Richard walked over to the black stone platform and carefully probed the withered arm within the force field using his spiritual energy.
The moment his spiritual energy touched the arm, an instinctual fear surged through him.
This was the most primal reaction of a lower creature facing a higher one.
There was no mistake—this was the arm of a World Master.
The withered arm looked similar to a human hand, but it was longer and more robust.
Even in its desiccated state, Richard could tell how formidable this arm must have been in its prime.
Richard's spiritual energy couldn't penetrate the interior of the withered arm, so he had no way of knowing what lay inside.
But this was enough.
Richard decided that this would be the first item he would choose.
Preparing himself, Richard's magic power began to circulate rapidly. Black scales spread from his chest, quickly covering his entire body.
He took out two metal ingots from his pocket and fashioned a gold-veined iron box, just the right size to hold the arm.
Then, taking a deep breath, Richard carefully placed the arm into the box within the force field.
After sealing the box, Richard let out a slight sigh of relief and then lifted it with both hands.
The moment the box left the force field, Richard's body was instantly overwhelmed by extreme panic.
His limbs began to move uncontrollably, and his body started to tremble involuntarily.
Thud.
Richard lost his balance and collided stiffly with the black stone platform.
This instinctual fear quickly spread from his body to his soul, but a white light appeared deep within Richard's soul, protecting his spirit.
The Medal of Courage ensured that Richard's mind remained untainted by fear.
The box was heavy, with the withered arm inside accounting for most of its weight.
In his state of extreme panic, Richard soon dropped the box to the ground.
With a thought, Richard summoned a magical hand, which grasped the box and placed it into his Magic Pocket.
The moment the box entered the Magic Pocket, the fear that had enveloped Richard's heart dissipated instantly.
Richard let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
In just a few short seconds, Richard had become drenched in sweat, his undershirt so wet it could have been wrung out.
"So this is the true body of a World Master. The difference between this and the flesh fragments I obtained before is immense," Richard said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his voice tinged with both relief and excitement.
The greater the pressure this arm exerted, the more valuable it was.
Back when he had obtained the flesh tentacle, its essence had been completely devoured by the World Guardian. What remained held no intimidation for him, even during his apprentice days.
Yet, even then, the flesh tentacle had been a rare treasure in Richard's possession.
Now, with this arm exerting such immense pressure, its value was undoubtedly far greater than that of the tentacle he had obtained years ago.
"I hope this arm will bring me a pleasant surprise."
After resting for a while, Richard stood up and continued exploring the warehouse.
The Great Wizard of the Black Tower's collection was diverse, ranging from ores to alien corpses, to Oddities and various alien artifacts. It was a veritable treasure trove.
Richard wandered for a long time, nearly overwhelmed by the sheer variety of items in the warehouse.
Despite this, Richard stuck to his principle: if it could be bought outside, he wouldn't choose it.
Soon, three hours passed, and the Wizards in the warehouse were instantly teleported away.
In an instant, Richard felt the world spin around him, the surroundings turning into large blocks of color.
When his vision returned to normal, the first thing Richard saw was the face of the Great Wizard of the Black Tower.
"Kid, you're quite lucky," the Great Wizard said, staring at Richard with a hint of frustration.
Richard stiffened, quickly recalling the three items he had chosen, and immediately zeroed in on the arm of the World Master.
The Great Wizard had fought countless battles over the years, and he must have encountered many World Masters.
The fact that he had specifically collected this arm meant it must hold unique value.
"Uh... should I go back and exchange it?" Richard tentatively asked.
"No need," the Great Wizard said with a sigh. "I said you could take whatever you wanted, and I meant it.
If I, as the Dean, don't keep my word, how can I expect Wizards to work for me in the future?"
Richard swallowed hard, unsure whether to keep the arm or not.
It seemed he had accidentally chosen the Dean's prized possession.
"If I recall correctly, you're an Alchemist Wizard, right? Little Ellie's staff was crafted by you," the Great Wizard said.
Richard nodded. "Yes, Dean, you remember correctly."
"Being an Alchemist Wizard makes things easier," the Great Wizard said, snapping his fingers. Two small fairies suddenly appeared, carrying a thin booklet from the bookshelf and presenting it to Richard.
"Take this. It's some of my rough research on that arm."
Then, the Great Wizard began to explain the origin of the arm.
"This arm was my first independent war trophy after becoming a Great Wizard.
At the time, I encountered a four-armed orc. That orc was incredibly strong, with a highly robust physique and four arms that could cast four Elemental Spells.
That battle was tough; I almost died there."
The Great Wizard's face showed a hint of nostalgia.
"He was a good opponent, with excellent combat skills. The combination of his spells and physical techniques was refreshing.
Although we were fighting to the death, we both enjoyed it immensely.
After defeating him, I cremated his body and scattered his ashes on the grasslands where he lived. His four arms, however, I kept as trophies.
Three of them I gave away to repay favors.
This is the last one, and now you've taken it."
The Great Wizard chuckled ruefully, then asked Richard, "I remember giving you a Secret Realm Fragment once, didn't I?"
"Yes, Dean, you gave me a Secret Realm Fragment during the Bloody Exam."
The Great Wizard nodded. "Then this is simple."
With that, the Great Wizard pulled out several crystal balls from his pocket, suspending them in the air.
Each crystal ball contained a hazy light.
"Susanna's report emphasized your contributions and suggested I reward you more generously.
Honestly, this kid really doesn't mind spending her family's wealth.
But I just checked, and it turns out that the Magic Support Vehicle the White Wizard Legion has been buying recently was designed by you.
That makes you definitely worth investing in.
Having such a big shot in our ranks, and I didn't even know—what a failure I am as a Dean."
Richard said nervously, "Dean, you're too kind. I'm no big shot, just a small Wizard unworthy of your attention."
The Great Wizard waved his hand, signaling Richard not to be so modest.
"You're undeniably outstanding, no need to be humble."
Then, he pointed at the floating crystal balls.
"Some of these crystal balls contain Secret Realm Fragments, others contain small Secret Realms. These fragments are leftovers from when I pieced together Secret Realms, and the small ones are of lower quality, so I didn't bother with them.
All these add up to about twenty square kilometers, though the quality varies.
You might find Secret Realms fascinating, but for us, unless it's a special one, they're just ordinary.
I'll give these to you, but I won't help with the piecing.
Many Wizard Chambers of Commerce offer Secret Realm piecing services. You can spend some money to have them do it for you. It might be pricey, but you can afford it."
Richard nodded repeatedly, committing this to memory.
The Great Wizard continued, "You have good potential and great luck, much like me when I was young. But if you want to become a Great Wizard, I suggest you hand over your business to your mentor.
Resources are important, but knowledge is even more so.
The battlefield of the Great Wizard trial is so dangerous that even Great Wizards can fall, let alone Third Circle Wizards like you.
So, you'd better focus your energy on exploring knowledge."
Without waiting for Richard's response, the Great Wizard snapped his fingers and teleported Richard outside the study.
Outside the study, Eric and Susanna were waiting for Richard.
The other Wizards who had entered the warehouse had been teleported directly to the 300th floor, but Richard had been taken to the study.
"Kid, how was your haul?" Susanna asked.
Richard bowed slightly to Susanna. "Thank you, Master. The Dean gave me quite a generous reward.
I feel a bit unworthy."
"You deserve it," Susanna said, waving her hand. "Besides, I doubt the Dean gave you anything too valuable, probably just some Secret Realm Fragments.
For Wizards at his level, those are about as valuable as Magic Essence is to us."
"I think if you feel unworthy, you could always make a donation to the Academy," Eric suddenly interjected.
The two turned to Eric, and Susanna asked, "Didn't the Dean provide funding for the Academy?"
Eric sighed deeply and said, "You don't handle the finances, so you wouldn't know.
Just the commissions for this war alone cost over eighty million Magic Essence. Add in the expenses for rebuilding the Academy and the Wizards' compensation, and we're down nearly a hundred million Magic Essence.
And the world the Dean recently conquered is a slave world, with low resource output and a long return period.
It's been over two hundred years, and we've only recouped a third of the expenses from the last war.
While the Academy's funds are still sufficient for now, I think it's best to save where we can."
Richard was unaware of the Academy's financial situation, but since Eric had brought it up, Richard knew he had to contribute.
"Ten thousand Magic Essence," Richard said. "I'll donate ten thousand Magic Essence to the Academy."
"Deal!"
Eric's expression instantly shifted from gloom to delight.
He walked over to Richard, patted him on the back, and said with a broad smile, "You're always so generous, Richard. That old miser Jolod only agreed to donate five thousand Magic Essence after I hounded him for ages.
Don't worry, your contribution won't go unnoticed. If you ever run into trouble, just come to the Academy.
The Academy has been around for so long and produced so many Wizards; we can definitely help you out."
Richard nodded. "Thank you, Master."
The three then parted ways to attend to their own affairs.
Richard returned to the room on the 56th floor where he had lived during his apprentice days. As soon as he entered, he opened a Mystic Realm Rift.
Holding the crystal balls containing the Secret Realm Fragments, Richard stepped into the Secret Realm and called out excitedly to the World Mushroom:
"World Mushroom, look at the treasures I've brought you!"