Ronan extended his hand, and "Yitai," like a deep and luxurious black silk, automatically wound up his arm, quickly flowing into the robes.
After discovering that "Yitai" could continually evolve by devouring metals, Ronan had fed it all the metals he had collected, including his original metal mediums such as Nightmare Tungsten Steel and Neman Metal, along with every other metal from the Mechanical Heart.
Now, "Yitai" had evolved to the third tier in quality, inheriting the properties of all the metals it had consumed, including Nightmare Tungsten Steel.
What pleased Ronan the most was the slight sentience "Yitai" possessed. It was not purely an inanimate object; rather, it existed as something between a metallic material and a metal life form.
Just like the black dog he had seen in his dream, if it could continue to grow, it wasn't impossible.
It was because of this sentience that "Yitai" resonated so well with the extraordinary domain power of [Living Steel]. The effects of spells cast through "Yitai" were more than doubled.
"Yitai must be an alchemical creation of the 'Alchemist.' The fact that he created such a magical metal already speaks volumes about the 'Alchemist's' wisdom and power."
Ronan thought to himself, as the black silk-like "Yitai," almost resembling flowing oil, emerged from his robe's collar, sliding up his neck. Eventually, it covered most of his face like a mask, revealing a shark-tooth shaped mouth that opened and closed. The odd, eerie appearance sharply contrasted with the other half of his face, which was as fair and beautiful as an ancient sculpture, creating a striking visual impact—a kind of distorted, terrifying beauty.
"It's a bit like Venom's suit," Ronan mused.
He extended his right hand, and the five fingers fully covered by "Yitai" moved gracefully in the air, as if invisible strings were being plucked.
He muttered a few short, crisp incantations, releasing his mental power. A strange wave of energy emanated from his fingertips.
In the next moment, a large amount of "Yitai" metal surged out from every seam of his robes, rapidly forming into a grotesque, thick tentacle in mid-air. The tentacle swayed slightly, emitting a terrifying aura. The air itself distorted with traces of ripples.
[Mo Ye's Black Steel Touch]!
Since leaving the Mechanical Heart, Ronan had been traveling while focusing on studying the [Golden Fire] inheritance he had obtained from the golden magic box.
Among the five spell inheritances of [Golden Fire], [Mo Ye's Black Steel Touch] was the simplest and, at this stage, the only spell he was qualified to practice. Three days ago, he had successfully made his first breakthrough.
"So, does this mean [Golden Fire] Mo Ye is some kind of creature with octopus-like tentacles?" Ronan wondered, watching the black steel tentacles formed by his spell. As he drew the tentacle closer, he could clearly see serrated marks appearing along it.
Perhaps, when he increased the proficiency of this spell, these serrated edges would fully materialize. But even now, when the metallic tentacle waved, it still emitted a faint shrill sound, giving the feeling of sharp cutting.
Ronan had once seen the full form of the "Alchemist's" Golden Kingdom, and the most eye-catching feature of the Golden Kingdom was the seven towering, resplendent golden statues.
Those seven statues were likely the core powers supporting the entire magic system of the Golden Kingdom, with [Golden Fire] Mo Ye being one of them.
What puzzled Ronan was that he didn't feel any trace of fire magic power in the [Mo Ye's Black Steel Touch] spell—it was purely a metal-based spell.
He guessed that perhaps only when he learned all five spells and completed the full [Golden Fire] system would some miraculous transformation occur.
Ronan had never seen the true form of Mo Ye. He was curious about how the real [Golden Fire] would look and what kind of overwhelming power it would possess.
Besides that, there was one thing that made [Black Steel Touch] stand out from every other spell Ronan had learned:
Its proficiency grew abnormally fast.
It had barely been three days since he started learning the spell, and after just a few attempts, its proficiency had already reached the "Proficient" level.
What's more, compared to regular second-tier spells, the power of [Black Steel Touch] was ridiculously exaggerated. Ronan estimated that even with his "Proficient" level, the power of this spell was already bordering on third-tier. It was truly unbelievable.
"Is this the difference between advanced, rare spells and ordinary spells?"
"The principles of [Black Steel Touch] are more profound than typical spells and are more likely to give rise to magical domains. That's why the proficiency increases so quickly before reaching the master level."
Ronan already knew that mastering a magical domain was the true starting point of a spell.
In ancient times, all wizards were like dragons, and every spell they cast inherently carried the effects of an extraordinary domain. But today's wizards couldn't achieve that. Besides the reduced density of energy particles in the world compared to ancient times, the lowering of the casting threshold for low-level spells was also a major factor.
The lowering of the casting threshold also meant the simplification of spell principles and a weakening of spell power.
Ronan had read in a wizard book during his three years of study at the Silver Circle's meditation loft that wizards of the present were at least two times weaker than ancient wizards of the same level, primarily due to environmental factors and the influence of inheritance.
Of course, it wasn't to say that older runes and spells were necessarily superior. Many ancient traditions had evolved into more powerful forms thanks to generations of wizards' efforts. But in comparison to general, versatile spells, most ancient spells were still significantly more potent.
In addition to the [Golden Fire] spell inheritance, Ronan had also nearly completed his study of the corresponding [Shibiert's Golden Edict] rune.
This soul rune was similar to the effect of [Shibiert's Silver Transformation], both enhancing metals. However, its effects were far stronger than the [Silver Transformation] rune.
Had Ronan not performed the spatial modification to the [Silver Transformation] rune, he might have already been preparing to replace his second soul rune by now.
But as things stood, he would have to wait until he advanced to a third-tier wizard before considering it.
Ronan hadn't even considered it as a potential fourth soul rune yet because he had just started learning [Golden Fire], and its proficiency was still low. The power it could exert wasn't strong enough. Even with the support of [Golden Edict], it wouldn't necessarily improve his metal-based combat capabilities by much.
On the other hand, the [Ice Flame] rune, which was compatible with his Ice Magic [Frozen Earth] system, might provide a greater boost to his overall strength.
"Even the most powerful inheritance needs a process of digestion."
During the upcoming Hramus Genius Seat competition, the [Golden Fire] spell system might not have much chance to shine.
Ronan casually opened his character panel. The progress in the Strength column was marked as "Tier 2 Official Wizard (190%)".
He estimated that, with his current meditation efficiency, it would take him two to three months to reach the full potential of a Tier 2 Wizard.
"Time is tight, so I can only hope for some luck in acquiring resources that boost my soul power, and complete my promotion before the competition starts."
Ronan murmured, though he didn't hold much hope in his heart.
The breakthrough to the next level as a wizard was never an easy feat. Just because your mental power transformed into that of a third-tier wizard didn't automatically make you one.
That was merely the first step. Afterward, he would need to forge a new soul rune and practice mastering new third-tier spells, and so on.
Normally, a Tier 2 Wizard would take one to two years to complete the transition to a full third-tier wizard, making the transformation from second-tier to third-tier combat power a full-scale change.
So even if Ronan were incredibly lucky and completed the promotion before the competition, there would still be a noticeable gap between him and real third-tier wizards.
The minimum requirement for the genius competition was third-tier, after all.
"If it really doesn't work out, then I'll just be part of the audience," Ronan thought, shaking his head and putting the matter aside for the moment.
On his character panel, most of the data hadn't changed much. The only notable increase was in his mastery of [Ascetic Body Forging], which had gained over a hundred points since entering the Mechanical Heart.
This boost was thanks to the golden curse released by the golden magic box. When the Ashen Witch Morril had lightly pushed him... it had almost cost him his life.
"Buzz—"
A faint wave of runic energy emanated from Ronan's space ring, and he casually opened it, pulling out a glowing communication stone.
This was a beautifully crafted communication stone. The core of the stone was surrounded by large crystals and silver precious metals, making it both decorative and more resistant to damage.
The message was from Grace.
Inside the communication stone were several messages from Grace, mostly asking about his current situation.
Ronan had been so absorbed in his study of the [Golden Fire] inheritance and "Yitai" metal that he had ignored Grace's messages. Now that he had a moment, he decided to reply.
He gently tapped the center of the jade-glowing communication stone, and a soft blue light emerged, quickly revealing Grace's face.
Grace looked overjoyed. As soon as she saw Ronan, she blurted out his name.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I went back to the Mechanical Heart, but couldn't find you. If it weren't for Princess Selena's prophecy detecting that you weren't in any danger, I would've almost thought you were..."
Grace's voice trailed off, but her face was filled with guilt and shame.
"I'm sorry, Ronan... I shouldn't have left you behind."
"It's not your fault."
Ronan shook his head and reassured Grace not to worry about it.
At that time, it had been his choice to stay in the Mechanical Heart. Grace had been forcibly taken away by the silver-haired witch and others.
He had saved Grace purely to repay the kindness she had shown him at the Hoddam Academy. Grace owed him nothing.
Perhaps comforted by Ronan, Grace's expression gradually improved, and she curiously asked him,
"Where are you now?"
Ronan looked around. The sun had completely set, and the sky was dotted with stars. The crescent moon hung in the sky, and the wilderness around him was engulfed in darkness.
Honestly, Ronan wasn't sure where he was exactly.
He briefly told Grace that he was heading toward the Fairy Ancient City ruins, and Grace excitedly responded that she was near the ruins too. Because the Hramus Genius Seat competition hadn't started yet, the legendary ruins hadn't fully appeared. The area she was in was still just a vast, barren stretch of land, though it was bustling with people day and night.
Ronan, who had always been curious about Grace's experiences since leaving Hoddam, listened with interest as she explained.
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