Painting Fragment "Waste Stone"

Once the luminous footprints that appeared out of nowhere were discovered, they instantly accelerated and disappeared from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

Everyone rushed to give chase, some using magic to block the way, others rushing up to surround and intercept them.

But the unidentified object that left the footprints was not only incredibly fast, but also seemed to be quite small. Si Telan spotted the direction and pounced, but she couldn't catch it!

As the footprints grew further and further away, suddenly an endless stream of plants burst forth from the entire corridor ahead, filling it up in the blink of an eye!

"Well done!" Si Telan praised, "That's how you block it."

But when she turned around to see which clever person had cast the spell, her expression froze, and she silently turned her head away again.

Because it was Li Zinei who unleashed her Ultimate Skill, she remained expressionless, but her face paled slightly as she said, "If you keep spacing out, that thing will escape."

"I wasn't spacing out," Si Telan muttered, quickly disappearing into the corridor, where the dense plants made way for her.

A short while later, she returned, clutching a struggling silver worm.

[Dung Beetle (Invisible Version)]

In Gong Qiying's design, it will hang on the ceiling of the corridor outside the third spade room. When the adventurer opens the Spades Door, it will quickly slip away, leaving only faint footprints as a clue.

In practical terms, if Wei En Ma hadn't discovered it, the others would probably have wandered around here until they died without finding the Dung Beetle. It's small and fast, no wonder Jia Paer and the others didn't notice it either.

Li Zinei's magic was a great help; if the plants hadn't blocked it, the Dung Beetle would have deliberately chosen to burrow into the monster pile, and it would have taken at least three or four tries to slow it down.

At first, Gong Qiying considered using the magical creature "Niffler" to replace the Dung Beetle, but after thinking about it, he still didn't want to see the cute little animal being killed. So the dung Dung Beetle was fine; no one would cook Dung Beetle, right?

"What should we do with this?"

Just as this question was posed, the Dung Beetle suddenly trembled and died.

Si Telan blinked innocently and said, "I swear I didn't do anything."

"It's alright." Wei En Ma shook her head, because after the Dung Beetle died, it turned into ashes, and a purple light fell out of the ashes, which was the Red Heart Key.

These elves were among the first adventurers to discover the Heart Key.

"It's hard to catch this bug in an emergency, and even if you do catch it, you have to kill it to get the key. It's so authentic, this is the real Zane Dungeon design."

As Si Telan sighed, she went to open the heart door. It was unclear whether her words were a heartfelt exclamation or sarcasm.

"Crack—"

"Huh?"

The lock is clearly open, but the door won't budge.

No, it's not that they can't pull it open, but rather that there's a force inside the room resisting them from opening the door!

"Little sister, it's time to train your weakling strength. Let me take over." Mei Erjia said with a smile as she pulled on the doorknob.

"Huh!?" She then showed a surprised expression, and even with all her might, she still couldn't pull it.

"I'll give it a try." The Cool Elf Bro also arrived, looking confident, but a few seconds later, he looked completely bewildered.

Seeing that the three strongest arm wrestlers in the team had all been defeated, Li Zinei tilted her head and, on a whim, grabbed the doorknob.

With a creak, the door opened easily.

"Ooh ooh!"

The elves were in an uproar. Who would have thought that the slender Li Zinei could so easily open a door that even Si Telan couldn't open!

"So you're a hidden arm wrestler!"

Li Zinei tilted her head, puzzled. She really had just pulled the door open gently, so why couldn't the others open it?

Could it be that I'm actually a hidden superhero?

She raised her thin arm and tried to flex her muscles. How could there be such a frail strongman?

No, it has nothing to do with strength. It must be that Li Zinei possesses some kind of condition that the other three do not have.

Wei En Ma thought to herself, but now that the door was open, she could think about the reasons later; it was time to gather information.

"Star Magic!"

The moment she came into contact with the Glintstone Pebble, she realized that Star Magic was something that aligned with her ideals, and she wanted to absorb all the relevant knowledge in this academy!

When she finished looking at the two murals and saw the Magician Ball, she realized that the monster contained extremely pure brilliance, a deeper level of Star Magic, like the "evolution" of the wizards lingering in the Classroom Area, further enhanced by the brilliance stone shield.

Therefore, she put forward a bold hypothesis: the Magician Ball was transformed from a magician who studied Star Magic!

This was just her subjective guess, so she didn't explain it to the other elves, in case she guessed wrong and was proven wrong.

Wei En Ma thought that since the Spade Room revealed the origin of the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy and the evolution of the suspected magicians, the Hearts Room should explain why this phenomenon occurred, right?

With this expectation in mind, she looked into the room, but—

"A portrait?" Others voiced the doubts that had been on her mind.

A portrait, several sizes larger than the paintings hanging in the hallway, hangs on the wall directly opposite the entrance.

He was a man dressed in an ordinary mage's robe. He was unremarkable no matter how you looked at him. He had plain features and kind but somewhat evasive eyes. He seemed like the kind of nice guy who lacked confidence. Such people are usually easy targets to be bullied.

The only thing that's noticeable is probably his bald head.

Even the most disheveled magician in the outside world pays attention to his appearance; being bald is quite rare.

But the key question is, who is this?

His name wasn't written nearby. Perhaps, like the portraits outside, there was a biographical introduction of this bald magician on the back of the painting?

Wei En Ma walked over, intending to take it off, but stopped just a few steps away because an invisible protective shield blocked her way.

With this protective shield in place, no outsider can touch this portrait.

This inevitably raises questions: Who exactly is this man, and why is his portrait hung here separately? If he, like the people in the portraits outside, made significant contributions to the academy, then why isn't it hung alongside them?

With deepest respect, my mentor.

Suddenly, a line of text appeared before her eyes.

A tutor? So this person is indeed a tutor at the magic academy.

Along with the text, a spirit also appeared.

The spirit wore unfamiliar armor, yet one couldn't help but associate it with White Wolf. He held a simple staff in his left hand and Greatsword that emitted a light almost like moonlight in his right. He bowed slightly to the portrait of the bald magician in respect.

This line of text must have been left by him, so it's safe to say he was this magician's student.

Although it was only in the form of a spirit, Wei En Ma keenly sensed that this person was very strong, extremely strong, and could kill her in an instant!

She involuntarily took a step back, only then realizing that everyone was staring at her.

"Ahem." Wei En Ma turned her head away with a normal expression, her gaze towards the portrait now filled with respect.

To be revered as a mentor by an unknown powerhouse, he must be a master of magic.

Thinking of this, Wei En Ma felt a little envious. If the student was so strong, then the mentor would definitely be able to enjoy wealth and luxury for the rest of his life, living a carefree and happy life.

As the spirit dissipated, new writing appeared.

Offer up runes, only ten runes required.

What is Rune?

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Just then, Si Telan suddenly pulled out a coin-like object from her pouch. Its shape was irregular and it emitted a faint golden light. She said, "Could this be mine?"

[Golden Rune (1)], this is an item that she and Leon obtained when they explored the academy, and each of them received one.

"Give it a try," Wei En Ma nodded.

Si Telan placed the Golden Rune outside the protective shield. A flash of light appeared, and the spot where the rune had been was now a purple dot of light.

Can you really exchange for purple items?!

She quickly picked up the speck of light, but paused for a moment when she saw what it was.

[One of the Painting Fragment, "Waste Stone"]

Fragments of a painting depicting the life story of Topus, a magician who called himself "Waste Stone," offer a glimpse into a dilapidated church, the place where he first met his student.

If we could collect Painting Fragment, perhaps we could recreate the story from that time within the Painting World.

New Painting Fragment!?

This is the third Painting Fragment to be discovered, following Wolf Knight and Hawkwood!

Si Telan spent some time explaining to everyone what Painting Fragment were, and then everyone gained some understanding of their value.

"It should fetch a good price." Mei Erjia's eyes gleamed.

"Is your empty brain propped up by copper coins?" Li Zinei retorted, and the two began to bicker again.

"Where can we collect the remaining fragments?" Wei En Ma asked.

Si Telan shook her head. The appearance of the Painting Fragment was random. No one knew if a random spot of light on the roadside might be a fragment. In other words, collecting them all depended on luck and time.

Wei En Ma nodded, showing no disappointment. Luck was hard to say, but time was something elves had no shortage of.

Although the Hearts Room doesn't hold the secrets of Star Magic, the presence of a mysterious magic master is enough to pique her interest.

She began to live in the Bede City, and perhaps even in Lake Liurnia, until luck and time brought the remaining fragments.

Also, so this magic master's name is Topus? Why does he call himself Waste Stone?

New questions arose in her mind.

At this point, the secrets of all the printed rooms in the Magic Classroom area have been explored, and the major mysteries have been solved. Only a few minor puzzles remain for other adventurers to solve.

People's enthusiasm and speed in figuring things out are quite high. How long has the new area been open? Less than two weeks, I think.

I have a feeling that after letting the adventurers get used to the different rules of the Val Dungeon, they will be able to conquer the first themed level within two months.

The elves didn't linger in the Classroom Area and headed straight for the seal, where Mugram, who guarded it, caused them some trouble.

Almost all the elves possessed magical abilities, which provided Mugram's [Carian Retaliation] with a continuous stream of Magic Glintblade, turning it into a form of suppressive firepower!

But after a hard-fought battle, the team emerged victorious, all thanks to Si Telan.

Because she had thoroughly studied the strategy guides written by Lu Lu Wo and others!

Touch the seal, a faint light appears, and you are teleported.

She could almost smell the moist air of Lake Liurnia, a place that, despite the many places that had left her with psychological scars, was beautiful.

She was really looking forward to seeing the Elf Race's expressions when they saw the scenery of the lake district; maybe they would exclaim in surprise.

After a minute-long wait in the darkness, Si Telan opened her eyes again, only to find—

Where did everyone go?

Before her stood a huge, blazing bonfire, and she was the only one standing in Academy Gate Town!

How did I end up here?

Meanwhile, the elves, who had been carelessly tossed into a corner of the lake area, were also completely bewildered.

Where did Si Telan go?