Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

The vast mechanical heart, under the power of the golden curse released by the golden magic box, has been completely transformed into a golden city-state.

The wandering puppets and metallic elemental life forms inside all disappeared, and all the metal turned into gold.

That was a kind of desperate luxury.

The originally precise gears of the difference engine had their atomic structure forcibly altered.

It lost the high-strength alloy properties that were originally the "power core".

It becomes weak, heavy, and devoid of any magical properties.

"Gold might still have some use in the secular world, but for wizards, it's not as good as that dilapidated and rusty wasteland. At least now we can still extract some valuable rare metals from it."

Dago reached out, his mental tendrils lightly touching the wall.

All that came back was the lifeless, inert fluctuation of matter.

This is not only a change in matter, but also an erasure at the level of rules. However, it still follows the law of conservation of energy. Who would expend such a huge amount of power of rules just to transform metal into gold?

Dago had originally planned to collect some more high-grade metals within the Mechanical Heart that could be used as a medium for spells, but that plan has now fallen through.

But he wasn't annoyed; the wizard's principle was equivalent exchange and maximizing benefits.

We lost the materials, but gained the knowledge.

That is, another shortcut to the truth.

However, he obtained the most precious inheritance of the entire Mechanical Heart, which even the Thunder and Flame Hammer he had seen on the metal monument tower in the central square could not compare to.

That hammer represents the dwarven civilization's ultimate pursuit of "tools".

It is the pinnacle of external things.

The Golden Law, on the other hand, is a distortion and reshaping of "reason".

At least that's what Dargo thought; he didn't believe a magical artifact forged by dwarves could compare to the hard work of a legendary wizard from "Melville."

This is the arrogance of a wizard, stemming from an accurate judgment of the depth of knowledge.

Most importantly, Dago had a strong intuition that the hammer forged by the dwarves in the Mechanical Heart was very likely not inside the Mechanical Heart, but had probably already been moved out.

That square tower might just be a trap designed to lure the greedy.

It is a facade that exists to conceal the true treasure—this sealed dream.

"I should have asked the 'Gold Eater' in the dream world."

Dago was a little disappointed.

His regret wasn't about losing a legendary piece of equipment, but about missing out on uncovering the answer to an ancient mystery.

For wizards, unsolved mysteries are more alluring than mountains of gold and silver.

Regardless, he had achieved his goal of coming to the Mechanical Heart, and having now completely turned it into a golden ruin, he had lost the desire to continue exploring it.

There are no more "variables" here.

Without variables, there is no research value.

Finding a way out is the most important thing right now.

"Judging by the time, the battle for Isidor's Wizards spot is about to begin."

That was a bloody feast for the younger generation of wizards.

It is an arena that determines the future allocation of resources and the rights to knowledge.

Only the wizards at the top are qualified to touch upon deeper truths.

Dargo's eyes flickered slightly. After a brief search, he decisively released "Bronte III" from his spatial ring.

The mechanical heart underwent a strange change, and it's unclear whether the entrance he originally entered through has collapsed.

Even if there wasn't one, returning the way he came would take a lot of effort, so having "Bronte III" find him the nearest exit would undoubtedly be the quickest and most convenient option.

"If that Ash Witch Tracy knew that her act of deliberately pushing the Golden Box to me not only didn't kill me, but instead allowed me to obtain the Golden Law, her expression would probably be quite interesting."

The gears of fate always seem to enjoy playing these cruel jokes.

Crisis and opportunity are often separated by only a thin layer of cognitive barrier.

"ha--"

High in the sky, some unknown distance away, a young witch, her two fair legs crossed, sat atop a crimson lotus staff and flew swiftly. She gently rubbed her nose, suppressing the inexplicable urge to sneeze.

The biting wind high in the sky could not penetrate the fire elemental shield surrounding her.

She looked down at the mountains and rivers below, which seemed like ants, her eyes flashing with arrogance and coldness.

"That damned woman Michael must be talking badly about me behind my back again."

Tracy grinned, her tone somewhat menacing, and urged, "Hurry up, Jennifer! I've already missed one chance to humiliate her; I can't miss a second..."

"Yes, Miss Tracy."

Behind them came the voice of the old woman in black robes, which was respectful yet slightly indulgent. Then, the old woman in black robes suddenly transformed into a huge black-feathered vulture.

Lifting Tracy up, gently flapping its wings, it instantly transformed into a tiny black dot on the horizon.

.........

On the desolate plains at dusk, the enormous setting sun struggles to release its last golden rays atop the mountains.

The light elongates the shadows, dividing the world into light and shadow.

A giant serpent, over a hundred meters long, with a single horn on its head and scales that looked as if they were made of blue ice crystals, silently and swiftly swam towards the afterglow of the setting sun.

Wherever it passes, water molecules in the air instantly condense.

A wide trail of frost was left on the ground, which lingered for a long time.

Atop the giant ice serpent's head, a tall and slender figure sat quietly in meditation.

He was a young man with fair skin and handsome features.

The fierce wind carrying frost and snow lifted the hem of his robe, and the glow of the setting sun gently shone on him, giving him an orange-yellow edge.

He lowered his head slightly, his whole being as perfect as a masterpiece sculpted by God, possessing a powerful charm that captivated people.

But what he exuded was a chilling rationality and indifference.

It was Dago who had broken free from the Mechanical Heart early on and was heading to the ruins of the Fairy Ancient City.

"Click-clack—"

A sickening metallic chewing sound shattered the tranquility of the wilderness.

At this moment, Dago was intently feeding a large mass of black metal, about the size of a washbasin and with slightly rusted surfaces, to the living creature in front of him.

Although there is some rust, the internal alloy formula remains unique.

The metal surface undulated like a mass of condensed water, and in the center was a huge shark-tooth-like mouth, which was "huffing and puffing" as it ate the metal bladed disc that Dago fed it, just like eating a cookie.

A lame goat with grayish fur and a gold name tag around its neck stood to one side, watching the black metal goat bite into the metal blade disc, occasionally looking up at Dago with a longing expression.

Annoyed by its stare, Dago would occasionally toss out a few brightly colored metal pieces. The gray goats that received the "feeding" would bleat excitedly and then happily eat them.

"Buzz—"

After the entire metal blade disc was "swallowed" by the black metal in front of it, a strange energy fluctuation emanated from the irregularly shaped black metal.

It then suddenly expanded, and a sharp aura emanated from its body, just like the metal blade plate it had just eaten.

It not only absorbed the substance, but also analyzed and simulated the properties of that metal.

"Tsk"

Seeing the change in the aura and size of the black metal mass, Dago's eyes gleamed with a strange light, and he muttered to himself, "No wonder the 'Gold Eater' named it Titanium."

In ancient wizarding texts, ether was regarded as the matrix that permeated the universe and the bridge between energy and matter.

In ancient times, ether represented unknown elements and infinite possibilities.

It is the ultimate pursuit of all alchemy.

Titanium's properties allow it to continuously evolve and advance in rank by absorbing metals.

It broke the rigid class structure of metals, giving ordinary iron the opportunity to evolve into divine metal.

In this respect, it truly possesses infinite possibilities, just like 'ether'.

That wonderful change captivated him.

"This is a lump of metal that can grow."

"It's also the most suitable magical medium for me, the most suitable for the [Golden Law]!"

"Although I don't know if there's a limit to its growth, it's enough for me at least for now."