By now, the sun was beginning to set above the Veracity Virtual Word, and Simon was travelling to his final course of the day.

This course was somewhat special; it did not take place in the Center of Learning. Instead, it took place in a building called the Divinity Hall.

After all, he was visiting the famed Divinity Team!

As Simon entered a sleek hovercraft, he couldn’t help but contemplate curiously regarding the Organization. ‘What magic do they possess? Could it possibly be advanced magic, or is it some primitive junk?’

He was very interested in the capabilities of the Divinity team.

After all, though the magical knowledge of people in this world was bound to be lacking compared to his old world, it was nonetheless derived from a separate civilization. Perhaps he could attain insights that could benefit himself here, or perhaps, the magic here would be completely useless.

Alas, only time would tell.

...

Soon, Simon arrived in front of a building that was fairly ordinary in appearance when compared to other buildings in the city - it was merely fifty floors tall and as large as half of a football stadium. Even so, upon seeing the words “Divinity Hall” carved upon its entrance, he did not underestimate this building in the slightest.

After walking in, he was greeted by a vast and spacious reception room, with majestic crystalline pillars and elevators lining the sides.

Meanwhile, a handsome middle-aged man wearing flowing purple robes was lounging next to the entrance of the building. This man’s aura was rather mystic, and his gaze seemed both unfathomable, yet gentle - reminiscent of a tranquil sea under the bright skies.

Upon seeing Simon, the man quickly stood up and walked towards him.

“Welcome to the Divinity Team, Simon. Or should I say Pro Farmer 69?” he said with a faint smile.

Suddenly, before giving Simon any time to respond, the man snapped his fingers and the space around Simon seemed to freeze. At this moment, an overbearing weight seemed to fall upon Simon’s mind and he felt as if a storm was battering his soul.

Simultaneously, a myriad of blades - from daggers to broadswords, formed around him, creating a storm as they shot towards Simon!

Brrrrr!

Seeing this, Simon did not hesitate to weave between these blades while facing the mental suppression, quickly becoming a blur.

At this moment, his movements were as smooth as flowing water, as he seemed to dodge each blade by a hair's breadth. And yet, they couldn’t seem to do more than graze the corners of his clothes!

Even when it seemed as if it would be impossible for him to dodge, his momentum would suddenly shift, seemingly defying the laws of physics, allowing him to miraculously remain untouched despite the onslaught of blades.

Brrrrrrr!

By the time the whole ordeal was over, the floor was littered with broken blades and tiles. Meanwhile, Simon stood in the middle of it all, as pristine as when he had arrived.

He then turned to the middle aged man who had just attempted to assault him curiously, with amusement hidden within his gaze.

“My apologies. In the Divinity Team, capabilities are everything, and indeed, it seems your reputation is not unfounded.” the middle aged man said pleasantly with an apologetic smile.

Afterwards, he continued and held his hand out. “Allow me to formally introduce myself. You can call me Luxuria and I am the head manager of the Divinity Project. Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you very much. I look forward to working with you all.” Simon said with a chuckle as he shook Luxuria’s hand, not at all fazed by the ‘test’ that he realized that he had just undergone. In any case, he could tell that Luxuria’s words were true.

The methods of the Veracity team were dramatic and overbearing but… they really possessed the capabilities to act in such a matter.

After all, what the Luxuria cast was bonafide tier 2 magic - conjuring items from the air, and battering one’s soul! Not to mention, he casted both spells at once with only a snap of his finger.

It has to be known that even instantaneously casting one spell was incredibly difficult, let alone doing so with two separate spells at once. In fact, his skill level in casting was likely at the fourth star core standard. Such skill was truly impressive for one who had not encountered magic for long.

However, Simon was not sure of how Luxuria had access to magic here; he himself couldn’t sense any ambient mana, let alone his own mana.

As if realizing something, Luxuria suddenly chuckled as he swiped at the air, saying, “Oh right, you’ll have to be added to the whitelist.”

Ding!

[You have been officially registered as a member of the Divinity Team with an authority level of D.]

[You have unlocked the trading system.]

[You have unlocked the mana system.]

‘Oh!...’ At this moment, along with the system notifications, Simon could now sense the familiar fluctuations of mana in the air around him. Not to mention, the mana here was considerably dense - nearly a third as dense in Island Ascension Online.

When considering that the environment in the real world had perhaps a hundredth of the mana density of Island Ascension Online, this was considered pretty good.

It suddenly dawned on him on why the Veracity Team was so powerful. ‘So this was why! No wonder my status is already equivalent to Donato’s. After all, with a place like this, they can nurture mages with ease! ’ he thought with trepidation.

“Don’t get any ideas here, mana isn’t cheap.” Luxuria shook his head amusedly as he spoke, seeing through Simon’s thoughts to an extent. After all, whose mind wouldn’t immediately wander upon being granted mana in a mere virtual world?

“Using mana here requires contribution points, and it's quite hefty of a price at that: Every cubic millimeter worth of liquid mana costs 10 contribution points. Moreover, it was only within the last two months that we gained access to mana.” he continued with a serious tone.

‘Ah...’ As of this moment, Simon was both startled and enlightened.

Since the Veracity Team had access to mana for at least two months, it was natural that their most talented members progressed somewhat into magic; they were the most talented human beings on this planet, after all.

However, even a single contribution point was valuable, to say nothing of ten; it has to be known that achieving D tier authority - something that many could only wish for, only rewarded one with 50 contribution points.

And while a cubic millimeter of liquid mana was indeed a lot of mana… One could simply enter Island Ascension Online instead of paying 10 contribution points per millimeter. He was naturally quite befuddled over this matter.

Luxuria chuckled. “You may be questioning why mana should be used here. Well, it's because of this... As we own this virtual world, the world will not resist absorption.”

“In other words, so long as you manage to absorb mana at a fast enough rate, your magical accumulations will skyrocket.” he finished, his voice laced with temptation

Simon nodded in acknowledgement, somewhat caught off guard by the reasoning.

“Ah, so that is why. Well then I have to admit, this is quite impressive.” he had to admit with.

Such a source of mana would indeed be invaluable under the right circumstances...

Luxuria nodded in turn. “Naturally. Well then, follow me. I’ll explain things as I show you around.”

And so, the two headed into an elevator, beginning to traverse the Divinity Hall.

…

They first entered a vast library on the second floor, named the Divinity Study.

On this floor, a veritable sea of books similar to the Veracity Athenaeum resided. Only, the size of this library was like a drop in the ocean when compared to the Athenaeum. And yet, the value of these books were most likely no less than that of the entire Athenaeum.

The bookshelves here were aligned in a hexagonal pattern, with the center being the site of a large green orb the size of a boulder, which was exuding a potent aura of archaism and vitality.

Within this study, a few figures sat about, ruminating over the intricacies of magic and scrutinizing books and manuals.

Indeed, this was where the magical manuals of the Veracity World were present!

As they walked past the doorway and into the vast room, Simon took note of the environment within the Study with great interest.

‘They actually have that many books? Not bad!’ he thought, nodding inwardly with a glow in his eyes.

It has to be known that books pertaining to magic were no cabbages that could be found anywhere on the street. Even in his old world, they were considerably valuable, let alone in this world...

“I’ll give you a quick overview of the study, but you would have to find some time later to explore it for yourself.” Luxuria said with a chuckle while glancing at Simon, who was on the verge of salivating.

“Of course, please go ahead.” Simon said with a chuckle of his own, having calmed himself down somewhat.

Luxuria nodded and gestured to the outer two layers of bookshelves out of the 9 layers within the Study. “These are available to any new recruit of the Divinity team and can’t be said to be incredibly valuable. To mages of your caliber, these are of no use.”

He then gestured towards the third to fourth layers. “These are only available to internal members of the Divinity team and talented unaffiliated team members, such as you. Here, basic techniques and spells up to the first tier are present.”

…

“The fifth and sixth layers are for talented internal members of the Divinity team and the most freakishly talented monsters of unaffiliated team members. This is where I estimate you belong. However, for now, you can only access the first to fourth bookshelves. Here, intermediate techniques and spells up to the second tier are present.”

…

“The seventh and eight layers are for the most freakishly talented monsters of internal members, and it is basically unheard of for an unaffiliated team member to gain access to these. Here, comparatively advanced techniques and spells up to the third tier are present.”

…

“Finally, here lies the ninth layer.” Luxuria said, gesturing to what was practically a couple of books lined up on six pedestals.

Still, one should not underestimate any of them despite their low numbers. When Simon’s gaze fell onto these books, he could perceive the power which radiated from the mere information within them. This was a trademark of genuine articles, and represented their authenticity.

“These are only available to the most influential members of the Divinity Team. And in truth, they are basically incentives to motivate members to work hard. Suffice it to say that any of these would be priceless if placed within the outer world.” Luxuria explained solemnly.

At these words, even Simon was moved. After all, the spells here were bound to be of the fourth tier or better, while the techniques should be similarly valuable.

Even to his previous self, spells and techniques of that caliber were not easy to obtain. After all, almost all organizations would keep a tight lid on their various techniques and spells, and those that were available typically went for an exorbitant price.

However, the quality of the spells and techniques within this study were still unknown to Simon. Therefore, he managed to quell his excitement temporarily as they headed towards the next floor.