Half an hour later, the representatives had carefully read through the contents of the Modern Magic Alliance treaty twice.
Everyone was frowning deeply, as if facing some enormous difficulty.
There was no other reason - the conditions were simply too harsh.
Initially, they had thought this would be an agreement like the International Confederation of Wizards, a loose alliance for mutual assistance.
If that were the case, anyone would gladly accept it.
With Lawrence's banner, at least the divine realms would show some restraint, and other ancient figures emerging from small secret realms would also think twice before acting.
It would ultimately save them much trouble.
But after reading through the entire book of rules and regulations, they realised it was nothing like what they had imagined.
The rules here were even stricter than their own Ministry of Magic laws.
Of course, their laws targeted ordinary domestic wizards, while this alliance treaty targeted the Ministries of Magic of various countries.
Not only must they unconditionally obey the Alliance Chairman's commands, but they must also hand over a specified amount of funding to headquarters every year.
Who could the Chairman be? Who controlled the headquarters?
Wasn't it none other than Lawrence himself?
"Mr Lawrence, isn't this treaty rather too harsh?" one representative said through gritted teeth. "I can understand paying membership fees, but why should the Chairman have command authority over Ministries of Magic and be able to issue decrees that override the Minister?"
"Is this meant to interfere with the internal affairs of various countries' Ministries of Magic?"
"Internal affairs?" Wayne looked at him curiously after finishing his butterbeer. "After joining the alliance, everyone becomes one entity. Since these are the alliance's rules, if you don't want to comply, what's the point of joining?"
"But..." The man's face flushed red. He wanted to say they only wanted his help blocking the invasions from ancient wizards and the divine realms, not for him to unite the world.
But such shameless words ultimately couldn't be spoken aloud.
Not just him - everyone present was a wizard of some standing. Though they thought this way in their hearts, they absolutely couldn't state it outright.
The young man let out a light laugh. "Aberforth, bring me two more butterbeers. My mouth is too dry today - damn this weather."
"Understood." A grunt came from the kitchen.
While he was preparing, Wayne turned back to the Ministry representatives.
"What I want to establish isn't a loose council like the International Confederation of Wizards, but a magic alliance that can exert its full power."
"Facing the powerful divine realms and the ancient wizards whose numbers remain unknown to this day, if we continue being divided, you'll only face being defeated one by one. There's no second possibility."
He held up two fingers.
"Either... become part of the alliance, or be controlled by those outsiders. Choose for yourselves."
The matter was too significant for these people to decide alone, and it likely wouldn't succeed this time.
Because these countries hadn't yet been pushed to their limit.
Perhaps his destruction of the Heaven Divine Realm had frightened those little darlings, making them behave recently, but this situation couldn't last long.
The ancient wizards, who held advantages in both strength and numbers, wouldn't stand by watching a group of weaklings occupy high positions. The conflict between the two sides would grow increasingly intense.
When that time came, it wouldn't be Wayne who was anxious, but those Ministries of Magic.
After they left, Aberforth came out carrying Wayne's butterbeer and his own rum.
"You're so young, yet so obsessed with power." Aberforth sat opposite Wayne. "With your abilities, living freely would be simple enough. There's no need to wade into these muddy waters."
"You've lived all these years in vain, old man." Wayne clinked glasses with him, smiling.
"The benefits of authority are far too numerous. It's like a cake - if you don't want it, others will divide it up, and when you finally want a piece, there'll be none left."
"Then I simply won't eat cake - I'll have my fish and chips instead."
Wayne shook his head. "I may not like cake, but I can't starve to death, nor can I just give it away for nothing."
"What's so good about being a hermit?"
"Don't I live quite freely?" Aberforth used himself as an example.
"Then let's talk about your brother." Wayne offered another example. "His reputation spreads throughout the entire wizarding world, but what does that amount to? Fudge can target him whenever he wants - just sending an Umbridge is enough to make him lose his appetite for three days."
"Unless he wants to become a Dark Wizard and simply eliminate Umbridge, through proper channels, no matter how renowned Dumbledore is, he must still operate within the law."
"And what is that? Isn't that just the game rules set by those in power?"
Aberforth remained unconvinced. "It's still because he's clinging to the Headmaster position. If he were truly without desires, Fudge would have no hold over him."
"What about Ariana?" Wayne said softly, and Aberforth's expression changed.
"If you had possessed the authority I hold now back then, wouldn't Ariana's living conditions have been better? Wouldn't your father have avoided dying with resentment in Azkaban after taking revenge?"
Aberforth had no response.
He thought it over carefully and found no fault in Wayne's reasoning.
If Ariana were Wayne's sister, people would be falling over themselves to curry favour with her, let alone bully her...
"Fine, I can't win against you in an argument."
In the end, he could only gloomily take a sip of his drink.
Wayne curled his lip at his poor loser attitude, finished his glass of butterbeer, and then left the Hog's Head.
The harder he worked now, the fewer voices would remain in this world to oppose him later.
Therefore, everything was worth it.
...
After leaving the Hog's Head, Wayne went to his usual spot - the isolated island where he had once made his breakthrough.
Summoning the Dimensional Altar, he excitedly placed the two pseudo-Legend angels on the left and right sides of the altar's central platform.
He hoped these two dead specimens would be sensible and help him open a suitable world, otherwise Wayne guaranteed he'd eradicate their worship starting from the next generation.
Before beginning the sacrifice, he first tried his luck with a hundred consecutive draws.
Looking at the uniform blue skies and white clouds, along with the most rubbish guaranteed golden reward - the Philosopher's Stone - Wayne nodded with satisfaction.
This was what was called 'warming up the blade' - the worse his luck was now, the more it would erupt all at once when opening the altar, granting him a perfect world.
What?
What if he actually got something good?
That would mean his fortunes were currently soaring - if he didn't perform the sacrifice now, then when would he ever?
Standing beneath the altar, Wayne began chanting prayers, occasionally making strange movements that resembled dancing or imitating some creature.
He didn't want to do this, but the ritual transmitted by the Dimensional Altar was just this perverse.
This was also why he chose to perform the sacrifice on an isolated island - it was too embarrassing.
No one was around, perfect for him to go mad.
After a full two and a half minutes of singing and dancing, the altar finally reacted.
A pillar of crimson light erupted from the two pseudo-Legend figures, shooting dozens of metres into the sky before being blocked by an invisible barrier, gradually dyeing it blood-red.
After a while, the blood light was drawn back into the altar. The sky churned with clouds, winds howled, and lightning flashed with thunder.
Finishing the last move and uttering the final divine syllable, Wayne finally stopped and stepped onto the altar.
The altar had now transformed. The original stone surface had become a distorted, blurry spatial vortex, and Wayne couldn't see through to the other side at all.
He tried inquiring with the Dimensional Altar through mental communication, but the only reply he got was 'Go see for yourself.'
Wayne had no choice but to equip all his divine artefacts and activate every buff, arming himself to the teeth. Only then did he take a deep breath and leap into the vortex.
In just an instant, he had arrived in another world.
Wayne opened his eyes, glanced around, and felt like reciting a line of poetry.
'O sea, you are all water.'
Indeed, he had come to a world consisting only of ocean. Standing on the water's surface and looking in every direction, there was nothing but sky and sea.
"System, where's this bloody altar thrown me? Wasn't I just focusing on a world related to magic?"
He had only meant to grumble, not expecting a reply, but Wayne received an unexpected surprise.
[Detected host has travelled to an alternate dimensional world. System scanning... Scan complete.]
[Honoured host, you are currently in the secondary plane of the Water Elemental Plane. This plane is a pure elemental plane, devoid of flesh-and-blood creatures, inhabited only by elemental beings.]
[It is advised that the honoured host seek out the elemental core as soon as possible to become the plane's master. Additionally, in subsequent sacrifices at the Dimensional Altar, you will likely obtain spatial channels to the three other major elemental planes: Fire, Wind, and Earth. Once you control all four major planes and merge them with the primary plane to form subsidiary planes, your primary plane will evolve further, capable of accommodating pseudo-Divine level entities.]
Hiss...
Wayne drew a sharp breath.
Subsidiary planes, world advancement—so much information at once?
Gazing at the despairing sea horizon, Wayne stretched out his arm. Instantly, the calm waters became turbulent, forming a massive whirlpool hundreds of miles in diameter.
In this world, his Tidecaller inheritance was even more effective than the Darkin Blade Master's. With just a casual effort, he could command the entire ocean.
As for the water elemental beings the system mentioned, he had already seen them—dozens of water giants torn apart by the violent vortex, seemingly lacking any intelligence.
After playing around for a while, Wayne exited the Water Elemental Plane and returned to the primary world.
The spatial vortex that had occupied the entire altar had now vanished, replaced by a stone pillar at the altar's edge, its azure patterns faintly visible.
It wasn't quite what he had expected, but finding an unclaimed world for nothing wasn't a loss.
Once he became the master of the Water Elemental Plane, his water magic would undoubtedly grow even more powerful.
Plus, combining the other elemental planes would allow the world to advance in tier—definitely a huge gain.
The problem was the sacrifice requirement: a full four subsidiary planes, meaning ten Legend powerhouses. So far, he had only managed to acquire three.
He feared there weren't enough powerful beings on Earth for him to kill now.
As he contemplated his hunting plans, Wayne began his second ritual sacrifice.
Gabriel's body was placed in the centre, flanked by two pseudo-Legend angels, and Wayne started his ritual dance once more.
The spatial vortex reappeared, and Wayne stepped through.
This time, he had opened a connection to the Fire Plane. Unlike the tranquil Water Elemental Plane, the Fire Plane teemed with life - he immediately encountered several magma hounds upon entering.
Wayne summoned powerful winds that scattered them instantly.
After confirming it was also an unclaimed plane, he withdrew peacefully and stored the dimensional altar, now featuring two additional stone pillars.
Locating a plane's core wasn't simple - truth be told, Wayne had never even seen one before and needed to consult reference materials.
The angels' treasury held no relevant records, but his system store stocked books on planes from the Netheril Empire.
They were quite expensive, which was why Wayne had never purchased them.
Now it seemed this expense couldn't be avoided.
Returning to the academy, Wayne completely ignored the turbulence of the outside world and settled into a regular routine.
During the day, he occasionally attended classes but spent most of his time exploring the two planes and studying. Evenings were carefully allocated for spending time with different girls each day.
Thus, almost imperceptibly, time flowed until the semester's end.