A Wizard’s Secret

The Flame Being had vanished, leaving behind only Merlin in the mysterious room. The interior of the room was packed densely with runes, and they seemed to cover the entire room.

However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that these runes were centered around the transparent bell jar. The ball of flame in the size of a baby’s fist was a focal point, spread out in all directions.

Moreover, from these runes, Merlin sensed an overwhelming suppressing force. This indicated that the runes were used to suppress this ball of flame.

Merlin mumbled to himself for a moment as his eyes darted around. So, this was the Flame Maxim. Back then, he had obtained some clues from the Neverending Book, which said that if one gathered the three volumes of the Neverending Book, one would obtain a Maxim.

From that point onward, Merlin knew that a Maxim was something precious that would even drive Great Wizards wild. Now, a Flame Maxim was right before him.

Merlin did not know what risks he might be taking by accepting this Flame Maxim, but no matter how dangerous it was, he had to try. Otherwise, would it not be a waste of his painstaking efforts in completing the three obstacles?

With this decision, Merlin began to slowly approach the transparent bell jar. With every step he took toward the bell jar, he felt a scorching force which was increasingly stronger.

It was merely a small ball of flame yet its burning force seemed to be mightier than Merlin’s Fiery Collapse. Merlin’s expression gradually turned somber.

“Whew…”

Finally, Merlin was standing before the bell jar, and fixed his eyes on the near-transparent flame in it. It was such a tiny ball of flame yet it emanated incomparable scorching energy. This was under the suppression of the bell jar and densely-packed runes.

Standing before the bell jar, Merlin was hesitant to lift the bell jar even after inspecting it for the longest time. There was a sudden realization that dawned on him, the Flame Being did not tell him how to obtain this Flame Maxim.

Now that the Flame Being had disappeared, Merlin had no idea how did he have to go about things to retrieve the Flame Maxim.

After Merlin pondered for a moment, he gritted his teeth, reached out with a hand and gripped the bell jar.

“Rumble!”

Before Merlin could lift the bell jar, he felt a violent tremor. At the same moment, the dense lines of runes covering the room began flickering wildly, after which they sped toward Merlin.

These mysterious runes, over tens of thousands of them, each flew into Merlin’s body. Merlin immediately felt a burning force as if he was entirely submerged in a sea of flames. There was an unpleasant sensation which could not be described.

“You’ve finally come…”

Suddenly, a deep, weathered voice was heard, booming in Merlin’s mind.

The very scene before Merlin’s eyes changed as well as if he was in an unfamiliar and spacious void. In this space, raging flames were burning all around.

“You’ve finally come… The lucky one who qualifies to inherit my Maxim… You shall learn everything about me!”

The voice from nowhere spoke once again. Soon, the sweeping flames gradually converged into a giant-like figure, standing tall in the space. The figure was covered entirely in flames, and Merlin was unable to distinguish its appearance.

“What a beautiful time it was. Spell Casters had reached their peak, and Great Wizards were emerging everywhere. There were even Legends, and the greatest of them all, Arcane Wizards, were born.

“It was the most glorious age of Spell Casters. Under the leadership of Great Legendary Wizards, we banished countless gods. Other than the strongest of them all – the God of Light – who bitterly resisted, there were no gods left in this world.

“Potions, alchemy, runology, Pandora Demon Ability – even this demon-like power was developed to its fullest. The world was no longer able to satisfy powerful Spell Casters, so under the guidance of Great Legendary Wizards, we opened a series of portals to different dimensions, visiting them one after another. There were familiar dimensions which had just been formed, and some dimensions which were controlled by foreign gods. However, not one dimension was able to resist us. In this golden age of Spell Casters, traces of Spell Casters were left behind in innumerable unfamiliar dimensions. We were practically the only masters in many of these dimensions.

“Legendary Wizards were born, one after the other. Even I, with the help of a Great Legendary Wizard, finally consolidated my own Flame Maxim. I became a true Legendary Wizard, one who was a match for powerful gods!

“I, the Great Legend, Nikola, under the leadership of the Great Legend of Flames, invaded one dimension after another. We thought that we were the masters of millions of dimensions. We were the true supreme beings, unsurpassed by any. We banished gods and conquered dimensions. What a glorious era of Spell Casters!

“However, disaster struck. We accessed an inconceivably colossal dimension. We thought that it was filled with an endless flow of resources and riches, but we didn’t expect that there were actual demons – demons which were immeasurably more terrifying than gods!

“In that frightening dimension, a warship, larger than the sky, was piloted, possessing the terrifying power to vanquish even space itself. Countless Wizards perished and even those with the title of Great Legend fell; even the supreme Legend of Flames perished!

“I was a coward. I got scared. As innumerable Spell Casters battled with the demons of that and other dimensions, I shrunk back and returned to the Glorious Land, the great Molta Empire. From then on, the name Nikola the Legend would forever be ridiculed by Wizards!

“Who knew how much time had passed… I thought that I could live on in peace. Even if Spell Casters were fighting tens of thousands of demons in this dimension and other dimensions, we would still enjoy peace in the Glorious Land, the great Molta Empire… Until finally one day, a voice thundered through our entire land, and through the tens of thousands of dimensions. It was the voice of the supreme Arcane Wizards who were most honored by all Spell Casters!

“In a serious tone, the Arcane Wizards called upon all Spell Casters to lend their strength, to leave the Glorious Land and carry out a final battle against the demons of all dimensions in order to protect the last piece of untarnished ground – the Glorious Land!

“This time, I am no coward! I, the Great Legend, Nikola, am about to fight for the Glorious Land. I am about to leave this place, leave the Glorious Land. I may never return this time, and I don’t know what will really happen. Perhaps the glory of Spell Casters will continue, or perhaps Spell Casters will never shine as brightly. Therefore, I’ve left a Maxim behind, as the only evidence of the Great Legend Nikola in the Glorious Land, my home!”

As soon as the last word was spoken, the gigantic figure of flame collapsed with a rumble and turned into a field of flames once more.

Merlin was incomparably astounded. This was information from over three thousand and six hundred years ago. The master of this monument was a powerful Legendary Wizard – the Legend Nikola!

From the message the Legend Nikola left behind, Merlin knew, for the first time, that above Great Wizards was the rank of Legendary Wizards, and above Legendary Wizards were the supreme Arcane Wizards.

Merlin also learned that there were gods in this world, only they had been banished. During the most glorious age of Spell Casters, gods were nothing to be afraid of, and Spell Casters had even been the true rulers of dimensions, tens of thousands of them, at one point.

Every single Legendary Wizard was as powerful as a god. During the era of the Molta Empire, the golden age of Spell Casters, gods were banished, and dimensions were conquered. Merlin could not even imagine how would such a massive, magnificent scene look like.

That was the most glorious age of Spell Casters, three thousand and six hundred years ago. The Molta Empire had united the world, and Spell Casters stepped into their golden age as they began to conquer dimensions one after another. The Molta Empire also had become the homeland of countless Spell Casters, the Glorious Land of Spell Casters.

The Legend Nikola had become a Great Legendary Wizard under these circumstances!

Merlin had already imprinted these details deep into his mind. He merely digested a small part of the information, and there was still much-revealed information which he would have to slowly analyze at a later date.

“Boom!”

The indescribable void which Merlin was in suddenly vanished and he awakened once more. He discovered that he was still in the cramped room. Only the runes of the room had disappeared as they had burrowed into his body.

At the same time, even the ball of flame within the bell jar had disappeared. Only the empty transparent bell jar was left behind.

With a jolt of his heart, Merlin realized that while he was receiving the message left behind by the Legend Nikola earlier, that Flame Maxim must have undergone some change. It was just that Merlin did not know what change this was.

Just as he was feeling bewildered and uncertain, an unbearable burning sensation emanated from his body – in particular, his Awareness.

Merlin quickly checked the situation in his Awareness. Only after looking did he see that the Flame Maxim had entered his Awareness without him realizing it.

In addition, it had stopped above the Spell Models of Furious Flame and Fireball, emitting traces of scorching energy. It was in fact silently suppressing these two Spell Models.

Merlin gradually recovered from his emotions, following which he carefully detached a strand of Mind Power to touch the Flame Maxim. Nothing happened. Merlin tried again, this time using the Magic Power within the Spell Model of Furious Flame to activate the Flame Maxim, but it was still to no avail.

This ball of Flame Maxim hovered silently above the Spell Models, faintly suppressing them. Other than that, it did not really affect anything.

Merlin drew in a deep breath. From the words of the Legend Nikola, Merlin learned that it was extremely difficult to consolidate a Maxim. If one could create a genuine Maxim, that was the sign one had become a Legendary Wizard!

Maxims were essential to Legendary Wizards as well. Giving up even a small part of a Maxim would greatly affect the Legendary Wizard. Back then, the Legend Nikola had left behind this Maxim as he was pessimistic about the future. That was why he had left something behind in the Glorious Land.

With Merlin’s present capabilities, it might be hard for him to refine this Maxim. However, if he could understand the functions of this Maxim and increase his powers in that manner, it would also be an incredible benefit.

As he thought of this, Merlin mobilized all his Mind Power and rapidly channeled it into the Flame Maxim!