The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

At the north gate of Darkmoon Academy, in the early hours of the morning, a biting chill permeated the air. Thick fog, like a gray tide, silently engulfed the wasteland, blurring the distant Shattered Star Mountains into a menacing silhouette.

Rowe, Barton, and Lilith reunited. Unlike their previous adventure to the Shattered Star Mountains, the atmosphere this time was far more somber and tense. They all knew that the Tower of Slumber was far more dangerous than anything they had encountered before.

Rowe (a late-stage intermediate apprentice, whose soul trauma has not healed and whose strength is limited) carefully examined his equipment: several bottles of Lilith's specially made potent potions for dealing with shadows and mental pollution; several animal skin talismans with simple "purification runes" and "concealment runes" drawn on them (obtained from his mentor Haralr's guidance and his own rudimentary attempts); and most importantly—the "starlight resonance beacon," about the size of a fingernail, carefully sealed in an insulating crystal box.

Barton (Peak Advanced Apprentice, with steadily increasing strength) polished his dark red runic greatsword, the blade radiating a faint heat. His newly mastered "Blazing Body Protection" gave him even more confidence, but he was also well aware of the dangers of this journey. He also carried a small tower shield engraved with sturdy runes on his back, clearly indicating that he had made more thorough defensive preparations.

Lilith (Advanced Apprentice, specializing in potions and detection) has the most elaborate equipment: multiple belt pouches filled with potions of different effects; a modified composite compass that can simultaneously detect energy fluctuations, signs of life, and spatial stability; several crystal stakes for setting up temporary warning barriers; and a bundle of specially made "high-intensity light bombs" specifically for dealing with possible shadow creatures.

"Let's double-check the plan." Lowe's voice sounded particularly deep in the mist. "Our goal isn't to infiltrate the Tower of Slumber, but rather to deploy beacons as close as possible to a relatively safe area on its periphery. Once the beacons sense the activation of the Homogeneous Starlight Moss within the tower (meaning the Gray Tower ritual is underway), they will resonate continuously, providing a basis for our subsequent actions (or requesting intervention from the Academy)."

"Lilith will be responsible for path guidance and danger warnings, Barton will be responsible for frontal protection and clearing a path, and I will be responsible for energy sensing and beacon deployment. In the event of unavoidable danger, we will evacuate as quickly as possible and will not linger in battle."

Barton and Lilith nodded emphatically.

The three said no more, their figures disappearing into the thick fog as they headed towards the cursed land to the north.

The closer they got to the depths of the Shattered Star Mountains, the more eerie the environment became. The fog not only failed to dissipate but grew even thicker, and it even began to contain distorted, dreamlike remnants, like shattered mirrors.

Darkmoon Academy World Encyclopedia: Dream Echoes

A unique and dangerous phenomenon exists in the area surrounding the Tower of Sleep. Due to the Tower Master's past mad experiments and the massive dream energy released when the tower collapsed, the boundary between reality and dreams is extremely blurred in this area. Fragmented images originating from past memories, subconscious fears, or pure nightmares will randomly appear. Most of these remnants are harmless, only causing visual and sensory disturbances, but a few may contain weak psychological aggression or attract nightmare creatures, and should be treated with caution.

As they traveled, they sometimes saw huge, writhing shadows sweeping across the fog, sometimes heard faint weeping or murmurs, and even caught glimpses of the faces of long-dead acquaintances in the mist. It was only thanks to Lilith's compass and Lowe's energy vision constantly discerning reality from illusion that they avoided many unnecessary frights and potential mental pollution.

The ground vegetation was gradually covered by a gray, carpet-like dream moss, soft and yielding underfoot, exuding a drowsy scent. A faint, cloying, and decaying aroma began to permeate the air—a sign that the dream dimension was seeping into reality.

"We've entered the area of ​​influence of the Tower of Slumber," Lilith said gravely, looking at the wildly fluctuating pointer on the compass. "Spatial stability is decreasing, and energy flow is becoming chaotic. Everyone, concentrate, guard your mental centers, and don't be misled by these illusions."

Barton let out a low growl, and a faint layer of fiery aura rose around him, evaporating the approaching mist and dispelling some of the drowsiness. Meanwhile, Lowe was fully engaged with his "Heart of Analysis," painstakingly discerning the flow of real energy from the interference of dreams, guiding the team along a relatively safe path.

After traveling for half a day without incident, the outline of a huge, dilapidated black tower, as if gnawed by a giant beast, finally revealed its ferocious form in the thick fog—the Tower of Slumber.

It was larger than imagined, its tower leaning precariously, much of it covered in a gray, amber-like crystallization. Many parts had collapsed, revealing the twisted metal structure and broken runestones within. The entire tower was deathly silent, yet it exuded a chilling, oppressive aura, as if countless eyes were watching from the shadows.

"We can't get any closer." Luo Wei stopped, his face pale. The abyssal imprint deep within his soul, even though it was isolated, resonated strongly here, causing waves of pain. He could clearly feel that a vast, chaotic, and malicious collective consciousness was slowly but surely... awakening within the tower.

"Right here." Rowe pointed to a relatively stable spot on the ground behind a huge collapsed rock. "It's close enough to the tower that the beacon should be able to sense the large energy fluctuations inside, and it's relatively hidden."

Lilith quickly took out several crystal stakes and set up a small, simple "isolation barrier" around them to shield the energy fluctuations of the beacon from leaking out and prevent them from being detected by those inside the tower.

Luo Wei carefully took the "Starlight Resonance Beacon" out of the crystal box. He took a deep breath, injected a wisp of mental energy into it, activated the tiny fixing rune at its bottom, and then gently pressed it onto the selected ground.

The tiny runes on the beacon glowed faintly, flickering a few times like breathing, before quickly dimming and blending perfectly into the surrounding environment, becoming almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Deployment successful!

However, the instant the beacon was activated, Luo Wei felt a cold, greedy intent, like a tentacle, sweep across the area from the direction of the tower with extreme stealth! This intent paused slightly as it swept over the beacon, seemingly sensing an extremely faint anomaly. However, the energy fluctuations of the beacon itself were greatly weakened by Lilith's barrier and its natural concealment. The intent lingered for a moment, unable to lock onto a specific target, and finally slowly retreated back into the tower.

The three held their breath, cold sweat pouring down their faces, until the thought completely disappeared, at which point they finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"That was close..." Lilith said, still shaken. "The things in the tower... their senses are too sharp."

Having completed their mission, they dared not linger for a moment and immediately retreated along the original route.

Shortly after they left, at the bottom of the Tower of Slumber, on an altar covered with shadowy runes, Master Elena (a second-circle wizard) who was sitting cross-legged suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of doubt flashing in them.

"Just now... there seemed to be a faint, strange energy fluctuation outside the tower..." she murmured to herself, her fingers calculating a few times, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact location due to the chaotic energy field and dream interference in the area.

"Master, the ritual preparations are complete. The 'container' is in a stable state and we can begin the final stage of 'awakening' at any time," a senior apprentice from the Gray Tower respectfully reported.

Master Elena temporarily set aside her doubts, her eyes flashing with fervor and anticipation: "Excellent! Pass the word down to activate all protective arrays, isolating all internal and external interference! Tonight at midnight, when the moon's power is at its darkest, we will knock on the door of 'Eternal Slumber' and welcome the arrival of 'Awakening'!"

"For the glory of the Grey Tower!" the apprentice exclaimed as he withdrew.

Inside the tower, shadow energy began to boil, and a deep chanting sounded, marking the official start of the final countdown to a complex and sinister ritual.

Meanwhile, Luo Wei and his two companions, who were evacuating, encountered new trouble.

The relatively safe path they had taken to arrive now seemed to come alive. More dream remnants began to gather, and even some distorted nightmare derivatives made of pure nightmare energy appeared!

These derivatives have no fixed form, like rolling shadowy mud, constantly changing into various terrifying shapes, emitting piercing screams that strike straight to the soul, and frantically rushing towards the three of them!

"It's the effect of the ritual activation! The energy leaking out of the tower has activated the surrounding nightmares!" Lilith exclaimed, continuously throwing out powerful light bombs and purification potions. The blinding white light and holy energy temporarily repelled the monsters.

Barton roared repeatedly, wielding his greatsword and unleashing his full Flame Aura to shatter and incinerate the attacking monsters. But these monsters seemed endless, and physical attacks were ineffective; they quickly reformed and charged again.

Despite the piercing pain in his soul, Luo Wei continued to use his optimized water manipulation and miniature flame spells to precisely destroy the energy cores of the derivatives, clearing a path for the team. His fighting style was efficient and energy-saving, but the continuous battle was still rapidly depleting his already limited mental energy.

"This won't do! We'll be worn down here!" Barton shouted, panting heavily as he blocked a wave of attack.

As Luo Wei scanned his surroundings, he suddenly noticed that a spatial rift (Dark Moon Rift) not far to his left was unusually active, constantly devouring the surrounding energy and matter. Even the Nightmare Derivatives instinctively moved away from there.

"Go that way! Use the Dark Moon Rift!" Lowe made a quick decision.

This is an extremely risky decision! But there is no other choice at the moment.

The three fought and retreated, rushing towards the dangerous area. As they approached, the Nightmare Derivative became hesitant, seemingly extremely afraid of the unstable spatial rifts.

However, they themselves were also dancing on a knife's edge. Tiny fragments of space, like invisible blades, constantly cut into their shields and clothing, greatly reducing the effectiveness of Lilith's barrier.

"Let's go! We can't stay here any longer!" Luo Wei urged.

Just as they were about to break out of this dangerous area, something unexpected happened!

Perhaps influenced by the ritual within the tower or the impact of a large amount of energy, a previously tiny spatial rift beside Luo Wei suddenly vibrated and expanded violently! A powerful suction force emanated from it, simultaneously unleashing a chaotic spatial turbulence that slammed into Luo Wei!

Luo Wei was already in poor condition, and caught off guard, he was still hit by some of the turbulence despite his best efforts to dodge!

puff!

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body was thrown out like a kite with a broken string, and crashed heavily to the ground. The staff in his hand also flew out and was instantly swallowed by a rift!

"Love!" Barton and Lilith were horrified and rushed over to help him up.

Luo Wei's face was ashen, his breath weak. The abyss imprint deep within his soul had become active again due to the impact and stimulation of the spatial energy, causing excruciating pain! Worse still, he felt an extremely subtle but unusually cold spatial energy, like a leech, invading his body and becoming entangled with his own energy and soul imprint!

"Quickly...take me away..." Luo Wei said with difficulty, his consciousness already beginning to fade.

Without a word, Barton carried Rowe on his back and, together with Lilith, desperately tried to break out despite the harassment from scattered byproducts and the cutting of space fragments.

They narrowly escaped the most dangerous area, but Lowe's injuries were extremely serious. The physical wounds were manageable, but the soul shock and the intrusion of that strange spatial energy became the biggest hidden dangers.

They took temporary shelter in a relatively safe cave. Lilith quickly gave Rowe the best healing and soul-stabilizing potions.

Under the effects of the medicine, Luo Wei's injuries were temporarily stabilized, but the spatial energy that had invaded his body was unusually stubborn, constantly interfering with his energy circulation and resonating with the Abyss Mark in a strange way, making it impossible for him to concentrate and even meditation extremely difficult.

He looked at his right hand, which was trembling slightly and occasionally showed a tiny spatial crack, and his face was extremely ugly.

In this operation, they successfully deployed the beacon and gleaned information that the Gray Tower ceremony was approaching.

But the price was that Loewy himself seemed to have become another unexpected...beacon. A more conspicuous target, marked simultaneously by the chaotic spatial energy and the abyssal imprint.

The whispers of awakening from the Tower of Slumber seemed to echo right beside my ear.

But his body was the first to sound a danger alarm.