Chapter 33 – Miracle Blueprint

Before the Ruined Tower, after the eight gargoyles perished, some Soul Sand and Remnant Souls slowly precipitated.

The total Soul Sand amounted to over 300g, with four Remnant Souls in all—two Random Remnant Souls and two three-star Remnant Souls.

There were no rare Remnant Souls.

Remnant Souls above the rare grade aren’t so easily dropped; otherwise, powerful players could recklessly slaughter various rare monsters, and Advanced Remnant Souls on the market wouldn’t be scarce and expensive.

Moreover, the gargoyles here were shoddy goods.

“In reality, activities like exploration, subjugation, and exterminating monsters yield limited rewards themselves. Such tasks are mostly undertaken by ranger players, while lord players focus on whether they can occupy resource sites or unearth Treasure Troves after subjugation.”

Ranger players? Just laborers, while lords are the true bosses who earn money effortlessly.

However, Mu Yuan wasn’t a true lord yet, lacking income sources like mines, plantations, trade, or taxes. He wasn’t even as well-off as veteran solo players, merely a novice with a bit of evolutionary ability.

The drops from the eight gargoyles were already a significant income for him.

Besides, Mu Yuan’s purpose in subjugating the gargoyles was twofold: first, for the safety of his territory, and second, for the Tower before him.

…

Mu Yuan slowly approached this Ancient Civilization Ruin.

Up close, the Tower appeared even more dilapidated. Beneath the moss and vines covering its exterior were visible cracks, some as wide as half a meter, casting doubt on how long this Tower could remain standing.

The Tower’s main door had long been in disrepair; a single Skeleton Soldier could easily tear the entire door off with a bit of force.

In the past, there might have been defensive barriers here, but over time, everything had dissipated. Even the gargoyles, famous for their “shelf life,” had weakened over the years, becoming the small and feeble versions they were now.

At the door, Deadbone seemed to hesitate, wanting to say something.

Mu Yuan understood exactly what Deadbone meant—the Tower was old and dangerous, and entering was far from prudent.

Mu Yuan also felt it was somewhat imprudent, but only players could appraise graded Treasures’ information; only he could distinguish them.

The other skeletons couldn’t be relied upon for this. Even Deadbone, with his Emperor potential, lacked appraisal abilities unless he attained a Hero identity, which would grant him extraordinary capabilities like a chosen lord.

Moreover, Deadbone’s knowledge base was far inferior to that of Lord Mu.

He had no choice but to enter this Tower.

“Don’t worry. Even if the Tower collapses unexpectedly, we still have Dolai here.”

He pulled Dolai over.

The soft yet massive Large Slime was indeed an excellent cushion. In a crisis, hiding under this Slime-brand buffer would ensure safety.

Steady! As expected of our lord.

Mu Yuan stepped into the Tower, sealed for countless years, and surveyed his surroundings.

The interior of the Tower was somewhat chaotic. He saw many research instrument-like items shattered and scattered across the floor. In a side room, he found some bottles and jars that might have contained potions, and on a nearby bookshelf, a dozen or so ancient books were casually placed.However, the liquid in the potion bottles had long dried up, leaving only some dark-colored crystals; the ancient books that might have been immensely valuable had weathered away over time, and Mu Yuan could only vaguely discern some unfamiliar symbols from them.

These were likely the written language of that ancient civilization.

Mu Yuan couldn’t understand them, and these items yielded no information upon appraisal—clearly, they were all ‘scraps’ that hadn’t even reached the lowest tier.

Of course, it was also possible that he simply didn’t know how to utilize them.

Exploring ancient civilization ruins was still too advanced for a novice like him.

Even the existence of ancient civilizations was something he had only heard about through hearsay.

“Still, ancient civilizations probably did exist. I just don’t know how long ago they were, what kind of civilizations they were, whether they were human or other races, and so on.”

Mu Yuan felt that the Xuan Nation had some understanding of ancient civilizations.

After all, even a novice like him could pick up fragments of information from veteran players who weren’t that old, let alone the Great Lords of the Xuan Nation who had already established magnificent cities and vast territories.

This world ran deep.

And he was still a pure novice confined to the beginner zones. Defeating a few gargoyles that weren’t even at the Professional Tier was nothing to boast about.

They were just slightly stronger beginner monsters.

…

In the following time, Mu Yuan scoured every inch of the tower, taking out every item he could find and examining them one by one.

Finally, he discovered truly valuable, high-worth treasures worth celebrating.

There were two in total.

These were the only two items in the tower that could yield information upon appraisal—extremely few in number, yet either one of them made him feel that this trip was not in vain, absolutely a huge win!

「Miracle Building Blueprint: Mage Tower (Elementary)」

「Tier: Rare」

「Description: A special blueprint materialized by the laws of the world. By selecting a suitable location to deploy it and investing the required materials, a miracle building with special effects can be constructed in a short time.」

「Note: This blueprint can only be used once.」

It was an enigmatic blueprint shimmering with a faint green glow.

It had originally been floating slightly inside a decayed storage box, seemingly unaffected by the passage of time and untouched by dust.

This was one of the most valuable treasures in the Eternal World—a Miracle Blueprint!

Mu Yuan had, of course, heard of it. It was something countless lord players pursued.

This ‘Mage Tower (Elementary)’ blueprint and the Shaman Heritage Stone were both Rare-tier items, but the former’s value was likely a hundred times greater than the latter, if not more.

This stemmed from the uniqueness of Miracle Buildings.

Unlike self-constructed buildings, Miracle Buildings are not only easy and quick to build but also possess ‘special effects.’ For example, some buildings can increase the effectiveness of absorbing Soul Sand by 200% or 300% when units train;

Some are defensive structures that can automatically engage enemies without needing units to operate or garrison them;

Others are forging buildings that can effortlessly produce standardized equipment with special attributes;

The most prestigious among Miracle Buildings are the Unit Buildings. It is quite challenging for lord players to obtain a Unit Building.

However, if one performs exceptionally well in the lord trials and receives the world’s reward, there is a significant probability of obtaining a Unit Building.

This is also why countless paying players strive so hard.”According to the description, the Mage Tower appears to be a defensive structure with some research capabilities… Speaking of which, isn’t this Ruined Tower beneath our feet actually a Mage Tower? Only Miracle Buildings could withstand the long passage of time without completely collapsing.”

“With a Mage Tower, my chances in the Lord trial have greatly improved… Hmm, I must gather the required Materials as soon as possible.”

The other treasure was also a rare-tier item.

A special artifact.

It was a lamp resembling a teapot with gold trim, though covered in dust and appearing quite aged. Were it not for the identification information, Mu Yuan would have likely mistaken it for an insignificant decorative piece.

「Mystic Crystal Lamp (Rare)」

「Description: Rub the crystal lamp three times to summon a second-rank Mystic, which will serve the user.」

「Note: Each summoning lasts up to 30 minutes. Remaining uses: 2/3.」

Mystics were rare three-star military units.

Of course, Mu Yuan wasn’t particularly concerned about rarity – after all, Deadbone was also a rare three-star unit with three skills and one talent, boasting far superior configuration compared to other units of the same Rank.

However, no matter how powerful Deadbone was, he was only at zero Rank, level 6. Whether he could handle ordinary military units that had just reached Professional Tier remained uncertain.

Discussing quality without considering level only meant potential for the future.

The Mystic from the crystal lamp, however, was second Rank… what the Xuan Nation defined as an ‘Elite’ tier powerful unit – essentially a fully developed rare military unit.

“With this Mystic Crystal Lamp, I don’t need to worry too much about the wandering ogre to the north… After all, unlike the substandard gargoyles, the ogre isn’t dormant, and as a rare wild monster, it’s highly likely to have reached Professional Tier.”

“Of course, I can’t waste the precious crystal lamp uses on just any wild monster. As long as the ogre doesn’t come to bother us, we’ll wait until we’re strong enough to subdue it.”

“Most importantly, with this crystal lamp, I’ll be much safer in the Real World, no longer needing to worry excessively when selling items.”

“The only pity is that the crystal lamp only has two uses left, destined to be used only during the most critical moments.”

Mu Yuan thought with insatiable greed.

(End of Chapter)