"Choose one, Servia."
"Consider it... an order that must be obeyed."
Gifts can be refused.
But orders cannot.
With that, Servia had no reason to hesitate any longer. She obediently stepped forward to Xu Xi and, following his command, began selecting the design of the spatial ring.
Some were simple and elegant, subtly accentuating beauty.
Others shimmered with a brilliance like scattered stars.
One bore a river of silver flowing across its band, perfectly capturing the depth of the night sky.
Yet another fused the natural aesthetic of the elves, with leaf-like engravings adorning the ring’s exquisite surface.
Servia stared in a daze.
Her eyes reflected the myriad designs before her.
After a while, she finally snapped out of her trance, her expression tinged with hesitation and apology. "Forgive me, Lord Wizard."
"I... haven’t worn jewelry in so long that I don’t know how to choose."
"In the past, my mother would always pick for me."
As she spoke,
her silver-clad fingertips hovered over the rings, as if yearning to touch them, yet afraid of damaging them, before slowly withdrawing.
"It’s alright, Servia. These rings are quite sturdy."
Xu Xi caught her retreating hand.
Encouraged by his warmth, the undead girl finally extended her skeletal fingers—devoid of tactile sensation—and gingerly picked up a ring.
After cycling through them several times,
she still couldn’t settle on a favorite.
Lifting her gaze, her eyes held a plea for help. "Lord Wizard, which one do you think is better?"
A warrior skilled in slaying the undead, yet unskilled in selecting jewelry.
Without a preference of her own, she instinctively relied on the person she trusted most—Xu Xi.
"If it were me..."
Xu Xi pondered,
his eyes sweeping over the rings of varying styles.
Finally, he picked up a silver band adorned with emerald accents—crafted in the elven tradition.
Forged from mithril and inlaid with crystallized tears of the Ancient Tree of Life, its gentle, all-encompassing energy could nourish and protect even the soulfire of an undead.
"Servia, how about this one?"
"Yes, it’s beautiful!"
Taking the ring Xu Xi had chosen, Servia seemed delighted—but soon, that joy gave way to confusion.
Her undead body was unlike the flesh of a living person.
If worn on her skeletal finger,
it would interfere with the armor she wore over it.
Yet if she tried to slip it on while armored,
the mismatched size would make it impossible to use properly.
"Lord Wizard..."
Once again, Servia turned to Xu Xi with a plea in her eyes.
"Let me handle it, Servia."
"Have you decided where to wear it?"
"On your left index finger?"
"Spatial rings actually have an adjustment function. Here, let me show you."
Responding to her dependence,
Xu Xi smiled and took her left hand.
Servia favored her right hand—both for wielding weapons and daily tasks.
Thus, she chose to wear the ring on her left, ensuring it wouldn’t interfere with her combat reflexes.
A gentle hold.
A careful slide.
With a pulse of soul energy, the ring’s inscribed spells activated.
A soft, radiant glow bloomed at her fingertip.
As Xu Xi secured the ring in place, it expanded seamlessly, fitting perfectly—neither loose around the bone beneath nor tight against the armor outside.
"Hmm, flawless."
Xu Xi nodded in satisfaction.
The girl before him was incomplete—bereft of a true living body, forced to rely on her armor to maintain the illusion of one.
Yet Xu Xi felt
the ring’s shimmering emerald light suited her eyes perfectly.
"It suits you, Servia."
He offered the praise sincerely.
Under a world shrouded by the Black Sun, where no light shone, two flecks of green glimmered faintly.
Servia lowered her gaze to the ring on her hand, her eyes reflecting its surface as it mirrored her gaze. In that dazzling illusion, it was as though her missing eye had been restored.
"...Thank you."
"...Lord Wizard, I love it."
"...It’s been so long since I last received a gift."
Her soulfire-mimicked voice
grew faint,
like a wisp of breeze carrying away the stifling heat of summer.
Her eyes curved slightly—still bearing the resilience Xu Xi remembered, yet softened now.
"Lord Wizard, how do I use it?"
"Servia, you only need to channel soul energy and mental focus to access its spatial storage, allowing you to store or retrieve items."
"That sounds incredible... Lord Wizard, if you ever need to store anything, please use my ring."
"No need, Servia. I have plenty of empty rings myself."
"I see..."
For a fleeting moment, Xu Xi thought he detected a hint of disappointment in the warrior’s voice.
Had he misheard?
Xu Xi turned his gaze to the darkness outside, resolving to find a suitable open area after leaving the Plateau of Gods—a place where he could construct his personal wizard tower.
In time,
this tower would become the vessel for his cross-dimensional research.
And at the same time,
a mobile fortress for harvesting soulfire and eradicating the undead.
"Harvesting soulfire alone is far too inefficient. With a wizard tower’s support, things will become much easier."
...
[Servia treasures the spatial ring you gave her.]
[You often catch glimpses of her]
[curled in a secluded corner, staring at the ring in quiet contemplation.]
[The resolve of the warrior Servia grows.]
[The fighting spirit of the warrior Servia grows.]
[The courage of the warrior Servia grows.]
["Lord Wizard, I... will never be afraid again!"]
[So declared the warrior Servia.]
[You are pleased by Servia’s growth, encouraging her to study further and imparting more second-circle spells.]
[The journey to the Plateau of Gods yielded a harvest far beyond your expectations. Not only did you gain insight into the state of the wizarding world, but you also acquired vast amounts of knowledge, spells, materials, and artifacts.]
[To the fourth, fifth, and sixth-circle wizards who departed,]
[these were mere trifles.]
[But to you, they were mountains of gold and silver—pivotal to your future strength.]
...
[A month passes.]
[Carried ceaselessly by the flight of the Netherfire Crow,]
[you and Servia descend into a sprawling canyon.]
[Here, the undead are sparse, the land remote—an ideal site for constructing a wizard tower.]
Typically,
wizard towers are built in secure, level, and elevated locations.
Take, for example, the White Raven Tower of the Aeoca Kingdom,
perched atop the realm’s highest peak.
This serves both as a symbol of a wizard’s status
and as a tactical advantage—striking from above is always easier.
Constructing a tower in a canyon is usually the least favorable choice.
However, Xu Xi’s tower was no ordinary structure—it was designed as a floating fortress, capable of movement, rendering the disadvantage moot.
"Large-scale levitation arrays, wind-element propulsion spells... Lifting a massive wizard tower is no simple task."
"Fortunately, I plundered the Plateau of Gods."
"I’m... slightly wealthy now."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
