Night-Shining Moss, Why Is It You Again

"So you weren't going to 'White Stone Wasteland' after all?"

After a brief exchange, Ronan learned that he was waiting for a secret airship to the "Damp Jungle," and the middle-aged Arcane Circle wizard who had come to recruit him shook his head in disappointment.

"Never mind then."

Before leaving, he couldn't help but offer Ronan a friendly reminder, "'Damp Jungle' is a publicly available quest in the Seventh Ring. If you go alone without a team, you're very likely to get nothing. Even if you're lucky enough to get something, it will probably be snatched away by other players in the Arcane Circle. It's better to come with us to 'White Stone Wasteland.' From both a risk and reward perspective, it's much better than going to 'Damp Jungle' by yourself."

Ronan shook his head.

When the middle-aged wizard saw that he couldn't persuade Ronan, his attitude immediately turned cold.

Just then, a small Magic Airship landed, and he hurriedly returned to his original group, boarded the airship with the others, and left.

After the brief incident, Ronan waited a while longer, and a magnificent and even larger Magic Airship slowly appeared in the sky outside the mission hall, finally hovering over the small square.

The ship has a streamlined metal hull covered with light blue Rune Array. Behind the thick energy [Protection], one can see shadowy figures along the hull.

Ronan activated his Flying Ring and soared into the air towards the airship.

He took out the Rune Stone as proof of his mission in advance. A wisp of spiritual energy emanated from the airship and, after examining the proof in his hand, a gap slowly opened in the [Protection] shield of the Magic Airship.

Just as Ronan was about to enter the airship.

"Call--"

An indescribable and terrifying spiritual force suddenly descended upon Ronan like a void storm.

Dark, cold, yet possessing a sharp edge unique to Metal Element wizards.

Ronan suddenly turned around, but the spiritual energy quickly receded and disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if it had never appeared at all.

Are you going to go or not?

A wizard on the airship shouted impatiently at Ronan.

Ronan remained calm as his robes billowed as he lightly landed on the airship deck.

The opening on the Magic Airship's energy [Protection] closed, and it quickly took off.

"Who is it? Travis?"

On the airship deck, Ronan stood at the edge of the ship, looking down at the Seventh Magic Ring, which was getting further and further away from him, his eyes flashing.

Not many of Bennigo's former rivals would actually transfer Bennigo "resentment" towards him.

Most people, being at the Third Ring, already have a lot to deal with; who would bother to spare any energy to pay attention to a mere First Level Wizard like him?

Even Lanny, who was gloomy and harbored the deepest "resentment" towards Bennigo, would not show such obvious hostility towards him because of his status as Fourth Ring.

The only person Ronan could think of who would be so eager to "kill" him Travis, who desperately wanted the Nightmare Tungsten Steel in his body.

"Will he attack me directly during this mission?"

Ronan, but quickly dismissed the idea. "I'm not even a first-level wizard yet, and the Damp Jungle is a trial ground mainly open to First Level Wizard. Travis wouldn't be so stupid as to leave such an obvious flaw; most likely, he's using someone else to achieve his own goals."

Travis is Third Ring, but the connections he can mobilize are at most second-ring, the level of an ordinary second-level wizard.

"For First Level Wizard, there's no such thing as an ordinary or extraordinary second-level wizard."

Ronan shook his head. A level two wizard's mental energy is condensed into crystals. The mental energy of a wizard who has just entered level two is at least ten times that of a level one wizard in the late stage.

What does this mean? It means that a level two wizard can cast a spell with at least ten times the power of a level one late-stage wizard.

This doesn't even include the bonuses from second-tier spells or the enhancements from Soul Rune. The difference in raw power is an insurmountable chasm between first- and second-tier wizards.

But after two months of Ascetic Body Forging, Ronan now felt a strong urge to try and break through this insurmountable barrier.

"Two months ago, I was able to kill a second-tier Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King. Although wizards of the same level are generally stronger than magical beasts, I have also become much stronger."

Ronan looked down at his hands. His long, slender, and well-proportioned fingers were so white and beautiful that they almost didn't look like a man's hands—the hands that held the sword.

But no one knows what kind of terrifying, surging power flows beneath.

Ronan didn't know either.

He desperately wanted to test this power. The pain from two months of arduous training and countless spells had accumulated in his body and desperately needed an outlet.

"If I can't even get past this hurdle, then I have no right to challenge any of them within six months..."

Ronan murmured softly, gently clenching his fist.

"Hello."

Suddenly, a pleasant voice woke Ronan from his reverie.

He turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came and saw that a young and beautiful witch had appeared beside him at some point.

With black hair, green eyes, and unusually tanned skin, he exudes a healthy and vibrant aura.

He wore Silver Magic Robe that represented the core of the first ring, and emanated the mental energy fluctuations of a late-stage first-level wizard.

"Hello."

The witch in front of him was clearly not from the Seventh Magic Ring, and Ronan didn't know what she wanted to do, but he still responded politely.

"My name is Beyonce, and I come from the Second Magic Ring."

The beautiful witch introduced herself to Ronan and then asked, "Are you participating in this trial mission alone?"

Seeing Ronan nod, she quickly got to the point, "Would you like to team up with us? We already have quite a few people here, from various Arcane Circle."

Beyonce!

Before the beautiful witch could finish speaking, someone on the deck shouted her name.

A handsome blond youth strode toward them.

The spiritual energy emanating from the blond youth almost froze the surrounding air into blocks. His gaze swept over Ronan with deep indifference, and then he spoke to the beautiful witch with a slightly dissatisfied tone.

"What are you doing? I've told you so many times, don't invite wizards from other Arcane Circle to join, especially not like this."

The beautiful witch named Beyonce wanted to say something to Ronan, but she was forcibly pulled away by the blond youth, leaving Ronan with only an apologetic look.

Ronan calmly withdrew his gaze and continued watching the scenery rushing past him.

It's clear that the vast majority of Arcane Circle go out to dungeons in groups.

A "lone wolf" like him is quite rare.

The Magic Airship finally stopped in a scenic forest; the entrance to the "Damp Jungle" Secret Realm Space was a huge tree hollow.

Ronan followed a group of Arcane Circle wizards through the tree hole, and once inside, it was a completely different world.

It was dark, damp, and filled with a lingering stench of decay. Just a few steps away was a vast black mud swamp, and further on, a dense, dark jungle.

Before disembarking from the airship, Ronan received a rudimentary map of the "Damp Jungle" from the Arcane Circle. While he was examining the map with the Rune Stone, the Arcane Circle wizards who were traveling with him had already quickly left in twos and threes.

When he finished looking at the entire map and looked up, he found himself all alone in the place.

Bennigo didn't know exactly where the "Brain-Eating Flower" grew, only that it usually Brain-Eating Flower in areas with many magical beasts or animals, because Brain-Eating Flower fed on the brains of living creatures, and that areas where Brain-Eating Flower grew were usually surrounded by large patches of Night-Shining Moss. "We'll just have to find it slowly."

Ronan put away the Rune Stone map, shook his head, randomly chose a direction, activated his Flying Ring, and took off.

Within the dark, distorted forest, violent fluctuations of energy particles emanated continuously.

"Ice Blade!"

"Frost Howl!"

Ronan hovered in mid-air, his robes hanging down naturally, continuously summoning ice spells and throwing them at a huge purple spider that was perched on a strange black tree covered with withered vines.

He was surrounded by silver threads, and countless tiny, round-bellied spiders, numbering in the tens of thousands, surged toward him like a tide along those ubiquitous silver threads.

Before they could even get close, they were frozen into small icicles by the extreme cold emanating from Ronan, and fell down with a crackling sound. A thick layer of ice-covered spider corpses had already accumulated at Ronan's feet.

"Frost Spear!"

Ronan casually summoned a chilling, seemingly crafted magic spear.

After the spear appeared, silvery liquid metal flowed from under the robe on his right arm, quickly covering the Ice Spear.

The Ice Spear, imbued with silver metal, shot out like lightning, piercing through the giant spider's body almost instantly.

The latter let out a painful and furious hiss, and fear showed in its purple compound eyes, but before it could turn around and run away, the silver spear stuck in its belly suddenly exploded.

"[High-Energy Crucible]!"

"Boom!"

The immense magical power blasted the purple spider, a mid-tier first-level magical beast, to smithereens. Countless limbs and fragments were sprayed out, along with viscous fluids, splattering everywhere and making a small area around it stink terribly.

Ronan patted his robes, walked up in mid-air, casually rummaged through the remains of the monster spider, and finally picked a bunch of strange grapes that looked like dozens of eyeballs squeezed together in a hidden, inconspicuous corner.

He glanced at it casually and put this relatively precious potion into his Storage Waist Pouch.

Ronan continued deeper into the jungle.

There are quite a few valuable potions in the Damp Jungle. Ronan has already obtained five along the way. If he sells them to wizards or potion shops in need, he can probably earn more than a hundred High-Level Magic Stone.

With all his first-tier ice spells at the mastery level, combined with his proficient Metal Element spells and the Nightmare Tungsten Steel after being [Silverized], even without using [Frozen Earth] or unleashing his Domain of Despair, his combat power is far stronger than that of a typical mid-level first-tier wizard.

"The enhancement to Metal Element spells after Nightmare Tungsten Steel [Silverized] is enormous, even without any synergy with ice spells. If I were to secondary study Darkness-Type spells, I estimate my combat power would be even more monstrous."

Ronan sighed softly to himself.

After this series of battles, he realized that even without using his Extraordinary Magic Domain power, he was not just an ordinary First Level Wizard.

Having obtained Bennigo's Nightmare Tungsten Steel, he felt as if he were wielding a high-level, powerful "artifact." As long as he was willing to work on Metal Element magic, he would eventually be a force to be reckoned with among First Level Wizard.

Unfortunately, Ronan's goal was far from being "invincible among his peers".

"Are we looking in the wrong direction? There's absolutely no clue about the Brain-Eating Flower."

Ronan strolled through the dimly lit woods, a growing sense of unease creeping into his heart.

He was not the first to enter the "Damp Jungle," nor was he the only one who knew of the existence of "Brain-Eating Flower."

If they continue to run around like headless flies, they might not even qualify to participate in the competition for the Brain-Eating Flower.

"Snap—"

Suddenly, Ronan's expression changed, and his eyes abruptly turned in one direction.

The enhanced senses granted by his "[Immaculate Body]" made him feel as if he had just heard the sounds of a battle taking place in the far distance.

Without much hesitation, Ronan sped off in the direction from which the sound came.

Soon, mental energy detected the fluctuations in the energy particles, confirming that someone was indeed casting a spell.

But as Ronan approached, the traces of the magical fluctuations grew weaker and weaker, as if the battle was already nearing its end? "Whoosh—"

Ronan's speeding figure suddenly came to a stop amidst the shadows of the trees.

He stood silently in mid-air, his eyes piercing through the gaps in the countless twisted and entwined branches, landing precisely on the figure of a wizard in a Silver Magic Robe in the distance.

Even First Level Wizard couldn't sense this distance with his mental power, yet he could see it clearly beneath the azure sky.

Another wizard from the same Arcane Circle had a monster's corpse lying at his feet, seemingly having just killed one and was sorting through his loot.

Ronan shook his head and was about to turn around and leave.

But just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly turned back sharply.

His gaze was fixed on the wizard's feet, where the edges of his animal-hide boots seemed to be stained with a faint fluorescent color.

Looking further behind him, Ronan saw several footprints that also emitted a faint glow.

"He passed through a place where Night-Shining Moss grows."

In this damp and putrid place, the air is filled with the stench of rotting corpses, and broken bones can be seen half-buried in the soil from time to time under the twisted, black, and strange trees.

Six or seven men and women dressed in Silver Magic Robe gathered in this small, dirty clearing, their expressions serious, as if they were discussing something.

"I've heard a little about Barbus of the First Magic Ring."

A brown-haired wizard with narrow eyes said in a low voice, "His Metal Puppet Art are quite famous among several First Level Wizards in the Arcane Circle..."

"Personal strength is nothing special. Velen is also on the verge of becoming a second-level wizard. Dealing with Barbus will not be a problem."

The key is that guy has more men under his command than we do...

Someone spoke up.

"Could we discuss forming an alliance with the guy leading the Third Magic Ring team, kicking Barbus and his gang out of the game first, and then deciding Brain-Eating Flower?"

"Velen! What do you think?"

In the center of the crowd, a blond youth radiating a powerful spiritual energy that seemed to condense the air around him heard his companion's call. His eyes flashed rapidly, as if he was pondering and weighing his options.

Suddenly, he glanced around and frowned deeply.

Where's Beyonce? Has anyone seen Beyonce?

After he finished speaking, the other silver-robed wizards noticed that their small team was missing one person at some point.

Just as the group was hurriedly preparing to get up and search for their missing companion.

"Whoosh—"

A series of rustling footsteps came from the bushes next to the open space, followed by a petite figure quickly darting out from the bushes.

"Stop looking! I'm here!"

The beautiful, wheat-skinned witch responded loudly, panting.

However, there was another figure following behind her.

White hair, blue eyes, and a silver-gray robe.

He was a young man with a cool and aloof demeanor and extremely handsome appearance.