I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Ding~

This crisp sound was so melodious in Lis's mind at that moment.

The system had displayed new information.

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[Detection: You have entered the special map "Sphinx Temple of the Wisdom God!"]

[A special task "The Trial of the Wisdom God Sphinx" has been triggered!]

[Objective: Pass the three trials set by the Wisdom God Sphinx and obtain the legacy of the Wisdom God]

[Reward: Unknown!]

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One could only say that the system's notification was timely, just like an alarm clock, awakening Lis from his slumber.

"Huh~"

Lis finally felt that sense of completeness, with no barrier between his body and consciousness.

He wiped the non-existent cold sweat and looked at the black palace floating in mid-air.

Is this the Dream World?

Indeed, it's magically bizarre!

Lis was aware that, as a Silver Rank Professional, especially a powerful and finely controlled Arcanist, such a situation should not be possible.

Even in his dreams, should he become conscious, he ought to be able to control his dream self.

After all, it was his own dream.

Unless~

The Dream Space I am currently in does not belong to me, but to someone else, perhaps that Wisdom God.

Lis felt like he had grasped the truth, and after moving his hands and feet a bit, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Indeed, in the Dream World, can I not bring my Magic Items and Equipment?

Lis was still wearing the Mercenary Leather Armor he had prepared, but his Shadow Talisman and Teleportation Ring were missing, leaving him with not a single item brought in.

At the same time, Lis also realized that his current body must have been newly formed in this Dream Space, although identical in physical features to his original body, its physical qualities were just at a normal human level.

The attribute data in his system panel remained unchanged, but all the attributes had turned into unviewable gray, as if sealed.

Similarly, this body did not contain any Extraordinary Power, meaning he was no longer the Silver Level Mage he used to be, except for the same mental strength and the system born with his soul, he was now a completely ordinary person.

It makes sense, as only his soul should have come to the Dream Space, while his body was likely still sleeping in the inn's bed.

Lis wasn't worried about his body encountering any problems, as he had already set up the necessary protective barriers before falling asleep.

After confirming his own status, Lis raised his head and carefully observed the palace not far off.

Is this the temple of the Wisdom God Sphinx?

The task had already provided basic hints; it appears that what the little boy said was actually true.

But it must not be the real Wisdom God, rather some identity of that Legendary Arcanist.

So, the Legendary Arcanist's name was Sphinx?

Why would he do this?

Wisdom God?

Is this some kind of arcane experiment?

Lis shook his head, guessing here was of no use.

He had a vague view just now and had not clearly seen his surroundings; now he took a careful look at the space he was in.

The palace high above was made of big black stone bricks which seemed to be the same kind used in Snow Ridge Town, all mined from Luoxue Mountain. The appearance of the palace was not luxurious, it could only be considered sturdy and simple. It was evident that the builders of the palace were not highly skilled and the materials were quite ordinary; the palace was merely a stack of stones and bricks. However, much thought must have been put into it, as the stones used were diligently polished, and simple engravings on the outer walls sketched out basic patterns, with an "unfurled scroll" emblem on the tightly shut main doors.

Under the reflection of the multicolored light, the entire black palace looked simple and elegant, simultaneously giving a feeling as if it had been washed by the sands of time.

No, this is a temple!

But it seemed more like an ancient church in style.

Lis turned his head to look behind him at the purple mist; he had just walked from this direction to the front of the palace. Now, within the mist, vague figures lingered; Lis also saw a small figure, seemingly a little boy squatting and crying on the ground.

Were these... the townspeople of Snow Ridge Town brought here by the purple mist into the Dream Space?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It seemed there was no danger to them.

After assessing his surroundings, Lis examined the black stone steps under his feet; unlike the temple, the steps' smooth edges and intersecting stony patterns proved they were formed from countless people treading and polishing them.

Just like the tiles in Snow Ridge Town's square!

The mystery deepened; this Dream Space indeed had a significant connection with Snow Ridge Town.

Lis nodded and no longer hesitated. He stepped forward and slowly ascended the steps toward the black temple.

The little boy had said he climbed all night and hadn't reached the temple by the time he woke up; could there be something special about this?

Lis constantly pondered while carefully observing his surroundings.

The hundreds of steps were nothing for the Silver Rank Lis, but now that he only had the physical strength of an ordinary person, he soon became a bit breathless.

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However, in the end, he managed to ascend the steps smoothly and stood in front of the black temple.

Could his guess be wrong, and the little boy simply didn't have the physical strength to walk up?

Lis shook his head and then prepared to push open the temple's main doors.

The stone doors looked very solid; he wondered if he had the strength to push them open.

Just as Lis touched the stone door, the scroll emblem on it lit up slightly, emitting a rainbow of lights.

Hum~

The two large doors slowly opened inward, revealing the interior of the temple to Lis.

The space inside the temple was not very large; several stone columns supported the entire building, the intermingled black and grey colors did not seem out of place. The sides of the temple had rows of rough wooden benches just like those in the church of Bright City.

Of course, what captured Lis's attention most was the statue at the very center of the temple.

It might be the only finely crafted item in the entire temple. The meticulously sculpted statue seemed to depict an old man, dressed in a simple wide-sleeved collarless robe that looked more like a simplified version of a Mage Robe. His white hair and beard spread across his chest, and his kind and benevolent face looked not like a so-called deity but more like a kind neighborly old man. However, his eyes seemed to contain all the wisdom of the world.

Lis felt as if the statue of the old man was watching him with a gentle smile.

No, how could the eyes of the statue be so lively?

Lis suddenly became alert, although so far, the temple had not given him any feeling of danger or eeriness.

Suddenly, a majestic voice echoed throughout the temple.

"Welcome, to the Temple of the Wisdom God!"