Chapter 97: Chapter 68: The Statue’s Secret
「Two months passed in the blink of an eye.」
As Sopea had expected, they were no longer in Kovri.
They had ended up on a desolate, isolated island.
The island was also particularly small, about the size of the Hall of Truth at most.
Sean gazed at the vast ocean surrounding them. The waves, shimmering under the sunlight, rippled with the wind. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Where is this?"
"...I don’t know either."
Sopea said.
Blake had never brought him to this place before.
However, he remembered that Blake had a hobby: fishing for "fish."
Whenever he got a craving, Blake liked to go to the Winterless Sea—a place ordinary Wizards wouldn’t dare venture—to fish for Sea Beasts mutated by Magic Power. He would then take them back to use as ingredients or to concoct Magic Potions.
Sean took a stroll around the small island and, sure enough, spotted a fishing boat on the northern sea. "He" was on board, fishing.
"So this is the Winterless Sea?" Sean asked.
"It should be," Sopea replied.
Sean: "Is it far from Kovri?"
"Not far." Sopea estimated for a moment before saying, "Only about three thousand-some kilometers."
Sean: "?"
’That’s not far?’
Sopea added, "It’s about three thousand-some kilometers from the coastline to Kovri."
They were clearly in the "middle" of the Winterless Sea, with no land in sight. No one knew which "middle" this was, but the actual distance to Kovri was definitely more than three thousand kilometers, not less.
Sean said decisively, "Move the timeline forward another month."
Sopea: "Okay."
"Right, remember to avoid my personal privacy," Sean reminded him.
"Mr. Sean, you don’t need to worry. No scenes you don’t want us to see will appear," Sopea said.
He was a professional Dream Builder, after all. He had used special methods to avoid Sean’s private memories from the very beginning of the dream construction, so Sean could rest assured. He had professional ethics.
But after they moved the time forward another month...
They were still on the island.
Sopea: "..."
Sean: "..."
’Didn’t you say he only liked to come fishing occasionally?’
’How has he been fishing for a whole month?’
"It’s possible this is his second time here," Sopea guessed.
Sean said only one word: "Change!"
The time jumped forward another month.
This time, it wasn’t the ocean.
But it was close enough.
They had arrived in a desert city with a unique, exotic charm.
Before Sean could ask, Sopea voluntarily reported the distance: "About twenty-three hundred kilometers."
He had been to this place before.
There was a Teleportation Array in the city, but they couldn’t use it in their "Ghost state."
The most crucial point was—even if they could use it to return to Kovri, the scene in Kovri would be distorted.
This was because Sean had no memories of Kovri from this point in time. Blake was in the desert city at this moment and didn’t know what was happening in Kovri. A dream patched together from other memories would be inaccurate.
Sean could only say, "Change again!"
’I can’t believe this. Wasn’t I a super-nerd who spent all day and night in the research lab in my past life?’
’How could I have been running around all over the place for months on end?’
Koni raised her small hand and said softly, "Is it possible, Mr. Sean, that this is just your routine? For example, if I have nothing to do, I spend one day every weekend at the library in the Void Technique Space."
She arranged her own time in weekly units, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for Sean.
Perhaps his was monthly.
If they kept jumping time in one-month increments, they would naturally always find him outside.
When Sean heard this, he thought it made sense. So, he added a number after the month: "One month and three days."
This time, it finally worked.
The surrounding scene was like a shattered puzzle in Sean’s eyes. The pieces fell away and then rapidly reassembled. In just a few seconds, they were back in Kovri.
This time, they were directly inside the fourth-floor library of the Hall of Truth.
"Alright, you guys can go back to reading," Sean said.
He had already noticed a new book in the display case.
"Fallen Nether Technique"
Apparently, the old man had already brought back the Meditation Technique and finished adapting it, even changing its name.
The word "Fallen" was probably chosen for its similarity to "Sunken." It made sense, but it sounded strange.
It gave off the feeling that cultivating it would lead to one’s fall or degradation.
’Don’t tell me it’s actually the kind of Dual Cultivation I’m thinking of?’
Sean complained internally. ’It seems the old man’s family isn’t a very reputable one.’ But on the surface, he looked even more excited than before.
Just then, a student came to borrow a book.
The administrator in charge of the display case was sitting in a nearby chair, a book covering his face as if he were asleep. But as soon as the student approached, he woke up. The eyes under the book glanced at the student as he asked, "What level is your Basic Magic Power at?"
"Tier Two," the student replied.
"Go on, you can’t read this book yet," the administrator said. "Come back when you reach Tier Three."
In reality, even a typical Tier Three wouldn’t be able to handle it.
The adapted Meditation Technique was more efficient than the original. If the original technique required half a year to increase Magic Power by one Lak, the adapted version took less than three months—more than twice as fast. Correspondingly, however, its requirements for a Wizard were also higher. Anyone below Tier Four couldn’t even think about it.
However, Mr. Blake had set up Magic Arrays on every floor of the Hall of Truth to temper the students’ Spiritual Strength, which was why a Tier Three had a chance to try.
"Also, next time you come, remember to bring your girlfriend," the administrator said.
This book was meant to be studied by two people together. Reading it alone was useless, even if you managed to learn it.
The student scratched his head awkwardly. "What if I don’t have a girlfriend?"
Administrator: "Can’t you go find one?"
Student: "..."
’But I can’t find one!’
’Why does studying require a girlfriend nowadays?’
Administrator: "A male classmate will also work."
Student: "..."
’I’ll stick with a female classmate, then.’
The book had remained on the library’s fourth floor for so long without being borrowed not only because of its high requirements but also largely due to the "single" factor. The students who could study at the Hall of Truth and were allowed into the library, regardless of gender, were almost all people with eyes only for knowledge. Asking them to find a partner on short notice was a tall order.
In truth, the administrator was also confused.
He was one of the instructors who had participated in adapting the Meditation Technique. There was no strict requirement that it had to be a man and a woman. But this was a rule set by Mr. Blake. Romantic couples were given priority. It was said to be related to the Path of Divinity, but his rank wasn’t high enough to ask for details, so he could only comply.
Sean mulled it over for a long time. ’Aren’t these requirements practically tailor-made for me?’
Although he was only at Tier Two now and hadn’t been meditating much recently, with his Basic Magic Power still just over one pi, he could immediately reach Tier Three after he finished testing the poisons and took the High-Intensity Gold Forging Potion.
He had a female partner, too.
’Isn’t his sister-in-law the perfect fit?’
The only difficult part was, how was he going to bring this up with Elvire?
The two of them were still in the middle of a "cold war."
Besides, he needed a reasonable explanation for how he could obtain this Meditation Technique. He couldn’t just expose himself and tell the girl that he was her brother-in-law, could he?
Sean’s mind started spinning again.
But it wasn’t long before the problem was perfectly resolved.
Blake reminded him. While his mind was racing, he suddenly noticed his past self entering the library out of the corner of his eye. Ignoring the worshipful and admiring gazes of the students, he walked straight to the statue.
A golden ring of light appeared in Blake’s palm, and he slowly pressed it into the statue.
Unlike the Third Law Technique Sean had once used, this ring of Blake’s was clearly more complex and had more characters.
Sean quickly realized what was happening.
’After confirming the Book of Ancient Language on the fourth floor of the library, the next step is to complete the fifth floor. And for students to enter the fifth floor, they must first gain the approval of the fourth-floor statue. Blake is setting a test for the students.’
’No wonder the statue doesn’t recognize Tier or Spiritual Strength. It’s testing one’s true understanding of Mysticism.’
’Being able to perform Meditation doesn’t mean you understand its principles. Having high Mental Power doesn’t mean you truly know how to use it.’
Sean knew what he had to do.
He memorized the position where the Truth Technique was integrated into the statue.
As long as he went to the statue in the Void Technique Space Sanctuary, found this test, and replaced it, he could let in whoever he wanted.
"Excellent."
Sean had heard that the Dawn Council held a meeting every year during the Day of Abstinence.
’Then get ready to welcome your Lord Blake!’
...
