Schubert's Marvelous Mystery Box, Eye of Truth, Breaking the Labyrinth

"The gathering of southern wizarding geniuses has already begun."

Kosti said calmly, "Orian left the Arcane Circle a year ago and went to the ruins of the Fairy Ancient City Helamus Genius Seat will probably not officially begin for another four months."

"Four months"

Ronan silently recited the number without speaking.

Kosti thought for a moment, then turned her Space Ring and took out three items, handing them to Ronan.

Ronan examined the three items in front of him.

The first item was a bottle of black, murky medicine. The second item was a small, dried, twisted root-like object, which upon closer inspection resembled the casing of some kind of dried animal intestine.

The last item was a uniquely shaped metal box, its surface covered with a dense array of interlocking brass gears, and inside was a small Rune Stone.

Ronan picked up the Rune Stone from the box and examined it, only to discover to his surprise that it was a map.

It's a very large map, covering almost the entire south.

Two points were specifically marked: one was the location that Kosti had mentioned before, the actual site of the battle for the "Helamus Genius Seat"—the Fairy Ancient City Ruins.

Another point shows the Mechanical Heart Ruins.

Ronan blinked, looked up, and waited for Kosti's explanation.

"These are considered as subsequent rewards and compensation from the Arcane Circle."

The first two items are magical potions that can increase Soul Power. You can take them directly and they will bring you one step closer to level three.

The third item is the key to enter the Mechanical Heart Ruins.

"The key to the Mechanical Heart Ruins..."

The key couldn't possibly be a rune map, so Ronan's gaze fell on the strange metal box that held the map.

"The Mechanical Heart is a remnant of the dwarven civilization, explored many times by southern wizards. Many of the metal magical puppets used by southern wizards today originate from the Mechanical Heart..."

Kosti explained.

Ronan frowned, and before he could ask, Kosti continued, "However, the most valuable things in the Mechanical Heart Ruins are not what those dwarven craftsmen left behind."

Rather, it is Schubert's legacy.

"Schubert!"

A strange light flashed in Ronan's eyes; Schubert was the name of the first legendary wizard he had ever encountered.

The name was far more appealing to him than "Helamus".

Because of his countless uses of the "Myriad Treasure Orb," each time he activated it, he would repeatedly hear that young, bright voice belonging to Schubert, seemingly forever full of passion and boundless curiosity—"Welcome, newcomer wielding the Myriad Manifestations Orb— to Schubert's Illusionary Space!..."

"Schubert was probably the earliest explorer of the Mechanical Heart, and there's even a claim that the Mechanical Heart was built by the dwarven civilization under his guidance. Before leaving the Mechanical Heart, Schubert left behind many similar metal boxes inside."

"Some of these boxes contain magical artifacts, some contain precious Spell Inheritance, some contain rare runes, some contain nothing at all, and some may even contain bad things. Later wizards called these boxes — Schubert's Marvelous Mystery Box."

You never know whether what's inside the box is a surprise or a shock until you open it.

This perfectly matches Ronan's fantasy of Schubert —an unpredictable, mischievous boy.

Ronan suddenly remembered the full name of the [Silverization] rune and couldn't help but look at Kosti in surprise.

Kosti understood what he meant and nodded, saying, "As you thought, the [Silverization] rune and the related Metal Element Spell Inheritance came from Schubert's Marvelous Mystery Box."

There's a special connection between the magic boxes; you can try your luck at the Mechanical Heart Ruins.

Ronan nodded.

Kosti's suggestion was good. During the last period of his time in the meditation room, he spent most of his energy on combining metal, space, and mirror magic, but he hit a bottleneck.

If we can't make progress in spatial and mirror magic, we might find a breakthrough in Metal Element.

Ronan thanked Kosti, and he could roughly guess that the only compensation or reward the so-called Arcane Circle could offer him was the final metal magic box.

The first two might actually be personal gifts from Kosti.

Some things don't need to be said explicitly; Ronan remembers them all in his heart.

"Even if you can't directly participate in the competition for seats, watching this grand event that brings together all the wizarding geniuses in the entire south will be of great benefit to your future path. Set off as soon as possible, Ronan. Whether you go to the Mechanical Heart or detour through the Fairy Ancient City, it will take quite a while to get there from here."

Kosti looked at Ronan with a calm gaze, her eyes showing a hint of encouragement, but not much.

She simply felt that Ronan should go, because it would be good for Ronan training, but she had no expectations of him and did not put any pressure on him.

"Kosti is really suited to be a... mother."

Ronan silently made his assessment of Kosti in his mind.

Kosti meticulously took care of all the trivial matters related to his spiritual practice. Whenever Ronan expressed his unwavering belief in something or a certain goal, she would immediately "pour cold water" on Ronan verbally, sounding an alarm bell in his ear to control his surging enthusiasm; but in practice, she would do her best to help him prepare.

She encouraged him, but never put too much pressure on him. Ronan sometimes felt that he was quite lucky to have entered the Seventh Magic Ring. Kosti might not have been a very good Ring Master or mentor. She didn't give Ronan much guidance in his cultivation, but she took good care of Ronan in other aspects.

Living under her "protection," Ronan felt comfortable and free.

Even now, he doesn't feel much of a sense of belonging to the Arcane Circle; most of his sense of belonging is with Kosti alone.

"Snap—"

The Brass Door Lock turned, Ronan stepped into the brightly lit room.

Looking around, everything was exactly the same as when he left.

A faint smell of dust lingered in the air, proving that no one had cleaned or entered the area while I was away.

The soul sealed within the lock was removed, and with the annoying, incessant noise gone, Ronan was satisfied with everything.

"Come out, Arrietty..."

Ronan gently patted the collar of his robe, Dust Elf girl Arrietty cautiously peeked her small head out from the gap in the robe.

She looked around with curiosity at everything in this future "new home".

The elven girl flew up from Ronan's collar, flapping her wings and kicking up a trail of dust that resembled gray fireworks.

All the dust accumulated in the room gathered towards her, and the air gradually became "fresh." This is the innate talent of the Dust Elf; wherever the Dust Elf is, you will never see even a single speck of dust.

Ronan saw that Arrietty was having a great time in her new environment, and the "cleaning game" would probably continue for a while.

He raised a finger, and a large number of notes and letters piled up by the door suddenly flew towards him like snowflakes.

Ronan sat down leisurely at the desk facing the window and began to read through the letters one by one.

Three years may seem like a big change for him, but for most long-lived wizards, it's not much different from taking a nap in the afternoon.

The envelope in front of Ronan contained mostly trivial matters. After all, people who were close to him would naturally contact him using Communication Stone, while only those who were not so familiar with him would leave him messages by sending letters.

Ronan quickly browsed through the envelopes and unexpectedly found a note from Orian among them.

The message contained only a few lines, briefly stating that he had left and was preparing to head to the Fairy Ancient City.

He and Orian had only exchanged a few words and had not left any communication marks, so he was quite surprised that Orian would specifically inform him before leaving the Arcane Circle.

As Ronan continued reading, he finally found the letter he was looking for—a reply from Restwind Harbor.

There was another letter that felt hard to the touch, and Ronan didn't know what was inside. The sender's name on the envelope had faded so much that it was illegible. Ronan found it entirely by a small, mottled golden spike flower mark in the corner.

The first letter was sent by Old Wells, but it contained three different contents, one from Old Wells, one from young Sheryl, and Venecia.

The three of them sent one letter together, probably to save money.

The letter paper must have undergone special chemical treatment, and even after several years it still looks brand new, with a slightly damp feel to the touch, as if you can still smell the lingering salty and fishy smell of the sea breeze.

In his letter, Old Wells inquired about Ronan's well-being and then briefly described their situation in Restwind Harbor.

The environment of Restwind Harbor is more peaceful than that of the former Hoddam Academy. Because it is located by the sea and has abundant resources, the wizards living here live a much more comfortable life than the wizards in Hoddam Wizard Land.

Old Wells said that he used the magic stone Ronan gave him before he left, along with his own savings, to open a small potion shop in Restwind Harbor, mainly catering to the lowest-ranking Wizard Apprentice. Sheryl and Venecia both helped out in the shop, and they lived a fairly good life.

He was particularly pleased to note that Sheryl had officially entered the level of Level 1 Wizard Apprentice and had shown considerable talent in Potionology.

Of the three letters, Sheryl's was the longest. Sheryl reported almost every detail of her life to Ronan, and her words were full of childlike innocence and romance. Ronan would smile knowingly from time to time as he read it.

Sheryl also spent a long time in the letter talking about how much Venecia missed him and hoped that he could come over as soon as possible so that the four of them could live like a family again, just like they used to in Hoddam. She also emphasized that if he came, he would be "surprised" and receive a huge surprise.

Ronan turned to the last page of the letter. On Venecia's letter, there were only a few lines of words, polite and courteous, like a greeting between ordinary friends. Ronan subconsciously pictured a shy and timid girl with long braids in his mind, and a few ripples of emotion stirred in his heart, but quickly disappeared.

He picked up another letter, from the Daimien Earldom.

He traveled to the south, faced life and death several times, and has never lost contact with his secular hometown, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Upon opening the envelope, a snow-white, gold-embossed piece of paper immediately fell out.

Ronan picked it up and was shocked to find that it was an invitation to an engagement party, with "Lier" and another unfamiliar name written on it.

Ronan paused for a moment, realizing that he had been away from home for almost six years. The little girl who used to follow him around calling him "brother," and who was about the same age as Sheryl, should now be a graceful young woman.

They're already engaged.

Judging from the suffix of the other person's name, they are probably a nobleman.

Ronan gently stroked the smooth, delicate paper with his fingers, and for the first time, the thought of going home to visit his family arose in his mind.

Now he's moving forward faster and faster, Ronan is worried that one day he'll lose all desire to turn back.

"We'll consider it after the gathering of geniuses is over."

Ronan carefully put away the two letters, scanned the remaining letters, and then took out the three items that Kosti had given him.

After carefully studying "Schubert's Marvelous Mystery Box" without finding anything, he focused his remaining attention on two other potions that could increase Soul Power.

Ronan took both potions one by one.

Similar to his previous experiences with several magical potions that could increase his Soul Power, he closed his eyes and could almost hear the sound of his soul "growing".

"Shhh—"

Within the Consciousness Space, three crystals of Spiritual Power Crystal, which had undergone secondary purification, emitted soft "crackling" sounds as they slowly grew larger.

To advance from Level 2 to Level 3, a wizard needs to condense their own fourth Spiritual Power Crystal, which means they need more "soul space".

For a genius with outstanding spiritual talent, achieving this step would not be difficult, but Ronan's talent is average, so he needs the assistance of external resources.

With the addition of these two magical potions, his Soul Power increased five times during the late stage of level two.

In fact, under normal circumstances, that would be enough to break through to level three.

However, after being purified twice by the [Basic Meditation Technique], Ronan's mental power was at least ten times stronger than that of an ordinary level two wizard, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Simply put, his Spiritual Power Crystal is ten times larger than that of a typical late-stage level two wizard! Because of this, the standard of Soul Power required to break through to level three is also much higher.

[Strength: Second Level Formal Wizard (189%)]

After absorbing the full effects of both potions, Ronan checked his Character Panel and found that his Strength Progress had reached 189%.

The increase in Soul Power stimulated the increase in mental power, and the potion given by Kosti saved him a lot of time in meditation.

Looking into my current Consciousness Space, I saw three crystal-clear, impurity-free transparent crystals floating quietly.

Each one is quite large, and each one contains a different Soul Rune pattern.

The purity of Spiritual Power Crystal represents the quality of that spiritual energy.

Ronan's three Spiritual Power Crystal were not only free of any impurities, but they also continuously emitted an unusual, faint golden light.

This golden light appeared after the spiritual power had undergone a second purification. Ronan felt that his spiritual power had been purified to a level that was about to undergo a "qualitative change".

This was certainly a good thing for him, as it made the power of his spells more than ten times that of ordinary wizards.

Ronan released his mental energy fluctuations, which he had suppressed to the extreme, little by little. In an instant, his robes fluttered silently, and a strange, pale golden glow emanated from his entire body.

It's like being bathed in the light of dawn, with an indescribable magical charm.

"Call--"

Ronan exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing his unusually strong mental energy fluctuations, and then quietly stood up.

Seeing that the Dust Elf Arrietty was still busy, and that she had somehow acquired an extremely tiny broom in her hand, singing as she swept, he didn't disturb her and quietly left the room.

A brightly feathered parrot perched on her shoulder, and the elegant Kosti stood quietly at the top of the Silver Tower, looking down at a figure disappearing into the distance below.

"He set off."

Porby preened his feathers, muttering, "Oh, Kosti, I've never seen you love and spoil someone so much, just like that wretched Shelby did to you. Do you have any special feelings for him? Speak up, Kosti, for wizards, age is never a problem..."

Kosti turned her head coldly and glanced at Porby.

Porby suddenly had a bad feeling.

The next second, before he could even scream, the bird shot off in one direction like a cannonball, leaving only a few scattered feathers behind.

After dealing with the outspoken Porby, Kosti watched Ronan's departing figure with a complicated expression and murmured, "If I could give him a few more years, I believe he would shine at the rally when he is the same age as Orian. What a pity."

The wind at the top of the tower carried away Kosti's soft sigh.

On the quiet, deserted lakeside, the afternoon sun shines on the water, reflecting countless bright rays, shimmering like a giant mirror submerged in the water.

Ronan stood by the lake, enjoying the gentle lake breeze, a glint of white light gradually appearing in his eyes.

These white lights grew out of his eyes like silkworm threads, and then wove a faint, mysterious eye pattern between his eyebrows.

[Detection Spell - Eye of Truth]! This auxiliary general-purpose spell, which is only at the zero-level low rank and so low that even many Wizard Apprentice disdain to use it, has undergone some wonderful transformations after the proficiency is promoted to the Master Level.

After the spell was cast, the world in Ronan's eyes seemed to have a thin veil of haziness peeled away, suddenly becoming clear and colorful.

He saw countless energy particles moving on the surface of the lake, gathering and dispersing like smoke.

Spatial energy particles gathered into a vortex shape, appearing conspicuously in a thicket of tall reeds more than 500 meters away from him.

Ronan found the entrance to the Mysterious Garden Secret Realm without any effort, a much easier process than his previous visits, where he had to search every inch of the lakeside with his mental power.

Ronan followed the entrance into the secret realm, where a beautiful and tranquil little garden once again appeared before his eyes.

There were some unnaturally distributed clusters of energy particles at the entrance, but Ronan's eyes flickered and he didn't pay them any mind.

"It looks like someone was here not long ago."

That's normal, after all, he was the "latecomer".

Ronan used the Eye of Truth to survey the Mystic Garden before him. The spatial Teleportation Array that used to require spells to create a tide of energy particles to leave a trace were now clearly visible to him.

"The world is not as complicated as you imagine. The prerequisite is that you need to have a pair of observant eyes."

Ronan's white eye pattern, intertwined between his brows, flickered, and then he calmly stepped lightly into the garden.

For three whole years, he studied the mysteries of space and mirror magic in the Ascetic Loft of the Arcane Circle. His research was based not only on a few runes related to space and mirror magic, but also on his personal experiences exploring the secret realm of the Mirror Garden.

The Mystic Garden before him had appeared in his mind countless times, and Ronan had pondered countless times how to break through this spatial Teleportation Array maze.

Now, the time has finally come to test his ideas.

"[Living Steel]!"

Ronan murmured, layers of metal, like mercury, gushed forth from beneath his robes.