Chapter 7: User Surge

“What did you say? Desowa lost in a magic debate? I haven’t heard of any magic debates recently.”

“On the forum? What forum?”

“The magic knowledge taught at the academy is wrong? This… this is impossible!!!”

Overnight, Desowa, who lost the debate, was once again thrust into the spotlight!

This was the second time he sparked major controversy at Felix Magic Academy, after his earlier magic rune reforms.

However, this time far surpassed the previous incident!

To be clear, since he entered Felix Magic Academy, Desowa had never made a mistake or embarrassed himself in the field of magic.

In the eyes of his classmates, he was the epitome of a genius.

And now, this genius actually lost in a magic debate?

How could that not be shocking?

Originally, only a few of his close friends knew about the matter.

As Desowa’s friends, they should have covered up for him, but the issue was too explosive, and the forum highlighted it, gaining thousands of posts.

How could these young, impulsive individuals keep it a secret?

In no time, the news spread like wildfire.

Many students, eager to see Desowa’s embarrassment, even crafted magical items with Mithril Rings engraved with Internet Divine Magic.

Some even etched it directly onto their wands.

When everyone activated the Internet Divine Magic and logged into the so-called Internet, they were stunned.

Originally, a significant number of them came to see Desowa’s predicament, but when they saw The Library on the Internet, they immediately forgot all about the incident.

For the first time, they realized that they could access magic knowledge outside of the magic academy.

It wasn’t just basic magical knowledge; it included forbidden magic that only Gods of Magic could access!

Although the points required to redeem these forbidden magics were terrifyingly high, it was still an available path, wasn’t it?

This discovery directly sent the magic apprentices at Felix Magic Academy into a frenzy!

Greed is a powerful motivator!

At this moment, no matter what they said about “Those who use divine magic will be watched by Gods,” there were always people who couldn’t resist the temptation, spreading the divine magic widely to earn points in exchange for magical knowledge.

Some, foreseeing the coming storm, immediately wrote to their families, sending out Mithril Rings engraved with Internet Divine Magic, fearing this divine magic might be banned.

Moreover, the forum itself deeply attracted this group of “villagers with Internet access” within the magic apprentices.

Many who entered the forum felt like country folk who had just arrived in the city, overwhelmed by the endless stream of news, stories, and information.

Various tales of mercenary adventures, invincible dragon lords, the return of abandoned scions, never belittle a poor youth, or even the Qin Gate Guard Cave Adventure… the sheer variety of enthralling stories dazzled the eyes!

For those who aimed high, the magic knowledge that couldn’t be answered by their Teachers had finally found a place for discussion.

Here, no one cared about their background, appearance, lineage, talent, or whether they were worth nurturing.

As long as you had a question, someone would answer.

Even if you had doubts, you could search first; maybe you’d find someone else had asked a similar question with answers already available.

In this place, there were truly experienced Grand Masters present.

For instance, the one who defeated Desowa, known by the nickname “Too Young to Know People’s Hearts Are Cruel.”

He was always eager to answer most magic-related questions.

Many students, stuck and unable to advance due to a few key issues, found enlightenment under his guidance, and their cultivation and academic achievements surged.

For a while, countless people felt gratitude towards “Too Young to Know People’s Hearts Are Cruel!”

They were even more grateful for the appearance of the Internet!

——It provided opportunities and possibilities for those seeking a way up but had no doors open to them.

A revolution powerful enough to change the social process on the Azaea Continent was slowly unfolding at Felix Magic Academy!

As things escalated, word finally reached the higher-ups at Felix Magic Academy.

……

Felix Magic Academy, Circular Magic Tower.

In the conference room on the seventh floor, engraved with Anti-Divine Magic sigils, a Grand Master-level meeting was in progress.

Apart from the six Grand Masters stationed at the academy, the conference room had even activated a teleprojection spell, allowing the Grand Masters far away to participate.

The meeting was presided over by none other than the Principal of Felix Magic Academy, one of the Four Pillars of Kewell Empire, the God of Magic—Dundar.

At this moment, the conference room had already fallen into heated arguments.

“Is there even a need to discuss this? That damn Internet God is a false god! A heretic! Look at what’s happened to the academy! Countless apprentices are questioning the correctness of the magic we teach! How can we let this continue? We must completely ban the Internet Divine Magic!”

“Exactly! Publicizing magic knowledge—are they trying to throw the empire into chaos?”

“In the city I govern, the signs have already started showing, and recently the price of Mithril has risen by 7%!”

“I suggest we immediately ban Internet Divine Magic and join forces with the Five Prime Gods to strike down the Internet God!”

The Grand Masters were infuriated, spitting with each word. Where was the elegance of the empire’s pillars?

Only a few of the mages remained silent.

After a while, Dundar, whose hair was threaded with silver, looking like he had just reached his forties, knocked on the table, interrupting the discussion.

He turned to a young mage who had kept silent until now and asked, “Lucien, what do you think?”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes in the room turned towards Lucien, with many gazes tinged with jealousy.

As the youngest Grand Master in the empire, Lucien was greatly favored by Dundar.

This could be seen from the fact that Dundar was willing to listen to his opinion even in such a meeting.

Lucien stood up, nodded at Dundar, took a moment to organize his thoughts, and said, “I believe the advent of Internet Divine Magic brings both benefits and harms to our Kewell Empire!”

“The benefits are obvious. Our Kewell Empire is founded on magic, resisting the Gods on the belief that humanity can conquer the heavens. And how do we achieve this? Through magic!”

“But magic cultivation is extremely costly, and selecting those with talent is even more expensive. Now, with Internet Divine Magic, things are different. If everyone can learn magic, not only will the national power rise to a new level, but Internet Divine Magic will also help us find genuine geniuses buried among the masses.”

Lucien hadn’t finished speaking when a mage anxiously interrupted:

“You’re being too idealistic. Internet Divine Magic will only allow magic knowledge to fall into the hands of evil people, leading to chaos.”

“Exactly. If people can learn magic through Internet Divine Magic, who will still come to our magic academy? Who will still serve our empire?”

“Indeed. At that point, people will only be grateful to the Internet God and may even become his followers.”

“We will be ruled by the Internet God!”

The mages echoed these sentiments, faces full of worry and anger.

“And that’s exactly what I was about to address!” Lucien cut through the hubbub, continuing, “Fellows, your concerns are almost impossible. Magic knowledge is a profound and systematic discipline. Without resources and Teachers, no one can achieve much just by reading a few books!”

“Internet Divine Magic will indeed create a multitude of magic apprentices, but it will never lead to an overflow of mages! Or are you perhaps worried that the spread of magic knowledge will result in so many Grand Masters appearing that they’ll push you out of your current positions?”

Lucien’s final sarcastic remark caused many to grow visibly unsettled.

“How dare you!”

“So, you do realize that learning magic requires resources? If everyone starts learning magic, resources will be stretched thin. How will we still cultivate new Gods of Magic?” someone retorted.

“How much can magic apprentices really consume? Most of the empire’s magical resources are in our hands anyway. We can use those resources to attract the top-tier geniuses.” Lucien smartly countered their arguments.

“Foolish! We may be able to attract top-tier geniuses, but what about the rest? They’ll only rob resources in madness, causing havoc in the empire.”

“Rubbish! If everyone practices magic, that means the populace will be stronger, capable of hunting and producing more magical resources.”

The scene exploded into chaos once again!

Everyone held their ground, refusing to budge an inch.

Dundar remained silent. It seemed like he had allowed Lucien to speak just to provoke arguments and hear different voices.

After a long time, he knocked on the table again.

Everyone quieted down, their attention shifting back to Dundar.

He said, “Everything you’ve said makes sense, but whether or not to ban Internet Divine Magic is not something we can decide. For now, you all have one task—to mitigate the influence of Internet Divine Magic on Felix.”

“First, explain the true reason why the Abyss Formula is not taught to them as clearly as possible.”

“Second, strictly prohibit all students from using Internet Divine Magic. Tell them we will be monitoring it, and if caught once, there will be a warning; twice, they will be expelled.”

“Third, make public all low-level magic knowledge from the Mage Tower to counteract the influence of Internet Divine Magic.”

Upon hearing this, the mages exchanged glances, and most couldn’t hide the excitement in their eyes!

In the end, Internet Divine Magic challenged their fundamental interests, and they naturally couldn’t wait to get it banned entirely, to reduce the so-called Internet God to ashes!