"Space Mirror Magic unearthed from the Ancient Mirror Court."
"Originally, this should have been the reward for the side that completely won in the contest, but following the incident with the Ancient Witch Revival Association, the higher-ups of several forces decided that as long as one enters the third round of the contest, they are qualified to study it..."
"Actually, this isn’t specifically compensation given to you by the Magic Ring Sect, it’s the reward you deserve..."
Kosti raised her hand, and the crystal French window in front of them burst open, allowing the evening breeze from outside to pour in, fluttering their Magic Robes and hair.
Ronan saw a delicate crystal bracelet on the slim, fair wrist of Kosti glitter momentarily, followed by the clear sound of flapping wings.
A giant albatross burst out from Kosti’s sleeve, hovering in front of them.
Kosti called to Ronan, "I’ll take you to another place..."
Ronan’s eyes flickered slightly, he didn’t ask Kosti where they were going specifically, simply nodded and followed Kosti onto the back of the white albatross.
This must be a unique Flying Magic Tool, with a magical effect much stronger than ordinary Flying Tools.
Ronan stood on the back of the albatross, Kosti a few steps ahead of him, the faint, delicate fragrance of her hair blending with the wind, brushing against his face.
"...What truly counts as compensation, is the place you are about to visit next."
Kosti said to Ronan, as the white albatross carried them past the tower, heading directly towards a huge metal ring atop the seven silver-white towers.
"Ronan, do you know the real origin of our Silver Magic Ring?"
Kosti suddenly started speaking to Ronan.
Ronan blinked and replied, "I’ve heard it mentioned that the Magic Ring originated from the central part of the continent, and the ’silver’ in the Magic Ring was added later."
This secret was told to Ronan by Benny, and it wasn’t really much of a secret; many people knew about it.
Kosti nodded: "The origin of the Magic Ring lies in the central region, named ’All-Purpose Magic Ring,’ a top-tier, large-scale Wizard Force. Even in the central region, it possesses a significant reputation.
After coming to the South, it was renamed Silver Magic Ring, partly because of the accidental acquisition of the [Silverization] Seal and also to differentiate it from the main branch..."
Kosti suddenly sighed softly with a somewhat emotional tone: "Back then, ten of us traveled thousands of miles from the central region to the South, full of ambition, but now..."
Kosti did not continue, and Ronan did not ask.
From the fact that there are now only Seventh Rings, and there are only seven Ring Lord level figures instead of ten... one could guess that some misfortunate incidents must have occurred along the way.
"..Actually, our main purpose of coming to the South was for the ruins of the Ancient Mirror Court."
Kosti calmed her emotions a bit, then continued to Ronan: "The clues about the Mirror Court ruins came from the Magic Ring headquarters, posted as a mission within the force.
Only the ten of us undertook this mission..."
"By now, the Ancient Mirror Court ruins have basically been excavated completely, has this mission been accomplished?"
Ronan interjected, not expecting Kosti to shake her head.
The Mirror Court didn’t contain what we were looking for."
Kosti turned her head to glance at Ronan, hesitated slightly, then whispered: "The headquarters sent us here, the real purpose was to acquire knowledge about Space and Mirror Magic from within the Mirror Court, to perfect the part of the ’All-Purpose Magic Ring’ system related to the Space Magic heritage...
And then, to find the whereabouts of the lost Space-related treasure—[Void Mirror]."
Curiosity flickered across Ronan’s face.
Kosti explained: "[Void Mirror] is an incredibly powerful Space-related Magic Tool created by the Ancient Mirror Garden Wizard... It’s not at all comparable to the Dawn Rank Magic Tools we excavated from the ruins...
It is said that the Ancient Mirror Court did not take it away; it was intentionally left on the Upper Ring Continent as a seed of heritage..."
"But in the end, it’s just an elusive rumor, even the wizards of the headquarters don’t place much importance on it, just issuing it as a mission, letting us lower members follow scant clues and try our luck..."
"The fact has proven it to be so, even after the core area of the Ancient Mirror Court ruins was fully excavated, the so-called [Void Mirror] was not seen.
Perhaps this Space-related Magic Tool treasure was not in the ruins at all, or perhaps, like those Dawn Rank Magic Tools that had developed spirituality, it broke through the ruins’ rune restrictions and went who knows where..."
"But, that’s not important anymore..."
Kosti stood on the back of the white albatross, overlooking the seven silver-white towers below, gently stirring a few strands of hair by her temples, speaking calmly: "It’s probably that no one remembers why we came here anymore... including me.
Time, truly can change many things."
The white albatross landed on the large metal ring, as the last sunset glow sprinkled down, turning the vast metal ring into a golden hue.
Kosti, controlling the albatross to fly slowly around the metal ring clockwise, continued talking to Ronan: "..The most core and powerful inheritance of the Magic Ring is the Seal, [All-Purpose Magic Ring].
The power of this Seal is closely related to the types of Elemental Magic you master.
The more types of Elemental Magic you cultivate, the stronger the combined power of the Seal becomes, reducing the vulnerabilities in your own magic system when facing an enemy... hence the name All-Powerful."