Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

As he left the stall, Dago received a reply from Ginya—

"Sister Michael frankly told me the reason. She said that my soul is special and the aura I emit is very helpful to her, promoting the growth of a certain ability of hers."

Even after being transcribed by the rune, Ginya's voice still retained that innocent, naive quality.

In the wizarding world, a so-called "special soul" often means a rare experimental consumable or a reversion of an ancient bloodline.

Dago looked at Ginya's reply, thought for a moment, and asked, "Did she ask you to do anything?"

He had to determine the level of plundering that so-called "Michael" was in.

Is it a gentle symbiosis, or a destructive, predatory approach?

"Just...just."

Before Ginya could finish speaking, the voice on the other end of the communication stone suddenly stopped.

It wasn't static from a poor signal, but rather an abrupt silence caused by a high-level mental field instantly severing the magical connection.

The message was suddenly cut off.

Dago was slightly surprised, but he didn't take it to heart, thinking that Ginya might have suddenly gone to do something else. He was more interested in the two things he had just acquired.

For a wizard, the fates of others are merely scenery along the way; only the truth in his hands is eternal.

Meanwhile, somewhere, inside a lavishly decorated mage tower.

"Mi... Sister Michael."

Ginya stood in a room with bookshelves on all four sides, nervously clutching the hem of her robe.

The room was filled with a high-grade alchemical product called "Soothing Incense," which could slightly numb the alertness of low-level wizards, putting them in a relaxed state that was easily influenced by suggestion.

Before her stood a blonde woman dressed in a wizard's gown.

Michael was very young, extremely beautiful, with skin as smooth and delicate as porcelain, lake-green eyes, and an aura of nobility and elegance emanating from him.

"Who have you been talking to for the past few days?"

Michael walked to the desk where Ginya usually sat and asked gently, "Is this the boy who saved you once in the Mechanical Heart? It seems our Ginya has really fallen in love..."

Her fingers lightly glided across the table, a faint thread of spiritual energy lingering at her fingertips, silently analyzing the remaining information fluctuations.

"No...no...we're just friends."

Ginya blushed and kept trying to explain.

Michael chuckled and didn't pursue the topic further, simply saying softly, "Genia, I'm a little tired. Can I rest here for a bit?"

"sure."

Ginya nodded, then quickly took a velvet blanket from the bed and spread it over the woman. She then bent down and gently rested her head on the woman's lap.

"Get a good night's sleep, Ginya."

A faint white light emanated from Michael's hand as he gently stroked Ginya's cheek.

Ginya's eyelids grew heavy at a visible speed, and she soon yawned and fell into a deep sleep in the woman's arms.

After Ginya fell asleep, Michael quickly regained his composure. He closed his eyes, and a complex and mysterious golden rune appeared between his brows.

The rune was not drawn on the skin, but engraved directly into the depths of the soul, which was now greedily breathing in the special soul particles that were floating around it.

Intense white light began to emanate from their bodies.

These white lights slowly condensed on Michael's body, seemingly forming a beautiful and luxurious suit of armor.

"Dago".

On her lap, Ginya mumbled a few words unconsciously, turned over, and slept even more soundly.

She may be experiencing wonderful adventures in her dreams, unaware that in reality she is being "eaten" little by little.

Similarly, the white light emanating from the blond Michael seemed to be gathering faster, and the golden runes between his brows were growing in sync, making his aura increasingly mysterious and obscure.

......

As night fell, Dago set up a defensive and isolating rune array at the bottom of a secluded mountain valley. Under the starlight, he took out all the items he had obtained at the sunset gathering during the day.

The surrounding air was slightly distorted by the operation of the defensive array, blocking the prying eyes of the outside world and the sense of smell of the magical beasts in the wilderness.

The situation with the howling fish in the transparent tank was worse than Dago had anticipated.

It was floating on the water, almost half-reclining, with its mouth wide open, looking like it could die at any moment.

"This thing can't only howl once in its entire life, unleashing its full life potential in that one cry?"

"No wonder the stall owner agreed so readily; he would probably have sold it to me even for a thousand high-grade magic stones."

This is a disposable item, or rather, a failed living bomb.

Dago observed the condition of the howling fish in the tank while thinking.

Dago extended a finger and gently pressed it against the transparent tank, gradually injecting the life energy of his internal life sphere into the howling fish inside the tank.

The latter's near-death state gradually improved, and it soon turned over and started swimming in the water again. However, Dago realized that this was only a temporary solution.

It's like trying to fill a leaky bucket; no matter how much you pour in, it will eventually run dry.

The life energy he injected into the howling fish was also constantly draining away, and the little thing's soul shattered with that howl during the day.

"If we want to conduct research, we need to find more similar life forms."

Dago opened the old animal hide the stall owner had given him, on which were written the four characters "Green Abyss" in scribbled handwriting.

The handwriting was dim, seemingly written with the ink of some kind of sea creature, and had a faint salty, fishy smell.

Using the southern map given to him by Undine, Dago discovered that the so-called "Green Abyss" was located near the western edge of the southern part of the Upper Ring Continent.

"I can find an opportunity to go there."

Dago thought to himself.

For wizards, the unknown represents both danger and opportunity and knowledge.

The Ghost Fish is a peculiar creature, one that Dago has never seen before. The life force it emits is probably only at the level of a zero-tier magical beast.

However, the screaming attack that erupts can affect the mental strength of a second-ring wizard.

If we can figure out how it makes its voice, and combine it with [Howl of the Dead], we might be able to develop a decent mental attack spell.

Of course, Dago was more interested in the ability of the Howling Fish to unleash its life force in one go.