Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 538 Releasing Water?

As the three rushed out of the passage of light, a strong sense of weightlessness and dizziness washed over them like a tidal wave.

Ron felt his inner ear balance system completely out of control, as if he had been suddenly thrown into weightless space.

The churning sensation in his stomach almost made him vomit, and the discomfort gradually subsided after a few seconds.

When their vision cleared again, the sight that came into view stunned all three of them.

They were standing on a suspended metal platform.

Looking up, there was only a bottomless, pitch-black "ground".

Countless broken buildings and mountains hang like stalactites, seemingly about to fall at any moment.

The details of those buildings are clearly visible.

Spires, arched bridges, and even some upside-down gardens, where flowers and vines grow downwards against gravity.

The air itself seems to be divided into a regular grid by some kind of invisible gear, and you can feel a wonderful "layering" when you breathe.

"Oh my god..." Nari steadied himself with his six hands:
"This place is making me dizzy. Why aren't those things up there falling down?"

Acelia frowned in Ron's arms, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"Gravity has been completely reversed. Or rather, there is no unified concept of gravity here. Each region has its own 'below'."

Just as they were struggling to adapt to this upside-down environment, the voices of the three magic rabbits drifted in from all directions.

Influenced by the environment, their voices have also become distorted.

Low frequencies become high frequencies, and high frequencies become low frequencies, just like playing a rewind recording:
"Welcome to the 'Potion Demon of the Overturning Workshop' in Sloka..."

Nari blinked in confusion:

"What are they saying? I can't understand a word they're saying."

Ron, who had experienced a similar situation in the Absurd Treasury, immediately realized what was going on:
“If you read each word backwards, they’re saying ‘Welcome to Carlos’s Upside-Down Potions Shop.’”

The magic rabbit's voice continued, this time even more eerie:
"Here, please be careful of your 'common sense' because it is your greatest enemy."

The translation is:

“Here, be careful with your ‘common sense,’ for that will be your greatest enemy.”

Ron took a deep breath of the stratified air and began to try to understand how this world worked:

"It seems that the core concept of Carlos's domain is 'inversion'. Everything here follows a logic that contradicts common sense."

They walked along a metal staircase that appeared to extend upwards but actually led to the sky "below".

With each step, the direction of gravity subtly changes, requiring constant adjustments to body balance to adapt to the new "downward" direction.

During the journey, Nari finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind:
“Baby, besides the two dogs you just got, during the last historical infiltration, Mommy didn’t just help you acquire an even more powerful helper, but also the apostle projection named Salin inside your body.”

Her six eyes were filled with confusion:
"Why not just call her out and tear all these nasty hounds to shreds?"

Before Ron could explain, Azalea spoke in her usual mature tone:

"It's no use, tentacle monster. Do you think this is the real world?"

The little girl's expression turned unusually serious, and a wisdom beyond her years reappeared:
"This 'Mirror Kingdom' is essentially a mental realm, a 'playground' constructed by a combination of the partial will of the hounds and the power of the King of Absurdity."

She glanced at the figure in the black cloak beside her to make sure Nari was listening attentively:
"The rules here tend to be more conceptual and symbolic, pursuing a kind of abstract 'harmony' rather than pure energy level domination."

"The essence of Leira is 'illusion' and 'lie,' while the essence of Fenrir is 'destruction' and 'creation.'"

They are the guardians of their respective arenas, so their power can be manifested here.

Acelia tucked her silver hair behind her ear:

"But the essence of the apostle Salyn is 'degradation' and 'temptation,' and her concept is incompatible with this place."

Forcibly summoning it would be like trying to summon a tsunami in the desert; not only would its power be greatly reduced, but the projection might even collapse due to a conflict with the rules.

Nari nodded as if he understood, but doubt still lingered in his eyes:
"Then why is the newly acquired hound projection working normally right away?"

Ron picked up the conversation and explained to them:
"Because the Leira and Fenrir projections I'm currently using are spoils of victory in the arena, and have already been approved by Magic Rabbit."

They may be designated as part of this mental space, with the authority to move freely within it.

He gently stroked the silver pocket watch on his chest:
"In addition, the cost of summoning an apostle projection is actually far greater than that of summoning an elite hound projection."

Because Mom cleaned it so thoroughly last time, almost all of Salin's marks of strength were preserved.

"Therefore, the Salin projection has a certain degree of self-awareness, which further increases its consumption and almost drains my mental energy."

Ron's expression turned serious:
"This is a last resort that can only be used in life-or-death situations, and it cannot be wasted lightly."

Nari suddenly realized and patted his forehead:
"I see! Mom thought she could use brute force to overcome all techniques."

Aseria couldn't help but roll her eyes:

“Strength is important, but sometimes ingenuity is better than brute force; that is the meaning of wisdom.”

After a dizzying journey, they finally arrived at Carlos's "Upside-Down Potions Shop".

The entire potion workshop was built inside an inverted clock tower, where countless intricate gears slowly turned, emitting a regular "tick-tock" sound.

The potion experiment table extends from the "ceiling" to the "ground" in a spiral shape, with each layer having a different direction of gravity.

On some lab benches, bottles and jars are suspended in mid-air;

On other platforms, the liquid flows "up," forming an inverted waterfall.

What's most baffling is the potion itself.

They completely violate the basic common sense of potion science.

Here, the potion transforms into a solidified, multifaceted crystal, like a gemstone.

These crystals are suspended in a specially designed container.

The labels on the medicine bottles were even more baffling.

The label contains no ingredients or proportions, only a poetic description of the final effect:
"A bottle of eternal tranquility"

"Three grams of shattered despair"

"Half a cup of yesterday's twilight glow"

"Not a single tear was ever shed"

……

Aseria looked at these labels, her little face scrunched up in a bitter expression:

"These don't sound like potion recipes at all; they're more like names of some kind of abstract art."

Nari expressed his dissatisfaction more directly:

"I feel very uncomfortable here. Everything is upside down, even the air is cold."

Just as the three were trying to understand the operating logic of this upside-down world, a polite voice came from deep within the experimental platform:

"Dear visitors, welcome to my little workshop."

The owner of the voice slowly emerged from the shadows.

The visitor's appearance is very strange; sometimes he appears as a gentleman wearing a monocle and a butler's uniform.
Sometimes it transforms into a dog that walks upright and has six deep blue eyes.

“I am the owner of this workshop, Carlos.”

"It is my honor to receive such a distinguished guest in my humble domain."

Carlos, who had just transformed into his werewolf form, turned all six of his eyes toward Ron simultaneously:

"I presume you already understand the rules here."

As the challenger of the final stage, you need to prove that you have mastered 'true wisdom'.

"The condition for passing the level is simple—use the materials in my workshop to concoct a potion called the Key to Truth."

As he spoke, Carlos made a gesture.

The entire wall suddenly flipped over, revealing the densely packed contents on the other side.

Hundreds and thousands of potion recipes, written upside down, hung on it, each one shimmering in the dim light.

"These recipes all use the Key to Truth as the final product."

Carlos's tone carried a certain pleasure:

"But as you can see, their way of expressing themselves may be... somewhat unusual."

Ron approached for a closer look and discovered that these recipes were indeed bizarre and even contradictory:

"Mix 'flowing sorrow' with 'frozen joy' in equal proportions."

"We need the radiance of yesterday's sunshine as a catalyst."

Add three drops of 'rain that never existed'.

"Use the 'equation of circles' for final reconciliation."

"Seven stirrings in 'silent thunder'"

……

Each recipe reads more like a poet's whimsy than a serious alchemical guide.

What's even more troublesome is that there are complex dependencies between these hundreds of formulas.

The production of certain materials requires reference to other recipes, which in turn require other finished products as raw materials. This creates a terrifying information maze.

Carlos stood to the side, observing Ron's reaction with great interest:
"Please don't rush, you have plenty of time to think."

Of course, I suggest you carefully consider every detail.

Faced with this vast information maze, Ron's initial strategy was rational and efficient.

He took a deep breath of the cold air from this upside-down world and forced himself to calm down.

"Since it's a logic puzzle, let's solve it using logic."

【Essential Insight】and 【Intelligence Triangle】are activated simultaneously, and powerful analytical capabilities begin to operate like a sophisticated computer.

In his view, those seemingly chaotic recipes began to reveal their inherent structural relationships.

Invisible connecting lines emerge between the recipes, indicating their dependencies and logical order.

Ron began to build a projection model.

He treats each recipe as a node and the relationships between them as connecting edges.

The goal is to find the optimal path to the Key to Truth within this network.

First simulation:
The starting point is recipe α-1, "Amber that Freezes Time".

This recipe requires "Eternal Shards" as the main ingredient.

The creation of the "Fragment of Eternity" relies on the Omega-7 recipe "The Weaving of Time".

However, the Omega-7 formula requires "amber that freezes time" as a catalyst...

This is a perfect logical closed loop, with no solution.

Second simulation:
The starting point is the formula number β-15, "Conceptualization".

This path seems more promising because its prerequisites are relatively simple.

However, when the deduction reached the seventh step, the same problem was encountered again.

The ultimate requirement for "pure abstraction" is that its creation method must be based on "the embodiment of concepts".

It's another vicious cycle.

The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...

Ron tried dozens of different deduction paths, each ending in a paradox.

What frustrated him most was that these paradoxes were not due to design flaws.

Each circular dependency is designed so cleverly that its unsolvability is only discovered after in-depth analysis.

As the number of simulations increased, Ron began to feel mentally exhausted.

The overload of the [Intellectual Triangle] caused a dull ache in his temples;

The sheer volume of information brought about by "essential insights" has further confused our consciousness.

"No, something's definitely wrong..."

He muttered to himself, beads of sweat beginning to appear on his forehead.

Nari and Azalea, who were observing from the sidelines, were both worried about his condition.

Nari wanted to go over and comfort him, but was afraid of interrupting his thoughts.

Aseria frowned, using her keen dragon senses to analyze the changes in the surrounding energy.

“Ron,” she said softly, “your mental state is very unstable. Perhaps you should take a break.”

But Ron seemed not to hear, still immersed in that seemingly unsolvable logical maze.

His obsession deepened, and his rationality began to crack under the strain of working beyond its limits.

On the other hand, as the challengers became increasingly entangled in the logic maze, Carlos's performance only added to the confusion.

They are completely different from the other two hounds that were completely hostile in the first two levels.

The leader of the hound squad behaved like a polite, even somewhat enthusiastic, "examiner" throughout.

He never actively stops the other party from trying, and will even give a "reminder" at the appropriate time.

When Carlos saw the young man fail his twelfth deduction and lightly tap his forehead in frustration, he coughed lightly:
“Lecturer Ralph, your wisdom is admirable, but it seems you are using a sophisticated key to open a lock that doesn’t even exist. It’s a real shame.”

This overly obvious "well-intentioned reminder" made Nari very uncomfortable.

"This guy is too calm, like he's watching a play where he already knows the ending."

Aseria, on the other hand, felt a different kind of anger.

What she couldn't stand most was being treated like a child:
“He was treating us like students in need of enlightenment! Every word he spoke carried that condescending, ‘lecturing’ tone!”

But what worries the two families the most is that Ron's obsession is growing stronger.

Faced with repeated failures, instead of calming down, he fell into a state of paranoia.

"There must be a solution... there must be a clue I've missed..."

He frantically switched between hundreds of recipes, pushing the computational power of the [Intelligence Triangle] to its limit.

A dense web of logical relationships wove together in my mind, like an ever-growing spider web.

Seeing that things were not going well, Nari finally couldn't hold back anymore.

She decided to help her baby in her own way, even if it seemed a little...foolish at this moment.

"Let Mom try!"

Before anyone could react, Nari had already rushed to the experimental table.

Six arms waved wildly under the cloak, grabbing all sorts of seemingly "useful" materials and pouring them into a container.

"Flowing sorrow? This is beautiful!"

"Frozen joy? That sounds amazing!"

"The light of yesterday's sun? I don't know what it is, but it must be very important!"

Nari's logic is simple and crude:
You can't go wrong by mixing all the impressive-sounding materials together!
“Mom, wait…” Ron tried to stop her, but it was too late.

boom--!
The entire experimental platform was reduced to ashes in the violent explosion.

The shockwave knocked the three of them off their feet, and smoke of various colors swirled in the air.

As the smoke cleared, Nari looked somewhat guilty at the chaotic scene:

"Uh... I think I messed it up?"

Everyone thought Carlos would be angry, would blame them, or even declare the challenge a failure.

However, the potion maker's steward simply clapped his hands lightly:

"A fantastic presentation!"

His praise sounded surprisingly sincere:
"This woman has shown us that when order is broken, energy returns to its source in its purest form."

This in itself is a kind of 'truth,' isn't it?

Carlos adjusted his monocle, his tone carrying a philosophical depth:
"However, perhaps it was a bit too intense."

As he finished speaking, the destroyed experimental table automatically reassembled.

All the materials were put back in their places, as if the explosion had never happened.

This reaction caused Nari and Azalea to exchange a glance, both seeing the same doubt in each other's eyes.

Next, Azalea also tried her own method.

Having been with Pandora for at least twenty years, she possesses a wealth of profound knowledge.

She began to apply the "theory of harmony" in an attempt to understand the essence of these formulas from a higher dimension:
"Everything follows the fundamental rhythm of the universe. If I could find the equation for this rhythm..."

The silver-haired girl closed her eyes and entered a meditative state, letting her hair float in the inverted gravity.

But when she opened her eyes, her face was full of frustration:
"No, these recipes aren't arranged according to any known formulas; they're like... random noise."

Carlos gave that creepy, approving smile again:

"The pursuit of supreme harmony is the common goal of all wise men."

But have you ever considered that even the grandest symphony must be composed of individual, fundamental notes?

His voice carried a certain profound meaning:

"Perhaps the answer lies not in the stars, but in the dust."

After two failures, Ron became even more immersed in his own world of logic.

But whenever he falls into a new vicious cycle, Carlos would let out a well-intentioned sigh:
"You are striking the flowing water with a hammer, and capturing starlight with a net."

The tool itself is fine, but perhaps... the target was chosen incorrectly?

"Truth is never hidden in complex labyrinths; it often lies in the simplest places, waiting to be discovered by those who are destined to find it."

Each of these words is like a reminder, pointing to the core concept of "thinking outside the box".

However, this overly obvious "leniency" only made the three of them more suspicious.

(End of this chapter)