Chapter 205: 019: Knowledge Ruins

The blood-colored battlefield, merely ruins.

“The Mosier Element Folding Law, what is the theoretical element folding value?”

“2.36.”

“□○-□=57, what are the numbers corresponding to □○?”

“6, 3.”

“The antagonistic relationship between Earth Element and Fire Element belongs to?”

“Weak opposition…”

Walking through this vast hall, Lynch was answering all sorts of strange questions.

These weren’t exactly difficult, just scattered and varied. They touched on all three major domains of magic: Spirit, Magic, and Body Refinement, as well as countless basics like element permutations and combinations, and magic formulas.

If it were any other apprentice, it might not have been so easy for them to answer.

This was something clearly indicated on the map.

At this time, Lynch naturally figured out that the crystal pockets appearing in the hall weren’t some kind of wild refresh spawn. They were left behind by previous apprentices who had come here to collect Blood Crystals.

“How greedy do you have to be to bite off more than you can chew? How foolish.”

Regarding these apprentices, Lynch didn’t even know what to say. Despite the map clearly marking this as a high-risk area, they still flocked here, only to collect no crystals at all and end up as one wild-refreshed Blood Crystal Pocket after another.

Such a pity.

Feeling a bit of regret, Lynch picked up those crystal pockets.

He wasn’t interested in plundering the hard-earned Blood Crystals of other apprentices, but picking up these unclaimed, delivered-to-his-door treasures didn’t give him the slightest bit of guilt.

Answering questions while occasionally picking up the wild-refreshed crystal pockets, Lynch’s Blood Crystal count soared rapidly.

In just a few days, he had first broken ten thousand, then fifteen thousand, and soon twenty thousand.

By now, he was nearing thirty thousand!

“Haha, what a jackpot!”

Looking at the Blood Crystals in his pocket, Lynch was overjoyed. Thirty thousand Blood Crystals—this was certainly an astronomical figure. Checking the redemption list, he found that most items, except for a handful, were now within his reach.

“Let’s first save up enough Blood Crystals for the Golden Key, then see if I can redeem something for Subaru and Carl.”

Lynch wasn’t the type to make many friends, but once he considered someone a friend, he treated them sincerely.

Subaru and Carl were nearing their thirties, and they hadn’t made any impressive achievements so far. Entering Netta was unlikely, and it was a foregone conclusion that they would leave the Tower and go their separate ways in the future. Without backing or connections, their prospects wouldn’t be very bright.

So Lynch planned to use this opportunity to accumulate more Blood Crystals, and perhaps exchange something to secure better futures for his friends.

Some of these items could indeed be exchanged from the list, and if he gathered enough Blood Crystals, it was even possible to redeem an opportunity for a bloodline marriage alliance with a Wizard Family, securing a Pureblood identity.

“Keep at it!”

Quietly motivating himself, Lynch pressed on toward the depths of the Knowledge Ruins.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Knowledge Ruins:

“Another retreat, again! How many times has this been now? Is it truly impossible?”

“Tsk tsk, so many people, and none can get through.”

“No way, not even the castle’s apprentices can manage?”

From the dilapidated gates, a group of apprentices ambled out one after another, most looking disheveled, and some even nursing injuries.

Blair, waiting outside to receive them, hurriedly stepped forward: “How did it go, Avery?”

Avery’s cloak was slightly askew, her hair tousled, and her body covered in dust. Her expression clearly showed displeasure.

She shook her head. “Still no luck.”

Blair frowned. “You’ve got to be kidding. So many people failed? This is nearly every top-tier apprentice from the three Wizard Organizations, right? Aren’t they supposed to be crème de la crème?”

Blair’s comments only darkened Avery’s expression further.

Top-tier apprentices?

Sure, in their daily classes, these apprentices might be considered decent, praised now and then. Compared to the average apprentice, they might even be outstanding. But the problem was, these people…

All! Learned! The! Same! Stuff!

When asked a question one apprentice knew, nearly everyone else knew it too, leading to chaotic competition to answer first.

And when faced with a question one couldn’t answer, they all turned mute!

Everyone exchanged helpless glances, stuck staring at each other.

’Bunch of useless fools!’

Avery felt as though her head might explode from frustration.

She turned to ask Blair, “Did you find that apprentice I told you about?”

Aware that numbers were no longer effective, Avery now desperately needed Lynch’s help.

Blair replied, “You mean Lynch Valen?”

Avery’s eyes lit up. “What? You found him? Where is he?”

Blair shook his head. “Not exactly.”

Pausing, he elaborated, “A new girl in the castle mentioned seeing him in the safe zone, but that was over twenty days ago. Nobody’s seen him since.”

Avery’s brow furrowed tightly.

Her frustration grew.

“Damn it, where on earth has that guy disappeared to!”

…

Back in the Knowledge Ruins:

After exploring for over ten days, Lynch had combed through the majority of this ruin and now stood at its core area.

Upon walking down a long corridor, he arrived in a spacious hall.

At the center of the hall was a golden chest, wide open. Seeing what lay inside the chest made Lynch’s breathing grow shallow.

Blood Crystals—completely filling the chest, an entire trove of Blood Crystals!

Though he hadn’t counted them out, a rough estimate made it clear that there were at least ten thousand within.

“Stay calm, stay calm!”

Standing before such a treasure, Lynch forced himself not to lose his composure in excitement. He knew that wherever there was treasure, a giant dragon often guarded it. The more precious the treasure, the stronger the dragon.

As expected!

Suddenly, a loud “whoosh, whoosh” sounded as gray smoke surged in from all directions, converging into a mass in the hall.

Instantly alert, Lynch prepared himself.

In front of him, the smoke parted to form a mouth. A low voice echoed, “Inheritor of knowledge, welcome to the final knowledge hall. Congratulations on passing all the knowledge trials.”

Lynch replied, “What’s the next challenge? Bring it on!”

To him, anything capable of guarding such immense treasure couldn’t be ordinary.

However, the voice’s reply caught him off guard.

The smoke said, “No, there are no more challenges here. You have already proven yourself a worthy Knowledge Witness by passing all the trials. Here, you simply need to receive the inheritance of knowledge.”

“Sadly, the rules have been altered. In this blood-colored game, I cannot grant you the true inheritance of knowledge but can only offer you these blood-refined crystals.”

Lynch was taken aback: “Blood-colored game? Isn’t this the Blood-colored War?”

The gray smoke replied, “To you, it may be a war. But to those truly controlling this place, it is merely a game.”

Lynch couldn’t grasp the meaning.

Regrettably, the voice offered no further explanation.

It merely said, “You’ll understand the truth once the game concludes. As one of the victors, here’s my advice: don’t become a piece in the game. Protect yourself, and safeguard the inheritance of knowledge.”

“I can sense that this Witch Domain runs similarly to ours in the past. It has reached its final moments, mere steps from destruction.”

“Before a true new order emerges, there will be a lengthy period of chaos. While such disorder is necessary for the establishment of order, the interruption and destruction of knowledge in that chaos are lamentable.”

Lynch furrowed his brows. He couldn’t make sense of the smoke’s cryptic warnings.

’A riddler?’

He asked, “What are you talking about? Who are you? Who is this ’we’ you mentioned? And destruction—are you referring to this Blood-colored Battlefield, or the Ancient Relics?”

The smoke replied, “So many questions.”

After a brief pause, it said, “See for yourself.”

With that, the smoke contracted inward before swiftly expanding outward, shrouding the entire hall.

At the same time, vivid images began to unfold before Lynch’s eyes…

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