Above the mage

Chapter 677 Strange Object: Travel Watch

Liu Ying tilted her head, her long golden hair cascading down to her shoulder.

Her clear blue eyes narrowed slightly. After thinking seriously for two seconds, she said firmly in a soft, gentle tone, "Good news."

"The good news is that the fragments of soul essence within the Withered Soul Servant, while pure, have limited energy intensity."

Gao De lightly touched the rune markings on the stone wall with his fingertip and slowly explained, "Using this as a medium, Mordeka can only draw runes of the fourth tier at most. This is the limit that the soul essence can support."

"The basic power of a fourth-order rune array is simply not enough to move the immense energy of the withered soul wind."

He then changed the subject, his tone now carrying a hint of admiration for Modica.

It's simply a runemaster's admiration for another runemaster's professional skills.

"So he spent decades repeatedly optimizing and iterating the array to maximize the utilization of soul energy, with almost no waste."

"This final, twenty-first version of the magic array is still at the fourth rank, but its drawing difficulty, energy circulation efficiency, and actual explosive power are all infinitely close to the fifth rank."

Gao De paused deliberately at this point, his gaze falling on Liu Ying's face.

Liu Ying stared at Gao De with wide eyes, her gaze filled with confusion.

Because upon hearing this, she still couldn't understand how this could be considered "good news."

"But no matter how complex this rune array is, it is still a fourth-order rune array, and the runes that make it up are no more than fourth-order." Seeing her like this, Gao De couldn't help but laugh and stopped keeping her in suspense.

"Although my rune level is not yet at the fourth tier, I am confident that I can reach that level within twenty-four months and replicate this guiding magic circle 21.0."

He added, his tone filled with unwavering confidence and relief: "If the core of this magic array were a fifth-order rune, then we would really be helpless. The threshold of a fifth-order rune is not something that can be crossed in just two years."

"You're still a Tier 3 Rune Master!" Liu Ying exclaimed softly, her tone full of admiration and amazement.

Although she had been "isolated from the world" for eighteen years, with the top-notch aristocratic "education" she received, how could she not understand the rarity of rune masters?

So, Gao De, such a powerful battle mage, is also a third-tier runemaster?

Liu Ying's intuition is truly remarkable.

"And the bad news?" After a brief moment of surprise, she asked with a hint of curiosity.

"I suppose so." It was still quite nice to be "worshipped" by Miss Wang Mian. Gao De enjoyed it for a few seconds before clearing his throat and lowering his tone: "The bad news is that Modikai's records only state that the weak points of the Ghostly Soul Domain's plane barrier are synchronized with the peak of the Ghostly Soul Wind, but they don't say how to locate the specific weak points."

"The Desolate Soul Domain isn't particularly large; we could have found it even if we had searched hard enough."

The problem is that this weak point only appears during the peak of the Soul-Slaying Wind. We can't possibly search for it while braving the Soul-Slaying Wind, can we? He spread his hands, looking utterly helpless.

Mordekay was an ancient necromancer, a renowned figure, and naturally possessed his own methods.

But Gaode Maps doesn't have it.

To be honest, it's quite remarkable that he was able to survive in the Desolate Soul Realm and even take care of Liu Ying.

If it were anyone else, let alone actively seeking a way to escape like him, they would probably have already been corrupted by the withered soul energy and their soul would have been scattered.

However, the weak points in the plane are the key to breaking the barrier; if they cannot be found, all the previous preparations will be in vain.

Gao De frowned, lost in thought.

The air inside the stone tower also calmed down.

Just then, Liu Ying's clear voice broke the silence, but her tone carried an even stronger sense of doubt than before: "But don't you have a travel watch?"

"Travel...dial?" Gao De's mind went blank for a moment, he was stunned and didn't understand what Liu Ying was talking about:

What is this? When did he ever have something like this?

Liu Ying nodded, her gaze passing over him and landing on the ground in the corner of the stone tower.

There lay there quietly a broken watch face, the very antique that Gaode had taken out when he emptied his bag to store honey water.

Gao De's gaze followed hers and his pupils suddenly contracted when they landed on the watch face.

This is an antique he gambled on in the antique street of the City of Glory, because Ibu discovered the astral energy contained within it, thus confirming that it was not simple.

However, even after Gaode acquired it, despite using both authentication techniques and data retrieval, they still couldn't figure out its origin and function.

It can only be vaguely guessed that it was most likely the work of the legendary alchemist Lottie, and then, caught the astral energy tide, it transformed into an artifact, becoming an accessory of an artifact.

"You... recognize this thing?!" Gao De realized.

"So you don't recognize it." Liu Ying blinked as if she suddenly realized something.

She finally understood why Gao De would casually throw such a precious thing on the ground, even more casually than she was.

She would at least put the treasures her father and the nobles sent her into boxes in her drawers, even though most of the time she wouldn't even glance at them.

Gao De frankly said, "This is an antique I gambled on in the glorious city. I only know that it is not simple, but I have never known exactly what it is or what it is used for."

Looking at the watch face, Liu Ying said with certainty, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the last work of Master Lottie's career, one of the core components of the Dimensional Wanderer, the Travel Watch."

"Dimensional Wanderer..." Gao De had heard of this name before.

Sarah had specifically mentioned this legendary artifact when she was teaching him about rare objects.

That was the only artifact she knew that could be called a "legend."

Legendary artifacts are considered the most powerful and mysterious items in the mage realm.

They possess power beyond human comprehension, and behind them lie countless legends and stories.

Its effects are sufficient to interfere with dimensions and even influence the course of history.

But Gao De never expected that such a renowned legendary artifact would actually come from the hands of an alchemist.

Even with the prefix "legendary," it's still incredible.

It is important to know that the creations of legendary alchemists are mostly "artifact" level equipment or constructs, which are wondrous objects that can directly interfere with the laws of the plane and have always been related only to the origin of the plane or the essence of the world.

"Yes, this is a sacred and extraordinary magical item created by Master Lottie, originally intended for exploring unknown planes."

"After its birth, it caught the last surge of astral energy during the final period of the astral tide. Favored by the astral plane, it underwent a transformation under the tempering of astral energy that even Master Lottie had never imagined, and possessed a powerful force that even Master Lottie could not control and that made his heart tremble."

Liu Ying knew this story like the back of her hand and answered Gao De's questions.

Items that can reach this level are not something that ordinary people can forge.

More often, it is driven by the forces of the world itself.

As an epic dimensional phenomenon spanning hundreds of years and appearing only once in history, the energy of astral tides is enough to rewrite the essence of creation.

"The transformation of the Dimensional Wanderer exceeded Master Lottie's expectations, and its power after the transformation terrified even Master Lottie."

"She knew that once the true power of this strange object was revealed, she would never have peace, and countless forces would start a war to seize it."

"What's even more terrifying is that if the dimensional wandering device is abused and used to traverse forbidden dimensions at will, it could very well awaken evil beings slumbering in the distant void."

For example, leyline lords, abyss lords, or even sealed ancient evil beasts—those would be a catastrophe for the entire mage plane.

"To prevent it from falling into the hands of mortals or evil, and to eliminate this potential dimensional crisis, Master Lottie made a difficult decision." Liu Ying paused, her gaze falling on the broken dial, her voice filled with regret as she spoke vividly.

"Master Lottie disassembled the six core components of the dimensional wandering device, hiding five of them in different secret locations, leaving only the navigation component, the travel dial, for himself."

"As one of the core components of the dimensional travel device, the travel dial can be considered a rare artifact on its own."

A rare and extraordinary artifact, possessing power sufficient to have a profound impact on a country or region.

"It is the navigation core of the dimensional wanderer. Its core capability is to accurately locate dimensional coordinates and plan the shuttle route, which is the key to avoiding dimensional turbulence and accurately reaching the destination."

"Once the travel dial is connected to the main unit, it can lock onto the specific location of the target plane, ensuring that it does not deviate from its destination when traveling."

"At the same time, it can also display environmental information of the target plane, such as terrain features, climate conditions, energy concentration, etc., so that the holder can prepare in advance."

"When held alone, the travel watch can serve as a dimensional navigation tool, guiding the holder to avoid getting lost in complex dimensions."

"It allows the holder to clearly perceive the direction of the mage plane no matter where they are, and they will not get lost even in a misty forest, underground where there are no reference points, or in the boundless star realm."

"This is what Master Lottie left for himself for interdimensional travel."

"But in the end, she couldn't keep the secret." Liu Ying's tone was tinged with melancholy.

"The news that Master Lottie had gone into seclusion to create her final work had already spread throughout the Mage Realm, but she never mentioned it after she emerged from seclusion. This unusual behavior naturally attracted countless prying eyes."

"It wasn't long before the existence of the travel dial was exposed. Even though it was just a component, its rare and wondrous effects were enough to drive greedy people crazy."

"The Mage plane has been embroiled in a struggle that has lasted for nearly a decade over the travel watch."

"Although Master Lottie is a legendary alchemist with unparalleled forging skills, his own magical abilities are limited, making him powerless against those high-level mages and forces that covet these rare items."

"And then?" Gao De asked instinctively, his gaze falling on the twisted gears and deformed interface of the dial, making him curious about the final fate of this dial.

"Master Lottie knew she couldn't protect the travel watch, so in front of many mages, she used another of her creations to tear open an unstable spacetime rift and threw the travel watch into it."

"That unstable spacetime rift leads to countless unknown low-magic and non-magic planes. Once the dial enters, it will be swept up by the spacetime turbulence within the rift and randomly fall into a plane, where no one can find it."

"And so, the curtain finally fell on everything."

As for what happened to this travel watch afterwards, it is impossible to verify.

In short, it miraculously returned to the Mage Plane, but it was severely damaged and could only be treated as an ordinary broken artifact, appearing on the antique street of the City of Glory.

"You're really knowledgeable," Gao De couldn't help but exclaim.

It's truly surprising that Liu Ying knows so much about such a hidden and legendary story, and can even recognize this tattered travel watch at a glance.

"Because Master Lottie still harbored resentment over the travel watch she was forced to discard and the dimensional wandering device she was dismantled."

"She was both worried that these creations would fall into the hands of evil people and hoped that in the future, trustworthy people would be able to find them and prevent the power they contained from being completely annihilated."

"Therefore, before his death in his later years, Master Lottie recorded all the detailed diagrams, component descriptions, and core features of the dimensional wandering device, and passed them on to future generations."

"And her descendants, when the family was at its weakest, were forced to sell their property to get through the crisis, and ultimately chose to sell this information to the Wang Mian family."

"Because the Wang Mian family has always followed classical doctrines, they have an extremely high reputation among the various forces in the mage plane." Liu Ying's tone carried a hint of pride.

"Master Loti's descendants believe that if they have no choice but to sell this crucial information, the only way to do so is to sell it to our Wang Mian family, so as not to betray the entrustment of their ancestor Loti."

"But it's already so dilapidated, and this is a magic-free plane."

Gao De frowned and voiced the most crucial question: "In a magic-free plane, extraordinary items become ordinary items, let alone something so severely damaged. How could it possibly help us pinpoint the weak point in the plane's barrier?"

"That's precisely what makes travel watches special," Liu Ying said.

"How could a legendary artifact component used for exploring different planes possibly be blocked by a plane without magic?"

"The travel watch itself contains astral energy, and can operate in a way that resonates with the astral energy even in a magic-free plane."

"Although it is now severely damaged, look..." Liu Ying pointed to the dim gray-green crystal at the tip of the dial.

"This is the astral positioning crystal, the core sensing component of the travel watch."

"Although its light is dim and it is severely damaged, it can no longer accurately locate cross-dimensional coordinates or display environmental information, but it still has the ability to sense the weak points of the dimensional barrier."

"Because the weak points of the dimensional barrier are essentially the places where dimensional energy is thinnest and resonance with the astral plane is strongest, which perfectly matches its core perception logic."

"But..." Gao De had already picked up the watch face and shook it in his hand. The watch face made a clicking sound of gears colliding inside, sounding dilapidated.

"How am I supposed to use this? I don't sense anything unusual about it, let alone use it to find weaknesses in the dimensional barriers."

"It needs to be synchronized before it can be used."

Before it was synchronized, it was just an ordinary watch face.

"After the synchronization, the energy of the astral positioning crystal will be integrated into the holder's perception, and you will be able to feel the direction and intensity of the dimensional resonance as you would feel your own breath."