Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"Bang bang bang—"

Two figures, one after the other, left blurry trails in the void, accompanied by a series of bursts of air compression, like firecrackers.

A dark, silvery-white metal wall suddenly rose up, and the rapidly moving figure crashed straight into it, then came to an abrupt stop with a loud "boom".

Smoke and dust rose, and gravel flew everywhere.

The terrifying kinetic energy was released in that instant, and the metal wall surface showed a tooth-grinding twist and dent, like a crumpled piece of tin foil.

Dago slowly released his grip, looking expressionlessly at the strange wizard whose head he had forced halfway into the metal wall made of "titanium".

The other person had fallen into a coma, and their limp limbs were still twitching unconsciously.

Blood trickled down the metal grooves, dripping onto the moss-covered stone slab with a dull thud.

He acted with great restraint. Although the battle was not a matter of life or death, it was merely a competition, and he had no intention of taking the other's life.

This is merely a game of resources and truth; pointless killing will only increase the entanglement of cause and effect, rather than the accumulation of strength.

"The Ice Flame, having entered the first level of the Law Domain Resonance Realm, has become increasingly abnormal in its ability to freeze and dissolve."

Dago looked at the crystal-clear, icy-blue flames swirling between his fingers with a strange expression.

That flame was no ordinary fire; it had no temperature whatsoever, but rather a chilling quality that seemed to freeze the very essence of all things.

It leaps at your fingertips, as if yearning to devour more rules and structures—a destructive desire that is the most fundamental aspect of "order."

The third-ring wizard lying in front of him had just cast a spell that had already entered the realm of resonance of the second level of magic domain.

That was a high-level defensive sorcery called "Black Rock Armor," with a rune structure of up to 360 nodes, making it as solid as a mountain.

Faced with a resonant [power to break the law], it was forcibly "cut" open.

It's like a red-hot knife cutting into solidified butter—no resistance whatsoever, only the crisp sound of the rules collapsing.

Although it has the added strength of his own body and the "titanium" metal, it cannot overshadow the powerful effect of [Ice Flame].

"If one layer can break through two layers, then by the time the second layer is reached, it might be enough to freeze the spell of triple resonance."

"Even though the improvement in proficiency is a bit slow, it's still worth the money."

Dago only wanted to test the effect of [Ice Flame - Freeze Dissolution] at the first level of the Law Domain Resonance Realm on a whim, and he was quite satisfied with the result.

Those who can comprehend the resonance of the second level of the third ring at the early stage are considered outstanding among their peers, and are undoubtedly geniuses. Yet now they are lying stiffly in front of Dago.

This is the cruel truth of the wizarding world: the depth of knowledge determines the height of power, while talent is merely an entry ticket.

Suddenly, a cloud of light emanated from the unconscious man's forehead and pierced straight into Dago's brow.

"call--"

In an instant, Dago felt his soul power surge, almost ten times more than the light points he had collected in the garden in half a day.

This feeling of fullness is like a torrential rain arriving on a dried-up riverbed; the spirit and soul are rejoicing.

Similarly, the gray smoke emanating from his body became much thicker.

If the original gray smoke was not easy to see without careful observation, it is now quite obvious.

Wisps of gray smoke swirled around the silver armor riddled with shark-tooth-like nicks, giving Dargo an even more mysterious and eerie aura.

Like a vengeful knight crawling out of the abyss of hell, burdened with some ancient curse.

"This is like a concrete manifestation of soul power."

Dago looked at the gray smoke swirling around him, lost in thought.

He reached out his finger, trying to touch the gray smoke, but found that his finger passed right through it, without any physical form, only a kind of "weight" originating from the spiritual realm.

In the instant the ball of light merged into him, he sensed that about two-thirds of the energy within the ball of light was forcibly separated and turned into the gray smoke outside his body.

This is a mandatory "tax," or "fuel" for some larger ritual.

He felt like he was starting to understand the rules of this battle—it was a "big fish eats little fish" or "battle royale" game.

Every participant here is both hunter and prey; both vessel and nourishment.

"The more opponents you defeat, the more benefits you gain; but if you fail, you will lose most of the energy from the collected light orbs."

This is a zero-sum game.

This was also the greatest malice left by Isidore; he wanted to choose not a flower from a greenhouse, but a Gu King who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"We don't know what these mysterious light spots are made of, but the increase in soul power they provide is exceptionally pure, even surpassing that of the Moon Soul Stone."

Dago watched as the man lying on the ground gradually awoke from his coma, but his entire body slowly became blurred and indistinct, being expelled from the Fairy Ancient City by a mysterious force.

That's the barrier's protection mechanism, and also its elimination mechanism.

Losers have no right to stay, not even for a second.

He watched the man disappear completely, then raised his head and gazed at the ancient city shrouded in a light mist, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Dago walked forward calmly, his spiritual energy spreading out, while the [Eye of Truth] wove between his brows.

He has already begun actively seeking his next "hunting" target.

In this closed ecosystem, kindness is the greatest poison.

Under these rules, it's practically paradise for the strong.

Everyone is "nourishment" that can increase strength, a fresh and juicy "fruit" that just needs to be discovered by dispelling the layers of fog and searching for and harvesting.

The stone path beneath my feet is marked by the passage of time, and moss that emits a faint glow grows in the cracks.

The Fairy City is many times larger inside than it appears from the outside, with a maze-like network of roads.

Spatial folding technology.

This was the first word that popped into Dago's mind.

Every street here may connect to different spatial nodes, and one can easily get lost in an endless loop if one is not careful.

The only things that can serve as directional guides are the enormous gray stone pillars standing in the ancient city.

They tower into the clouds, their surfaces engraved with intricate and obscure runes, radiating a constant force field.

Dago didn't know what the stone pillars represented, but he instinctively moved closer to them.

His intuition told him that it was the city's "anchor point" and the core hub where the rules operated.

As he searched for his next opponent, he absorbed the mysterious specks of light floating in the air.

The points of light resembled startled fireflies, but drawn by the mist, they had no choice but to obediently merge into his body.

Although the increase in soul power provided by the light spot was very small, even a mosquito's leg is still meat, and Dago could feel his soul power slowly but steadily approaching a certain critical point.

That is the bottleneck for second-ring wizards to advance to the third ring.

"Over there!"

As Dago strolled along, he suddenly stopped, sensing traces of magical fluctuations nearby.

Three hundred meters to the left front, there is a violent elemental disorder.

There are people fighting.

Just as Dago was about to approach, suddenly...

A burning sensation came from his chest. He frowned and reached in to take out a badge hidden inside the "Titanium".

The badges, with their simple openwork patterns, were now flashing a faint blue light, much like communication stones.

Dago held the badge in his hand, channeling his spiritual energy into it, and could vaguely sense an aura constantly approaching him.

He is a member of the Kyoto Progressive Society.

In this perilous ancient city, encountering allies should have been a stroke of luck.

But in the wizarding world, allies often mean conflict over the distribution of benefits, especially under the rules of this "battle royale".

Dago's eyes flickered as he considered whether to meet up with the other party, but the other party was very fast, and in just a few breaths, he had already appeared in his field of vision.

— He was a handsome young man with blue hair, and his robes were printed with a pattern of glowing hands.

The robe was made of excellent material, with a protective force field shimmering on it, clearly a rare high-level enchanted item.

The young man stopped, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring directly at Dago, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

Dago couldn't help but frown.

Enemy road is narrow.

Fate seems to always enjoy playing these cruel jokes.

It could have been anyone who approached him, but why did it have to be this guy?

Claire, a young wizard from the mid-sized wizarding faction "The Hand of Magic," was quite at odds with Barker within the Progressive Society and had even opposed Barker joining the Society!