Curses and Soul Contracts, Frostburn and Harvest

A moment later, the last wave of energy subsided, and the entire garden returned to its original peace and tranquility.

It was as if nothing had happened.

A towering figure, over two meters tall, appeared silently at the edge of the garden.

Shoulder-length white hair, a simple, gleaming silver metallic leather armor covering a strong and imposing body, a long gash in the waist and abdomen as if cut by a sharp blade, revealing the firm and dense flesh beneath, yet strangely no blood flowed out, and the wound was healing little by little.

The figure's face was covered in bulging veins, densely packed like some kind of mysterious rune pattern. His eyes were pure white, and his originally handsome features could still be vaguely discerned, but he now possessed a more demonic and bewitching aura.

"Call--"

The figure exhaled slightly, and its tall and imposing body shrank as if deflated, its ferocity vanished, and it returned to its original slender and well-proportioned posture, its facial features also softening rapidly.

When the figure returned to the appearance of a young boy, his metal leather armor also changed back to the original style of a gray robe with silver patterns.

Ronan examined the location of his injury on his waist and abdomen. The long wound had now completely healed. He glanced at his Character Panel and saw that the Master Level proficiency of [Ascetic Body Forging] had increased significantly, approaching the 500 proficiency mark.

Looking inward, the white Vitality Orb inside his chest had shrunk to about two-thirds of its original size.

"Under normal circumstances, there's no need to compress life force to its absolute limit; the resulting combat power is usually sufficient."

Ronan thought to himself.

The state he was in when he fought the transparent, twisted humanoid was not the complete [[Immaculate Body]] Ancient Giant Demon Form. He called this state "Half-Demonification". Although his combat power was not at its peak, it was easy to activate and the life force consumed during the sustained phase was greatly reduced.

Ronan has now almost gotten used to keeping the Vitality Orb in his body in a compressed state at all times. In addition to training his mental strength, he can also enter the "Half-Demonification" state very quickly. In times of crisis, the time it takes to enter the "complete Ancient Giant Demon Form" can also be shortened considerably.

"The stretchability of this Neiman Alloy is indeed excellent. After being activated with magic, it can be worn as clothing. After Demonification, there's no need to worry about being naked. Moreover, after silvering, both its magical and physical defenses are quite outstanding."

Ronan lightly patted his robes, casually turned a silver ring on his right ring finger, and a faint spatial energy fluctuation emanated from it. Two bottles of potions to restore vitality and heal injuries appeared in his hand, and he slowly drank them after unscrewing the caps.

With his "Half-Demonification" state combined with the silvered Neiman Alloy, Ronan's defensive capabilities reached a terrifying level.

Even so, after taking a direct hit from the transparent, twisted humanoid, his two layers of defense were easily torn apart, leaving Ronan still unsure of the exact level of this thing's strength.

Secondary peak?

Is he already close to the level of Third Level Wizard?

"The Creation of Space and Mirror Magic: Space and mirror magic are renowned for their unpredictability and destructive power, and that's certainly true. If only I could master such terrifying offensive techniques."

Thinking about it, a hint of anticipation appeared in Ronan's eyes.

He extended his left hand, which had been hidden under his robe, and two things lay quietly in his palm: a delicate Silver Comb and a gleaming silver dagger that shimmered like a mirror.

In the instant he engaged the transparent, twisted humanoid, he used his old method, threading a metal wire through the gaps in the Rune Array, and successfully retrieved both items.

Now, everything on the white round table except for the teapot and teacups has been taken by Ronan.

"The comb, and the mirror that Fu Ling and the others got, all seem to be things that women use. Is the owner of this Mysterious Garden space a witch?"

Or is he a rather narcissistic wizard?

Ronan thought to himself as he put the two items into his Space Ring. Holding them in his hand, he could already sense that they were magical artifacts, and of a high quality. He would just have to study the runes inside them carefully when he got back.

What he values most are the runes within them.

After the Ancient Wizard Force, the Mirror Garden, left, it did not leave behind any Spell Inheritance on this land.

Many wizards are trying to deduce the true meaning of these two schools of magic from the runes and artifacts they left behind, in order to recreate the glory of the Mirror Garden. Now, Ronan has also joined this great army.

Runes are a condensation of spells, an alternative interpretation of spells after they have been developed to a certain level. A rune may contain many spells, just like a pot of soup with dozens or even hundreds of ingredients.

Deducing spell Spell Inheritance from runes is akin to scooping a piece of meat from a pot of hot soup and then guessing what it looked like when it was alive and running on the ground based on its shape and taste.

The difficulty is exceptionally high.

Ronan had already tasted success with the [Mirrorlight] rune, so his requirements weren't high. He just wanted to research and develop another rune that matched his current spell system to serve as Soul Rune.

After packing his things, Ronan looked at the Mysterious Garden before him again.

The transparent, twisted humanoid figure that had been chasing him across the map had now disappeared back into the geranium bushes, as if it had never been there. Golden sunlight bathed the garden, and not a single blade of grass was damaged in the vast space. Many blades of grass still clung to morning dew. Everything was eerily quiet and peaceful. "Compared to what's on the table, this garden is the real treasure. And there's the unknown place beyond the garden."

Ronan surveyed the garden, a faint glint in his eyes.

He had read a lot of books inside the Silver White High Tower during this time. If he was not mistaken, the garden in front of him should be a maze nested magic circle from the "Ivaillo's Ten Great Spell Formation Theories". Moreover, it was not an ordinary maze magic circle, but a mobile maze magic circle.

To unravel the garden's secrets and find the entrance to the next Secret Realm Space... if there is a next Secret Realm Space, then we must unravel the maze before us, composed of countless small spatial Teleportation Array, and find the maze's true exit.

Ronan closed his eyes and tried to construct the "skeleton" of the Garden Maze in his mind. It was composed of a series of spatial Teleportation Array. The key difficulty was that the arrays were mobile, and Ronan had not yet found the pattern of their movement.

After a flurry of images and inspirations flashed through Ronan's mind, Ronan opened his eyes and temporarily abandoned the idea of solving the mystery.

"Take your time, no one's going to be able to get in anytime soon anyway."

Currently, the only people who know about this Secret Realm Space are Ronan, Fu Ling, and others from the First Magic Ring.

If he can't solve the maze, then it's even less likely that Fu Ling and the others can.

If the other party is willing to make this place public, then he has nothing to say. After all, this secret place was discovered by them first, and "no man's land" implies that everyone has the right to explore freely.

The Wizard World holds countless hidden treasures, but only wisdom and strength are the keys to unlocking them.

Having found the entrance he had come from, Ronan stepped out gently. On the calm lake surface, a handsome young man in a Gray Magic Robe emerged from the water, like a lake god from a mortal legend.

Unnoticed by anyone, Ronan activated his Flying Ring and sped off toward the Arcane Circle.

Once inside the Arcane Circle, Ronan gently turned another feather ring on his hand, a faint magical fluctuation enveloping it. He made his way to the Silver White High Tower without attracting anyone's attention.

The illusion ring that Porby gave him was indeed exceptionally useful.

Its effect is to weaken the user's "presence" to a certain extent, which is what Porby said, temporarily removing the halo around Ronan.

In some situations, it can even be used as a concealment tool.

Of course, the effects of illusion vary from person to person, and it does not have a significant impact on wizards with exceptionally strong mental will.

Ronan climbed the spiral staircase, occasionally grabbing books that were flying around him and casually looking at them.

He spent the past ten days or so in the Silver White High Tower in extraordinary tranquility. There were so many books here that even if an ordinary person read them non-stop for a hundred years, they would not be able to finish them all. Ronan lived in the tower, was like a dry sponge, frantically and thirstily absorbing the moisture of knowledge. His whole being seemed to be constantly enriching and settling down. Reaching a certain position near the top of the tower, Ronan pushed aside the dense books in front of him and lightly leaped from the steps to the nearest circular platform.

About twenty meters to his left stood a pale-skinned, green-haired man in his thirties, facing the steps of the books with a dazed look in his eyes, muttering to himself, as if he might step off the platform at any moment.

This is one of Ronan's "neighbors" in the tower. Most of the people in the tower are wizards who are engrossed in academic research and don't interact much with each other. Most of them are used to immersing themselves in their own world.

Ronan dismissed the idea of greeting the other person and walked to a small door with Brass Door Lock. As soon as he approached, the old brass lock loudly proclaimed, "Look who's back! Ronan Damien, the most outstanding genius wizard in the history of the Seventh Magic Ring, the future Seventh Ring Saint Child, the unparalleled figure who will lead the Silver Circle to new glory!"

"Shut up, Serui!"

Ronan grabbed the old brass lock on the door, abruptly stopping his praise.

"If you continue to use this welcoming language in the future, then the toilet in the public restroom of the Seven Ring City will be your best destination."

A moment later, a weak voice rang out.

"Welcome home... my dear master."

Ronan released his grip, opened the door with a cold expression, and then closed it.

"Bang."

The world is quiet.

The most distinctive feature of the Silver White High Tower is that it is filled with magical alchemical creations, such as these Brass Door Lock. Each one is usually inhabited by an ancient soul, which is said to be left behind by the wizards who conducted magical experiments in the tower in the past.

These objects that seal away souls are somewhat similar to Ronan's "smart home butler" from his previous life. Sometimes they can indeed provide a lot of convenience, but sometimes they also leave Ronan feeling particularly speechless and frustrated.

Upon entering the room, Ronan was greeted by a spherical space, not very large, without a bed; the wizards of the tower had almost universally accepted meditation as a substitute for sleep.

A huge crystal floor-to-ceiling window faces the door, and sunlight streams in from the outside, revealing the spires of several other Silver White High Tower, as well as flowing clouds and a still sky.

There was a small desk by the window, piled with all sorts of wizarding books, and a thick, lake-blue carpet where one could lie down and take a nap.

This is Ronan's residence in the tower, with a washroom, meditation room, and laboratory on the side, accessible through runic secret doors.

Ronan stood for a while at the entrance where there was a [[Cleaning]] Rune Array to remove the mixed smells and dust from his body, then walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, opened a small hole in the window, and sat down at the desk.

A gentle breeze ruffled the long hair that fell over his shoulders. Ronan casually pulled out a few strands of snow-white hair, thought for a moment, and then used the Neumann Metal on his body to conjure a silver-patterned metal belt to simply tie up his long hair.

Every time I enter Demonification form, my hair grows wildly, and it's too much trouble to keep tidying it up, so I simply stop cutting it.

Speaking of hair, Ronan recalled the stray hairs that had been taken from him by Porby. When Borby asked Ronan for blood for research, the Ring Master Kosti brought up the simple deal he had made with Porby.

Kosti solemnly reminded him that this was a very reckless act. For a wizard, any flesh, blood, nails, hair that grows on his body should not be easily obtained by an unfamiliar wizard.

For wizards specializing in curses, these things are the best mediums for casting spells.

In other words, no one would want to harm him within the Arcane Circle Tower, but if it were outside, it could very well become one of the methods used by opposing wizards to deal with him.

Of course, Kosti didn't mean to blame him. According to Kosti, the sensitivity of a region's wizards to Curse-Type Spell is directly proportional to the number of dark wizards practicing Curse-Type Spell in that region.

Black Wizard Land are rare near the Arcane Circle, and Black Robe Wizard are not common. Not only Ronan, but many Arcane Circle wizards overlook the risk of Curse-Type Spell. Even the Third Level Wizard who rashly asked Ronan for hair through Porby obviously did not consider this point.

Given Ronan's youth and lack of experience, such oversights are to be expected.

The matter was ultimately resolved by Kosti personally intervening and having each of the Third Level Wizard had taken Ronan's hair for research sign Soul Contract.

Regarding the Soul Contract, Ronan also signed one when he joined the Arcane Circle, Soul Contract of non-betrayal. After advancing to the Sixth Ring, the form and content of the contract were also upgraded.

Soul Contract can essentially be seen as another form of "curse." They are rooted in the soul in the form of runes. If the terms of the contract are violated, the runes will shatter and backfire, likely resulting in a more tragic end than Bennigo's. Ronan casually pondered this, turning his spatial ring to take out several items from his storage space and place them in front of him one by one.

From left to right, there is the "Frostburn" bracelet, a second-tier magical artifact given to him by Kosti; the Silver Comb and dagger he obtained from the Mysterious Garden Secret Realm; and the resources he traded his hair for from several Third Level Wizards in the tower.

The "Frostburn" bracelet that Kosti gave him, when activated, releases a "burning" Ice Ring that damages opponents within a certain range.

This magical artifact is quite powerful; after all, it's a second-tier artifact, and given to a typical second-tier wizard, it can almost be used as a trump card.

But what Ronan truly valued about this magical artifact was its core rune called "Frostburn".

This is a rare ice rune that can be used as Soul Rune. Through the amplification of the rune, the chill of ice spells cast by wizards will be greatly increased, and a kind of wonderful "catalytic" reaction will occur, forming an effect similar to the "burning" of frost.

Judging from the quality alone, the [Frostburn] rune is much stronger than the [Frozen Earth] rune, and it is estimated that this is why Kosti intentionally gave him this magic item bracelet.

This gives him another option when he advances to the second level of wizardry and considers upgrading his existing Soul Rune or condensing a new Soul Rune.

So far, Ronan has no intention of changing the [Frozen Earth] seal.

But this rune might come in handy when he can condense his fourth Soul Rune.