Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

The Duke did not look at them, walking past them and up the spiral staircase to the top floor.

The top floor had a wooden door, without a lock, with only a simple iron ring.

Dali pushed the door open and stepped aside: "Duke, please."

The room was large, occupying the entire top floor.

The south and east sides were lined with tall arch windows, with transparent glass inlaid, allowing sunlight to pour in and illuminate the entire room brightly.

The floor was covered with dark wooden flooring, polished smooth and flat, silent underfoot.

The walls were painted a light beige, without any excess decorations, just a small tapestry of the Divine Statue of Light hanging on the east wall.

On the south side of the room was a large desk, scattered with several sheets of parchment, an oil lamp and a set of feather pens placed beside it.

Behind the desk was a high-backed chair, carved with sun motifs, the cushion was covered in soft dark velvet.

The east side of the room had a row of bookshelves, filled with a few thick tomes and some empty spaces waiting to be filled.

The north side of the room had a bed, not large, covered with white sheets and blankets, with a small oil lamp on the bedside table, the wick unlit.

The west side of the room had a door, leading to a small Meditation Room, without any furniture, only a thick wool carpet on the floor embroidered with a sun pattern.

The walls and ceiling of the Meditation Room were engraved with intricate runes, specifically arranged by Dali to gather Light Elemental Particles and accelerate meditation efficiency.

Of course, the carpet’s effect was almost negligible for the Duke, having little use.

Dali stood at the door, her hands folded in front of her, her gaze resting on the Duke.

"Duke, this is your living and working area. There is also a reception room next door, and if there’s anything that needs improvement, feel free to instruct."

The Duke walked to the window, looking at the scenery outside.

From here, the entire Stone Hammer City was visible, gray-white city walls, staggered rooftops, intersecting streets, all in sight.

In the distance, the headquarters of the Star Embers Guild was still under construction, with scaffolding crowded with workers, and stone and wood piled on the ground.

Further away was the open ground outside Stone Hammer City, which used to be the site of a confrontation between the Four Gods Sect and the Light Sect, now grown with new grass, a patch of green.

Sunshine fell on the earth, coating everything with a pale golden layer.

After Dali withdrew, the Duke waved his hand, and several witch arrays were set in layers.

Then he recorded the coordinates here with the Coordinates Earring, maintaining the previous coordinates of the Star Embers Potion Shop, but from now on, this would be the main location.

...

At night, Stone Hammer City’s Divine Hall of Light was enveloped in a blanket of tranquility.

The daytime bustle gradually dissipated as the sun sank below the horizon, the artisans repairing the hall, the patrolling Knights, the busy priests, all had returned to their respective residences.

Only the sacred fire atop the tower continued to burn, its white flames swaying gently in the night breeze, casting a faint halo onto the hall’s silhouette.

The Duke did not rest, he walked into the courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, situated between the East Auxiliary Hall and the main hall, surrounded by corridors on all sides.

The ground was paved with bluestone slabs, with dense moss growing in their gaps, reflecting a pale green glow under the moonlight.

In the center of the courtyard was a small fountain, water flowing from the tip of the scepter held by the Divine Statue of Light, falling into the stone pool below, producing a crisp sound.

A few Silver Leaf Trees were planted around the fountain, their leaves rustling in the night wind, as moonlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The Duke walked slowly along the corridor, his steps not brisk, his boots producing a slight sound on the bluestone slabs.

He was not thinking about anything specific, just walking.

The busyness of the day had scattered his thoughts somewhat, he needed this blank period to let his mind empty.

As night deepened, the moonlight grew brighter, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime.

The Duke paused beside the fountain, gazing at the reflection of the moon in the pool.

The water surface rippled slightly, and the moon’s reflection shattered into countless tiny light pieces, like a dispersed nebula.

Then, his brows furrowed faintly.

The surrounding space began to distort, not an illusion, but a real transformation.

The courtyard remained, the fountain remained, the corridors remained, the Silver Leaf Trees remained, but everything had changed.

The bluestone slabs were covered with a thick layer of gray-white dust, the fountain’s water had turned into a black viscous liquid, the Silver Leaf Trees’ leaves shifted from silver-white to dark gray, their trunks twisting into spiral patterns, as if twisted by an invisible hand.

The air turned cold, carrying a piercing chill, as if something in the dark watched over this place.

Sound vanished, the sound of water, wind, the rustling leaves, all noise disappeared, leaving only dead silence.

The moonlight persisted, but it was gray-white, casting twisted shadows on the warped structures, bizarre and eerie.

Shadow Space.

The Duke recognized it, having ventured into Shadow Space many times, using the Eye of Darkness to spy on intel, using the Shadow Cloak for short-distance movement, he was all too familiar with the atmosphere here.

The Dark Attribute Energy saturating the air, wrapping around his body like icy water, with a whispering sense of erosion, attempting to seep into his skin.

For ordinary Wizards, contact would cause the flow of Magic Power within them to become obscure, but the Duke felt only cool and comfortable.

He possessed High-Level Dark Attribute Affinity Talent, for him, Shadow Space was also home territory.

The Duke looked down at the bluestone slabs beneath his feet, on that gray-white dust, there was a shallow trail of footprints extending from the courtyard entrance to where he stood, then disappearing.

It wasn’t his own footprint, but a trace left by something.

The footprint was shallow, nearly invisible without close examination, but it existed.

The Duke crouched down, reached out to touch the gray-white dust, feeling nothing at his fingertips, for the dust was not material, but deposited Shadow Energy.

The footprint’s size and shape resembled a human foot but was narrower, with visible claw marks at the toe positions.

Someone had dragged him into Shadow Space.

The Duke stood up, surveying his surroundings.

The corridor remained, but its columns on either side were lengthened bizarrely, like crooked bones.

The courtyard’s arched entrance had turned into an oval black void, beyond which nothing was visible.

The black liquid in the fountain’s pool slowly rotated like an eye opening.

The branches of the Silver Leaf Trees drooped, their tips trailing in the gray-white dust, resembling dead snakes.

Anyone suddenly dragged in here would surely panic.

Especially Light Sect members, whose Magic relies on Light Energy, but in Shadow Space, the concentration of Light Elemental Energy Particles is extremely low, and their strength is suppressed by at least half.

If they faced an attack here, they would have virtually no means to resist.

But the Duke was not a typical Light Sect believer.

He was the Child of Light, yet he also had High-Level Dark Attribute Affinity and the Dark Bloodline.

In Shadow Space, the Dark Attribute Energy would not suppress him but instead nourish him.

The Duke began to move slowly through the courtyard, his steps now more composed, unhurried.

He walked through the corridor, his boots stepping on gray-white dust, leaving no footprint behind.

This was a small trick utilizing his High-Level Dark Attribute Affinity, allowing him to merge with Shadow Space, erasing any trace with Shadow Energy.

He passed the fountain, the black liquid inside slightly rippling as he walked by, as though a living entity trembled.

The courtyard wasn’t large, taking only a few dozen steps to complete a circle.

The Duke walked a lap and found nothing abnormal.

The footprints disappeared, the presence vanished, the attacker seemingly left the moment he entered.

But he could feel something watching him in the dark.

That gaze was elusive, like a tenuous thread extending from the nape of his neck to a corner of the courtyard.

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