Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The pale staircase spirals downwards, extending into deeper darkness.

Ian's footsteps landed, making a soft rustling sound on the surface of the steps, like stepping on dried bone meal.

The surrounding walls were no longer memory material, but had turned into dark gray rock.

The rock surface is covered with fine cracks, and a faint dark blue light flows through the depths of the cracks, like some kind of frozen blood vessels.

"The second level... a labyrinthine corridor."

Ian stopped and looked ahead.

At the end of the stairs was a huge space, nearly a hundred meters high and seemingly endless in width.

Countless passages radiate outwards from the center like a spider web.

The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of the same dark gray rock.

The entrances to each passage were exactly the same, without any signage.

Only whispers, a mixture of death and madness, filled the air, wandering through the passageways like the wind.

"Ian, the third passage on the left..."

Gaga perched on his shoulder, its little eyes fixed on that direction, its feathers ruffled slightly.

"Something is... making noise."

Ian followed its gaze.

At the entrance to the passage, a pale white, misty outline was slowly gathering.

It has no fixed shape, floating in mid-air like a jellyfish, with blurry human faces, limbs, and the light and shadow of explosions constantly appearing on its surface.

【Echoing Mirage】.

The product of memory pollution manifests itself and actively attacks living beings, using the "echo" of death to impact the target's consciousness.

"Go around it," Ian ordered curtly.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

A tiny black dot, the size of a grain of rice, appeared in the palm of the hand and silently drifted toward the misty outline.

hum!

The moment the gravitational singularity touched the mirage, the surrounding air suddenly distorted.

The misty outline trembled violently, trying to escape, but the gravitational field had it firmly locked in place.

boo.

A slight, crisp sound.

The mirage spirit was compressed into a fist-sized ball of white light, then collapsed inward, annihilated, and disappeared completely.

Even the whispers of death around them seemed to lessen.

"Let's go." Ian withdrew his hand and chose the seventh passage on the right.

This passage is the narrowest, less than two meters wide, but it has the densest concentration of dark blue light on the walls.

His spiritual perception told him that the spatial structure here was relatively stable and the degree of contamination by "echoes" was the least.

A person and a bird walked into the passage.

Footsteps echoed in the narrow space, only to be quickly swallowed up by some force, turning into an eerie silence.

Deep within the cracks in the wall, those dark blue glimmers of light flowed slowly, as if they were alive.

Ian reached out and touched the rock wall.

It was cold and hard, but you could feel extremely subtle energy pulses at your fingertips.

Like some kind of distorted stellar energy.

"The ruins of the Protoss..." he murmured to himself.

After walking for about half an hour, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

The three passages are separated in a "Y" shape, and each passage entrance is engraved with a different symbol.

The entrance to the passage on the left is engraved with a waning silver moon, on the right are three intersecting lightning bolts, and in the middle is a simple circle.

"There are traces." Ian's eyes narrowed slightly.

He crouched down to examine the ground.

The dust tracks were fresh, no more than a day old.

And it wasn't just one team.

At the entrance to the left passage, there are three pairs of footprints. The boot soles have a standard pattern, and the strides are evenly spaced, like a well-trained team.

At the entrance to the passage on the right, there was only one pair of footprints, very light, almost faded away.

Middle passage...

Ian's gaze fell on the circular symbol.

The mark of the Silver Ring.

He stood up and was about to walk towards the middle aisle.

suddenly.

"stop."

The voice came from the depths of the passage, cold and carrying an unquestionable arrogance.

Ian stopped walking, his right hand hanging down naturally.

Three figures emerged from the shadows.

They all wore long, silver-white robes with gold trim, and silver ring badges adorned their chests.

The leader was a man in his thirties with a cold and stern face and his short, blond hair was neatly combed.

He held a silver-white staff in his left hand, the head of which was inlaid with a fist-sized pale blue crystal that emitted a pure, luminous wave.

"This is the area under my control, the Silver Ring."

The man's gaze swept over Ian, his eyes filled with scrutiny and a hint of disdain.

"A lone wolf? State your organization and purpose."

The two teammates behind him stood on either side, their hands on their waists.

On the left is a young witch with delicate features but sharp eyes, and silver threads are moving between the five fingers of her right hand.

On the right is a burly man, over two meters tall.

His arms were covered in runes, his muscles were bulging, and he exuded a dangerous aura.

"Shadowmoon Tower, Ian Marcus," Ian replied calmly.

"Just passing by."

"Just passing by?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of the man's lips.

"The corridors and mazes are intricate and complex, with each passage leading to a different area. You 'just happen' to pass through the core passage controlled by my Silver Ring?"

He took a step forward and gently tapped his staff on the ground.

hum!

A pale silver halo spread out, enveloping a twenty-meter radius around him.

A complex witchcraft combining "lie detection" and "energy suppression".

Ian could feel that the free energy around him had become sluggish, as if he were sinking into a sticky quagmire.

"I told you, I was just passing by."

He repeated it, without changing his tone.

His left hand was tucked into the pocket of his wizard's robe, his fingertips lightly touching the [Ring of Layered Peaks].

Following the updates on Cola Novels has never been so enjoyable.

Inside the cuff of his right sleeve, thirty-six floating crystal cones had quietly taken their place.

"Captain Liam, should we...?"

The young witch asked in a low voice, the silver thread between her fingers tightening even more.

Liam did not answer immediately.

He stared at Ian for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Shadowmoon Tower... I remember your team was led by Herman this time, right? That old guy does have some skill, but unfortunately, his team is full of good-for-nothings."

He raised his staff and pointed it at Ian.

"I'll give you two choices."

"First, hand over the dimensional ring and undergo a body search. If it is confirmed that you have not stolen any information about my Silver Ring, you can leave."

"second……"

Liam's eyes turned cold.

We ask you to leave.

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man behind him took a step forward.

The ground trembled slightly.

On the surface of his massive body, runes lit up one after another, radiating a scorching aura.

"A body-refining wizard approaching level two, specializing in melee combat."

Ian's expression remained calm.

He didn't even look at the burly man; his gaze remained fixed on Liam's face.

"What if I choose third?" he asked.

"Third?" Liam frowned.

Ian raised his right hand, his five fingers spread.

Above the palm of my hand, a black dot the size of a grain of rice silently appeared.

The surrounding light began to distort, the air emitted a faint hum, and the dust on the ground moved on its own without wind, slowly drifting towards the center of the black dot.

Liam's pupils contracted sharply.

He could sense the energy emanating from that black dot... it was very dangerous.

Extremely dangerous!

"you……"

He had just uttered a single word.

Ian clenched his fists lightly.

The black spot disappeared.

Instead, three thin lines of energy burst forth from the palm of the hand.

Ice blue and golden-red spirals intertwined, transforming into a pale purple beam of light that tore through the air.

But it wasn't aimed at Liam.

Instead, it shot towards the rock wall thirty meters behind him.

laugh!

The beam of light suddenly spread out the instant it hit the rock wall.

hum!

A pale purple domain with a radius of five meters suddenly unfolded.

[The Realm of Entropy Change]!

Within the area, frost and scorch marks appeared on the dark gray rock surface.

Extreme cold and scorching heat alternate in milliseconds, causing the rock structure to rapidly embrittle and disintegrate, producing a teeth-grinding "crack" sound.

A few seconds later, the domain dissipated.

A 3-meter-diameter and 3-meter-deep depression was left on the rock wall.

The edges of the pit were as smooth as a mirror, half of which was covered with thick ice crystals, and the other half was melted into a dark red glassy substance.

"..."

Liam's face turned ashen.

The silver threads between the fingers of the young witch behind him trembled slightly.

The runes on the burly man's body also dimmed a bit.

"Now," Ian withdrew his hand, his gaze returning to Liam's face.

"May I 'pass by' now?"

His tone remained calm, as if he were stating a trivial matter.

But there was no warmth in those black eyes.

There was only a kind of almost mechanical indifference.

Liam gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the staff.

He could sense that if that beam of light had been aimed at him...

Unstoppable.

Even with the Shield of Light, even with teammates' support, it absolutely cannot stop it!

That eerie realm, a blend of ice and fire, can directly dismantle energy structures.

What's even more terrifying is that the entire process, from raising his hand to releasing it, took less than half a second.

Spells with domain properties?! That's the mark of a level two spell.

The most terrifying thing is... it's an instant-cast level 2 sorcery!

"Who...who are you?" Liam asked hoarsely.

"Ian Marcus," Ian repeated.

"Shadowmoon Tower, Level One Wizard."

He took a step forward.

Liam instinctively stepped back, holding his staff horizontally in front of his chest.

The two teammates behind him also tensed up at the same time, as if facing a formidable enemy.

But Ian did not attack.

He simply walked calmly past the three men and headed deeper into the central passage.

His pace was unhurried, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

He suddenly stopped as he passed Liam.

"Oh, right."

Ian turned to look at Liam.

"How much information do you know about the 'Royal Court Core Area'?"

Liam's expression changed.

"How...how did you know...?"

"Just guessing," Ian interrupted him.

"You just mentioned the 'core channel.' This channel has the most stable energy pulse and the clearest direction, so it should lead to some important area."

He paused.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

"But don't block the way."

The last three words were spoken very softly, yet carried an undeniable coldness.

Liam broke out in a cold sweat.

He stared intently at Ian, frantically weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

beat?

The power of that beam of light just now far exceeded the capabilities of an ordinary level one wizard.

Not to mention that the other side might have other trump cards up their sleeve.

Do not hit?

Are we just going to let an outsider swagger into the area controlled by the Silver Ring?

"Captain..." the young witch whispered, her eyes filled with unease.

Liam took a deep breath.

"The core area of ​​the royal court is located at the deepest part of the maze."

He gritted his teeth, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"There are veins of 'Fallen Star Essence' there, as well as... the remains of 'Sparks of Civilization'."