Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"Aru hiss##"

The delicate fairy girl, as exquisite as a figurine, held Dago's nose, uttering a series of strange and awkward syllables, like some kind of incantation, or as if she were saying something to Dago.

This is an ancient ritual that transcends the appearance of "language" and interacts directly with the source of the soul.

After she finished uttering all the syllables, the fairy girl looked at Dago with tender eyes, as if she were looking at a lover, and then gently kissed the tip of Dago's nose.

The kiss was icy cold, devoid of any warmth, yet it carried a chilling sensation that penetrated to the very core of my being.

It was as if an invisible key had been inserted into the tightly locked door deep within Dago's soul.

"Bang!"

After the kiss, the fairy girl suddenly exploded into a ball of light, and then quickly entered Dago's forehead.

"Buzz—"

In that instant, Dago felt as if some kind of contract had been made in the dark, and his soul power had actually increased to a certain extent.

Just as he frowned in confusion, Dago suddenly noticed a change in the area of ​​about five meters around him.

Those mysterious points of light, which had been drifting aimlessly, suddenly rushed towards him like moths to a flame, merging into his body.

Each fusion of light was accompanied by a subtle tremor at the level of the soul.

It was an extremely pleasurable sensation, an instinctive celebration of the evolution of the essence of life.

During this process, Dago clearly noticed that his soul power was slowly increasing little by little.

Although the growth rate is slow, it is a real and permanent gain.

In the wizarding world, any resource that touches the soul must be exchanged for tons of magic stones or blood.

And now, they are laid out nakedly before us, readily available.

"So this is what Barker meant by the benefits of staying here as long as possible?!"

Dago realized this, and a strange light suddenly shone in his eyes.

This is not only an opportunity, but also a ladder to the temple of truth.

For a wizard seeking truth, this is the most deadly temptation.

Soul power is the foundation of everything. Any means or method that can increase soul power is invaluable to a wizard, especially to him now.

"I have the opportunity to replenish the last bit of soul power I need to advance from the second ring to the third ring here."

Dago took a deep breath and quickly moved around the garden.

He did not hesitate or waver in the slightest.

Reason told him that this mechanism, which was similar to a "newbie protection period" or "reward time," would not last long.

This is both a blessing and a trap of the "rules".

He was incredibly fast, leaving blurry afterimages in the air as his figure constantly shifted positions.

Like a sophisticated harvesting machine, it is tireless and does not miss any resources.

A slight humming sound emanated from the joints of the Titanium Silver Ice Armor, a sign that the runic power was fully activated.

A moment later, he had absorbed almost all the scattered light spots in the entire garden.

The once dreamlike garden now appears somewhat dim, as if its vitality has been drained.

At this moment, Dago noticed that wisps of gray smoke began to appear on his body, very thin, like the thin smoke produced by burning dry leaves.

The smoke was unaffected by the wind and stubbornly clung to the surface of his armor.

It exudes a peculiar energy, like a lighthouse in the night, announcing something to its surroundings.

Dago didn't know what this was, but it was undoubtedly related to the little fairy who had made some kind of pact with him after the explosion.

"A mark? A curse? Or a signal for the hunt?"

Dago's eyes turned cold, and his vigilance rose to the highest level.

In this wizarding world filled with scheming and killing, the pie that falls from the sky often hides a deadly hook.

He speculated that this might be one of the rules of the competition, and what it specifically represents might be revealed later.

In any case, now that we're in the game, there's no reason to back down.

When all the light spots in the garden had been "captured" by Dago, his soul power increased again, and more thin smoke emanated from his body. At this point, Dago began to consider changing locations.

The resources here have been depleted, so there is no point in staying any longer.

Plunder, digest, and then search for the next prey.

The garden entrance was just ahead. Passing through the secluded four-colored flower bushes, Dagger saw a beautiful archway made of stone carved with many lifelike vines.

The vines were carved with exquisite detail, and even the veins on the leaves were clearly visible.

He habitually observed the patterns on the vines, but as he passed through the archway, he saw, as if looking in a mirror, a figure about twenty meters ahead of him, maintaining almost the exact same movements and expression as himself, frozen in place.

Dago and the figure locked eyes, and an eerie stillness descended upon them.

The wind stopped, and the light and shadow froze.

Only the killing intent spread silently in the air, like two cold currents colliding.

This is what happens when two people meet on a narrow path.

In this closed-off ancient city, everyone except our own people is a competitor and a potential enemy.

But in less than half a second, the figure rushed towards him.

The other party has obviously made a judgment as well.

To hunt, or to be hunted.

"Haha, I didn't expect to run into a level 2 player."

The man, who had a short beard and looked to be middle-aged, laughed loudly while rapidly chanting incantations. He held a black short staff in each hand, and faint magical fluctuations emanated from his body.

The laughter was filled with greed and contempt.

In his view, a second-ring wizard apprentice, no matter how well-equipped, is still a lamb to the slaughter.

This is not just a crushing defeat in strength, but also a chasm in social status.

He could almost picture the precious resources the other person possessed falling into his own pocket.

However, before he could rush very far, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him like a ghost.

Fast! Too fast!

This completely violates the law of inertia of moving objects.

It was a combination of pure power and speed, a breakthrough of physical limits.

The man's pupils contracted sharply, but his expression was a mixture of surprise and delight. He grinned maliciously and slammed the short canes in his hands together against his chest.

"Fool! Since you dared to get close, then die!"

He roared inwardly.

If it's a spell-slinging exchange with distance between you, it might be a bit troublesome.

But at this distance, his instant-cast spells are invincible.

"thorns!"

The powerful mental field belonging to a third-ring wizard, a golden halo composed of countless golden spikes, and the aura of a vast magical domain—the three combined and expanded rapidly.

A series of loud explosions filled the air.

Countless golden thorns made of pure energy, with a sharp edge that could tear everything apart, burst forth indiscriminately in all directions.

This is a perfect spell that combines offense and defense, and it is his trump card for survival in countless life-and-death battles.

However, as the man approached, the figure, whose entire body, including his face, was encased in silver metal, revealing only a pair of azure eyes, did not flinch.

There was no fear, no panic, and not even a trace of emotion in those eyes.

She merely glanced at him coldly, then raised her silver-white right hand high, from which clear, crystal-like blue flames shot out.

Under the sunlight, silver and ice blue intertwine, and the silver-armored man's entire right arm shines like a long, narrow, scimitar with its sharp edge exposed.

This is a blade for execution.

Raise it to the top, and then slash it down fiercely!

The movements were simple and efficient, without any unnecessary frills.

"【Ice Flame - Freeze-Thaw】!" A cold voice rang out.

There was no chanting, no prelude.

"Click-clack-clack-clack—"

The golden thorn halo, empowered by triple forces, shattered with devastating force under the vertical slash of the arm blade, which intertwined silver and ice flames.

Those seemingly indestructible energy thorns, upon contact with the icy blue flames, were like snowflakes encountering the scorching sun.

Their internal structure was instantly destroyed, and their energy circuits were forcibly cut off.

The originally violent energy was transformed into harmless dissipated particles in an instant.

"What?!"

The man's eyes widened, and an expression of disbelief crossed his face.

His worldview collapsed at that moment.

He couldn't understand why his proud third-ring spells were so easily defeated by a second-ring spellcaster.

His forward-leaning body instantly turned backward, and waves of rich golden light spread out from his body, accompanied by a surging aura of the Dharma Domain like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing.

That was driven by an instinctive will to survive.

He was burning his life force in an attempt to build a final defense.

But beneath that "Ice Flame Scimitar," it was as fragile as pieces of paper constantly being thrown out and cut up.

The layers upon layers of defensive shields were rendered useless by the icy blue blade.

The shattering of each layer of the shield was accompanied by a violent upheaval in the man's mental world.

The "curved blade" plunged straight in, slashing right up to the man. There was no force that could stop it; all energy and magic would inexplicably and automatically disintegrate under the blade's touch.

This is not just a physical attack, but also an erasure of the rules.

The man looked horrified, as if he had finally realized why a second-circle wizard would be here.

This is not a lost lamb.

This is an ancient ferocious beast disguised as a sheep!

He is a monster who has mastered some kind of forbidden power!

He tried to escape, but it was too late.

The surrounding space seemed to be locked by that terrifying blade aura, and under the pull of the energy, it became extremely difficult for him to even move a finger.

When the metal arm was less than ten centimeters from the man, the icy blue flames wrapped around it had thinned considerably. At that moment, its five fingers, shaped like a palm blade, suddenly opened and pressed down hard on the man's face.