A Wizard's Secret

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Dark Magic Space was huge; Wizard Heusius was still introducing the place to Merlin in detail.

Without realizing it, Wizard Heusius had brought Merlin to a place that was densely etched with runes. At this place, Merlin saw a figure who wore a black Wizard's robe. The figure was tall, but he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating. His entire being did not give off any aura at all - just like a dead man.

Wizard Heusius halted and spoke softly to Merlin, "This is the Guardian Wizard of the Dark Magic Space."

"Guardian Wizard?"

Merlin was full of questions, but Heusius' expression remained grim as he said, "That's right. Guardian Wizard. Other than Didimoss, there's probably no one in the Dark Magic Region who knows about his name and his origin. The Guardian Wizard has been here ever since I joined the Dark Magic Region. He never goes out and has always stayed in the Dark Magic Space, protecting this place. He may even be related to the Great Wizard Fidel…"

It was apparent that Heusius held a lot of respect toward the mysterious Guardian Wizard, while Merlin was slightly surprised. The Guardian Wizard did not look old, but little did Merlin expect him to have stayed in the Dark Magic Region for such a long time.

"Alright, Merlin. Take out your Pandora Demon Ability. If you want to bring anything out of the Dark Magic Space, you must gain the permission of the Guardian Wizard. Without it, no one can bring anything out of here."

Merlin nodded. He took out Destructive Wind which he had gotten from Weiss, from his ring.

Wizard Heusius did not even look at it and directly passed it to the Guardian Wizard. He said to the Guardian Wizard respectfully, "Guardian Wizard, this is Merlin, an official member of the Dark Magic Region. He has obtained a Pandora Demon Ability by luck and wishes to exchange for another Pandora Demon Ability with the Dark Magic Region. Please have a look at it, Sir."

The Guardian Wizard who had kept his eyes closed slowly opened his eyes. After receiving Destructive Wind, he took a brief look at it and said monotonously, "We don't have this Pandora Demon Ability in the Dark Magic Space. You can exchange for a Pandora Demon Ability of equal value here!"

After saying that, the Guardian Wizard waved his hands and countless runes appeared in his hands. Slowly, a door appeared in the Dark Magic Space.

Upon seeing the Guardian Wizard had drawn so many runes effortlessly, Merlin was overwhelmed with shock. Although the Dark Magic Region specialized in Runology, even the Seventh-level Spell Casters who specialized in the study of runes would not be able to set up a Runic Magic Circle as effortlessly as that.

Ignoring other aspects, the Guardian Wizard had to have a deep understanding of Runology.

"Enter. That's the place where the Pandora Demon Abilities are kept!"

Heusius revealed a smile and stared at the door as he said with mixed feelings.

Merlin nodded, then walked through the door.

As soon as he walked in, Merlin adapted quite well to his surroundings. There were some bright lights that lit the space up like daylight.

In it, there were many small white jade boxes floating in mid-air. The boxes were shining, making them look dreamy.

"The Pandora Demon Abilities in the thirteen jade boxes on your left are of equal value with Destructive Wind. You can choose from them! However, you can only open one box, so choose wisely. Once opened, you must memorize the cultivation method of the Pandora Demon Ability stored in the jade box in two hours. After two hours, you must leave this place!"

Just when Merlin was glancing at the boxes, a chilly voice came from behind him. The Guardian Wizard had entered through the door since who-knows-when.

Merlin was listening closely to his words. This was the rule in the Dark Magic Space. Even the Seventh-level Spell Caster must adhere to the rules here, so Merlin set his gaze to the thirteen jade boxes on his left.

"Swoosh!"

The Guardian Wizard flipped his palm around and a jade box appeared in his hands. Then, he placed Destructive Wind into the box and etched some mysterious runes in mid-air that were roughly stamped onto the box.

After sealing the box, the Guardian Wizard placed it aside. The thirteen jade boxes on their left had now become fourteen in total. This meant that the Dark Magic Region now possessed fourteen Pandora Demon Abilities which were of the same level as Destructive Wind.

This was a large number, but it still could not be compared to Ozmu yet.

Merlin came directly to these jade boxes and carefully scanned them. There were mysterious runes etched on the jade boxes. As soon as he extended his Mind Power toward it, he could read a brief introduction about the Pandora Demon Ability which contained in the jade box.

Merlin now possessed Glacial Finger, Fiery Collapse, and Darkness Heart. However, both Glacial Finger and Fiery Collapse were Offensive Pandora Demon Abilities. Even Darkness Heart could be used as an Offensive Pandora Demon Ability.

Thus, Merlin really wished to have a Defensive Pandora Demon Ability now.

Meanwhile, he should not choose the most powerful Pandora Demon Ability. He should go for the Pandora Demon Ability that could be incorporated into his spells just like Darkness Heart. He should not underestimate the mere two stages of cultivation. Once he had reached Fourth-level and Darkness Heart had been incorporated into his Darkness-type spells, the power of his spells would reach an unimaginable height.

Moreover, during the most glorious age of Spell Casters, the strong Pandora Demon Abilities were always the ones that could be incorporated into the spells. Only those capable of being incorporated into the spells were said to be the most powerful Pandora Demon Ability.

Merlin's Glacial Finger and Fiery Collapse could not be incorporated into his spells, so they were not considered very powerful in this sense.

Hence, Merlin first decided that he would pick an Earth-type Pandora Demon Ability. Three of the jade boxes contained this type. However, Merlin continued to filter them and took out an Offensive Earth-type Pandora Demon Ability.

Finally, he was left with two Pandora Demon Abilities which were suitable for Merlin. Both were Defensive Pandora Demon Abilities and had only two stages.

These two Pandora Demon Abilities were called "Impeccable Shield" and "Fuse Earth".

"Impeccable Shield" as its name suggested, was a Pandora Demon Ability which could gather endless Earth Elements to form a gigantic shield with terrifying defensive ability. However, the first stage of "Impeccable Shield" was comparable to a Fourth-level Defensive spell, so it was considered somewhat powerful.

Merlin was already tempted to pick "Impeccable Shield" but he was moved when he saw the Pandora Demon Ability in the other box.

"Fuse Earth", the Pandora Demon Ability with a weird name, was the Pandora Demon Ability which was most suitable for Merlin.

He could begin the cultivation of Fuse Earth as soon as he had constructed his First-level spell, Guardian Monument. Moreover, he could easily incorporate the Pandora Demon Ability into his spells should he succeeded in cultivating it. It appeared to be similar to Darkness Heart, but there was a distinct difference between them.

Darkness Heart was known as the most favorable ability to have in conjunction with Darkness-type spells in ancient times. If one cultivated Darkness Heart, one could express a large strength no matter what sort of Darkness-type spells one possessed.

However, Fuse Earth was different where the Pandora Demon Ability was only specific to Earth-type Defensive spells. It could only be incorporated into Earth-type Defensive spells, thus enhancing the strength of the spells.

Furthermore, Fuse Earth had a unique point; it could be merged with the spells in its first stage unlike Darkness Heart which could only be merged with Fourth-level spells.

With Fuse Earth, Merlin would be able to greatly enhance his defensive ability. At that time, his overall strength could be improved, and he could completely overcome his lack of defensive ability without the use of bowknot-shaped Enhancing casting tool.

Fuse Earth was a match made in heaven for Merlin. Thus, after seeing this Pandora Demon Ability, Merlin chose Fuse Earth without a moment of hesitation.

"Guardian Wizard, I'll pick Fuse Earth!"

Merlin turned around and said to the Guardian Wizard.

The Guardian Wizard took a nonchalant gaze at the jade box and said in a calm tone, "Are you sure you want to choose Fuse Earth? Once you've made the decision, you can no longer change your mind."

"Yes, I'm sure. Please reveal the jade box, Sir."

Merlin replied with a determined look.

"Alright! Two hours later, you must place Fuse Earth back into the jade box."

Thereafter, the Guardian Wizard stretched his palm wide and mysterious runes flew out from his palm and rapidly dived into the box. The runes on the jade box began to shake violently, then slowly disappeared from sight.

Although he only had two hours, it was more than enough for Merlin to read the cultivation method. Since he had the Matrix, he could easily memorize the cultivation method within a few minutes.

"The Matrix, begin recording!"

Merlin initiated the Matrix in his mind. After everything was set up, Merlin then slowly opened Fuse Earth and carefully skimmed through it.

"Fuse Earth had two stages. In the first stage, one must've constructed a First-level Earth-type Defensive spell. In the second stage, one must've constructed a Fourth-level Earth-type Defensive spell.

"Cultivating Fuse Earth successfully required that it be coupled with the use of Lava Soil!

"Should Fuse Earth be cultivated successfully, the strength of the Earth-type Defensive spell could be increased by three to six-folds!"

Other than the introduction of Fuse Earth, the remaining was the detailed cultivation method of Fuse Earth. After reading through it, he frowned slightly.

It was not difficult to reach the first prerequisite of the cultivation since Merlin had constructed a First-level Earth-type Defensive spell, Guardian Monument. However, he had to have an item called Lava Soil to successfully cultivate Fuse Earth.

This was quite difficult since Merlin had not heard of Lava Soil before. It had to be difficult to find.

The successful cultivation of Fuse Earth only resulted in a three to six-folds increase of the spell's strength. This was far less than the five to ten-folds increase effect of Darkness Heart.

However, Fuse Earth had an overall excellent effect. After all, Darkness Heart was considered a well-known Pandora Demon Ability. Many Pandora Demon Abilities that had three stages could not even be compared to Darkness Heart.

"Alright, it's time. Place Fuse Earth back into the jade box and you may leave now."

The emotionless Guardian Wizard suddenly spoke in a firm tone.