Cosmic Shuttle

Allen was a man of resolute character; faced with challenges, he felt neither fear nor the urge to retreat.

Allen drew his wand, pointed it at the Tower Structure Atlas, and whispered, "Move." A blue beam shot from the wand, striking the tower. A large "4" appeared above it, and the tower model on the screen advanced four tracks.

The tower Allen occupied suddenly began to drift. Through the window, Allen discovered that the outside was the actual cosmos. Could he truly be floating in interstellar space?

For a moment, Allen found it difficult to distinguish illusion from reality.

The magical flames were unable to warm Allen, and the other decorations in the tower were frozen one by one. Aside from the flickering magical light screen, Allen felt as if he were in a world of ice sculptures.

The top priority was to continue the cosmic shuttle game. Allen decisively pointed his wand at the tower model and shouted, "Move!" A large "8" appeared above the model, and it traversed eight tracks along the crisscrossing lines of light.

The real tower Allen occupied continued to drift, soon coming to a halt once more. Outside, the sky was filled with red light; it was a transition from ice to fire, the cold turning into scorching heat in an instant. The edges of the building, nearing the incredibly hot planet, began to melt under the high temperature. If he did not evacuate quickly, he feared he would lose his life.

Only then did Allen realize he was not fearless; he, too, had something he dreaded: the unknown.

The tower shuttled into an asteroid belt, its sturdy outer eaves shattered by the impacts. "Oh, my luck is terrible!" Allen smiled bitterly.

Allen wanted to finish the game as quickly as possible. His spell struck the model rapidly: "6!" A cold, feminine voice rang out, "This is a peaceful region of the starry sky; you may rest and recuperate."

Creak, creak. The wall of the tower's main hall containing the fireplace rotated open, revealing a pile of materials shimmering with various colors, with a massive Alchemy Furnace standing behind them.

The hint was clear: to continue clearing the level, he first needed to repair the tower. It wasn't just a matter of waving a wand and casting "Reparo." Many parts of the tower had been completely destroyed and vanished without a trace during the previous shuttles.

Allen picked up a thin book that had suddenly appeared on the table—the Tower Structure Atlas. It seemed this stage was truly about recuperation, which meant not just resting, but also repairing.

Allen looked at the massive pile of materials and realized that while the previous levels tested their ability to handle crises, this one likely tested comprehension, craftsmanship, and perhaps courage. Successfully attaching the refined materials back to their original positions clearly required leaving the interior of the tower and making contact with the outer cosmos.

Of course, for now, Allen had to refine the repair materials first. They walked into the material room; the atlas provided by the tower was truly miraculous, marking every damaged location and the corresponding materials needed.

Allen called upon the system to pull up the insights of the ancient alchemy master Geber, obtained from the previous Lizard-man mission. He flipped through them in his mind, searching for a method he could adapt. "Found it!" Allen was ecstatic. As expected of a system-provided item, it not only offered alchemy methods but also techniques to raise the flame temperature, which could effectively reduce refining time.

With the help of Geber's insights, Allen successfully ignited the furnace and soon had all the materials prepared.

Allen transformed his Miaomiao Wizard Robe into a mask to ensure he could still breathe oxygen once he stepped outside the tower.

Carrying a portion of the materials, Allen darted outside. Sure enough, there was no gravity; he floated in the air with nothing to push off from. Fortunately, his Neptune was still in his system storage. Allen summoned it, swung his leg over, and found he could control it with ease. "Reparo! Reparo!" The materials flew out one by one, restoring the damaged areas to their original state—no, they even possessed a bit more luster than before.

Allen downed his now-lukewarm black tea and continued to shuttle between the inside and outside of the tower. After an unknown amount of time, he successfully repaired the tower.

Allen calmed his breathing, which had been quickened by the strenuous activity, then raised his wand to cast another spell and continue the game. A large "9" was marked above the model, and Allen braced himself, ready to face the upcoming challenge.

Suddenly, Allen was isolated by a light barrier, and that cold, feminine voice rang out again, "Immense wealth or continuing forward—you can only choose one. If you leave with the wealth, you will never be able to return here; if you continue forward, you may end up with nothing. Please make your choice within ten minutes."

Wealth or continuing forward—how would Allen choose?

Wealth or knowledge—how would Allen choose?