Chapter 124: The Crystal

"Could it really be possible?" Hughes mused, looking at the familiar scene unfolding before him.

Sure enough, the vertical pupil appeared once more. However, unlike moments ago, a ring of red markings had emerged in the center of the purple slit. Within Hughes, a sensation of alternating cold and heat surged, two distinct sensations spreading throughout his body.

"Beep! Host has completed one cycle of the Advanced Meditation Technique: Dark Fire Candlelight. Elementalization of the spirit: Fire Element progress increased by 0.001%!"

"It actually works!" Hughes was ecstatic upon hearing the chip’s notification. The two meditation techniques could truly coexist.

"Chip! Did my spiritual power not increase?" Hughes’s excitement was quickly replaced by confusion; this meditation session had yielded no growth in his total spiritual power.

"Beep! No fluctuations in the host’s spiritual power detected!"

"Could it be that meditating on the Abyss Force alone increases spiritual power, while combining the two only advances the progress of elementalization?" The more Hughes thought about it, the more convinced he became that his hypothesis was correct.

"That complicates things..." Hughes rubbed his temples, staring at the data.

Early the next morning, Hughes was awakened by the alarm of his defensive wizard array. Upon stepping outside, he found Jelin waiting by the villa. It was nothing serious; Jelin had simply come to inform Hughes that he would be away for a while and to provide him with some magic stones. Hughes did not refuse; he was already deep in debt, and a little more made no difference.

The two exchanged their personal wizard sigils, which were used for convenient communication. Every newly promoted wizard designed a unique sigil, serving both as a means of contact and a personal emblem. Hughes had designed his in the shape of an eye with a six-pointed snowflake at the center. Jelin’s sigil took the form of a crimson crow. These sigils had a limited range, much like Hughes’s previous messenger bracelet; once outside that range, contact would be lost.

After the exchange, Jelin hurried away. Hughes looked around his surroundings and decided to explore the City of Holy Circles. The city was adorned with magnificent decorations, every detail reflecting the status and power of its wizard inhabitants. Thanks to Lorina, Hughes had already had the chip record a map of the city while choosing his apartment yesterday.

Following the chip’s guidance, Hughes soon arrived at a passageway. Seeing the guards stationed there, he approached confidently.

"My lord! This is the trading district. Please present your identification if you wish to enter!" the guard said politely.

Hughes silently flashed his ring. Seeing it, the guards stepped aside, watching with respectful gazes as he walked into the passage.

After walking through a long corridor, Hughes finally reached the trading district. Observing the wizards coming and going, he sensed that all of them were official wizards; there was not a single apprentice in sight, let alone an ordinary person.

"No wonder they have so many guards! There must be some great treasures here," Hughes thought, feeling a surge of anticipation.

The City of Holy Circles was known as the largest gathering place for wizards in the Lost Domain. It was said to house a vast majority of the region’s resources, with a endless variety of items that could certainly satisfy Hughes’s needs. He wandered the streets, overwhelmed by the sheer number of shops lining the thoroughfares.

"Have you heard? A large batch of energy crystals has appeared at the Public Center!"

"What?!"

As Hughes was examining the strange items displayed in the shop windows, two sharp exclamations caused the bustling street to fall momentarily silent. Immediately after, he saw many people rushing in one direction, fearing they might be too late. Some shopkeepers, upon hearing the news, began closing their doors, intending to head to the Public Center as well.

"What are they all going for?" Hughes muttered, watching the crowd thin out.

"They're going to see the energy crystals!" a white-bearded shopkeeper nearby replied, having overheard Hughes.

"Energy crystals?" Hughes looked at the man, puzzled.

"Heh, you must have been promoted to an official wizard recently!" The shopkeeper seemed to have seen right through him.

"Indeed, I was recently promoted and just arrived in the City of Holy Circles, so I am not familiar with many things," Hughes said with a self-deprecating smile, feigning ignorance.

"I knew it. Otherwise, how could you not know about energy crystals? You know about the elementalization of the spirit, right?" The shopkeeper, seeing that the street was empty and business was slow, seemed inclined to chat.

"I know that," Hughes nodded vigorously.

"Energy crystals are highly concentrated energy deposits. They only form in specific elemental hotspots. We wizards absorb these crystals to accelerate our elementalization process. Crystals of any element are rare, especially those of the more obscure attributes, which are almost impossible to find. That’s why everyone is rushing to the Public Center to see if there’s anything compatible with their own affinity."

"There's such a thing?" Hughes felt as if the problem of his elementalization progress might finally be solved. "Are Thunder Element crystals common?" he asked curiously.

"So you’re a Thunder Element user, kid?" The shopkeeper looked at him with surprise. "Thunder is one of those obscure elements. I’ve been here for two hundred years, and I’ve only seen them a handful of times."

"You’re joking!" Hughes found it hard to believe. He knew the Thunder Element was rare, but only a few times in two centuries seemed like an exaggeration.

"Why would I lie to you? Let alone Thunder, every type of crystal is rare. The most common is the Fire Element, but the demand is so high that they are snatched up the moment they appear." Seeing a potential customer approach, the shopkeeper stopped talking to Hughes.

"This is going to be difficult," Hughes thought, considering whether he should give up on the Thunder Element. "Still, I might as well take a look."

He made his way to the Public Center, which was actually a vast plaza. At its center floated several crystal spheres, each over a person’s height. Many wizards stood around them, placing their hands on the spheres to sense the information within.

After watching for a while, Hughes found a spot and stepped forward, placing his hand on a sphere. A cold sensation washed over him, and he felt a thread of spiritual power钻ing into his palm.

"Beep! Data link interface detected. Connect?"

"Yes!" Hughes waited in anticipation.

As he agreed, a vast influx of text and images flooded his mind, coalescing into a massive book with a golden cover.

"Search: Thunder Element energy crystals!" Hughes skipped the table of contents and went straight to the energy crystals.

"Target not found!"

"How about Ice Element?" Since there were no Thunder crystals, Hughes had to settle for a substitute.

"Shop selling: Ice Element crystals (400g), Ghost-face Grass, Scarlet Rose..."

"Wanted: Dragon-lizard egg. Offering: Ice Element crystals (200g), one low-level enchanted item, one medium-grade spirit potion..."

There were quite a few listings for Ice-attribute items. Hughes scanned the directory and realized that Ice resources were relatively abundant.