The Peak-stage Second-Circle Wizard didn't just have no nuggets; even the rod was gone.

After Aeliana's initial shock and surprise, her expression transitioned to disgust and contempt as she stared at the unconscious wizard.

Humanity had enough difficulties with procreation after mana transformed women into witches. If many men castrated themselves for power, the human population would dwindle even further.

Women didn't become witches by choice, but men had the choice to become wizards. Thus, they have practically sinned against humanity.

That said, Aeliana didn't really care about such things.

She only found the wizard repulsive because the wizard had become an existence that was neither a man nor a woman.

Nevertheless, Vaan thought nothing of it.

As such, when Aeliana noticed his calm indifference to the discovery, she couldn't but ask, "Aren't you surprised in the least, my Lord?

"Don't be so surprised, Aeli. There will be more of him from where he came," Vaan casually said before commenting, "But I guess it's normal for you to be shocked seeing such a person for the first time. I guess you have heard about the birds and bees."

"What do you mean by the birds and the bees, my Lord?" Aeliana asked curiously.

"Ah.. You could say it's a popular saying in my past life. The metaphors used to describe gender identification in the era I lived," Vaan briefly revealed a bit of his past life and the modern era to Aeliana.

Although Aeliana was surprised by the revelation, she didn't find it unbelievable.

At the very least, it would be more believable to say his knowledge and skills were acquired from his past life rather than an intelligence-improving unique physique.

"How does the saying go, my Lord?" Aeliana enquired.

"Let's see.. It's about how the world has the birds and the bees.. The birds and the birds, the bees and the bees, the birds that used to be bees, the bees that used to be birds, the birds and bees that don't identify as the birds and the bees, the birds that only look like bees, and the bees that look like birds but still have stingers."

Aelian was immediately dumbfounded by Vaan's spew of words that sounded like nonsense. But after she digested the meaning behind them, she became even more dumbfounded and shocked.

What the actual fuck!

"What in tarnation happened in that world? No, actually, I don't want to know, my Lord," Aeliana replied with a speechless look.

"I wouldn't want to know if I was others either. It's a pretty messed up world in its own ways," Vaan softly chuckled with amusement.

..

Nevertheless, after studying the wizard, Vaan shifted his focus to the wizard's staff, which appeared to be a more important object of interest to study.

The staff was completely comprised of materials that had high magic conductivity.

And among them, there was one material that Vaan did not recognize. Furthermore, that material appeared to act as the core component of the magic staff; it was the translucent blue crystal orb embedded at the top of the magic staff.

At first, Vaan figured it was a material that couldn't be found within the seven witch kingdoms. But later, with a dragon's help, he realized it was a material that could be found almost everywhere in the seven witch kingdoms.

His expression immediately turned serious.

"What's wrong, my Lord? What's so special about this blue crystal orb that you stare at it so intently?" Aeliana asked with surprise.

"This blue crystal orb is not a natural material, but one made from processing a witch's mana veins. That's how it possesses near-perfect magic conductivity," Vaan explained.

Once Aeliana heard that, her expression darkened as her body trembled with rage.

It wasn't hard to guess what her Lord's words implied. A witch would die if she had all her mana veins extracted.

And even then, they didn't know how many witches had their mana veins extracted to produce a single magic orb for the wizard's staff.

Nevertheless, after Vaan learned everything he wanted to know, he handed the unconscious wizard over to the dragons to be managed like the rest.

Afterward, Vaan accepted an interspatial bag containing a list of items he had previously requested the Red Dragon Clan to produce.

Although it was far from enough for the war, at the very least, they could be used immediately. As such, he took everything and left the interspatial bag behind for the dragons.

"Well then, we'll be back with more batches of people. Keep their groups separated so we can return them to their original locations without mistakes."

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Astarot answered before informing him, "Oh yes, another young elite has ascended to Rank 5."

"Great, I'll take him with me."historical

"Understood, Supreme Leader. I'll call him over."

Shortly after, Vaan returned to Fort Whitebridge with Aeliana and the Rank 5 dragon, collected the three Rank 4 Mental Strength Potions off Artemis, then assisted Artemis's advancement to Early-stage High Witch.

With the Rank 5 dragon's teleportation magic, Vaan reached Dragontail and Ironhaven quickly to do the same for Agatha and Mesulina as promised.

Afterward, Vaan and Aeliana went after the other groups of infiltrators.

..

The dark clouds in the skies drifted aimlessly and soundlessly, carried by the soft wind until the sun slowly rose on the horizon and changed the current.

A quiet night quickly passed by, but Vaan and Aeliana had completed many objectives during its timeframe, such as capturing all five groups of infiltrators.

Due to the time limit set by Vaan, the dragons had worked quickly on their prisoners. As such, Vaan and Aeliana were able to return each infiltrator group to their original locations within two hours of getting knocked out by the sleeping effect.

A magic bell was used to wake them up.

Under the effects of hypnotism and brainwashing, the infiltrators had no concept of the lost time. They didn't even know they had fallen asleep; they simply carried on with their mission ignorantly, not knowing what had been done to them or how their thoughts had been altered.

They had basically become Vaan's sleeper agents, waiting to be activated.

In the morning, Aeliana returned to Sunpeak Town and joined the others in taking care of its development, Astoria went back to Blackmoon Academy, and Vaan arrived at the capital alone.

..

"I imagined I would visit the capital, but I didn't think it would be under these current circumstances.." Vaan quietly commented to himself as he approached the towering black walls of Blackthorn City.

Blackthorn City wasn't just the capital city of the Kingdom of Black Rose and its largest city at that; it was also one enormous fortress, the kingdom's last line of defense against Gehenna.

"Truly a city of spires.. No wonder everyone wants to live here," Vaan commented thoughtfully, sensing the incredible concentration of mana within the capital.

With thousands of magic towers drawing mana from the atmosphere, the mana concentration had reached a level where simply living in the capital for a day was equivalent to a night of dual-practicing with a skilled pleasure partner.

Of course, dual-practicing in such an environment would produce even greater effects.

That said, the capital's mana concentration still wouldn't hold a candle to a magic tower that could completely monopolize the mana currents.

Although Blackthorn City appeared grand and majestic outside, the air inside completely changed upon Vaan's entry.

It stank with the stench of greed, death, and oppression.

Although the city was home to two million people, the busy streets remained spacious and uncrowded due to the vast land covered.

Men without backgrounds were lower than pet dogs in such a place.

Vaan didn't take long to spot rows of chained naked men with only pieces of cloth covering their private spots on the streets.

They were whipped into metal cages and transported around like cheap goods as they were transferred from one hand to another before they were sent off to the mines.

Judging by their whip scars, muscular builds, and pale complexions, the naked men in chains were regular slave laborers who were used to mining in dark caves.

Nevertheless, Vaan couldn't help but frown. Even with his mental fortitude, he still found the sight unpleasant. But that was just how he expected the capital to be.

Blackthorn City was a matriarchal haven for the supremacist witches.

That said, despite standing in the middle of the busy street, no one came to bother Vaan. In fact, his entry into the city had been incredibly smooth despite it being his first visit.

The guardswomen did not try to stop him. They even appeared respectful after their initial frown when they read his information on their magic screen.

Evidently, the city's magitech security was highly advanced, containing information on citizens outside the city, and not just those entering it.

He was identified as Venerable Sage Vaan Raphna.

'That's some pretty advanced magic technology,' Vaan thought before shaking his head. A brief look around, and he could immediately tell what was wrong with the kingdom's capital.

While it seemed the Kingdom of Black Rose also had its advanced magic technology, they have, unfortunately, focused in the wrong direction. The capital's witches lived in luxuries and indulged in avarice.

It would be strange if development didn't stagnate in such an environment.

"Excuse me, Venerable Raphna," a guardswoman carefully approached Vaan after discussing with her fellow guardswomen.

"I can see that you have arrived without an escort. The capital has been restless and chaotic in recent times. I'm afraid trouble will find you if you are not well protected in the city."

"Would you like me to summons some guards to escort you to your destination?" the guardswoman suggested.

"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need," Vaan shook his head before replying with a smile, "I'm here to look for trouble."

"Pardon?"