Chapter 1957 - 677 - 685

Chapter 677: Inner Chamber I

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The passage was so dark that it was impossible to see anything in front of them. It also seemed that they were descending to the underground. There was a trace of cold draught that seemed to be resistant to Spell Casters' spells.

Chi!

A flame flickered to life before Merlin. He had released a spell to illuminate the entire passage. Merlin finally saw right then that the passage he was in was not very big. At most, it would only allow two people to walk side-by-side.

To add to that, the passage also bore manmade chisel marks. There were some strange murals on the uneven surface of the stone walls. Merlin stroked the murals inside the passage gently. The icy sensation made him felt as if he was in another world.

"These stone carvings are very ancient…"

Merlin could almost feel the progression of time underneath these stone carvings. This passage was definitely not built in the last few decades but a very long time ago. Maybe more than a few thousand years ago. It could be a remnant from the Molta Empire era.

"Wizard Merlin, this place had been discovered by the southern Spell Caster world before and was almost destroyed. We've been through here many times, but it remains as mysterious as ever." Wizard Tamo whispered as he stared at the stone-carved murals.

Ozmu Headquarters had always had a trace of mysteriousness about it. Nonetheless, all the other Wizards did not know of the secret within aside from the two Ancient Great Wizards of Ozmu and Kleis.

Merlin continued to walk down the passage and soon saw a glimmer of light. Just as Merlin was about to exit the passage, Wizard Tamo hurriedly spoke up behind him. "Wizard Merlin, although your abilities are outstanding, there are still many Great Wizards inside Ozmu Headquarters. Kleis has always been arrogant, so he had only brought a small number of Great Wizards with him for the final battle with the northern Spell Caster world. A majority of them are still in Ozmu Headquarters. If you barge in like this, I'm afraid it might be somewhat dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

Merlin's lips quirked into a smile. Wizard Tamo still had not grasp that no number of Great Wizard would pose a threat to him with Merlin's current abilities.

Thus, Merlin did not heed Wizard Tamo's 'advice' and stepped out of the passage.

Bright dazzling light flooded Merlin's vision immediately upon exiting the passage. Nevertheless, he had adapted to the brightness in no time and began to examine his surroundings.

This was a huge underground palace. It was glorious and sparkling with gold. Huge gemstones were inset on almost every surface of the place. These gemstones were considered immaterial to Spell Casters, but the elements inside this underground palace were abnormally concentrated. In fact, they were more concentrated than any place in the Glorious Land.

Merlin had only ever sensed such concentration of elements in some of the dimensions in the Void Zone that contained large lodes of elemental crystal stones. It was unbelievable that such a place existed in the Glorious Land where resources were increasingly scarce.

However, after a careful search using his Mind Power, Merlin realized that there was no elemental crystal stone lode underneath this place. The reason the elements were so concentrated was that the entire underground palace was built with elemental crystal stones.

Every inch of the palace was polished out of elemental crystal stones. From the tiles on the ground to the glistening walls of the underground palace. Such extravagant behavior was completely unthinkable in the Glorious Land.

"Who is it?"

It was only at this moment that some of the Spell Casters in the underground palace discovered the anomaly in their midst. All of these people carried powerful elemental fluctuations, so they must be Great Wizards at least.

t]These Spell Casters were taken aback when they realized that Merlin was not a Spell Caster from Ozmu. After all, Ozmu Headquarters had never been breached by external Spell Casters.

An invisible Mind Power shrouded all the Great Wizards in the underground palace just as some of the Great Wizards regained their wits and were about to release some spells.

"Hallucinate!" Merlin growled softly.

All the Great Wizards fell into a hallucination, their expressions became blank and drunken. Judging on how powerful Merlin's Hallucinating spell was now, these Great Wizards would never recover from the hallucination unless Merlin canceled the spell.

Merlin seemed to have entered a completely deserted place as he made his way deeper inside the palace.

Swish! Swish!

Despite their wariness, Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles followed in tight footsteps behind Merlin. Once they had stepped inside the underground palace, they were stunned to find that Merlin seemed to be splaying a large cloth all over the place and all the Great Wizards around them had blank looks on their faces. Even with a single glance, they could tell that these Great Wizards had been trapped in an illusion.

"All trapped in an illusion. Every last one of them! This is the majority of Great Wizards in Ozmu. Ozmu's force should be greater than the Seven Major Spell Caster organizations of the northern Spell Caster world even without Kleis!"

If they had not witnessed it with their own eyes, Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles would not believe that Merlin was able to entrap so many Great Wizards in an illusion with just a single wave of his hand. This was even more staggering than his act of defeating Kleis!

"Wizard Tamo, which of these people are the two Ancient Great Wizards of Ozmu?" Merlin asked as he cast a glance over the Great Wizards in the underground palace.

Wizard Tamo looked around hurriedly. His expression changed when he whispered, "Wizard Merlin, Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian are not here. They must be inside the inner chamber."

"Inner chamber?"

Merlin looked at the huge dazzling golden palace around him. There seemed to only be one palace. Where was this inner chamber?

Wizard Tamo stepped forward and said, "Wizard Merlin, you may not know but this underground palace is very complex and very ancient. In fact, I suspect that this was not built by Ozmu but was built a long time ago. This is only the outer chamber. The Great Wizards usually have access to the palace up to this outer chamber. The inner chamber can only be entered by the two Ancient Great Wizards and Kleis."

Following the direction of Wizard Tamo's finger, Merlin looked toward the front of the main chamber. There was a very large mirror installed at the front of the main chamber. A very bizarre accessory indeed.

What was even more bizarre, though, was the fact that this mirror could not show any reflection. Its surface was covered densely with runes. Merlin could sense the complexity of these runes when he inspected the runes with his Mind Power.

"How do I enter?"

Merlin frowned, finding this Runic Magic Circle to be slightly tricky.

Wizard Tamo shook his head helplessly. "This is the most secretive place in Ozmu. No one except for a handful of people can enter. I don't have a clue as to how I could enter the place."

Merlin tried using the beacon ring, but there was no response.

"Wizard Merlin, why don't we wait for a while. Maybe Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian will emerge from the inner chamber soon."

"Wait?"

Merlin snickered. "There's no need. If we can't slip in unnoticed, then we'll just enter by force!"

Merlin stood up and gave stared at the gleaming mirror with a piercing gaze. Then, he walked towards the mirror slowly.

"Shatter now!"

Merlin extended a hand and slammed it down viciously. At once, ice crystals converged together to form a large hand, and there was even a layer of white flames wrapped around it.

The co-existence of ice and fire was only possible to those who had fused the two spells and consolidated a Wizard Heart.

Hum.

The large hand slammed onto the gleaming mirror violently. The dense runes began to flash brilliantly in an attempt to block Merlin's spell-conjured hand.

Surprisingly, it did manage to block it, but only for a brief moment.

Crack!

The flames on Merlin's spell-conjured hand burned strongly and devoured the large mirror entirely. The mysterious and powerful runes were unable to withstand the attack and shattered at once. The ferocious force even formed spiderweb-like cracks all across the mirror.

"Shatter!"

A tiny smile appeared on Merlin's lips when he saw the cracks forming across the mirror. He stretched out a finger and pointed gently. Just like that, the large mirror shattered into smithereens.

After the large mirror was shattered, Merlin's expression changed dramatically as he stared at the dark passage behind the mirror. At this moment, a familiar aura wafted from the passage.

"This aura…"

Merlin was so astonished that he disregarded all else and dashed directly into the passage toward the inner chamber.

Chapter 678: Inner Chamber II

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The dark passage was obviously a Spatial Passage. Upon stepping inside this passage, Merlin's consciousness black out, and he was transported to a colossal subspace.

Arriving in this subspace stunned even the well-traveled Merlin. In this almost endless subspace, there was an incredibly humongous vessel almost as big as the sky.

Seeing this humongous vessel, Merlin was immediately reminded of the futuristic space warships depicted in the fantasy movies in his past life. This humongous vessel was inconceivably huge. Even the three-headed beast would seem minuscule next to it.

This was obviously a warship!

Only that the warship had been broken into two. Its hull was completely fractured. Even so, the ice-cold warship still gave Merlin a sense of imminent danger.

"What is this place?"

Merlin looked up and noticed that there were stars twinkling beautifully above his head, looking like an endless starry sky. There was nothing under his feet though. There was no land whatsoever. Evidently, this was a perfect subspace that was completely independent of the Glorious Land.

Merlin was no stranger to subspaces. It was possible for a Great Legend to carve out an independent subspace. It was just that the subspace carved out by most Legends were too small, perhaps only slightly bigger than the subspace contained in most spatial rings.

In reality, only those who became Great Legends would be able to transfigure spatial rings. Moreover, the Great Legends would usually carve out an independent subspace to put larger items that could not fit inside their spatial rings.

The more powerful a Legend was, the bigger the subspace they could carve. This subspace was so vast that he could not find its boundaries even after extending his Mind Power. This subspace was definitely not carved out by an ordinary Legend.

If one became an Ultimate Arcane Wizard, one could carve out not just a subspace but a brand-new dimension. For example, the three great Arcane Cities were, in fact, new dimensions that were carved out by the three Ultimate Arcane Wizards.

"Such a colossal subspace! I'm afraid even an Honored Legend would not be able to carve this!"

Merlin was mesmerized, not just by the humongous warship but also this colossal independent subspace.

Swish! Swish!

Two figures emerged from behind Merlin. They were Wizard Tamo and Wizard Giles. They were noticeably stunned as well when they saw that the inner chamber was actually this independent subspace.

They were especially shocked to see the broken warship. Their jaws had gone slack, and they could not speak at all.

"This is… What is this place? And this giant vessel, what is it?"

After all, Wizard Tamo had only ever lived in the Glorious Land. With his limited experience, he was naturally unaware that this was an independent subspace which could only be carved out by a Great Legend.

As for the warship, even Merlin was not sure why it had existed in the Glorious Land and inside the subspace carved out by a Great Legend.

"Giant vessel… Now I recall, Ozmu has many completed ancient scrolls. One of the events described most frequently is a massive war that happened over three thousand years ago. According to the scrolls, the great Molta Empire had encountered an unprecedented crisis. From the outside world came a giant vessel the size of the sky that was far more powerful than any Spell Caster casting tool transfigured by the Great Alchemists. A single beam of light shot out by the giant vessel could easily destroy an entire city… Don't tell me, this is the mysterious giant vessel described in the ancient scrolls to be as big as the sky?"

Excitement glimmered in Wizard Tamo's eyes. He had thought that the ancient scrolls had been erroneous. How could there be a powerful giant vessel that was even more powerful than all casting tools?

Moreover, a giant vessel the size of the sky was practically unimaginable to them. At one point, he also wondered whether it was merely a delusion. He did not think that the legend would be true.

"Giant vessel…"

Merlin mumbled under his breath. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration popped into his mind. Last time when he had obtained the Ship of Nikola in the Glorious Land, he found out that the Spell Casters had waged a war against a mysterious civilization when they first stepped into the Void Zone.

That mysterious civilization was very different from the Spell Caster civilization. They had massive warships as big as the sky. Even Great Legends could not defeat these vessels. Eventually, it was the Arcane Wizards' intervention that had managed to stop this extraordinary civilization.

Afterward, Merlin found out the name of this civilization for the first time when he went to the Void Zone: the Atlan civilization. The war had not ended yet. Although the Atlan civilization had been banished back to their origin dimension, one of the Ultimate Arcane Wizards of the Spell Caster civilization stayed back to guard against the Atlan Dimension. In other words, the war with the Atlan Dimension had continued till today.

"So, is this the Atlan civilization's warship?"

Merlin did not dare underestimate the Atlan civilization. After all, due to the carelessness of the Spell Caster civilization back then, the Atlan civilization managed to spread the flames of war all the way to the Glorious Land. This had caused irreparable damage to the Glorious Land, and it had yet to recover from them now.

The reason for the legacy gap in the Glorious Land, as well as its gradual fall from grace, were all closely related to the Atlan civilization.

Just as Merlin prepared to go closer, a layer of misty grey light suddenly appeared. The familiar aura that Merlin had sensed from the outer chamber emerged again.

"Maxim?"

Merlin's expression grew hesitant as he looked at this layer of misty grey light. This was clearly a Maxim consolidated by a Great Legend! The humongous warship was encapsulated by the Maxim.

"Wizard Merlin, you said that this is a Maxim? The Maxim that could only be consolidated by Great Legends?" Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles' voices trembled.

Merlin glanced at Wizard Tamo. He naturally understood the excitement and thrill in their hearts. Not a single Great Legend had been born on the Glorious Land ever since the collapse of the Molta Empire.

The lifelong dream of these Great Wizards was to become a Great Legend. Now that they had stumbled across a Maxim of a Great Legend here, how could they not be excited?

"Yes, this is a Maxim consolidated by a Great Legend!"

Merlin no longer paid any attention to Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles after that. Instead, he stared closely at this layer of misty grey Maxim. He could sense that this Maxim was fluctuating rapidly.

Splash!

Suddenly, the Maxim trembled and vibrated like water ripples. A tall puppet materialized from within the Maxim. This puppet's eyes were hollowed out. It spoke in a deep voice when it saw Merlin, Wizard Tamo, and Wizard Gilles. "Finally, someone is here again! You're all Spell Casters, so you are allowed to come here as per Master's requirements. Come, follow me."

"Master?"

Merlin's heart skipped a beat. The fact that this puppet could walk freely inside the Maxim meant that it must have been left behind by the Great Legend who had wielded the Maxim. Merlin would not be able to break this Maxim even if he had used up all of his strength without the accompaniment of this puppet.

This was by no means a simple Maxim!

"Follow me, and don't mess around!"

Merlin warned Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles walking behind him softly. Then, he took a deep breath and looked at the passage opened by the puppet. With Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles in tow, Merlin flew into the passage swiftly.

Once they had passed through the Maxim, the first thing Merlin did was to look at the humongous warship. Merlin could not see this warship clearly before due to it being isolated by the Maxim.

Nevertheless, he could still feel it's threatening aura.

Now that they were observing this warship close-up, Merlin felt an even stronger threat coming from it. The dark and ice-cold metal emitted a faint sheen. On the warship stood rows of black cannons that gave Merlin a spine-tingling chill. It felt more dangerous than a Great Legend.

"This is the Atlan civilization's warship?"

Merlin finally could not hold back from asking the puppet. He knew that this puppet surely had some ounce of knowledge.

"Oh? You know about the Atlan civilization? Where did you come from?"

The puppet peered at Merlin curiously.

"The Void Zone!"

After a slight pause, Merlin uttered these three words.

"What? The Void Zone?"

A fiery glow appeared inside the hollow eyes of the puppet to show its excitement and shock.

"Since you've returned to the Glorious Land from the Void Zone, I'll tell you. Yes, this warship indeed belongs to the Atlan civilization's fleet. Although it has been destroyed by Master, it's still an empire-level warship. It's normal for you to sense its threat."

The puppet chattered cooperatively. It seemed that Merlin's identity as a Spell Caster from the Void Zone had eased a lot of its concerns.

"Empire-level warships? I'm not very familiar with the Atlan civilization. Can you elaborate on that?"

Merlin was mystified. He was very unfamiliar with the Atlan civilization. He had heard of its name occasionally but did not know of the history behind it.

The puppet explained in detail, "The Atlan civilization is a very unique civilization. Their physical bodies are not very powerful. They're actually not much different from the Normies. In fact, compared with the civilization tribes in the Void Zone, you could say that they're them weak! However, they managed to develop some very powerful tools. These tools are somewhat similar to the Spell Casters' casting tools, and the most powerful tool is none other than these warships! The Atlan civilization's warships are generally classified into city-level, empire-level, dimension-level, and according to legends, void-level!"

"A city-level warship possesses powers comparable to a Great Legend whereas an empire-level warship is comparable to an Honored Legend. As for the dimension-level warship, well, it has once killed a Great Lord!"

This was the first time Merlin had heard so much about the Atlan civilization. He frowned and said, "So does that mean that a void-level warship is comparable to an Ultimate Arcane Wizard?"

The puppet shook its head incessantly. "It's not that simple to achieve the level of an Ultimate Arcane Wizard. Among the millions of civilization tribes in the Void Zone, how many civilizations do you know have given birth to an Ultimate Arcane Wizard? Only a small handful has managed to produce an ultimate existence. Although the Atlan civilization's void-level warship is very powerful, it still unable to rival an Arcane Wizard. Nonetheless, even the mightiest Lord would not be a worthy opponent of a void-level warship!

"Not to mention, if the Atlan civilization achieved an ultimate existence, why would they remain suppressed in their origin dimension? The reason the war had lasted for so many years is due to their caution against the ultimate existences. Perhaps, there is something in the Atlan civilization that makes the Ultimate Arcane Wizards wary, therefore they are unable to destroy the Atlan civilization completely."

Merlin nodded. The Atlan civilization was very secretive in the Void Zone. In fact, most of the Great Legends were unwilling to talk about the Atlan civilization. Otherwise, it was impossible Merlin still did not know much about the Atlan civilization after staying in the Void Zone for such a long time.

"By the way, which Wizard is your Master?"

Merlin spared a glance at the puppet and was very curious about the identity of its Master. Firstly, the puppet knew so much, and secondly, this empire-level warship which was comparable to an Honored Legend had been easily destroyed this puppet's owner. Hence, he must at least be an Honored Legend.

"You'd only be qualified to learn of Master's identity if you can pass Master's first challenge!" the puppet replied coldly and did not answer the question.

Chapter 679: The Origin Lord!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Challenge?"

Merlin looked at the puppet. It did not seem to be kidding.

"Okay, challenge away."

Merlin was now filled with confidence. No matter what challenge it was, he would be able to pass it.

"Very well, the first challenge is, you must defeat six puppets like me! Remember, these puppets are all comparable to a peak Great Wizard!"

As soon as the puppet finished speaking, six fully-black puppets whizzed through the air from beyond. Merlin used his Mind Power to scan them, there was indeed no life force.

However, the material that formed these puppets' bodies was quite extraordinary. The puppets were not made from conventional materials typically used in puppet transfiguration but instead, a distinctive kind of metal.

"Can I start now?"

"Of course!"

Upon hearing the puppet's reply, Merlin's Magic Power gushed out of his body and swiftly transformed into a terrifying hurricane that hurled toward the six puppets.

This terrifying hurricane contained a potent shredding force that could be sensed even from the outside. It had far surpassed a Great Wizard, so even the mightiest existence below a Legend might not be able to withstand it. This force was already comparable to a Great Legend!

The hurricane advanced like a hot knife through butter, and ruthlessly swiped up the six puppets. In an instant, the potent shredding force immediately shredded the six puppets into smithereens. There was no resistance whatsoever.

"Did I pass the challenge?"

Merlin turned to look at the puppet beside him.

Inside the puppet's hollow eye sockets, a fiery-red glow appeared. The puppet was apparently quite stunned as it stuttered, "Of course, you've passed. Your spell is already comparable to a Great Legend's Maxim power. Are you a civilization-level prodigy?"

This puppet was extremely knowledgeable, and even knew about civilization-level prodigies.

Merlin grinned. Just as he was about to continue asking about the Spell Caster who had defeated this warship and created this colossal subspace, suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the six puppets who had been shredded into pieces by his hurricane earlier reassembling themselves from the countless smithereens. Soon, they were completely recovered, and looked undamaged.

"Recovered? What puppets are these?"

Merlin had seen many puppets including puppets more powerful than these but he had never seen puppets that could recover. This had exceeded his knowledge of puppets.

"Shatter!"

Without warning, Merlin wielded a mighty spell, and slammed downward. Immediately, the six newly-restored puppets were crushed into dust again.

However, this time, Merlin used his Mind Power to carefully observe these tiny smithereens. After a moment, the black smithereens began to vibrate, then, almost as if it was alive, rapidly reassembled together.

Every single piece, without exception, reassembled together. Subsequently, they turned into liquid, and fused rapidly. Soon, the puppets which were turned into dust, reappeared once again.

"Immortal?"

Merlin was astonished. In the Void Zone, there were some civilization tribes that were known to be "immortal" but they were not truly immortal, just harder to kill. Once their weak points were exposed, they could be killed easily.

Merlin carefully examined these puppets. They looked exactly like other ordinary puppets. The only difference was the material of their body, which Merlin had never seen before.

"Do you see it now? Master transfigured all of them using the special metal from the warship. It's called liquid memory metal. This metal is very unique. No matter how much impact it undergoes, it can still recover rapidly, and remain unblemished. It's truly difficult to kill them. Moreover, this metal can also withstand extremely hot and cold temperatures. Unless, you achieve the power level of a Legend and can unleash a fearsome Flame Maxim or other similar tactics to burn the liquid memory metal into ashes. Then, it'll not be able to recover and can be killed!"

Hearing the puppet's explanation, Merlin's interest was piqued by the liquid memory metal. Although the puppets transfigured from this metal was not truly immortal, their ability to recover was astonishing. If there were a big number of them, they would be a truly intimidating force to reckon with.

"The Atlan civilization is truly unique. That warship in particular, contains several battle tactics that impressed even Master. After some time, you'll come to understand it! Anyway, you've passed the first challenge. Come on, let's go and see what Master has left behind for you."

This puppet appeared to be in control of the entire independent subspace.

"Oh, right, so who's your Master actually?"

Upon hearing Merlin's question, the puppet paused, and stopped in its tracks. Turning its head around, it replied softly, "Master's name is but a single word, 'Origin'. Many of the Spell Casters back then called him Wizard Origin!"

"Origin?"

Merlin mumbled under his breath. Soon, he seemed to recall something, and raised his head abruptly with a look of astonishment.

"Do you mean the Origin Lord? One of the most ancient and most powerful Lord in the Spell Caster civilization? Later, unfortunately, he died in a battle with a foreign tribe!"

Merlin immediately recalled an ancient legend within the Spell Caster civilization. The history of the Spell Caster civilization did not date back very long, so the Origin Lord was one of the most ancient Lords.

Merlin had once asked the similarly-ancient Blackfire Lord. However, compared to the Origin Lord, the Blackfire Lord was less ancient. It seemed that the Origin Lord existed since the birth of the Spell Casters. Then, he gradually grew in power as they fought back against the gods.

In fact, some Wizards said that if the Origin Lord had survived until now, he might have become an ultimate existence.

The Origin Lord died a very long time ago but his legend still continued to live on within the Spell Caster civilization, to the point that even Merlin had heard of it. It was completely unfathomable that the secret of Ozmu Headquarters was linked to the Origin Lord.

"That's right, the Origin Lord! He had constructed this independent subspace, and defeated this Atlan civilization warship as well as left behind a series of challenges. If you manage to obtain everything left behind by the Origin Lord, then there's hope for you to become a Great Lord as well!"

The puppet left behind by the Origin Lord noticeably missed him quite dearly, and held a special affection for the Origin Lord.

Merlin's heart was thrilled. The Origin Lord was a very ancient and very powerful Lord. The items that he left behind must be extraordinary. Although Merlin had already met an Arcane Wizard, he was not an Arcane Wizard's disciple, so, he could not obtain more benefits.

This was different for the Origin Lord. The items he left behind were specifically intended to nurture Spell Casters. Naturally, he would leave behind something beneficial. Thus, Merlin was incredibly thrilled.

"I wonder what the Origin Lord left behind?"

Merlin murmured inaudibly as he followed behind the puppet. They continued to traverse the pitch-black subspace.

"The items left behind by the Origin Lord are of course exceptionally beneficial, even to a Great Wizard. You are the second person to pass the first challenge, so I hope you can continue to pass the second and perhaps even the third challenge."

The puppet's words revealed a lot of information. Apparently, the Origin Lord's challenge was just not a single challenge. There was a second and even a third challenge.

However, the most surprising bit of information to Merlin was that he was not the first person to pass the first challenge. He could not imagine who else would be able to defeat six puppets that were not only comparable to peak Great Wizards but were extremely tough to kill.

"Who was the first Wizard to pass that challenge?"

Merlin asked quietly.

"The first Wizard… He was also a very special Spell Caster. He was a rare Spatial Wizard! Nevertheless, he was not as skillful as you. It took some time for him to pass the challenge. I think his name is Kleis!"

"Kleis?"

An odd look flitted across Merlin's face. He did not expect that Kleis also passed the challenge. He wondered what item did Kleis received back then.

Thus, Merlin continued to follow behind the puppet, a look of anticipation plastered across his face.

Chapter 680: Five-Elemental Wizard Heart!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Whoosh."

Following behind the puppet, Merlin suddenly saw two peculiar zones suspended in the pitch-black void. Among these two zones, one of them was filled with a chilly sensation whereas the other felt earthy.

"We're here. This is what Master deliberately left behind. It contains Master's insights from when he consolidated his Maxims. Inside, you'll witness the evolution of Maxims. Every single transformation of the evolution of spells into Maxims are manifested inside. Back then, Kleis also entered both places, and slowly collected insights for a few months. Merlin, these two places that Master has left behind are merely from his most ordinary Maxim. They're not his Ultimate Maxim. If you want to receive insights into a more powerful Maxim, you'll have to pass the second challenge."

The puppet said cautiously as it pointed toward the two zones.

"Evolution of Maxims?"

Merlin furrowed his brows. He did not know what the evolution of Maxims was supposed to be.

"Correct, evolution of Maxims. It's okay if you don't know what is it now. Once you enter, you'll understand. Nevertheless, I must remind you. Even if you don't derive any insight from it, you must memorize the evolution process of the Maxims meticulously. The evolution process of a Maxim is highly sought after even in the Void Zone. In fact, if you pass the second challenge, the evolution of an Ultimate Maxim is something that even the Great Legends would fight to get their hands on."

Upon finishing speaking, the puppet left and disappeared without a trace. Its hiding place was indiscernible.

Merlin took a deep breath and flew toward the earthy zone. Then, he entered it.

"Boom."

Upon stepping his foot inside, Merlin had sensed that his surroundings had shifted. Before his eyes was an endless Earth Maxim. In this zone, the Earth Maxim was in every corner.

Merlin's Mind Power examined his surroundings. The Earth Maxim in this place seemed to be circulating continuously. Merlin's consciousness began to penetrate the Earth Maxim.

It was the evolution process of a Maxim. In the beginning, there were only the Earth Elements. They existed everywhere and floated around in the air like dust. The Earth Elements could not be seen with the naked eye. Only a Spell Caster's Mind Power could sense it.

Then, the Earth Element was absorbed into the Spell Caster's body and was converted by the Earth-type Spell Model into Magic Power. Subsequently, the Spell Models grew stronger and stronger, until they eventually fused together as one. At this moment, the Earth-type Magic Power began to undergo a qualitative transformation.

For an unknown period of time, the Earth-type Magic Power was slowly transforming. Then, the Earth-type Magic Power became more solid, just like real earth.

This was the essence of the Earth Element, solidness!

Upon discovering the Essence of Element, the Earth-type Magic Power would soon become a Maxim that was superior to all the Earth Elements.

Merlin carefully watched the entire evolution process of the Earth Maxim. It felt extraordinarily personal. Merlin had never seen the evolution process at such a close-up before.

However, there was an obvious impact. The Earth-type Wizard Heart in Merlin's body was trembling violently, and he felt a strong urge.

Merlin still remembered that in the beginning, constructing an Earth-type Spell Model was arduous. Later, he gradually fused his Spell Models and consolidated the Earth-type Wizard Heart but he never really understood the Essence of the Earth Element.

Now that he saw the entire evolution process of the Maxim, he seemed to have gained a significant insight. He gently shut his eyes. Currently, the Earth-type Wizard Heart no longer held any secret in Merlin's eyes.

Merlin had seen a fair share of Maxims but the evolution of a Maxim could not be reenacted by just anyone. If an ordinary Legend were to reenact the evolution of Maxim, there would be a huge price to pay.

The Origin Lord had deliberately left behind the evolution process of Maxim to help Spell Casters. Although he paid a great price, he was able to withstand it.

The evolution of Maxims was indeed immensely beneficial to Spell Casters who were yet to consolidate a Maxim. In fact, it might even increase their chances of consolidating a Maxim.

Currently, Merlin had derived some insights but he did not try to consolidate a Maxim. He was yet to become a Great Wizard. Without consolidating the multi-colored Wizard Heart, it was impossible to consolidate a Maxim.

However, the insights about the Earth Element still brought about a great change for Merlin's Earth-type Wizard Heart. Previously, the reason Merlin had not been able to fuse the Earth-type Wizard Heart with the Four-Elemental Wizard Heart was precisely due to his lack of understanding of the Earth-type Wizard Heart.

Perhaps he did not fully understand the Earth-type Wizard Heart, a forced fusion would cause the Wizard Heart to collapse. Right now, however, he was very insightful about the Earth-type Wizard Heart. His understanding was secondary only to Great Legends who had consolidated a Maxim.

Merlin gently shut his eyes. Since he had gained some insights, he did not need to forcibly memorize the evolution process of the Earth Maxim. It would naturally be filed away at the deepest part of his brain.

"Hum hum."

Soon, in Merlin's Awareness, the Four-Elemental Wizard Heart and the Earth-type Wizard Heart began to tremble and edged closer to one another. This was a very natural reaction that Merlin did not even have to activate by force. The time was right!

"Fuse!"

In Merlin's mind, he replayed the entire evolution process of the Earth Maxim. It felt extremely personal, almost as if it had happened to him.

Thus, he gained a comprehensive understanding of the Earth-type Wizard Heart. When the two Wizard Hearts came together, his entire Awareness shook. They fused very quickly.

This time, the two Wizard Hearts did not vibrate precariously like the last time. In his last fusion attempt, the moment the two Wizard Hearts got nearer, they seemed ready to collapse.

The Four-Elemental Wizard Heart was now incredibly powerful and was practically engulfing the Earth-type Wizard Heart. In fact, in the process of combining a Wizard Heart, once one side became more dominant, it would no longer be a fusion. Instead, it would almost be an engulfment. The more powerful Wizard Heart would engulf the weaker Wizard Heart.

The only difference was whether the Spell Caster could maintain control over the weaker Wizard Heart. If he could not control it, the Wizard Heart would collapse, and the fusion would fail.

Therefore, it was because Merlin watched the evolution of Maxim here that he gained an understanding of Earth Elements and was able to fully control the Earth-type Wizard Heart. This was why the fusion went so smoothly.

"Boom."

The fusion process only took up a few hours and was perfectly fused. At this moment, Merlin's Wizard Heart was further strengthened. This powerful feeling made Merlin feel like he could tear apart the Earth Maxim willfully.

Bearing in mind this was a Maxim that belonged to a Great Lord!

Although this Maxim was not comparable to an Ultimate Maxim, it was still a Maxim of a Great Lord. Hence, it was far more powerful than an average Legend's Maxim. The fact that Merlin could entertain the thought of tearing apart this Maxim shed light on the might of his Five-Element Wizard Heart.

Maxims of the same type could be either strong or weak. Other than achieving an Ultimate Maxim and becoming an Honored Legend, a Maxim could range from strong to weak.

The Maxim left behind by the Origin Lord was fast approaching the level of an Ultimate Maxim. This Maxim was so tremendously powerful that Merlin's Four-Elemental Heart before this could not tear it.

Coming to this thought, an eagerness sparked in Merlin's heart. Abruptly, he opened his eyes and stood up. Then, his hands stretched forward and grabbed.

"Swoosh."

The newly-consolidated Five-Elemental Wizard Heart immediately coalesced into two giant hands that forcefully grabbed the Earth Maxim.

"Skrak."

The giant hand conjured by Merlin's Five-Elemental Wizard Heart clutched the Earth Maxim and tore with all his might. In an instant, the originally rock-solid Maxim had been torn apart, and the entire subspace shook.

"What happened?"

The mysterious puppet from before appeared in a flash. It stared anxiously at the Earth Maxim evolution zone where Merlin was in. A look of astonishment lit up on its ice-cold face.

Chapter 681: The Second Challenge!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Rip!"

With a loud growl from Merlin, his Five-Elemental Wizard Heart discharged a formidable power that tore apart the Earth Maxim. Subsequently, the puppet appeared with a stunned look.

"You… You tore apart the Earth Maxim that Master left behind?"

The puppet looked at him in disbelief. This was truly mind-boggling. The puppet had never seen anyone who could tear apart a Maxim before becoming a Legend.

"It wasn't very difficult."

Merlin grinned. He could clearly feel that with the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart, his ability had become even more powerful. Even Merlin himself did not know how strong he was right now, and how strong he would be upon becoming a full-fledged Great Wizard.

One thing he was certain, if he became a Great Wizard, he would become the most powerful Great Wizard in the history of the Spell Caster civilization. Even among the numerous foreign tribe civilizations, he would be the most powerful Great Wizard existence, far surpassing any civilization-level prodigies.

"Amazing. Back then, when Master left these Maxims behind, he probably did not imagine that someone will be able to tear apart his Maxim. However, since you're so powerful, there's a real chance for you to pass the second and third challenge that Master left behind."

At this moment, the puppet turned silver. Merlin could sense a powerful aura emanating from the puppet, much stronger than the peak Great Wizard-level puppets from before.

"Merlin, do you want to accept the second challenge now?"

The silver puppet asked in a deep voice.

"Of course but I still haven't memorized the evolution process of the Ice Maxim."

Despite achieving a massive leap in abilities, Merlin did not forget himself. He was eager to attempt the second and third challenge but he would not forsake an opportunity to become stronger.

"Very well, go in then."

The silver puppet pointed toward the Ice Maxim. Merlin quickly turned around and stepped inside.

Upon setting foot inside, Merlin sensed a faint chill. Strands of Ice Maxim were suspended in mid-air. Then, the Maxim began to evolve, little by little, just like the Earth Maxim.

If Great Wizards who were attempting to consolidate a Maxim watched the evolution of Maxims, it would provide them with great insight and inspiration. Thus, it would greatly increase their chances of consolidating a Maxim.

Merlin was also inspired but he had not reached the level of consolidating a Maxim. Moreover, the evolution process of Maxims was not so easily understood with just a single glance or two. It would require watching it for a long time, and then perhaps there would be a sudden flash of inspiration. Therefore, Merlin would have to forcibly memorize it in the depths of his mind, so that he could "replay" the evolution process again whenever necessary.

This time, compared to the Earth Maxim, Merlin had spent more than ten hours to memorize the entire evolution process. Thereafter, he closed his eyes. The entire evolution process of the Earth Maxim and the Ice Maxim replayed in his mind.

The evolution of these two Maxims, in contrast, seemed to have points of similarity as well as massive differences. In short, the comparison of the two gave Merlin some new ideas.

This was the additional benefit of memorizing the Maxims' evolution process. He would be able to view them as he liked. Perhaps, he would be able to derive some insights and successfully consolidate a Maxim later.

"Swish."

Merlin flew out. The silver puppet perked up and asked hastily, "Have you memorized it?"

"Yes, I've memorized it. Now, we may begin the second challenge!"

A faint smile appeared between the lips of the silver puppet as it said languidly, "Finally, there's someone worthy to attempt the second challenge."

"Am I the first Wizard to attempt the second challenge? Didn't Kleis attempt the second challenge back then?"

Merlin remembered the silver puppet told him that Kleis had also passed the first challenge. However, perhaps he was just like Merlin. He had only memorized the evolution process of the Maxim but did not consolidate a Maxim. Otherwise, Kleis would have become a Great Legend.

"Of course not, his abilities were insufficient. For the second challenge, the bare minimum is to have the ability of a Great Legend. If he was a civilization-level prodigy, perhaps I would've allowed him to try. However, you're different. You're even more formidable than a civilization-level prodigy, so there's hope for you to pass the second challenge."

A crimson glow appeared in the silver puppet's eyes. Soon, the subspace seemed to quake.

"Boom."

An incredibly large passage shimmered into view.

"Another Spatial Passage?"

A look of astonishment appeared on Merlin's face. He did not expect that there could be another subspace within the subspace.

"Yes, how would the extent of Master's powers be fathomable to you? There's subspace within the subspace. In fact, Master can carve out nine layers of subspace. Besides powerful Wizards who became Honored Legends through their spatial accomplishments, Master is the only Wizard who could carve out such a large number of overlapping subspace. However, in this place, Master had only carved out a three-layer subspace. This is the first layer subspace, also the outermost layer. Through here is the second layer subspace. Let's go, the second challenge is in the second layer subspace."

The silver puppet explained briefly and flew ahead into the Spatial Passage.

Merlin hesitated for a moment. This was an eye-opener for him. He was getting more curious about the Origin Lord. It appeared that every Great Lord was not simple.

"Swish swish."

Soon, two figures appeared in an inexplicably open subspace. In this subspace, there were four larger zones with a more breathtaking aura.

"These are the ultimate Maxims left behind by Master. These are the four ultimate Maxims he consolidated in order to become an Honored Legend!"

The silver puppet declared proudly. With four ultimate Maxims, he could already be regarded as a very powerful Lord at this point.

Merlin was also very shocked. Although he had already guessed that the Origin Lord was not at all simple but very powerful, he still did not expect that the Origin Lord had four ultimate Maxims.

It was noteworthy as the Blackfire Lord only had two Ultimate Maxims. Among those who were under Arcane Wizard Setoh's influence, only the Nightmare Lord had consolidated four ultimate Maxims.

The Origin Lord was staggeringly as powerful as the Nightmare Lord. It was not surprising that he was able to carve out multi-layered subspace, and was able to easily defeat an empire-level warship belonging to the Atlan civilization.

"The evolution of an ultimate Maxim?"

Merlin's heart overflowed with enthusiasm. He had been exposed to many ordinary Maxims but had very little insight on ultimate Maxims. Right now, viewing the evolution process of Ultimate Maxims would be immeasurably beneficial for him to consolidate a Maxim or even an ultimate Maxim in the future.

"Yes, these are the evolution of ultimate Maxims! The four ultimate Maxims comprises of the Flame Maxim, Thunder Maxim, Light Maxim, and Water Maxim respectively!"

"Light Maxim?"

Merlin's heart skipped a beat. Even in the Void Zone, Light Wizards were rarely seen, and in fact, did not exist at all. Hence, it was completely startling that Origin Lord was a Light Wizard, and had managed to consolidate the Light Maxim into an ultimate Maxim.

"I know what you're wondering. The Origin Lord has nothing to do with the God of Light. Although I've been here for many years, I still know about the happenings in the outside world. The Glorious Land has fallen, and the God of Light had become a Lord God. However, light is fully controlled by the Lord God of Light. So, even if the Origin Lord were to encounter the Lord God of Light, his Light Maxim would be suppressed entirely and would not be of any use…"

Merlin shook his head in despair. The Light Maxim and Water Maxim were unfamiliar to him, plus he did not construct any Spell Models.

Thus, the only useful ones were the Flame Maxim and Thunder Maxim.

"Can I go in now?"

Merlin was downright eager to enter and learn about the evolution process of ultimate Maxims.

"Go in now? Wait until you've passed the second challenge. Only then, you'd be qualified!"

The silver puppet revealed a mysterious smile. Immediately, four puppets emerged from the four ultimate Maxim zones. They looked hefty. Their height exceeded three meters, and their bodies seemed to reflect a steely metallic glint.

"Puppets again? Then again, something seems different…"

Merlin frowned. He knew that the second challenge would be different from the first challenge. These puppets must be much more powerful, otherwise, the silver puppet would not warn him repeatedly.

"Wizard Merlin, let me remind you. Be careful of these puppets. They're not transfigured by Master but captured directly from that warship! The Atlans on the warship call them martial arts robots but they're basically slight higher-level puppets. Nevertheless, these puppets are really strange. Despite not possessing any consciousness, their intellect is on par with ordinary Wizards. Peculiar, those Atlans are truly peculiar!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the silver puppet pointed toward Merlin. Instantly, the four hefty martial arts puppets directed an icy stare on Merlin. Out of nowhere, Merlin sensed a faint threat.

Considering his current abilities, the fact that he felt threatened meant that these martial arts puppets were comparable to Great Legends!

"Aren't these mere robots? Of course, they don't have any consciousness, they're only controlled by a program. No matter how intelligent they might be, it's still part of the program. They cannot form a consciousness like the puppets!"

Merlin combined the knowledge from his previous life and immediately concluded that these so-called martial arts puppets were actually robots. It appeared that the Atlan civilization was a technological civilization. Nonetheless, they were even more advanced than the world Merlin had been in his previous life.

Whether it was the humongous warship or these robots, all of them were incredibly powerful. If they were able to create robots equivalent to Great Legends, and had enough materials and power source to produce a formidable number, it was not surprising that the Atlan civilization was able to spread the flames of war to the birthplace of Spell Casters, the Glorious Land. In fact, they were able to damage the Glorious Land, to the extent that the once-prosperous Molta Empire collapsed.

"Come on then, battle robots of the Atlan civilization! Let's see how powerful you are."

Merlin's body flashed bright with elemental fluctuations. Behind him, a large illusionary Wizard Heart appeared. This was his newly-consolidated Five-Elemental Wizard Heart. Upon appearing, an invisible pressure seemed to surround these four battle robots.

"Beep. Enemy threat level, Expert! Activating highest combat setting!"

Seemingly recognizing Merlin's powerful abilities, the four battle robots' eyes flashed red and emitted a disconcerting mechanical sound.

"Crack."

A layer of silvery-white armor swiftly appeared and covered the bodies of the four battle robots. Then, they quickly dispersed and surrounded Merlin in the middle.

"Swoosh."

Without warning, the four robots' speed surged and attacked Merlin at the same time. They seemed to be transformed into martial art masters. All kinds of martial arts techniques were unleased with trained ease.

These were real martial arts that were also killing techniques, in regard to Normies. Unexpectedly, once these martial art techniques were exported onto powerful robots, they were able to unleash such a fearsome force.

This was the first time Merlin had encountered someone who could display "martial arts", even if it was only a robot. Nonetheless, it still gave Merlin a familiar feeling.

"Bang bang bang."

These robots were not just agile but also powerful, and each of them was basically a martial art master. Hence, their mastery of techniques was at their peak. From the moment they started attacking, Merlin had found himself at a disadvantage. All around him, he seemed to be surrounded by the battle robots. Within just a short frame of time, Merlin's body had been attacked thousands of times.

"Crack."

Finally, the layer of defensive spells around Merlin gave a faint crack, as though it would break at any time. Ever since Merlin had consolidated the Wizard Heart, this was the first time he felt threatened by a "weak" opponent.

These battle robots' strengths were only equivalent to ordinary Legends at most, yet, coupled with the martial arts, they were able to unleash a terrifying force.

"Hmph!"

Merlin gave a cold snort. The battle robots were truly tough to defeat. In terms of skill, he would not be able to compete with these specialized killing machines. So, he could only crush them with absolute power!

Thus, Merlin activated the power of the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart, and formed a giant palm in the air. Without warning, he slammed the unstoppable palm onto these four battle robots. No matter how fast they were, it was inconsequential.

Chapter 682: Premature Enlightenment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Swish swish swish."

The four martial arts robots were fast beyond limits. Their bodies transformed into an apparition and violently shot toward four different directions, to the extent that the space friction produced an ear-piercing sound.

The power of these four martial arts robots could, in fact, break space and travel via subspace. However, as this was an independent subspace constructed by the Origin Lord, and they were in the second layer, this subspace was extremely stable. Even a Great Legend would not be able to break this subspace.

"Whiz whiz whiz."

Pangs of space-splitting noise sounded, and the four martial arts robots had reached maximum limits of speed. However, they were unable to escape Merlin's giant palm.

"Rumble."

Merlin's spell, the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart, was no longer within the leagues of ordinary Legends. It was able to tear apart a Maxim. So, when this palm slammed down, its raw power immediately crushed the silvery-white light above the four martial arts robots.

Subsequently, even their durable bodies began to crack like they were made from glass, and shattered the very next moment.

Merlin withdrew the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart. His spell power had far exceeded his own imaginations. Based on the power displayed, even a Two-Maxim Great Legend would not be his worthy opponent.

Of course, this was not even Merlin's most powerful state yet. If Merlin could fuse the final Wizard Heart and achieve the Six-Elemental Wizard Heart as well as consolidate the multi-colored Wizard Heart, then he would undergo a qualitative transformation. As to how powerful he would become, even Merlin himself could not predict.

After defeating these four martial arts robots, Merlin was just about to fly toward the four Maxim evolution zones when he saw four beams of silvery-white light. The countless smithereens began to reassemble rapidly. These four martial arts robots were surprisingly also made of liquid memory metal. Thus, unless they were completely destroyed, it was impossible to defeat them.

"Truly amazing. Even the Great Legends don't have such abilities. If only I can control these martial arts robots…"

Merlin was slightly tempted by the thought. The liquid memory metal martial arts robots were not only comparable to ordinary Legends in terms of ability but possessed "immortal" characteristics. They were certainly tough to beat. If these robots were mass-produced, they would pose a threat to the Spell Caster civilization.

Even then, these martial art robots were not without weakness. Their bodies were made of liquid memory metal. So, using a Flame Maxim or an Ice Maxim with extreme temperatures could destroy the liquid memory metal. According to scientific theory, it would also destroy its molecular structure.

In fact, this was logical. As long as a Maxim was strong enough, it was possible to completely defeat these martial arts robots, albeit highly challenging. After all, these robots were adept at "martial arts", so they would not be easily defeated.

Although the martial arts robots had recovered, they did not try to stop Merlin again. After all, this was not a life-or-death battle but merely a challenge.

"Well done. Wizard Merlin, you've passed the second challenge. Go on then, you may accumulate insights from the evolution process of the ultimate Maxims to your heart's content. This is an opportunity that even the Great Legends can only dream of!"

Then, the silver puppet mysteriously disappeared once again.

Merlin took a deep breath and looked at a fiery red space before him, which exuded a vicious aura. Merlin's eyes lit up. It was the Flame Maxim.

"Swish."

Without any delay, Merlin immediately chose the Flame Maxim zone and flew in. After all, from the very beginning, the first spell Merlin constructed was Fireball. Hence, his understanding of Fire-type spells was most sophisticated.

If Merlin succeeded in becoming a Great Legend in the future, his accomplishment would be based on Fire or Darkness Elements consolidated into a Maxim. Fire-type spells and Darkness-type spells were the two types of spells which Merlin had the most comprehensive understanding.

"Ultimate Maxim!"

Merlin was also very excited. When he stepped into the ultimate Maxim evolution zone, he felt an entirely new sensation. There was no feeling of heat whatsoever. Even though there were blazing flames burning around him, there was a stark difference from ordinary flames.

"Is this the ultimate Maxim?"

Merlin was slightly taken aback. He had seen the ordinary Flame Maxims. Those Maxims were violent and scorching hot, to the point that even space could be set ablaze. Those characteristics were representative of a flame, and the Maxim magnified those characteristics to the highest limits.

Violence and heat were the essences of a flame. Therefore, through an understanding of the two, it was possible to consolidate a Maxim and become a Great Legend. However, the ultimate Flame Maxim appeared to be completely different from the essence of a flame. Not only was it not violent but it also did not emit any heat.

A Flame Maxim without any heat… Was it still considered a flame?

Merlin frowned. To some extent, he had already expected that an ultimate Maxim would not be straightforward. Otherwise, there would not be so few Honored Legends in the entire Spell Caster civilization.

Every existence who had managed to become an Honored Legend would have to possess a superb talent and encounter countless divine opportunities in order to gain enlightenment of an ultimate Maxim. This was the true Essence of Element.

Merlin had watched the evolution process of the ultimate Maxim carefully. Although he did not understand it, he wanted to memorize it firmly in his mind. He saw that the Fire Element was slowly converted into Magic Power, and bound in the Spell Model.

Then, it consolidated into a Maxim where all the characteristics of a flame were manifested to their highest limits. This was almost like the evolution process of a Flame Maxim except that the evolution did not end there. The Flame Maxim continued to evolve and became so incomparably violent and powerful that everything would be burnt to ashes.

Gradually, Merlin came to think of the word "destruction".

Indeed, the ultimate Flame Maxim was none other than destruction! Regardless of whether a flame was hot or violent, it could cause unparalleled damage to its surroundings. This was the true essence of the Flame Maxim as well as the real ultimate limit of the Flame Maxim.

"Destruction? I see. Ordinary Legends only understood the Essence of Element on the surface whereas the ultimate Maxim drives the Maxim to its utmost limit, unleashing unbeatable power. For example, the ultimate Flame Maxim is pure destruction. Its destructive power is overwhelming. Generally, among Honored Legends, those who built their achievement on flames would have fearsome powers. In any given war, a Legend of Flames can cause massive damage to the foreign tribes simply because the Flame Maxim has reached its limit."

Surprisingly, Merlin gained significant insight from the ultimate Flame Maxim. Perhaps even he did not realize that at this moment, his Wizard Heart began to quiver unsteadily like it was going to collapse at any moment. Endless Fire Elements surged into Merlin's Awareness and fused with his Wizard Heart.

"Not good! I haven't become a Great Wizard. I still have the Darkness-type Wizard Heart that hasn't been fused. Now that I've gained significant insight about flames, no less than those Great Legends, I can even try to consolidate a Flame Maxim. However, doing so would be very dangerous. If I forcibly consolidate a Maxim while my Wizard Heart is still incomplete, I'm afraid the Wizard Heart will collapse immediately!"

Merlin quickly discovered the precarious situation his body was in. Basically, his enlightenment of flames was too advanced. However, it was far too premature for him to consolidate a Flame Maxim and become a Legend. Otherwise, the Wizard Heart in his body would be unbalanced. Once a Wizard Heart had lost its balance, it would collapse. Naturally, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking along these lines, Merlin bit his lip. He made up his mind. This was not the right time to consolidate a Maxim. Hence, he hurriedly woke himself up from the strange insightful state and interrupted his collection of insight from the Flame Maxim.

Chapter 683: Entering the Warship I

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Phew…"

When Merlin awoke from the strange insightful state, the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart regained its calm.

"That was close!"

Merlin whispered softly. Even right now, he was feeling slightly traumatized. The stage of consolidating the Wizard Heart was simply riddled with risks. The slightest misstep could lead to grievous consequences.

However, Merlin felt some regret for having to interrupt his insight. This meant that he gave up a prime opportunity to consolidate a Maxim. Nonetheless, giving up also meant that his Wizard Heart did not collapse.

Thereafter, Merlin flew out of the Flame Maxim zone. He made sure that he stored the evolution process of the ultimate Flame Maxim in his mind so that he could attempt to consolidate a Maxim again in the future.

Next, Merlin flew toward the ultimate Wind Maxim. This time, he did not try to derive any insight for Maxim consolidation. To be fair, consolidating a Maxim was not as easy as it might appear. The fact that Merlin had gained some insight on the spot was simply a stroke of luck.

The Wind Maxim did not give him much insight. Merlin had memorized it firmly in his mind. After all, it was the evolution process of an ultimate Maxim that was desirable even to the Great Legends.

This was only two ultimate Maxims. There was also the Water Maxim and the Light Maxim. Regarding those two Maxims, Merlin did not construct their corresponding spells, so naturally, he would not gain much insight. Nevertheless, they still constituted the evolution process of ultimate Maxims, in which all of them shared some similarities.

Therefore, Merlin also stored them steadfastly in his mind. However, since he was not familiar with these elements, memorizing the evolution process of these two Maxims was not easy. Merlin had spent more than half a month to commit these two Maxims to memory.

"Unfortunately, there's no Darkness Maxim. Otherwise, I might be able to fuse the Darkness-type Wizard Heart and become an actual Great Wizard!"

Merlin noted down all the evolution process of Maxim but regretted that there was no evolution process of a Darkness Maxim. Otherwise, the time frame for Merlin to become an actual Great Wizard would be greatly shortened.

The evolution process of Maxims, especially those of the ultimate Maxims, may not seem very useful at this point but in reality, they had opened a clear pathway or even a shortcut for Merlin to become an Honored Legend.

Merlin could rely on the evolution process of these Maxims to consolidate a Maxim or an ultimate Maxim. Hence, there were not many obstacles left on his path.

Of course, a road can only lead. Whether or not Merlin could consolidate a Maxim would still be dependent on himself as well as the proper opportunities. For example, Merlin's Mind Power had long since achieved the third step of Hallucinating spells yet, remained shy of achieving the Illusory Heart realm.

"Time to go out!"

Merlin looked at the evolution process of these ultimate Maxims. This multi-layered subspace was a huge price sacrificed by the Origin Lord in order to leave behind opportunities that were highly attractive even to Great Legends.

The silver puppet seemed to be omnipresent. The moment Merlin flew out, it reappeared.

"Wizard Merlin, have you memorized the evolution process of the ultimate Maxims?"

"I've memorized them!"

Merlin nodded with a smile.

"It seems like you've received a fruitful bounty. The Origin Lord left these behind just as a precaution. Nevertheless, while the evolution of Maxims may be beneficial, they may not be very useful to the average Spell Casters. This is because very few Wizards can derive sufficient insight to consolidate a Maxim and become a Great Legend! Only Spell Casters who are truly talented will reflect the true value of these gifts."

Merlin understood clearly the meaning of the silver puppet's words. Not all talented Spell Casters would become a Great Legends but all Great Legends came from talented Spell Casters.

This logic was as clear as day. If an average Great Wizard memorized the evolution process of these Maxims even for the rest of his life, it might not make a difference. The reason the Origin Lord had set up these challenges was to ensure that the Spell Casters who received the evolution process of his Maxims were true prodigies.

Any Spell Caster who had managed to pass these two challenges could definitely be regarded as a prodigy. Even a civilization-level prodigy might face difficulty in overcoming the second challenge.

"You said there's also the third challenge?"

Merlin asked the silver puppet. Since the Origin Lord was such a powerful Lord, the third challenge he had left behind must be extraordinary. However, passing it would also most certainly fetch a greater prize.

"The third challenge? That challenge is prepared for a Great Legend. A powerful Great Legend, in fact. Do you want to try?"

The silver puppet seemed somewhat eager for Merlin to accept the third challenge.

"Prepared for a Great Legend?"

Merlin deliberated for a moment. The Origin Lord was a Great Lord, so the challenge he left behind would be extraordinary. However, the more difficult the challenge, the greater the prize would be.

A treasure left behind for a Great Legend would undoubtedly be sophisticated. Although Merlin was not yet a Great Legend, he was a Spell Caster with the highest achievements prior to becoming a Great Legend in the history of Spell Casters. Even a civilization-level prodigy was no match for Merlin.

Therefore, he could not be evaluated with ordinary standards.

"Since I'm already here, I must give it a try!"

Merlin also seemed eager to try.

"Very well, come with me to the third layer subspace!"

The silver puppet led Merlin into the third layer subspace.

"Swish."

Upon entering the third layer subspace, Merlin was surprised to find that the subspace seemed to be filled with brilliant multi-colored lights.

Merlin saw that in the empty space, there was a multi-colored ball of light suspended in the air, seemingly hiding something. Underneath this multi-colored ball of light, there were seven staircase steps. They were seven colors in all; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple.

"Merlin, look at those seven different colored staircase steps. Once you've climbed all seven steps, you can walk up to the multi-colored ball of light and obtain the treasure left behind by the Origin Lord! As for this treasure, even a Lord would go crazy over it…"

The silver puppet looked at the multi-colored ball of light with an intricate expression.

Merlin's eyes sparkled. A treasure that would drive even a Lord crazy was definitely extraordinary. He was very excited. Nonetheless, looking at the seven different colored steps, he did not dare underestimate it.

"I'll try!"

Merlin quickly flew toward the seven staircase steps. Then, he came to the red first step. Merlin could sense that these seven staircase steps contained a mighty power. Therefore, he hesitated for a moment but finally decided.

"Boom."

As soon as Merlin set foot on the red first step, a series of runes quickly formed a Runic Magic Circle and trapped Merlin.

"Runic Magic Circle? Break!"

Seeing that it was a Runic Magic Circle, Merlin heaved a breath of relief. Although the Runic Magic Circle was strong enough to bind a Great Legend, Merlin's abilities were now comparable to a two-Maxim Legend.

Therefore, he wielded his spell, fashioned it into a long spear, and tore the Runic Magic Circle.

"That wasn't too difficult."

Merlin passed through the red first step easily. Hence, without any hesitation, he was prepared to climb onto the orange second step.

This time, Merlin felt blocked by an invisible barrier, preventing him from landing his foot on the orange second step.

"This bit of power can't stop me!"

Behind Merlin, the Five-Elemental Wizard Heart loomed. A surge of Magic Power rapidly wrapped around Merlin. Then, with the power of the Wizard Heart, Merlin broke through the invisible barrier and stepped onto the orange second step.

Merlin stopped for a moment on the second step of the staircase. He was gathering his strength before taking another aggressive step.

"Boom."

An even more powerful force appeared. The third step, the fourth step, the fifth step…

Merlin advanced step by step, seemingly unstoppable. The Wizard Heart on his body was unleashing all its power.

However, upon arriving at the fifth step, Merlin was unable to land on the step. Even his Five-Elemental Wizard Heart dimmed a little but Merlin still could not enter the green fifth step.

Merlin knew that this was his limit. He could not go any further. His attempt of the third challenge was a failure!

In a distance, the silver puppet's face also revealed a look of disappointment. The puppet appeared to be dismayed that Merlin did not manage to clear all seven steps of the staircase in a single try.

"Wizard Merlin, don't worry. You still have a chance to attempt the third challenge again!"

Merlin nodded. He cast another glance at the seven staircase steps, and left the third layer subspace with the silver puppet. They returned to the first layer subspace.

Merlin was just about to leave when his eyes landed on the warship halved by the Origin Lord. This was an empire-level warship of the Atlan civilization. As for the Atlan civilization, Merlin would not underestimate them at all. Perhaps, there were some bounties to be found inside.

"I would like to enter this warship. Is that possible?"

Merlin knew that the silver puppet controlled the entire multi-layered subspace, so he asked the silver puppet.

"Oh? You're a smart one! This is an Atlan civilization's empire-level warship. Just because Master did not find anything useful inside doesn't mean that you won't either. There are indeed some good things inside but whether or not you can obtain it is up to you. However, I must warn you. Although this warship has been destroyed by Master, some of the puppets in it have gradually recovered. Furthermore, I don't know if anything has changed. So, you must be careful!"

Merlin nodded. "I'll be careful. Can I go in now?"

Merlin's heart was bursting with excitement. An empire-level warship was a terrifying vessel that was comparable to an Honored Legend. In fact, just the liquid memory metal robots alone tempted Merlin to no end.

If only he could obtain a large quantity of such resilient robots, then his worry about the loss of Spell Casters would no longer be a material concern. This was well-suited to confront the Church of Light!

Thus, brimming with excitement, Merlin swiftly flew toward the humongous warship!

Chapter 684: Entering the Warship II

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was pitch-black. Merlin cautiously stepped onto the humongous warship. Since the warship had been split in half, Merlin did not know which side was more important. Thus, he entered from the rear and walked toward the front. His Mind Power did not let down its guard at all, carefully observing everything around him.

Compared to his sight, Merlin had more faith in his Mind Power. No matter how well-hidden something might be, his Mind Power would be able to detect it. Additionally, Merlin's body was covered by a white layer of sleet armor. This was a defensive spell wielded by his Five-Elemental Wizard Heart. In such a foreign and dangerous place, naturally, Merlin did not dare to lower his guard.

The warship was massive, bigger than any casting tool Merlin had ever seen before. In fact, even Arcane Wizard Setoh's castle was not as humongous as this warship.

"Fire!"

A ball of white flames appeared in Merlin's palm, illuminating the interior. The spacious warship was quite empty and was covered with a thick layer of dust. Clearly, no one had entered this place in a very long time.

Merlin gently pressed his hand against the cold warship. The cold sensation almost allowed him to feel the drastic transformation undergone by this warship. Subsequently, he made a bold move. He consolidated the flames into a fist and swung a violent punch at the warship.

"Bang."

There was a loud noise but the warship remained unblemished!

Merlin narrowed his eyes. Now, he gained a new understanding of the strength of this warship. At his current level of abilities, it was impossible to make even a dent on it. This further attested to the claim that this warship was comparable to an Honored Legend and that it was not a bluff.

Moving on, Merlin saw some glassware or clear crystal containers filled with a white, translucent liquid. It did not look like water and seemed very mysterious.

There was no light whatsoever on the entire warship. It was dark and cold. The only noises were from Merlin's footsteps.

After continuing for a short distance, Merlin came to the broken part of the warship. He only walked in a straight line, so there might be some hidden corners that he had not explored.

Nevertheless, it seemed like there was nothing much to discover in the rear half of the warship. Merlin flew directly across the broken portion toward the front half of the warship. He knew that the front part of the warship was its port of control.

In the front half of the warship, there was a variety of instruments, plus the routes were more obvious. Merlin passed by a number of heavyset doors. At the same time, he saw that there were huge gaping holes all over the body of the exceedingly sturdy warship.

Earlier, his full-powered attack did not leave even a scratch on the warship, much less pierce it. Hence, the gaping holes in this warship were not achievable by an ordinary Legend. Perhaps, even an Honored Legend was not capable of unleashing such staggering destruction on this warship.

"Is this the Origin Lord's doing?"

Merlin quickly remembered who had destroyed this warship. Only the Origin Lord would possess such formidable power that even an empire-level warship could be easily destroyed.

Going forward, Merlin felt like he had returned to his past life. However, the technology of this warship had obviously surpassed that of his past life. Perhaps, only in the fantasy novels would one see such advanced technology.

"Hmm? That is…"

Merlin raised his head abruptly. Without noticing, he had entered a great hall. Lined along the two sides of the great hall were four black robots with a metallic luster, similar to those Merlin had encountered in the first challenge.

"Beep. Incoming enemy invasion. Command, exterminate!"

The four ice-cold robots' hollow eyes suddenly flashed red. Their heads snapped up abruptly, seemingly "awakening" from their slumber.

Merlin was caught by surprise. He did not think that there would still be robots on this broken warship. Nevertheless, accompanying this shock was a faint sense of excitement. As long as there were robots, there was a chance for him to seize control over these robots.

"Swish swish."

These robots were incredibly fast. They flew toward Merlin with outstretched arms. A frightening blast of laser cannon shot straight at Merlin, causing him to gasp in surprise. When he previously encountered the puppets in the first challenge, they did not have such formidable weaponry as laser cannons.

However, it was impossible for him to evade now. Merlin harrumphed and strengthened the defensive spell on his body. He did not believe that the laser cannon from these robots could smash through the mightier-than-Great-Legend defense on his body.

"Darkness Eye, Silencing Ray!"

Merlin also extended his hand. Darkness Eye in his palm loomed and glistened with a crimson glow.

At the same time, a huge eye appeared behind Merlin. A destructive ray shot out and encapsulated the four robots.

"Zap zap zap zap."

The seventh form of Darkness Eye, Silencing Ray! This was a power comparable to a Great Legend. Instantly, the four robots were reduced into tiny smithereens.

"Boom."

Finally, the spell on Merlin's body collided violently with the laser cannons. The powerful impact rattled Merlin's body. However, the defensive spell over Merlin's body reacted with a water-like motion, causing multiple ripples to form across the surface. Subsequently, the impact turned invisible.

"Such a strong impact. These four robots are only on par with an average peak Great Wizard at most but equipped with these laser cannons, they're approaching the level of a civilization-level prodigy!"

Approaching the level of a civilization-level prodigy was synonymous with approaching the level of a Great Legend. Merlin no longer dared to regard these robots lightly. Even though their laser cannons did not manage to harm Merlin, any other Spell Casters or even a Great Legend, if not careful, could be heavily injured or killed by these.

Seeing the four robots that were smashed into smithereens by Silencing Ray, Merlin's expression remained grave. With a large outstretched hand, his spell transformed into a giant net and captured the four robots.

Very soon, these smithereens reassembled into four robots. However, they had been trapped by Merlin. No matter how much they struggled, it was futile.

"How do I control these robots?"

Although Merlin knew that these robots were controlled by a program in their bodies, he was not capable of overwriting it.

"Whatever. I'll keep them bound until I find the control center of the warship!"

Merlin was very tempted by these robots. Since he was not an alchemy master, naturally, he could not replicate what the Origin Lord did. That would involve destroying the robots, and then using the liquid memory metal from their bodies to transfigure a new puppet. This would essentially achieve the same effect as the robots.

Nonetheless, the Origin Lord did not originate from the Atlan civilization. Therefore, though the puppets he transfigured retained the "immortal" characteristic, they lost various other tactics such as the laser cannon. As a result, their combat powers were greatly diminished.

Perhaps, the Origin Lord also discovered the drawbacks of his method, so he stopped transfiguring new puppets, and instead, found a way to control the martial arts robots. As for how the Origin Lord had managed to control the robots, Merlin did not know. However, Merlin had a feeling that the martial arts robots were a little peculiar as though they were not being controlled by a program.

As to the details of how they were peculiar, Merlin could not articulate it. Perhaps, if he could find the command center of the warship, he would be able to learn the specifics of these robots.

Soon enough, Merlin walked out of the spacious great hall and found himself in a narrow compartment. Inside, there were instruments everywhere with complicated switches on them. Judging by the array of instruments and switches here, it was not difficult to infer that this was the control center of the warship.

Although he had arrived in the control center, Merlin found himself helpless against these complicated instruments. He did not understand any of these instruments, much less to operate the control center and regain control over this warship.

"Beep. A large amount of new information found. Scan?"

The previously silent Matrix suddenly came to life.

Chapter 685: The Atlan Civilization!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The Matrix?"

Merlin felt a jolt in his heart. Ever since he had derived the Ninth-level Spell Models, he basically had not used the Matrix anymore. The Matrix which had accompanied him throughout his journey of growth was no longer of any use.

Now that it had started up suddenly, Merlin was astonished.

After a moment of consideration, Merlin concluded that the Matrix was ultimately still an intelligent quantum super-calculator. Perhaps it could assist him in controlling this warship. Therefore, Merlin took a deep breath. "Confirm scan!"

"Beep. Starting scan."

Following that, the Matrix began to scan. None of the information abroad the warship could evade the Matrix's scan.

"Beep. Scan complete. A large amount of new data is available. Continue with analysis?"

"Continue with analysis!"

Merlin spoke without hesitation. He wished to see how much information and data that the Matrix had gathered on the warship.

After Merlin's command was given, there was a long wait. Merlin knew clearly how terrifying the calculating and analyzing powers of the Matrix were. It was able to derive tens of thousands of complex Spell Models in a very short time.

The amount of data it was able to process was nearly inconceivable. However, the Matrix had been in constant operation now for a few hours but there was no sign that it was about to be done. Merlin was rather dumbstruck at this.

"How much information does this warship really contain? Even the Matrix is spending so much time…"

Merlin furrowed his brows. He had some hesitations about this now but he could not do anything. His only course of action was to wait in silence.

Time passed bit by bit. After around seven or eight hours, Merlin opened his eyes with a joyful expression. The Matrix had finally successfully received and analyzed a tremendous amount of data.

Merlin was able to control the Matrix, so at once he ordered, "Transfer data!"

"Boom."

Merlin did not even have the chance to get used to it when he felt his boundless Awareness about to burst from swelling. There was far too much information, and even Merlin's current Mind Power and immense Awareness were unable to stand it.

"Stop. Transfer data slowly."

Merlin hurriedly commanded the Matrix. With this new command, the Matrix began to gradually transfer the data, and images appeared in Merlin's mind one after another.

From these images, Merlin saw a race that appeared superficially similar to Spell Casters. These were "humans" as well but it was a peculiar civilization. They lived below a vast, starry sky in dense groups, packed into a colossal building shaped like a honeycomb. Below the starry sky, there were also Spatial Passages that were fixed in place, called Spatial Nodes.

These beings proudly called themselves Atlans, and the civilization they created was called the Atlan civilization. They were able to manufacture warships which filled the sky and innumerable powerful robots. The starry sky where they were was far too big. Merlin knew that this was, in fact, a dimension of gigantic proportions. Even Merlin himself had never seen such a massive dimension. One would need to combine dozens of dimensions at least to compare to the Atlan Dimension.

Nonetheless, Merlin astutely sensed from these images that, within the Atlan Dimension, beneath that endless starry sky, there were no Elements. This meant that their lifespans were brief, and they were incapable of becoming Great Wizards, just like Merlin in his previous life.

Perhaps it was precisely due to these unique conditions that the unique Atlan civilization was born. They had developed an utterly different civilization. They no longer fortified their own bodies but relied upon external equipment. They researched the essence of material things and mastered immense power in that manner. This was technology!

The Atlan civilization relied upon material things, investigating their essence, thus gaining control over strength which superseded the individual. This was very different from the other foreign civilizations of the Void Zone.

Regardless of whether it was the Tree Tribe, the Giant Tribe, or the Rock Tribe, no matter how unusual their methods were, they were the same as the Spell Caster civilization. The path they walked was one of strengthening one's own self, to the point where one could create dimensions and destroy heavens.

Although the Atlan civilization was so powerful, they had not traveled beyond their dimension in general. They had conquered every corner of their own dimension but were ultimately unable to leave the place. It was like there was an invisible binding upon their dimension. In other words, the strength of the Atlan civilization was not enough to break this binding.

The Atlan civilization had even once thought that they were the masters of the heavens or of the world, that they were supreme beings. Nonetheless, one day, power of unimaginable magnitude tore apart the shackles of that dimension.

The Spell Caster civilization had arrived!

The three Ultimate Arcane Wizards had led the Spell Caster civilization to rise in the vast, endless Void Zone. They rapidly grew to become one of the strongest civilizations. They even thought that there was no dimension which was unconquerable, until one day, they found a peculiar dimension, which not even an Arcane Wizard was able to enter alone.

Therefore, the three Arcane Wizards combined their powers to break the binding. They prepared to enter, and take over this strange dimension in great excitement. Unexpectedly, what they had released was a dimension which would cause catastrophe for them.

Soon, it was a ruthless war! Two proud, autonomous civilizations which had never met before erupted into a war without warning. It was the first time the Spell Caster civilization suffered serious loses. Those warships, as wide as the sky, could smother even Great Honored Legends. Even Lords were at risk.

What was more frightening was the nearly endless offensive capacity of the Atlan civilization. They were able to mass-produce martial arts robots comparable to Great Legends. This was a majestic force, relentless and overwhelming, immediately spreading the fires of war to the origin of the Spell Caster civilization, the Glorious Land!

That war was the cruelest of all. The Glorious Land was grievously damaged, and the Molta Empire founded by the Spell Casters, at the pinnacle of its might, collapsed within a night. Great Legends and Honored Legends were lost one after another.

This was a war more terrible than the war between the Spell Caster civilization and the gods.

The information ended here. After all, back then, this warship had merely lit the fires of war in the Glorious Land before it was annihilated by the Origin Lord.

In the data supplied by the Matrix, the Atlans naturally labeled the Spell Casters as intruders and fiends. In short, all these various names embodied the mutual hatred of both parties without exception.

As for the subsequent developments, naturally, Merlin was unclear. Nonetheless, he knew the ending. Currently, there was one Ultimate Arcane Wizard who was expressly keeping watch over the surroundings of the Atlan Dimension. The war with the Atlan civilization had carried forward up until the present.

Evidently, even though the Atlan civilization was powerful, Spell Casters still gained the upper hand, suppressing the Atlan civilization firmly within the Atlan Dimension.

As to why the Ultimate Arcane Wizard had not acted to thoroughly wipe out the Atlan civilization, Merlin was in the dark as well.

"Phew…"

Merlin heaved a long sigh. This was only a small part of the vast amount of information. The rest of it was the records of the warship on the mystical technology of the Atlan civilization. These records comprised more than ninety percent of the tremendous data. Of course, for those who had no understanding of the Atlan civilization's technology, even someone like Merlin, this data was quite useless.

Having understood the general situation of the Atlan civilization, Merlin turned to look once again at the control center of the warship. If he had no way of starting up the control center, he would be unable to control the warship.

"Matrix, is there a way to control this warship?"

The Matrix was intelligent. Now that it had received so much information, Merlin had guessed that the Matrix might be able to control this warship. Even if it could not control all of it, even a part of the warship would do.

"The central intelligence of the warship has been damaged. It's possible to attempt gaining the highest-level access of the warship!"

When he heard the response of the Matrix, Merlin felt a burst of elation. He realized it was true after he gave it careful thought. If this warship still had any intelligent procedural control left, it would not be in such a state. Moreover, the Matrix would not possibly be able to have obtained so much information easily. After all, this information was the core secret of the warship.

"Beep. Success in gaining highest-level access to the warship!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of the Matrix, Merlin finally stopped worrying and nodded. "Activate the warship!"

"The warship has sustained significant damage. Activation might induce unforeseeable dangers. Confirm activation?"

Without missing a beat, Merlin replied, "Activate the warship!"

To the current Merlin, what danger could he possibly encounter in this damaged warship?

"Rumble."

The entire warship began to shudder, and bursts of light flickered across the pitch-darkness of the warship. Nonetheless, after a short moment, the warship fell into complete silence once again without the slightest movement.

"What happened?"

Merlin frowned, not knowing what had just happened.

"The power source of the warship is exhausted. There's no backup source. There's no way to activate the warship!"

"Power source?"

Merlin suddenly recalled the previous information. There was a passage which mentioned that the Atlans had practically conquered the entire starry sky with a highly developed civilization. However, a technological civilization was very reliant upon its power source. Without a source, those warships, giant cannons, and robots were nothing but scraps.

Therefore, although the binding of the Atlan Dimension was broken by the three Ultimate Arcane Wizards, the Atlan civilization itself wished to go beyond its dimension, to gain an endless energy source.

"What energy is required to start up the warship?"

Merlin was too lazy to go through the information in his head. After all, there was way too much data. Merlin did not want to bear that anguish again. Asking the Matrix was evidently the quickest way.

"The warship contains a high-powered engine furnace, which can break down most minerals and materials, turning them into the energy required by the warship."

The Matrix replied.

"A high-powered engine furnace? I wonder if it's able to break down elemental crystal stones."

Merlin thought about it and finally decided to give it a go. If it could transmute this energy, of course, that would be the best. This warship had immense value, especially in a place like the Glorious Land where Spell Casters had fallen behind. The warship and the robots on board could be of great assistance to Merlin.

Thus, following the directions of the Matrix, Merlin came to a high-powered engine furnace located at the deepest core of the warship. Its position was strictly guarded as well. Even the Origin Lord back then, upon slaying all the Atlans aboard the warship and destroying the robots, had left right away. As a result, this high-powered engine furnace was completely undamaged.

It was because of this that Merlin had a sliver of hope to start up the warship. Nevertheless, this was assuming the engine furnace could function as usual, and that it was able to break down and transmute the elemental crystal stones into energy required by the warship.

"I might as well try!"

Merlin opened his Spatial Ring and instantly tossed over ten thousand elemental crystal stones into the high-powered engine furnace, which was pitch-black and covered in dust.

Following that, he stood beside the high-powered engine furnace, waiting wordlessly.