518: Summoning the Demon God!
The two of them finally escaped the White Dragon Tower, reappearing in a mine 30km beneath it.
Locke had frequently visited this 30km depth recently because of the Shadow Pool; he needed to soak in its waters to resolve the consciousness splitting issue of his Twin Bloodline.
Thus, he recognized the location at a single glance.
At that moment, the Soul Ferryman automatically dissipated due to the impact of the gravitational force.
Locke breathed a sigh of relief. While Archaeology spells were very useful, certain secrets themselves harbored immense danger.
He would have to use them more cautiously in the future.
Locke scanned the surrounding abandoned mine and the Shadow Pool ten meters away, frowning slightly.
They had entered the Elemental Fission Pool from the White Dragon Street area via the Soul Ferry, moving very little within it, yet after being blasted out, they had emerged at the location of the Shadow Pool beneath the White Dragon Tower.
This indicated that the internal space of the White Dragon Tower was likely chaotic, and the space-time within might not be homogeneous.
The fission gravity over there was indeed too powerful.
Homogeneous space-time is a very important point.
Because it implies the reproducibility of magic.
If a space-time is not equal everywhere, it means that a phenomenon occurring in one area at one time cannot be replicated in a similar area and time point.
Many spells would then cease to function.
In the Endless Void, most Planes, worlds, and spaces are generally homogeneous, as this is a prerequisite for a Plane or world to give birth to high-level organisms and complex powers.
If space-time were distorted everywhere, the world would find it difficult to evolve further in an orderly fashion.
Locke suspected that the space-time within the Elemental Fission Pool of the White Dragon Tower was entirely distorted and chaotic, which explained why the Ferry's Spirit World etherealization ability—which should ignore gravity—failed to work there.
Because the laws of magic did not hold true there.
So-called laws only exist within a homogeneous space-time medium; otherwise, every point in space-time would have its own unique characteristics.
If the space-time medium is non-homogeneous, laws lose their universality.
Applying magic in that state becomes extremely difficult, posing a massive challenge even for a One-Ring Wizard.
The interior of the White Dragon Tower undoubtedly holds many secrets, including very high-level ones that only a High-Ring Wizard could see through.
But one must prioritize. His greatest interest currently was becoming a Second Ring Wizard, so he could only set aside these newly discovered secrets for now.
Reonis spoke with Locke for a while, and the two decided to part ways here.
This was already the very bottom of the White Dragon Tower, where almost no one came, except for occasional patrolling mortal guards and Wizard Apprentices responsible for maintenance.
As long as Locke activated his permissions to open the bottom gate and let him leave, Reonis could take the Ferryman's boat and travel freely through the mineral veins 20km deep underground.
Reonis said to Locke, "In First Ring Archaeology, there are three major skill trees: first is the History Pointer, second is Historical Reproduction, and third is Summon Tomb Spirit."
"The Summon Tomb Spirit system is particularly complex. There are corresponding summoning Spell Models for fighting enemies, summoning tanks, and gathering information. But the pinnacle of this system is Summoning the Demon God."
Locke's brow twitched slightly.
Reonis said, "Unfortunately, Summoning the Demon God requires a First Ring Crystallization level sovereign book, and it requires our research into Archaeology to reach a very profound level, and we ourselves must be wizards in the First Ring Crystallization Stage. Warwick can use Summoning the Demon God, but you and I cannot yet."
"Only the Summoning the Demon God Spell Model can fully unleash the power of the historical data collected in our sovereign book at the First Ring stage, borrowing powerful magical power from the past for us."
"Summoning the Demon God is the Ritual Magic of our Archaeology."
Locke nodded slightly. Hearing Reonis say this, he was indeed intrigued.
After all, the Summoning the King of the Dead and Summon: King of the Ancient Tombs he had used previously each had their own unique uses.
The Summon Tomb Spirit system at the First Ring stage had brought him many surprises.
If he could use the pinnacle of the First Ring Summon Tomb Spirit system, Summoning the Demon God, it would clearly provide a massive boost to his combat power.
He had recently read quite a bit of material in the White Dragon Library and discovered that things like Ritual Magic were very useful even for Second Ring Wizards.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Ritual Magic only requires the First Ring to cast; because of the special nature behind Ritual Magic and its connections to powerful Planes, First Ring Ritual Magic remains useful in the Second Ring stage.
Furthermore, there are corresponding Ritual Magics for the Second Ring stage.
However, Ritual Magic is indeed very dangerous. If handled even slightly incorrectly, one could end up like Wizard Nidhogg, playing with fire and burning oneself, surrendering one's soul to the Blood River Plane.
Locke said to Reonis, "You can also help me spread the word among the Archaeologists. If someone is willing to exchange historical data with me, I can help them concoct potions."
At the underground entrance of the White Dragon Tower, Reonis summoned a Styx Ferryman. He looked at Locke with pleasant surprise, gave the Styx Ferryman an Underworld Gold Coin, and then said to Locke, "That would be wonderful."
"Many among us Archaeologists also want to obtain certain potions that ordinary Potion Masters cannot concoct, some of which even fall into grey areas. So, instead of trading with magic stones, we should use historical data for the exchange?"
The little old man Reonis smiled and said, "Just as Warwick told me, Wizard Augustine is particularly obsessed with collecting historical data. Alright, I'll promote it that way if any Archaeologists really do come by."
The little old man Reonis tossed a bag of gold coins to Locke.
Locke opened it and saw five Underworld Gold Coins inside.
Locke looked at Reonis in confusion. "What is this?"
Reonis said with a smile, "For us Archaeologists, Underworld Gold Coins aren't rare, just a bit troublesome to collect, so consider this a gift for you."
Locke thought for a moment, then took out five bottles of the improved version of Holy Spring Nectar from his astral ring and handed them to him.
Over the past year, he had kept ten bottles of Holy Spring Nectar Potion in his astral ring for emergencies, such as for combat, concocting potions, or replenishing mana when cultivating magic plants.
It was only polite to return a favor.
Besides, giving the excellent improved potions he concocted to an Archaeologist to take back to their Black Wizard Land would further demonstrate his strength in Potionology.
Reonis opened one of the bottles and took a slight sniff. "Impressive. Just breathing the scent is restoring my mana."
Locke said, "Yes, this is my improved version of the Holy Spring Nectar Potion. Its efficacy is about three times that of the original version."
"It's a decent recovery-type potion for the First Ring stage. Use it as you see fit; consider it my gift to you."
Reonis glanced at Locke. "Professor Augustine, you truly are a formidable Potion Master. A formidable Archaeology professor who is also a formidable Potion Master—this combination is actually very rare."
"If you came to develop in our Black Wizard Land, you would do very well. Why stay in this wretched place with so many rules?" Reonis looked at Locke with confusion. "The rules here are so numerous they make me uncomfortable all over."
"You can't even kill servants; it's so troublesome," Reonis said. "In my place, it's perfectly normal for an experiment to kill off a few apprentices."
Clearly, the little old man Reonis was not as easygoing as he appeared on the surface. His easygoing nature was built on Locke possessing an equivalent status and strength, and because he was currently in a White Wizard Land, he was somewhat passively influenced by the rules of this White Wizard Land.
But once he returned to his own neck of the woods, he might not be this honest-looking old man anymore.
What determines a person's character is the lowest thing they are willing to do.
Locke glanced at Reonis.
Seeing that Locke didn't speak, Reonis ordered the Ferryman to row. The Ferryman raised the oar, and in a flash, they vanished without a trace.
Locke took a look, then turned back into the White Dragon Tower and headed for the levitating stairs in the center, quickly returning to the surface via the stairs.
...
An hour later, Locke returned to his residence at the 10km height of the White Dragon Tower. Upon returning home, he indeed received two contracts sent from the Yunze Wetland.
One was from Bonifacius University, and the other was from Golden Crown Mountain.
Locke compared the two contracts and found that the benefits offered by Bonifacius University were basically only half of those from Golden Crown Mountain. Moreover, many key rights, such as autonomy over project funding, project personnel, and project direction adjustments, were not given to him.
Instead, he would have to follow the lead of a collaborating supervisor in everything.
In other words, if he chose to sign the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge contract with Bonifacius University, he would essentially be entering the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge to study with the status of a high-level Wizard Apprentice.
The benefits and rights offered by Golden Crown Mountain, however, were very generous, basically treating him as a mature Formal Wizard.
Locke chose the Golden Crown Mountain contract and signed his name quickly.
As he signed his name, Locke was preparing to mail the contract back, but to his surprise, the moment he finished signing, the contract automatically split into two pages. One page remained where it was, while the other activated a Protection School spell similar to Exile and teleported away on the spot.
"This is..."
Locke said, "Right, all the contracts sent to me by the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge were actually produced by Second Ring Level Contractors."
On the other side, as he signed the contract with Golden Crown Mountain, the Bonifacius University contract suddenly combusted automatically, turning into a plume of black smoke and vanishing without a trace.
And Locke discovered that he actually couldn't recall any of the terms of the Bonifacius University contract; he could only remember some conclusions.
For example, that the various conditions of the Bonifacius University contract were inferior to those of Golden Crown Mountain.
But he could not recall any specific clauses.
"Some kind of Memory Seal?" Locke raised an eyebrow. Moreover, both contracts had the protection of Second Ring Level Curses and incorporated certification from the Eye of Truth, so he didn't have to worry about the contracts being problematic.
Contracts made by Second Ring Level Contractors were indeed very convenient.
The Golden Crown Mountain contract he signed also contained some confidentiality clauses, such as keeping his salary and benefits secret from other researchers in the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge. If violated, someone would be alerted to it, knowing he had leaked the information.
There were no severe punishments within the contract; after all, it wasn't a Curse, just a commercial contract.
But he would likely be penalized by the True Knowledge Institute.
Locke sensed someone looking for him. He summoned the grey mist slate and saw a message from Witch Yekaterina: 'When will you be free to come over to the Yunze Wetland?'
Locke quickly replied, 'Mentor, the contract says I only need to report before September this autumn.'
The Hall of Advanced True Knowledge only allows a person to stay for a maximum of five years.
After five years, regardless of whether you have met the exit conditions, you will be forcibly dismissed.
Job positions within the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge are also strictly controlled by the White Wizard Association headquarters. The entire True Knowledge Institute system is a welfare system provided by the White Wizard Association headquarters for the young One-Ring Wizards below.
Therefore, it is even more heavily regulated than teaching positions, unless a local White Wizard Association or Wizard Academy funds the training themselves instead of the White Wizard Association headquarters paying for it.
Witch Yekaterina's message came back quickly.'September autumn? What are you thinking? It's only February spring now. I can't wait that long for you. Pack up and come over now; I've already had someone arrange a dormitory for you.'
'I'm short-handed here. I just rejected a young One-Ring Crystallized Wizard from Golden Crown Mountain who applied to join my project group for your sake.'
'His conditions were also excellent and met my requirements in all aspects. But for certain special reasons, I chose you.'
The number of slots to join the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge each year is limited. Generally, there are only two, or at most one more added for that year, making a total of three.
In other words, because he had just joined the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge, a young One-Ring Wizard who wanted to join and originally met the requirements was now excluded due to the slot issue.
He had squeezed someone else out.
Locke couldn't help but sigh at the scarcity of these slots and the cruelty of the competition.
Locke thought about it and realized that staying in the Six Towers Land didn't have much meaning anymore, so he replied to Yekaterina that he would buy a boat ticket and head over as soon as possible.
Witch Yekaterina sent him another message. 'As soon as you arrive, apply for a True Knowledge Institute project immediately and get this small project done.'
'There's no need to leave such a common small project undone. It'll save you from being distracted by such trifles when you encounter tough research problems later. Since you're entering the institute half a year early, you might as well solve this small project and familiarize yourself with our True Knowledge Institute environment in advance so you can start working sooner.'
Witch Yekaterina said:'Staying in the outer Wizard Land is just a waste of your talent and time. Golden Crown Mountain is more suitable for your mana growth and can help you reach the First Ring Crystallization Stage sooner.'
'Also... have you recently submitted to "Yunze" and "southeast"? I have special channels to see the submission records of the research institutes I collaborate with.'
Locke noticed Witch Yekaterina's strictness and sharpness, but with such a Third Ring Wizard guiding his studies and research, he had found a great backer.
Not just anyone is worth a Third Ring Wizard wasting energy on them.
Locke replied: 'Yes, I submitted more than half a month ago, but "Yunze" rejected my article immediately. I could only resubmit a paper to "Green Grass Cloud Marsh" half a month ago.'