The ritual diagram made from blood, the placement of the Mystic Crystals, and the composition of the hidden chamber left little doubt of this being a Dark Ritual diagram. The original Elias had encountered ritual diagrams before, but never ones constructed from blood, nor used on corpses. The ones he had seen were typically employed in living subject rituals to awaken Thaumaturge Sigils or form spiritual contracts.
Though Elias possessed fragments of Drakas's memories, he had intentionally filtered out the most grotesque elements after witnessing a few of them, inadvertently omitting knowledge about this particular ritual in the hidden chamber.
Rituals involving the dead were almost exclusively the domain of dark thaumaturgy. Recalling the strange preserved but distorted bodies he had discovered in the mortuary chamber, Elias wasn't particularly surprised at the scene before him.
Drakas was, after all, a notorious Dark Thaumaturgist whose reputation for the forbidden preceded him throughout the lands.
Now that Elias considered it, Drakas and the female general he was fighting seemed to hail from the same kingdom. Elias had overheard enough of their verbal exchange to piece together fragments of their shared history.
That would explain their deep-rooted enmity. It also provided insight into the armored female warrior's true identity.
Still, their feud was none of his concern.
But I need to make sure Drakas dies here today.
Elias thought grimly, realizing that ensuring Drakas's death would serve his interest.
If the female warrior falls in this battle, I might be his next target. Only by ensuring Drakas's defeat and guaranteeing his death will I stand a chance at surviving.
Resolute in his conclusion, a cold glint flickered in Elias's eyes as he turned his attention back to the Mystic Crystals embedded in each socket of the ritual array. By his estimation, there were well over a thousand of them.
Each Mystic Crystal holds immense value, incomparable to other forms of currency, like gold. Mystic Stones were the standard currency of many factions, circulated throughout the continent and perhaps the entire world of thaumaturgy.
Through Drakas's memories, Elias knew exactly how the Dark Thaumaturgist had acquired such wealth. He hadn't amassed such a trove through regular methods. It was through plunder and destruction.
Many of the crystals were spoils, acquired from smaller factions that Drakas had encountered and wiped out during his travels across the continent. Others were seized from those assassins sent by his former clan to eliminate him. Mystic Crystals were not easily acquired; only powerful forces possessed them in meaningful quantities.
For ordinary people seeking Mystic Crystals to progress their strength, the only viable path was to venture into the Worldly Trial Grounds—mysterious locations that appeared randomly across all continents. Even then, one had to contend with the territorial claims of various powerful factions who swiftly descended upon these sites.
—This was the first challenge.
Most influential forces had methods to detect the emergence of Trial Grounds by monitoring changes in regional energy fluctuations. That made it almost impossible for independent adventurers to keep their discoveries a secret, let alone secure them.
Even if someone were lucky enough to locate and enter a Worldly Trial Ground before the arrival of major powers, there remained the ever-present danger of bandits, waiting like vultures to ambush those fortunate or foolish enough to leave with valuable resources. That was particularly the case for those stupid enough to flaunt their newfound wealth openly, believing they had secured their future glory.
—This was the second challenge.
If they were lucky enough to survive, they would still have to exchange it for materials at the market, assuming their strength was sufficient to deter any exchanger from killing and robbing them.
—This was the third challenge.
In short, it was more dangerous to own a Mystic Crystal than a Mystic Stone in this world. This was why seeing so many Mystic Crystals in one place made even Elias feel giddy with joy.
If I make it out alive, with these Mystic Crystals as my foundation, I should be able to survive in this world. I just need to find a way to exchange them without revealing my identity as a weakling holding a treasure. With my past power level, using mental intimidation tactics to mask my inadequacies shouldn't be a problem.
Elias methodically arranged his next steps as he had already claimed the Mystic Crystals as his own. Moving to the nearest socket, he grabbed one Mystic Crystal to examine it, a smile creeping across his face.
Unexpectedly, the moment Elias held the Mystic Crystal in his hand, his forehead began to tingle as a pulsating sensation emanated from there. Immediately, out of caution, he released the Mystic Crystal, and the sensation dissipated.
Elias briefly contemplated what had just occurred before an idea formed in his mind. He looked around the place with the glowing stick and found a crystal shaped like a mirror on the wall.
He returned to retrieve the Mystic Crystal before positioning himself before the mirror to observe the changes. Tightly grasping the Mystic Crystal in his hand, the same sensation returned to his forehead.
This time, Elias witnessed it clearly. A symbol resembling an omega sign glowed brilliantly on his forehead, flickering in and out of existence as if alerting him to a discovery.
Observing the flickering symbol, Elias realized its significance. Furthermore, he could sense the connection between it and the Mental Landscape that he had only managed to access after being knocked unconscious by Drakas earlier. He believed the flickering symbol was likely related to a function of the Mental Landscape.
After careful consideration, Elias concluded.
This must be the so-called Thaumaturge Sigil. This must be related to me and not the original Elias.
Elias already knew that the original Elias had lost his Thaumaturge Sigil. Additionally, the original Elias's Thaumaturge Sigil had not been awakened on his forehead but on his right shoulder. Examining his body, Elias confirmed that the original Elias's Thaumaturge Sigil had indeed lost its connection, rendering him unable to harness the unique power of the flame thaumaturgy.
On the other hand, Elias could feel that the omega Thaumaturge Sigil on his forehead connected to the source of this multiverse, located in a different dimension. It was similar to the Quantum Source Dimension of his Quantum Multiverse, yet distinctly different in nature.
After holding the Mystic Crystal for a while, Elias felt his eyes and the Thaumaturge Sigil on his forehead glow intensely with blue light, a desire welling up within him. Sensing this desire, he instinctively understood the uses of the Mystic Crystals.
They were a type of currency that allowed him to manifest anything from the Mental Landscape into reality, provided it didn't drastically disrupt the world's order. This seemed to be a condition imposed on his Mental Landscape, rather than occurring naturally.
With that restriction in place, the prices for manifesting complex things would be exorbitant compared to uncomplicated manifestations.
It's as though this world is intentionally restricting my growth. But that makes sense, considering this body defied the fate of death and was resurrected.
Hmm?
The moment Elias had this thought, he sensed an unseen pair of eyes observing him from the unknown. Those gazes were unfathomable, as if they could see through his existence.
Although Elias couldn't pinpoint the source of the observers, considering they hadn't made a move against him, he could safely assume they weren't hostile.
That must be this world's overseer. As I suspected, resurrecting in this body must have disrupted the natural order, alerting them to observe my actions actively. But considering they haven't attempted to eliminate me, that could only mean this world doesn't necessarily lack the means to resurrect the dead. Perhaps only certain conditions need to be fulfilled for that to happen. But my situation is different. I'm not from this multiverse, let alone this world.
Elias surmised. Assuming his conjecture was correct, he felt that this multiverse would be quite interesting, unlike his home multiverse, where resurrection within the same body was impossible. It was only possible through a different vessel prepared in advance, making one lose all their accomplishments and have no choice but to start over.