Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"collapse!"

"Shuashuashua——"

The shattered mirror-like silver ice disc transformed into countless crescent-shaped fragments, shooting out in all directions. Each fragment dragged out strange and terrifying magical fluctuations, leaving countless shocking, pitch-black cracks in the void in an instant.

That was not just a physical division, but a brutal violation of the rules of space.

The silver arc of light was not fleeting, but rather lingered like an afterimage etched onto the retina.

The already fragile void around them emitted a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound as it was torn apart by this force, like the mournful cry of some enormous creature on the verge of death.

"call--"

Dago exhaled, his eyes burning.

His mental power was like countless invisible control lines, precisely connecting each flying fragment.

This sense of control was unprecedented, heavy yet incredibly fulfilling.

"Return."

With a thought, countless scattered fragments of silver ice traced strange zigzag lines in the air, their inertial-defying trajectories serving as irrefutable evidence of the intervention of spatial forces.

They transformed back into liquid life, like a swarm of silver bees returning to their nest, rushing towards him and eventually gathering in his palm into a constantly wriggling, ever-changing ball of mercury.

At this very moment, within the third soul seal crystallization in his consciousness space, a brand new soul seal is shining brightly.

The structure of the talisman was extremely complex; even touching it with mental power could evoke a sharp, cutting sensation.

"It's done!"

Dago looked at the liquid metal in his palm that seemed to have a life of its own, his eyes gleaming with a fervent thirst for knowledge.

"After combining the three spatial properties of 'teleportation,' 'freezing,' and 'shattering,' the magical destructive power of the living Silver Ice is much stronger than before... The original physical cutting only caused 'wounds,' but now the attack is creating 'gaps.'"

The object being hit wasn't sliced ​​open; rather, a portion of its matter, along with its spatial coordinates, was "shattered."

The difference between them is like heaven and earth.

"The means of changing spells during battle have also become much richer... I can turn metal into mist and spread it, and use 'spatial freeze' to instantly block the enemy's movements."

Then, use 'Teleport' to send the deadly blade directly into the enemy's heart, finally detonating the 'Shatter' effect to completely wipe the enemy off the face of the earth.

This idea of ​​a combo made Dago's lips curl up slightly, revealing a cold smile.

"Far exceeding my initial expectations. This move can be called—[Shattered Silver Ice]!"

Dago pondered for a moment, "Calling the current [Silver Ice] Seal [Silver Ice] Seal is clearly no longer appropriate. [Spatial Silver Ice] would be a more fitting description."

Full name: [Dago Heca's Spatial Silver Ice Transformation]

A brand new rune name popped into Dago's mind naturally, and an unprecedented sense of accomplishment welled up within him.

For the first time in his life, he experienced the joy of "creation".

In this vast land of wizards, the path to truth is fraught with thorns, and most people merely parrot others, eking out a living on the path pioneered by the sages.

And today, yet another brand new rune was born from his hands.

This was the first talisman he "created," although he built upon the work of many predecessors, it was simply a matter of "transferring and piecing together" the original.

However, the logical deduction, energy balance calculation, and reorganization of rune structure are all like dancing on a knife's edge. The slightest mistake will result in a backlash to the soul.

This still holds great significance for Dargo. It means that he is no longer just a "container" of knowledge, but has begun to become a "maker" of knowledge.

Unfortunately, there was no one to share this achievement and joy with.

All around was only the deathly silence of the void and the crumbling fragments of rules, as if a silent salute was offered to this lonely seeker of truth.

After a brief moment of elation, Dago's mood gradually calmed down, and the extreme rationality that belonged to a wizard regained its dominance.

He looked at the mysterious runes in his hand that were constantly breaking and reforming, his gaze piercing through the surface and reaching the essence.

"This rune is too profound and mysterious. I can only say that I have a superficial understanding of it. There is still room for improvement and refinement."

Moreover, Dago discovered something.

The combination of "Spatial Freeze" and "Spatial Collapse" is not limited to the use of metal and ice magic.

This use of rules is a universal "formula".

His other two soul seals might also add these two characteristics.

Especially the [Winter Star] sign.

Dago's thoughts began to wander, and the light in his eyes grew even deeper.

"The more powerful and stable a spatial structure is, the stronger the spatial collapse force it generates when it breaks..."

"It's like how the more solid a mirror is, the sharper the edges of its shards will be when it's broken..."

The first thing Dago thought of when he heard this spell's principle was his Absolute Frost Domain.

The "mirror" formed by the Silver Ice Seal after the two changes, although hard, is ultimately limited in size.

That was merely localized, point-like fragmentation.

How can it be compared to a "three-dimensional mirror" composed of a single field?

"If, after constructing an absolutely icy domain, the power of extreme cold is compressed to its limit, freezing space, and then the entire domain is transformed into a 'three-dimensional mirror,' then... it is shattered!"

Dago's eyes flickered slightly, and his breath involuntarily stopped for a moment.

"How terrifying must the resulting spatial collapse be?!"

It will no longer be a few spatial rifts, but a spatial storm that will sweep everything away! It will be indiscriminate destruction, the end of all matter within the domain.

He couldn't picture the specific scene, but he could sense the "absolute power" behind that conclusion.

But one day he will be able to see it with his own eyes.

Dago is ready to begin optimizing and modifying the [Winter Star] sign. It will be a long project, but he has plenty of patience.

Opening the system panel, the data stream pulsating on the retina is cold and real.

As expected, the progress in the strength column has regressed a bit.

The decrease in mental strength is visible to the naked eye, which represents the depletion of the soul's essence.

The solidified soul seal is not unchangeable, but the result of changing it is like what Dago is doing now—a decline in soul power and a weakening of mental power.

This action consumes a lot of soul power, like cutting into a healed wound again, causing a temporary "weakness" of the soul.

This is a kind of "destructive reconstruction".

This wasn't the first time this had happened to Dago; he repeatedly "altered" the solidified [Silver Ice] seal in the Dharma Ring Ascetic Pavilion.

Every revision is a form of self-torture, and every revision involves a "weakness period," which can be recovered gradually over time.

However, Dago was already far from having the soul power of a third-ring wizard, and now he is even further away.

The path to a higher level seemed to have been lengthened once again.

But he doesn't care.

To survive in this cannibalistic wizarding world, and to gain power closer to the truth, this price must be paid.

However, compared to the future strength, this small "side effect" is really insignificant.

Resources can be plundered, time can be squeezed out, but the ladder of truth must be climbed step by step with bloody footprints.

Carefully putting away the brand-new hand seal, Dago looked up at the scene before him again.

As the spell experiment ended, the energy that held the last vestige of illusion was completely exhausted.

The once beautiful and tranquil little garden has completely disappeared; the delicate flowers, the exquisite wicker chairs, and the charming decorations have all turned to dust.

All that remained before my eyes was a pitch-black void.

It was a pure nothingness, without light, without sound, and even without a sense of direction.

The secret space beyond the garden that Dargo had imagined did not appear.

Perhaps it was a corridor, perhaps it was the living room of the garden owner... none of the scenes he had envisioned appeared.

After the Garden Secret Realm shattered, no other space was generated. This was a completely independent secret realm space, and it was on the verge of collapse, like a bubble trembling on the edge of bursting.

The reason it hasn't completely disappeared until now is that a mysterious spatial force is supporting this crumbling spatial "shell"—a ball of silvery-white light.

It floats silently in the center of nothingness, filled with incredibly rich spatial energy.

Just like the silver light that had enveloped that mysterious, broken rune before, but this light was purer and more condensed.

It floats silently in the center of the void, becoming the only source of light that dispels all the darkness around it.

It was like the last heartbeat in this deadly space.

Dago's eyes flickered slightly. He didn't rush forward, but first cast a defensive field on himself, and then slowly walked towards the ball of light.

His footsteps were very light, as if afraid of disturbing the deathly silence.

Each step felt like walking on empty air, creating invisible ripples.

When he got closer to the ball of light, he saw what was inside and his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"key?!"

Dago blinked, somewhat surprised.

He reached out and used his mental energy to probe first, and only after confirming that there was no trap did he grab the ball of light completely.

It feels cool to the touch, yet has a strange, warm sensation.

He thought the transparent, distorted humanoid figure contained the "key" to escape the garden maze, but he was wrong. It was just a rune, a key to unlock the gate of power.

He thought there was no next level in the garden maze, since it had collapsed into nothingness.

It seems the result was wrong again.

After the entire Garden Secret Realm collapsed, stripping away all pretense and appearances, a real "key" appeared before him.

A silver key that looks no different from the brass key that matches a regular door lock.

It is palm-sized and has a simple, ancient design. It has no complicated patterns, only a few simple grooves, but it seems to contain a kind of profound simplicity.

The material is very unique, like silver, but more transparent, as if it were solidified mercury, with starlight flowing inside.

Moreover, it contains indescribably rich spatial energy particles, and the fluctuations are even more profound and unfathomable than the runes he has just comprehended.

"This key was made from a material with certain spatial properties."

Dargo was shaken, his fingers involuntarily stroking the surface of the key.

Materials with spatial energy properties are priceless treasures in the wizarding world.

Normally, only those great wizards of the Miracle rank or even higher are qualified to use this material to make magical artifacts.

Based on this alone, the "key"-shaped object in his hand is already an extremely precious treasure.

Not to mention, as a "key", what kind of places can it open?

Is it the treasure trove of an ancient wizard's legacy? Or a portal to another dimension? Or perhaps... the true place of inheritance for the owner of the miracle-rank silver staff that haunts his dreams?

Dago gripped the key tightly, feeling the icy power seep into his body through his palm.

This is not only wealth, but also opportunity, and... new danger.