171 - Arcane Ring

Recent appearances of powerful creatures within the Magic Stone Mine and the sudden emergence of the Cult of Apocalypse made Lynn sense a hint of danger.

The former wasn't something he could meddle with. Even if those legendary wizards joined forces and couldn't solve this trouble, his own efforts would likely be futile.

The latter concerned Ougust, the current overseer. However, Lynn wasn't about to entirely rely on others for his safety. Finding a way to enhance his own strength, to adeptly deal with potential threats, became an urgent matter.

Continuing to advance in wizard ranks seemed the best choice, but he had only recently ascended to the Second Tier. Despite the enormous power gained from the "Eye of Death" not yet entirely depleted and his magic still in rapid growth, the distance to the next promotion remained substantial.

So, Lynn had to approach this from another angle. Just like when confronting Herlram previously, with the computational support of nine Third Tier wizards, he could briefly contend even against a Fifth Tier Grand Wizard.

However, during that encounter, he had outwitted Herlram and caused a magical backlash, leaving Herlram's strength reduced to merely about thirty to forty percent of his original power. Still, it was enough to crush the strength of ordinary official wizards.

Precisely because of this, during these days in Greenville, besides preparing speeches and experimental materials, Lynn spent most of his time crafting the new "Arcane Ring."

(TL/n - Similar to Faceless Ring)

To distinguish them, these newly made rings weren't as glamorous as Harof's and didn't transport the wearer "Beyond Space-Time." Instead, they connected to a planet within the Magic Web. The AI is currently working fervently to quickly determine the location for the second assembly.

Ultimately, Lynn settled on twelve people for this journey. The reason for limiting the number was twofold: first, his AI's computational capacity was limited, and more computational power didn't necessarily mean better results.

Secondly, the Magic Web was in its nascent stage. If too many people were brought in at once, there was a risk of exposure.

As for the legendary wizard Harof, who had previously entered the Magic Web, Lynn didn't dare allow the AI to attempt to decipher his mental frequency. Given the huge gap in their strengths, it might be noticed. The true targets were those Third Tier wizards.

With a "Deflection Force Field" for defence and "Spatial Wave" as an offensive measure, even when facing a Grand Wizard, he wouldn't be completely defenceless.

***

Two days later, at noon, within a temporarily leased magic shop in Greenville City, the place was already packed.

"Is this the glass mirror?" a young witch marveled, holding up a palm-sized round mirror. Its flawless, smooth surface perfectly reflected her charming face—porcelain skin, crimson lips, and even the strands of hair drifting across her forehead were crystal clear.

Almost instantly captivated, she couldn't put it down. Apart from its clear reflection, the glass mirror itself looked like a work of art.

However, its steep price made the young witch hesitate. The larger and more high-end the glass mirror, the higher the price. A full-length mirror was priced at a whopping twenty magic coins. Not a small sum even for wizards.

"Beautiful witch, these miraculous glass mirrors are exceedingly rare, and their crafting process is extremely complex. For instance, the largest full-length mirror has only one piece left. We don't know when the next batch will be made. If you miss today, who knows how long you'll have to wait..."

Darren, in charge of sales, incessantly explained the rarity of the glass mirrors, emphasizing their low production and the throngs of people eager to buy. If she waited even a minute longer, they might all be sold out.

Seeing this, the young witch couldn't afford further hesitation. She bit her lip and immediately used all her savings—thirty magic coins—to purchase the largest full-length mirror and a small handheld one.

Gleefully, Darren opened a drawer and stacked the earned magic coins inside. In just half an hour, the whole drawer sparkled with the glint of coins.

Lord Lynn's hunger marketing strategy was simply brilliant. To cater to apprentices and commoners with limited purchasing power, apart from the best-selling glass mirrors, they also produced many equally exquisite glass utensils—teapots, cups, and even trays. Their prices ranged from seventy silver coins to five magic coins, but compared to their extremely low production costs, it was almost like highway robbery.

However, other wizards saw it differently. These exquisitely crafted glass products were symbolic of status and position. Soon, a wave of purchasing glassware swept through Greenville City.

Quite a few savvy wizards intended to buy in bulk, planning to resell at a higher price in other cities within the wizarding domain.

Also sold out were two books: "Fundamentals of Numerology" and "Advanced Arithmetic." Some wizards were curious about the thin and pristine white pages, while others were solely interested in numerology.

Tike was among them. When he heard Lynn's lectures on numerology at Iyeta Harbor, he was deeply impressed by the subject's intricacy and rigorous logic. Naturally, he was highly interested in numerology.

Thus, upon learning that a master of numerical studies from the Society of Mystical Arts intended to invite twelve formally recognized wizards who excelled in arithmetic to tackle a major numerical problem, Tike became instantly intrigued.

Confidently, he believed he could be one of the twelve. After all, compared to other wizards, he had attended numerology classes two months earlier, laying a solid foundation.

With these thoughts, Tike didn't even bother looking at the so-called "Fundamentals of Numerology" but directly flipped open the more advanced "Advanced Arithmetic." However, upon seeing the first question, he froze.

[Find the sum of the formula 1^2+2^2+3^2+4^2...9999^2]

After confirming he hadn't misread the exponent symbol, Tike couldn't help but gasp. Adding squares from 1^2 to 9999^2 would take up dozens of pages just to write out the entire formula. It might take days or even half a month of sleepless calculations to arrive at the result.

And this was only the first question.

Did it have to be this difficult?

TL/n - 

Go ahead and use your brain.