Chapter 701: Chapter 347: Element Pool, Tower Defense Game
Spiritual power brushed over the rune lock on the box, and the metal box actively broke free from Ronan’s palm, floating in mid-air.
The dense runes on the surface of the box lit up, with pale white light bursting through the gaps, followed by the entire box quickly melting like wax, flowing downward.
The ground beneath Ronan’s feet instantly collapsed, and a large gray area rapidly spread, with invisible ripples extending into the distant darkness, and even the sound of agitation seemed to pause for a moment.
Ronan took a few steps back, and soon the ripples in front of him stabilized, forming a gray "pool" at his feet, which gradually began to take on a mottled color.
Ronan could sense that countless free energy particles within this space were being drawn by a force, forming streams that continuously poured into the "gray pool."
Ronan’s expression shifted slightly.
"Could it be...."
A moment later.
Ronan stood under the beam of light from the lighting crystal hanging from the ceiling, holding the Deep Knowledge Crown in one hand. At his feet, palm-sized flame beings emerged one by one, screaming as they charged into the darkness ahead.
A few black skeletons, clad in tattered ancient armor, stumbled out of the darkness and were pounced upon by the fearless flame elemental beings, which immediately exploded into flames with a "boom" upon contact.
The small creatures continued to hurl themselves forward, and in an instant, were reduced to piles of charred bones, perishing completely with a sense of unwillingness.
These were once warriors of the Keldim Wizard Empire who died here, and after death, their corpses were corroded by filthy dark energy, becoming wandering undead in the waterway, forlorn and without a home.
"It actually is the Element Pool."
Ronan withdrew his gaze, turned, and looked at the "pool," which had expanded to a diameter of five meters. Its color transformed from light gray to a kaleidoscope of colors, like a pool filled with colorful paint.
Perhaps because Ronan had the Deep Knowledge Crown, the Deep Sea Elder entrusted him with this Element Pool.
The good news was that Ronan could use the power of the Deep Knowledge Crown and the Element Pool to continuously create elemental life, aiding him in exploring the ancient waterway.
It might still not compare to the collaborative efforts of other faction wizard elite teams, but it was far better than Ronan venturing alone.
The bad news is...
"If I had known it was the Element Pool earlier, I should have opened the box in the Mist Space."
No wonder the middle-aged wizard who brought him here emphasized opening the box in the right location before leaving.
Once the Element Pool is activated, it’s hard to move. Ronan tried using the "Void Mirror" to transfer it to the Mist Space, which could be done, but currently, the Element Pool had just formed, and its structure was extremely unstable. Any slight movement might lead to the collapse of the entire Element Pool.
He could only wait for a while until the entire Element Pool fully stabilized before considering moving it.
For the Element Pool to reach its full potential, an energy accumulation process is also needed.
At this stage, Ronan’s newly formed Element Pool could only produce elemental life with about the strength of Level 1, sufficient for dealing with typical "grunts" in the ancient waterway, but inadequate against slightly stronger monsters.
"It’s starting to feel like a tower defense game..."
Ronan inspected the surroundings of the Element Pool and discovered a naturally formed layer of energy light membrane around it. He tested its strength, which was not high, only around Level 1.
However, it should continually increase as the Element Pool upgrades.
After pondering, Ronan took out his personal Rune Stone and set up several additional defensive arrays outside the Element Pool.
"For now, I can only stay here for a while..."
Ronan surveyed his surroundings, with ominous low growls occasionally ringing out from the darkness. The monsters wandering in the ancient waterway ruins were constantly approaching the light source.
Just as well, during this waiting period, he could practice using the Deep Knowledge Crown with the Element Pool to create elemental life.
....
A month later.
"Crack, crack, crack——"
Accompanied by a series of crisp bone sounds, Ronan stood up from the ground.
The deep blue and clear eyes seemed more profound than before, with a mysterious glimmer flashing within, but quickly contained within his pupils.
"Hu——"
Ronan gently exhaled and examined himself.
After Level 4, the soul power growth brought by two rounds of reincarnation and dreams had now been completely digested, advancing his progress in strength to [Level 4 Official Wizard: 12%].
The main reason was that his second Dream Entry was interrupted after only eight years, so the effect was much diminished.
His spiritual power had grown significantly, and reaching the Level 4 Middle Stage, it would probably take just two more "Reincarnation" cycles.
It’s hard to imagine that from his promotion to Level 4 until now, only a little over a year had actually passed.
"As for the [Secret Chrysalis], the final bit of accumulation still hasn’t reached Complete..."
Ronan furrowed his brow, in the Consciousness Space, the Light Cocoon representing the [Secret Chrysalis] had been accelerated using Demon Crystal a few months ago, leaving only a thread of white yet to be filled with black.
But upon inspection, it was still lacking that tiny bit, seemingly unchanged.
However, the delicate threads extending from the Light Cocoon had multiplied considerably, continuously absorbing nutrients from his physical soul, perhaps the final maturation wouldn’t take much longer.
Ronan ceased his inspection and looked around.
A month passed in the blink of an eye, his own Strength hadn’t changed significantly, but the surrounding environment had altered quite a bit.
During this time, Ronan single-handedly cleared the surrounding two kilometers of waterway, gaining a rough understanding of the Ancient Waterway Ruins.
The Monsters within the waterway, the most numerous, were the bizarre creatures resembling both fish and lizards he had encountered upon entering. They weren’t strong but traveled in swarms, fearless of death, akin to cockroaches infesting dark, damp corners, seemingly impossible to eradicate.
Next were the warriors of the Keldim Wizard Empire who had died in battle within the waterway, turned into Undead skeletons by Otherworldly forces posthumously. Most were of average Strength, slow and awkward in movement, posing little threat.
A few had mutated into Corpse Demons, bloated and massive, reaching near Fourth Rank or Fifth Rank Strength, capable of certain energy attacks with intense Corrosion abilities. Upon death, their bellies would burst open with a swarm of parasitic worms, making them quite troublesome.
The trickiest were the Otherworldly Demons resembling Lizard Men.
With lizard heads, human torsos, and lizard tails, they moved swiftly, possessed immense strength, were highly resistant to Spells, and had exceedingly tough Life Force, generally at Fourth Rank strength. Ronan even encountered a Fifth Rank Lizard Monster, taking considerable effort to slay it....
Ronan documented all of his combat-gathered data on these Monsters in his notebook, a form of unorthodox knowledge accumulation, possibly aiding future adventurers when he departs.
After being cleared by Ronan, the area had become significantly quieter, with much of the putrid decay in the air dissipating, and even the Lighting Crystal’s glow seemed gentler, adding a sense of tranquility.
Beside him, the Element Pool, with a month’s Energy accumulation, expanded to an eight-meter diameter with unfathomable depth, its vibrant surface graced by a succession of Elemental Life forms breaking through, all emanating Energy waves comparable to Third Rank.
"Just half a month more, and the formal transfer can commence..."
Ronan assessed the Element Pool’s stability and thought silently.
Things progressed faster than he’d anticipated, primarily due to an accidental discovery when he tossed a few Lizard Monster corpses into the Element Pool, realizing their bodies could be decomposed by the pool, converting into pure energy.
During this period, he had thrown virtually all slain wandering waterway monsters into the Element Pool, greatly accelerating the pool’s Energy accumulation.
Observing the Elemental Life forms emerging from the pool, the Dark, Earth, and Water elements dominated, with Energy fluctuations generally exceeding the Third Rank.
The Energy Protection strength of the Element Pool itself had increased to approximately a Third Rank thickness, with layered Protection from the surrounding Rune Formations, prompting Ronan to consider temporarily leaving and venturing to explore further independently.
"I’ve mostly eradicated all Monsters above Level 4 in this area, and a dozen or so Third Rank Elemental Life forms should handle any First and Second Rank Monsters well. Even against existences above the Fourth Rank, the unique self-destructive attacks of Elemental Life ought to buy enough time for my return upon awareness...."
Ronan made up his mind, packed the Deep Knowledge Crown, and began to step into the darkness beyond the light.
Ronan casually summoned a ball of Flames for illumination.
The Golden Fire quickly dispelled the dampness and murky decay in the air, as Ronan confidently treaded the slightly slippery stone path forward.
Drawn by the light, several dark shadows suddenly darted towards him. Ronan’s eyes moved slightly as an invisible heat wave radiated outward from the Flames hovering in his palm.
"Boom—"
Clusters of fireballs burst simultaneously around Ronan, accompanied by faint cries as a few charred, twisted, bat-like creatures fell to the ground with a soft thud, struggled briefly, and then died completely.
The waterway proved more complex than Ronan imagined; had it not fallen into ruin during ancient battles with much of the stone walls leveled, it would have resembled a Minotaur’s maze.
After fending off several waves of monster attacks, Ronan noticed something faintly glowing in the distance, swaying back and forth.
His eyes perked up as he stepped closer, navigating over the fragmented ruins.
Upon nearing, he discovered it was a blurry human-like figure, emanating a ghostly green luminescence, with an ethereal lower body, endlessly wandering a short waterway section, head bowed as if muttering something incessantly.
A Ghost!
Ronan’s eyes glimmered.
He had discovered that the Forgotten Land resembled an enormous "garbage dump," located beneath the Upper Ring Continent, saturated with countless millennia of filthy air, subsequently becoming a battlefield for Otherworldly Demon invasions, fostering various foul specters.
Here, virtually any kind of Monster could be encountered, possibly a paradise for Wizards specializing in the Dark Department and Undead Series.