Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"Bang bang bang—"

Under the "Eye of Truth," countless silver-white threads that formed the transparent, distorted humanoid figure broke one by one under Dago's palm.

This was not a simple physical destruction, but an extremely precise "surgical operation".

In Dago's azure vision, this "silver ball of yarn" was no longer a chaotic collection of energy, but was deconstructed into tens of thousands of spatial nodes and energy loops.

With each exertion of his strength, each insertion of his fingers precisely targeted the opponent's vital energy circulation point.

Dargo tore the ball of yarn apart with extreme "roughness," his entire arm almost completely disappearing into the transparent, twisted humanoid body.

The cold, sharp, high-frequency oscillating spatial particles frantically cut through his [Living Silver Ice] armor, but he remained unmoved. His fingertips probed deep into the armor, and then, as if grasping something tightly, his expression shifted.

"Found it."

The singularity that keeps the entire puppet running, the only order in the chaos.

Then he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Bang!"

As Dago withdrew his hand, the transparent, twisted humanoid, now free from its core constraints, exploded violently.

This is not a splatter of blood and flesh, but the collapse of the rules.

It transformed into countless silvery-white streams of air, splashing in all directions. Each stream was a hiltless blade, leaving behind dark, slicing marks in the void.

All the living silver ice on Dago's body was pushed up in front of him, but under the scouring of these spatial energy flows, it was as fragile as paper and was quickly washed away and shattered.

Silver Ice's mournful cries were incessant, and silver fragments peeled off like snowflakes, revealing the bright red flesh beneath.

But he didn't care, standing quietly like a reef in the midst of intense energy turbulence, letting the occasional turbulence flow by, leaving lacerations on his body.

The pain signal is transmitted to the brain, but is quickly blocked by calm thinking, leaving only the data analysis of the "intensity of spatial cutting".

Within his body, a sphere of life force, like a blazing fireball, released specks of vitality—the domineering revitalizing power of his old bloodline—quickly healing the wounds.

The old flesh and blood are removed, and new tissues are reorganized with each breath, as if a microscopic forging is taking place. Every wound is a stepping stone to the truth.

At this moment, Dago's attention was completely drawn to what he was holding in his hand, and his right arm had returned to normal.

The newborn skin was as smooth as ever, and between her fair and slender fingers, she firmly grasped a silver ball of light that was almost solidified.

Inside the ball of light, there seemed to be a miniature galaxy, with countless tiny runes appearing and disappearing within it.

Dago stared intently at the ball of light in his hand, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

really.

Just as he had concluded from countless deductions in the monastery, the true exit of this mysterious garden was not in any corner of the garden.

This is a typical "wizard trap".

Using human beings' habitual linear thinking to find the so-called "path".

The key to the entrance to the next secret realm is hidden inside the transparent, twisted humanoid body that guards the entire garden!

"The spatial teleportation array that is spread throughout the garden and moves and lands at any random point is just a smokescreen. What kind of spatial array maze is this? The maze has no exit; every path is a dead end."

A cold, stern smile curved Dargo's lips, a smile of delight at having solved the mystery.

"The real exit is right under our noses, but it has been overlooked time and time again... The wizard who designed this secret realm is mocking all the fools who try to measure the truth with their feet. The truth is never far away, but at the heart of things."

This kind of "blind spot" puzzle is actually not difficult to solve; you just need to break out of your preconceived notions.

But the real challenge lies in how to defeat the transparent, twisted humanoid guardian of the garden and obtain the "key" from within it.

Knowledge points the way, but strength is the ticket to the destination.

It's unclear whether this is a puppet created through magical alchemy or something else. It possesses powerful spatial and mirror-like properties, making it extremely strong, fearless, and incredibly lethal. Even a typical third-ring wizard might not be able to suppress it in a head-on confrontation.

Even if the mystery is revealed, breaking it and extracting the "key" from its body is not something an ordinary wizard can do.

This requires not only immense destructive power but also meticulous control. A slight misstep could result in the destruction of the "key" along with the device, or being strangled by spatial turbulence.

The main reason Dago was able to "kill" him in one fell swoop was that he spent three whole years in the ascetic attic, a period of time so tedious that it could drive an ordinary person crazy, but he enjoyed it immensely.

Relying on the accumulation of studying more than three thousand runes, he fused countless fragmented knowledge into one, barely managing to make a preliminary analysis of the few space-related runes on his hands, and integrating the effects of "space teleportation" and "space stagnation" into the [Silver Ice] seal.

This is not just the stacking of runes; it is the reorganization of rules.

Combined with the metal-based spell effects of the extraordinary magic domain—[Living Silver Ice]—and his own formidable physical strength from the [Ice Flame Blue Demon Body] and the ancient Despair Winter Dragon bloodline…

All the chips are up at this moment.

In the brief moment of "freezing" the transparent, distorted humanoid figure, the "key" was forcibly removed from its body.

This "key" is also the core of the other party's power, which is why it presents such a relaxed and carefree visual effect.

Only Dago himself knew that behind this seemingly simple grab was three years of relentless effort, countless simulations, and an almost obsessive pursuit of truth.

Dago pinched the silver ball of light, raised his head and looked around.

If this is the "key"... then what he needs to do next is find the "door" where the key is inserted.

Suddenly, Dago felt a force emanating from the ball of light he was holding, as if it were breaking free. It was a high-frequency tremor, as if what he held was not an inanimate object, but a beating heart.

He subconsciously clenched his fingers, which resulted in the ball of light being "crushed".

"Buzz—"

Countless silver streaks of light shot out from between his fingers, like fireflies dissipating and vanishing into the air.

Before Dago could even frown, he discovered a little something left in his hand—a rune with a mirror-like luster, the most beautiful, complex, and mysterious rune Dago had ever seen.

It is no longer the rigid lines in a book, but a living, flowing rune.

So that's what the core idea was...

Dago blinked, a little surprised, but quickly returned to his scholarly mode of calm observation.

Immediately afterwards, the mysterious rune in his hand suddenly shattered, turning into countless tiny specks of light. Then, under the influence of some kind of gravity, these specks of light would coalesce and recover, reforming and then shattering again... repeating this process over and over.

"A rune in GIF format?!"

Dago was "completely surprised"!

The slightly playful thought flashed through his mind, but it was immediately followed by a profound shock.

The rune in his hand was indeed like a static image compared to a dynamic one, compared to the runes he had seen before.

The runes of the past were "nouns," static definitions; the runes of today are "verbs," processes that are happening.

It was clearly far more advanced than anything he had ever seen before. This was not just a technological innovation, but a leap in dimensionality.

However, before Dago could be surprised for long, he noticed that the entire secret realm, including the space beneath his feet and around him, began to tremble, breaking the tranquility of the garden.

A teeth-grinding "crack" sound came from the void, as if the world itself was under some kind of immense stress.

Dago took a few steps back to where he had come in, and cautiously looked around.

Then I saw the entire garden in front of me begin to "collapse" rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That was not the collapse of a building, but the tearing apart of a painting.

Black cracks appeared in every corner of the entire garden secret realm, and the lavender fields, the exquisite fountains, the distant mist... all the scenes were displaced and broken under the cracks.

It's like a beautiful mirror that's suddenly and ruthlessly shattered. Behind the mirror lies an endless spiritual realm and nothingness.

More and more black cracks appeared, and then piece by piece, it began to "fall off" downwards.

What has fallen off is not soil and rocks, but this layer of "reality".

A "fragment" fell off near Dago; what was once a cluster of blooming geraniums had now become a sharp fragment of space.

As an invisible wave dissipated, Dago's brow twitched slightly, a premonition frantically warning him.

He instinctively stepped back, his movements as fast as lightning, but the wave had already grazed his cheek.

"hiss."

A stinging sensation came over me.

It was an extremely subtle yet penetrating pain, as if cells were being directly peeled away.

Dago reached out and gently wiped his left cheek, leaving traces of blood between his fingers.

Looking at the crimson stain on his fingertips, Dago's gaze grew even more intense.

injured.

But this wound proves that this false "appearance" is being peeled away, and the true "inner world" is being revealed.

His eyes flickered slightly, showing no fear, only a greed for the unknown.

He used the Eye of Truth once again.

Mental energy spread out like mercury, and a torrent of data washed over my retina.

White light intertwined, and Dago squinted and looked up.

The crumbling garden secret realm suddenly presented a completely different scene in his eyes.