Inscription

Looking at the filled-in mound before him, Xuan Ye let out a sorrowful sigh.

This was a desert. Although everything had been wrapped in wolf pelts, they probably would not remain preserved for long as time passed and the dunes shifted. It was even possible that an Undead resembling a Wanderer might eventually form.

But this was all he could do...

The dune hiding the deceased body stood alone amid the wind and sand. The already-risen sun baked it until it was scorching hot.

Not long after Xuan Ye left, an unnatural tremor faintly appeared atop the dune, as if a groundhog were thrashing about underneath. Then, a slender hand wrapped in a metal armguard burst through the sand. The damaged armguard faintly revealed the pale yet delicate skin beneath it. Appearing in such a strange place and in such a strange manner, it gave off an inexplicably spine-chilling aura...

Using the simple methods of estimating distance in the desert that he had learned along the way, and taking the crude map of the Stanrose region on Luo Luoji as a reference, Xuan Ye spent nearly half a month traveling. At last, the scenery before him was no longer an endless stretch of sand.

Instead, it had become a gravel Gobi. Strands of weeds occasionally appeared among the rubble, adding a touch of life to this deathly wilderness.

Relying on the strength he had already attained upon entering the professional tier, Xuan Ye encountered no major trouble along the way. Instead, he used the occasional prey to practice and consolidate his abilities. Then, by continuously adjusting his Basic Breathing Technique through the Soul Database, he finally stabilized the restless hidden danger caused by forcibly breaking through to Grade Eight with a Magic Core during that half-month journey, solidifying his foundation once more.

However, since he had been traveling alone and remaining constantly alert, he had no chance to meditate along the way. His Spiritual Power cultivation was still only at the level of a Grade Three Magic Apprentice, and he likewise had no safe environment in which to inscribe a Talent Rune onto his Professional Core.

Now that he had left the desert, he should be able to find a suitable place to organize and consolidate everything.

The Gobi was almost as desolate as the desert. However, compared to the desert's various dunes, the Gobi's bizarre wind-eroded boulders were its main feature. It seemed that Stanrosai City had been built atop a gigantic mine.

As for choosing a safe and secluded place, Xuan Ye naturally would not consider returning to the city. After all, the city might be even more dangerous for him. He spent an entire day finding a sufficiently sturdy boulder, then forcefully chiseled a three-meter-deep hole into it.

Once he crawled inside and plugged the entrance with another similarly sized stone, the job was done. Because the stone and the opening had irregular shapes, the gaps left behind were enough to ensure adequate airflow for a short time.

He was still the Ranger who had condensed a core in the Inner Palace of Perception. The bit of light that seeped through the gaps was enough for him to see everything inside, including every speck of dust dancing in the golden beam of light.

"Hmm, let's take a look at this rich Mage's belongings first. I wonder if there's a more advanced meditation method."

Since his ultimate goal was definitely to open the Star Palace, Xuan Ye attached great importance to tempering his Spiritual Power. Likewise, Dean's dazzling performance back then had made him quite envious.

A Ninth-Grade Apprentice had unleashed such terrifying attacks. It had indeed left the other professions far behind.

Dean himself was still a Magic Apprentice. Even if he was an Apprentice with excellent talent and strength, he still could not escape the level he was currently studying. Aside from some strange and unusual spellcasting materials, the largest amount of space in his Spatial Bag was occupied by related books!

"An Analysis of High Elven Grammar," "Annotations on Dragon-Language Phonetic Symbols," "The Thirty-Six Basic Magic Runes Every Mage Apprentice Must Master," "Three Years as an Apprentice, Five Years as a Professional," "A Complete Collection of Common Potions in the Reizel Wilderness," "A Mage's Guide to Travel and Survival"...

And so on. Xuan Ye felt dazzled just looking at them. The first things that entered his mind were all kinds of textbooks on special languages. They were truly varied and diverse, and just looking at them made his head ache. He had nearly died learning English back then, and now he had to go through this torment again.

After sorting them roughly, however, Xuan Ye discovered that most of the language books actually concerned two primary languages: High Elven and Dragon. These were probably the most practical and in-demand magical languages. With the help of the Soul Database, he could barely manage them.

He had indeed found two meditation methods as well. One was Basic Meditation, similar to the common street-bought version he had purchased. It had hardly been changed at all from that mass-market version.

Judging from the notes he had written on it himself, it seemed that for the Apprentice level, Basic Meditation truly was the most suitable and complete method.

The other was an advanced meditation method that could only be used after condensing a Professional Core in the Star Palace. Aside from using it as a reference, there was no need to consider it for now.

Although Xuan Ye was also quite interested in those magic runes, symbols, and spell models, they were all fairly basic things, so he put them aside for the time being.

Hmm, he had condensed his core half a month ago, yet it was still completely Blank Slate. Most professionals at this level were Blank Slates anyway, but he happened to have the Bright Eyes Talent Rune in his possession. Now that the environment was stable, it was time to put it to use.

It was said to stabilize energy and increase one's ability to control it. The fact that the Kend Family had paid a huge acquisition price for it back then showed just how precious it was.

"Inscribing a Rune... Hmm, it requires a Rune Scroll, a ritual, or a body with active Spiritual Power. Although I'm only a Grade Three Apprentice, I should be able to skip the scroll and ritual, right?"

After digging out his memories concerning Talent Runes, Xuan Ye pondered for a moment before beginning to experiment.

His mind sank completely into his body. Once he concentrated on the Inner Palace of Perception near his liver, a spot of light appeared within his mental perception. Like a scan, it captured his Professional Core, which was no larger than a grain of rice.

Uh, was this a core or a kidney stone...?

Only after he continuously concentrated his mind did it gradually enlarge within his perception. Then, stroke by stroke, he began carving a complex Rune into the very center of the "soft" core. Since he had only recently become a professional, the core was still in a malleable state, making the carving process relatively simple.

As he carefully carved, the Soul Database inside his body even automatically guided him. The process went extraordinarily smoothly. Without expending any effort, he easily imprinted the Bright Eyes Rune onto it. Xuan Ye instinctively added several tiny modifications based on the database as well. Its effect should be similar to that of the Basic Breathing Technique.

When the inscription was complete, he saw that, because of his overly precise control, the inscription had been completely confined to the very center of the core, leaving large expanses of blank space around it. His obsessive-compulsive tendencies began acting up.

Damn, it looked like he could still draw another one.

Once he had the thought, he acted on it. He foolishly began carving a second Bright Eyes Rune beside the first, but that one action truly stirred up a hornet's nest.

The Professional Core was originally a product of highly compressed energy, similar to a magical beast's crystal core. The first Talent Rune was located precisely at the center, and indeed had a stabilizing and suppressive effect. But now that he had carved another one at the side, he had torn apart the original balance. The core instantly ran wild.

Xuan Ye was scared out of his wits. The old man had been unable to withstand merely burning a core. If the energy here went berserk, what would happen to him?

However, with the Database assisting his carving, he had acted far too quickly. He completed the second one in a single smooth motion and could not stop even if he wanted to. Seeing that things were about to leak out of control, he recalled something his teacher had said when he was young in his panic.

"Triangles are the most stable shapes~"

Then, almost subconsciously, he began carving a third one. But once he finished it, he was completely screwed. The core was three-dimensional, for heaven's sake! Triangles were the most stable, my ass!

After that, he became like a firefighter. Whenever the core was tugged in one direction, he carved another Rune on the opposite side, then patched up the next unstable point.

In the end, he carved a total of five cores before he managed to pull everything back into balance!

The first one was in the center, while the other four around it happened to form a three-dimensional triangle in the shape of a regular tetrahedron. Every additional Rune maintained the same distance from the first one in the center!

After completing all this with his mind stretched taut, Xuan Ye felt utterly drained when he discovered that the core had finally stabilized. Fortunately, he had drawn them quickly. Otherwise...

Yet at that moment, the five Talent Runes seemed to have triggered something. In Xuan Ye's mental perception, the entire Inner Palace of Perception suddenly began to tremble. At the same time, a deep and vast voice speaking an unknown language echoed beside his ears.

Although he had clearly never learned this language, and neither had the original owner, he somehow understood it.

"Oh?"

Then his spirit suddenly jolted, and he discovered that he seemed to have "woken up"...

However...

Looking at the scene before him, reduced to nothing but black and white, Xuan Ye was completely stunned.

The entire world seemed frozen, stripped of all life. It was as if the whole world had died!

There were no colors, no sounds, and no passage of time!

That was not all. Xuan Ye also discovered that he was completely isolated from this world, no longer connected to it! Although he was clearly inside the hole he had dug, with a mere thought, he "passed through" the rock and "drifted" outside!

Looking at the equally gray and motionless world outside, he was utterly shaken.

No!

That was not right! Not everything was frozen! A gloomy gray cloud in the sky was still rolling and churning!

Staring fixedly at the only cloud layer that possessed any "life," he watched as it gradually transformed into the outline of a ferocious yet awe-inspiring head. He began to lose his composure.

Judging from the gigantic structure formed by the clouds, this... was this the legendary Dragon Head?

The only golden vertical pupil in the gray-white world was also filled with an overwhelming, irresistible power, making him lower his head involuntarily.

"What an interesting mortal. You clearly possess a cause from the past, yet have no effect in the future. With power like that of an ant, you have escaped the restraints of the world's most fundamental laws."

It seemed to be talking to itself, yet also muttering softly. That peculiar tone sank directly into his soul, rendering it unnecessary to understand the words.

Xuan Ye's heart shook violently. Although he knew little about Reizel, he could tell from the situation before him that he had gotten himself into serious trouble!

Just speaking of dragons, the Dragon Clan of the Reizel World was truly one of the highest species, standing on equal footing with the gods!

According to legend, after the end of the ancient Five Dragons' Reign, when the High Elves migrated to the Reizel World and took on the responsibility of restoring life, the Dragon Clan migrated away from the Reizel World. The one or two that appeared afterward were always solitary individuals—either dragons exiled from their clan or lost young dragons. Every appearance stirred up a bloody storm throughout the Reizel World!

In the end, most were either taken back by the Dragon Clan themselves or subdued by the descent of a god. Every single incident became a chapter in an epic legend!

There were still traces of "dragons" in Reizel, but they merely carried Dragon Clan Bloodline!

That was not fair, boss.

"Supervision is my duty. You are the first mortal to draw my attention. How interesting. I wonder whether I should correct you."

The self-muttering voice paid no attention to Xuan Ye's thoughts and seemed quite interested. However, when he heard the final word, "correct," Xuan Ye inexplicably felt a chill from the depths of his soul.

"Haha, in the name of... I bestow upon you the Dragon Envoy's Seal. As a Dragon Envoy beneath my seat, do not disgrace this identity..."

While Xuan Ye was struggling internally, the magnificent being seemed to have made its choice. A ray of light descended from the heavens and imprinted itself onto the back of Xuan Ye's hand. Then, after a dizzying sensation, his vision went black and he lost consciousness...

Thanks to btllk, Soft Candy丶Extreme Speechless, One-Handed Sword, and the other readers for your tips... And to the reader who helped advertise the book, I'm truly sorry—you set out a little too early. There were actually some clues left earlier~ But you won't be seeing it for a while.