Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

In the distant northern lands of the Nightmare World, Richard had radically transformed the area through his management. In the city projections caused by the Blood Moon Rule, millions of nightmare creatures gathered Power of Nightmare for him.

Over time, the Power of Nightmare possessed by Richard had become truly terrifying.

So much so that Richard was forced to abandon his original Nightmare Body and instead, created a new one for his daily activities.

A pitch-black door appeared out of thin air, and Richard's soul flew out of it.

The Gate of Nightmare opened into a lavishly decorated room, which, despite its opulence, contained little furniture except for a pitch-black coffin.

Richard opened the coffin and entered the Nightmare Body resting inside.

Soon after, a figure cloaked in black robes appeared in the northern city of the Nightmare World.

"My lord, you have returned."

Outside the mayoral residence, a nightmare creature resembling a white ape respectfully addressed Richard.

Due to the development in the northern lands, Richard had granted governance to the bones, now turned into a Nightmare Knight, and this northern city was managed by the white ape before him.

"Secretary, how much Power of Nightmare is stored in the city?" Richard asked with some authority.

The white ape pondered for a moment before replying, "My lord, there are currently about twenty million strands of Power of Nightmare in the city."

Richard mused, "Twenty million strands... That should be sufficient."

To enhance his spiritual power, Richard only needed about four million strands of Power of Nightmare; twenty million was far beyond his needs.

"Take me to the storeroom, and also, call for Bones."

"Yes, my lord."

Refining four million strands of Power of Nightmare took Richard about ten days.

After ten days, Richard's spiritual power remained at 299.9.

This was the limit for a human's spiritual power, and if nothing unforeseen occurred, this number might remain unchanged for thousands of years.

Stepping out of the storeroom, Richard saw a black knight, five meters tall wearing black armor, riding a magnificent Nightmare Steed.

"Boss, you called for me." The black knight dismounted and knelt on one knee before Richard.

This black knight was none other than Bones, who had become a Nightmare Knight.

Richard nodded, "Yes, I need to make a long journey, and I might not be able to return for some time. I'll leave the domain under your management for now."

Although the Gate of Nightmare allowed Richard free entry into the Nightmare World, once he left the Wizard World, the Gate of Nightmare could not be opened.

Even if forced, what lay behind the gate would not be the Nightmare Wizard World.

Nevertheless, Richard sensed that this phenomenon was due to his insufficient strength.

The reason why the Gate of Nightmare could open precisely next to the Nightmare Body was because of the Soul Seed that served as Richard's beacon.

However, once Richard reached other worlds, this connection of souls would be hindered by some unknown barrier.

Richard had conducted simple tests about this phenomenon and concluded that the stronger his spiritual power, the lesser the hindrance.

If he could break through the human limit of spiritual power, then overcoming this barrier would no longer be a problem.

"Yes! Boss."

...

Time flew, and the day of the expedition arrived swiftly.

The expedition layer of the Tower of Truth was still the same, its cold metallic floor making Richard somewhat weary.

He suddenly remembered the last war he'd partaken in—the Red Sun World expedition. Back then, he was a Second Ring Wizard, serving as a military advisor for Richard Jolod's Commerce.

That time, he too stood on this metallic floor, waiting with a group of wizards for the arrival of the Floating City.

Back then, Vladimir was still alive, and on this cold metallic land, he had explained to Richard the costs of a Great Wizard's planar expedition.

Now Richard stood again on this metallic land, but Vladimir, who had shared his knowledge, was no longer present.

"Why are you standing here?"

A voice sounded behind Richard, and turning around, he saw Stio with his iron-gray skin, holding a hammer-like Magic Wand, curiously watching him.

"If not here, where should I be standing?" Richard was somewhat puzzled, "Aren't we all waiting here?"

Stio paused, then realizing, said, "Oh right, this is your first planar expedition as a Three Rings Wizard."

Richard, now curious, asked, "Do Three Rings Wizards have some special privilege during expeditions?"

Stio laughed, "I don't know about other academies, but ours does."

After saying this, he seemed a bit puzzled and asked, "You didn't know?"

Richard honestly shook his head.

"Never mind, it's probably Jimmy who forgot. No worries, just follow me."

Following Stio, Richard walked to a room below the expedition layer.

Here, the war machines of the White Wizard were starting up, getting ready to move to the upper platform.

Stio, familiar with the route, navigated through the war airships quickly, finding one that was slightly larger in size.

Opening the airship's cabin door, Richard discovered that the airship was occupied by several hundred Three Rings Wizards.

"Stio, Richard, you guys are really slow," Jimmy said with a smile to the two, "If you were any later, we could have gone straight into the Floating City."

Stio laughed heartily, "Hey, we got delayed a bit on the way."

As they took their seats, Richard looked curiously at the wizards in the cabin.

All these wizards were Three Rings Wizards, who at the very least held the rank of Deputy Dean at the Academy. There was a time when Richard was distant from this tier of wizards and had to look up to them.

Now, he had become one of them.

As everyone arrived, Jimmy began the meeting.

"The world we are about to venture into is quite extraordinary, according to the Dean's assessment, this world is likely from the Ancient Times, a battlefield of war between the Lost Ones and some civilization.

Furthermore, in this war, the Lost Ones appear to have been the defenders.

So unless anything unexpected happens, we're likely to encounter the Lost Ones' war machines."

As he spoke, Jimmy took a bundle of scrolls from his pocket and distributed them to everyone.

"Inside these scrolls is the Academy's research on the Lost Ones over the years. Please take a look; it should be helpful. Also, if anyone has their own research on the Lost Ones, it would be best to share it with everyone now.

The more information we have, the more chances of survival we have once we are on the battlefield."

The wizards took the scrolls, opened them, and read carefully.

After a while, a Three Rings Wizard spoke, "I've encountered a type of weapon used by the Lost Ones; it's made of a material similar to crystal and is a polyhedral structure.

This weapon can autonomously track the enemy, and I believe its tracking mechanism involves sound and light. Normally, it remains optically invisible, but once activated, it emits a dark red glow and discharges high-energy strikes between three thousand to three thousand five hundred energy levels."

Saying this, the Three Rings Wizard pulled a crystal ball from his pocket, which held a dark red polyhedron sealed inside it.

"I've seen this device too," said a wizard who looked like an Alchemy Puppet, "In crucial situations, it can also self-destruct, with a force of about eight thousand energy levels.

To combat this device, physical attacks are most effective; a blunt strike of one thousand energy levels can shatter it.

However, it is protected by an energy barrier, rendering elemental spells under two thousand energy levels practically ineffective."

The wizards nodded their heads, committing the data about this weapon to memory.

"I've also seen a weapon used by the Lost Ones," another wizard spoke up, "It was a massive black crystal puppet, shaped like a spider.

This puppet has a high resistance to both elemental and physical attacks, but it only employs physical attacks.

However, it was apparently functioning as a hub, releasing many devices like the ones just mentioned.

In such a case, my personal advice would be to simply flee, unless, of course, someone knows the Decomposition Skill."

As this wizard finished speaking, another wizard began, "I've also seen a weapon, a Crystal Tower..."

At this crucial moment, concerning their own lives, the wizards were no longer stingy with their research, and they began discussing information about the Lost Ones earnestly.

The array of bizarre items mentioned opened Richard's eyes widely.

Among this information, he envisioned a great civilization fond of manipulating crystals.

"...When encountering this weapon, I suggest using shock wave attacks."

Another wizard shared his information about the Pioneers, and after he finished, the airship cabin fell into silence, seemingly after all the information had been shared.

Seeing no wizard spoke for a long while, Richard finally said, "I also have some information to share with you all."

"Oh?" Jimmy looked at Richard curiously, "Richard, I recall this is your first expedition as a Three Rings Wizard.

Have you seen the Lost Ones' weapons before?"

The wizards in the cabin turned their gaze towards Richard.

The artifacts of the Lost Ones were not easy to handle; the information they shared had, behind each item, the lives of several or even dozens of wizards.

Moreover, even if Richard had seen them, seeing them and sharing information about them were two different matters.

Sharing information required corresponding research.

Sharing unconfirmed information might not only fail to help others but could also mislead them.

Richard shook his head slightly, "What I saw weren't the weapons of the Lost Ones, but the weapons of their servant army."

He then pulled a projection crystal ball from his pocket. Under Richard's control, the crystal ball projected a three-dimensional Holy Armor in the air.

"This is something I encountered during my last expedition, a weapon supplied to their servant army by the Lost Ones. This armor's shell could withstand spells of at least five thousand energy levels and had various enemy detection mechanisms including shadow crack detection.

This armor was standard-equipped with what I call a Chain Saw Sword, a weapon with strong demon-breaking properties capable of shattering a magic barrier of four thousand energy levels in an instant.

Besides that, it possessed various other functions, but due to the urgency of the situation, I was unable to study it in detail.

I only know that this thing can also self-destruct, and it's extremely powerful."

Hearing this news from Richard, a flicker of shock passed through the hearts of the wizards.

Such things were a struggle for them to handle; how Richard had survived then became the pressing question.