Chapter 1035 - 860: Level 3 Middle Stage

Duke received Serafina’s message in advance, so he arrived early at the meeting hall in the main building of the Six-Ring Tower specifically used for receiving foreign guests.

This meeting hall is located on the upper-mid level of the tower, with walls still made of the Six-Ring Tower’s signature silver-blue translucent crystal, and the dome adorned with several arcane magic lamps, casting gentle and bright light.

The furnishings in the hall are simple yet solemn, with a long table carved from a whole slab of silver-gray stone in the center, and a few high-back chairs on each side; tea has already been prepared on the table.

He hadn’t waited long when the hall door was pushed open from the outside.

Two reception wizards from the Six-Ring Tower’s internal affairs department walked in first, stepping aside to the door, performing a standard sea race diplomatic gesture.

Then Duke saw Serafina walk in.

Today she wore an extremely formal dark blue court gown, with the ancient emblem of the Sea Race Royal Family embroidered on the hem; her long hair still cascaded down her shoulders, but a tiny blue gemstone crystal now adorned her forehead, gleaming with a deep glow under the soft lighting of the meeting hall.

Her steps were composed and elegant, leaving the few deep sea maidens behind her at the door, she entered the meeting hall alone, her gaze instantly landing on Duke, who had stood up beside the long table, with an unabashed smile playing at her lips.

The door of the meeting hall closed again.

Serafina walked to the opposite side of the long table, not sitting down, but simply resting her hands on the table edge, leaning slightly forward, her sapphire blue eyes carrying a mischievous glint as she looked at Duke.

With a thought, a palm-sized deep sea crystal stone box appeared in her hand.

Serafina placed the box on the long table, her fingertips lightly tracing the box’s surface, and the lid silently slid open. Duke’s gaze fell into the box, his pupils slightly contracting.

Inside, neatly arranged were dozens of Keys of Rules, each glowing with various colors, individually sealed in thumb-sized transparent crystal compartments, resembling a box of meticulously collected gemstones.

Fiery red, dark yellow, cyan-white, azure blue, there were six or seven Keys of Rules of each attribute, filling the crystal compartments completely.

However, the Light Attribute and Shadow Attribute were significantly rarer and totaled only four, lying alone in the innermost two rows of compartments.

"Light and Shadow Attribute Keys of Rules are indeed hard to find." Serafina rested her hands on the table edge, her tone carrying slight apology, "These two attributes’ rule forces are uncommon in the deep sea, I rummaged through several palace treasures and only managed to gather these.

But there’s plenty of wind, water, fire, earth attributes, you can use them first, if not enough, I’ll find a way to get more from other royal family stocks."

Duke gazed at the box full of Keys of Rules, somewhat stunned.

Having been in the Six-Ring Tower for so long, he knew all too well the value of such items.

A single Key of Rule represents the possibility for a Level 2 Peak Mage to ascend to Level 3, enough to make any power fight desperately over it.

And Serafina casually handed over thirty of them, including four virtually impossible to purchase from public channels on the Wizard Plane - Light and Shadow Attribute Keys of Rules.

The weight of this gift surpassed what the term "gesture of goodwill" could encompass.

"Thank you." Duke closed the crystal stone box, storing it away in his space ring, without further idle chatter.

The favor owed has become too large to clear shortly, instead of dwelling on it, it’d be better to focus energy on quickly enhancing strength.

The stronger his strength, the more he could repay Serafina in the future.

"No need to thank." Serafina smiled slightly, naturally looping her arm around his, "It’s rare for you to visit the Central Islands, take me around, won’t you? Every time I come, it’s for meetings, signing agreements, and then I leave, never having properly explored this place. What’s there to see in your Six-Ring Tower? Don’t tell me it’s just libraries and laboratories."

Duke led Serafina through several silver-blue crystal corridors, arriving at Silver Wing Plaza, the most bustling area open to foreign guests within the Six-Ring Tower’s public space.

In the center of the plaza, a circular fountain sprayed pale blue water columns, the droplets shattering mid-air into countless fine mist, forming a faint rainbow under the silver-blue sky.

Scattered around the fountain were several dynamic sculptures driven by magic, one of which is a constantly changing metallic nebula, while another is a flock of birds woven purely from Light Elements, circling slowly above the plaza.

On the edge of the plaza were several cafes and bookstores, with wizards sitting on outdoor chairs in small groups, some perusing newly purchased books, others conversing quietly.

From afar, occasional spatial fluctuations arrived from the Teleportation Hall direction, sending wizards just arrived from other continents to their respective floors.

Serafina, arm in arm with Duke, strolled along the plaza edge, her gaze lingered on every sculpture and store for quite a while, her sapphire eyes that had long grown tired of pearls and corals in the deep sea palace now sparkled with unabashed curiosity.

She asked Duke the name and meaning of every sculpture, then pulled him to look at the ancient books displayed in the bookstore window at the plaza edge, not forgetting to comment that although deep sea shell tomes last long, flipping them simply doesn’t match the convenience of these paper-made books.

Her tone was light and carefree as she spoke, without any airs of a Level 4 Sea Race Royal Family member, more like a girl from a remote island visiting a bustling city, filled with fresh wonder at everything on land.