Chapter 368: Chapter 367: The Eternal Puzzle?

Pandora furrowed her brows as she walked up to the Golden Mask. Upon seeing its gleaming appearance, her eyes lit up noticeably, and in the next moment, she tiptoed and reached out to touch the Golden Mask.

She touched it!

Pandora grabbed one corner of the Golden Mask and pulled down hard.

The Golden Mask started to cry out.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing! You… you let go of me, stop it!”

Pandora seemed not to hear at all. She didn’t loosen her grip; on the contrary, she continued to pull with all her might, using the strength of the Dragon Clan.

“Crash!”

The Golden Mask, which had been fixed to the wall, had little room to struggle and was pulled down by Pandora into her hands.

Pandora’s eyes gleamed as she looked at the Golden Mask, which quivered and spoke, “You… don’t mess around… you… ah!”

The Golden Mask screamed because Pandora, without any courtesy, opened her mouth and bit down.

“Crunch!”

A tooth mark.

Hmm, this piece is real gold.

“Crunch!”

Another tooth mark.

Hmm, this piece is also real gold.

“Crunch!”

“The third tooth mark.

Hmm, this piece is still real gold.

Could it be that this whole big piece is real gold? Then I should bite a few more times.

Pandora thought seriously and opened her mouth again.

“Crunch, crunch, crunch…”

The screams of the Golden Mask turned into wails: “Ah! Ah! Stop, you little demon, let go of me, I just wanted to chat with you, why are you treating me this way? You… ah! Don’t bite anymore, stop right now… no, shut your mouth!”

…

Richard was unaware of the Golden Mask’s ordeal. While the Golden Mask was wailing, he returned to the Magic Laboratory located underground.

After closing the suitcase, Richard put it into the Space Iron Ring and walked out toward the exterior, leaving the Magic Laboratory and reaching the main laboratory on the surface.

Then he left the main laboratory, walked out of the courtyard, and headed to White Stone Tower Academy.

In Richard’s view, since Hall Spirit didn’t understand the so-called Metallic Ball, he had no choice but to seek out some information in the library of the White Stone Tower College.

…

Soon, he arrived at White Stone Tower Academy.

The situation here was somewhat surprising to Richard, yet somewhat expected.

It was clear that the previous night’s fire was the result of a premeditated attack; even though the fire was extinguished, some damage could not be repaired promptly. White Stone Tower Academy, though not located in the most central area of the White Stone Tower Wizard Association’s buildings, had also suffered significant damage during the attack.

There were several huge pits in the ground surrounded by cracks, a wall was pitted with holes from green Acid Liquid corrosion, and several buildings had collapsed.

A lot of unfamiliar and cold-faced wizards were seen walking around the academy. They had been urgently recalled from other areas outside White Stone City by White Stone Tower, with even more wizards en route.

Apart from wizards, one could occasionally see patrols made up of Wizard Apprentices throughout the academy. Each Apprentice in the patrol emitted strong Mana fluctuations and a faint presence of Evil Qi, indicating that these were no ordinary individuals, but rather “Reserve Wizards” who had experienced killing and reached the peak of Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

Apparently, the attack had put the entire White Stone Tower on high alert, starting to mobilize all its strength in response. Therefore, Richard was checked three times along the way; had it not been for his identity tag, he wouldn’t have been able to pass through at all.

Eventually, Richard successfully reached the library of White Stone Tower College.

…

Library.

Although White Stone Tower Academy had been attacked, it didn’t affect the normal teaching and studying life, so the library was much the same as before–with many eager students gathered, all heads bowed in reading and studying.

The only difference was that the atmosphere in the air was somewhat oppressive, suffocatingly oppressive–the alertness and tension generated from the upper levels of White Stone Tower Academy were spreading from top to bottom, silently infiltrating every corner.

Richard slowed his pace as he walked through the library, and after a while, his eyes scanned a familiar person–Prince Gro.

Gro was currently reading “Magic Introduction – Power of Flames,” his brows tightly knitted as if he were deeply contemplating the contents, often staring at it for a long time before wetting his fingertip with saliva to turn to the next page.

Richard sat down opposite him, giving a light tap on the table.

“Hmm?” Gro was startled, put the book down, and when he saw Richard, his eyes widened, “Lord Richard, you’re back.”

“Yes,” Richard nodded his head.

Gro quickly sized up Richard and asked with some concern, “Did anything happen to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know? Last night… well, not just in the academy, but the whole White Stone Tower had a major incident. It’s said that some ill-intentioned people tried to invade, but were stopped by the wizards. However, the intruders were very strong, and although they were stopped, the wizards themselves suffered heavy losses. Now, they’re constantly calling for reinforcements from other places, preparing to completely eradicate those invaders!”

“Is that so,” Richard spoke softly, “I did hear some news about it, it does seem a bit dangerous.” More than just heard, he had seen it with his own eyes the previous night.

“So…” Gro took a deep breath and looked at Richard, “Lord Richard, you must be careful. With the situation so chaotic, and you always living outside without the protection of Master Wizards, something might happen. Maybe… you should move back?”

“That… I will consider it,” Richard said. He knew Gro meant well, but it obviously wasn’t suitable for him. Take his pile of research, for instance, conducting it quietly outside was no problem, but bringing it into the academy would be deadly if exposed. Thus, while there might or might not be incidents outside, moving back would definitely lead to trouble.

“Well, alright,” Gro shrugged his shoulders; seeing Richard’s expression, he also understood that moving back was probably impossible and didn’t pursue the topic any further.

Suddenly reminding himself of something, Gro looked toward Richard again and asked, “By the way, Lord Richard, what brings you back this time? Last time, you wanted to experience what it’s like to stay at the academy, it’s not the same reason this time, is it? But I heard that the dormitory block you were in was hit by the residual effects of a spell last night. Although it was nothing serious, everyone moved out and it needs some repairs before anyone can live there again.”

“Is that so, that’s really a pity. But it doesn’t matter, this time I have come back only to find some materials in the library,” Richard said, standing up, “Well then, I won’t disturb you any longer. Continue with your reading, I’ll go find the materials. Once I’ve found them, we can talk again.”

“That works.”

Richard walked towards one side, and Gro lowered his head to continue reading.

As Richard moved to the side, he had barely taken a few steps when his gaze swept across another familiar person–the Princess of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom–Rose.

At the moment, Rose was surrounded by several men, each one with a face full of respect. Richard watched and surmised that these must be the dozen or so fiances Baki had mentioned, who were also slaves in debt.

As Richard pondered this, Rose glanced over, and upon seeing Richard her expression shifted to one of shock, and the next moment she subconsciously covered her abdomen, clenched her legs, and widened her eyes revealing a look of surprise mixed with fear and anger.

The men clustered around Rose sensed that something was amiss with her, and with confusion, they looked toward Richard, then took on a wary expression: “Who are you?”

After speaking, they quickly looked at Rose and asked in a low voice, “Rose, who is this? Did he bully you, do you need us to teach him a lesson? You just said you didn’t believe we could protect you in such dangerous times, let us prove it to you now. If we do well, then you’ll have to postpone our debt by a few more days.”

Hearing these words, Rose didn’t say anything, only staring at Richard, her eyes growing bigger and bigger, as if triggering unpleasant memories.

Richard raised his hand, intending to greet her, but Rose, like a startled rabbit, turned and ran. The men around her paused briefly, then hurriedly followed, calling out as they ran off into the distance.

“Rose, what’s wrong…”

“Rose, what happened…”

“Rose, did that guy just now threaten you…”

“Rose…”

Watching the procession disappear, Richard arched an eyebrow and couldn’t help but shake his head. He had intended to ease the tension with Rose, since he would inevitably need to consult her about matters relating to the Black Spirit Empire, but it seemed there would be no chance this time. Maybe next time.

Shaking his head, Richard walked towards the bookshelves and started to search earnestly for books.

But after a long search, he found nothing.

Richard had to accept this reality, and after chatting with Gro for a while longer, he left White Stone Tower Academy.

…

Leaving the academy, Richard didn’t immediately return to his laboratory, but instead took a carriage to the residence of the Great Scholar Socrates.

Although Richard harbored a certain wariness towards Socrates deep within his heart, he still felt it might be more helpful to consult with him on some matters.

Who would have known that upon reaching the scholar’s residence, he would be turned away. The servant at the gate made it clear, “I’m sorry, dear guest, the Great Scholar Socrates has gone on a long journey and has been away for some time. We don’t know when he will return. If you wish to visit, it’s best to try your luck after some time.”

Richard returned empty-handed.

On the way back, Richard squinted at the metallic ball he was clutching in his hand, muttering to himself, “What exactly is this thing? Could it be… unsolvable forever?”

…