Twin Stars

After passing through the long-sealed gate, Ryan led the way into the cave. To his surprise, the air beyond the door wasn't as stale and foul as he'd imagined. Instead of smelling old and rotten, it carried the scent of mountain soil and grass. From this small detail, Ryan immediately realized how powerful the ventilation system in this ancient "laboratory" buried deep within the mountains was. It gave him a sense of the whole from just one part, and he couldn't help feeling both eager and apprehensive about the trial ahead.

The Mages Guild wizards from Waterdeep had fallen far behind Ryan and the others. Seeing this, Ryan called to his companions to keep up, then deftly cast a magical shield over himself. The Teleport spell on the Ring of Aelinsus, worn on his slender, fair finger, stood ready as well. Confident he could react to any sudden trouble, Ryan resolutely took the lead.

After winding through several bends in the passage beyond the cave entrance, they reached a flight of descending marble steps. They followed the stairs onward. At first, the passage was narrow, but after a few dozen steps, it opened up into a broad space.

Passing through a stone doorway, Ryan's eyes lit up. A vast, empty underground chamber lay before him.

The floor, paved with fine white marble, gleamed with a soft luster beneath the bright light overhead. Delicate cloud patterns were carved into the uneven tiles. Several enormous white jade pillars, symmetrically arranged, supported the entire hall. Their ingenious structural design and distribution of weight not only let them bear the pressure from above but also lent the underground chamber a magnificent grandeur.

At the center of the spacious chamber, the young wizards from the Mages Guild were split into two clearly distinct groups, apparently arguing over something.

The wizards had been impeccably well-behaved in Alexander's presence outside. But once inside the ruins, their internal conflicts surfaced at once. The two groups faced off before the white jade pillar in the center, led by a beautiful, alluring red-haired woman and a scowling young man in finery.

Ryan paid no attention to the Mages Guild's internal squabbles. His gaze was drawn at once to the white jade pillar in the center of the hall, carved with dragons and phoenixes. The majestic dragon coiled around the column and the colorful phoenix, set against the plain white marble floor patterned with clouds, made for a magnificent, almost ethereal sight.

The familiar style and feeling nearly brought Ryan to tears. He was absolutely certain the predecessor hidden beneath layer upon layer of history had been from China, too.

In Ryan's mind, the image of that powerful, fearsome transmigrator had gradually changed. He no longer saw a mad scientist, but a figurine-loving otaku, a hardcore xianxia enthusiast, and a hands-on artisan with maxed-out crafting skills.

Kasla, the Dwarf shield warrior behind Ryan, saw him standing stock-still at the exit. He came over and patted Ryan on the thigh, asking curiously, "Ryan, what are you standing there for?"

Following Ryan's gaze, the Dwarf spotted the exquisite column carved from white jade. "By Moradin! That's a huge chunk of moonstone! Ancient mages must've been loaded! But why carve such strange, deformed winged snakes and firebirds on it?" The blunt Dwarf looked regretfully at what he considered a waste of fine material.

Ryan's face darkened at that. He wanted to grab the Dwarf by the collar and shout in his ear, "Those are divine dragons, rulers of all scales who can swallow rivers, and phoenixes, divine birds born with the five virtues who soar across the seas! They're not some deformed winged snakes and firebirds!"

But they were in another world. The people of Faerûn had only ever seen the burly Chromatic Dragons and Metallic Dragons. A sense of lonely exile welled up in Ryan's heart, and he lost the urge to argue with the foolish Dwarf.

With business to attend to, Ryan quickly composed himself and set aside his melancholy. He strolled into the hall, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

The red-haired woman's lips curled slightly when she saw Ryan. Her clear voice barely concealed her domineering air. "All right, no need to argue anymore. One each will do perfectly."

Swick's gloomy gaze swept over Ryan, and he sneered. "Him? A pretty boy who got in by riding on his teacher's coattails? Valera, are you still asleep? Is your head not clear yet?"

"Exactly, exactly. Even I'm better than that pretty boy. You saw how he swallowed his anger and cowered earlier." Spike, standing behind Swick, readily chimed in, dutifully playing the yes-man.

The fiery red-haired beauty shot him a cold look. "Watch your tone, Swick. And keep your dog in line. Your uncle can't protect you here."

Swick pursed his lips in annoyance but avoided a direct confrontation with the savage, short-tempered woman before him. It wasn't as if he was afraid of the crazy woman. "The greater good," he silently reminded himself.

Still fuming, Swick turned to Spike, who had meekly slunk aside as soon as Valera glared at him, and angrily kicked him. "You useless piece of trash."

Ryan ignored the farce unfolding before him. He calmly walked over to where the Mages Guild wizards had gathered, and only then realized what they'd been arguing about.

Rounding the enormous jade pillar, about three meters in diameter, Ryan saw that at the far end of the chamber, the path ahead split into three separate routes.

Beneath the largest coiling-dragon pillar in the hall, a line was carved in sweeping Netherese script across its gleaming base: "Three roads, three directions. Only those acknowledged by wisdom may obtain the ultimate treasure."

Ryan was speechless. The predecessor was clearly a master of riddles. He guessed the group had been arguing over which path to take. The two factions were obviously at each other's throats, and if they split into three groups, neither would trust the other. Who knew whether the other side might sabotage them along the way?

"How about we split up and explore the three paths? Each group can pick one and rely on its own abilities." Looking at the tense group before him, Ryan calmly offered his suggestion.

Swick was about to sneer, but the red-haired woman cut him off with a haughty smile. The dashing woman nodded at Ryan, her tone edged with arrogance. "Good! That's exactly what I want. In the end, it all comes down to strength, no matter how much we argue. Let's do that. Swick, are you dragging your feet because you're afraid you can't measure up?"

The red-haired beauty gave Swick a disdainful sidelong glance. The simple provocation worked as well as ever. Swick's eyes flashed with anger and frustration, and he readily agreed to the proposal.

While pleased that her plan had worked, Valera genuinely felt sorry for the Mages Guild elder Swick. Having a nephew with so little tact, such an arrogant streak, and such a quick temper must have given the man endless headaches, even if the boy's magical talent was exceptional.

The three groups went their separate ways at the fork beyond the hall. As they parted, the red-haired beauty tossed Ryan a flirtatious wink and laughed with queenly abandon. "Handsome, big sis is looking forward to seeing what you can do."

Swick, who was about to enter the middle passage, glanced back at Ryan. His gaze was full of jealousy and malice. He mouthed, "You're not getting away with this," then turned and strode into the passage.

Jelona watched the red-haired woman flirt with Ryan, her displeasure plain. A woman's intuition told her she was facing a serious rival. She lightly poked Ryan in the back with a slender, pale fingertip and asked, "Who is that woman? She's so arrogant. I don't like the way she looks at you."

Ryan saw Jelona's unhappy expression and couldn't help smiling. "That's Valera, one of the brightest members of this generation of the Waterdeep Mages Guild, and one of the people known as the Twin Stars. She specializes in blowing her opponents to pieces with School of Evocation magic. But she really is powerful."

The Half-elf Ranger silently compared herself with Valera. Their looks were evenly matched, and she had a slightly better figure, but she couldn't match Valera's strength—and she wasn't a Mage, either. She immediately started brooding and muttering to herself.

Meanwhile, the Dwarf had been quietly examining the jade pillars in the underground chamber when he spotted the obvious question. "If they're the Twin Stars, who's the other one?"

Ryan paused, his expression turning a little strange as a smile tugged at his lips. He glanced at the middle passage in the ruins and looked at the Dwarf without saying a word.

"Wait, don't tell me it's that arrogant, pompous little twerp?!" The Dwarf stared at the passage, his mouth falling open in shock.

Ryan only nodded silently, making it clear he had no comment.

As Ryan had gathered information, he'd paid close attention to the Mages Guild's leading figures of this generation. When he'd heard the name Twin Stars, he'd dug deeper: Valera, the Red-Haired Witch, was obsessed with the power of fire and ice, had Red Dragon blood in her veins, and had a temperament as blazing and unrestrained as her fiery hair. Then there was Swick, whose talent and strength were impressive, and whose wealth was so vast he was practically rich enough to rival a country.

Unlike Valera, who had earned the name "Red-Haired Witch" through bloody battles during her trials, Swick owed his reputation to his powerful family and his uncle, an elder of the Mages Guild. That was how he'd earned his place as one of the Twin Stars.

As a result, this boy, who had grown up indulged by his family and doted on by his uncle, had become arrogant and conceited. He strutted around the Mages Guild and gathered a circle of sycophantic underlings. The only person he feared was the Red-Haired Witch, who would beat him up first and ask questions later whenever he provoked her. There were even rumors that Swick deliberately provoked Valera every time just to get her attention—and enjoy the beating.

When Ryan had first heard all this, he'd felt as if he'd stumbled upon some cheesy melodrama from another world. But now that he'd become one of the characters in it, he'd lost all interest in watching from the sidelines. Remembering the malicious look Swick had given him when they parted, Ryan could only sigh. "Beautiful women really are trouble magnets. The more beautiful they are, the more trouble they bring."

Putting his scattered thoughts aside, Ryan looked at the last passage, sighed softly, and called to his companions before stepping into the unknown.