times, each tremor lasting no more than two minutes.
Moments later, as they finally approached the Transmutation Tower, Pela belatedly realized, "Wait, shouldn't I be going to the Necromancy Tower to find the Tower Master?"
But Hyacine didn't let go of her hand. "Lady Friedrich will definitely come looking for Professor Anaxa soon anyway, just like usual. Coming here directly makes no difference!"
And indeed, they had barely arrived when the Necromancy Tower Master rushed into Anaxa's room, blurting out, "I've finally figured out Heinrich's Project X! His target is the Goddess of Magic herself?!"
Boom!
As the Necromancy Tower Master spoke, all four of them felt the ground beneath their feet tremble violently. This tremor was far stronger than the earlier, milder ones. After the initial jolt, Hyacine could clearly feel the ground slowly rising beneath her.
Anaxa immediately cast a Divination School spell, conjuring a magical projection that offered a bird's-eye view of the Arcane Federation Capital. The projection revealed massive cracks spreading along the city's perimeter as the entire metropolis detached from the surrounding terrain and began to levitate!
Anaxa knelt, pressing his right palm against the ground while simultaneously activating another spell to perceive the magic power fluctuations flowing through the earth. The magical projection of the Arcane Federation Capital gradually transformed into an 'X-ray' view, revealing intricate networks of veins beneath the city's surface, resembling circuit boards.
These veins converged approximately one hundred meters below the city's center, pinpointing the location of a colossal energy source.
Anaxa's feat was truly astonishing, leaving the Necromancy Tower Master and Pela utterly stunned. Divination School magic typically requires a medium, such as a Crystal Ball, to project observed phenomena. Yet Anaxa bypassed this entirely, conjuring a Magical Projection directly into the air using his Magic Power. He then layered another spell onto the first, creating a feat of arcane mastery beyond comprehension.
"This is the source," Anaxa declared. "It powers the entire city, sustaining an immensely vast Ritual Magic."
"A Floating City," the Necromancy Tower Master murmured. "This should still be in the theoretical stage! Heinrich actually completed it?! This is impossible! How did he solve the energy problem?"
The Necromancy Tower Master swiftly explained the principles behind the Floating City. In essence, it was a super-enhanced version of a Mage Tower. A Mage Tower transforms a tower into a Wizard's fortified position. As everyone knows, a well-prepared Wizard can be incredibly formidable, commanding traps, pre-cast spells, various Summoned Creatures, and more.
Therefore, defeating the master of a Mage Tower within its own domain is an exceedingly difficult task.
Now, the entire city can be considered Heinrich's personal, colossal Mage Tower—a flying, mobile magical fortress. Its outer perimeter is layered with impenetrable defensive spells, while its interior is pre-charged with a vast array of potent offensive magics.
Just imagine this city flying directly above the Empire or the Alliance, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks. If desired, it could even deploy Golem forces by air, dropping tons of war machines like hailstones from the sky. Moreover, due to the Floating City's immense altitude and magical barriers, enemies would struggle to pose any significant threat.
However, the greatest challenge lies in its energy requirements. The Arcane Federation's capital is a sprawling metropolis spanning over twenty square kilometers. Lifting such a behemoth into the sky would require an unimaginable amount of Magic Power!
Boom!
With another thunderous roar, the entire city rose higher into the sky. The perspective shifted to Heinrich, who stood in the Floating City's deepest core, a hundred meters underground. Before him pulsed an earth-toned sphere radiating immense energy—the Sorcerer Divine Artifact of the Earth Element. Specially crafted Magic Items orbited the sphere, constantly drawing off its surging power.
Though it was the same Divine Artifact used by the Sorcerer-Hero three centuries ago, Heinrich's methods were completely different. Watching the scene unfold, he nodded in satisfaction and declared, "The takeoff sequence is perfectly stable, just as predicted."
He then turned to the first person beside him and asked, "How is the evacuation progressing?"
The Prophecy Tower Master replied, "Even more efficiently than anticipated. Using Divination Magic, I pinpointed the locations of all outsiders and dispatched Magic Puppets with precision. The evacuation is now eighty percent complete."
"Excellent," Heinrich said. He then looked at another person and asked, "What is the current condition of the children?"
The Enchantment Tower Master, an elderly woman with a stooped back, spoke, "Theoretically, they have now become Priests of the Goddess of Magic, establishing a stable connection with the divine. Project X can proceed as planned."
Heinrich turned to the others. "What about the preparations in other areas?"
The Abjuration Tower Master, a half-elf woman, replied, "All defensive barriers of the Floating City are now at their peak operational condition. My calculations show they can withstand divine-level attacks for at least five minutes."
The Evocation Tower Master, a middle-aged man with dark skin and a completely bald head, stated, "The Godslayer Weapon is also fully prepared and ready for deployment at any moment."
The Conjuration Tower Master, a young girl about Hyacine's height, cradled a staff taller than herself. "I've already contacted the Great Spirits of the Four Elemental Planes and prepaid the earnest money. We can summon them at any time."
Finally, the Illusion Tower Master spoke. His face was blurred as if pixelated, and his voice was androgynous. Judging by his build, he was likely male. "Illusion nodes have been deployed across the nation. Teacher, you may now announce this revolutionary plan to the Arcane Federation!"
With the exception of the Necromancy Tower Master, all seven Tower Masters were now present. Heinrich nodded. "We'll wait another half-hour to ensure all outsiders have been evacuated, then we'll officially take flight!"
The perspective shifted back to Anaxa, who frowned slightly, looking at the Necromancy Tower Master with confusion. "The target is the Goddess of Magic?"
The Necromancy Tower Master nodded. "Yes, Heinrich told me so himself this morning!"
Anaxa stared in disbelief. "Huh?"
He had assumed the Necromancy Tower Master had uncovered this through her own deep investigation and deductive reasoning, only to discover that Heinrich had simply revealed it to her directly.
The Necromancy Tower Master explained further. Earlier that morning, Heinrich had revealed Project X to her. The core objective of this plan was to shatter the cage, but the cage was so resilient that physical destruction was nearly impossible.
Therefore, the only viable approach was internal collapse. Since the cage had been forged by the Twelve True Gods, Heinrich believed that possessing the "authority" of any one of them would allow him to break the cage. This so-called "authority" was her divinity. Thus, the first step of the plan was to kill the Goddess of Magic and seize her power!