Magic Omnipotence Cards

Amidst the wreckage of the testing grounds, the ferocious draconic creature cursed and grumbled as he inspected his body. His tough, metallic-sheened scales had perfectly deflected the arrows, but while the hard plates stopped the tips from piercing his flesh, they could not negate the kinetic energy. Waves of impact had caused Ryan a fair amount of discomfort and chest tightness, though the Dragon Blood Potion and the robust physique granted by his partial dragon transformation allowed him to recover quickly.

As soon as the arrow rain ceased, Jelona and her two companions stepped forward to Ryan's side, inquiring about his condition.

"Ryan, are you alright? Are you hurt?" The half-elf ranger's concern was written all over her face, her urgent tone filled with worry and care.

Ryan slowly calmed down from his state of heart-pounding agitation. Perhaps due to the deep-seated violence and arrogance inherent in draconic blood, his emotions were significantly more volatile while in his partial dragon form. The mage suppressed his lingering anger and fear, let out a soft sigh, and responded to his partner's concern: "Don't worry, I'm fine. Everything is normal."

Ryan felt a surge of relief. The master of the laboratory had only been testing him, after all; they hadn't used armor-piercing arrows, enchanted bolts, or any of those insane contraptions. Furthermore, the intensity had been at a standard level. If it had been the heavy crossbow from his own Traveler Space, Ryan reckoned he would have been turned into a sieve by now.

"Next time, if I run into a situation like this, this young master is definitely using the Spark to leave. That was just too damn terrifying, holy crap!" Ryan gently stroked the shallow scratches on his red scales, silently making up his mind. This accident had truly scared the life out of him.

"Ahem, well, I need to dispel the dragon form. Could you all please turn around and look away?" Facing the three who were staring at him with such concern, the blonde mage felt immense pressure, his tone hesitant and slightly bashful.

"Huh?" The Dwarf and the barbarian looked blank and confused, but Jelona, seeing Ryan covered from head to toe in red dragon scales with his ferocious, savage nature exposed, seemed to realize something. Her face flushed, and she pulled her teammates toward the corner.

Ryan took several wooden boards from his Traveler Space to construct a makeshift partition before dispelling his dragon form. The fiery red scales retracted into his body one after another, the facial plates on his cheeks vanished, and Ryan's physique returned to normal. The fearsome monster was hidden away within the youth's body, waiting for the day it would be summoned to return.

In the bright light, a lean, explosive torso with skin like snow and sharp, defined muscles was faintly visible beneath his tattered mage robes. A Spark mark was vaguely discernible on his chest, pulsing as if it were alive and burning with wild abandon.

The mage's lustrous, golden hair cascaded down his fair arms, reminiscent of expensive silk, the sunset clouds, or any other beautiful thing that words could hardly describe.

The youth's handsome face was filled with helplessness. Although he had accidentally activated the dragon bloodline within him and gained a cool transformation skill, it seemed to require him to shred his clothes. The jagged spikes and scales that erupted during the dragon transformation always wreaked havoc on Ryan's attire.

Ryan searched through his Traveler Space and found a spare set of clothes, feeling a pang of heartache as he swapped out his ruined mage robes.

The robes Ryan wore were the standard issue for Silverymoon mages, enchanted with a permanent spell-casting acceleration effect and worth a small fortune. The frugal young mage only had three or four of these robes he'd "acquired" for free, so every one lost was one less he had.

Ryan's current wish was to find a set of indestructible clothing, much like the green giant's shorts or the flying hero's outer-wear from his past life. He was deeply envious of that magical, indestructible material.

After tidying up and getting dressed, Ryan stored the wooden boards and the damaged robes back into his space. The consequence of a late-stage hoarder having an infinite storage space was a warehouse filled with a dazzling array of supplies. Ryan felt that as he continued to travel through the multiverse and scavenge along the way, becoming wealthier than an entire nation was no longer just a dream.

"Alright, everyone, come over and let's take a look at the reward this time." Ryan called out to the three who were dutifully leaning against the wall, backs turned as if they were facing the wall in penance.

Hearing this, Jelona and the others turned around. As expected, the half-elf saw Ryan's new outfit: a light blue short-jacket with thin gold trim paired with streamlined hunting trousers, which made the handsome young mage look refined and dashing.

"Hahahaha, so you were just changing clothes, Ryan? I thought it was something serious! We're all men, what are you afraid of? Wait, Jelona, I didn't mean you were a tomboy, don't hit me!" The Dwarf, speaking without thinking, lived up to expectations by earning a pair of eye-rolls from Ryan and a full-force punch from his own teammate.

Ryan didn't say much about it; he quite liked the harmonious and intimate atmosphere of the team. He knew the Dwarf meant no harm, just the usual banter. He waited for everyone to gather around the platform that the Tower Spirit had raised from beneath the floor.

After Ryan completed the trial, the Tower Spirit had remained silent, though it had opened the passage to the next trial. None of them had expected the path to the next level to be hidden behind the steel wall; even Ryan had been stunned when he watched the seamless steel wall deform and split down the middle.

At the same time, the Tower Spirit kept its promise and gave Ryan his reward. It was the ironwood box sitting on the one-square-meter metal platform that had risen from the floor. Ryan wasn't in a hurry to open it; after all, luck was fickle, and he always preferred to tidy up and wash his face before such "unboxing" moments, approaching it with hope and solemnity to test his fortune. This time was no different; he had decided to open it only after changing his clothes.

The group gathered around the iron-blue wooden box, observing it with curiosity. Ryan checked it first—no magical traps, no supernatural fluctuations. It looked plain and unremarkable, but after his previous lessons, Ryan no longer held any hope for the conscience of the ruins' owner.

Ryan summoned an Unseen Servant via a spell. The group stood a full thirty feet away from the box, watching from a distance as Ryan commanded the Unseen Servant to open the ironwood box. It wasn't locked, and the servant opened it with ease.

The opened box sat quietly on the platform, everything appearing normal. The group, who had been on high alert, exchanged glances, laughed a little awkwardly, and gathered around once more.

In the center of the box lay three exquisite cards made of an unknown material. Their mithril-inlaid edges were studded with tiny diamonds, and in the center of each card was a complex magic pattern resembling a vortex, which seemed to possess a hypnotic power that glued everyone's eyes to them.

"Damn it, Magic Omnipotence Cards?!" Ryan exclaimed in surprise as he saw the items in the box, unsure whether to feel happy or depressed.