A Wizard’s Secret

The runes on the Dark Magic ring flickered constantly as if they would disappear at any moment. Runes like these could only be sustained for a short while, so Merlin did not dare delay and instead told Wizard Leo right away, “Teacher, there’s something I have to report. This is regarding His Royal Highness the eighth prince of the Blackmoon royal family. He wishes to invite you to the Imperial City for a discussion!”

The terrifying blood-red third eye on Wizard Leo’s forehead opened slightly and flickered with crimson light. It followed Merlin’s gaze and looked toward the eighth prince.

Even though the eighth prince knew that this was only an image formed by runes, and was not Wizard Leo himself in person, he still felt a chill, and could only force a smile. “Wizard Leo, I sincerely hope that you would come to the Imperial City for a discussion!”

“Heh heh, I’m not interested in the royal family’s mess!”

Wizard Leo laughed coldly as he declined neatly and decisively. It looked like he understood the eighth prince’s intentions. The matters of the royal family were not that simple, and many powerful Spell Casters did not want to get involved.

As soon as Wizard Leo spoke, the runes began to distort and disperse in mid-air, and Wizard Leo’s image was fading quickly as well. Merlin shook his head powerlessly as he looked on. As expected, based on what he knew of Wizard Leo’s personality, he would not come to the Imperial City, what more if it was to help the eighth prince.

“Wizard Leo, I have the Tear of God! It was passed down from the Church of Light…”

In the instant that Wizard Leo’s image was about to vanish, the eighth prince suddenly cried out. Moreover, a transparent glass box had appeared in his hand at an unknown time. Inside the box, a small piece of white crystal lay quietly. It looked like a grain of salt, only it was much larger.

“The Tear of God… It really is the Tear of God!”

The crimson third eye on Wizard Leo’s forehead flashed with a chilling blood-red glow, and for the first time, an expression of astonishment appeared on Wizard Leo’s pale face.

Following that, Wizard Leo’s image dispersed instantly, but right before that, Wizard Leo’s voice could be heard saying, “After ten days, I’ll arrive at the Imperial City in person!”

“Buzz.”

Wizard Leo’s image disappeared rapidly. In the great hall, the eighth prince was unable to hide his excitement as he paced around constantly, muttering, “I’ve finally succeeded. Once Wizard Leo arrives, there’s hope for me. Hehe, Fourth Brother, we still don’t know who’ll emerge as the winner…”

Merlin looked thoughtfully toward the “Tear of God” in the eighth prince’s hand. Something that could affect Wizard Leo so much, making him agree to come to the Imperial City without the slightest hesitation – this Tear of God must be significant.

When he was in the Dark Magic Region, Merlin had never seen Wizard Leo as impatient and hurried as he was just now.

Thus, Merlin took two light steps forward and fixed his gaze upon the Tear of God in the eighth prince’s hand. He asked softly, “Your Royal Highness the eighth prince, can you tell me about the Tear of God? I’m curious as to why this Tear of God could excite Wizard Leo in this manner.”

The eighth prince gave Merlin a deep look, then looked toward the Tear of God in his hand. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he said slowly, “Wizard Merlin, you’re not an outsider, so there’s no harm in telling you! The Tear of God is a name given by the Church of Light, but in reality, the Tear of God had another name in ancient times – God Crystal! It’s crystallized from the divine energy of the gods. There are gods in this world, who are very different from us, Spell Casters. However, the great Spell Casters of the ancient past had banished the gods long ago, leaving only the powerful God of Light, which is the god that the Church of Light worships.

“The God of Light controls Light Element. He controls all Light Element wherever he is. And the God Crystal is formed of endless Light Element by the God of Light through extraordinary techniques. It’s the crystallization of divine energy from the God of Light and differs in essence from elemental crystal stones. Initially, this crystallization of divine energy was only a symbolic artifact even to the Church of Light, without any practical function whatsoever. For Spell Casters, it was the same and served no purpose. However, this God Crystal is immensely useful for Spell Casters who had cultivated Darkness Eye, and might rectify the defects in spell construction caused by the cultivation of Darkness Eye…

“To put it simply, one who bears the curse of Darkness Eye could only use the God Crystal of the God of Light to somewhat alleviate the curse of Darkness Eye…”

Merlin now understood why Wizard Leo would be in such a hurry. Wizard Leo’s cultivation of Darkness Eye had an inherent flaw, resulting in him being unable to become a Seventh-level Spell Caster.

Now the Tear of God from the legends was in the hands of the eighth prince. With the Tear of God, there was a possibility of rectifying Wizard Leo’s defect. Even if it was a slim hope, Wizard Leo would not let it pass.

“Alright, Wizard Leo would only arrive in the Imperial City after ten days. I shall take my leave first then.”

Merlin bowed slightly and prepared to leave.

The eighth prince shook his head, breaking out into a warm smile. “Wizard Merlin, although I’m unable to let you enter the Spell Library for now, I have some Spell Models with me. With your current ability to construct Third-level spells, I believe that these spells would be of some help to Wizard Merlin.”

With that, the eighth prince retrieved from his ring a thread-bound book that was about two fingers thick. Merlin flipped through the book. It contained Third-level Spells of three different types and even included Third-level Darkness-type spells. Furthermore, these were no ordinary spells, but first-rate ones. These must be unique spells which only members of the royal family, like the eighth prince, were entitled to construct. It was not inferior to the Dark Magic Region in the slightest.

“This…”

Merlin looked toward the eighth prince with a hint of suspicion. He had only asked to enter the Spell Library and did not request to obtain Third-level spells immediately, all of which Merlin could use, for they were as good as the Dark Magic Region’s. If he had exchanged for these spells in the Resource Tower of the Dark Magic Region, he would need to spend a large number of contribution points. This was indeed a significant gift.

However, the eighth prince waved his hand charitably, smiling as he said, “It’s just a few spells, nothing much. Wizard Merlin, you’ve traveled a great distance to reach the Imperial City – would I be stingy with a few spells? That’s enough, you must be tired. My manor is huge, and it’s very safe. Wizard Merlin may reside here in peace!”

In the end, Merlin accepted the spells. Average people would not be able to match this manner of the eighth prince. Even Merlin was beginning to form a favorable opinion of the eighth prince. It was not surprising that Snake Elder and the rest would be so steadfast and loyal.

…

In a quiet room of the manor, Merlin’s Mind Power examined his surroundings once more. It was quiet all around, and there was no one else but him in the entire spacious residence.

What was even rarer was that Merlin had not felt any Mind Power spying on him this entire time. This indicated that the eighth prince trusted him now.

There was still ten days before the arrival of Wizard Leo in the Imperial City. In this period, Merlin had two choices. One was to continue taking Mokra Potion.

However, even though this was the eighth prince’s manor, a place without any apparent danger, no one could say for sure what would happen in the future. Consuming Mokra Potion in an unfamiliar place would place him into a deep sleep. Once he was in a deep sleep, Merlin would not be able to put up any resistance.

Therefore, it was far too dangerous to consume Mokra Potion here.

Besides taking Mokra Potion, the other thing Merlin could do was to use this time to construct a Third-level spell!

Back in Wilson Castle, Merlin had taken eleven batches of Mokra Potion consecutively. Thereafter, during the journey to the Imperial City, Merlin fused again with the Mind Power duplicate in the Bell Space.

Therefore, he had accumulated a tremendous amount of Mind Power. Even after he constructed the Third-level spell Darkness Vortex, his remaining Mind Power was sufficient to construct another Third-level spell.

Merlin took out the spells given to him by the eighth prince from his ring. The various types of Third-level spells were unique and powerful indeed, completely on par with the Third-level spells of the Dark Magic Region.

At the moment, spells which could quickly boost Merlin’s abilities were Fire-type, Wind-type, and Earth-type spells in tune with his Pandora Demon Abilities.

He would not consider Wind-type spells for now. After all, Merlin’s Flash Wind was enough to counter most threats he faced. There was no need to waste a precious chance to construct a Third-level spell on a Wind-type spell.

With that, only Fire-type and Earth-type spells remained. Under both spell types were Pandora Demon Abilities which could be merged with the spells. No matter which type of spell he constructed, it would effectively improve his powers.

Fire-type spells had Fiery Collapse. Once a Third-level spell was constructed, its offensive strength would become even more powerful, enough to even harm a Sixth-level Spell Caster.

As for Earth-type spells, there was Pandora Demon Ability, Fuse Earth. Once a Third-level spell was constructed, its defensive strength would undergo a significant upgrade. In a hostile environment like the Imperial City, it would adequately defend against dangers from all sides.

After weighing both options for a long time, Merlin selected a Fire-type spell at last. He knew that if Wizard Leo agreed to help the eighth prince ten days later, a violent conflict between the fourth prince and the eighth prince would erupt in the Imperial City. The struggle for the throne would be ruthless, and there would be no compromises.

Even if it was just to prepare for the upcoming battle, Merlin needed to be equipped with the strength of a Sixth-level Spell Caster as soon as possible. Thus, constructing a Fire-type spell became Merlin’s only option.

Among the spells the eighth prince had given, there was a Third-level Fire-type spell called Condensed Fire. It was very different from the Second-level Sea of Purgatory Fire. Condensed Fire was not a wide-ranging spell. At best, it would be a small ball of flames. In fact, it was similar to the Zero-level spell, Fireball.

However, Condensed Flame was innately distinct from Fireball, being formed from the constant suppression of flames. Although it was just a small fireball, it contained a terrifying power that was over a hundred times stronger than Fireball.

If it was merged with Fiery Collapse, Merlin believed that it would have the destructive power of a Sixth-level spell.

“Matrix, begin analyzing the Spell Model of Condensed Fire!”

Since Merlin had decided to construct the spell, he did not waste any more time. He started up the Matrix immediately, which began analyzing the Spell Model of Condensed Fire from scratch.