Realm of Truth.

  Shadow World.

  A flicker of surprise, barely perceptible, passed through Pierce's eyes.

  During the Planar Studies course at the academy, he had heard the instructor lecture in detail about the Shadow World. It was an Outer Plane parallel to the Prime Material Plane, very similar in nature to the Abyss, where demons dwelt, or the Nine Hells, ruled by devils—a place filled with chaos and danger.

  The Shadow World possessed neither sun nor moon; the sky was perpetually shrouded in heavy, leaden clouds. There were no traces of human civilization, only bizarre magical creatures roaming the gloom, such as the Shadow Steed, capable of traversing shadows; the venomous Shadow Sea-Serpent; and the immensely strong Shadow Minotaur.

  It was said that tens of thousands of years ago, the Shadow World was the divine domain of Shar, the Goddess of Night. However, during the protracted War of Dawn, the goddess vanished after a fierce battle with the Arcane Legions. Since then, this vast plane had become a masterless land.

  Today, not only Arcanists but many powerful races capable of planar travel would venture into the Shadow World to "scavenge"—gathering rare shadow materials or capturing powerful shadow creatures as servants.

  Pierce had not expected that a stable entrance to such an alien plane would be hidden deep beneath the academy.

  As for the room on the far right, labeled Well of Darkness, he had never heard of it.

  Noticing Pierce's gaze lingering in that direction, Fan-he enthusiastically explained, "Behind that door are four or five Wells of Darkness. By throwing a Gloom Stone into a well, you can randomly connect to an alien plane and communicate—or even trade—with the lifeforms there."

  "However, what creatures you encounter is entirely random. Whether you can trade successfully depends on luck and discernment. Every year, unfortunates are swindled out of their fortunes by cunning alien beings, or even lose their lives. But there are also a lucky few who trade cheap goods for treasures that even Official Wizards would covet."

  As he spoke, a look of unconcealed envy flashed in Fan-he's eyes, as if recalling a legendary tale of overnight wealth.

  Pierce was immediately intrigued and asked, "How does one obtain a Gloom Stone?"

  Fan-he smiled. "Gloom Stones are restricted resources, extremely precious. They can only be exchanged for using Merit Points."

  Merit Points again!

  Pierce frowned slightly. "What exactly are Merit Points?"

  Fan-he explained patiently, "Merit Points are far more valuable than ordinary Contribution Points. They can only be earned by completing high-level missions issued by the academy, such as planar wars or the exploration of significant ruins. They can be used to exchange for strategic resources that even Mana Coins cannot buy."

  "What kind of resources?" Pierce's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

  "For example, the Potion of Transcendence," Fan-he recounted familiarly. "This Rank 2 potion can put the brain into a state of absolute rationality and overclocked processing. During the 3 days the effect lasts, the efficiency of constructing Will Runes and analyzing spell models increases severalfold."

  Pierce's eyes lit up.

  He had seen records of this potion in an ancient tome. It was said that under the influence of the Potion of Transcendence, constructing a Will Rune below No. 10 took only 3 to 4 days; even complex runes above No. 10 required only 5 to 6 days.

  The temptation of such a potion for a Wizard Apprentice was practically fatal!

  The only drawback was its strong addictiveness and mental burden. Continuous use over a short period could drain the mental sea, causing irreversible damage. The weaker one's constitution, the longer the safety interval between doses.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Fan-he continued, "There is also the Potion of Phantasm. Taking it significantly increases the upper limit of one's Spirit, with effects even better than the Flora-Nectar brewed by Flora. But the side effects are severe, causing intense physical pain and terrifying hallucinations."

  "In addition, you can exchange for rare Familiars, high-grade artifacts, alien slaves... and even additional entry qualifications for the Realm of Truth."

  "Entry to the Realm of Truth can be bought?"

  Pierce was shaken. The purchasing power of these Merit Points was indeed astonishing.

  "Of course, the amount of Merit Points required for a single entry is beyond your imagination," Fan-he added with a chuckle.

  Pierce fell into thought. Originally, he had little interest in the so-called "Heretic Suppression" mission, but now it seemed worth a try. If he could earn enough Merit Points, even if he couldn't afford a realm entry, exchanging for a few Potions of Phantasm would be excellent.

  He estimated that even after constructing all 32 basic Will Runes, his Spirit attribute would still be far from the 160 points required to advance to an Official Wizard. With potions to boost his limit, the path would be much smoother.

  Fan-he pointed to the stone door on the far left, carved with the words "Realm of Truth." "The entrance is over there. Just go right in."

  Pierce nodded and walked toward the ancient stone door.

  As he passed through the center of the hall, an extremely subtle yet vastly profound wave swept over his body. In that instant, he felt a shivering sensation of being completely seen through, as if he were naked before a higher-dimensional being.

  Fortunately, the suffocating strangeness vanished the next second.

  Pierce's heart tightened. He had wondered why such an important place seemed unguarded. Now he knew—the guardian was always there, but their level of existence was so high that he couldn't even perceive them.

  Clearing his mind, Pierce quickened his pace and arrived at the stone door.

  Inside the door was a slowly rotating screen of silver light, like liquid mercury, dotted with countless shining points.

  Pierce gazed at it for a moment, finding no signs of traps. Without further delay, he took a deep breath and stepped boldly into the stone door.

  Hum!

  His figure vanished instantly into the silver curtain.

  His vision was immediately filled with endless silver. Then, the blinding whiteness receded like a tide, as if an invisible hand had wiped away the dust covering the world, revealing the deep azure and brilliant starlight beneath.

  When his consciousness cleared, Pierce found himself suspended in a vast, boundless starry sky.

  Thousands of stars were arrayed around him like pieces on a cosmic chessboard, encompassing all phenomena. Above his head, a brilliant galaxy spanned the universe, magnificent and majestic, radiating a heart-stopping arcane fluctuation.

  Gazing at this galaxy, a sense of insignificance involuntarily rose from the depths of Pierce's soul.

  This starry sky was perhaps the manifestation of the truth mastered by the great Wizard who created this realm. The gap between himself and that existence was like the gap between his current self and the endless stars—dimensions apart.

  "On the path to truth, I have only just begun."

  It took a long time for Pierce to recover from the shock. He took a deep breath, cast aside distracting thoughts, and immersed his mind completely in the starry sky.

  Gradually, he forgot time, forgot the existence of his body. He became a mote of dust, merging into this sea of stars, comprehending the laws and mysteries of their movement.

  Every time a star twinkled, a profound realization would appear in the depths of his mind, silently nourishing his tree of knowledge like spring rain soaking into the earth.

  After an unknown amount of time, Pierce was suddenly startled awake.

  The starry sky before him shattered, the galaxy annihilated, and a blinding white light instantly filled his vision.

  The next second, his feet felt heavy, and the sensation of solid ground returned.

  Fighting back a wave of intense nausea, Pierce opened his eyes to find himself back outside the stone door, standing dazed beside the monolith.

  "It is over?"

  Pierce was in a trance. It took him a long while to come back to his senses. He turned to Fan-he, who was standing nearby. "Senior, how long was I inside?"

  Fan-he smiled. "About 1 minute."

  "Only 1 minute?"

  Pierce rubbed his throbbing temples. In his perception, he had spent years drifting among the stars.

  "In the Realm of Truth, the speed of thought is infinitely stretched, causing a massive discrepancy between perceived time and reality. This is normal," Fan-he explained, then added, "That is what Yuna told me."

  "How do you feel now?"

  Pierce looked at his palm, taking several seconds to squeeze out a sentence.

  "Very good."

  It was as if a heavy mental shackle had suddenly been removed. He felt incredibly light, and his brain felt cool and clear, like he had eaten mint; his thoughts were frighteningly sharp.

  Perhaps this was the "aptitude enhancement" Yuna had mentioned.

  However, aside from this clarity, he did not sense any specific information added to his memory. No new spells, no profound theories, no metamagic techniques.

  "Am I different from the others? Did I gain no extra enlightenment?"

  Pierce was stunned. If that were the case, this opportunity had been wasted.

  Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he hurriedly whispered in his mind:

  "Omniscience, status check."

  Host: Pierce Spirit: 72.23 Physique: 40.24

  His Spirit and Physique attributes remained unchanged, and the three analysis tasks showed no signs of acceleration.

  However, as Pierce's gaze moved further down, his pupils contracted sharply.

  At the bottom of the status window, where there had been nothing before, a line of text glowing with faint gold light had appeared:

  【Power of Law: 0.01%】