Mirrorlight, the Stage, the Opponent, and Travis

Bennigo stirred the stew simmering in the small pot, while Ronan picked up the silver bottle and took a sip. The fiery liquor went down his throat and slid down his stomach in a hot stream.

An ordinary person would probably have been choked and coughing violently, but Ronan had no reaction. He drank slowly, sip after sip, as if it were water, while his eyes were focused on the lines on his palm.

It was as if there was something in the lines of his palm that interested and captivated him, deeply drawing his attention.

When did you develop this habit?

Bennigo put the lid on the pot and added, "It will taste perfect in a little while."

Don't you find our palm lines interesting?

Ronan looked away, his eyes filled with a strange light, and said, "Each line has its own position, just like the lines of a rune."

Bennigo's eyes flickered, and he slowly said, "There is indeed a theory that runes originate from palm prints. Damien, the six bottles of 'Murphetira's Kiss' have really changed you a lot."

Pain will mold you into the person you want to be.

Ronan took a sip of his drink. "Every single time."

The whole Brain-Eating Flower that Ronan brought back from the "Damp Jungle" was enough to make eleven bottles of "Murphetira's Kiss," and he successfully made six bottles, all of which Ronan consumed.

Bennigo once said that if there were a record of how many times "Murphetira's Kiss" had been taken consecutively, Ronan would be the record holder.

The fact that he could survive unscathed after taking six bottles of "Murphetira's Kiss" is nothing short of a miracle in Magic Potion Studies! Is it a miracle?

'Without the experience of Ascetic Body Forging from the apprenticeship stage, without that rebirth, without enduring months of grueling magical cleansing,'

Without these, Ronan's pain tolerance threshold was greatly increased.

In addition, Ronan felt he probably wouldn't last until the sixth bottle of "Murphetira's Kiss" because he was unwilling to succumb to certain things and had a strange sense of conviction.

He seems to have experienced a "rebirth" again! Unlike the physical rebirth last time, this rebirth is spiritual.

After being "kissed" six times by the venomous lips of the Goddess of Wisdom Morfitilla, he became a completely different person.

The benefits of significantly developing the brain's capacity to absorb knowledge, understand things, and think about problems are multifaceted, and Ronan is still exploring and discovering them.

However, he has already reaped some tangible benefits from the enhancement of his brainpower.

The huge stat boost on the Character Panel is only a small part of it.

Have you entered One Segment Magic Domain Resonance?

Bennigo suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

A few glints of light flashed in Ronan's azure eyes.

He remained silent for a while.

Finally, he shook his head, "No."

Bennigo seemed to have expected this answer, but disappointment was still evident on his face.

"Why"

"Even for a second-level wizard, comprehending a single point of Soul Power within the One Segment Magic Domain Resonance is incredibly difficult. It would be abnormal for First Level Wizard to master it."

"I thought six bottles of 'Murphetira's Kiss' would change something... Now I realize it was just wishful thinking on my part."

Bennigo sighed softly and said in a low voice, "If you can comprehend One Segment Magic Domain Resonance, perhaps there really is hope... But never mind."

Bennigo picked up the bottle and gestured slightly to Ronan.

The two clinked glasses and each took a sip of wine.

Bennigo lifted the lid, and steam mixed with aroma wafted out, revealing chunks of brown meat simmering in a rich, white broth.

Bennigo pulled out a handful of brightly colored spices and vegetables from somewhere and sprinkled them into the pot. From any angle, it was a pot of mouthwatering food.

"Tomorrow is the official start of the competition selection."

Bennigo used Nightmare Tungsten Steel to create the shape of a long-handled knife and fork, picked up a piece of meat, thought for a moment, and said to Ronan, "Want to hear my story?"

"Can."

Ronan also grabbed a piece of meat from the pot and slowly tore it apart in his hand.

"I feel like something's missing."

Bennigo glanced at the location of the ice coffin in the distance, then stared at the burning flames in front of him, slowly sinking into memories.

"Actually, I've never been a genius."

"They don't even possess the qualifications of an ordinary person."

As Bennigo narrated, a story that was neither particularly novel nor clichéd slowly unfolded before Ronan—

The son of a stable boy in a baron's household was recruited into the baron's knight apprentice training class because of his relatively good physical condition.

Through hard work and talent, he gradually grew into a qualified knight.

At that time Bennigo was probably about the same age as Ronan is now. He was brave and skilled in battle, and made great contributions to the Baron he served. As a result, he was granted a marriage by the Baron and married the Baron's daughter.

That is, the blonde woman lying in the ice coffin, Fiona.

The two were deeply in love, as if they were destined to be together. However, Fiona had been frail and sickly since childhood, and this condition only worsened as she grew into adulthood.

Bennigo was searching for a way to cure Fiona, during which he met a wandering Wizard Apprentice, thus embarking on the path from knight to wizard.

Bennigo's wizarding aptitude is very poor, so poor that it's practically nonexistent; he's just a hair's breadth away from having the talent to become a wizard. "Are you kidding me?"

Ronan interrupted Bennigo's recollection, questioning, "With such poor aptitude, how could you have advanced to the Mist? Not to mention you were once so close to the Fifth Ring."

Ronan had crossed that threshold himself, and he knew all too well how cruel it was.

If Bennigo's aptitude is truly as he describes, it should be even worse than Ronan's. The impurities in his soul ignited by the Soul Ignition Potion would be enough to burn him to ashes.

In that case, the person sitting in front of Ronan right now should be Fiona, holding Bennigo's urn.

Believe it or not.

Faced with Ronan's questioning, Bennigo remained calm. "It is indeed the truth. To be honest, I myself was puzzled as to why, despite being found to have such poor soul aptitude in the initial tests, I didn't find it too difficult to cross the threshold of becoming a formal wizard."

Ronan frowned and continued listening, because Bennigo had no reason to lie to him.

"I'm trying my best to live every day, so that Fiona can live too."

"I am constantly getting stronger."

Bennigo said calmly, "But Fiona is also dying all the time."

This story tells of how Bennigo, starting as a hapless wizard, gradually rose to become a genius renowned Seventh Magic Ring.

This process was glossed over by Bennigo in the most plain and simple terms.

He mostly shared snippets of his life with his wife, Fiona.

Ronan suddenly understood why Bennigo had been able to get to where he was now, and why he had offended so many people.

Bennigo, a former knight, is a man with a strong sense of conviction.

He was also the person with the strongest sense of conviction that Ronan had ever met.

Some of his obsessions have transformed into blazing torches, which help him burn through the thorns in his path, but also scorch those who try to get close to him or try to stop him.

This kind of person is destined to make countless enemies.

Ronan is able to sit here now because Bennigo's fire is about to go out.

Bennigo's story was long, and by the time he finished telling it, the campfire in front of the two men had completely died.

They walked out of the Micro Secret Realm Space together and saw the sky breaking through the limits under the cascading waterfall. The morning sun was shining down, and in the distance, the Silver Magic Ring was gradually blooming with unprecedented light, preparing to welcome a grand event.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Ronan felt the damp air, the "new" feeling that only came at sunrise, and asked Bennigo beside him.

Bennigo shook his head.

Just as he activated his Flying Ring and was about to take off, Bennigo's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Damien!

Ronan turned around and saw Bennigo staring intently at him.

"Answer me one more time, have you really not grasped One Segment Magic Domain Resonance?"

Ronan thought for a moment and replied again, "I guess you could say I haven't really mastered it yet."

Bennigo paused for a moment, then asked, "What is the third Soul Rune you condensed?"

Ronan smiled, turned to face the rising sun, and the morning light shone on his smooth, delicate face, reflecting a mirror-like brilliance on the barely perceptible runes on his neck.

"[Mirrorlight]."

Ronan said softly:

"The seal I found myself, and it's the one that suits me best."

After saying that, he quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving Bennigo alone by the waterfall until he could no longer be seen.

Ronan strolled along the streets outside the Seventh Magic Ring.

Everyone around him surged toward the inner city, even though there were still Rune Array blocking the way.

The thick light of the magic array distorted the air, making everything within the array appear blurry.

But small Magic Airship and even more inexpensive rune balloons still took off quickly and hovered at a permitted height. People standing on them could not see anything, but they still craned their necks to look inside.

"Lord Ronan! Over here!"

Suddenly, a joyful voice called out Ronan's name.

Ronan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Alida and Jacob from the Blueberry Inn crammed into a crowded hot air balloon, waving at him.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming? Luckily, I saved a table for you in advance!"

"Damn it, stop pushing! A truly esteemed wizard is about to come up!"

Alida, like a grumpy little lamb, bared her teeth and punched and kicked those who tried to squeeze out the space reserved for Ronan.

Before she could even fight for a spot, Jacob pulled her and made her look in one direction.

Alida stared blankly as Ronan smiled at her and then plunged headfirst into the Rune Array that only Arcane Circle wizards could enter, and she was so shocked that she covered her mouth.

"Lord Ronan, he is a full member of the Arcane Circle, and he's going to participate in the competition today too?!"

Before entering the Rune Array, Ronan saw Quidi, the red-haired wizard he had dealt with before, standing on a small Magic Airship.

The other person clearly saw him too, but they simply exchanged a glance and then moved on.

Ronan followed the crowd toward the base of the Silver White High Tower. Most of the people around him were wearing the standard Silver Magic Robe of the Silver Magic Ring. Ronan's robes had been damaged in a battle long ago, and because his access was "frozen," he had not been able to get them repaired or replaced.

However, there were many wizards like him who did not wear the standard robes, so he was not very conspicuous. It was just that others did not wear the standard robes because they had better robes as alternatives, but Ronan did not.

As you walk to the foot of the Silver Tower, you'll find that the numerous metal buildings that once stood there have been cleared out, creating a huge silver plaza.

The space in the square was divided into large and small transparent domes by the light of numerous Rune Array, which should be the so-called fighting "arenas".

Around the plaza were huge white light screens formed by Projection Spell, each screen corresponding to a clear scene inside an "arena".

In the center of the square, directly above all the "arenas," float countless names formed from runes.

The person at the very top is named Clemens, and the words "Fifth Ring" are written after his name.

Following "Clemens," Ronan found the name "Lanny" in the sixth position, corresponding to his identity in the Fourth Ring.

Then find "Travis" at the seventeenth position, on the Third Ring.

It wasn't until he was almost at the very bottom that Ronan found his name: Zero Ring, a regular member.

Because he had only completed one trial mission, his ranking was almost at the bottom.

Ronan counted them; there were a total of 1,223 names in the sky. Among them, 97 were people with status at the second ring or above, and 28 were people with status at the Third Ring or above.

Standing in the crowd, Ronan felt enveloped by a complex and vast invisible energy field.

It was the product of the combined Spiritual Force Field and emotional fluctuations naturally emitted by all the Arcane Circle wizards in the arena.

Nervous, expectant, excited, thrilled. Surrounded by this energy field, even Ronan felt his blood starting to heat up slightly.

Bennigo is right.

This is a huge stage where every Arcane Circle has the opportunity to showcase themselves, and the spotlight could fall on anyone.

Ronan watched all of this silently, his heartbeat and blood flow gradually accelerating, but his mind remained absolutely calm, even as if he were sinking.

He was in a delicate, indescribable state.

But this delicate state was quickly broken by a powerful spiritual force that had never been felt before.

Ronan squinted, thinking he was seeing the sun suddenly fall.

Once their vision returned, they could see that the so-called "sun" was an old man with a snow-white beard, wearing a wizard's hat and an exquisite silver robe.

Third Level Wizard

Is he the master of the Seventh Magic Ring? Ronan blinked.

The appearance of the white-bearded old wizard quickly silenced the commotion. He swept his mental energy across the entire area and then gently waved the silver metal staff in his hand.

A huge, silver-white bat with a metallic sheen flew out from under his robes. Then, the Silver Bat spoke in human language and began to call out one name after another.

Each time a name was called, one of the wizards at the edge of the square would quickly step out and fly towards a certain "arena" in the air, guided by the Silver Bat.

The selection process has already begun.

The names called out by the Silver Bat were mostly gathered in the lowest ranking area, and the names of the combatants were called out first.

Just when all the fighting "arenas" were about to be filled, leaving only the most central and conspicuous "arena" remaining.

Ronan suddenly felt the Silver Bat in the sky, responsible for registration, glance at him in a somewhat inexplicable way, and then call out his name.

"Ronan Damien."

"Whoosh—"

Ronan's image was suddenly projected onto a Projection Spell screen in the sky. Ronan was startled, but quickly calmed down and flew towards the largest and most conspicuous fighting "arena" at the very back and center.

However, before he could even get close to the "arena," the Silver Bat followed him and began announcing the names of the wizards' opponents.

The first name he uttered, and which belonged to Ronan's opponent, was "Travis!"

Upon hearing the name, Ronan's suspended figure abruptly stopped.

He turned his head instinctively.

He didn't know where Travis was in the crowd.

But on the Projection Spell screens surrounding the plaza, the same image simultaneously appeared—

A young man with pale skin, black hair, black diamond earrings, and a profound aura was slowly rising from a huge black metal chair.

He stared at Ronan calmly and indifferently, his figure and the black metal chair behind him seemingly merging into one, transforming into a dense shadow that kept rising and spreading.

Under the projection of all the magical light curtains.

In a daze.

It was as if countless shadows rose simultaneously from all directions, expanding and spreading to form a vast, opaque black wave that slowly converged upon, crushing and sweeping towards Ronan, who stood slender and tiny in the center. (Third update, requesting guaranteed monthly votes! Thank you~)