Exploration, Gains, Space Energy Pearls

Following the Green Robe Witch's gaze, Caloni saw the bald witch from the Molten Crystal Lake and the black-robed man with a feather mask from the Black Nightmare Swamp standing side by side, facing the numerous water screen images floating above the Mirror Lake, talking in hushed tones.

Soon, the two of them took out some things and then drew runes in the air, as if they were making some kind of contract.

Caloni knew exactly what they were doing; it was practically a regular part of their entertainment whenever they met.

A small "betting game" is being wagered on the performance of the wizards under their command during the exploration mission.

For these powerful wizards who stand at the pinnacle of the third level and are about to step out of the mist, there must be something in their long lives that can pique their interest and help them pass the time.

"Aren't you planning to join?"

The Green Robe Witch, biting into a brightly colored fruit, said to Caloni, "They don't mind having two more people involved. If you'd like, I can join you too."

"Never mind."

Caloni shook his head, picked up the bottle in his hand, took a small sip, and said, "You know I've never been interested in this kind of game."

I'm not as confident as they are.

"Our Arcane Circle has only been rooted in the south for a short time, and ultimately lacks a certain depth and heritage."

"But just waiting like this is too boring."

The Green Robe Witch sighed softly, seemingly wanting Caloni to participate in this betting game.

Caloni knew the person in front of her very well: restless with a touch of adventurous spirit, interested in anything exciting and challenging, but lacking enough courage, so she hoped someone would accompany her.

"If you really want to."

Caloni thought for a moment and offered a suggestion, "We could play a game between the two of us, but the stakes can't be too high, you know me."

"That's fantastic, Caloni."

Before Caloni could finish speaking, the Green Robe Witch readily agreed.

"To be honest, I've been waiting for you to say that. The Molten Crystal Lake and the Black Nightmare Swamp are significantly stronger than both of us. The chances of winning a gamble against them are too slim. We are the truly evenly matched opponents..."

Caloni glanced speechlessly at the Green Robe Witch was beaming with excitement, and then the two agreed on the stakes and signed a contract.

Once everything was settled, the Green Robe Witch couldn't wait to lift her skirt and approach the water screen images that appeared on the Mirror Lake. She stared at the figures of wizards with Arcane Circle rings on the screens, muttering incantations as if she were quickly calculating her chances of winning in this gamble.

Watching the other person's back, Caloni's eyes flickered slightly. He calmly took out a Communication Stone and gently lit it.

"So, did she agree?"

"Yes. I specifically added the Star Spirit Bai Lan Seed and Reproductive Flower Juice that you wanted to the bet... The wizards of the Thorn Palace have always valued these two things as if they were their lives; they would never have given them up without using such methods."

"Well done, Caloni. I've already told Orian to keep an eye out for what you want during the exploration."

If it's not in the Mirror Garden either, I'll compensate you separately. The important thing is... are you sure your arrangements will lead to a successful win in this gamble?

"Valinna of the Second Magic Ring, and Clemens of the Seventh Magic Ring."

They are all top-tier seeds.

They might not be much of a competitor against the geniuses of Molten Crystal Lake and Black Nightmare Swamp, but simply outmaneuvering the Thorn Palace's forces in the second area shouldn't be a problem.

Caloni put down the Communication Stone in his hand, focused his gaze on two of the water screen images in front of him, and then took out two brand new Communication Stone from his storage ring and began to inject information into each of them.

Ronan looked around the room.

In the very center was a black, high-legged four-poster bed with a semi-transparent gray canopy. A silver candlestick sat on the bedside table beside it.

On one side of the wall was a heavy, draped velvet curtain, and on the other hung an exquisite brocade tapestry. The tapestry's colors had faded somewhat, and it contained patterns that Ronan couldn't understand.

Next to the four-poster bed was a white desk with a bare surface, a few quill pens scattered haphazardly, and what appeared to be a few open notebooks or books.

Apart from that, there were a few gray wardrobes, two empty shelves, and a silver dressing mirror embedded in the partition wall pillar. Nothing else.

It's like a bedroom just for people to rest in.

The scene was completely different from what Ronan had imagined—a bizarre and fantastical world filled with ancient wonders and lurking dangers.

A slight energy fluctuation emanated from within the Space Ring.

Ronan took out a Communication Stone, turned it on, and Clemens' voice came from inside.

"Ronan, are you alright?"

"Very good, the surroundings are peaceful."

Ronan responded.

"Where's Debby? Can you hear me?"

"I'm doing well here... I'm fine too."

A calm yet slightly unfamiliar voice responded.

He was another Seventh Magic Ring wizard besides the two of them, ranked very high, only behind Clemens. The three of them exchanged communication marks before entering.

"Then explore on your own, and remember to contact us promptly if anything comes up."

"If we could meet up, that would be wonderful."

Clemens cut off the communication.

Ronan didn't care. After entering the secret realm, none of the three knew where they had been teleported to. Meeting up would be extremely difficult and would depend on luck.

Just as Ronan was about to put away the Communication Stone, he noticed that Clemens had sent another message, this time in a much more serious tone.

"Damien, be careful of other factions you might encounter in the secret realm."

Generally speaking, plundering fellow wizards in secret realms is a tacitly accepted practice... it's even considered a more sophisticated way to acquire resources, provided you're strong enough.

I just received word that internal strife might be quite intense during this expedition... Please be careful.

Ronan's eyes flickered slightly. He put away the Communication Stone, ignored everything else, and focused his attention on the room in front of him.

He walked first to several shelves and wardrobes. The shelves were covered with a thin layer of dust, and the wardrobes were also empty.

Ronan tapped lightly on the cabinet door with his finger, then walked to the desk and picked up the scattered pieces of paper and notes to examine them.

It was completely blank, with no trace of writing left.

It must have been erased by magic.

It's clear that the owner of this room left quite calmly, having packed everything up and leaving nothing for anyone who came after.

Ronan spread his mental energy, and with his keen perception, carefully examined the entire room.

Finally, they found only a small cloth bag, about the size of a palm, in a tiny hidden compartment at the foot of the bed. Inside were some herbal powder and a flat metal box.

Over time, the herbal powder has long since turned into dust.

The metal box contained an unidentified black ointment that still had a slightly pungent and spicy smell.

Presumably something the room's owner had forgotten, Ronan quietly put the two items away, knowing that once the exploration was over and they were outside, someone would come to appraise their value.

Having explored the entire room, Ronan planned to leave, but after searching around, he couldn't find any doors.

Just as I was wondering what was going on, I caught a glimpse of the silver dressing mirror on the wall and realized what was happening.

"I almost forgot... this is the Mirror Garden."

Ronan walked to the dressing mirror and easily found a row of rune marks on the edge of the frame.

After memorizing each item, I slowly infused it with my mental energy.

After five or six runes were activated, there was no response. It wasn't until the last rune was tried that the mirror in front of me started to ripple like water.

Ronan took a light step and appeared in a narrow corridor.

The walls on both sides of the corridor were also bare, with traces of things having been hung there. Ronan kept his mental energy spread out, while pressing his fingers on the walls and gently stroking them as he walked.

After walking about ten steps, I finally found a straight, shallow dent in a wall.

After a little trial and error, he finally managed to open a "portal" leading to the inner room in the dent.

Fully alert and vigilant, I stepped inside. Before me lay another room, not much different from the one before.

A moment later, Ronan emerged from the room and continued his exploration.

He continued his previous approach, exploring five or six rooms in a row, but found nothing.

Ronan wasn't exactly disappointed; no risk meant no reward.

Many things in this world are equal.

After searching the seventh room, he planned to leave using the mirror passage that was bound to exist in the room.

Unexpectedly, when he stepped out of the room this time, he was no longer presented with a long, monotonous white corridor. He appeared at the entrance of a small garden with a fountain.

A low fence encloses a pretty little milky-white house, behind which is a gravel path lined with shady greenery, leading to the unknown, where the entrance from which they came can no longer be seen.

Ronan was not surprised but delighted; something different had finally happened.

He stood outside the fence and looked around the garden. At first glance, the garden Mysterious Garden Secret Realm he had entered many times before.

There were also rattan tables and chairs in the garden, two unidentified fruit trees, and a swing hanging from them.

However, there was nothing on the table and chairs, and everything in the garden looked much more realistic. It must have been because no one had taken care of it for a long time. Weeds were growing everywhere, and the space for the flowers that were originally planted had been completely taken over by the weeds.

Ronan stepped lightly into the garden, already prepared to deal with any attack from something resembling a transparent, twisted humanoid.

But even after he had walked around the entire small garden, nothing happened, and he didn't stumble upon any hidden Teleportation Array.

Not every wizard of the Mirror Garden has the same perverse sense of humor as the master of the Mystic Garden.

Ronan, lost in thought, turned toward the house.

He walked smoothly around the fountain to the front of the milky white house, and politely knocked twice before entering.

Naturally, no one answered.

Pushing open the door, the interior remained a very ordinary scene.

In the living room, dining room, and kitchen, there were several plates filled with food next to the oven by the window.

Ronan walked up to the plate, where the food had long since crumbled into dust, and there were some silver cutlery pieces that hadn't yet been portioned out. Ronan's eyes lit up slightly.

He turned around to view the entire house from his perspective.

He quickly sketched a picture in his mind—the homeowner was entertaining guests and had even baked food for them.

But before they could enjoy their meal, something happened. The people sitting on the sofa and chairs hurriedly got up and dispersed. The owner of the house did not seem as composed as the owners of the rooms he had encountered before; he seemed rather rushed.

Haste means something might be overlooked, which gives Ronan the opportunity to make a discovery. Ronan acted quickly, first carefully examining every corner of the first floor.

This floor was likely a purely residential area, with no trace of any Spell Item or materials.

Of course, Ronan's main target was also the second floor.

As I walked upstairs step by step along the nearly rotten wooden floor, my feet made a creaking sound.

The air on the second floor was somewhat murky, and there was a faint, pungent, putrid smell.

Ronan quickened his pace, and when he finally stepped onto the second-floor floor, he was greeted by a chaotic laboratory, with crystal vessels and glass jars scattered everywhere, and transparent shards remaining on the floor.

On a broken stone slab directly opposite Ronan, some runes were slowly pulsating.

He strode forward and saw that the dim runes, which were almost exhausted of energy, were gradually forming some twisted and scattered characters on the only remaining corner of the broken stone slab.

"Failure... Forbidden Experiment Termination Card... North"

Ronan tried hard to decipher the characters on the stone slab, recording all the characters that appeared, but he couldn't piece together any valuable information for the time being.

The spot where he was standing was littered with fragments of stone slabs. These were probably just ordinary Spell Item used for casual recording, and since they had no value to be taken away, they were deliberately destroyed.

However, because the destruction was not thorough enough, some of the content that was once recorded on this stone slab resurfaced under the influence of the disordered Rune Array.

Ronan collected all the remaining stone slabs and then began sweeping up the items on the surrounding experimental tables.

Surprisingly, he actually found some valuable materials.

—A box of refined energy stones.

It can also be called Energy Orb.

There were about twenty or so, of various sizes and types, all with vibrant colors, like a box of beautiful glass marbles.

Essentially, it involves extracting a single type of energy and using special techniques to condense it into a crystal bead.

Refining a high-purity energy stone requires a large number of high-grade magic stones, and success is not guaranteed.

This is an extremely luxurious alchemical method, and alchemical experiments that use such expensive materials are usually quite advanced.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the owner of this small house must be of a high level of strength. At least, in alchemical experiments that a level two wizard is qualified to attempt, there is no need to use materials like Energy Orb.

The most valuable items in this box of energy stones are the three space-type Energy Orb.

The spatial Energy Orb can be used to construct artificial Secret Realm Space, such as Bennigo's Micro Secret Realm Space.

To date, the entire southern region lacks the technology to refine spatial energy and create Space Energy Pearl.

The three Space Energy Pearl in Ronan's hands are quite valuable.

"The Mirror Garden has been gone for so long, yet the energy within these beads hasn't diminished much; they remain abundant and pure... The craftsman's skill is exceptional; they are a master alchemist..."

Ronan silently sighed a few times before putting away his gains.