Chapter 177: Wizard Inheritance - The Truth
Su Nan retracted his palm, a relaxed smile on his face.
The first level of the test posed little challenge for him; only the final spell learning took a bit more time.
[Now commencing the second stage: skill assessment.]
[Please select the type of skill you wish to be assessed from the four options below.]
[Potion Making, Biological Modification, Magical Item Manufacturing, Puppet Refining.]
“An assessment of skills, huh.”
Without much hesitation, Su Nan quickly chose Puppet Refining. Not only was this skill the highest level, but he also possessed the most high-level puppet blueprints for it.
Had he chosen Potion Making or Magical Item Manufacturing, he would have been completely stumped if asked to craft a high-grade potion or manufacture a Dim Magic Item. Up until now, he had only acquired high-grade potions and Dim Magic Items through synthesis; he lacked the corresponding recipes or blueprints.
In contrast, he possessed blueprints for numerous puppets, ranging from Clay Golem, Stone Golem, and Steel Golem to Mithril Golem and Secret Puppet. His blueprints covered levels from Knight to Fourth Circle Legend, allowing him to handle any puppet refinement task for the test with ease.
They carried an assortment of metals, gems, and Soul Crystals.
Su Nan even spotted some high-end gems and small Soul Crystals among them.
After depositing the materials, the Clay Golems retreated back through the door, and heavy footsteps echoed in the chamber as a large figure stepped out.
It was a massive puppet construct!
Standing about seven or eight meters tall, it was entirely made of gigantic skeletons, its pupils glowing with an eerie dark-red light, radiating a foul odor and a wicked aura.
It wielded a sharp battle axe made of bone.
Skeleton Golem!
Su Nan immediately recognized the nature of the Golem before him. It was a type of Golem primarily refined using biological skeletons as materials, a common creation among many wizards (apprentices) specializing in the necromantic arts.
"Could it be that the builders of the Star Tower were experts in the necromantic arts, Wizard?" Su Nan mused to himself.
[Challenge remaining time: 87 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes. Please refine an unspecified number of Puppets capable of destroying the Skeleton Golem within the allotted time. Failure to defeat the Skeleton Golem before the time limit expires, or if all Materials are consumed, will result in a failed challenge.]
Su Nan felt a sense of relief; this assessment was significantly easier.
The combat power of the Skeleton Golem was comparable to that of a Steel Golem.
One Steel Golem might not be enough to destroy the Skeleton Golem, but two would certainly suffice.
To date, Su Nan had refined hundreds of Steel Golems, and the process was so familiar to him that it felt almost effortless. Crafting just two Steel Golems wouldn’t even take a day.
Indeed, it was as he expected. Within a day, two brand new Steel Golems were ready.
Then came the battle.
Just as Su Nan had predicted, the two Steel Golems easily overpowered the Skeleton Golem, and in less than ten minutes, reduced it to a pile of broken bones.
[Pass!]
A beam of light suddenly shot out from an unknown source, instantly dismantling one of the Steel Golems, scattering its metal fragments across the ground.
Immediately afterward, another beam struck, shattering the second Steel Golem into pieces.
Rumble.
The Clay Golem walked out from the entrance, carrying the Materials back, while the remnants of the Skeleton and metal debris on the ground were also cleaned up.
[Now commencing the third trial, the combat assessment!]
As the voice faded, the wall opposite him rumbled open, revealing a vast expanse of darkness.
A gigantic gray hand emerged from the shadows, followed by an arm, a head, a torso, and lower limbs.
A massive creature soon stood before Su Nan.
It was an enormous giant, with skin of a deep, slightly bluish gray, speckled with darker and lighter patches. Its neck, shoulders, and arms were adorned with pebble-like protrusions of bone and skin, each about the size of a coin.
Its face lacked eyebrows, featuring prominent brow ridges and a broad jaw, while the top of its head was studded with bony bumps.
It was completely hairless, without even a single strand; its head was entirely bald.
"Goliath!”
Su Nan raised an eyebrow, recognizing the creature before him.
Goliath was a type of giant, possessing immense strength and a natural ability to control air currents. These otherworldly beings, upon reaching adulthood, wielded power close to that of a Third Circle Legend or Fourth Circle Legend, making them incredibly formidable and born warriors.
As Goliath crawled out from behind the door, it instantly straightened up, reaching a height of fifteen or sixteen meters. Its enormous, robust grayish-blue body exuded a crushing presence, reminiscent of a majestic mountain range.
[Defeat the trial creature to pass!]
Su Nan couldn’t help but curl his lip as he recalled the two Steel Golems he had just disassembled. This trial truly left no room for exploitation.
“Roar!”
Goliath bellowed, raising the massive spiked club in its hand, charging toward Su Nan like an advancing tank. The violent air pressure it generated caused Su Nan's robes to billow wildly.
Su Nan's expression remained unchanged. With a flicker of his mind, countless silver droplets of metal poured forth from within him, transforming into a Metal Storm that surged forward, engulfing Goliath!
Chichichi!
The dull sound of sharp blades cutting through flesh and bone echoed incessantly in the hall, drowning out the anguished howls of pain.
After four or five breaths, the Metal Storm receded, vanishing into Su Nan's body. Goliath had also disappeared, leaving only a pool of blood on the ground as evidence of its existence.
Under the full power of a level 5 Magic Pattern Core practitioner, even Goliath, whose strength approached that of a Fourth Circle Legend, could not endure and was swiftly slain with a single strike.
[Pass.]
Meatball, positioned not far away, opened and closed its mouth, emitting a familiar mechanical voice.
[Congratulations on successfully passing the trial. Evaluation: A+. You have received a heritage reward!]
Crack!
Suddenly, three cracks appeared in the center of the hall's floor. From each crack, a rectangular stone pillar slowly rose, stopping after reaching a height of about a meter.
Atop the rightmost pillar rested a bottle of potion. Inside the clear bottle, a pale purple liquid shimmered enticingly under the light of the Everbright Pearl.
A book rested on the central stone pillar. On the leftmost pillar sat a perfectly round silver bead, about the size of a chicken egg. Next to it were a Construct Potion, a “White Bone” Middle Talent Crystal Model, and Spirit Beads.
"This is your inheritance reward!"
Su Nan's heart leaped with joy. Judging by the name, the Construct Potion was designed specifically for accelerating the construction of Talent Crystal Models. Once consumed, it could drastically increase the construction speed.
A single bottle of Construct Potion could enable a Wizard Apprentice to successfully construct a Lower Level Talent Crystal Model within a month. Its effect was undeniably powerful! Whether during the golden age of Wizards a thousand years ago or in the future era of their return, the Construct Potion was an extremely valuable item, largely monopolized by those with Wizard Power. Wild Wizard Apprentices would not even catch a glimpse of it.
That the creator of Star Tower was willing to offer the Construct Potion as a reward—an A+ evaluation reward, no less—truly surprised Su Nan. The “White Bone” Middle Talent Crystal Model was also a good reward, but Su Nan no longer cared much for it.
As for the Spirit Beads, as the name suggested, they were crystals formed from highly condensed Spiritual Power, used to quickly restore one’s Spiritual Power. However, Spirit Beads could only be refined by Formal Wizards, often at the cost of permanently reducing their own Spiritual Power. Apart from some Wizards nearing the end of their lives, very few would be willing to make such a sacrifice, so the value of Spirit Beads was exceptionally high.
There was no need to mention the “White Bone” Talent Crystal Model; it was clear that the Construct Potion and Spirit Beads were prepared for the second and third steps of model construction. Su Nan estimated that during Star Tower's trial assessment, those who received an A+ evaluation were likely all Level Three Wizard Apprentices who had either just started or were already constructing Talent Crystal Models. This was likely why the inheritance reward included these items.
It had to be acknowledged that the creator of Star Tower was quite generous.
Thinking this, Su Nan reached out toward the Construct Potion, but before he could touch it, an invisible force field blocked his hand.
"???"
Su Nan was stunned. At that moment, Meatball, not far away, opened its mouth again.
“Vow Contract?”
Su Nan's brow furrowed slightly as he asked, “What are the terms of the contract?”
A flash of light appeared before him, and lines of text began to materialize.
After reading through the words, Su Nan's expression darkened.
The Vow Contract required him to become a member of the Wizard organization, Dark Throne, from this moment forward, forbidding him to disobey any orders from Dark Throne and mandating that he not engage in any actions detrimental to the organization.
In simple terms, signing this Vow Contract would effectively make him a tireless servant of Dark Throne.
Though it was called a Vow Contract, its severity was hardly less than that of a Soul Contract.
Su Nan would never sign such a contract unless he had completely lost his senses.
Moreover, while others might be ignorant, he was quite well-informed.
There were not many Wizard organizations with a solid reputation and foundation in the Multiverse. Counting them, there were only about a dozen, and Dark Throne was one of them.
Most members of this Wizard organization specialized in Undead magic and were known for their radical actions.
If that were all, it might have been bearable, but the key issue was that Dark Throne's structure was heavily feudalistic.
The higher-level Wizards held supreme authority, enjoying most of the resources, while lower-level members were essentially an exploited class. Having signed a Vow Contract, they were relegated to working tirelessly to collect and create resources for the benefit of those at the top.
Though they were called Wizards, they were practically no different from slaves.
The use of the term Vow Contract instead of Soul Contract was merely a tactic to reduce resistance from those signing it.
This was precisely why Dark Throne had such a terrible reputation in the Wizarding Realm and was despised by many Wizards.
“No wonder the Starlight Continent left behind a Wizard inheritance,” Su Nan thought, finally grasping the situation.
He had been puzzled before, but now it all made sense.
The Wizard organization had never been known for its sense of responsibility.
After the Multiverse expedition, it became evident that a Wizard had left behind a legacy on the Starlight Continent, offering a glimmer of hope for future generations to advance to Wizardry. No matter how one looked at it, this was quite abnormal.
Initially, Su Nan thought a unique individual within the Wizard faction had selflessly given back. However, it now seemed that the truth was far removed from his assumptions.
The Star Tower was actually a facility established by the Dark Throne on the Starlight Continent, specifically for developing its members. Due to their terrible reputation, very few were willing to join the Dark Throne during the Multiverse era.
In order to expand their membership, the Dark Throne often resorted to questionable methods. The Star Tower was clearly one of these.
Unaware of the true nature of the Dark Throne, those faced with such generous legacy rewards and the allure of advancing to Wizardry would likely find it hard to resist the temptation to sign the Vow Contract.
Once they signed, when the elements revived in the future and Wizards returned, these individuals would come to understand the true nature of the Dark Throne. But by then, it would be too late for them to regret their decision.
“Truly, they have the same shameless style as the Dark Throne,” Su Nan muttered, curling his lips in disdain.
He understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
The so-called Wizard Inheritance was, in reality, a scam.
Given this, it was likely that the Black Forest and Falling Star City, which were just as renowned as the Star Tower, harbored many tricks of their own. Even if they weren't as dangerous as the Star Tower, it was unlikely that one could easily acquire knowledge and resources without putting in any effort.
“Forget it; I'll think about the Black Forest and Falling Star City later. I need to deal with the current situation first.”
Signing the Vow Contract was clearly out of the question. Su Nan wouldn’t willingly leap into a pit of fire.
However, taking into account the usual behavior of the Dark Throne, they likely wouldn’t allow him to simply give up the reward and refuse to sign the Vow Contract after he had come this far.
Su Nan lifted his gaze and glanced at the Meatball, speaking with determination, “I refuse to sign the Vow Contract and relinquish 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 lost in the trial. The fee is thirty Upper Level Magic Stone units. Please pay!】 【Those who cannot pay will be obliterated!】
As expected! Su Nan sneered. In the current Starlight Continent, who would have the means to pay thirty Upper Level Magic Stone units? Even Su Nan, despite having a fair number of Magic Stones, did not possess enough to synthesize thirty Upper Level Magic Stone units. If it was difficult for him, it was impossible for others. This rule imposed by the Star Tower clearly left challengers with no choice: either sign the Vow Contract or face death! There was no third option!
【Please make a choice, Challenger!】 【Pay the fee or sign the Vow Contract!】
Hundreds of mouths on the surface of Meatball opened and closed incessantly, emitting cold, mechanical voices. Su Nan could vaguely sense that some form of entity was locked onto him within the hall. If he refused, it would attack immediately. An icy sense of oppression instantly enveloped his entire body!
Seemingly oblivious to it all, Su Nan wore a cold smile on his face. "Your choice is a joke!" He suddenly reached out toward the Construct Potion, and countless silver droplets of liquid metal emerged simultaneously, transforming into a Metal Storm that fiercely crashed into the invisible force field!
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