Chapter 177: The Truth of the Wizard Legacy

Chapter 177: The Truth of the Wizard Legacy

Su Nan retracted his hand, a relaxed smile on his face.

The first test had been almost effortless for him, the only challenge being the time it took to learn the final spell.

Now, let’s begin the second test: the Skill Assessment.

Please select the type of skill you wish to be assessed on.

Potion Making, Creature Modification, Magic Item Crafting, Puppet Creation.

"Skill assessment, huh."

Su Nan didn’t hesitate for long, quickly choosing Puppet Creation.

Apart from the fact that his Puppet Creation skill was the highest in level, he had the most high-tier puppet designs at his disposal.

If he had chosen Potion Making or Magic Item Crafting, he might have been asked to create high-tier potions or Glitter-grade magic items, which he had no recipes or designs for. So far, he had obtained those high-tier potions and items through synthesis alone.

On the other hand, he had designs for puppets ranging from Clay Golems and Stone Golems to Iron Golems, Adamantine Golems, and even Secret Puppets, covering everything from Knight-level to Fourth Circle Legendary. No matter what level of puppet the test required, he could handle it more confidently.

As soon as Su Nan chose Puppet Creation, a door on the right wall suddenly opened, and a group of Clay Golems emerged, carrying various materials.

They brought out metals, gems, and soul crystals, including some high-grade gems and small soul crystals.

After placing the materials down, the Clay Golems retreated behind the door, and a series of heavy footsteps echoed as a towering figure emerged.

It was a massive puppet! Standing about seven to eight meters tall, its body was composed of enormous bones, with eerie dark red bloodlight glowing in its eyes, and it exuded a foul and evil aura.

In its hand, it held a sharp Bone War Axe.

A Skeleton Golem!

Su Nan immediately recognized the puppet.

A puppet primarily made from the bones of living creatures, it was a common type used by many wizards and apprentices specializing in the Necromancy school.

"Could the builders of the Tower of Many Stars also be Necromancers?"

Su Nan pondered to himself.

Challenge Remaining Time: 87 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes. Please craft puppets capable of destroying the Skeleton Golem within the allotted time. The number is unknown. Failure will be declared if the Skeleton Golem is not destroyed within the time limit or if all materials are exhausted.

Su Nan felt a wave of relief; this test was much easier than expected.

The Skeleton Golem’s combat strength was on par with an Iron Golem.

One Iron Golem might not be enough to destroy a Skeleton Golem, but two definitely would be.

So far, Su Nan had crafted hundreds of Iron Golems, and the process was second nature to him. Crafting two Iron Golems would take no more than a day.

Indeed, it took less than a day for two new Iron Golems to be completed.

The battle began.

As Su Nan had anticipated, the two Iron Golems easily overwhelmed the Skeleton Golem, dismantling it into a pile of bones within ten minutes.

Pass!

A beam of light suddenly shot out from somewhere, instantly disassembling one of the Iron Golems into a pile of metal fragments. Another beam followed, reducing the second Iron Golem to rubble.

Boom.

The Clay Golems walked out, carrying the materials back, and the ground was cleaned of bones and metal shards.

Now, let’s begin the third test: the Combat Assessment!

As the voice faded, the opposite wall rumbled and slid open, revealing a vast darkness.

A massive gray hand suddenly shot out from the darkness, followed by an arm, head, torso, and lower body.

A colossal creature soon stood before Su Nan.

It was a towering giant, its skin a deep gray with a slight green tinge, speckled with dark and light spots. Its neck, shoulders, and arms were adorned with hard, coin-sized nodules.

Its face lacked eyebrows, with prominent cheekbones and a broad jaw, and hard nodules were scattered across its head.

Not a single hair was visible on its body, not even on its bald head.

"Goliath!"

Su Nan’s eyebrows shot up as he recognized the creature.

A Goliath was a type of giant, immensely strong and capable of manipulating air currents.

These otherworldly beings had the strength of a Third Circle Legendary, nearing Fourth Circle, making them powerful warriors by nature.

Upon emerging from behind the door, the Goliath stood upright, reaching a height of fifteen to sixteen meters. Its massive, grayish-green body gave off a sense of immense, mountainous pressure.

Defeat the Trial Beast to Pass!

Su Nan couldn't help but sneer as he recalled the two steel golems that had disintegrated moments ago.

This test leaves no room for loopholes.

"Roar!"

Goliath roared, raising his massive mace and charging at Su Nan like a tank, the furious gust of wind from his approach making Su Nan's robes flutter wildly.

Su Nan's expression remained calm. With a mere thought, countless streams of silver metallic liquid surged from his body, transforming into a metal storm that swept out and engulfed Goliath in a torrent!

Sizzling sounds of sharp blades slicing through flesh echoed throughout the hall, drowning out the agonizing screams.

After a few breaths, the metal storm receded, flowing back into Su Nan's body and vanishing without a trace.

Goliath had also disappeared, leaving only a pool of blood to mark his existence.

With the full power of a Level 5 Magic Pattern Core, even Goliath, whose strength approached that of a Fourth Circle Legendary, couldn't withstand the assault and was killed in a single strike.

Pass.

The fleshy ball nearby opened its mouth, emitting the familiar mechanical voice.

Congratulations on successfully completing the trial. Evaluation: A+. You have earned a Legacy Reward!

Crack!

In the center of the hall, the ground suddenly split open into three fissures. From each fissure, a rectangular stone pillar slowly rose, stopping at about a meter high.

On the top of the rightmost pillar was a bottle of potion.

Inside the transparent bottle, a pale purple liquid shimmered under the light of the Eternal Pearl, exuding an enchanting glow.

On the middle pillar was a book.

On the leftmost pillar was a silver sphere about the size of an egg, perfectly round.

Structure Potion, 'Bone' Intermediate Talent Crystal Model, Spirit Orb.

This is your Legacy Reward!

Structure Potion!

Su Nan's heart leaped with joy.

From its name, it was clear that this potion was specifically designed to accelerate the creation of a Talent Crystal Model. After consuming it, the construction speed would be significantly increased.

A single Structure Potion could allow a novice wizard to successfully create a Lower-Level Talent Crystal Model within a month.

The effects were undeniably potent!

Whether in the golden age of wizards a thousand years ago or in the era of their return, the Structure Potion was an extremely precious potion, monopolized by powerful wizard factions. Wild novice wizards rarely even got a glimpse of it.

The builders of the Tower of the Distant Stars were willing to offer a Structure Potion as a reward, even for an A+ evaluation, which genuinely surprised Su Nan.

The 'Bone' Intermediate Talent Crystal Model was also an excellent reward, but it no longer appealed to Su Nan at his current level.

As for the Spirit Orb, it was, as the name suggested, a crystallized form of highly condensed mental energy, used to rapidly restore mental strength.

However, only official wizards could create it, and at the cost of permanently reducing their mental energy.

Except for wizards nearing the end of their lives, few were willing to make such a sacrifice, making the Spirit Orb extremely valuable.

The 'Bone' Talent Crystal Model was self-explanatory, while the Structure Potion and Spirit Orb were clearly intended for the second and third steps of the Talent Crystal Model creation process.

Su Nan estimated that the Tower of the Distant Stars' trial anticipated that those who earned an A+ evaluation would be third-level novice wizards who were about to or were currently creating a Talent Crystal Model, hence the selection of these rewards.

He had to admit, the builders of the Tower of the Distant Stars were quite generous.

With this thought, Su Nan reached out for the Structure Potion, but an invisible force field blocked his hand before he could touch it.

"??"

Su Nan was taken aback.

At that moment, the fleshy ball nearby opened its mouth again.

Wizard Apprentice, according to the rules of the Tower of the Distant Stars, if you wish to claim your Legacy Reward, you must first sign a Vow Contract.

Vow Contract?

Su Nan's brow furrowed as he asked, "What are the terms of the contract?"

A flash of light appeared before him, and lines of text began to appear.

After reading the text, Su Nan's face darkened.

The Vow Contract required him to become a member of the wizard organization, the Dark Throne, from that moment on. He could not disobey any orders from the Dark Throne or do anything that could harm the organization.

In short, once he signed this Vow Contract, he would become a willing slave to the Dark Throne.

While called a Vow Contract, its harshness was on par with a Soul Contract.

Unless he had his head caught in a door, Su Nan would never sign such a contract.

Moreover, while others might not know, he was fully aware of the situation.

There weren't many renowned and established wizard factions across the multiverse. Counting them all, there were only about a dozen, and the Dark Throne was one of them.

Most of the members of this wizard faction specialized in necromancy and were known for their extreme and radical behavior.

Worse yet, the Dark Throne had a heavily feudal organizational structure.

The high-ranking wizards held most of the power and resources, while the lower-ranking members were essentially exploited, forced to toil and create resources for the higher-ups. They were bound by oath contracts, which left them with no choice but to obey.

Calling them wizards was a stretch; they were little more than slaves.

The use of oath contracts instead of soul contracts was merely to reduce the resistance of those who signed them.

Because of this, the Dark Throne had a notoriously bad reputation among wizards, earning the disdain of many.

"No wonder the Starlight Continent has a wizard legacy left behind," Su Nan thought, finally understanding the situation.

He had always been puzzled by this. Wizards were not known for their sense of responsibility. After their conquest of the multiverse, it seemed out of character for a wizard to leave behind a legacy on the Starlight Continent, offering hope for future generations to become wizards. It just didn't add up.

At first, Su Nan had thought it might be a unique individual who had left behind the legacy without expecting anything in return. But now, it was clear that the truth was far from his initial guess.

The Tower of Stars was actually a facility established by the Dark Throne on the Starlight Continent, specifically for recruiting new members.

Due to its bad reputation, few people in the multiverse were willing to join the Dark Throne. To recruit members, they often resorted to underhanded methods, and the Tower of Stars was clearly one of them.

Unaware of the true nature of the Dark Throne, most would-be wizards, lured by the promise of a rich legacy and the chance to become a wizard, would likely sign the oath contract without hesitation.

But once the elements awakened and the wizards returned, those who signed the contract would discover the true face of the Dark Throne and realize it was too late to back out.

"Sure enough, the same despicable tactics as the Dark Throne," Su Nan sneered.

He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. The so-called wizard legacy was nothing but a scam.

Given this, it was likely that the Black Forest and the Fallen Star City, which were as renowned as the Tower of Stars, also had their own hidden agendas. Even if they weren't traps like the Tower of Stars, they certainly wouldn't offer knowledge and resources without a significant cost.

"Fine, I'll think about the Black Forest and the Fallen Star City later. For now, I need to deal with the immediate problem."

Signing an oath contract was out of the question. Su Nan wasn't about to jump into a fire pit voluntarily.

However, given the Dark Throne's usual tactics, even if he refused the reward and the contract, they wouldn't let him off that easily.

Su Nan looked up at the meatball and said firmly, "I refuse to sign the oath contract and will not accept the legacy reward."

After a few seconds of silence, the meatball spoke again.

[Challengers who refuse to sign the contract must compensate for the resources and energy consumed during the trial. The fee is thirty superior magic stones. Please pay!]



[Those who cannot pay will be eliminated!]



Just as Su Nan had expected.

He gave a cold laugh. Where, on the current Starlight Continent, could a wizard apprentice afford thirty superior magic stones? Even Su Nan, who had a few magic stones in his spatial ring, didn't have enough to synthesize thirty superior ones.

If he couldn't afford it, what hope did anyone else have?

The Tower of Stars' rule was clearly designed to leave the challengers with no choice.

Sign the oath contract or die!

There was no third option!

[Please make your choice, Challenger!]



[Pay the fee or sign the oath contract!]



The meatball's hundreds of mouths opened and closed, emitting a mechanical and cold voice.

Su Nan could faintly sense something in the hall aiming at him. If he refused, an attack would be launched immediately.

A cold, oppressive feeling enveloped his entire body!

But Su Nan's face remained calm, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Go to hell with your choices!"

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the construction potion, and countless streams of silver metallic liquid appeared, forming a metal storm that crashed against the invisible force field!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end