The invisible staircase was not a straight path, but twisted irregularly as it went up. Although each section was connected to each other, the degree of twisting of the staircase was far beyond Shade's imagination. They walked very slowly, and the witch behind them pulled the hem of Shade's shirt and lowered her head to pay attention to where his feet stepped.
When Shade tried to copy the appearance of the twisted staircase in his mind, the spiral and flipping that completely violated normal human thinking made Shade groan and almost fall down. The construction of this staircase used extremely terrifying knowledge, and the shape of this staircase itself was part of the knowledge.
The height of the first floor of the tower was much higher than it looked from the outside. The three of them walked up at least twice the height of the first floor as estimated from the outside, but still could not see the second floor.
As they climbed higher, the influence of the existence of the gods on mortals was already too much for Miss Theresa to bear. The young witch didn't want to become a burden to her companions, but in the end she had to be supported by Miss Violet.
They continued to move upwards like this, and at the 14th minute of Shad's lost time adventure, they finally saw a floating bronze door appearing at a higher place.
After walking up the invisible staircase carefully, they finally reached the door. Both Shade and Violet breathed a sigh of relief.
"God is on the second floor behind the door. I'm going to open the door now."
Xia De gave a warning and pushed the door open. The gods did not set any test for opening the door. Xia De walked into the door without hesitation and found that he was standing on solid ground. This feeling made him feel very good. When he thought about having to take the stairs when leaving, he felt a little upset.
I memorized the locations of all the staircases.
Xia De's mood immediately improved a lot.
The environment on the second floor of the tower is very interesting. The scene on the first floor is a misty lake, and the second floor is the bank of a stream.
There is still mist here, with the shore on one side and the stream on the other. The shore is a pebble beach, and the water flows from one direction to the other. If you look closely, you can't tell the source of the water at all.
But there was no sign of the wise man whose spirit was uncertain, either on the pebbles or on the water.
Miss Violet supported Miss Theresa and stood behind Shade. The Great Witch looked at the golden marks on Shade's body and resisted the urge to touch it:
"God, is he on the third floor?"
"No, right here."
Shade said, and then stretched out his hand:
"I think I know what's going on. The departed ancient wisdom gods have something to do with water, so... give me all your papers."
The two papers of the witches were handed to Shade, who then took out his own paper and went to the stream under the gaze of the witches.
He bent down and threw Miss Violet's paper on modifying the fire-resistant potion into the water. It floated away from the shore and gradually sank into the water.
"Congratulations, Miss Violet."
Shade said softly, and the Witch Emperor behind him forced a smile.
He bent down and threw Miss Theresa's Graduation Thesis Chapter 3 into the water. It floated away from the shore, but then floated back.
"Um... ..Ms. Theresa, I'm afraid your graduation thesis is not up to standard."
The witch from the Sukses Higher Medical School was supported by her aunt and felt that she was extremely unlucky.
He bent down and threw his math paper into the water. It floated away from the shore and swirled into the water.
"Thank you Miss Sylvia!"
Shade praised quietly in his heart, picked up Miss Theresa's paper, returned to the witches, and returned the paper to her. The young witch with ten rings took the slightly wet paper with a sad face, and Shade seemed to see Miss Violet smile.
The stream, which was originally just a trickle, began to ripple after Shade stepped back. After a moment, as a vortex appeared on the surface of the stream, the god slowly rose from the vortex.
She stood barefoot in the vortex, wearing a purple robe. The saint still looked like the blonde with black eyes, with a pointed hat on her head and a pair of glasses with a pentagram on the left and an equilateral triangle on the right.
In each of her hands she held two papers, the brainchild of Shad and Miss Violet.
“Oh my God~”
The three of them greeted the god, and the god with a smile on his face said above the stream:
"You have brought your own wisdom and completed the first test."
The two papers disappeared in streams of light, and Shade and Miss Violet breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great One, may I ask what our second test is?"
Xia De asked softly, but the saint shook his head slightly:
"My test only requires one crystal of wisdom, but you brought two. You deserve an extra reward before I give you a second test."
Xia De blinked, realizing that this was an extra reward for exceeding the test requirements:
"Excuse me, what do you want to give us?"
The witches were still expecting the gods to tell them the content of the reward, but they didn't expect that Shade would be so bold as to ask.
The god was emitting a faint light, and asked him on the stream, with a gentle voice so sacred:
"Before I give you any additional gifts, please answer me, what is wisdom like?"
This question did not stump Shade at all:
"Water. Wisdom is as formless as water, yet like water it can shape everything."
Whether it was the god in front of him, the "Lady of the Lake" of the Sixth Epoch, or the test of the chosen one, they were all accompanied by water when they appeared. Although Shade had never explored the mystery, when the god asked a question, he got the answer immediately.
"Yes, wisdom is like flowing water, it never stops."
With a long sigh from the god, three drops of transparent water flew to the foreheads of the three people. No one stopped the water drops, and as the water drops landed on their brows, the cool feeling made the three people feel like they had just woken up from a dream. A huge amount of spirits accompanied by miracle elements flowed into the body and soul, which did not bring Shade new spirit runes or spells, but he received a blessing.
This is not a temporary blessing like the "verdant blessing" given by the Father of Infinite Trees, but a permanent blessing like the "God of Gamblers' blessing".
"The blessing of the wise. It cannot improve your wisdom, nor can it give you unique talents beyond ordinary people. But when you are confused or tempted, you can wake up faster. The wise never give power directly, they only give guidance."
This is equivalent to resisting various negative mental states such as "charm", "confusion" and "chaos". Although it is not complete resistance, it is always gratifying to be able to increase resistance unconditionally.
"Thank you for your generosity, God."
The three of them thanked God together. Miss Violet was happy that she received God's blessing without doing almost anything; Miss Theresa was a little worried that she did not make any contribution; and Shad realized that although God gave specific tests, there were rewards for exceeding the test.
This made him even more enthusiastic about the key from the year 5177 of the Fifth Era.
God's voice continues:
"For your second test, offer a sacrifice that will satisfy me."
Xia De asked respectfully:
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"water."
"What do you want?"
"Think about it yourself."
"How can I satisfy you?"
“This requires your wisdom.”
Xia De took a deep breath, knowing that he would need to go to the Sixth Epoch again to search:
"God, please give us some time. Also, can you tell us about the third test?"
The next time will be his third time using this time key. If the third test he learns about next time cannot be completed immediately, then he will be in big trouble.
"Only after completing the second test can you learn about the third test."
The god said, and when he saw that Shade did not continue to ask, he followed the whirlpool and disappeared in the mist on the surface of the stream. The stream returned to calm, leaving only three people standing by the stream.
The tower was not a good place to discuss things, so the three of them left the tower first and started discussing things after they got outside. It was already the 26th minute since Shade came here, and it seemed that he still couldn't return to the camp with the witches this time.
"Does the book record what kind of sacrifices the followers of this great man usually offer?"
Miss Theresa was still resting. Seeing that Miss Violet had recovered, Shade immediately asked. The Witch Queen came to the Lost Lake in the Broken Isles with preparation. She must have investigated this god in advance.
"Clear lake water, morning dew, and the tears of a newborn baby."
Miss Violet said that the good gods of the Fifth Epoch, like the five true gods of the Sixth Epoch, never demanded sacrifices from mortals. And if mortals really wanted to offer sacrifices, they would only use ordinary items that were not difficult to obtain.
For example, the offerings to the holy emblem of the Father of Peace are often the weapons of old soldiers or the feathers of fallen white doves; Mr. Dawn, whom the priests of Shad and Augustus believe in, accepts scriptures copied by mortals at dawn.
Only evil gods, including but not limited to the Lord of Blood Feast and that dishonorable vampire duke, would demand a living sacrifice.
While Shade and Miss Violet were talking, they heard Miss Theresa retching. The Witch Emperor frowned and checked her condition:
"The further we advance toward the upper levels of the tower, the stronger the influence of the Great One on mortals becomes. Theresa stayed on the second floor too long. She can't come with us next time."
"No, aunt, now that I'm here, how can I give up..."
Miss Theresa said with a painful look on her face that her body was not hurt, but her mental trauma was the key point.
"There will always be a way for your senior thesis."
Xia De advised, and then put his hand on Miss Theresa's forehead:
"Silver Moon's Gift from Scindia."
This healing ability specializes in mental healing. Although it can only be used at night, it is very effective for mental trauma. Miss Violet should have similar power, but she also needs to preserve her own spirit to prevent the next attack. Moreover, in the eyes of the thirteenth ring witch, this kind of injury that can be healed by time does not need treatment at all.
“It’s not about graduation thesis, and it’s certainly not about getting the blessing of God like this. Your Majesty, Violet, how many opportunities like this can a mortal get?”
Miss Theresa raised her head with difficulty. She grabbed Shade's hand and barely stood up straight, feeling the power of the silver light in Shade's right hand:
"Sir, I am different from you. I am just an ordinary witch."
Although his spirit is still weak, his eyes are still so powerful.
"Oh well."
Shad nodded.
"You're not going to try to persuade her anymore?"
Miss Violet asked with a smile, looking Shade up and down:
"I thought you were going to say life is more important."
“Life is important, but for some people, knowledge and exploration are more important. Sometimes you have to pay a price to see the scenery at a higher place, so I admire those brave and rational climbers. Although Miss Teresa has not graduated yet, she is also an adult. Why should I refute the choice she made for herself?”
Shade asked back. The witch with glasses who was being treated by Shade smiled faintly. Violet nodded slightly in surprise and raised her eyebrows.
"It's really surprising to hear this from a man. Oh, this is not sexism, it's just a summary of life experience. Yes, a brave and rational climber."
She stroked her cheek:
"A girl like her who doesn't have my beauty can only climb higher by pursuing truth and wisdom. Yes, Schultz, I will still take you with me next time, but you have to be prepared to not be able to come back."
Xia De looked at Miss Theresa's expression again... She didn't show any expression. Although the Witch Emperor of the Fifth Era was somewhat different from what Xia De had imagined, overall, she was indeed not much different from his imagination.
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