Legacy of the Dark Sage

Array is considered a common magic knowledge in the Higher Realm, where almost everyone is an Array Saint. However, no one can exceed that height because the Ancients who created it were annihilated before it could reach a height similar to other branches of magic.

This is what everyone in the Higher Realm believed. However, the truth is far from it.

Some Ancients survived The Fall and hid themselves in places like the Tower of the Ancients to preserve their time. They could not leave that place, but at the very least, they had the time and resources to research Array and have their knowledge reach a greater height.

The peak Array Knowledge known by mages in the Higher Realm could be considered beginner-level compared to the Ancients.

Considering these, mages who entered the Tower of the Ancients and were lucky enough to receive enlightenment in Array were likely the only ones who surpassed the others' knowledge in the Higher Realm. The problem was no one had actually reached the floor where one could receive an Array's enlightenment.

The Dragon Clan once discovered an automaton's body, but because their understanding of Array was lacking, they could not awaken it. They tried changing its frame to mirror a dragon in human form, but in the end, they still failed to configure its programming.

Ultimately, the Dragon Clan's failure worked for Kyran's benefit because the Dragon Emperor, Aillos, decided to use that automaton's body as Aki's new body so he could come with Cyneah, Ladon, and Thorn to the Tower of the Ancients.

Anyhow, based on all this information, it was not wrong to say that no one in the Higher Realm actually managed to improve their Array Knowledge.

If this was the case, then how could an array formation comparable to the ones in the Tower of the Ancients be present in the Higher Realm?

There were three reasons that Kyran thought of. One, those Array Saints who worked on the array formation below managed to find a treasure— similar to how the Dragon Clan found an automaton, except it possessed an intricate array formation— in the Tower of the Ancients and successfully deciphered and analyzed it, allowing them to understand how to create such a complex formation.

Two, the array formation itself was a revolutionized concept of the Higher Realm's progression in Array.

To be honest, Kyran found the first two impossible for one simple reason:

No clan would want to share their clan's knowledge with others.

It might be different if The Emperor forced them, but since the Junction Port was created by almost all the clans in the Higher Realm, even if The Emperor held absolute power and almost everyone feared him, it would still be impossible for him to force them to share each other's knowledge.

He would not want that either because doing so would mean exposing the knowledge of the clans under his faction to outsiders.

Considering all these points, Kyran leaned toward the third reason, which was the array formation below was nothing but a grandiose attempt at a highly advanced saint-tier array.

Kyran observed the visible rune writings once more. Recalling the rest of the formulas in the formation when he observed it with his enhanced senses earlier, he finally noticed that most of them were empty formulas.

He would have realized that sooner if he could study the array formation with his magic sense because, at least by doing so, he could easily sense the flow of magic energy in the formation and find the relationships of each formula with one another.

As for the visible rune writings, Kyran had an inkling that they were placed there to mislead others. Nevertheless, even if he believed this, as long as he could not identify which formulas were empty, then he could not make a move either.

Kyran was tempted to use his magic sense without identifying those formulas, risking triggering the formation's alarm. At the end of the day, the most important thing was for him to pass through the Blade Dancer plane's portal.

However, if he made a commotion right then, there was no telling how those beings in charge of the portals would react. Worst case, they might shut down all the portals, and that would be game over for Kyran.

Alright, saying it was game over was an exaggeration. But in any case, Kyran could not risk it.

'Hm? Wait...' Kyran tilted his head upon realizing something and almost wanted to hit his head for being slow and stupid.

It was not like he had to identify all the empty formulas in the formations. He only had to see which of the visible ones were empty, and he could use that to breach the entire formation.

After confirming what he had to do, Kyran did not waste time and recalled the formulas placed at the border of the array formation. He analyzed each one and confirmed its flow.

'That formula...'

A small smile tugged at the corner of Kyran's lips as soon as he found an empty formula. Looking back on the visible rune writings and crosschecking them on the one he memorized, he pinpointed the location of the empty formula.

'West from here...' Kyran thought while checking the path below leading to the west. 'Of course, I should have realized this was the case.'

Kyran smiled with a wry smile as he noticed that although the security personnel around the portal area were evenly scattered, the ones close to the empty formulas exuded a far more powerful aura of a peak Sovereign. This meant those guys were close to becoming High Sovereigns.

Now that Kyran knew about the empty formulas, it became clear why the strongest security personnel were placed there.

It seemed like his guess about the array formation was correct.

Kyran found a good route with fewer mages toward the west and moved at once. He blended in with the crowd while observing the security personnel near the empty formula. At the same time, he also checked the ones roaming around the business area.

For the next three hours, Kyran patiently observed the portal's security personnel and the roaming security while wandering around the stores and outside stalls.

Once he confirmed how long it took the roaming securities time to pass around the area near the portal's security personnel, Kyran tried something out.

Using one of the magic items he bought while wandering around, he dropped it at a nearby alley after the roaming securities were out of sight.

The moment the magic item dropped to the ground, a blinding light flashed, and all the mages within the vicinity exclaimed in shock.

Boom!

Following the blinding light, an explosion occurred, prompting the alarms in the nearby establishments to go off.

Kyran blended in with the running crowd and observed if the security personnel at the portal would move.

But.

Whiiiir!

An array formation appeared around the explosion as several roaming securities appeared one after another.

"Everyone within 10 kilometers is asked to follow the protocol."

"Please move according to the Junction Port's security instructions as we inspect the surrounding areas."

Two of the three groups of port security mages instructed the mages around.

'As expected,' Kyran thought with a bitter smile while looking at the security personnel at the portal. He planned to cause a commotion and see if they would react to it, but it appeared they would not move if the commotion happened within the business area.

In fact, the security personnel did not even flinch when the explosion occurred. They resembled the statues in the Tower of the Ancients, which would only move when certain conditions were met.

Kyran guessed the condition for those security personnel to move was when something happened around the portal.

Kyran slipped into one of the side stalls and teleported back to the building he stayed at to inspect the array formation.

The security mages around the business area appeared lax, but in truth, they reacted well to the Junction Port's security protocol.

'From what I've seen thus far, when something happened, and the roaming security mages assigned in that area had just passed through, it is not necessary for them to return just to see what had happened. There were array formations all over the business area that allowed any security mages on standby to respond to any situation.

'The same goes with the security personnel around the portal's area. They will not move even if something happens near them as long as it is outside their jurisdiction.'

It was human nature to react when something happened near them, but those security personnel's lack of reaction was truly commendable.

Then again, they were not humans per se. They might appear human, but at the end of the day, they were not.

Kyran shook his head and pushed his thoughts aside. This was not the time to be in awe of the security personnel's discipline. He needed to find a way to enter the portal's area as soon as possible.

'If I can't make them move by themselves, then I'll just have to make it move myself.'

With that in mind, Kyran took out the face-altering mask he had not used in a long time.