Ethan walked for a while along the corridor of the forty-first layer, his gaze sweeping across the counters on both sides.
Most of the items sold on this layer were high-grade materials usable only by Second-Tier Wizards. There were also a few stalls selling spatial Wizardry Tools, but their quality wasn't particularly high.
On one stall lay several dark silver rings. The small crystal display beside them read: “Internal space of three thousand cubic meters, twenty magic crystals each.”
Another stall had several spatial belts hanging, priced at thirty-five magic crystals, with an internal space of five thousand cubic meters.
Ethan glanced at them and looked away.
Too small.
What he needed was higher-grade merchandise.
He walked along the corridor until he reached a teleportation node.
Pressing his access permit into the slot on the crystal display, the runes on its surface lit up in sequence from the edges to the center, condensing a brief line of text above his head.
“Please select the target spatial fold.”
“Layer fifty-five.”
The light of the runes on the crystal display suddenly paused, and then a new line of text popped up.
“Insufficient strength. Entry to layer fifty-five is prohibited.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
It actually had a strength requirement?
Just as he was about to retrieve his access permit, the text on the crystal display changed again.
“First-Tier Wizard's concealment capabilities are insufficient. You may spend 100 magic stones for the academy to conceal your presence, making you undetectable to anyone below a Fifth-Tier Wizard.”
The corner of Ethan's mouth twitched.
Well, well. One ring after another, is it?
He took out 100 magic stones and slapped them into the slot that popped out of the side of the crystal display.
The magic stones were instantly swallowed by an invisible force, vanishing into the depths of the slot.
Immediately after, an extremely faint silver-gray light membrane enveloped him completely.
The moment the light membrane touched his skin, Ethan felt a peculiar energy field envelop his entire body.
It felt as though he were wrapped in an extremely thin curtain of water. There was no change in his surroundings, but he could sense that his breath, energy fluctuations, and even his very presence had been suppressed to the absolute minimum by some force.
The light of the teleportation array lit up.
When the feeling of solid ground returned, Ethan found himself standing in a much wider space.
The ceiling of layer fifty-five was at least three times higher than that of layer forty-seven. Countless fist-sized core crystals floated beneath the dome, the light patterns flowing within them far more brilliant than those on the lower layers, and the energy fluctuations they emitted were also much stronger.
There were no crowded stalls here, nor any bustling crowds.
In their place were individual display stands, each measuring ten meters square, with tabletops polished from single slabs of translucent, pale gold crystal.
The display stands were spaced at least twenty meters apart, with rings of translucent energy barriers standing between them to completely separate adjacent stands.
Standing beside the teleportation node, Ethan looked up at the map projection floating overhead.
The projection was translucent, its edges glowing with an extremely faint silver-white halo, clearly mapping out the layout of the entire area.
The Wizardry Tool Area, Potion Area, Material Area, Knowledge Area, and Special Items Area were each marked with motes of light of different colors.
Every single item was a rare treasure.
His gaze swept over the map. The items displayed on the stands in the Potion Area had price tags that made his skin crawl just looking at them.
A potion that directly increased mental power was priced at three hundred magic crystals per bottle.
A set of five composite toxins capable of instantly killing a Second-Tier lifeform was priced at eight hundred magic crystals.
There was even a defensive Wizardry Tool said to be capable of withstanding core-mantle temperatures for thirty years, with a price tag that soared directly to two thousand magic crystals.
He had to exert a great deal of effort to tear his gaze away from those items.
Business first.
He ran through the location of the Wizardry Tool Area in his mind and headed in that direction.
The Wizardry Tool Area was much larger than he had imagined.
The entire area was dedicated to spatial storage Wizardry Tools.
Standing at the entrance of the area, he swept his gaze forward.
The display stands stretched out row after row, extending to the very edge of his vision.
On each stand lay anywhere from dozens to over a hundred spatial storage Wizardry Tools.
Rings, belts, satchels, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and even storage buckles embedded in boots or storage pockets sewn into cloak linings.
The sheer variety of styles and materials was dizzying.
The crystal displays on the sides of the stands were carved with the detailed specifications of each spatial storage Wizardry Tool.
The internal capacity, retrieval speed, anti-interference rating, whether it came with defensive restrictions, whether it supported mental power locking, whether it had a self-destruct function, and the rank and signature of the refiner were all clearly listed.
He walked along the pathways between the display stands, his gaze sweeping across the crystal displays one by one.
A three-thousand-cubic-meter storage belt, a five-thousand-cubic-meter storage bracelet, an eight-thousand-cubic-meter storage satchel.
The further he walked, the higher the grade of the spatial storage Wizardry Tools, and the larger their internal space became.
Ten thousand cubic meters, twenty thousand cubic meters, fifty thousand cubic meters, and there was even a bracelet refined from a single solid piece of Void Crystal with an internal space of eighty thousand cubic meters, its price tag soaring directly to one thousand two hundred magic crystals.
He stopped in front of a display stand.
On the stand lay a row of dark silver rings, each with a small crystal display standing beside it.
His gaze swept across the crystal displays, finally landing on the ring at the very edge.
The ring was a uniform dark gray, devoid of any superfluous decoration. It had no embedded core crystals, no carved runes, and even the polishing marks on its surface had been deliberately preserved.
Placed among a pile of brilliant, glowing spatial storage Wizardry Tools, it looked so ordinary that it resembled a discarded scrap piece made by some apprentice practicing their craft.
The small crystal display beside it was carved with its specifications.
Internal space: ten thousand cubic meters.
Retrieval speed: 0.3 seconds.
Includes a one-time spatial jump with a distance of thirty kilometers and a random destination.
Anti-interference rating: Grade Three. Supports mental power locking. Unsigned refiner.
Price: 108 magic crystals.
Ethan's brow twitched.
Ten thousand cubic meters. Combined with the expansion from his passive ability, Void Space, the actual capacity would be ten million cubic meters.
Not small at all.
And that spatial jump function—a random destination within thirty kilometers could mean an extra life in a critical moment.
He reached out and tapped the ring.
A new line of runes popped up on the crystal display on the side of the stand: “Confirm purchase? 108 magic crystals.”
Ethan took out the magic crystals from his storage ring and slapped them into the slot that popped out of the side of the display stand.
The moment the magic crystals were swallowed, the translucent energy light membrane enveloping the display stand silently dissipated.
He picked up the ring and immediately bound it with a drop of his blood.
The moment the blood seeped into the ring's surface, a strange connection emerged in his consciousness.
Ten million cubic meters.
Ethan slipped the ring onto his left index finger.
A worthwhile purchase.
Rate on N.U.
