122 - Truth

Through the eyes of gray Raven, Lynn also saw the Soul-Devouring Array continuously spreading, and his brows furrowed slightly.

The creatures under his control seemed to be able to escape the fate of having their souls extracted. However, what surprised Lynn was that he had already destroyed several nodes of the array just now. According to Tike's explanation, this thing should have stopped.

Could it be that he made a mistake? Perhaps the nodes of the array were not here, or there were more critical components.

The power of the Soul-Devouring Array was self-evident. Even third-tier wizards like Barbara and Hank couldn't escape its grasp, let alone the beggars in the South City District.

Lynn wasn't sure if this thing would continue to expand infinitely. If it did, the entire Iyeta Harbor would likely be consumed.

With such a massive amount of soul energy, what kind of monsters would eventually be born.

As Lynn pondered, a few small mice that had been sent to search the entire estate earlier discovered a secret. The space beneath the entire banquet hall was empty, and there was a very hidden passage, which likely led to the core of the Soul-Devouring Array.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

At night, in the underground of the gathering estate, faint squeaking sounds echoed through the long underground passage.

Several small mice, with their petite appearances, were running quickly within the tunnel. They occasionally stopped to sniff or used their paws to probe, making sure there were no traps set here before continuing their mad dash.

Not far behind, most of Lynn's attention was now on the continuous notifications from the intelligent AI.

[Decryption progress: 94%... 97%... 100%]

[Remaining soul energy has been stored. Do you wish to seize control of the virtual domain?]

Seeing that the progress had reached 100%, Lynn didn't rush to agree. Instead, he inquired about the actual function of this virtual domain.

After the AI replied, Lynn understood that this place was similar to the metaverse of his previous life, but with the distinction that this domain was made of magical energy. It existed somewhere between reality and illusion and could change according to the imagination of the one in control. As long as the person possessed the appropriate data and a sufficient amount of magical energy, they could reshape the chaotic space into a projection of the universe's starry sky.

Of course, this was based on the condition that the person comprehended the essence of the objects they wanted to manifest. Otherwise, their manifestations would only be superficial and lack substance, much like poking a cotton ball.

Perhaps this was why the owner of this virtual domain had not made it overly extravagant.

In theory, with accurate data, everything constructed within this domain would be nearly identical to the real world.

This was much more potent than the virtual spaces from his previous life, which often claimed to have over 90% realism. In reality, achieving even 60-70% was considered good, and bugs were abundant.

This virtual domain, composed of magical energy, could truly approach close to 100% realism, becoming a literal second world.

However, achieving this required an astronomical amount of magical energy, something not achievable in a short time.

Lynn quickly stopped daydreaming and began to examine the two main functions of the virtual domain.

The first was naturally to bring people into it for gatherings. Using the ring as a medium, a portion of the holder's soul-infused magical energy was projected into the virtual domain.

The second function was a bit insidious. It could reverse-connect to the holder's mental power through the ring, accessing a part of the person's computational power.

To make an inappropriate analogy, every wizard's brain was like a high-speed biological computer. The process of projecting magical energy into the virtual domain was like connecting to a network, and naturally, it came with corresponding risks, such as exposing the frequency of their mental power.

This process was not instantaneous but rather quite slow.

Considering the frequency of the Faceless weekly gatherings, it would likely take several years to breach the mental defenses of a formal wizard. It was precisely because it required such a long time that they remained sufficiently concealed.

During the last gathering, the entire Faceless organization, including himself, had fifteen members in total. They were all third-tier wizards. With the recent fall of the "Blood-Red Thorns," there should be at least nine members remaining besides himself. The question was how much computational power could be summoned.

"071, can you locate the source of magical energy in this virtual domain?" Lynn inquired mentally. It was obvious that this thing required a massive supply of magical energy to operate.

[Signal source located, 30 meters ahead.]

"So close?" Lynn hesitated for a moment, then, through the eyes of several mice, witnessed a scene that astonished him.

At the end of the passage was a spacious circular hall with a high platform that resembled an altar. Many intricate patterns were drawn on each step of the platform, similar to the alchemical arrays he had seen in Radak's hidden room. However, these patterns were more complex.

Numerous azure fluorescences flowed out from the ground and merged into the almost solidified spirit hovering above. The mice gazed up and saw a figure they were all too familiar with.

By now, Lynn had crossed the narrow passage and was staring in disbelief at the vengeful spirit hovering above the platform.

It was a girl, approximately eight or nine years old, dressed in a magnificent gown with long hair cascading down her shoulders. She had a slim and delicate figure, and her entire body emitted a ghostly blue light. Her exposed skin was covered in strange, web-like patterns that seemed fragile, as though they would shatter upon touch.

Despite her exquisite appearance, she had a grotesque and contorted expression, as if she were enduring immense pain, exuding a terrifying aura.

"Lyd... Lydia?" Lynn instinctively called out upon recognizing the face of the vengeful spirit but then immediately retracted his words.

No, this wasn't Lydia.

Although her appearance bore a resemblance to the halfling girl, she had long hair, and round ears, and her attire and overall appearance didn't match at all.

In a sense, spirits had no concept of clothing; it was merely the manifestation of soul energy, reflecting the most memorable form from their previous life.

So, the spirit before him couldn't be Lydia. It could only be...

"She is Iyeta, my daughter."

A deep voice resonated throughout the tower.

Lynn turned instinctively and saw the long-absent Herlram.

Herlram, the founder of the Iyeta Academy, the ruler of the Harbor Town, and a great wizard who had departed for Greenville (Wizard's City) two weeks ago, was now standing here.