I became a vampire princess and then a dragon girl?

Due to the solid nature of these crystal walls, it usually takes a lot of effort for them to knock off a small piece for research. Most of them cannot even be called pieces, but are just a few broken pieces.

Seeing that someone could easily cut off a large piece of crystal, the researchers immediately became excited and rushed to ask Eve for help.

"Um...Ashley? Is it okay to cut more?"

"It should be... okay... right?"

Although he said this, Ashley changed his mind and took Eve and the others to another corridor next to him that was also blocked by crystals.

After all, the crystal wall over there had just experienced an inexplicable retreat phenomenon, so it still needs a little protection.

"Okay, Miss Eve, just cut it here. It can be used as a new experiment."

Standing in front of the new crystal wall, Ashley took out a notebook and began to write on it, speaking as he wrote.

"Okay, then... Ilvia."

As Eve spoke, she grasped the holy sword in her little hand and it appeared in her hand.

Just now, I used magic to make a knife just to cut a piece for Melchis. Now the quantity required is a bit large, so it would be faster to use the Holy Sword.

After estimating which crystal walls occupied the original corridor, Eve swung the holy sword rapidly. With the sound of crystals breaking, the original crystal walls suddenly disappeared, leaving only neatly arranged crystal blocks piled up into a small hill in the corridor.

"Is this okay?"

After taking back the holy sword, Eve looked at the pile of crystals in front of her and asked.

"That's definitely enough!"

"Great! Now we have enough materials!"

"Thank you, Miss Eve!"

Looking at the crystal blocks piled all over the ground, the elves standing behind cheered immediately. Now they didn't have to worry about the lack of experimental materials for a while, and many experiments could be carried out in a timely manner.

"Hmm, hmm, remember to mark it later. It's three-tenths of a full moon now. How long will it take for the leaves to grow back after cutting so much this time?"

Ashley on the side was also writing non-stop in a notebook. It seemed that he had entered the research mode and there was no trace of his shyness just now.

Is this what researchers are like when they're immersed in something? They seem to completely forget about their surroundings.

Miss Eve thought, "I've been forgotten again."

§165 Neglected Magic

While everyone was making a fuss about obtaining so many research materials, an elf girl came running behind them.

"Why did you all run here? I couldn't find you just now. Listen to me..."

But halfway through her speech, she also saw what was happening in front of the crowd.

"Wait! What happened?!"

Looking at the crystal blocks piled up like a mountain, she was so shocked that she almost forgot what she was going to say. Fortunately, she finally reacted after being reminded by others.

"This is the result of Miss Eve's help. What were you trying to say just now?"

"Tell me... tell me... ah! I went to check other places and came back. The crystal walls in many places have retreated to varying degrees! Even the roads leading to other small castles have been revealed a little bit!"

"Huh?! Really?"

"Absolutely right!"

The new news brought by the elf lady made the already noisy crowd even more noisy. The whole corridor was filled with noise, and it was difficult to hear what the people around them were saying.

In the end, Ashley clapped his hands vigorously to suppress the noise of the crowd.

"Everyone! Listen! To! Me!!!"

With Ashley's full-throttle shout, everyone finally stopped discussing.

"...?"

"Everyone, go back and stand guard. The ceremony is important. We'll discuss the details later. Then, a few more people will move these crystal blocks and store them. We'll apply for them as needed. Finally, one person will stay to keep a record of the situation here. That's all!"

"Yes!"

With the harmonious response, everyone returned to their posts under Ashley's command, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she saw Eve, who she had forgotten about and was now looking at her with an interesting look, and her little face suddenly turned red again.

"I didn't expect Ashley to have this side of him. He couldn't speak fluently just now."

"Um, well, it's just... I'm just used to it."

Well, it failed in one second.

It seems that there is no hope for Ashley's shyness around strangers.

But since it's cute, I'll leave it as it is.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Ashley, do you know of any places with better scenery? This is also one of our travel goals."

“Is there a place with a better view…”

Facing Eve's question, Ashley frowned and pondered for a long time. It seemed that she was also a pure-blooded stay-at-home researcher who never left the house.

"I've heard from friends about a few places, but I haven't been there. Is it okay to go now?"

"Well, of course, exploring the unknown is also fun."

"Unknown..."

Hearing the familiar words, Ashley smiled, perhaps because it reminded him of his own research.

"Let's go, I'll take you there."

—·—·—·—·—·—·—

Later, outside the castle of Crystal City.

"Hmm... this should be it."

After taking a look at the surrounding scenery, Ashley hesitantly led everyone to a small platform.

This is a small protrusion located outside the water-blue castle, close to the tip of the castle. It is not even noticeable from a distance, and no one knows how it was discovered in the first place.

"The Crystal City is so beautiful from that angle. It's perfect for relaxing. If you have time, Ashley, you should definitely go see it."

That's what her friend told her at the time, but Ashley never had the chance to witness it in person due to her busy schedule.

This time she finally came in person in order to lead the way for Eve and the others, but the scenery she saw was totally worth it.

The scenery here is beautiful mainly because this water-blue castle is located at an oblique angle to the moon-white castle, and the light emitted by the magic ball above the castle looks quite gorgeous after being refracted through the crystal outer wall of the main castle.

Looking inside from behind, this small water-blue castle has been filled with crystal blocks, but you can still vaguely see some large floor-to-ceiling windows. It seems that this was a small observation deck in the past?

"It's a nice place. Is this your first time here, Ashley?"

"Well, because I'm the team leader, I'm usually quite busy, so I don't really get to relax..."

"Well, my personal suggestion is to combine work and rest. Being tense all the time is not good for your health."

This is the advice from the person who once studied magic through the night for several months in a row and even now stays up all night for nothing.

"Well, I'll try to change that later."

However, after staying here for a while, Eve suddenly noticed that there seemed to be an extremely weak magical fluctuation in a place above their heads where there was no one, and the position was exactly opposite to the core of the magic ball above the moon-white castle.

This magical fluctuation can be said to be extremely weak. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably just think it was the free magic in the wonderland ruins. After all, the magical fluctuations inside this space are more frequent than those outside, which can easily lead to misjudgment.

Thinking of this, Eve asked aloud.

"Ashley, can you feel a small fluctuation of magic above us?"

"Eh? Is there any?"

After feeling it carefully again, Ashley shook his head helplessly.

"I can't feel it."

"how about this?"

Snapped--

With a snap of her fingers, Eve temporarily dispelled the free magic power nearby, leaving only a trace of special magic power.

"Ah, I felt it this time, but is there anything special about it? Is it just the magical power within the Wonderland ruins?"

As the interference was eliminated by Eve, Ashley finally discovered a tiny trace of magic power.

"No, at least it's different from the free magic."

Eve simply interrupted her speculation.

"Eh?"

"This magic power has been there since we first arrived here. It hasn't changed at all. It's just too weak that you didn't notice it. And it's in the same location as the core of the magic ball over there. Do you want to check over the other two small castles?"

"Well... I'll trouble Miss Eve for your help."

After listening to Eve's analysis, Ashley's expression became serious.

If what Eve said is true, then their long-term research seems to have overlooked something...

I just don't know whether this magical power appeared as the crystal wall retreated, or whether it has always existed.

It's mainly due to my lack of strength. There are many things I can't do, such as the subtle magic power I have now and the crystal block I just obtained.

But only Eve, a weirdo with enough strength, would wander around. Otherwise, everyone has their own things to do, such as clan affairs, the Far West Front, and the Abyss Defense Line. There is always a place for you to be assigned, so how could you have time to wander around?

Although Eve probably won't be able to rest for long.

This elf journey might be her last peaceful time (I’m sure).

§166 Frequent Mutations

"There are all of them."

"Oh, yes."

After checking the skies above each small castle, they all discovered without exception that there was a trace of magic power above the small castle, with the same intensity and position.

Ashley has also noted this discovery and plans to study it later.

"By the way, what does that magic ball do?"

After seeing her take notes, Eve looked at the magic ball not far away and asked curiously.

Although Eve had seen these magic balls connected to each other in her dream, she still wanted to hear what the professionals had to say.

After all, the ritual in the dream seemed to be cut in half. The magic tree that should have been formed was directly pressed back into the light shell and did not grow into the Yueyang Lake outside.

"That is the magic power condensed from this wonderland ruins itself."

After hesitating for a moment, Ashley chose to explain for Eve.

"These four small castles and the main castle in the center all serve to condense magic power. The final product is the magic ball. They will be consumed during the ceremony and then gradually condensed again before the next full moon night. The energy tree that can collect moon dew is born from these two magic balls."

After a pause, Ashley continued.

"According to records, when the energy tree was in its complete state, it was much more solid than it is now, and was formed from five balls of magic power. However, with the onset of crystallization, it quickly became what it is now."

"Hmm? Is crystallization happening quickly?"

"That's right. Aside from the small castle at the end of the main castle, the rest of the area was filled up in less than a hundred years. We're still investigating why only these two areas were unaffected."

"Is that so? Then..."

Just as Eve was about to ask something else, the two magic balls above the main castle and the small castle suddenly burst out with dazzling light. Seeing this, Ashley hurriedly took Eve and the others to the platform below.

"The ceremony is about to begin. Let's go downstairs to take shelter, otherwise we will be affected by the oppression of the magic tree."

"Ah."

Although she felt that she was fine, Eve still followed Ashley down first. After all, she was not sure whether Tina and Sis could hold on.