Chapter 407: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
The following day, as dawn barely began to break, Colin led Jennifer to the Lightless Forest.
Erwin had mentioned the secret of the ancestors, or more specifically, the exact location of the secret realm of the Roon Family, in manuscripts left in the Palace's secret chamber.
This secret realm was the most important legacy of the Roon Family.
Its location, like the method to open it, had vanished with the death of those Third Rank Wizards of the Roon Family many years ago.
Nevertheless, Erwin had vaguely heard in his youth that the secret realm was within the Lightless Forest. Thus, he spent more than a decade searching through the forest and eventually, with some luck, managed to find the entrance to the secret realm.
"Master Colin, this is the place," said Jennifer, pointing to an unremarkable patch of woodland.
"Hmm," Colin nodded slightly.
Indeed, this was where he had come to investigate the location given by Anando's Dice during the night, only to encounter Erwin and that Bear Monster.
Without rushing to inspect closely, Colin, with a thought, took the initiative to use Anando's Dice.
The Roon Family had resorted to seeking him out, like using a dead horse as a living horse doctor. They actually knew nothing of Erwin Wizard's specific situation, not even how to enter the secret realm...
It seemed that they had truly reached a point of desperation, gambling on such a fleeting hope.
The pale golden dice spun down from the sky, eventually freezing into a single point in front of Colin.
Receiving the location transmitted by Anando's Dice, Colin raised his eyebrows slightly.
Actually, he had used Anando's Dice as a last resort as well because if Erwin and the others were in the secret realm, Anando's Dice would likely be unable to detect their location.
After all, the secret realm of the Roon Family was a small Different Space that already existed within the Lightless Forest.
In the past, the ancestors of Roon, with boundless power, forcibly reinforced its original entrance and expanded it into a stable corridor, setting up various prohibitions, and brought the entire Different Space into private ownership.
However, in essence, a Different Space is a bubble overlapping with the world, normally not connected to the main world. But bubbles always have exceptionally weak spots that occasionally burst, forming an unstable conduit that connects to the main world at irregular and unpredictable times.
Many unfortunate souls who have suddenly disappeared in this world have accidentally fallen into Different Spaces.
If the Roon Family has not recorded the real location of the entrance incorrectly, it seems that the entrance reinforced and prohibited by the Roon ancestors is still stable and very well hidden.
At least with Colin's current abilities, he could not detect any anomalies at the original entrance.
But now, the location given by Anando's Dice was unexpectedly nearby?
"Follow me." Without explaining too much, Colin waved to Jennifer and began walking towards a location about a hundred meters away, then continued to search in circles.
Eventually, Colin stopped in front of a bush blooming with white flowers, his face showing confusion.
Within this bush, he vaguely sensed some strange fluctuations of Magic Power.
'Could it be a breach exposed after Erwin and the others opened the secret realm?' Colin pondered internally, sensing that behind these leaked Magic Power, there seemed to be another space hidden.
But why would Anando's Dice indicate that there were treasures here?
The sun climbed higher, brilliant sunlight spilled down, but only a few indistinguishable rays could pass through the dense canopy of the Lightless Forest.
Even during the day, the forest was as dim and quiet as twilight, with the odd roar of strange animals occasionally coming from afar.
Jennifer watched Colin with slight nervousness. Though just an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, she too became aware of those mysterious Magic Power fluctuations upon approaching the bush.
Hum!
Colin thought for a moment, then chanted a few sentences quietly, tentatively reaching out with Magic Power towards the bush in front.
Crackle!
The very next moment, a translucent red crystal screen suddenly appeared in front of them.
Colin narrowed his eyes, closely observing the sight.
This was clearly not a natural phenomenon, and it also likely wasn't a barrier prohibition set by the Roon ancestors.
After all, he was now a hundred meters away from the entrance.
Combining the information given by Anando's Dice, he suspected this might be a special barrier created by some sort of artifact...
Colin couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He didn't have extensive knowledge about spatial prohibitions.
"Master Colin, have you made a discovery?" After hesitating for a while, Jennifer couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.
"I've discovered a man-made prohibition," Colin simply stated, bending down to begin attempting to break it.
And that attempt lasted the whole day.
Not until nightfall was Colin still helpless against the prohibition in front of him. He merely understood that its outer layer was about the strength of a Peak Second Rank, while the inner layer was still unclear.
Jennifer squatted nearby, cheering Colin on while nibbling on the dry food she had brought. As a Wizard Apprentice, she couldn't skimp on three meals a day.
After trying for a while longer, as the moon reached its zenith, Colin finally gave up on breaking the prohibition in front of him through skillful means.
Boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Five flaming figures burst into appearance, startling Jennifer, who was eating dry food. She choked on her food and couldn't help coughing.
"Sorry." Colin then remembered there was someone beside him and turned with an apologetic look.
Jennifer frantically waved her hands and took a few sips of water from a bottle, finally managing to catch her breath.
She looked at the several bright white fiery figures in front, her pupils trembling slightly.