Fire Mage

Chapter 507: System Slots

At that moment, Charles thought of Jessie and the other kids and asked.

"How are those kids?"

His question caused Runeth's face to turn serious.

"Titus's and your death caused a big impact on them. All three of them learned the seriousness and went on their own to improve themselves. Jessie went to the City of Miracles a few months ago to search for clues about Underworld and learn more about Rank-5 [Siren] Class. Yes, she became a Rank-4 [Blood Duke] a year ago and even improved her main class. On the other hand, Noel went to the mysterious ruin called 'Dreamforce Lair' a week ago and still hasn't returned yet."

"He went to explore the ruin that has a connection with Dream World?" Charles asked in surprise.

In truth, even he was a little wary of the Dream World.

"Well, he insisted that he would go alone. Moreover, he already chose to walk on the path of Dreamers and became a Rank-3 [Dream Walker]. As long as he didn't venture too deeply into the ruin, I don't think he would face problems." Runeth said with a smile.

Nodding, Charles then thought of the queen of Iron Kingdom and asked.

"What about Rhea?"

"That lass? She had already become a fully-fledged queen and is focusing her full attention on Ice magic during the past two years. She also advanced to become a Rank-4 [Hail Sorceress] and is doing great. You can meet her anytime as long as you go to the Royal Palace."

"Nah, I'm happy as long as they are doing well. Moreover, I return to Edhen not to fool around." Charles said.

"I know. You are waiting to upgrade the System Cube, right?"

Runeth let out a chuckle, arrived in front of the Red Cube, and touched the System Cube's outer part.

In the meantime, Charles shook his head and spoke.

"It's not my main objective, old man. I want to upgrade my 'Fire Affinity' first. Goddess Rudia said that the Planar Invasion mission would start around Year 6418 at the City of Miracles, and the final reward would help me improve my affinity to peak level. So, I want to participate in that mission at all cost."

"You are planning on participating in the Planar Invasion?" Runeth paused in surprise but suddenly shook his head.

"No... It's a precious reward even for a Legend Rank Mystics. The higher-ups in the City of Miracles would never allow an outsider to win."

"Oh? You mean they would cheat or find a way to disqualify me?" Charles showed a troubled look on his face.

"Absolutely. Although you have ten more years to prepare, I don't think you can obtain the reward using normal means. Currently, you are just a peak Rank-5 Mage. If you show your strength and affinity ranking to the organizers, they will give you a sword and shield and tell you to go and guard one of their outposts. Do you think Abyss is an easy place for anyone to walk in? One single mistake, you and all other reckless mages might get squashed by some Demon General or Demon Lord. Once you enter the Abyss, you need to stay closer to the main group to stay alive. Otherwise, you'll die for sure. You may have an artifact to cheat death one time or even twice, but can you do it tens of times?" He paused for a moment and soon asked in a mocking tone.

"Moreover, do you think the event organizers would allow a random Rank-5 Mage to accompany the main group? Never. Only High-Rank members of those three Towers or Legend Rank powerhouses would be allowed to stay with the main group. As for other mystics, the organizers would mostly split them into different groups and send them to different areas for reconnaissance missions. They are nothing but cannon fodders."

"What if I manage to become a member of one of the Three-Towers? Sun Tower should welcome me willingly, right?" Charles asked.

"Even if you want to become a member of one of the three Magic Towers now, you need to spend a lot of Arcane Coins and do a lot of bribes. Do you think Sun Tower would throw flowers if you visit them? Not even the gatekeeper would welcome you." Runeth's words were harsh and cold.

Before Charles could even refute, he once again glanced at him and added.

"Moreover, many young mages from powerful mage families would be participating in the upcoming Planar Invasion Mission. So, your merits won't be enough to win among all those prodigies and blessed ones."

"Then, what do you suggest?" Charles asked in an annoyed tone.

"Leave that matter to me. I'll inform you when I find enough information about that reward. Till then, stay here in the Rebirth Tower and construct your remaining spell model." Runeth said in a calm tone and shifted his attention towards the System Cube.

At that moment, Charles also followed his gaze and asked.

"How long will it take for the upgrade process?"

"I already removed all the remaining Class Gems and Fire Spell Models and stored them in the Tower Core. If you want to build spell models, you don't need to rely on this Cube anymore."

"Oh? Then, what function does this System have now?" Charles asked in curiosity.

"Except for the system interface, there is none. Unlike other artifacts, the original owner of this artifact created this pseudo-intellectual artifact uniquely and placed five empty slots for new abilities. That's how the 'Time-Freeze' spell, the 'Forceful Spell Construction' ability, the 'Consciousness Protection' spell capable of destroying Legend Rank consciousness in your Inner World, the 'Present-Time' ability to protect the System Cube and the 'Game interface' function appeared in this Red Cube. But when the Time-Elemental Stone became empty, the 'Time-Freeze' ability and 'Present-Time' ability disappeared from the Cube, leaving two empty slots behind. A few months ago, I also removed the 'Forceful Spell Construction' ability and a part of the Game Interface's ability and transferred everything into the Tower Core. As for the consciousness protection spell, I don't think you needed that badly. So, I removed that also."

"So, this Red Cube now only has five empty slots?" Charles stared at him in confusion.

"No, I remodeled the Game Interface and changed its core function. For example, I created a forbidden tool used by ancient mages and added it to your System. From now on, you won't receive Exp points or skill points whenever you kill an individual. Instead, this System Cube will extract a part of soul essence from the enemy and give it to you in the form of Wisdom Points." Runeth paused for a moment and then continued with a proud smile.

"What I'm trying to do now is simple. I'm planning to extract four different skills or spells from different artifacts you got from Faith Realm and fuse them into this System with the help of my 'Miracle' skill. Take the artifacts now."

Meanwhile, Charles nodded and took them out from his space ring one by one.

First, he took out the Black-Covered Book and passed it to Runeth before asking.

"I got this Spellbook from a Seer, but I couldn't scan it. Do you know what this is?"

On the other hand, Runeth caught the book from Charles, closed his eyes, and probed it with the power of Past Time.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and showed puzzlement on his face.

"Even I can't search of its past. Someone seems to have erased this book's history from the 'Time' itself. Hmm, but I can sense an incredible amount of 'Future-Time' essence from inside." He deliberated for a moment and then added with a frown.

"I think I needed some time to analyze more about this book."

"Take your time." Charles casually waved his hand and took out the 'Dice of Disasters' from his Inner World.

"This Dice holds-"

Before he could speak, Runeth took it from Charles's hand, placed it on his palm, and said in an excited tone.

"Lad, you think I don't know about this artifact? It's one of the hundred Miracle Gold Coins. Goddess Myxenta sacrificed her own life to create these coins and spread them to every part of this universe for a specific purpose. I heard that the Angel of Time also has one Miracle Gold Coins in his possession."

Charles creased his eyebrows as he heard those words and tilted his head in puzzlement.

"Goddess Myxenta? I, too read, something similar in the description. Yes, the description said that 'It is one of the hundred Miracle Gold Coins created by Goddess Myxenta to break the Universe's balance or something.' Why did she kill herself for that?"

"Divines are always unpredictable and crazy beings, lad. But there must be a reason for that Lady's action. Leave this Dice to me; I'll find a way to attach itself to one of those slots." Runeth put the Dice of Disaster into his pocket and then asked.

"Do you have any other artifacts like this one?"

On the other hand, Charles nodded his head, removed the green pendant from his neck, and passed it to him while adding.

"It's the pocket dimension that has the mysterious plant hidden in the sky."

"Hmm? Pocket dimension, huh. Order the Will to send us to its core room." Runeth spoke as he took the pendant and scanned it using his wisdom power.

"Core room?" A puzzled look appeared on Charles's face. But after receiving no response from Runeth, he let out a deep sigh and sent out an order towards the Pocket Dimension's Will.

A second later, a suction force appeared in the underground hall and pulled both of them into a separate space!