Second World

"Shit… So, what now?" Jack asked. "Do I have to get that dispel spell personally and save up skill points to level it up until level 20 before returning here?"

"I don't see any other option. The concealment is just too strong for a level 1 dispel," Peniel replied.

"How about Greater Dispel?" Grace asked.

"Greater Dispel?" Jack asked.

"How do you know about Greater Dispel?" Peniel returned the question.

Grace took out another magic scroll from her storage. "Because I have one here. I assume from the name it should be a stronger spell than that Dispel just now?"

"You have a Greater Dispel spell?! Wow…! Where do you get it? This is a very rare find!" Peniel exclaimed.

"Aren't your response a bit too exaggerated? It's just a stronger spell to dispel a diagram or concealment, it's not like it increases one's battle capability. What's so special about it?" Jack commented.

Peniel gave him a condescending stare. "You good-for-nothing-but-fight brute. Can you imagine someone using this spell on Fort Garadhor's wall? This spell can literally strip it of its rune diagram which enhances its defensive and restorative ability. Without the wall's self-repair, Prince Therribus' army won't even need siege weapons to destroy it."

"Holy… Where can I get this spell? I have to learn it!" Jack uttered.

"You wish! This spell is too rare, you can just dream about getting one," Peniel said. "Even getting a magic scroll containing this spell is a great fortune."

"This thing is so valuable? Then perhaps I should just keep it…," Grace said as she retracted her hand that was holding the scroll.

Jack showed a disappointed expression at her gesture.

Grace laughed and extended her hand back. "I'm kidding. Take it."

"Uh… Are you sure? You heard Peniel. This thing can turn a tide if used under the right circumstances," Jack said.

"Helping you in need is the right circumstance. Take it," Grace said.

Jack accepted the scroll with gratitude. "Thank you," he said sincerely. He then turned to Peniel and asked, "Are you sure this spell can dispel the concealment?"

"If it can't, I can't think of any other spell that can," Peniel replied. "One thing to note, though. This concealment, if it needs a greater dispel spell to unravel, whoever that place this concealment here is a truly powerful being. I'm not sure meddling with this affair is wise."

"It's just an SS quest, we have dealt with an SS quest before, right?" Jack said.

"Probably the SS is for the deal up to here. You can just report back to Janus and tell them about this finding. They should have people that can dispel this concealment and find out about what it hides. You can then save that Greater Dispel magic scroll and still complete the quest, ain't that a smarter move?" Peniel said.

"Completing the quest will require me to confirm the Eye of Illios' location. I have not yet confirmed it, this is just another clue," Jack said. "Furthermore, being careful is never my style."

With the magic scroll in hand, Jack returned to the center of the stones' formation.

Peniel was about to talk more, but Grace said to her, "Forget it. His curiosity always gets the best of him. Unless there is an overleveled monster in sight, it is unlikely we can deter him. And honestly, I'm also curious to find out what is hidden here."

As Jack was unfurling the magic scroll, he stopped and asked Peniel, "Will this greater dispel also dispels the rune diagram hidden by the concealment?"

"I said that I suspect a rune diagram was hidden under this concealment, I never said that I'm sure. To answer your question, no. If there is a rune diagram, it is considered a separate entity from the concealment. You will need a second Dispel if you want to dispel both."

Jack nodded. He continued unfurling the magic scroll in his hand. A spell formation containing nine runes appeared. Jack simply made a silent wow expression upon the reveal.

A thicker light wave than before washed the stone formation. It stayed atop the formation and shimmered. Slowly, rune drawings were revealed. It was indeed a rune diagram. All three of them could also sense the mana from the diagram now.

It was as Peniel had suspected, each of the stone positions marked the node of powers in the diagram.

Jack studied the diagram in silence. This was a puzzle diagram. It looked complicated. More complicated than the diagram that locked Pandora. But his mana sense had also improved significantly since then, so after some observation, he felt confident that he could solve this one as well.

Without further ado, Jack started to work on the diagram. When he moved its node of powers, the stones followed. Now that the concealment was lifted, they could also sense the mana from those stones which was linked to the node points.

"These stones are infused with enchantment to always follow the node points. No wonder they kept on returning to the same places after we kicked them away," Grace said.

"Makes you wonder, isn't it?" Jack said. He had no problem talking while concentrating on solving the rune diagram due to his Hundred Synchronous Thoughts. "Why go through the trouble of hiding this rune diagram and then place the enchantments on those stones for clues? It's like whoever made this diagram wants it to be found."

Grace and Peniel could only watch as Jack worked the diagram. There was nothing they could do to help. Grace's mana sense although had improved, was still not as good as Jack's. Peniel was even worse.

The fairy soon lost interest and went back to flying around the place. Grace stayed by the side and watched Jack work, at the same time she focused her mana sense to learn what Jack was doing.

Night soon same. Jack continued to work. Grace cast the Illumination spell to light up the place. She had also bought the spell from the Magic Association shop.

"Holy crap… This takes longer than I thought. Should have just rested and worked on this rune diagram in the morning," Jack said.

"Then just leave it and continue the next morning," Grace said.

"If I do, it will revert to its original state. I will have to redo everything again," Jack said.

Peniel added, "Some rune diagrams also contain the chance of a backlash if you stop midway during their unraveling process."

"Can you tell if this one contains that kind of backlash mechanism?" Jack asked.

"Nope."

Jack sighed. "I will just finish it and rest later. You two go to rest first."

"I will stay guard. What if a monster comes by? You can't fight it without stopping what you are doing," Grace said.

"I don't think any monster will come near here," Jack said. "We have been here for a long time, none ever comes near. There must be something in this area that preventing them from coming near this place."

"I will stay. I want to study how you do what you do."

"Well, you two have fun," Peniel said and vanished into her hidden dimension.

Jack didn't persuade Grace anymore, he focused to increase his pace. Although the diagram was complex, with his superb mana sense, he could discern its intended composition. He moved each node through linked pathways until it arrived at the position that Jack sensed to be correct.

It was a tedious and long task. It was almost dawn when the rune diagram was rearranged into something completely different from its original formation. It had become a single line. All the thirty stones were crowding at the same spot.

The line then shone and shot a beam of energy forward, which struck a dead tree not far from there. The dead tree grew. Its trunk that was struck by the beam split open, becoming an oval opening big enough for one person.

Jack and Grace watched the oval opening on the dead tree with fascination. Peniel had also come back out from her hidden dimension after sensing the commotion.

"What now?" Grace asked.

"I think we should enter," Jack indicated the opening which was clearly a portal to another place. There was nothing but void behind the opening.

"Are you sure?" Grace asked.

"No," Jack replied.

They stared at the opening in silence.

"Hey! It is slowly closing!" Grace uttered.

"Damn it! It doesn't give us much time to think. Okay, I will enter first. You wait here. If I'm okay inside, I will send you a message then you enter," Jack said to Grace.

"Are you sure you want to enter?" Grace asked again.

"No," Jack gave the same answer, but he still headed over to the front of the dead tree.

"Wish me luck," Jack said and stepped inside.

As soon as Jack's body disappeared into the oval opening, the opening closed abruptly. Peniel who was still beside Grace phased out at the same time, leaving Grace alone and staring at the dead tree that had shrunk back to its original size.

"What the…," Grace was lost for words at the sudden turn of events.