After passing through the twisted forest, Edwyn arrived at a valley. Black rocks surrounded the valley floor, with sparse shrubs and wild grasses growing in the crevices. But deep within the valley, the ground was densely packed with black crystal clusters.
Edwyn leaned in for a closer look, and gasped.
Those black crystals were none other than the Mana Stones he regularly used.
Mana Stones growing straight from the ground? If he said this in the current Magus World, people would call him insane.
"Amazing… Just this one valley must hold at least a million Mana Stones," Edwyn marveled. He quickly stepped into the valley, eager to inspect the Mana Stone vein.
And maybe pocket a few stones.
Nowadays, mining Mana Stones in the Magus World was no longer allowed. All circulating stones came from other worlds.
As he delved deeper, Edwyn carefully examined every cluster.
Observation and study, this was how Mages accumulated knowledge.
A single detail might one day become the key to solving a difficult problem.
The further he ventured, the more uneasy he felt, until he stumbled upon a pile of bones, half-buried under fallen Mana Stones. It was barely noticeable unless you came very close.
"Something's wrong… why are these stones, "
Suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end. Instinct took over, and he hurled himself backward. The bloodline seed in his heart flared to life.
Ding!
A crystalline worm skewered the spot he'd just occupied.
Its body was covered in scale-like crystal plating, nearly identical to the surrounding Mana Stones. Hidden among them, it was completely indistinguishable.
"This is bad."
Edwyn noticed the Mana Stones on the skeletal remains starting to tremble. The soft rasp of stone scraping on stone filled the air.
Looking around at the countless stones, Edwyn's scalp tingled.
How many of these worms were hiding in here?
"I have to get out!"
Without hesitation, Edwyn abandoned any thought of harvesting more Mana Stones. He snatched up the struggling crystal worm and bolted from the valley.
He didn't care about the stones anymore, but this worm was something new. Worth studying.
No sooner had he fled than a tide of crystal worms surged out from the valley depths, washing over the spot where he had stood.
Had he stayed just seconds longer, his secret dimension adventure would've ended right there.
After escaping, Edwyn continued to explore the dimension, eventually coming across a hidden hollow where he discovered the primary ingredient for the PhysiqueEnhancement Potion, Egla Grass.
And there was a lot of it.
Staring at the dense patches of Egla Grass, Edwyn made a snap decision. He'd stop exploring and instead focus on harvesting all of it.
After all, time was almost up, and this guaranteed gain outweighed any uncertain future finds.
With this much Egla Grass, he could brew dozens of enhancement potions.
Even if he didn't, just preserving these extinct plants as specimens would earn him a tidy fortune.
Three hours passed quickly. As the scroll activated, all the apprentices were ejected from the secret dimension and returned to the room where they had started.
Edwyn rubbed his temples, fighting off a wave of nausea.
This scroll's teleportation was rougher than a standard portal.
"Exploration complete," the Grand Mage of the Black Tower said.
He snapped his fingers, and from the corners of the room, flocks of tiny sprites fluttered out, sprinkling glowing dust over the apprentices.
As the powder touched Edwyn, a refreshing coolness washed over his mind, and the nausea instantly vanished.
"Take care of your own students. You all saw what they picked out, make sure to add natural history to their lessons from now on."
Then, with another snap, the sprites burst into light and vanished.
"Next up, rewards. The top three on the leaderboard will receive something special. I struggled to find a fitting prize… everything I considered felt too cheap coming from a Chancellor."
He sighed dramatically. "But a happy accident gave me the answer."
With a wave of his hand, six crystal spheres appeared out of thin air.
"While fusing secret dimensions recently, I accidentally broke off a few fragments. Rather than let them go to waste, I collected them."
A proud smirk tugged at his lips. "Now that's a reward worthy of my name."
At this, everyone aside from Elric shuddered slightly.
For good reason, the reward was absurdly valuable.
Secret dimension fragments might sound small, but they were fully functional micro-dimensions. They had all the same laws and features as full secret dimensions.
They were useful for spell testing, creature breeding, and even as emergency shelters.
What's more, these particular fragments had been fused by the Grand Mage himself, sourced from elite dimensions, not the low-tier pocket dimensions sold by the mage guilds as glorified storage rooms.
The assembled mages all looked to Elric.
Their eyes clearly asked, "You didn't try to stop him from giving these away?"
Elric ignored them.
If he could stop the Chancellor, things wouldn't be like this in the first place.
"Don't look so shocked. Just a few hundred-square-meter fragments," the Grand Mage scoffed. "Now, take your students and go."
He yawned, waved his hand,
And the entire room vanished.
In a blink, they were outside once more.
"This reward was… a bit excessive. Don't spread it around," Elric said, rubbing his temples.
As the Grand Mage's right-hand man, he had to do cleanup for moments like this.
"Also, don't talk about what the Chancellor said earlier regarding the White Mages. He's impatient, but that plan won't kick off until the next decade."
White Mages?
Edwyn stiffened. From Elric' words, it was clear that Mages were divided, black and white. And based on his own situation, he must currently fall under the black mage category.
The mages nodded solemnly and left with their students.
Back at the lab, Joron locked the door and looked at Edwyn with a stern expression.
"Don't ever talk about the secret dimension fragment outside. It's too valuable. Leaking that info could cause massive trouble for you."
Edwyn nodded. From Joron's tone, it was clear how serious this was.
"Also, I saw what you picked up. As for the Runeworm, I've got a breeding permit from the Council of Truth, raise it however you want."
"As for everything else…"
Joron sighed. While Edwyn had done better than the other apprentices, the margin wasn't huge.
"Other than that Crystal Arrow Worm, none of it is very useful."
Crystal Arrow Worm?
Edwyn remembered the creature that ambushed him.
"Those things are extinct in the modern world. Some research value, for sure. Shame you didn't grab more, we could've bred a batch."
Joron's tone held real regret. The worm's structure intrigued him, but it was Edwyn's find. He couldn't just take it.
Edwyn gave an embarrassed laugh. In that situation, he was lucky to grab even one.
Joron finished speaking, and Edwyn hesitated.
Should he ask about the White Mages?
Joron must've read his mind. He rapped Edwyn on the head.
"Kid, what are you dithering like a girl for? If you want to know about White Mages, just ask. Don't tell me you don't trust your own teacher?"