——Still a few hundred votes short of the weekly recommendation list, please lend your support. Also, it's the middle of the month — check if you have any monthly tickets available. There will be an extra update this weekend～
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The night was pitch black. The silver moon had not appeared in the sky, and of the bright stars, only a few dozen were visible to the naked eye.
Lucian stood behind the thick, tawny curtains of the inn, gazing silently through a gap at the night, a trace of disappointment settling in his heart. Without the silver moon's radiance, he couldn't fully unleash the power of his "Moonlight" bloodline. Apart from speed and agility on par with a formal knight, everything else was merely at the quasi-knight level.
"At least I can see those few stars. Otherwise, calculating the labyrinth gate entrance would be a real headache." Lucian consoled himself.
The entrance to the "Grand Cruciform" labyrinth gate shifted according to the positions of the celestial bodies whose power it borrowed, changing every ten minutes. Unless the sun rose and completely suppressed the influence of all other stars, Lucian would have to rely on directly observing the stars to perform his calculations — otherwise he'd be stuck tediously poring over those thick stacks of star charts and celestial catalogues, computing and piecing together the past trajectories of those nine stars before he could determine their current positions. The computational load was considerable. "Besides, no moonlight is fine too. A darkness so deep you can't see your own hand is better for staying hidden."
In the distance, the great clock atop the small town's church spire ticked along at its unhurried pace. The moment the hour hand pointed to eleven, Lucian returned to the bed and changed into the black hooded cloak he'd stitched together over the past few days.
He pulled the hood low and walked to the window. Just as Lucian was about to crack open a gap and slip outside, a wave of hesitation rose from the depths of his heart.
"The poems and the manuscripts appeared too suddenly, too simultaneously — as if many people each received a copy. The whole affair reeks of conspiracy." Lucian had initially suspected the Church was using Lilith and her brother to test him, but after learning from Rhein that the Church couldn't spare anyone recently, and then noticing the dozen or so mysterious strangers in Massawa town, he felt the matter of the ruins had grown increasingly murky — it didn't match the Church's usual style.
"Besides, it takes six to seven months to travel from Altor to Sturk. There's a decent chance the Silver Moon potion could be obtained through other channels — for instance, from the Magic Council's liaison in Sturk."
"Is it really worth the risk?"
Since this was a labyrinth gate belonging to that legendary mage, Lucian believed that as long as he wasn't greedy and managed his timing well, the chances of returning safely from the ruins were quite high. He could simply ignore everyone else's schemes. But on reflection, it seemed there was no particular need to take that risk. It wasn't as though the Silver Moon potion's ingredients could only be found there. In fact, give it another five years or so, and once his spiritual power reached a sufficient level through Meditation, given his analysis and mastery of first-ring Arcane Magic, his depth and breadth of knowledge — he could construct a spell model on his own without needing any potion and become a true mage.
But before long, Lucian recalled that meaningful glance Rhein had given him before departing — the one that had given him a faint premonition through the Destiny Star, as though something momentous was about to happen. And if he lacked the strength to protect himself, he might well die. And moreover: "The author of the poems and manuscripts seems to have witnessed the creation of Lake Elsinore and the placement of the labyrinth gate with his own eyes. Who exactly is he?"
"The legendary mage who left behind the *Book of Astrology and Elements* bore the title of 'the Prophet.' The labyrinth gate was very likely set up by his own hand. Perhaps he once foresaw something and left something within the gate…"
Numerous thoughts churned in Lucian's mind, many desires surged through his body, and his resolve to venture to the arcane ruins solidified.
He opened the window. After transforming into moonlight, he leaped out silently.
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To conserve his strength, it took Lucian a full hour to reach the lakeside town of Bonn beside Lake Elsinore.
It was a small town on the fringes of the Dark Mountains — remote and isolated. Apart from the occasional musician or painter who came to gather inspiration, it had little contact with the outside world. In this era there was no industry called "tourism."
Yet what Lucian saw as he slipped secretly into the town through the darkness was anything but isolation and desolation. The town's sole tavern blazed with light, and from the cacophony within he could pick out the distinctive accents of many different regions.
Inside a small partitioned room on the tavern's second floor, Sarah and Lilith sat facing each other with furrowed brows.
"Brother, what do we do? I thought only we had decoded the manuscript through Mr. Evans's help — learning about the secret of Lake Elsinore, the approximate range of the labyrinth gate after sunrise, and the magical garden. But how come there are so many outsiders here in Bonn?" Lilith was young, but having grown up in a dangerous and oppressive environment, she was no naive girl. She was deeply suspicious that these visitors had come because of the arcane ruins as well.
Sarah sighed softly. "The manuscript we obtained was incomplete — that's why we needed Mr. Evans to search through historical records and background materials to help decode it. They probably have complete copies."
"I wonder if there are any formal mages or knights among them…" Lilith said worriedly. Given the way they'd acquired their manuscript, she hadn't been surprised that it had spread.
Sarah glanced downward, as if trying to see through the floorboards straight into the tavern's ground floor, then shook his head. "How would I be able to tell whether gentlemen of that caliber are present? Only those reckless adventurers whose heads are full of muscle have made their strength obvious."
As for adventurers at the knight-attendant level, Sarah paid them no mind whatsoever. This was the confidence of a Magic Apprentice.
"Then are we still going in tomorrow?" Lilith asked hesitantly.
Sarah's expression shifted through several complicated emotions before he finally replied: "Let's wait and see first. There's no need to compete with them. And the way the manuscript has spread doesn't seem right — too many people know about it. We can't afford to be hasty. The ruin entrance will remain open for twelve hours anyway."
He was sharper than his sister, but greed made him unwilling to leave.
Lucian was right beneath their window, his back against the tavern's rear wall, gazing up at those few stars in the night sky and cross-referencing them with the surrounding terrain he'd already mapped out, his mind fully absorbed in calculation.
Because this was a legendary-tier labyrinth gate, the number of "parameters" that needed to be considered was enormous. Lucian calculated for a solid half hour before he finally pinpointed the entrance's location.