You Need Not Atone

[Star Tear Drop]

Atonement in clean spring water can turn enemies into friends.

[In the past, the stars in the night sky governed destiny. This is a replica of a historical relic that has been passed down, and it only works within the range of Magical Radiance.]

"Turn enemies into friends?"

Luo Jieer's first thought was of those Living Dead mages. If he used this item, could it stop them from attacking him and the others?

That's probably impossible. The other party has turned into Living Dead and has no rationality whatsoever.

But I mean, what if it were possible?

He turned and handed the Star Tear Drop to Tu Erqi and the others, and shared his guess.

"Um"

Tu Erqi pondered for a moment, Jia Paer fell into thought, He De Si's eyes darted around.

He suddenly nodded, and at that moment, Tu Erqi and Jia Paer said in unison:

"Give it a try?"

The three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with a desire to explore the unknown.

As everyone knows, if we're talking about how good mages are at causing trouble, then no one dares to claim the top spot, not even adventurers!

When He De Si was young, he and his mentor even participated in an experiment to see if feeding demons a vegetarian diet would result in them becoming vegetative.

Since Star Tear Drop can be obtained here, and the process of acquiring them is not particularly difficult, it's perfectly fine to use them here without feeling any regret.

Moreover, it won't work once they leave the dungeon, which clearly means they're supposed to use it here.

The only problem is, where can we find clean spring water?

As any theatergoer knows, if a spear appears in a play, it will inevitably pierce some unfortunate soul later on.

Everyone believed that there must be a spring here that could be used to obtain Star Tear Drop, perhaps hidden in the remaining two Spade rooms.

After looting the spoils—all of which Luo Jieer carried on his back—they opened the second Spades Door.

It also has murals, and it's also a storage room.

This time, the murals didn't have the same awe-inspiring effect as before; they simply depicted the process of the magician and the growth and expansion of Raya Lucaria.

The magicians' attire became quite different; they gradually began to wear luminous stone shields and branched out into different factions based on their numerous classrooms, learning different kinds of magic.

Throughout the mural, there is always a female figure, wearing a crescent-shaped crown and using magic that is somewhat different from Star Magic, but more like moon magic.

Full Moon Queen?

Luo Jieer remembered seeing similar figures on the wall, and although the little figures in the mural were somewhat abstract, he still recognized them.

Under the leadership of the Full Moon Queen, the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy is thriving, and the magicians are constantly exploring magic, trying to find something deeper.

Although everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, it was as if a storm was brewing beneath the surface. A strange feeling arose in everyone's hearts, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what was so eerie about it.

The eeriness reached its peak when the next image appeared.

A pyroxene dome, a pyroxene dome that filled the entire wall.

Each face on the hood has a hollow, gaping mouth, as if screaming silently. The dark eye sockets seem to be looking out at people. They are not arranged neatly, but scattered and densely packed together, as if they are merging and invading each other.

A closer look reveals that these pyroxene domes, clustered together, form a large circle.

It's as round as a star!

"Null--"

The murals have been restored to normal.

Everyone looked at each other, completely baffled as to what this meant.

What do the pyroxene stones arranged in a circle represent?

I don't understand it at all. There's too much missing key information, making it impossible to make reasonable inferences. If you try to guess, you can only come up with completely nonsensical things.

However, after seeing the murals, the magic Classroom Area, which was originally only "slightly dangerous" in everyone's mind, now has the label of "eerie".

Tu Erqi used Image Stone to capture the mural, carefully preserving it before it became time to loot it.

The pile of junk here consists of unfinished magic wands, just like the magician's robes. Two usable magic wands were also found.

I have a feeling the next room will have the complete set of Raya Lucarian Magician, maybe it'll be the Shining Stone Shield?

With such expectations in mind, they arrived at the third room.

As soon as Luo Jieer inserted the key, he sensed something was wrong, because the doors to the other two rooms opened inwards, while this one opened outwards.

Was it a mistake made during the renovation or something else?

Before Luo Jieer could finish processing his thoughts, a cold, large face suddenly loomed in front of him.

The stone-carved human face, the hollow features, and the cold aura are undoubtedly porphyry!

But what appeared at the entrance was a giant sphere made up of different headgear stacked together!

Magician Ball

Wow!

Luo Jieer was startled by the sudden attack. Before he could retreat, his vision suddenly went completely black, and a huge suction force kept pulling him.

From the outside, it looked like he had been swallowed halfway by the Magician Ball!

Jia Paer reacted quickly and pulled him out. At the same time, magical fluctuations suddenly appeared above their heads, and beams of magical energy descended!

"Buzz—"

The Magic Shield trembled continuously, and with Tu Erqi present, these beams of light would not be able to harm them.

Taking advantage of this moment, the Magician Ball was cut in two by Jia Paer and turned into ashes and disappeared.

From the moment Luo Jieer was swallowed by the ball to the moment he killed the Magician Ball, the entire process took less than three seconds.

Luo Jieer only belatedly cried out when the Magician Ball started to dissipate.

"Damn it, you scared me!"

Still shaken, he patted his chest and rushed forward, kicking the half-dissipated Magician Ball twice.

Damn it, they've even learned how to kill enemies by opening Zane Dungeon!

After venting his anger, Luo Jieer paused for a moment when he looked inside the room.

Because there are no more murals here.

The house was empty, containing only one monster, the Magician Ball, and a fountain.

Ah, there's a bunch of unfinished sapphire stone domes hanging on the wall. Sure enough, only two of them have special effects.

"I think I see stars," Luo Jieer murmured to himself after putting on the hood.

[Kalos Hood]

[A radiant stone shield worn by apprentices who have made a name for themselves on the path of exploration at the magic academy Raya Lucaria. The wearer's perception of magic is enhanced, but their body inevitably becomes slightly weak.]

The oldest Kalos Classroom, considers the magician Azur as its foundation and explores comet-like magic.

Simply put, it increases intelligence and reduces energy.

But what energy do magicians need? They can just hide in the back and unleash their magic.

It's not like I'm Drangleic's wielding two golden chicken legs like a heavily armored mage, so there's no need to worry about stamina.

In the blink of an eye, Luo Jieer and the other person were wearing the Radiant Stone shields and didn't want to take them off. The feeling of gaining insight into magic was really great, as if their minds had been broadened.

"He De Si" Tu Erqi said speechlessly, "Why are you wearing one of these too?"

She felt the headgear looked like a prank and was too ugly.

"I won't take it off."

He De Si spoke his first words in nearly a month!

Tu Erqi was surprised. Did this radiant stone shield have some kind of magic?

Surprisingly, it made the extremely withdrawn He De Si speak on his own initiative!

She looked at Luo Jieer, who stiffened and obediently handed the hood to Tu Erqi.

Then she also made a sound of surprise.

Wow, this thing really works amazingly! I feel like I can use even more powerful magic now! Once you put it on, you don't want to take it off. No wonder the magicians outside are still wearing this even after they've turned into Living Dead.

Tu Erqi gently stroked the smooth surface of the headgear, and suddenly noticed Luo Jieer looked somewhat dejected.

"Um"

She hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances with Jia Paer, and after confirming that the other party did not want it, she handed the hood to Luo Jieer.

"Oh, what's going on?" Luo Jieer looked surprised.

"Here you go, this doesn't suit my taste, it's ugly." She acted as if she didn't care at all. "I'll come back for it if I want it, so you can just take it without any guilt."

She walked straight to the fountain and, without waiting for the other person to thank her, said, "Isn't there spring water here? Let's try the Star Tear Drop."

Luo Jieer looked at Tu Erqi with gratitude; he was prepared to hand over all the spoils of this expedition.

He took out the Star Tear Drop, but suddenly discovered a problem.

How do I use this?

After a moment of confusion, everyone decided to stand together in the fountain and pour the Star Tear Drop into the water.

Nothing happened; everyone seemed to see a flash of starlight.

"That's it?"

No one could figure out whether the Star Tear Drop had worked or not. After standing in the water for a while, they decided to go outside and find a monster to test it on.

"Hello." Luo Jieer slowly approached a dazed mage, and as he drew closer, the mage surprisingly did not attack him!

Could it be that...

"Ghrū!"

A Warrior Pot fell from the sky, nearly killing Luo Jieer. The moment the Warrior Pot hit the ground, the mage turned around and launched an attack.

So this guy was acting as bait!

Your heart is so dirty!

After a series of experiments, everyone finally came to a conclusion.

Star Tear Drop are useless.

Ah, of course, it's also possible that they used the wrong method. Let's try a different method next time we find the Star Tear Drop.

To summarize their exploration, they obtained two Magician Set, learned some stories about the origins of Star Magic from the murals, and encountered a strange Magician Ball.

Luo Jieer: "The inside of the Magician Ball is warm, which is completely different from its cold exterior."

He De Si: "Radiant Stone Cover, good."

Tu Erqi: "The origin of Star Magic is quite beautiful."

"Alright, let's hurry up and go to the Research Area." Jia Paer was too lazy to give a summary. Since he couldn't find the Heart Key anyway, he might as well just go and fight the Caria Knight.

After a hurried journey, the group stood at the entrance of the courtyard, quietly observing the Caria Knight, Mugram.

"You can tell he's strong just from his stance." Tu Erqi patted Luo Jieer on the back.

"Go and kill him."

"I?"

Luo Jieer looked surprised again, like a little monster who had been sent to eliminate Tang Shanzang and the Great Sage Who Deceived Heaven.

"You ambush him! After you get a hit, we'll go for it. Good luck!"

He reluctantly stood up, made thorough preparations, this time even eliminating his footsteps and scent, and tiptoed towards Mugram, using Cast Sound.

Oh no!

He suddenly realized that he had Cast Sound too close to Jia Paer and the others, and they would be discovered if he continued like this!

He quickly took two steps, and just as he closed in on Mugram, his rapier thrust out fiercely—

"What are you doing here? This is a seal, get away!" A voice came from under Mugram's helmet!

Huh?

This sudden turn of events startled Jia Paer. How come the other party could communicate this time? Wasn't he coming straight for me the last time we met?

Wait a minute, could it be the effect of Star Tear Drop?

He suddenly stood up; this was a good opportunity to exchange information, but...

"Pfft—"

The sound of flesh being pierced by a weapon could be heard.

Mugram stared at the dagger piercing his chest, then turned to meet the gaze of Luo Jieer was sweating profusely.

"It's over."

Mugram was furious.

"You despicable bastard!"

And so, the battle began.

The attacked Mugram refused to communicate with the others, focusing solely on eliminating these despicable outsiders.

Various magical effects flew everywhere, Caria's Richest Man displayed his outstanding combat power under the siege, easily handling three opponents at once in a short time.

Huh? Why is it one against three?

Luo Jieer was shot and is being executed.

Accompanied by cool sound effects, as Mugram's straight sword pierced Luo Jieer's body, Jia Paer and his men launched their attack.

Executions here aren't like invincible frames in Yugi; Mugram is injured while sending his opponent back to the campfire!

When Luo Jieer rushed back to the courtyard, the battle was already over.

"Is there a reward?" he blinked and asked.

While treating everyone's injuries, Tu Erqi tossed him something.

Upon taking it, I saw that it was a medal.

[Caria Small Crest]

The amulet bearing the royal crest on the shield can slightly reduce the physical strain of using Weapon Skill.

[It is said that in the past, only those who directly served the Princess were awarded this badge among the Caria Knight. This badge is a replica of the original, Mugram used them to inspire his subordinate Caria Knight.]

It should be a great magical item for Warrior, but it's only useful when using Weapon Skill weapons produced in the Zane Dungeon, so it's basically tied to that dungeon.

"Hey, let's go."

Tu Erqi's reminder brought Luo Jieer back to reality from his thoughts, and when he looked again, he saw that everyone was already touching the seal.

Ahead lies the legendary Research Area where many professors conduct experiments. What exactly is inside?

Filled with anticipation, Luo Jieer also infused his magic with his own.

The seal emitted bursts of light, and then everything went black before his eyes—truly pitch black, the kind where he couldn't see anything at all.

The classic teleportation effect is the same as going through the portal to the dungeon; just wait for your vision to return to normal.

But isn't this wait a bit too long?

It felt like half a minute had passed, whereas a normal teleport in the Zane Dungeon only takes one or two seconds.

What happened? Is there a problem?

Luo Jieer hadn't considered another reason: this teleportation required traversing a certain distance.

Their destination was no longer the Zane Dungeon, but something else.

A melodious voice rang in their ears. Their vision remained pitch black, but suddenly white magical characters appeared before them, signifying that they had arrived in a completely new area:

Lake Liurnia

A region teeming with life and amazing creatures.

Thank you all for your generous donations and monthly passes!

After my busy work schedule comes to a standstill, I will try to find time to do something more...