Chapter 113: Part．12—5［Myth, Human, Experiment］

Part．12—5［Myth, Human, Experiment］

"This place is...."

Reaching the end of the stairs, the two walked into a doorway, and suddenly it opened up. They arrived at a hall, or rather a temple-like place.

A few steps ahead lay a ring-shaped pool, which may have once housed some aquatic life, but now...

Wu Ming looked at the pool where blood and water were clearly separated yet mixed; though in the same pool, the mixed liquid showed no sign of blending, and she crossed over without expression.

At least in this cycle, she no longer hoped to see any living creatures.

Beyond the pool, on the circular open space stood several platforms; some held wands of various shapes, others bore stone tablets with different patterns, like rewards for those who had passed through the mine tunnel and reached here.

But besides these orderly 'rewards,' many more wands and spell tablets of various forms lay scattered on the ground.

Wu Ming even saw, as she crossed the pool, that many stone tablets and wands had fallen into the water as well—clear signs of human activity.

Then, in the center, there was a stone dais rising from the ground, inscribed with gilt characters; perhaps it would be more fitting to call it an altar.

Because on it lay not only rubble from the collapsed ceiling of this underground temple, but also a thick layer of bloodstains. Although we don't know how it got there, according to the knowledge taught at school, given these elements (temple-like architecture, a central special position, altar-like arrangement, and blood—a substance with highly distinctive mysterious properties)—we can only conclude it is an altar.

"I'll clear away those rocks; you first look around nearby, gather what you can, and keep an eye out for any notes your father left behind. I think the architectural style here is so different that there must be something."

The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, gave a brief command, then activated her psychic power to transmute some strange crystals on the spot and began controlling them to sweep away the debris.

"All right! How's your side?" Looking at the now-cleared central area, Wu Ming nodded in satisfaction; as she spoke, she saw behind her two piles of wands and spell tablets, each about half a person tall.

While she was clearing the site, Mi Na had also basically collected everything here.

Moreover, at that moment she was still holding a familiar piece of paper in her hand.

Wu Ming rolled her eyes somewhat speechlessly and walked up to her side.

——————————

During the initial exploration of the abandoned mine, the handgun I brought had basically turned into something like a wand.

Due to not understanding this environment, I suffered some injuries, but fortunately I eventually arrived here.

Holy Mountain, I am quite sure this place is related to the altar on the summit.

Like rewards for explorers, I found here many wands and spell components placed neatly, just like those on the stone platforms of the mine layers above, which can be inserted into wands to combine.

Who built these, and what was their purpose? Why so obviously encourage people to explore downward?

On the central altar remained a crystal resembling source substance; although I initially didn't know what these things were for, after obtaining them I naturally understood their function.

"World Correction," those source-substance-like things, once taken, would alter part of this world's rules, thereby causing some changes in how the world operates.

(Traces of extensive modifications)

At the end, I returned here once again; this place is my beginning, and from here I started a cycle of repeatedly venturing downward.

However, no matter how I exhausted my knowledge and verified my hypotheses, I ultimately could not truly complete this world; It still sought from me.

If you see this passage, I think my dear daughter must have already made her choice.

Whether or not it's you, I will honestly tell you everything I have explored.

————————

Seeing this, a pattern beneath the paper suddenly lit up.

Then a white egg emerged from it, but as it fell, Wu Ming, having reacted, caught it in her hand.

"Eh... what does this mean?" The girl shook the object in her hand, about the size of half a palm and resembling a bird's egg, looking puzzled.

"This... I know it; it should be the Summon Hollow Egg Spell. I just tested it while sorting out all that junk, and the spell's activation effect is the same. But there's nothing inside, just like the spell's name?" Mi Na was quite puzzled; she took a stone tablet from her bag, swapped her wand, and then, before Wu Ming's eyes, produced an identical egg.

Next, the egg she created with the spell fell to the ground, shattered into fragments and vanished. Inside there was nothing.

"Mm-hnh? I don't think it's that simple." Shrugging her shoulders, Wu Ming tossed the egg in her hand onto the ground.

Crack!

At the moment of shattering, a ring of light appeared, and then a thin notebook popped out from it.

"???"

"Sometimes you just have to try more; how would you know if you don't try?" Wu Ming nodded, picked up the notebook, and on its cover could also be seen a source-substance-style symbol.

"So these spells can actually be used like this?!"

"Tsk tsk, what a great thing!"

Just from seeing the first few pages, both exclaimed they had found a treasure.

After quickly browsing it through, Wu Ming had a rough plan for the two's subsequent exploration—not exploration, but rather their development direction.

This notebook is concise; it details the state of this world, the environment of each region, what creatures exist, and what places can be explored.

Indeed, this world does have life, but in the abandoned mine they came from, aside from various Xixi people, there were beasts or giant insects roaming about.

Regarding roaming, this is also a keyword noted in the notebook; due to the world's missing rules, all living beings simply act according to fixed routines, giving the impression of crude, one-time machines set with a program.

Another important point is Mi Na's father's exploration of wands and spells.

This is undoubtedly even more important.

It systematically describes the nature of different wands and the effects of most spells, and also mentions a very important concept: spell combination.

The ability of wands to load multiple spells is a result Wu Ming and the two also discovered; Mi Na's father went further, summarizing a set of rules based on different spell effects that can greatly enhance the impact of magic released from wands.

"First, we need a sequential wand; according to the diagram, it must be gem-inlaid. That's already been sorted. Then we need a wand with only one emission port, meaning its simultaneous release count is one—that is, the first spell can only release one at a time." As she spoke, Wu Ming reached into the nearby wand pile and pulled out a wand mainly orange-yellow, inlaid with a blue gem, about the length of one and a half of her forearms.

After checking the slots, the girl nodded in satisfaction; although there are only six positions, it's enough to assemble a spell formula from the notebook.

【Light Piercing—Spark Bullet—Light Piercing—Spark Bullet—Spark Bullet—】

It wasn't filled to capacity, because this formula mainly features Light Piercing or other quickly cast spells as the theme, with projectile-type spells inserted in the middle as the main output.

Of course, Light Piercing's own damage capability is also sufficient; when facing enemies at close range, the overall power of this formula will be even greater.

"That should do it." The girl shook the wand, then raised her arm, aiming the wand's emission tip at a distant stone wall, focusing her spirit....

Hiss—pop pop pop!

At the same time a bright green beam of light shot out, several purple, flashing spark bolts followed closely, almost simultaneously flying out.

With a pop, it struck near the position Wu Ming pointed at.

"Oh..." Seeing the effect so obvious, both couldn't help but let out an exclamation.

"I originally thought I'd still have to rely on myself, huh... These spells actually can produce such an effect through various combinations... Although it still feels weak, it is indeed a direction." He lowered his head, recalling the relationships of the spells in the recent combination, Wu Ming pondered.

Meanwhile, Mi Na excitedly dug out another decent-looking wand from the wand pile, combined it into a spell formula, and aimed at the wall to test its power.

After combining, the originally weak single-use spell could now unleash a respectable barrage of attack in a short time. This undoubtedly proved the reason Mi Na had previously explained to Wu Ming.

The wand technology in this world is truly valuable.

After tidying up and becoming familiar, the two followed the notes' guidance, clearing a downward path buried under collapsed rubble, and proceeded to the next layer.

According to the notes, the second layer is called the Coal Mine Pit.

Judging by the environment here, it indeed resembles an underground setting more closely. The general structure is gray rock mixed with pure black coal; structurally, it truly feels like a coal mine.

However, it was only a feeling, after experiencing all that in the upper layer and combining the doubts mentioned in the notes.

Wu Ming also had a conjecture about this world in his mind.

Quickly passing through the middle environmental layer, they saw a Sacred Mountain constructed of the same material.

Here, the two discovered the same wand pile and spell pile, as well as the most important notes stored inside a hollow egg.

This notebook is much thinner than the one obtained earlier in the first layer.

However, it records other knowledge.

Multiple Release Spell. A special spell stone slice, when present in a wand, can activate multiple subsequent spells in sequence simultaneously when the sequence reaches this spell.

Although it seems somewhat useless, after all, there are wands that can release multiple spells simultaneously from the start.

But releasing multiple spells from the beginning and choosing to release multiple spells at a certain sequence are different.

More importantly, here the function of the Multiple Release Spell is not merely combining spells; it also supports a theory called Spell Loop.

"That is: suppose when the wand cycles to the last two spells, the second-to-last spell is a Double Release; after completing the Double Release, since only one spell remains after it, the wand's cycling method will automatically start over, drawing the first spell again to cast."

Thus, more spells than one cycle are cast within a single casting cycle.

For wands with extremely fast cooldowns, via Spell Loop configuration they can even achieve continuous firing.

【Light Piercing—Spark Bomb—Double Release—Spark Bomb】

Hum—whoosh whoosh whoosh....

After a brief focus, the spells burst outward like a barrage, making a huge leap in both spectacle and power.

"A spell machine gun!" At the instant of seeing the effect, this thought popped into Wu Ming's mind.

As the wand wielder, Mi Na already had stars in her eyes.

"Awesome! Little Wu Ming! You see I wasn't wrong, right!" After getting excited, she shook the girl vigorously.

"Haha, really... can't be helped. Yeah, at least at this point, this technology truly exceeds my imagination."

In high spirits, Mi Na and Wu Ming fooled around, then proceeded again toward the next layer.

However, just before leaving, a discovery while sorting the spell pile made them pause temporarily.

"Look at this, this seems to be a different spell."

Mi Na beckoned Wu Ming over to a spell in the already sorted spell pile whose icon looked somewhat different.

Wu Ming came over upon hearing that, and then saw a shape like several cloud-like patterns gathered together.

Around it were some lines expressing that it expands outward.

"Explosion...?"

Mi Na looked at the characters on the back, hesitating to translate.

This is a spell with an extremely short name, but the name 'Explosion' gave her a slight sense of fear.

However, Wu Ming beside her had no hesitation, directly taking the stone piece and inserting it into a wand that had no spell attached.

"What's strange about that? Just give it a try."

She said, raising the wand toward the wall.

"Let me try this new spell!" She said, with one hand she twirled the cool wand once, then focused her spirit...

Hum—boom!!!!!

Before Mi Na could stop it, she saw a flash of fire engulf the smiling Wu Ming's face, followed by a booming explosion.

"Wu——Ming!!"

Amid the roar and flames, Mi Na personally saw a petite figure fly out.

"Cough... cough, careless..."

As the smoke cleared, a scorched-black figure was revealed; after difficulty uttering a few words, they collapsed.

"Are you okay? Don't scare me!" Seeing this, Mi Na's shock turned to sorrow as she rushed forward to check the injuries.

Crack~

Then, in anxiety, she blankly stared at the charred fragments broken off her hand from involuntary force.

???

"Pfft—cough, I'm not an idiot; I couldn't possibly just casually experiment with something that looks so dangerous."

The girl coughed, and the scorched-black crystal-like armor plates on her body flaked off.

"You idiot, this can at most block those high temperatures; with such thin armor, how could you withstand the impact?! I personally saw you get flung away!"

She was so anxious she was about to cry.

"Eh, it's not that bad, it's not that bad; after all, I've wrestled a dragon before, and with prior preparation I'm really fine. Besides, look, I still have Him with me. Really, I'm fine~~."

Wu Ming pushed aside her hair, revealing the "Big Meat Worm" hidden inside, and comforted.

"... Please don't scare me like that again. Right now, you're the only familiar person I have here. If something really happens to you, I don't know whether starting a new cycle could restore you...."

By this point, Mi Na finally relaxed a little. She just sat on the ground, powerless, repeatedly rubbing her chest to catch her breath.

Ah this....

Seeing her reaction, Wumeng, who just wanted to mess around, was a bit dazed.

But she immediately realized why. Her reliance here was the time worm that could leave at any moment, and as Mina, an ordinary person who had lost her relatives, her only reliance now was Wumeng, who knew the danger ahead and still chose to walk with her.

Thinking of this, the crystal armor fragments on Wumeng's body instantly peeled off automatically. Then she sat up, supporting her upper body with her hands and shifted her butt to sit beside Mina.

"Sorry, I didn't consider your feelings." She said as gently as possible, reaching out to hug her, then using some strength to let Mina fall into her embrace.

Although her physical development was clearly less than Mina's, Wumeng's saying this at this moment seemed completely natural.

She stiffened slightly when Wumeng hugged her, then relaxed as the younger girl held her. Afterwards, she slowly closed her eyes under Wumeng's somewhat puzzled gaze.

"No, you're already asleep? Wait, it's been almost a day, no wonder...." Seeing the position of the watch hands on her wrist in her peripheral vision, Wumeng let out a small sigh, then gently patted the person in her arms to help her fall asleep faster.

Although she didn't know how to lull someone to sleep, patting the already relaxed Mina like a pet was about the same; as long as the motion was gentle and rhythmic, it would do.

As her long, slow breaths gradually replaced the tense, rapid ones, Wumeng tiptoed to move Mina's head off her lap.

Then she took out a folded thermal blanket from her pack, unfolded it, and covered Mina with it.

Taking into account their physiques, ages, and other factors, the Bureau's material support for Wumeng and the others was quite humane; the lightweight yet high-performance thermal blanket, an experimental piece of equipment that had only undergone a few trials, was also in both of their backpacks.

"Although so much time has passed, I don't feel hungry at all... Oh well, I'll just eat something casually."

Rubbing her stomach, Wumeng took two bites of compressed dry rations and drank two sips of water from the Holy Mountain's pool.

It wasn't that she didn't want to boil water, but she discovered that using a flame‑jet spell turned the point where water met fire directly into steam, and if she tried to heat it through any non‑flammable material, no temperature would conduct at all. In this world, water seems to undergo only a rough conversion between gas, liquid, and solid, without any finer temperature rules.

Furthermore, according to the blood and water she had seen coexisting yet clearly separated in the pool of the Holy Mountain on the previous level, Wumeng was quite convinced that the water in this world was truly just water—purer even than Wahaha.

After a slight adjustment, the girl also let out a tiny yawn, then lay down beside Mina using her backpack as a pillow, expending a bit of energy to conjure a small triangular tent around them before drifting into deep sleep.

When she woke up, she recalculated the time by recalling the position of the watch hands before she slept.

The two packed up and continued downward again.

Third level.

This layer differed greatly; it could even be said to be worlds apart from the two above.

"This… this isn't right."

(pangolin. jpg)

Faced with the expanse of ice and snow, Mina's voice was filled with disbelief.

"This world is just a simulator, like those sandbox toys—everything can be fabricated. Remembering that is pretty much all you need to know."

After a good night's sleep, feeling refreshed, Wumeng lightly voiced her speculation.

"Ah...." Mina's eyes showed even more confusion, but she still nodded and took the girl's words to heart.

"... Let me think slowly; finding a reference for you is indeed hard, but at least given the current situation, my description is already the closest approximation."

Wumeng recalled the various games from the information age in her memory, growing more certain of her judgment.

Compared to the anxiety of the upper two layers, the two on the third level paused for a while to verify the terrain described in the notes for each layer.

After exiting the downward path, they headed west to explore; according to the notes, this was a structure called the Magic Temple.

"Like some kind of living darkness...." Gazing at the faint yellowish stones visible in the pitch‑black expanse before them, Wumeng glanced back at the icy‑snow environment of the third level.

Although it was only a few meters apart, the two sides seemed like two different worlds.

She raised her staff, took out the omnidirectional illumination spell "All‑Seeing Eye" from her pack, and cast it.

Dozens of violet, star‑like particles spewed from the tip of the staff, spreading outward and instantly illuminating everything around.

This time Wumeng and Mina saw much more clearly: the stone bricks resembled those of the Holy Mountain in style, but were darker and gave a sense of decay.

And in Wumeng's view, her intuition told her that the only difference between the two was like... losing their divine aura.

Inside the passage stood several gray‑white stone statues whose attire resembled Mina's robe, but lacking pigment, Wumeng could only guess roughly.

"Little Wumeng... these statues look almost too alive, don't they?" Mina lowered her hood, leaned in to examine them closely, then shrank back.

Their poses varied: some leaned back as if struck and about to fall, some raised a hand to shield their face as if trying to block something, and others twisted their bodies and stepped forward as if about to leave.

"It's hard to believe—such lifelike statues, though I'd like to think they were ornaments made by some artist or artists, placed here with these poses, it's hard not to imagine they're the remnants of this world's former 'people' transformed by some accident."

Wumeng walked expressionlessly into one of the statues, slowly reaching out to touch the darkness beneath its hood, but in Mina's somewhat fearful gaze, the girl's palm felt only a smooth feedback.

.... The skull beneath the hood had no facial features?

"Yikes——!"

(hand thunderbolt dance~)

"Mmm!" (a sound of surprise at seeing Wumeng's action)

Hastily pulling back her hand, which had grown cold from touching the statue, Wumeng shook it out; fortunately, at least her spiritual sense and intuition gave no feedback, otherwise she would have felt more than just a little nauseous.

After informing the watching Mina of the situation, her gaze toward those statues grew even more fearful.

They continued forward, hit a few dead ends, wandered about aimlessly, and eventually reached the end.

Before them opened up a vast space; they arrived before a massive structure shaped like an inverted trapezoid, higher on the outside and lower inside.

Around the edge of the inverted trapezoid stood a ring of round pillars, each so thick that the two of them could barely encircle it together.

At the base of the inverted trapezoid was a raised stone platform, appearing as if something had once been placed upon it.

Unfortunately, there was no dust here, so Wumeng couldn't determine what might have been there.

"Just this?"

Again using the teleport staff to quickly circle the vicinity, the two, having found nothing effective, voiced their doubts (and complaints).

"The useful things that could be collected, he collected them all; it's just a shame he ultimately failed." Wumeng said softly.

Turning back, she walked into a rocky cavity above the Magic Temple and found that the expected items in the floating stone chamber within were also missing.

"But we can do it… definitely." Mina, upon hearing mention of her father, emphasized.

"Mm-hmm...."

On the other side was a huge vertical shaft that could bypass the Holy Mountain level, allowing a direct ascent from the third level to the right side of the first level; however, after exploring the west to no avail, the two didn't want to waste more time on extra paths and simply continued downward.

The Holy Mountain on the third layer.

Here, the notes were updated, and a new spell combination formula appeared—the Trigger-type.

It can make good use of the 'suicide' spell 【Explosion】 that Wu Ming used for fun on the previous layer, or any other dangerous spell.

Moreover, upon reaching this layer, Wu Ming probably also understood that these spell stone pieces fit the notes perfectly, likely intentionally arranged by Mina's father.

As for that explosion, there are also things like 【Death Cross】 and 【Radiation Flow】, which sound dangerous, probably just a momentary oversight.

After all, it's still quite normal for a few individual cases to appear among the dozens of spell stone pieces.

This formula basically uses a trigger-type spell such as 【Trigger—Firecracker】 to release the spell that follows it in sequence.

Many solid-projectile-type spells also have a 'trigger' version.

For example, 【Firecracker (Trigger)—Explosion】.

With such a combination, after the firecracker serving as the carrier hits something or disappears, it automatically releases the explosion magic at the position where the firecracker disappears.

Magic firecracker. jpg

It's still easy to understand; one can analogize using the original cannon or other technological devices.

The hollow eggs used to store notes in the previous layers and these few layers are also a type of trigger-type spell, only more special; the stored spell or spell combination will not be released unless the eggshell is broken.

Afterward, the two tried other configurations by imitation, and after becoming fully familiar, they packed away some items and continued descending without pause.

There are still three layers ahead.

Fourth layer, Xisi Base.

From the name alone, one can see how different this place is.

Indeed, upon arriving here, that is the case.

If the terrains of the above three layers remain relatively intact, with only minor traces of battle to track, then on this layer Wu Ming and Mina can be said to have witnessed the destructive power of the wand, as well as the inherent danger this layer should possess.

Everywhere are ruins of mixed steel and ice snow, some places even still burning with flames; parts of the ceiling and higher ground hollows are filled with a blue, cold vapor, and even without plunging a hand in, merely brushing against it makes the skin feel a sting of icy cold.

Moreover, there are patches of small, unknown magical potion puddles; the varying light effects and particles make the two dare not approach rashly.

From the broken steel objects, one can faintly see the original structure; the terrain of this layer should be composed of steel corridors and basements embedded in the ice-snow layer. In some places, protective devices with embedded shield spells and large ammunition boxes loaded with more gunpowder can be seen.

On the ground, various scattered wands can gradually be seen, and the two even found several broken wands sputtering sparks.

"The battle looks brutal..." Wu Ming whispered, gazing at the flames in the distance that had been burning for who knows how long.

"We also have to face it; we must face it." Mina's eyes grew much more resolute.

"This is the place... many other terrains have been destroyed beyond recognition, but this one remains well preserved."

"The anvil for probing hidden secrets... we've explored this far yet still haven't achieved that goal, sigh~."

At the edge of the fourth layer's corner, the two, following the terrain notes, found this most special place of the third layer.

This is an independent room; its furnishings consist of only one item, so the whole room could be said to be set up for this thing.

A half-human-height iron-anvil-shaped object is placed in the room's exact center; outwardly it looks no different from the usual items in a small town's cold-weapon workshop. However, in the notes this anvil can be used to repair damaged objects or reveal hidden information.

Just place it on; it operates fully automatically.

After inspecting it up close, Wu Ming went back to the ruins outside the room and found several damaged wands to place on it.

Only see a strange resonance and ripples emanating from the anvil, with large amounts of purple particles appearing out of nowhere and wrapping the damaged wand placed on it.

Voom~~~!

With a sound of extremely strong penetrating lightness, the wand on the anvil instantly became intact, faintly floating above it.

The girl stepped forward, took it down, and indeed the wand was repaired, with its spell stone pieces still present.

Seeing this situation, although there was no record of important information in the notes, and even though the Verdant Jade Record—which was the opportunity for Mina's father to enter this world—was not used for testing, the two also became confident in the anvil's function.

"Eh, what is this...?"

On the way to the Holy Mountain, Mina discovered that the repaired wand bore spell stone pieces never seen before.

"Magic infusion...."

"What does that mean? And it's blue! This seems completely different from the previous spells!"

"It's fine; we'll just experiment together when we get to the Holy Mountain. Your father must have recorded something, given how much he explored."

Wu Ming's two sentences held Mina back.

"Oh."

"Spell correction," this is the knowledge in this layer's notes, and it also exactly explains the function of the previous blue spell.

Likewise, according to the notes, this is the final knowledge about wands and spells; everything else is basically just combinations, arrangements, and minor tweaks of these knowledges.

The function of spell correction is as straightforward as its name: it modifies the effect of the next spell. If the corrected spell stone piece is a single spell, it will only correct that spell; but if it is a multiple-release spell, then the spell correction will correct each of the spells included in that multiple release.

It's not difficult; multiple release is equivalent to putting several spells inside a pair of parentheses, and in the wand's operating logic it is regarded as a single spell for release.

Spell correction can also be stacked, with judgment carried out in the same order.

The 'magic infusion' the two obtained from the repaired wand earlier is also a kind of spell correction; it can continuously provide a certain amount of magic to the wand, or put another way, it reduces the magic consumed when the wand releases a spell cycle.

The earlier layers' spell machine-gun combinations already suffered from magic supply issues, forcing the wand to stop after a period of release to recover magic, creating a downtime.

If this correction is added at the very beginning of the wand's sequence, the magic consumed per spell cycle will drop considerably, thereby greatly enhancing the wand's endurance.

Moreover, the notes explain in detail the mixed use of various methods; for example, spell looping combined with magic-infusion correction allows the magic correction to be calculated twice, thus maximizing the use of this correction. Although many corrections have the minor problem of slowing the wand's response speed, repeating it twice also calculates the problem twice....

After recounting all their existing wands and experimenting with some new combinations, the two once again pressed forward.

Fifth layer.

Again unlike the two layers above, this layer's environment is filled with vegetation, soil, and piled-up various biological corpses.

Like a jungle.

Um, the battle is even more brutal... because many monsters look like plant forms, or else they bleed slime, so they don't undergo decay; while those that bleed blood are also huge, so they exist as chunks of corpses, thus these things pile up together, chaotic and disgusting.

The main monsters of this layer are various-shaped giant spiders, so huge that even the smallest noted in the records is as big as two human heads, while the most common giant spider has a single appendage longer than Mina's height.

But at this moment, they are just a pile of corpses.

On the western side of the underground forest lies another downward path that bypasses Holy Mountain, a terrain called the Spider's Nest, where only spiders dwell; according to the records, there is a type that can devour magic projectiles such as magic bullets, its almost entire body being a giant maw—a terrifying creature.

When they previously sought information, they only saw monsters shredded into mincemeat by magically forged saw blades; this spider's weakness is solely physical damage.

On the eastern side lies a special small region known as the Dragon's Nest; despite its name, it is actually a super worm infused with magical power, having absorbed such force and thus differing from ordinary worms.

Seeing these records, Wuming unconsciously recalled the creation myth mentioned in the previous letter.

Soon the two returned to Holy Mountain; this time the notes described this world's alchemy, or rather, its magic potions.

Unlike the theories of the original world, this world's alchemical magic potions are simply and crudely born from the union of nature and magic.

According to Mi Na's father's speculation, it is the formula deduced by the world's life when the alchemists who once created this world explored its composition.

The notes detail the formulas and effects of all the magic potions discovered in this world.

Besides....

"Life Essence, Touchstone Water? They sound like the objects pursued by alchemists on our side."

Mi Na guessed it straight from the name.

"Philosopher's Stone? No, it's the source substance, then these two..... " Wuming instinctively thought of the "solution" alchemists found to achieve immortality and wealth—a Philosopher's Stone that can serve as a universal exchange item and also as a super catalyst.

But then recalling Mi Na's father's conclusion, he shook his head and rejected this speculation.

However, it is indeed strange: while other magic potions have fixed formulas, only the formulas for the Life Essence and Touchstone Water—symbols of life and wealth—change each cycle.

This is the conclusion Mi Na's father reached after multiple cycles.

"Hmm~. I feel there should be a breakthrough here; perhaps if we find the relationship among them..... " Wuming tapped the two bottles before him.

This is the Life Essence and Touchstone Water of this cycle; Mi Na's father has already found the formula and produced them as samples for the two.

According to the notes, the former can fully recover even with just a breath left, while the latter can turn any non-living substance into gold.

【Gold shines because of its noble soul, while sludge stinks because of its dull soul. The weight of the soul, refined and pure, twists all things born of nature.】

After that confusing sentence, the notes explain the importance of gold.

In this world, few things can interact with the divine. On Holy Mountain, namely the central stone platform where Wuming and the others saw, offering gold will earn a gift.

"What exactly is the so-called god? Is it the group of people who created this world as Mi Na's father said, or..."

They quietly noted their doubts in mind, then the two went downward again.

Perhaps after experiencing the last two main layers, and then completing the process of restarting the cycle, they could perfect their speculation.

"Perhaps we should also be able to see the corpse of the 'Three-Eyed'; do you have any leads? " Wuming suddenly brought up the notes he had found earlier inside the World Tree.

"Will we think the same? I hope so. By the way, do you call that thing the Three-Eyed?"

"Aside from that spine-like thing, its other features are just the three eyes, right? " The girl laughed.

"Let's go~."