Free Web NovelChapter 2: Chapter 2: Huge Harvest
Mo Ning’s gaze gently touched the faint glimmer of light.
In that instant, information surged through the depths of his consciousness like a thawing glacier, scrolling past his mind’s eye:
[Analysis Complete.]
[Eye of Truth entering charging period. Cooldown until next analysis: 15 days.]
[Acquired: Tier Zero Elemental Spirit Seal Fragment (Shadow Configuration / Energy Conversion Configuration / Illusion Technique Configuration) ×11 units]
[Acquired: Tier Zero Space Element Spirit Seal Fragment (Space Anchor Configuration / Space Dimension Folding Configuration) ×5 units]
[Total Spirit Seal Fragments acquired: 16 units]
[All Spirit Seal Fragments have been stored in the Knowledge Pool.]
A wave of immense joy washed over Mo Ning.
Complete Witchcraft Models were strictly controlled by the academy. To acquire knowledge, one had to pay the corresponding price.
And while these Spirit Seal Fragments were incomplete, they were still incredibly valuable.
Spirit Seals also had a strict hierarchy of levels: Tier Zero corresponded to Level Zero Witchcraft, Tier One to First Level Witchcraft, and the same applied to Tier Two and Tier Three.
This time, the Eye of Truth had only touched the outermost structure of the Eternal Night Sky, so it could only peel off Tier Zero fragments.
But even so, sixteen fragments was a number that far exceeded his expectations.
In the six months since he’d transmigrated, he had used the Eye of Truth more than ten times, acquiring a total of thirteen fragments.
This single analysis was worth the accumulation of the past six months.
But what made Mo Ning’s heart race the most were the five Space Element fragments.
He already knew that Witchcraft had a wide variety of factions. The most common were the Elemental Faction, Summoning Faction, Life Faction, and Illusion Faction.
Rarer factions included the Necromancy Faction, Curse Faction, Edict Faction, and Divination Faction.
And the Space and Time factions were among the most niche, profound, and difficult to master—and also the most terrifyingly powerful.
This was the first time he had truly touched upon the mysteries of "space."
The wondrous power of the Eye of Truth allowed Mo Ning to quickly grasp a preliminary understanding of these Spirit Seal Fragments.
Normally, the process of an Apprentice learning a Spirit Seal was slow and arduous.
They would need to repeatedly dissect it, clarify its structure, understand the meaning of every detail, and then slowly absorb it bit by bit.
But the Eye of Truth accelerated this process by thousands of times, like an invisible chisel carving vast amounts of knowledge directly onto the surface of his cerebral cortex.
Unfortunately, he could only experience this wonderful feeling once every fifteen days.
Mo Ning gazed into the infinitely deep and dark expanse as the general principles of the Third Level Witchcraft gradually took shape in his mind:
’It seems to first cut space, then expand the dimension... then it’s transported over, folded, and finally anchored above the corridor.’
Being able to roughly understand the principles as a newcomer brought Mo Ning an involuntary surge of joy.
"Let’s go!"
Lai Te, the Second Level Apprentice, interrupted the newcomers’ admiration of the Eternal Night Sky, his tone tinged with arrogance.
"This Third Level Witchcraft contains extremely profound mysteries of space, far beyond the reach of you rookies. Even if you turned into stone statues and stared at it for a lifetime, you wouldn’t figure anything out."
Lai Te turned and walked away, adding casually, "At the very least, you have to become Apprentices first to even qualify to dabble in it."
This sentence carried an implication: as if merely crossing the threshold to become an Apprentice would grant one the qualification to learn Space Magic.
This could easily give people the false impression that Lai Te had some understanding of the Eternal Night Sky.
But Mo Ning was certain that Lai Te’s understanding of the Third Level Witchcraft didn’t even amount to scratching the surface.
He had once read a passage in a Wizard’s journal: "Due to its highly dangerous nature, Space Magic is completely inaccessible to ordinary Apprentices, unless they are truly exceptional."
To put it bluntly, this shameless guy was just puffing himself up.
Soon, the group began to move again, and the chaotic sound of boots echoed once more.
The newcomers rounded a gentle bend, and the view, previously confined by the corridor, suddenly opened up.
An extremely spacious circular hall burst into the view of all the newcomers.
It appeared to be over a hundred meters in diameter, its floor paved with smoothly polished, dark gray stone slabs, fitted together with seamless joints.
Dozens of colossal pillars, each requiring several people to encircle, stood like silent giants, supporting a dizzyingly high dome.
The sight sent a jolt through Mo Ning.
He clearly remembered carefully observing the exterior of the building, known as "Black Tower Number One," before entering.
It was a towering, austere, conical mega-tower built entirely of some black stone, with a base he estimated to be no more than fifty meters in diameter.
But the width of the hall before him now significantly exceeded the limits of the Black Tower’s outer walls.
The only explanation was the power of Space Magic.
The internal space of the Black Tower was far more vast, complex, and bizarre than its exterior suggested.
A fresh tide of discussion surged through the crowd.
"How is this hall so huge?"
"It’s so much bigger than it looked from the outside!"
"Is it an Illusion Technique? Or...?"
Listening to the whispers, Mo Ning suddenly felt that the Black Tower Academy was an unparalleled treasure trove of knowledge.
And with the Eye of Truth in his possession, he was like a starving field mouse that had stumbled into a granary overflowing with grain.
’Could there be anything more wonderful or fortunate in this world?’
After everyone had entered the hall, the Second Level Apprentice, Lai Te, raised his hands and clapped once.
CLAP!
A strange spectacle unfolded.
The surrounding gray stone walls and the rune-engraved colossal pillars instantly began to blur and fade.
In the space of a single breath, the original scenery receded like a tide, replaced by a lush and vibrant forest.
"Ahhh—!"
A series of irrepressible gasps of amazement rang out.
A pale white mist drifted slowly through the forest clearing. Every tree had incredibly distinct bark, moss clung to the shaded side of the trunks, and numerous vines hung down naturally.
The air, a mixture of soil, humus, fresh grass, and unknown wildflowers, genuinely filled everyone’s nostrils.
The murmuring of the crowd rose like the buzzing of mosquitoes.
"An Illusion Technique?"
"It’s too real!"
"It looks like a real forest!"
Lai Te savored the dumbfounded expressions of the newcomers, a faint arrogance—the look one gives a country bumpkin—almost spilling from his eyes.
"There are over a hundred ’Secret Halls’ like this in Black Tower Academy. From now on, the Secluded Forest will be one of your main activity areas for the foreseeable future."
He paused, then continued, "In this place, you can obtain all the necessary information.
"For example, the daily updated list of paid courses, tasks and commissions suitable for newcomers released by the academy, or information about relevant assessments."
Lai Te’s gaze swept over a few faces that were intently staring at the forest, not paying attention to him. His tone took on a chiding quality:
"The level of Witchcraft involved in the Secluded Forest is only one level lower than the Eternal Night Sky, but it’s still far beyond your capabilities."
"Never mind you lot, even First Level Apprentices can’t make heads or tails of it. You must be down-to-earth when learning knowledge, and don’t dream of reaching the heavens in a single step."
Those few faces lowered their heads.
Mo Ning was one of them.
He secretly thought, ’The knowledge from the Elemental Spirit Seal Fragments and Space Spirit Seal Fragments that my cheat just analyzed seems to perfectly explain the phenomenon of ’slight light distortion at the edge of the Secluded Forest.’’
The Second Level Apprentice thought the newcomers couldn’t figure anything out, but Mo Ning had actually seen a clue.
Mo Ning felt that this was not an Illusion Technique.
"Oh, right!"
Lai Te seemed to have suddenly remembered something and added a reminder, "This forest isn’t just an Illusion Technique like you think. It’s an area you can ’enter.’ "
"It’s said that a very strange place is hidden deep within the forest. If anyone can find a way to enter it, the academy will give out some pretty good rewards."
These words immediately sparked an uproar.
"We can enter it?!"
"It’s not an illusion?"
Eager, ready-to-try expressions appeared on face after face.
Mo Ning thought to himself, ’As expected.’
Just now, he had noticed signs of Space Cutting at the edge of the Secluded Forest, which meant this forest was an independent spatial fragment.
It was just that the edge of the space was seemingly concealed with a layer of Elemental Power, giving it the properties of an Illusion Technique.
And the "special rewards" the Second Level Apprentice mentioned, along with the mysteries of knowledge contained within this Secret Hall itself, made him even more intrigued.
Lai Te threw out another temptation, "I remember the last time a newcomer entered that strange place was more than sixty years ago. Today, that genius lady is already a powerful Second Level Wizard."
The crowd’s commotion grew even louder.
A predecessor had already set an example, making it hard for people not to fantasize—’Maybe I can enter the forest too and become another Second Level Wizard.’
「At the same time.」
His cheat suddenly gave him a prompt.
Mo Ning’s heart hammered a few times, but a cold sweat broke out on his back.
The character analysis model had analyzed the changes in the guy’s expression and come to a new conclusion—Lai Te was harboring immense malice.
How could he not understand now? This guy was up to no good.
Rushing into the forest recklessly would definitely be fatally dangerous!
