"What? I can't leave?"

Hearing the astonishment in the flame sprite's voice, Merlin asked in a hurry.

The flame sprite fell into a deep thought for a moment before saying, "You could go and give it a try. See if you can leave."

Merlin gave the flame sprite a suspicious look but he still turned around and darted into the hole, coming out on the first floor of the ancient tower.

There was not a single soul on the entire first floor. It was extremely quiet.

Immediately, Merlin came before that thick slab of stone door. Previously, Wizard Riesen had set down this stone door to trap Merlin in the ancient tower.

"Furious Flame!"

Merlin immediately cast Furious Flame. For a few moments, scorching high temperatures rose and even caused some explosions. Nevertheless, there was not the slightest bit of effect where the stone door was struck.

Hence, Merlin raised his hand and pointed at the stone door forcefully with his white finger.

"Swoosh!"

A chill suddenly flew toward the stone door, freezing it. After some strange cracking noises, the entire stone door was completely frozen solid.

"Bang!"

Merlin cast several Fireballs as well, blasting them violently upon the stone door. How horrifying was the chill of Glacial Finger? Even Third-level spells could not block it. However, the chill of Glacial Finger was absolutely helpless against this stone door now.

"Just as I'd expected, it won't break open."

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows tightly. He did not continue his attempts at blowing this stone door open because he knew that no matter what, he would not be able to blast it open.

Thus, Merlin returned to the underground and came before the flame-shaped statue.

"Flame sprite, is there a way to blow that stone door open?"

Merlin lowered his voice and asked. He had a sort of a vague and bad feeling about this.

"Blow the stone door open? Wizard Merlin, forget about ever blowing that stone door open. This ancient tower was built because Master had wanted to defend against a great enemy. Nobody knows how many Runic Magic Circles have been arranged in the entire ancient tower. That huge door has also been inlaid with countless Runic Magic Circles. Unless they're powerful Great Wizards, no one should even think about blowing this stone door open."

The flame sprite spoke slowly. Meanwhile, a change washed over Merlin's face immediately. He seemed to be very gloomy.

Only Great Wizards could blow the stone door open. Merlin had only seen Sixth-level Spell Casters so far even in the Dark Magic Region. He had never seen Seventh-level Spell Casters or above, what more the legendary Great Wizards.

Only a Great Wizard could blow that stone door open, so Merlin no longer had much hope in doing so.

The flame sprite saw Merlin's gloomy expression. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and said, "Wizard Merlin, if you wish to leave the ancient tower, you don't necessarily have to blow that stone door open!"

"Eh? Could it be that there are other passages leading out of the ancient tower?"

Merlin could sense the implied meaning of the flame sprite's words; thus, he made his inquiry hurriedly.

"Of course there are other ways to leave the ancient tower. Back then, while building this tower, Master had already considered sealing up all exits if powerful enemies were to come. Then, Master would leave the ancient tower by using the Runic Magic Circle that had been set in place beforehand."

"Then where's the Runic Magic Circle?"

Merlin's face lit up with delight. There was finally hope for him to leave.

However, the flame sprite shook its head and said, "For safety purposes, this Runic Magic Circle had been set by Master in a secret chamber. Only the successful cultivation of the first form of Fiery Collapse could grant entry into the secret chamber."

"The first form of Fiery Collapse? I can cultivate that right away!"

Hurriedly, Merlin commanded the Matrix. "Matrix, export all information about Fiery Collapse."

Very quickly, the requirements to cultivate Fiery Collapse appeared in Merlin's mind. What he needed first was a First-level spell like Furious Flame or Sea of Flames. As long as he possessed any one of these two spells, he would be able to cultivate Fiery Collapse smoothly.

Of course, other than the most basic requirement of a First-level spell, it also required some extremely precious treasures, like how it had been for Glacial Finger.

During the first stage of Glacial Finger, only one type of treasure – the hundred years' ice bone marrow, was required. This Fiery Collapse was much more complicated and needed a lot of treasures such as the hellfire essence and firestone. Merlin had never even heard of most of the treasures.

However, to a certain extent, the more treasures that were required for a Pandora Demon Ability, the greater its power would be if the cultivation was successful. It was clear which of them was stronger; Glacial Finger had only two stages but Fiery Collapse possessed three forms. Glacial Finger was merely a Pandora Demon Ability with an average power amongst the Pandora Demon Abilities and could not be compared to Fiery Collapse – not by a long shot.

"So much treasure... Flame sprite, didn't you say that the master of the ancient tower has left some treasure for cultivating Fiery Collapse in the ancient tower?"

The flame sprite nodded and said, "That's right. Back then, Master had left behind many treasures indeed. Only by staying in the ancient tower can one obtain these treasures. However, the treasures aren't so easy to get. Master had placed the treasures inside a secret chamber with a guardian keeping watch outside. You can only enter the secret chamber and acquire the treasures left behind by Master if you defeat the guardian."

"So, I'd still need to defeat the guardian before I can get the treasure?"

Merlin frowned. The master of this ancient tower was truly cautious.

"That's right. You must defeat the guardian to get the treasures! Back then, Master had left suddenly, as though he had a premonition about something. That's why he'd set a few secret chambers carefully. After all, Fiery Collapse was the result of Master's lifelong blood, sweat, and tears. One would have to be more powerful than the average Spell Caster to be Master's successor!"

The flame sprite spoke slowly.

Merlin nodded. It seemed that the master of this ancient tower used to be a mighty Spell Caster. He had suddenly left for unknown reasons, but Fiery Collapse was the fruit of his lifelong labor; he would not pass it on easily.

Therefore, he had only left the cultivation method for Fiery Collapse but some of the treasures for cultivating Fiery Collapse had been placed in a secret chamber in the ancient tower. If he could not obtain the treasures in the secret chamber, getting the cultivation method for Fiery Collapse would still be useless.

For example, Wizard Riesen had done all that he could think of but he had not expected that he would not be able to cultivate Fiery Collapse after obtaining it. It was like receiving a piece of blank paper which was completely useless.

"Alright, flame sprite, bring me to the secret chamber!"

Merlin took a deep breath and spoke to the flame sprite. He was confident of himself. Merlin had already constructed five First-level spells other than Dark Light Realm, which was enough for him to fight some Second-level Spell Casters. In addition, he also had Enhancing casting tools, and his Defensive spells were not weaker than those of some Third-level Spell Casters.

He also had Glacial Finger, which was completely capable of defeating Third-level Spell Casters. That was why, when it came to facing the guardian set by the master of the ancient tower, Merlin was very confident that he could defeat the guardian and obtain the treasures left behind by the master of the ancient tower.

The flame sprite nodded. Thereafter, slivers of peculiar mind fluctuation appeared on its body.

Then, there was a rumble.

In the vast hall, a thick stone door was slowly rising from behind the flame-shaped statue, revealing a spacious room inside.

The flame sprite opened its mouth and spoke slowly, "Wizard Merlin, the secret chamber is inside. However, if you're no match for the guardian, all you have to do is leave the secret chamber, and the guardian will stop attacking you. Remember, if you can't defeat it the first time, you can try a second time or a third. If you're killed by the guardian, you'd never have another chance."

Merlin nodded, making a mental note of the flame sprite's words. Following which, he immediately entered the secret chamber.

In the secret chamber, Merlin could see that the inside of the room was empty and extremely spacious. In a corner of the secret chamber was a strange creature with a completely white body. It looked like a beautiful rabbit.

"Finally, someone has come... Young Spell Caster, I'm a follower of the great Wizard Dowland. You may call me Lister."

This strange creature that looked suspiciously like a "rabbit" could even speak a human language. It was extremely mystical.

Merlin knew that Wizard Dowland was the name of the master of the ancient tower, and this strange creature that looked suspiciously like a "rabbit" was rather complicated. It could look non-frightening at all, but Merlin could sense strong Ice-type Elemental fluctuation from its body.

A realization flashed through Merlin's mind instantly. Immediately, he knew the identity of this being who looked suspiciously like a "rabbit". It was an Elemental Monster that had evolved into an Elemental Being!

Only Elemental Beings could control Elements with such ease. Even the Spell Models for Frigid Ice and Frost in Merlin's body had been unable to absorb any Ice Elements when he entered this room. All of them had been forcefully "robbed" by this "rabbit" Elemental Being.

This was also the frightening thing about Elemental Beings. Back then, the silver-haired old man had wanted to evolve the Dark Vampire Bats into Elemental Beings. If the evolution had succeeded, the powers of those Elemental Beings would immediately increase by two-fold and would be on par with at least Third-level Spell Casters.

In fact, this "rabbit' Elemental Being's powers could have already surpassed those of a typical Third-level Spell Caster. Merlin could even feel a strong threat emanating off its body.

"Guardian Monument!"

Carelessness was something Merlin did not dare to risk. Instantly, he used the Enhancing casting tools to release the strengthened version of Guardian Monument. Merlin was extremely cautious in facing this "rabbit" Elemental Being.

Seeing the dusky light glowing from the stone monument on Merlin's body, this "rabbit" Elemental Being suddenly stood up. For a moment, its body began to grow; both its legs started to straighten up and became incomparably robust and strong.

Meanwhile, its white fur also began to transform; half of it turned black. A pair of sharp claws appeared, emanating a chill light. All the Ice Elements in the room had completely converged around the body of this "rabbit" Elemental Being.

"Pandora Demon Ability, Glacial Finger!"

Merlin did not hesitate; he immediately displayed his most powerful ability. Elemental Beings were not easy to cope with as they were on par with at least Third-level Spell Casters. The other spells Merlin possessed were no match at all for this "rabbit" guardian.

"Swoosh!"

Instantly, a burst of chill shot toward the "rabbit" guardian. At first, this big and tall "rabbit" had a rather callous attitude. However, its expression changed completely after it felt the chill, which it dodged with great agility.

"Crack."

The chill of Glacial Finger caused all the walls of the secret chamber to be completely frozen solid.

"Pandora Demon Ability, you've actually cultivated a type of Pandora Demon Ability! Hehe, but it's no use, you're too slow!"

The "rabbit" guardian could recognize immediately that Glacial Finger displayed by Merlin was a Pandora Demon Ability. Nevertheless, it did not look frightened at all. Instead, it could hardly sit still from eagerness and had a sheer excitement on its face.

"Bang!"

With both legs, the "rabbit" guardian gave a vicious kick. Instantly, its body became a blur; in the blink of an eye, it disappeared on the spot. All of that happened at a speed which even Merlin's strengthened version of Wind of Freedom would not be able to compete with.

It was no surprise that the "rabbit" guardian was not afraid of Merlin's Glacial Finger because it moved at such a high speed. It made it as if it was a joke for Merlin if he possessed a stronger Pandora Demon Ability if he was unable to bind the "rabbit" guardian.

The "rabbit" guardian moved extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it had come before Merlin. Following which, its body seemed to inflate at an explosive rate once again, growing to a height of more than three feet, turning into a horrifying monster.

Gigantic, sharp claws struck down viciously toward Merlin's head.