Chapter 551: The Secret Within the Murals
Chapter 551: The Secret Within the Murals
Regaining his composure, Head of the School Moria quickly approached the entrance covered in Dark Silver metal. However, instead of rushing in, he unexpectedly stopped.
Moria extended his right hand, his face a mixture of excitement, reverence, and hope, and slowly touched the Dark Silver metal that had yet to fully dissipate. He murmured:
"This is the true essence of a Metal Dawn Spell."
Moria was also a Metal Wizard. Although his talent was slightly inferior to Rayne's, he was still quite outstanding compared to other wizards, which was why he had reached the peak of the Crystallization stage.
"I get it!"
"I get it!!" Suddenly, Moria's expression turned excited, and he exclaimed softly.
Huh?
Rayne, standing nearby, clearly sensed a subtle yet wondrous change in Moria. It wasn't an external change in his body but a shift in his Psi Energy.
The Psi Energy became deeper and more profound.
"Is he... about to advance to the Dawn stage?" Rayne couldn't help but widen his eyes and look at Moria.
He hadn't expected that his full exertion of the Metal Dawn Spell 'Steel Forest' would not only devastate Tutkash School and scare off Graham but also help Moria take the final step toward becoming a Dawn Wizard.
Of course, this was also because Moria was already at the cusp between the peak of the Crystallization stage and the Dawn stage, lacking only a catalyst.
"Don't disturb Moria. It would be best to have someone keep watch nearby."
"I think it won't be long before our school gains another Dawn Wizard." Rayne couldn't help but smile.
The normal ascension process takes some time, and it's best to avoid any interruptions.
Seeing this, the black dragon Motes also couldn't help but curiously examine Moria with its large, dragon-like eyes, marveling at the rare occurrence.
"Is the Head of the School about to advance?" Deputy Head of the School Bradley couldn't hide his surprise and joy.
"Indeed." Rayne smiled and nodded.
"This... This is wonderful. Lord Rayne, the Head of the School has finally achieved what he has long awaited." Bradley sighed with emotion.
He remembered clearly that not long ago, when the school faced the challenges from Isodrial Academy, Moria had even considered forcing his way to the Dawn stage. But if he had done so then, the outcome might not have been favorable.
Nothing could compare to the smooth and natural progression this time!
"Moria, the Head of the School, is also a Metal Wizard, so he was able to gain insight from Lord Rayne's grand display of wizardry. It's truly enviable."
The two peak Crystallization wizards from Isodrial Academy looked at Moria and then at Rayne, their faces filled with envy.
Their strength was on par with Moria, and they were all stuck at that final threshold.
But Moria had better luck, with an imperial guardian guiding him, while they still had to struggle on their own.
Half an hour later.
Moria, his face beaming with joy, came to Rayne's side. He first bowed deeply to Rayne in respect and then said, "Lord Rayne, thank you for your guidance."
"Head of the School, this isn't my doing. Your foundation was already strong; you just needed a catalyst." Rayne smiled and waved his hand, asking, "How does it feel to be a Dawn Wizard?"
"Very good! Hahaha!" Moria couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter.
Moria's advancement to the Dawn Wizard stage made Rayne very happy. Now, there was finally someone besides himself who could fully unleash the power of the 'Destroyer.'
Over the next two days.
Rayne taught Moria and over a dozen Metal Wizards about some of the mechanical creations from Goblin Engineering while gradually advancing the fifth level of the 'Steel Heart' Advanced Meditation Method.
The Cyrodiil Plateau was rich in mineral resources, and they were all shallow and easily accessible. As long as they provided sufficient compensation to the local residents and tribes, there would be a steady supply of ore.
This was why he had designated the Cyrodiil Plateau as the new base for the Bishu Construct Guild after its promotion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the key to making the Mechanical Velociraptor." As he spoke, Rayne assembled the final mechanical part of the Mechanical Velociraptor.
"I see."
"Metal shaping is crucial; otherwise, the precision of the parts we make wouldn't meet the requirements of the blueprint."
"Indeed, the Mechanical Chocobo is one thing, but the Mechanical Velociraptor has much higher precision requirements, so we need to improve our basic skills."
"..."
The wizards around him, either with newfound understanding or whispering to each other, clearly benefited greatly from Rayne's teachings.
Rayne scanned the room and nodded slightly.
These people had been carefully selected by Moria and his team. After observing them for some time, he found that their talents and character were excellent.
At that moment, Deputy Head of the School Bradley entered the hall with a somewhat hurried pace, coming to Rayne and saying, "Lord Rayne, Head of the School, we discovered some ancient murals at Tutkash School."
Huh? Murals?
Clearly, if it were just ordinary murals, they wouldn't have caused such a reaction from the usually efficient Deputy Head of the School Bradley.
Soon, Rayne and Moria, led by Bradley, returned to the Tuttesh Academy encampment below the Telvuto Valley.
After two days of cleaning and moving, the various mutated insect swarms and the remains of the Tuttesh Academy wizards that Rayne had slain were no longer visible. Only the dark red bloodstains scattered across the walls and the faint scent of blood in the air testified to the fierce battle that had taken place here.
The mural was located in a warehouse at the very bottom, on the same level as Graham's laboratory. Perhaps, calling it a cave would be more appropriate.
As the three of them entered, Rayne quickly noticed that the rock walls were adorned with over a dozen murals, their colors faded and slightly blurred, indicating their ancient age.
"Lord Rayne, Head of the Order, this is it", Bradley said, pointing to the cave walls.
The first mural depicted a group of human warriors and wizards in classical bronze armor battling a black-robed girl surrounded by various fierce sea creatures.
The warriors roared and swung their swords, the wizards cast spells aloud, fighting against the dark and surging waves, the scene vivid and lifelike.
The second mural...
"It seems to depict ancient humans battling deities", Moria remarked, surprised.
Many records about deities, due to their ancient age and constant wars, rarely had illustrations that survived. Even when they did, they were mostly textual, consisting of fragmented phrases.
Moreover, major cults seemed to have an unspoken agreement to deliberately erase related records.
"This is the Sea Goddess Hela. This is the Hunting God Lune", Rayne observed, quickly recognizing the ancient human warriors and wizards' opponents as the eldritch deities he was familiar with.
The middle murals depicted humans gaining an advantage under the leadership of a benevolent deity, defeating several eldritch deities.
As for the last few murals...
"Hmm?"
"Is that... a Netherfiend?" Rayne's eyes narrowed as he pondered.
The final murals depicted an intriguing scene where multiple deities, both benevolent and eldritch, were fighting against a massive black creature, clearly at a disadvantage.
The black creature was very familiar to Rayne.
Its body was flanked by multiple black scythes, its lower half adorned with numerous black claws, its head crowned with towering horns, and its mouth filled with a row of sharp teeth, emitting a dark aura as it floated in the air.
It was clearly a larger version of a Netherfiend.
"Eldritch deities and Netherfiends in battle?" Rayne was momentarily taken aback, his face showing deep thought.
He had always assumed that Netherfiends and eldritch deities were allies, the common enemies of humanity since ancient times. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Moreover, the murals suggested that humans were the weakest, eldritch deities were in the middle, and Netherfiends were the strongest.
"This should be a work from the Middle Ages, at least six thousand years old."
"These are all eldritch deities, but what is that monstrous black creature in the background? It seems particularly powerful", Moria mused, pointing to the last few murals.
Even as the head of an order, Moria was not very familiar with Netherfiends, which was largely due to his focus on constructs and golems.
"This is a Netherfiend, a... very terrifying entity", Rayne explained from the side.
"Netherfiend? Terrifying?" Hearing Rayne say this, Moria's expression turned serious.
Only after becoming a Dawn Wizard did Moria realize that he still couldn't gauge Rayne's true strength. Instead, he felt that Rayne's psi energy, though subtle, was vast and unfathomable.
"Sir Bradley, are there any other murals nearby?"
"No, Lord Rayne, I have confirmed this repeatedly."
"Alright, set up a shielding spell here to preserve these murals properly."
"Of course, Lord Rayne."
When Rayne returned to the Isodrial Academy encampment, he suddenly saw his mentor, Makar, in the hall, enthusiastically conversing with three tall, slender women whose attire was distinctly different from humans.
"Rayne!"
The youngest Elven girl, like a light and graceful butterfly, carrying a unique fragrance of herbs, threw herself into Rayne's arms.
"Anna, why are you here?" Rayne held Anna's warm, slender waist, feeling the girl's enthusiasm, but also feeling a bit surprised.
Logically, if Anna had received notification and rushed to the Imperial Capital Temeril, she should be with her mother right now.
"You rescued so many of our missing kin, Elder Nysa wanted to personally thank you on behalf of the Elven people. When she heard you were in the Cyrodiil Plateau, I asked Lady Olena to bring us here to find you."
Anna pointed to Olena as she spoke.
"Also, Mother has mostly recovered, and she wanted to see you."
At this point, perhaps remembering the presence of others, especially her mother, Anna blushed and reluctantly released Rayne, blinking her large, beautiful eyes.
Rayne's expression cleared, and he finally focused on the two Elven women.
Sure enough, the Elven woman with faint crow's feet and a classical beauty was Elder Nysa, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. The Elven woman standing beside her, smiling and observing Rayne and Anna, was Lady Darien Hawymoon, Anna's mother.
Not long ago, Rayne had rescued a group of Elven women from the Brotherhood of Dragonhide's mythical realm. One of them was Dareen Hawkmoon.
From her demeanor and movements, it seemed she had fully recovered. It was likely that Elder Nysa had arrived in the Imperial Capital and provided further treatment, accelerating her recovery.
"Elder Nysa, greetings."
"Lady Dareen, you look much better", Rayne said, immediately stepping forward and bowing slightly.
Although Rayne's strength and position in the Dragon Empire far surpassed both women, as Anna's elders, it was only proper for him to show respect first.
This was a matter of etiquette and respect for Anna.
"Lord Rayne, you are too kind. Congratulations on becoming the youngest Guardian of the Dragon Empire", Elder Nysa immediately returned the bow.
"Rayne, thank you", Dareen Hawkmoon said with a warm smile, continuing to eye Rayne as if she were a mother-in-law sizing up a potential son-in-law.
For a moment, Rayne felt the pressure from her gaze was even greater than when facing a deity's incarnation.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group moved to the meeting room and took their seats. During this time, Efficient Adult Olena stepped forward, handed Rayne a letter, and whispered, "My Lord, Princess Menya hopes you can return to the Imperial Capital within the next two days."
"Oh?" Rayne took the letter from Olena, quickly scanning its contents.
The letter was straightforward. Menya had received an official request from the Federation. Given the current dire situation, the Federation wished to join forces with the Empire to explore the Sky City Ruins, and hoped the Empire could send a powerful individual as soon as possible.
Since Menya knew Rayne had already explored the Sky City Ruins once, she wanted to hear his thoughts on the matter.
Rayne, however, fell into deep thought.
He was naturally interested in exploring the Sky City Ruins again, as the lower levels might contain a complete version of the advanced meditation method, 'Steel Heart.' After all, the ancient goblins were the origin of 'Steel Heart.' However, he had not planned to return so soon.
Rayne had originally intended to explore the Sky City Ruins after reaching the full moon wizard stage, as the Vile Demons inside were extremely formidable.
"Wait, perhaps the suitable place for my breakthrough is within the Sky City Ruins!"
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Rayne, like a bolt of lightning piercing through the fog.
He had considered several locations before, such as the underwater Lava Lake, the school's underground chambers, and even setting up a new secret room in Cyrodiil. But upon closer examination, none of these seemed entirely safe.
Even the Dragon Emperor Carlos II, despite the Dragon Empire's formidable defenses and complete ward arrays, had still attracted the attention of many eldritch deities when he ascended to demigod status, leading to their avatars descending to obstruct him.
The same would likely be true for the aforementioned locations.
As for the mythical realm, it was even less suitable. Rayne had reviewed related ancient texts and records. Choosing to break through in the mythical realm would lead to unpredictable deviations due to the lack of spatial rules, and the realm itself would likely be destroyed, meaning the eldritch deities would still sense the ascension.
So, one of Rayne's backup plans was to go to the Church of Monsoon and the Goddess in the Imperial Capital to break through there.
In essence, he would use the power of Monsoon and the Goddess to conceal the disturbances caused by his ascension.
Of course, there was a problem with this plan. The Pope of the Church of the Goddess in the Imperial Capital was not the familiar Bishop Siyan, and the Church might not agree to his request.
Additionally, there was a more critical issue. Below Cologne Cathedral in the Imperial Capital, the avatar of a Vile Demon was sealed. If he used the Goddess's power to mask his ascension, the forces suppressing the Vile Demon might become insufficient, leading to unpredictable changes, such as a breach.
But this time, the mysterious murals from the Middle Ages seemed to indicate that the ancient Sky City, once tainted by the Vile Demon, might shield eldritch deities from sensing the ascension.
Or at least, the eldritch deities might be wary of that place and unable to fully intervene.
"Perhaps the Sky City is a better choice, but I need to verify if the murals' depictions are accurate", Rayne thought to himself.
And he had the perfect person to consult.
While humans might only have fragmentary records of the Middle Ages, the Elves, as an immortal race, had preserved many complete texts.
Rayne smiled at Elder Nysa and said, "Elder Nysa, your timing is perfect. I have some questions I would like to ask you."
(End of Chapter)
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