The next day, Zack was chilling in the practice room, legs crossed, looking dead serious.

With a deep breath, Zack closed his eyes, and bam! A surge of mana burst forth from his core, streaming towards the empty space in front of his chest.

Before long, an absolutely stunning shape composed of countless geometric patterns materialized before him. It defied any attempt at 3D definition; this thing was more like a 4D puzzle. Every time it shifted, lines emerged that seemed impossible, while others vanished into thin air. Plus, the geometric symbols making it up were dancing around at breakneck speed. If any regular Joe caught a glimpse of this sigil, they'd probably lose their mind in record time.

Comparing it to his sigil from five years back, this one was on a whole other level. More symbols, more complexity, crazier shape. Zack had to scale up the size just to fit them all in, despite squeezing the symbols tighter than a tube of toothpaste. His control just wasn't up to snuff to make them any smaller.

But you know what? Size didn't really affect the sigil's output; it just made it more efficient. With a determined flick, Zack activated the sigil, and suddenly, an invisible current surged through the room, stretching beyond the practice area to a whopping 400 meters in radius. Thanks to his sigil, this was now the maximum size of his domain.

As he gazed at his domain, Zack couldn't help but feel frustrated with his progress in completing the sigil. It started off great, with him comprehending and building it at lightning speed. But as he got closer to finishing it, things got tougher. In the first year, he managed 20%. Then, over the past five years, he only added another 60%. Now, he figured he'd need another five years to wrap up the remaining 20%. With a sigh, he muttered, "Building a sigil sure ain't a walk in the park. Takes more than 10 years to finish it, huh."

If those old level 3 wizards caught wind of Zack's thoughts, they'd probably come back from the grave just to give him a piece of their minds. I mean, who among them didn't take at least a century to finish their sigil? Getting to level 3 wasn't just about being good at spells; it was about luck, too. First hurdle? Comprehending a concept. Hardest thing ever, 'cause it needed talent and a whole lotta luck. You could be a spell prodigy, but if you didn't hit that enlightenment, you were outta luck.

Then came hurdle number two: completing the sigil. Sure, once you got that concept, building the sigil was just a matter of time. But by the time most wizards got that lightbulb moment, they were already pushing past 200. And considering level 2 wizards lived to around 300 and it took a solid century to finish a sigil, it's no surprise there weren't too many level 3s floating around.

Anyways, Zack was clueless about that little nugget of info, seeing as it wasn't mentioned in many books to avoid discouraging future wizards. Once he finished testing his domain, he retracted it and took a break, heading to the kitchen for some lunch. Strolling through the corridor, he couldn't shake thoughts of his current situation. Lately, that weird urge to bolt from the tower had vanished into thin air. And not just faded, but disappeared completely. Plus, his spell and formation research wasn't getting interrupted anymore.

But instead of feeling relieved, he was uneasy. It was like the calm before a storm, you know? He had this gut feeling that fate wasn't done with him yet. After six years of constant nagging to get him out of the tower, it seemed too quiet now.

As he munched on his lunch, his badge buzzed with a notification. Zack had set it to only ping for critical tower news. Opening it up, he muttered, "Sure enough, fate, you bloody troublemaker."

The notification slapped him with some heavy news: the grand paladin was back in action. And guess what? First thing on his agenda was causing chaos in the lightning magic towers' black markets over in the Fulminar Kingdom. Destroying facilities, taking out wizards—yeah, terrorizing the black markets.

Now, here's the kicker: the slavery business wasn't the main gig of the lightning magic tower. They were all about formations and artifacts. Potions, spells, and slavery? Just side gigs. So, financially speaking, the tower didn't take a huge hit from the grand paladin's rampage.

But let's be real here: just the fact that the grand paladin was sniffing around the black markets, taking out wizards left and right, was enough to send the whole operation into a tailspin. Who in their right mind would trade in a market that's basically a bullseye for the grand paladin's wrath? So, they had to shut down and relocate, which meant downtime for the whole market—affecting the tower's main business.

And get this, the grand paladin didn't just hit any old black markets; he went straight for the lightning magic tower's biggest ones. Talk about going for the jugular.

But hold onto your hats, because the report had an extra punch that made Zack curse fate under his breath countless times: after laying waste to five black markets, the grand paladin hit the brakes on his rampage. Instead, he had a demand—one that sent shivers down Zack's spine. The grand paladin wanted none other than the lightning magic tower's newest department head or level 2 wizard. Translation? He wanted Zack served up on a silver platter.

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After reading that bombshell of a demand, Zack couldn't help but chuckle. And that chuckle? It grew louder and louder until it erupted into a full-blown, maniacal laugh. "What audacity," he thought, "for him to demand something like that."

And let's not forget, even if Zack decided to stay put, the tower wouldn't cave to such a demand—it'd be a blow to their pride. Zack had mentioned it before: the wizards in the tower were the proudest bunch on the continent. If an outsider dared to off one of their own, you better believe they'd stop at nothing to hunt them down. Resources, time—no expense spared. They'd chase those outsiders to the ends of the earth and beyond.

It wasn't about sticking together, it was about saving face. Didn't matter if the outsiders were nobodies, fellow wizards, or even the church—the towers would have their pound of flesh. And you know what's wild? In the lightning magic tower, they had a whole spiel about it. There was this book and lecture dedicated solely to drilling it into the apprentices' heads. Pride was sacred, untouchable. They made sure every apprentice knew it, too, before they even got their job assignments. And you bet your broomstick, that lecture was mandatory for every single one of 'em.

According to the tower, it was all about instilling honor in every wizard, so their spells would be rock solid with principles guiding them. "Sure, sounds like a load of hogwash fed by the tower to get us to sit through those lectures, but you catch my drift," Zack thought.

So, even when another notification pinged on his badge, telling him to hit up the meeting room, Zack didn't sweat it. Stepping in, he eyed the long table with just four seats. And let me tell you, there were some intricate formations etched beneath the surface of each seat. Even the table had its own set of sneaky formations lurking underneath.

Zack remembered spotting these formations the last time he swung by after leveling up to 2. But back then, they weren't used for squat during the meeting. This time, though, as he slid into his spot on the right, bam! The other three seats lit up with a surge of mana, conjuring up holograms of the lightning tower's level 2 wizards.

"Dang! So that's what they're for," Zack muttered. He knew all the level 2s were busy out there, kicking butt and taking names to push back the Holy Empire's forces from the Fulminar Empire. That's why they were doing this remote meeting thing. Even if the holograms weren't as fancy as the Alternate Reality setups for the tower heads meeting, it was still some next-level tech.

Once the holograms settled in, Zack could see the grim faces of each department head, including the tower head, clear as day. And let me tell you, they were not happy campers. Sir Cedric, who'd been letting his true sloppy self slip out more since Zack leveled up to 2, was the first to pipe up with his gripes. "That bear bastard took advantage of us not having a level 3 powerhouse in the lightning magic tower to push us around."

Now, when Sir Cedric mentioned "bear," he was talking about the grand paladin, known as the Unsurmountable Bear because of his towering stature and the concept he'd grasped. And Cedric didn't hold back, "Would he have dared pull this crap if our previous tower head was still around? That son of a gun."

Lady Evangeline, usually the epitome of proper, stayed silent this time. Zack could see her grinding her teeth so hard he worried she'd need a dentist. And it wasn't just her—Sir Archibald's forehead veins were ready to burst from anger.

But then, Lady Evangeline managed to rein in her fury and turned to Zack. "What's your take on all this, Sir Zack?" Ever since Zack accidentally let slip the fluctuations of his concept to her and Sir Cedric, they, along with Sir Archibald, had been treating him with more respect, almost like it was a done deal that he was a level 3 wizard.

Zack shrugged, "Let him prance around like a clown. Our tower ain't gonna crumble from this, right?"

Translation: Zack wasn't about to step into the fray; he'd let them handle it their way. Lady Evangeline nodded, turning to Sir Archibald. "Sir Archibald, have the black markets under your wing relocate temporarily to spread out the risk. I'll do the same with mine. That way, Reginald can't single out our markets without ticking off every magic tower."

For the magic towers to take down a level 3 powerhouse with the backing of a big organization? Impossible. They'd have intel networks and level 2 heavy hitters at their beck and call. But taking on a lone level 3? That was doable. The towers could set up traps, lure him into formations, and chip away at him until he was toast.

Sure, they'd lose some level 2 wizards in the process, but pride mattered more than casualties to the towers. The wizards were already steaming from being pushed around by the Holy Empire, and now, with one grand paladin daring to take them on solo, they were ready to lay it all on the line to bring him down. They'd sacrifice every last one of their lives if it meant putting an end to the grand paladin's antics.

Of course, all this hinged on the assumption that the grand paladin was still willing to stir up trouble with the other towers just to nab Zack from the lightning tower. With that in mind, the level 2 wizards dove into the nitty-gritty of their plan before swiftly wrapping up the meeting.

As Zack strolled out, he couldn't help but think, "Huh, looks like the tower's got some spine after all. They didn't even entertain the idea of handing me over to that grand paladin."

Sure, their pride played a big part, but let's not forget, they were also scared stiff of facing off against a level 3 powerhouse like Zack. Still, the fact that they didn't even consider giving him up made Zack feel a tad warmer toward the tower.

He used to see the tower as just a stepping stone to boost his knowledge and power, to get back to his old world. But now? It felt a bit like home, especially with his loved one waiting inside.

"If push comes to shove, I'll step up," he mused. He doubted the grand paladin would just call it quits like that. Not because he knew the guy's character, but because he knew fate didn't mess around.