The Luminous Temple could be considered the sacred land of the ancient elves.
Even after more than 5,000 years, I could still perceive the sanctity and solemnity of this structure.
The entire building, protected by powerful magical barriers, emitted a deep blue radiance.
Teacher Bladiconde stepped forward, placed her hand against the temple, and began murmuring incantations.
The stone carvings at the main entrance then moved as if alive. They transformed from two elven guards standing on either side into a posture where each guard extended a hand, their palms facing each other.
Then, I saw Bladiconde place the orb she had used earlier on the seaweed onto the center where the two guards' opposing palms met on the carving.
With a series of rumbling, thunderous sounds, the great door of the temple opened from the inside out.
Upon entering the temple, I found it was completely different from the outside. The deep blue radiance outside seemed to have held back the seawater. Once inside, it felt like stepping into another world.
Outside was a shimmering, wave-rippled underwater world. Inside the temple was a dry ruin, with dust on the ground. Not even the seawater clinging to our bodies came in with us; even our hair was dry.
This truly was a miraculous temple. The magical attainments of the ancient elves were truly unfathomable. I simply couldn't fathom the magical principles behind this temple.
The temple was immense, likely comparable to the Silver Palace in the King of Asura's palace.
Above us was a massive dome constructed from white marble. On both sides were various stone carvings: a female mage in robes holding a staff, an elven archer in a cloak and form-fitting warrior attire, and an elven swordsman in ornate armor wielding a greatsword.
After walking along the stone-paved path for nearly ten minutes, Teacher Bladiconde finally led us into a grand hall. The script in the hall wasn't the Beast God Language used by the elves of the Great Forest, nor was it the human language used by the wood elves in Senge City of the Bihiel Kingdom. Teacher Bladiconde said this was Ancient Elvish, a language rarely used by elves nowadays, understood only by a few elves over ten thousand years old.
This grand hall was my destination: the Hall of Magical Arts.
In the hall stood several large stone carvings, each humanoid in shape. However, the carvings depicted no facial features or other specific body parts, only the outline of a human figure.
Various lines were carved onto these outlines, winding around the statues. Some lines coiled from head to toe, others encircled the body from left and right. It was dizzying to look at.
Teacher Bladiconde said, 'This is where you will study. The Water King-tier magic I learned is from this statue. Below it are inscribed the incantations required to cast this spell in conjunction with the magic lines. This magic requires understanding the magical pathways on the statue and using them in tandem with the incantation. You have ten days to learn here.
If you can't learn it, you cannot stay longer. We still need to retrieve the sacred relic.
As for the rest of you, don't even think about learning the magic here. Staring at it won't elicit any reaction. I'll take you to search for treasures instead.'
And so, I was left alone in this hall filled with stone carvings.
First, I found the statue Teacher mentioned, the one depicting the Water King-tier magic 'Abyssal Eternity,' and carefully observed the lines on it.
The entire statue was covered in fine lines, running from the top of the head to the left leg, then from the left leg to the left shoulder. The carving was densely packed with lines. I traced each pathway into my memory, comparing them with the magical pathways within my own body.
During this time, I slept very little, using all my willpower to memorize the tens of thousands of lines on the statue. Finally, after five days, I had completely mapped all the magical pathways from the statue in my mind. After getting a good night's sleep, I found another relatively intact statue to study. This time, I didn't know what magic I was learning, so I could only rely on luck.
The ten days passed quickly. I remained immersed in the state of learning magic until my teammates and Teacher Bladiconde returned to find me.
'Dorin, how did it go? How is your learning? Can you cast Abyssal Eternity? If you haven't finished, there's no more time. I must quickly open the temple's inner sanctum and take the sacred relic. Otherwise, if we wait too long and the Merfolk send their powerful individuals or an army, we won't be able to escape.'
'Teacher, I've already learned it. We can go retrieve the sacred relic now.'
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