A Wizard’s Secret

After a moment of consideration, the three elected Spell Casters stepped into the third floor first. Merlin drew in a deep breath and finally let go of his hesitations. This was a free chance to enter the Mind Tower which was not easy to come by. Naturally, he must not give up halfway.

“Swish.”

Thus, Merlin stepped into the third floor as well.

The walls of the third floor consisted of a large mirror all around. From the mirror, Merlin could see his surroundings very distinctly. The three Spell Casters looked around in astonishment as well. They were completely surrounded by the gigantic, glossy mirror which even extended under their feet and above their heads.

The third floor of the Mind Tower was evidently a room covered in a mirror.

Merlin furrowed his brow, not knowing what mysteries the third floor contained. He might as well sit on the floor and wait silently.

Who knew how long it was before Merlin felt a sense of fatigue, following which he gradually fell into a deep sleep. This happened unwittingly, and not even Merlin noticed it.

In his dream, Merlin had returned to Blackwater City in the Kingdom of Light. Back then, Blackwater City was controlled by the Kingdom of Light. Merlin and his father, Old Wilson, had rebelled spiritedly, finally saving the people of the Wilson clan.

However, in the dream, everything seemed as before, only the development of events was a world of difference from what had originally happened. Merlin was one step too slow and Wilson Castle was reduced to ashes. Macy and numerous others from the Wilson clan had died pitifully inside Wilson Castle.

Merlin was endlessly remorseful. Thereafter, he even saw his father, Old Wilson, collapsed before his own eyes. He was powerless to redeem the situation, powerless to save the entire Wilson clan.

This dream was like reality, clawing at the depths of Merlin’s heart. A swell of indescribable sorrow rose up within Merlin, and without realizing it, two streams of tears had run down Merlin’s cheeks.

“No, this is all an illusion! It’s false, for I’ve transformed the Wilson clan!”

Merlin trembled inside. He had unconsciously fallen into an illusion. Ever since he had Darkness Heart, in addition to powerful Mind Power, it was hard for him to be trapped in an illusion.

However, he was caught in an illusion this time without noticing it. Moreover, there was no sense of incongruity as if everything was real.

Merlin glanced at his “self” in the mirror. His face was still streaked with tears. It was the first time Merlin had seen himself “crying”.

“Everything in the dream is another outcome…”

Merlin carefully recalled his entire dream. It was strange that even the tiniest details in the entire sweep of things could be brought to mind distinctly. Now that he replayed it in his head, he felt a sense of misery.

Suddenly, Merlin noticed that his Mind Power had grown by some amount. He immediately thought of another possibility.

“Could it be that the third floor of the Mind Tower uses ‘sorrow’ to stimulate Mind Power, increasing Mind Power in that manner?”

Most people, when experiencing great joy or sorrow, would cause their Mind Power to fluctuate immensely. However, this was only for most people. Even if one became a Spell Caster, elation and grief would still increase Mind Power, only it was too negligible.

Merlin did not expect that such a basic concept would be magnified countless times over in the Mind Tower. It followed that his Mind Power would grow by a huge amount.

Merlin looked toward the three Spell Casters once again. They still had not awakened, and their faces gripped by incomparable sorrow since long ago. They must have surely fallen into deep grief. Under such circumstances, their Mind Power would greatly increase when they awoke.

Merlin lowered his head in a pensive manner. He had gained a general understanding of the function of the Mind Tower. It was marvelous indeed. At first, it used the most direct stimulation of pain, after which was emotional stimulation. Although these were the most rudimentary ways of stimulating Mind Power, they were magnified without limit in the Mind Tower. Of course, the effects were much better.

Merlin, for instance, had Mind Power and willpower which were too strong. Conversely, he was not suited to boost his Mind Power in the Mind Tower. In here, one should sink absolutely into the illusion, and experience unmatched sorrow, to increase Mind Power.

Merlin drew in a deep breath. The grief of his dream, now that he thought about it, was still aching faintly. He really did not wish to face that level of sadness once more.

However, for the sake of his Mind Power, Merlin could only choose to fall into the dream completely. Therefore, he closed his eyes lightly and immersed himself totally into the dream, experiencing that heavy misery. His Mind Power began to slowly, steadily expand…

The third floor, the fourth floor, the fifth floor…

Merlin slowly and steadily ascended throughout his journey. The three Spell Casters who had attempted the Mind Tower with Merlin had reached the seventh floor long ago but were unable to hold on at the seventh floor. At last, they left the Mind Tower.

As for Merlin, he was still one step behind. On each floor, he would engage completely in the dream with no efforts of resisting, allowing the Mind Tower to shape his dreams.

In the dream, Merlin went through all sorts of ecstasies and griefs, all of which were very realistic, based on everything that Merlin had experienced in the past. Only then would Merlin feel as if it really happened.

Of course, there were many benefits to this. The most direct advantage was that Merlin’s Mind Power was rising sharply, all the way to the eighth floor.

The eighth floor was where the plump Wizard Arrot had reached. Merlin looked around curiously. It seemed to be a plain room with nothing special.

“I wonder what kind of dream it will be this time?”

Merlin was slightly looking forward to another dream. His current attempt to complete the Mind Tower had allowed his Mind Power to flourish rapidly. It was nearly at its limits. After a few more floors, it might reach the limits of the Seventh-level Mind Heart.

Such a growth rate was even faster than consuming potions. Of course, it was not as quick as divinity as it was a treasure which even Legendary Wizards would need, and was very rare. Unless one literally suppressed a god, it was difficult to obtain divinity.

Furthermore, even if one had suppressed a god, without the ability to overwhelm, the god could rely on the power of divinity to defy the Great Legend, not letting a Spell Caster obtain divinity so easily.

Thus, besides divinity, this Mind Tower was very helpful for honing the Mind Power indeed.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, as Merlin was waiting to fall into a dream, he felt his mind quake as if a huge explosion had occurred. Following that, Merlin felt that his Mind Power seemed to be forcibly sucked out by countless tentacles.

This sensation was incomparably unendurable. Even Merlin could not help but take in a cold gulp of air, and constantly drew in thin breaths, trying to lessen the pain. Nonetheless, this pain only grew in intensity, which was difficult for Merlin to bear.

What was even more dismaying was that Merlin was unable to perceive what was this mysterious energy, draining his Mind Power just like when the seventh floor of the Mind Tower had pulled him into a dream.

“No wonder that Arrot was unable to take it and could only make it to the eighth floor.”

Merlin broke out into a bitter smile involuntarily. This method of directly draining one’s Mind Power was far too excruciating. All at once, he had lost his Mind Power, and Merlin’s entire person became incomparably fragile.

Mind Power was a crucial part of a Spell Caster. Even when Merlin had used his Mind Power excessively in the past, his Mind Power had never been completely sucked out like how it was now.

The effects of his Mind Power being vacated were evident. Merlin was now unable to wield an Occult Mind Spell or cast spells by stimulating his Spell Models with Mind Power.

In short, Merlin currently had many powerful but worthless techniques which he was unable to utilize.

Once Mind Power was gone, the resulting effects were rather terrifying. Currently, Merlin was filled with a lingering fear. He could think of nothing else but to begin meditating. Although this was slow-paced, he was able to recover some Mind Power.

As expected, after some time had passed, Merlin’s Mind Power was gradually replenished but as soon as that happened, the mysterious energy sucked out his Mind Power once again.

Again and again, in torturous cycles, Merlin stayed on the eighth floor of the Mind Tower for three days. Each time his Mind Power was vacated, his Mind Power would increase significantly once it was recovered.

At the moment, Merlin’s Mind Power was nearly at its limits, lacking by just a margin.

“Boom!”

When Merlin’s Mind Power was sucked out once again, he could even distinctly feel a fulfilling sensation. Yes, a fulfilling sensation. His Mind Power was slowly recovering as if a tiny stream had appeared in a dried-up riverbed, which would quickly turn into a surging river, overflowing to the heavens.

At last, when Merlin’s Mind Power was recovered, it had already reached the limit. Merlin felt that no matter what, as long as his Mind Heart remained at the Seventh-level, he could not possibly add more Mind Power.

The eighth floor no longer served Merlin any purpose. Without any hesitation, Merlin immediately went up to the ninth floor!

On the ninth floor, Merlin closed his eyes slightly, wordlessly enjoying the fulfilling sensation of the Mind Heart. This time, his Mind Power was exuding gradually in invisible fluctuations.

“Four Hit Strike!”

Merlin’s eyes flew open as if automatically. Merlin’s Offensive Occult Mind Spell could finally wield Four Hit Strike after his Mind Power had reached the limit of the Seventh-level Mind Heart.

Once his Occult Mind Spell had attained the Four Hit Strike, Merlin had another technique in his arsenal which was on par with Ninth-level Spell Casters. This was the only powerful technique, subsequent to spell fusion, which was comparable to Ninth-level Spell Casters.

As for the rest, like Glacier Country, Perfect-grade spells, Fusion Pandora Demon Ability, and even the fourth form of Darkness Eye, they were only at the stage of peak Eighth-level. They had no way of holding up against Ninth-level Spell Casters and did not pose a large threat to such Spell Casters.

“The Mind Tower is truly a great place!”

Merlin was somewhat unwilling to leave the Mind Tower. This place was essentially the finest place to cultivate Mind Power.

“I wonder what method the ninth floor of the Mind Tower would use to hone Mind Power?”

Merlin began to turn his attention toward the ninth floor. Up until now, he had not seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary on the ninth floor. However, out of vigilance against the Mind Tower, Merlin was still very cautious, not daring to let his guard down in the slightest.