Chapter 221: The Wizard in the Books
Su Nan had personally crafted no fewer than ten thousand Puppets. He was more than familiar with the life aura emanating from them—an essence so distinct from the flesh and blood of the living. The moment the monster manifested, he recognized that unique Puppet signature.
"A Puppet capable of changing its form, huh? That's quite rare," Su Nan remarked, a flicker of curiosity sparking in his eyes.
As he observed the Squid Puppet, the creature suddenly moved, raising a barbed tentacle high into the air. It swirled briefly before shooting directly towards him with a sharp, whistling sound, creating a powerful gust of wind as it advanced.
Su Nan stood still, watching with a calm expression as the tentacle ripped through the air. However, as it closed within five meters of him, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier. Its speed abruptly slowed to a crawl, inching forward until it finally came to a halt, just half a meter from Su Nan's body. A closer inspection revealed the tentacle trembling slightly, as if under immense invisible pressure.
"Not bad attack power, not inferior to a Third Circle Spell," Su Nan said, raising an eyebrow in casual assessment.
Shh, shh!
The air filled with the sound of more things tearing through the atmosphere. Failing in its initial assault, the Squid Puppet unleashed its full force. Dozens of tentacles roared towards him, a storm of whipping appendages aimed directly at Su Nan.
Yet, the same scenario repeated itself. As each tentacle neared within five meters of him, their speed visibly diminished. The closer they got, the slower they became until they completely stopped. In an instant, Su Nan found himself surrounded by dozens of tentacles forming a dense, impenetrable cage, yet they couldn't even scratch him.
"Meow, Su Nan is amazing!" Amy exclaimed excitedly, gazing at him with admiration.
As if to confirm his thoughts, the surfaces of the surrounding tentacles suddenly lit up with various magical radiances, lightning and flames swirling around them, while ice and strong acid spurted forth. The tips of all the barbs glowed with an eerie blue light!
In that instant, all the tentacles were imbued with powerful magical effects!
Ch ch ch!
The dense mass of tentacles launched another attack, their power increasing explosively in an instant, so much so that the protective field of the Forbidden Zone struggled to hold on, rapidly depleting its energy.
"Its combat power is far greater than that of the Secret Puppet," Su Nan remarked in wonder.
If he hadn't broken through to the First Order Liquefaction realm, subduing this Squid Puppet would have required a significant amount of effort.
While these thoughts flashed
Having broken through to the First Order and achieved Liquefaction, Su Nan's Spiritual Power skyrocketed, allowing him to further synthesize and upgrade the 【Black Thunder】 with his own hands. Its power was now at least five or six times stronger than before.
It could be said that even a Secret Puppet Girl would absolutely be unable to withstand a single strike from the 【Black Thunder】.
When Squid Puppet took a direct hit from the 【Black Thunder】, it was left heavily injured but not destroyed; this 'shell' proved to be remarkably resilient.
Su Nan hesitated for a moment, deciding to keep the Squid Puppet and take it back for research. Perhaps he could glean some inspiration from it to enhance his own Puppet and make it even more powerful.
After releasing two Secret Puppet Girls to watch over the Squid Puppet, Su Nan walked toward the depths of the hall.
He had reached the top floor of the tower, the most central area of Falling Star City.
Powerful beings like Squid Puppet guarded this space.
If there were no unexpected developments, the two stone pillars here must hold Falling Star City's most valuable treasures.
As Su Nan approached the stone pillars, he encountered no further obstacles.
Evidently, as he had surmised, Squid Puppet was indeed the last line of defense for Falling Star City.
The light surrounding the stone pillars formed a Protection Magic Array, which Su Nan easily dispelled, revealing the treasures atop the pillars.
One was a book and the other, a crystal-clear sphere.
The book was two or three times the size of an ordinary tome, with a light green cover that shimmered with a cold metallic luster, showcasing an exquisitely depicted jade-white gardenia flower.
Su Nan could feel the profound energy particles contained within the book; it was clearly a Magic Item.
The sphere was roughly the size of a fist, shining brilliantly, with countless star-like dots within it, resembling a breathtaking starscape.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that those star-like dots were actually numerous miniaturized enchanted runes.
What surprised Su Nan was his vague sense that the energy contained within this sphere was flowing into the void in a way he couldn't comprehend, seemingly connecting to the entire tower in a mysterious manner.
A realization dawned upon him.
This sphere was perhaps the source of the energy for the tower, or rather, for all of Falling Star City!
Though he was very curious about the sphere, Su Nan was more eager to discover the contents of the other book at that moment.
With this thought in mind, he reached out toward the book. In the next second, a low sigh suddenly resonated in his ears.
The voice was emanating from the book.
“The book is talking!” Amy exclaimed, startled.
Shua!
The book snapped open violently, and countless rays of light burst from one of its pages, intertwining and floating toward the side of the stone pillar, forming a somewhat ethereal human figure.
It was a woman who appeared to be about twenty years old, clad in a gray wizard robe, with a waterfall of silver hair and brilliant, starlight-like purple eyes. Her tall, slender figure exuded an enchanting aura.
Her lips were thin, her chin slightly pointed, and the corners of her narrow eyes were tilted upward, giving her a somewhat stern and aloof demeanor.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Controller of the Star Alliance," the gray-robed woman said slowly, her voice clear and cold, yet tinged with a hint of magnetism.
"You know me?" Su Nan raised an eyebrow.
"Not personally," the gray-robed woman's lips curled slightly. Her cold features, paired with a soft smile, rendered her exceptionally alluring. "However, I saw the fleet searching outside and the Siren. Only the Controller of the Star Alliance could mobilize both at the same time, right?"
Su Nan's expression shifted as he immediately realized, "So you’re the 'Ocean Goddess' who deceived the Siren?"
The gray-robed woman's expression remained unchanged. "Deceive is too strong a word. The Siren assisted me in collecting the Heart of the Sea, and I imparted knowledge to them, helping their race grow stronger. It was a fair trade, wasn’t it? The use of the name Ocean Goddess was merely for the ease of communication."
Su Nan replied noncommittally, "Then why reveal yourself now? Are you seeking revenge?"
"You misunderstand," the gray-robed woman shook her head. "I have no such intention. I’m not your opponent, either. As for that Tentacle Puppet..."
She glanced at the Squid Puppet twitching on the ground. "That’s an automatic defense mechanism activated by Falling Star City upon detecting an intruder. I have no control over it."
Tentacle Puppet?
Su Nan recalled a creature resembling an octopus, known as the Golden Tentacle Lord.
"It's no wonder that Squid Puppet looked familiar earlier; the prototype of this Puppet is actually the Golden Tentacle Lord. That's a famous Divine Being!
The reason I willingly revealed myself is that I have no other choice."
The grey-robed woman gazed at the book on the stone pillar, her expression complex.
"I believe you can also see my current state. This book is my host; once it is destroyed, I will vanish with it. At this point, there’s no need for me to hide."
Su Nan had indeed noticed it a while ago—the grey-robed woman was in a Ghost state. Generally speaking, a Ghost cannot exist in the material world for long.
Unless it transforms into a Vengeful Soul that attacks humans, devouring soul and flesh and evolving into an Evil Spirit with Earthbound properties, it cannot survive long-term in the material realm, much like the Evil Spirit he encountered in the Kuberlo mansion before.
However, there are exceptions. A very small number of individuals, after death, can integrate their Soul into an object, becoming a Ghost that resides within it, thus sustaining their Soul and preventing it from dissipating. But achieving this is no easy feat.
Besides the deceased needing to possess extremely powerful Soul Energy in life, they must find a suitable container to host their Soul, along with a fair amount of luck. All three factors are indispensable!
Missing any one of these elements can lead to a fusion failure, causing the Soul to vanish. The grey-robed woman before him is clearly one of those rare lucky ones.
Su Nan was somewhat surprised by the grey-robed woman's honesty. Yet, after considering it, he realized that even if she had chosen not to reveal her condition, he would have discovered it quickly on his own. Rather than being exposed, it was better for her to be upfront, as this might create a more favorable impression.
Su Nan gestured with his hand, and the book on the stone pillar floated into his palm. As the host essential to her existence fell into the hands of another, the grey-robed woman’s body instinctively tensed up. However, she quickly restrained herself, lightly biting her lip.
Su Nan pretended not to notice and opened the book.
What met his eyes were densely packed Spell Models, with each page containing one, ranging from Zero Ring to Third Ring, and there were easily no fewer than a hundred Spells.
A Codex book!
Su Nan immediately recognized it.
Similar to the Spell Storing Staff, the Codex is inscribed with a Spell Model, which, upon activation, can release the Spell's Magic Item. However, unlike the former, the Codex can inscribe even more Spells.
A typical Codex can store at most twenty to thirty Spells, mostly of the Second Ring type. In contrast, this Codex holds not only over a hundred Spells but also many Third Circle Spells. Such power, even if it cannot compare to a Wizard Tool, is undoubtedly top-tier among Shimmering Magic Items.
Su Nan closed the book, having already found the answer in his heart.
“You used this Codex to control the storms and waves to help the Siren defeat the enemy?”
“That's right.”
At this point, there was no need for the grey-robed woman to conceal anything; she admitted it frankly. “Before becoming like this, I was a Wizard.”
Su Nan was not surprised by her revelation; rather, he wore an expression of ‘I knew it.’ The ability to integrate one’s Soul into the Codex after death and still use it in a Ghost form is certainly not something an ordinary person could accomplish. Only a Wizard could achieve such a feat.
Wait!
A sudden insight struck Su Nan, and he asked, “What is your name?”
“Lyse Russell,” the grey-robed woman replied.
Indeed!
Su Nan's gaze sharpened as he studied her closely. “So you are the ancestor of the Russell Family.”
The Russell Family has historically been the guardians of Falling Star City and included a Wizard among their ranks. Given that the grey-robed woman had appeared in Falling Star City and was also a Wizard in her past life, it was hard to believe there wasn’t a connection.
As he thought, he confirmed it was the case.
“You know me?” Lyse's purple eyes flickered with a hint of surprise.
“No, I just heard members of your family mention you,” Su Nan replied, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile on his face. “The Russell Family is also part of the Star Alliance now.”
Lyse was momentarily taken aback, then nodded in understanding.
“That’s right; you are a Formal Wizard. It’s only natural for the Russell Family to have joined your ranks.”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect that the Starlight Continent could still produce a Formal Wizard these days.”
Lyse gazed at Su Nan with a mix of amazement and admiration.
She was someone who had witnessed the trials of the Era of Elemental Depletion and was deeply aware that in the scarcity of energy, advancing to become a Wizard required extraordinary talent and tremendous effort, all for a mere sliver of hope for success.
The person before her had undoubtedly put in effort beyond ordinary imagination and weathered countless hardships to achieve their current status.
That's why, upon realizing the other party was a Wizard, she had acted immediately.
In the current Starlight Continent, this person was her only hope of achieving her goals.
"I'm more curious about why you've become like this and what's happening with Falling Star City," Su Nan said directly.
Lize paused for a moment before asking, "Do you know the origin of Falling Star City?"
"The inheritance left behind by a Wizard from a thousand years ago?"
"Yes, but also no." Lize nodded and then shook his head. "Have you heard of the Starfall Society?"
"Starfall Society? Isn't that already extinct?" Su Nan glanced at Lize. "You're a member of the Starfall Society."
Lize's expression froze, genuinely taken aback this time.
The Starfall Society had been a Wizard faction from a thousand years ago, so logically, Su Nan shouldn't have been aware of them.
She had asked casually, prepared to explain, but who would have thought that Su Nan actually knew about the Starfall Society?
And that she even knew it was extinct!
What exactly was this person's background?
Comments