If Marcus's magic power were compared to a Golden Sand Crystal, roughly three Marcus's worth of magic power would be close to the level of one Golden Sand Crystal.
At the bottom of the lake, there were a full seven such Sand Crystals, each possessing immense magic power!
After completely fusing, Marcus's magic power soared like a rocket.
"Since I have the magic crystal, I won't be polite about these gold sands."
Marcus murmured to himself, gently raising his hand.
The gold sand at the bottom of the lake, as if summoned, stirred the lake water, and strands of gold sand swirled upwards, like swallows returning to their nest, coming to Marcus's chest and merging into him.
Several minutes passed, and the bottom of the lake plunged into darkness; the gold sand that had originally covered the lakebed, sparkling brightly, had now completely disappeared.
Marcus smiled in the dark lake water, knowing that his future was bright!
All the gold sand from the lake bottom had been absorbed into the magic crystal within his body. He just needed to spend some time refining all this gold sand and fully integrating it with himself.
At that time, when casting spells with the gold sand, their power would multiply geometrically! His strength would also undergo a qualitative change!
His sand magic, and the sand he could control, was divided into three types.
The first type required him to materialize his magic power and mix it with the earth elemental magic power in the air, condensing sand for his use.
This method was relatively magic-power-saving and was the most commonly used approach.
The second type involved directly condensing magic power into sand using his own magic power, which was more convenient to control but consumed more magic power.
It was suitable for places where earth elemental magic power was relatively sparse.
The third type involved directly manipulating existing sand in the real world through magic power. This method saved the most magic power but was more dependent on the terrain.
It was only suitable for deserts or places with a lot of sand.
Now, Marcus had a large amount of gold sand, which was equivalent to carrying a massive amount of sand with him everywhere, like Gaara. A small portion of it had already completely fused with his flesh and soul.
Casting spells with this gold sand made their power several times stronger than before, and they were much easier to control, almost like an extension of his own arm.
"Ez, now, I should be able to help you, right?"
Marcus smiled happily. In the dark lake water, his smile was like a warm sun.
Golden sand appeared in the lake water again, and Marcus's figure transformed into a ball of gold sand, rushing towards the surface at an astonishing speed.
A huge splash rose from the center of the lake, like a high-spraying fountain.
A golden sand ball flew out from the top of the fountain, re-forming into Marcus's appearance in the sunlight.
The gushing lake water splashed towards the shore, where two figures, a man and a woman, stood by the lake.
"Hey, Marcus, you look like you had a good harvest!" Ezreal smiled and greeted Marcus in the sky.
"Such a powerful magic aura, Marcus, you've finally become something impressive," Cana also said, smiling and waving.
Marcus leaped, descending from the sky, and landed steadily in front of the two.
His vast magic aura was like a deep abyss, like an ocean—a magic power larger than Cana and Ezreal combined.
"Hey, Ez, Cana, have you been waiting for me here long?" Marcus asked, smiling.
Ezreal waved his hand, "Not too long."
Cana rolled her eyes, "Yes, only a mere twenty-two days."
"Huh? That long! I remember being knocked into the lake by a Stone Monkey beast, and then I came up very quickly." Marcus was surprised; he never imagined so much time had passed.
Though surprised, Marcus did not mention that he had been gravely injured and on the verge of death.
"The card containing your magic power sent out a distress signal, and Cana and I rushed in your direction immediately. I used Arcane Shift to teleport all the way here, arriving a little earlier than Cana."
"I didn't see the Stone Monkey you mentioned. But when I arrived, I sensed your magic power completely disappear, and then immediately after, I sensed your magic power again at the bottom of the lake."
"I dived into the lake and found that you had abandoned your physical body, merging your soul with the gold sand and Golden Sand Crystal at the bottom of the lake. This process was very dangerous, and I couldn't intervene at all, so I had to wait by the lake for you to slowly complete the fusion," Ezreal explained.
Cana said, "However, we didn't expect it to take so long, but it seems you had a great harvest, so it's fine."
"I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting so..." Marcus rubbed his head, feeling a bit awkward.
But his next words were interrupted by Cana and Ezreal.
"No need for such meaningless words; we are companions, after all." Cana patted Marcus's shoulder.
Marcus smiled and nodded, then looked at Ezreal.
"Ez, what about the mission...?"
"I found the ruins of the Alfred Family, but their magic-sealing stone count is too massive; I don't need that much," Ezreal, knowing what Marcus wanted to ask, explained.
"During the time you were recovering, I sent my Summoned Beast to explore the entire ruins. There were no signs of anyone living there, only palaces made of magic-sealing stone and the magic-sealing stone purification and manufacturing process inscribed on the Alfred Family's tombstone."
"Moreover, the legendary greatest masterpiece of the Alfred Family, the dragon scale magic-sealing stone! I also found it. However, it can only be fused with magic-sealing stone by using their family's specially made unsealing solution."
"Unsealing solution?" Marcus scratched his head.
"That's right. magic-sealing stone is essentially just an extremely hard stone with special magic power, but the effect of this magic power is to nullify other magic power."
"The Alfred Family called it Magic-Sealing Power!"
"The Alfred Family, using some unknown method, developed a special solution that could dissolve magic-sealing stone for a short period."
"In its dissolved state, the magic-sealing stone would become mercury-like, and the Magic-Sealing Power would temporarily become ineffective. During this time, its form could be freely shaped, and magic could also have an effect."
Ezreal spoke while drawing a circle with his left hand.
A white energy vortex appeared in the air. Ezreal reached in and took out a white jade scale, about the size of a fist, to show them both.
It was high noon, and the sun was bright.
The white jade scale in Ezreal's hand gleamed in the sunlight, crystal clear and free of impurities.
"Unfortunately, because too much time has passed, there is very little of the Alfred Family's unsealing solution left."
"This is a scale from the armor Alfred wore during his lifetime. I used all the unsealing solution to separate just this small piece."
"Don't underestimate this small piece. Cana and I, along with all our Summoned Beasts, cannot inflict even the slightest damage on this scale, whether with magic or physical attacks."
"I've written down the recipe for the unsealing solution, but many of the materials are hard to find, and the names of some materials have changed now, so it will probably take a while to gather them all."