A few days later.
Tata Mountains Quarry.
Inside the Alchemy Room.
Roy temporarily calmed his mind and began practicing once again.
"~…"
(Shrinking Art)
As the incantation echoed.
The shrinking spell was cast upon a stone block in front of him.
Instantly, the stone block transformed into a lightweight ornament.
But moments later, after a brief rest, Roy cast the same spell on another object.
However, a white flash passed, and nothing happened.
"It failed, likely due to the interference of Wizardry Energy from the Enchanted Item.
That sensation just now…
It's indeed the key!"
He pulled out his notebook and the Magical Quill, quickly jotting down his observations.
In the Arcane system, the "Shrinking Art" can typically only be used on non-magical objects.
It reduces the length, width, and height of the target object to 1/16 of its original size, with the volume and mass shrinking to approximately 1/4000.
But if he wanted to adapt this spell for use in Golems, or even achieve a compression rate of over 99% for "Shatranj Chess," he would need to put in more effort.
Shortly after, Roy resumed practicing "Petrification" and "Stone Skin."
The mastery and application of these spells were noticeably smoother and more effortless compared to the "Shrinking Art."
After completing these exercises, he took a short break and suddenly realized that several days had already passed. He wondered how Andov and the others were progressing with their reconnaissance mission.
Logically, they should be returning soon.
Not long after, Roy used the Communication Crystal to contact the capital.
This time, Flosf personally answered.
"Roy, how are things on your end?"
"Teacher, everything is fine here."
"Achini La's assault has already begun. The World Barrier of the Netherlands will undoubtedly fall…
From what I've gathered from the alliance, the leader of this army is a 9th-circle Archmage named Gem.
The "Skyfall Nail" was launched from a distance, and the legendary mage hasn't personally entered the battlefield. That's a small mercy in this misfortune.
But we still can't let our guard down.
The situation ahead is likely to become extremely challenging…"
"The legendary mage hasn't entered the battlefield?"
Hearing this, Roy felt a slight relief in his previously tense heart.
"That Gem is similar to me, both unfortunate souls who exhausted our spiritual essence in our prime."
Flosf explained with a hint of weariness.
"He shouldn't be too difficult to deal with…"
"In his prime…"
Upon hearing this, Roy's heart stirred slightly.
The natural lifespan of a second-tier Wizard is already over 1,000 years.
A third-tier Wizard can live up to 3,000 years or more!
However, during this process, some people ascend early, reaping the full benefits of Soul Sublimation, while others barely cross the threshold near death, with little spiritual essence left and minimal increase in lifespan.
Some even rely on life-sacrificing rituals to achieve their ascension, draining their own lifespan in the process!
Achini La is a High Magic World, where legendary figures are commonplace, and high-tier mages are a dime a dozen.
Old mages like this, even if they've reached the third tier, are often overlooked.
Flosf continued, "At our stage, we're already at the peak of mortal beings…
Moreover, this place doesn't hold any high-value magical resources, so they won't deploy excessive forces.
It's almost certain that it will be a confrontation between him and me."
"Master, your judgment is reasonable, but the Abyssal Demons likely won't follow any logic. Those chaotic beings may not be driven by interests," Roy reminded solemnly.
Flosf nodded, "You're right. That's why, besides keeping an eye on Gumm, I've personally reinforced the World Barrier these past few days to prevent the Abyss from taking advantage. However, among the natives, there might be another madman like Kairon, and it would be difficult to control the situation if that happens."
Roy was momentarily stunned, then nodded thoughtfully.
"So, from now on, I will focus on monitoring Gumm closely, paying attention to his every move. I won't have time to look after you. Be smart and don't drag us down, understand?" Flosf instructed sternly.
"In conflicts between high-level Spellcasters, I don't expect you to be of much help, nor do I need you to achieve great feats. Just take care of yourselves and don't hold us back. That's all!"
"Understood," Roy replied with a serious expression.
...
At that moment, on the World Barrier.
The Skyfall Nail was slowly piercing through, inch by inch.
Magical Aura overflowed, and the Source of Magic surged.
At its tip, dense Arcane Runes seemed to appear, accompanied by a multitude of obscure and incomprehensible laws, manifesting as white radiance.
This mysterious force, like mist and lightning, radiated brilliance as it continuously penetrated this world.
Finally, with another thunderous roar, the Skyfall Nail plunged deep into the void and then emerged from a dark Space Rift.
The sky cracked open, revealing a clear breach, and the Skyfall Nail was firmly embedded in it, coming to a complete halt.
A pristine white Wizard Tower, with a multi-tiered structure, materialized out of thin air, resembling a skyscraper, and slowly hovered at the edge of the atmosphere.
Its base had a deep, cavernous hollow that perfectly accommodated the upper half of the Skyfall Nail.
At the moment of docking, the white Wizard Tower lit up, emitting a brilliant glow.
All the beings in the Netherlands looked up, as if seeing a bright star hanging on the canvas of the sky.
...
"Archmage, the Skyfall Nail has been successfully docked. The Source of Magic is being calibrated...
Energy circuits normal, spatial barrier normal, Demiplane channel normal..."
Inside the Wizard Tower.
In a room with bare walls.
Countless palm-sized Runes lit up, like densely packed Curse Seals embedded in the walls.
A head-sized white orb hovered in the air, emitting a pleasant female voice.
"Good, quickly compile the terrain data collected by the vanguard team and align the positioning anchors. Then, load the global map!"
"Received! Processing task...
1%...2%...3%..."
Archmage Gem, with white hair and beard, sat on a high-backed chair with a metallic sheen.
Above his head, dense Runes lit up like circuit board wiring, and Energy Particles shone like platinum, forming an Arcane Imprint pattern of two hands holding a golden sun.
This Imprint glowed brightly, as if casting a divine halo around Archmage Gem.
Soon after, a dense grid of semi-transparent lines appeared, and various colored three-dimensional squares loaded, presenting a simulated sandbox of a vast land.
As the female voice in the air announced the loading progress, some of the three-dimensional squares came to a halt, while others decomposed and refined into smaller squares.
Mountains, rivers, lakes...
The general contours of the terrain began to emerge.
"Deploy the Sky Surveyors, Arcane Guards, and Roc Feather Angel Eyes..."
Archmage Gem glanced briefly at the holographic sand table that had been parsed, then lowered his gaze and continued to issue orders methodically.
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