Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 660 - 658: Exploring the Ultimate Treasure

Richard had always been clear: Wizard Eva would never trust him completely, so from the moment Wizard Eva handed Teddy and the others over to him, he had guessed there would be eyes planted among them to keep him under surveillance.

Previously, during continuous excavation, even though his behavior was a bit strange, it wasn’t outrageous. For Teddy and his group, getting magic tools was a great thing, so the planted eyes naturally wouldn’t jump out and say anything.

But now, the digging had finally yielded results, uncovering the Black Spirit Empire’s ultimate treasure at the third-to-last suspicious site, causing the planted eyes to no longer be able to contain themselves.

To be fair, it was the responsibility of the planted eyes to act this way; there was nothing to criticize. Except... he just didn’t like it.

Yes, he didn’t like people interfering with his work, especially at the critical moment when he was about to uncover the ultimate secret of the Black Spirit King.

Frowning slightly, Richard looked toward Bata and spoke out, "Wizard Bata, do you really want to go down there with me? Honestly, I think it might be better for you and the others to stay up here. Oh, and this is a nice piece of magic tool that can enhance the power of spells cast, it should suit you. I’ve been meaning to give it to you, here, take it now."

Saying this, Richard tossed a ring toward Wizard Bata.

Wizard Bata caught the ring and looked at it, put it on his finger, and then looked back smiling, "Thanks for your kindness, Wizard Richard, but I still want to follow you down. After all, if I accept a favor, I should lend a hand, right?"

With these words, the air around them seemed to solidify for a moment.

Wizard Bata’s behavior was almost like an open challenge.

The ring Richard offered was better than all the magic tools he had given Bata before. This move was naturally intended to buy Bata over, and for him, it was the most effective and effortless method.

If Bata was absolutely loyal to the Jungle Hut, he would refuse the ring and insist on entering the underground. If, however, Bata was less faithful and cared more about his own gains, then he would accept the ring and obediently stay on the ground.

Now, Bata had accepted the ring and still wanted to go down below.

Put in a nicer way, this was like eating the sugar coating and firing the cannonball back. Put in a harsher light, it was pretty much the behavior of a rogue—fully exploiting the situation to get as much as he could from Richard now that his identity was exposed.

It was really quite disgusting.

But Richard didn’t get angry; instead, he smiled and after looking at Bata for several seconds, said, "Since... Wizard Bata insists so much, then fine, let’s explore together, please." With that, Richard gestured invitingly.

"I’m delighted to cooperate with you, Wizard Richard," Bata said, striding towards him, entirely devoid of his usual hot-tempered demeanor, all slyness in his eyes and brows.

Richard didn’t say much, just led the way down the passage.

At that moment, another voice came from behind.

"Richard!"

Richard turned around and saw Teddy looking over.

"What’s up, you planning on joining me too?" Richard asked with a hint of irritation.

Teddy shrank back, his eyes wide, "Don’t scare me, I’d rather not be involved in something so dangerous. I’m well aware of my weak abilities; I’ll wait here for you."

"Then why’d you call me?"

"I... I just wanted to ask you, what about that decisive battle discussion? Master Eva is really pressing for it— are you going or not?"

"Well..." Richard pondered briefly and said, "Wait for me a bit, give me some time. Once I’ve explored the underground and come out, I’ll give you the answer."

"But what if it’s too late?"

"We can’t afford to delay," said Richard, waving his hand and walking into the passage without looking back.

"How do you know you won’t be late—" Teddy started to say something else, but he stopped when he saw Richard and Bata’s figures had already disappeared.

Turning to look at Noel and Jenny beside him, Teddy said, "Hey, you two saw everything, so you know I’ve said my piece. If there’s any blame from Wizard Eva for being late to the discussion about the final battle, it can’t fall on me. You two must back me up then."

Noel and Jenny shrugged their shoulders, each with a different expression. They turned their heads to look at the entrance to the passage, lost in thought.

...

Underground.

Richard and Bata walked down the passage and soon entered a corridor.

The whole corridor was built of large blocks of stone, about four meters high and over five meters wide, quite spacious. Goose-egg-sized fluorescent stones were inlaid in the walls of the corridor, emitting a bright but not dazzling light that illuminated everything within.

Surveying the corridor, Bata clicked his tongue in admiration. "This is quite a nice place. It looks like there is a big secret hidden here, right, Wizard Richard?" he said, turning his head to look at Richard at the end of his statement.

Richard, however, did not respond. As soon as he had stepped into the corridor, he took an oxygen mask out of his Space Iron Ring and put it over his face, then continued to stride toward the depths of the corridor.

Bata, finding himself talking to the air, was not offended but looked curiously at the object Richard had put on his face and followed suit.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The clear sound of their footsteps echoed for a long time in the corridor as Richard and Bata continued to move forward. They didn’t encounter any dangers along the way and arrived smoothly at the entrance to a large hall.

Looking from the outside in, they could see that the entire hall spanned over two hundred square meters in area and was devoid of any furnishings, creating an eerily empty and somewhat bizarre atmosphere.

Richard stood at the entrance, scanning the hall cautiously.

Finding nothing after a few glances, Bata carelessly walked into the hall. Turning to Richard, he said, "Wizard Richard, what’s there to fear? There really is nothing in here. Are you worried about getting hurt? I’m not the slightest bit concerned."

Without a word, Richard just slightly turned his head to look at a corner.

"Hmm?"

Following Richard’s gaze on instinct, Bata saw a circular hole about the thickness of an arm in the corner’s wall, as if intentionally left open, very similar to the entrance of a snake den they had come across during their digging.

What’s this?

Bata wondered. In the next instant, his eyes narrowed as a "hiss" sounded, and a streak of silver flashed out, shooting towards him at high speed. On closer inspection, it was a Golden Patterned Silver Snake, with its mouth wide open, its fangs gleaming with a piercing cold light, sharp as knives.

Bata was startled at first, but once he saw it clearly, he quickly regained his composure, his eyes displaying some indifference. After all, he was a First-level Middle Stage Wizard and was not afraid of a common snake. With a wave of his hand, faint arcs of electricity flickered over his fingers, reaching out like a hawk’s talon to accurately pinch the Golden Patterned Silver Snake’s vital area. The electricity burst forth, causing the snake to convulse violently before he threw it harshly into the corner.

"Smack, smack!"

Bata patted his hands and looked at Richard, "Wizard Richard, it was just a snake; easy to deal with, right?"

"Not necessarily," Richard finally spoke.

"Hmm?" Bata was startled, a sense of realization coming over him as he looked back at the corner. There he saw the Golden Patterned Silver Snake, which he had "killed," twist its body and spring up like a coil, lunging straight for his throat, seemingly unharmed.

This!

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺