The scene before him became increasingly surreal, as if space itself had suddenly folded in on itself.
Lynn instinctively blinked, but in the next moment, an entirely unfamiliar sight unfolded before his eyes.
He found himself standing in what appeared to be a laboratory, surrounded by various tables and metallic objects.
Scattered across the tabletops were unfinished robotic components, exposed connection points, wrenches, and other tools. The entire space was filled with the scent of industry and machinery.
"Where am I?"
Lynn was momentarily stunned, initially suspecting that he had been teleported somewhere.
However, he quickly focused his mental energy, attempting to grasp the situation around him.
As his concentration deepened, the scene before him gradually turned transparent, revealing a faint overlay.
Beyond that overlay, Lynn finally saw the truth.
He was still in his bedroom.
"It's a holographic projection!" Lynn was shocked.
He had always believed that something like "holographic projection" or a "virtual world" required complex technological devices to achieve.
Yet, the citizen's token in his hand had merely scanned his body and was now displaying such a vivid and immersive virtual world. The level of realism was astonishing.
"The immersion is so strong that even I, a full-fledged wizard, almost failed to notice..."
Lynn couldn't help but sigh.
Earlier, the phrase inscribed on the token"The future of the wizarding world is in your hands" had puzzled him. But now, he finally understood its true meaning.
A virtual world with such a deep level of immersion held limitless possibilities!
If this virtual world could completely replicate everything in the wizarding realm,
Then every wizard would be able to experience things here that they might never witness in the real world.
And since everything was virtual, it could serve as a training ground for combat techniques, a hub for information exchange...
The more Lynn thought about it, the more astonished he became. What he had once assumed would require vast technological advancements was now realized within a small mechanical token.
And the immersion was so profound it was simply unimaginable!
He understood clearly that his ability to exit the experience earlier had not been of his own doing. Instead, it was a built-in function of the token.
By concentrating his mental energy, he could awaken from the fully immersive virtual world.
"If it weren't for this design, I might have truly believed I had been transported somewhere else..." Lynn mused to himself.
A virtual world of this magnitude, all contained within a tiny mechanical token!
What kind of principles and knowledge lay behind its creation? The individual who had crafted this must be one of the greatest geniuses in the wizarding world!
Just as Martha and Darwin had suggested, Lynn was indeed stunned by the mechanical token.
However, what they didn't know was that Lynn was already familiar with the concept of virtual worlds and holographic projections.
What truly shocked him was that such a virtual world had become a reality, with an immersion so powerful that it was almost impossible to believe.
Lynn carefully examined the mechanical token in his hand. Since this was his first time using it, he had no prior experience and needed to explore it from scratch.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Lynn noticed a small line of text in the corner of the virtual world, written in the wizard's language: "Access database records."
"What does this mean?"
He murmured to himself, then lightly touched the text with his mental energy.
The next moment, the text emitted a dazzling golden light, brilliant as the sun!
Lynn squinted his eyes, barely enduring the glare.
As the light spread, he noticed that the virtual world around him was beginning to transform:
All the images started to break down into fine lines, intricately weaving together.
Tiny black dots appeared before his eyes, and as they connected through the lines, they gradually formed detailed surfaces.
Countless surfaces interlaced, eventually constructing three-dimensional structures.
Dots, lines, surfaces, and volumes...
Everything unfolded before him as if revealing the underlying framework of the virtual world.
Lynn was utterly astounded this was the operating structure of the virtual world!
Even though he was only seeing a small portion of this massive system, it was enough to deepen his understanding of its fundamental nature.
This knowledge was invaluable, whether to a first-level wizard like himself or more powerful wizards.
It was practically priceless!
And yet, all this knowledge was now laid out right in front of him!
"Could this be the benefit Martha mentioned?"
But then, a thought struck Lynn:
"No, this must be something unique about this particular mechanical token!"
His gaze sharpened as a realization surfaced in his mind:
"It's impossible for every citizen's token to have this capability. There's only one explanation... The token given to Darwin by Master Warhammer must be different it must possess some kind of 'developer mode' or special access privilege, allowing it to reveal these deeper layers of information."
However, Darwin clearly didn't understand the wizard's language, which was why he had never noticed the small line of text. This was likely Master Warhammer's intention.
Since Darwin couldn't read the wizard's language, he couldn't possibly leak any information.
Moreover, Master Warhammer had probably warned Darwin not to lend the token to anyone.
Otherwise, Darwin wouldn't have waited until after Master Warhammer had left the City of Machines to secretly lend the token to Lynn.
And yet, it was precisely this coincidence that allowed Lynn, a wizard fluent in the language, to glimpse into this hidden interface.
To discover this "developer mode" and enter a concealed layer of the virtual world.
If Master Warhammer or the high-ranking wizards of the City of Machines found out about this…
A chill ran down Lynn's spine.
At this moment, he could already foresee the terrifying consequences he might face.
"I shouldn't look any further. This knowledge is too dangerous..." Lynn forced himself to resist the temptation, thinking, "If I leave any traces behind, I might invite disaster. And this information... it's priceless knowledge of the supernatural..."
Taking a deep breath, he resolved to glance only briefly, just a fleeting peek.
"What is this..."
Lynn's gaze focused sharply as he suddenly noticed some text appearing on the virtual interface before him. The text was small but visible, resembling some kind of "announcement" or "annotation."
As he delved deeper with his mental energy, the information started to consolidate into distinct lines of text, making Lynn's heartbeat quicken involuntarily.
"During our last encounter with the Divine Civilization, we successfully captured a saintess of the Goddess of the Weave. From her, we obtained key information regarding the goddess's authority..."
"Research has confirmed that the authority of the Goddess of the Weave facilitates the exploration of the 'Web of All Things'..."
"We can conclude that a power transcending civilizations has influenced the Goddess of the Weave.
Perhaps her authority originates from this force..."
"After clearing the minor 'landscape' obstacles left by the Divine Civilization, we should attempt to incite a localized war to pinpoint the Goddess of the Weave... Ideally, we should destroy her divine kingdom and capture her alive..."
"Since the main gods love throwing things at us, we should return the favor..."
"Compile all the data and send it to the Council of Wizards..."
"This operation must proceed as quickly as possible. The Goddess of the Weave may be the key to deciphering the 'Web of All Things'..."
Each line of text pierced into Lynn's heart like a sharp blade, forcing him to take a deep breath. Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Lynn understood the meaning behind the text, he immediately exited the developer-mode-like interface.
The scene before him gradually returned to normal, as if everything had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
The laboratory within the virtual world reappeared before his eyes, and the half-finished robot on the table continued to gleam with an eerie metallic luster.
Lynn's expression shifted continuously from shock to solemnity. Finally, he exhaled deeply, suppressing the turbulence within him.
"This information is way too intense..."
His face held a hint of bitterness, and an involuntary wry smile surfaced on his lips. All wizards crave knowledge, thirsting for extraordinary understanding.
But sometimes, peering into secrets too profound for one's current strength was far from a good thing.
Knowledge and power of excessive complexity often meant danger. "The Goddess of the Weave… the Divine Civilization… 'landscapes'… these are all familiar names..."
Lynn pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to digest the newly acquired information.
The flood of data surged into his mind, making it difficult to process all at once.
The Divine Civilization this name was not unfamiliar to him. In the 'landscape' labyrinth, he had seen descriptions of this civilization.
That labyrinth had belonged to an otherworldly race whose civilization had clashed violently with the Divine Civilization in the past, suffering a devastating defeat.
As for the course of the war, Lynn had learned from the labyrinth-like library that the otherworldly race had fought bravely but ultimately failed miserably. Their greatest achievement in that war?
Managing to eliminate just one of the Divine Civilization's main gods. Lynn had no idea how powerful a main god was or their status within the Divine Civilization.
But from the books he had read, he had encountered numerous phrases like "the arrival of doomsday," "losing the will to fight," and "embracing death."
The otherworldly race had been unable to withstand the overwhelming might of the Divine Civilization.
As for their final outcome, Lynn was uncertain, but one thing was clear the battle had ended in their crushing defeat.
"It seems that the Wizard Civilization has now also encountered the Divine Civilization… and the two sides have already had small-scale confrontations..."
Lynn's eyes narrowed slightly as fragments of information began to piece together in his mind. He suddenly realized that the history he had gleaned from various books might now form a coherent narrative.
Thousands of years ago, the Wizard Civilization must have sensed the looming threat of the Divine Civilization.
Thus, black wizards and white wizards temporarily set aside their differences and united to resist this foreign power.
And those 'landscapes' were the first wave of attacks launched by the Divine Civilization. Lynn recalled that Enforcer Wizard Alder had once mentioned that, according to the highest directive of the Wizard Council, both black and white wizards were required to purge any discovered 'landscapes.'
"So that's how it is..."
Lynn took a deep breath, finally understanding the true nature of these 'landscapes.' "Caught in the tides of history… Two mighty civilizations… This will likely escalate into a full-scale war..."
He sighed, his eyes flashing with a complex expression.
But he didn't feel too pressured after all, when the sky collapses, taller people will hold it up. He was merely a first-level Wizard who couldn't even guarantee his survival, hiding in the City of Machines to evade pursuit and bounty hunters.
For someone like him to worry about the fate of an entire civilization was utterly absurd.
Besides, conflicts between civilizations played out over thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years.
The last recorded encounter between these two civilizations had been millennia ago, and in the meantime, the Wizard World had not undergone any significant upheavals.
This was still merely the prelude to war. A full-scale war could take ages to truly erupt.
Even though he was blessed with a unique talent, Lynn didn't dare claim he had a 100% chance of surviving long enough to witness that day.
"Still, having some awareness and preparation is never a bad thing..."
Taking a deep breath, Lynn pushed aside his distracting thoughts, trying to pull himself out of this endless contemplation.
If he truly advanced far along the path of wizardry and eventually had the chance to stand at the frontlines of such a war, then having prior knowledge would be beneficial. But for now, that was far off.
A much more immediate problem was staring him in the face.
That was the mention of the 'Web of All Things' in the developer mode interface.
This terrifying entity likely belonged to an extremely high level of existence, so much so that his current power wasn't even sufficient to perceive its full name.
But one thing was certain it was incredibly valuable.
By any standard, this was a rare and powerful artifact, potentially containing immeasurable supernatural might.
Unfortunately for him, he happened to own something similar A fragment of the *"Balance of " he had obtained from an otherworldly being. "
If this 'Balance' and the 'Web of All Things' exist on the same level… then am I lucky, or incredibly unlucky...?"
Lynn gritted his teeth, feeling conflicted.
Acquiring such an artifact was undeniably fortunate. But the price?
The otherworldly being would undoubtedly come after him, no matter what, to reclaim the fragment.
Even though he was in the City of Machines, a place that offered him some degree of shelter, there was no guarantee that the being wouldn't break the rules and come for him.
That thought weighed heavily on Lynn's heart. "Hopefully, the people from Furnace Stone will step up and deal with that thing..."
But he wasn't too optimistic. Judging by the aftermath of the 'landscape' war, the Furnace Stone faction hadn't managed to capture the entity.
Once it regained its strength, it would surely follow the Balance's resonance to the City of Machines… And then, it would come straight for him. Lynn's mood grew heavier. Maybe his luck wasn't that great after all.
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