“Is this the interior of the Fountain of Memory? I can certainly see many sealed magic formulas, but there’s inexhaustible mana surrounding them. Why haven’t they activated? It’s really strange.”
Unlike the anxious and panicked Leah and Aaron outside, Winnidith, who had sunk into the Fountain of Memory, was not flustered at all.
She was even in the mood to touch those magic formulas to see what would happen.
When she touched a cluster of light floating in the sea of mana, a corresponding Magic Array quickly surfaced in her mind.
It was intuitive and comprehensive.
She could even adjust the size and angle as if she were manipulating a screen!
‘This is much more useful than traditional teaching. If I can figure out the principles and bring them back to the Empire, those students at the Royal Academy of Magic won’t have to live such miserable lives anymore,’ Winnidith lamented.
As for this specific magic formula, Winnidith took one look at it and tossed it to the back of her mind.
It was just a third-tier water Magic; it wouldn’t help her situation at all.
She needed at the very least, Magic of the Saint Realm.
However, at the thought that there had been fewer than 100 Archmages in the last 1,000 years, Winnidith felt a bit apprehensive.
“Actually, Ninth Rank Magic would work too. All I need to do is catch Elaril off guard at the critical moment and escape.”
If anyone else knew what she was thinking, they would surely give her a massive eye-roll.
Did she really think Ninth Rank Magic grew on trees?
Moreover, Winnidith hadn’t even systematically studied seventh-tier Magic yet.
Even if Ninth Rank Magic was placed right in front of her, it would take her a while to digest it.
Winnidith knew this was an issue, but she didn’t have much time.
She could only hope that her peerless magical talent would pull through.
‘Does higher-level magic require going deeper?’
The Fountain of Memory was very special.
From the outside, it appeared to be only thirty centimeters deep, but the inside was as bottomless as the ocean.
‘Well, except for the fact that my breathing is uncontrolled, it’s no different from diving in my past life.’
Winnidith attempted to control her body and swim downward.
She felt no discomfort, and her Spirit Perception didn’t send her any warnings.
Winnidith looked up at the sky again.
The scenery outside could not be seen from within the Fountain of Memory, but at the entrance where she had jumped in, there was a blue and white door.
It remained there quietly.
Winnidith had a feeling that as long as she passed through that door, she could return to the City of Emerald Shadows.
‘Then there’s no problem.’
Winnidith began her descent.
Her slender figure swam like a beautiful silver fish or a dancer, swaying her body with the fluctuations of the mana.
Fortunately, diving in the Fountain of Memory did not consume physical strength.
Otherwise, with Winnidith’s physical condition, she would have had to stop and rest for several minutes after diving only a few meters.
But even so, the endless spring made her a bit irritable.
Just as she expected, the closer she got to the depths of the Fountain of Memory, the fewer light clusters representing magic formulas there were.
As she swam, these clusters were drawn to her as if she were a magnet until she entered deeper regions, where they would reluctantly drift away.
Thanks to this, Winnidith didn’t have to worry about being unable to find light clusters when they were scarce.
She tapped on the one closest to her and found that the magic level here had already reached the seventh tier—the level where communication with elements was required.
However, since there were no extra elements in the Fountain of Memory besides the already arranged Magic Arrays, Winnidith did not stay long.
She simply memorized the formula and continued to dive deeper.
By the time Winnidith was exhausted from swimming, only ten light clusters remained around her.
‘These should be Ninth Rank Magic, right?’
She tapped one, and a stream of information immediately flowed into her brain like a current.
[Finale Overture — A Ninth Rank Magic primarily based on the lightning element. When cast, it generates a temporary High-dimensional Thunder Core Singularity. The area within 300 meters of the singularity will be filled with endless lightning. It possesses immense power and is suitable for large-scale battles or siege warfare.]
Ninth Rank Magic!!!
Winnidith couldn’t help but feel excited.
From this moment on, every spell around her could be the key to her survival!
But when she saw the diagram of the Magic Array, her small face immediately slumped.
The reason was simple: this thing was too difficult!
Looking at the Magic Array diagram in front of her, which was almost twice her height, Winnidith’s head began to throb.
This was already the smallest size she could manage; any smaller, and she wouldn’t be able to see the details clearly!
Ninth Rank Magic wasn’t like the low-tier spells she could modify at will.
Even a slight mistake could result in the caster being annihilated along with the spell.
Winnidith didn’t want to die yet, so she had to pour in the same desperate effort she used while studying at the Royal Academy of Magic to scrutinize this Ninth Rank Magic Array.
It had to be said that Ninth Rank Magic truly deserved its title as the highest level under normal circumstances.
It took Winnidith a considerable amount of time just to memorize it.
She looked at the other nine light clusters around her and whispered, “I hope Uncle Aaron and Leah aren’t waiting too anxiously,” before she began to copy the magic contained within.
“Ugh… so dizzy.”
Winnidith’s current state was like her past life when she had studied for two days and two nights straight to pass a civil service exam.
She was completely drained of energy and felt like she would fall asleep the moment she touched a bed.
Fortunately, her efforts were not in vain.
She had indeed found something that could save her life at a critical moment.
Rumble, rumble…
Winnidith shook her head forcefully to clear some of the fatigue.
‘The deeper parts of the Fountain of Memory still have Saint Realm magic! If I can master one, it’ll be even more impossible for Elaril to hurt me!’
Winnidith continued to swim down, but even when she reached the bottom of the Fountain of Memory, she didn’t see any more light clusters.
‘Could it be that there’s no Saint Realm magic here?’
Winnidith refused to accept this and continued to wander around.
According to her observation, the interior of the Fountain of Memory was shaped like an inverted triangle; the deeper she went, the narrower the space became.
If Saint Realm magic really existed, it had to be beneath the ground!
Sure enough, she found a crack large enough for one person to pass through.
When she approached, the ninth-tier light clusters clearly did not dare to follow.
‘I guessed right. I really am a genius!’
Her Spirit Perception gave no warning, so Winnidith’s confidence surged.
With a whoosh, she swam toward the rift.
However, she was still careless.
If she had activated her Elemental Vision beforehand, she would have discovered that this crack was actually an active spatial Magic.
Anything that approached it, whether living or inanimate, would be sucked in like a flushing toilet.
This Magic would transport them to another space—a space where mana did not exist.
“Ugh… so dizzy. I want to throw up.”
Winnidith, who was already light-headed, was further tormented by this ordeal.
She lay flat on the ground like a corpse until the buzzing in her ears disappeared before lifting her head to observe her surroundings.
Dilapidated stone walls, murals with peeling colors, and ruins everywhere—it wasn’t hard to see that this place must have been a palace.
‘The deepest part of the Fountain of Memory is a ruined palace?’
Curious, Winnidith tried to touch the stone walls.
They were smooth, damp, and hard, as if they had just been built.
‘Truly amazing.’
Winnidith played around for a bit before suddenly remembering she was here to find Saint Realm magic.
She immediately turned and began her search.
The area was small, about the size of a backyard.
In fact, it might have been a garden, as Winnidith found a small lake with lush Beautiful Flowers and grass growing beside it.
Winnidith soon discovered three Saint Realm magic clusters stored there.
But…
Winnidith placed her hand on one, only to be repelled by the scorching heat of the light cluster.
They refused to show themselves to her.
“Why?!”
A flare of anger rose within Winnidith.
Since childhood, she had always been called the future of the magical world, the one destined to be an Archmage.
Though she had never been particularly serious about Magic, after hearing it for so long, she had unconsciously placed herself in that position.
And now, mere Saint Realm magic dared to hide from her?!
Her noble temper exploded at that moment.
She quickly activated her Elemental Vision to find the light cluster’s weakness, but as the transparent film covered her irises, a more intimate and powerful force suddenly caught her attention.
“What is this?”
Winnidith cried out in surprise.
In her vision, besides the eight elements that composed the world, there was actually another special, transparent element.
It was an element that did not belong to this world.
Since it was brought here 1,000 years ago by The Sinful One, it had existed in solitude within this strange world.
And now, it finally sensed a familiar aura.
It was the aura that only the kin of its master could possess!
In an instant, the transparent element rose from the lake.
Like a loyal dog finding its master, it lunged toward Winnidith’s chest.
“W-Wait! Don’t come over here yet! Urgh!”
Winnidith’s protests were useless.
When the transparent element entered her body, her brain immediately throbbed with pain, and strange visions began to surface before her eyes.
An earth stained red with blood; footsteps that shook the mountains; the howling of men and the weeping of women; a group of desperate elves kneeling before a clear lake, crying and begging for salvation.
Then… then she saw space suddenly rupture.
A seed grew into a towering tree in an instant.
It shook its branches, and a feather quietly transformed into a monstrous bird covered in spider eyes.
It let out a loud cry, and two light clusters—one gold and one black—fell from the tree.
Then… they turned into two children?
“What on earth… is going on?”
Winnidith’s eyelids grew heavier, while her body felt lighter, as if she were floating upward.
Before her consciousness sank into darkness, she thought she heard hurried footsteps and someone shouting anxiously.
“Beth… urgh!”
As soon as she opened her mouth, water poured into her throat.
She fell completely into a deep sleep.