Voices surged like a boiling sea.

Kanzaki Rei saw people raising toward the sky the lunar phase diagrams left behind during the Harvest Moon, comparing them against the theories he had established.

He saw children in distant nations gathered around a painted scroll, gazing upward in awe.

That was the Moon-Time Scroll he had drawn.

The conclusion to a mystery.

"So this... is what it feels like."

Countless voices filled his ears.

Discussion.

Whispers.

Admiration.

Deduction.

He could feel one cryptic scholar after another igniting with flashes of insight.

Feel their thoughts being enlightened.

Feel his name being imprinted upon the world.

His existence known.

Recognized.

Acknowledged.

If he hadn’t experienced it personally—

He would never have understood this sensation.

Through his own methods—

He had pushed the entire world one step further in its pursuit of origin.

One mystery in the world had vanished.

One step closer to unraveling all unknown mysteries.

This...

Was the Great Path of the Cryptic Scholar.

To resolve all that is unknown in the world.

"I understand now..."

Rei stepped out of his room.

One more step—

And he had already arrived at the Cryptic Enthusiasts Association.

There he met Yuinri again.

Seeing Rei arrive, Yuinri welcomed him with a grin.

"Yo, kid!"

"I’ve already handled everything for you."

"By now, the entire Moonsea Cryptic Scholar Association should know your answer."

Rei smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

"I’ve already felt it."

Advancing as a Cryptic Scholar really was fast.

By contrast—

Progressing as a Mage and Warrior felt much slower.

Perhaps because he had only handed his magic and battle arts to the Mage Association and Combat Academy.

Even after uploading them,

It would still take time for others to discover those new grimoires.

Some spellbooks also required contribution points to exchange for.

And less than a month had passed since reaching Tier 5—

Hardly enough for many mages to learn his magic,

Much less develop unique understanding or recognition based on it.

Ordinarily—

At the Tier 5 stage, mages often took teaching positions,

Researching while instructing others.

Partly to spread their knowledge faster.

Still—

For ordinary mages,

Recognition usually came before meeting advancement conditions.

To advance as a Tier 5 Mage, one needed at minimum:

Master three Fusion Spells.

Raise one Fifth-Tier spell to the proficiency level of Silent Casting.

Create at least five original spells.

And invent one original Fusion Spell.

That was only the minimum advancement threshold.

If someone advanced by meeting only the minimum—

Their hopes of ever reaching Tier 7 Mage were basically nonexistent.

The Root would not acknowledge them.

For perfect advancement—

One had to comprehend a Fifth-Tier Root Magic.

Normally, that had to be one’s own Root Magic.

But Rei was an existence capable of learning the Root Magic of others—

Which made the criteria blurry.

Would another person’s Root Magic count?

He didn’t know.

And in any case—

He already possessed his own Fifth-Tier Root Magic.

Though it had been ascended from Fourth Tier.

Yuinri asked warmly,

"Planning to advance directly to Tier 6 Cryptic Scholar?"

"If you are, we can hold the ritual right here."

Rei nodded.

"Yes."

"Then let’s do it now."

Yuinri stepped out from behind the front desk.

The Cryptic Enthusiasts Association was deserted.

At least here, he seemed to be the only one around.

But most people didn’t spend all day sitting inside their class associations.

Even the Mage Association was the same.

Most mages were either in academies—

Or in adventurer parties.

Yuinri spoke as if casually,

"Though helping you handle this..."

"Cost me quite a bit."

"Do you know how much effort it takes to spread information across the entire Moonsea?"

Rei caught the topic immediately.

"You have a way to transmit information throughout all of Moonsea?"

Yuinri grinned.

"If it’s only passing information, we use a Communication Ritual."

"Heh, the Cryptic Enthusiasts Association may look small..."

"And it is small."

"But our functions aren’t necessarily weaker than those big associations."

"Across the whole world, millions of mages submit their spells to the Association every day."

"How could the Mage Association possibly transmit all those spells across the entire Moonsea?"

"The resources required would be astronomical."

"And even if they did transmit them, there wouldn’t be enough places to house so many spellbooks."

"So even after uploading a spell..."

"At best it spreads across nearby islands."

"And even there..."

"It’s just one inconspicuous grimoire added to a vast ocean of magic."

"But small associations like ours..."

"I’d estimate there are only around a hundred thousand cryptic scholars in all Moonsea."

"Compared to the hundreds of millions—or even billions—of mages on a continent..."

"The gap is enormous."

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Mage was a class anyone could choose.

And many favored combat classes when changing class.

Even counting life professions,

The chance of becoming a mage was roughly one in twenty.

Some continents here were several times larger than Earth.

Populations in the tens of billions were entirely possible.

That meant there really could be billions of mages.

Rei couldn’t help asking,

"Are Cryptic Scholars really that rare?"

"At least according to our last Association census."

"That was two years ago."

"There were only around 120,000 Cryptic Scholars in all Moonsea."

"And Tier 5 Cryptic Scholars like you..."

"Maybe around 100 people."

"So the Association pours resources into us."

"Actually, because Cryptic Scholars cooperate with the White Tower..."

"We’re never short on resources."

"In some ways we even receive more than White Tower scholars."

"The unresolved mysteries in the Association..."

"Can only rely on people like us."

"Oh, and by the way—"

"I’m one of the few Tier 6 Cryptic Scholars in the Association."

"There are only six of us."

"Though I can’t rule out some scholars never registering with the Association."

"When you become Tier 6..."

"You’ll be the seventh."

No wonder Yuinri had been so enthusiastic toward him.

It was because Rei was about to become a Tier 6 Cryptic Scholar.

Tier 6 Mages—

He had seen plenty.

With billions of mages per continent,

Pure numbers alone would produce geniuses.

But a Tier 6 Cryptic Scholar—

This was the first he had encountered.

As they spoke—

They had already arrived at the Advancement Ritual Hall.

It really had been a long time since Rei had come to an advancement hall.

If he were to ascend to Tier 6 Cryptic Scholar—

The talent he wanted most...

Was one that could solve the mystery of the Primordial Forbidden Magic.

That ruin likely wasn’t something brute force alone could conquer.

"Come."

"My companion."

Yuinri turned and smiled.

"If you reached Tier 5..."

"You should have some way to resist contamination by now, right?"