Swish—swish—
In a gray-white stone chamber, modified from a natural cave.
Silence enveloped the space, save for the sound of water rippling in the pool.
Beside the deep pond, a figure lay unconscious.
After an unknowable length of time, his eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Whoosh!
The next second, Colin immediately sprang to his feet, standing upright.
His gaze was fixed on the shattered pyramid-shaped structure not far away.
As he moved, the blood scabs on his body fell off like catkins in the wind.
'What is this?'
Caught off guard by the abnormality, a wave of alarm surged through him as he quickly checked his arms.
However, he found nothing unusual—only smooth, even skin met his eyes.
But Colin's heart did not ease, instead a shadow fell over it.
Suddenly, looking at the falling blood scabs, he seemed to realize something.
He took out a dart and aimed it at his arm. After hesitating for a moment, he slashed forcefully.
Under the sharp dart, a wound appeared instantly.
But the next second, before the blood could even flow, the wound closed in the blink of an eye!
Colin was startled. Although he was a Great Knight, such rapid healing was clearly not something he possessed.
He stood still, finely attuned to his own body.
Cool sensations emanated continuously from his brows, nourishing and enhancing his spirit.
At the same time, a warm sensation came from his heart, fortifying his physique.
Colin's expression changed, recalling the recent events.
Not long ago,
He had successfully killed a white creature, crossed through the eroded hole, and found this pool.
Then, the time he could hold his breath was almost at its limit!
There was no time to think.
He desperately swam towards the surface.
After emerging, he saw what seemed to be this stone chamber remodeled from a natural cave.
And the pyramid-shaped stone platform standing alone in the center…
The moment he stepped onto the edge of the pool, he merely took a slight step forward,
Instantly, an invisible repulsion emanated from the pyramid-shaped platform at the center,
Whoosh—it pushed him back into the pond.
Amidst the splash of the fall, he heard the cracking and collapsing of the pyramid-shaped platform!
Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a Golden Four-leaf Clover emerging from the shattered pyramid!
Immediately following that, a strange fragrance suddenly reached his nose,
Instantly, an indescribable hunger arose from every cell in his body!
It was as if… the soul itself was starving!
Saliva incessantly secreted, swallowing could not keep up, and soon, it spilled out of his mouth, dripping down his chin into the pool.
Then his consciousness blacked out, and he found himself in the present.
It seemed he had obviously ingested the Golden Four-leaf Clover…
Colin withdrew his thoughts.
The injury on his arm, which he had just inflicted, could no longer be found.
And the strange sensations at his brow and heart continued unabated.
Clearly, all this was due to the Golden Four-leaf Clover originally hidden in the near, broken pyramid-shaped platform.
'No, that was definitely not an ordinary Golden Four-leaf Clover.'
But soon, he shook his head.
The Golden Four-leaf Clover, as the name suggested, was like a clover made of gold,
Every heart-shaped leaf and even the root, gleaming gold, matured and exposed to the outside, it even released tiny particles of gold dust, something between the tangible and intangible.
Ingesting it did not involve swallowing, but rather placing it one finger's distance in front of the brow and then mobilizing spiritual power, capturing its released gold dust in a manner similar to capturing Magic Power during meditation.
It was a rare Magic Potion.
Yet, it was not a creation of nature, but something cultivated long ago by an unnamed Wizard.
So unlike naturally grown exotic flowers and plants, which can have various side effects or strict taboos,
Golden Four-leaf Clover has no side effects or taboos; its only possible flaw is that it is only effective for Official Wizards and below.
But such a flaw is negligible compared to its effects!
Its effect is also very simple, with only one kind—
That is soul enhancement!
As one might know, improving the soul is not an easy matter.
Apart from exceptionally rare magic potions like the Golden Four-leaf Clover,
Wizards wanting to enhance their souls could only do so during major breakthroughs—
For example, when progressing from Wizard Apprentice to Official Wizard, or from First Rank Wizard to Second Rank Wizard, etc...
Only then could they receive a boost in soul strength.
Of course, the soul enhancement brought about by each advancement is a qualitative leap; the effect of the Golden Four-leaf Clover is not that strong.
But it is also not to be underestimated.
If what he consumed was indeed real Golden Four-leaf Clover,
then at the earliest one week, at the latest two weeks, by the time the Golden Four-leaf Clover was fully absorbed,
not only would his Wizard qualification be elevated at least from Fourth Class to Third Class, but it could even rise to Second Class.
Moreover, his soul's strength might become the strongest on the island, second only to Wizard Lap!
Colin finished recalling the knowledge he had learned about the Golden Four-leaf Clover, but he couldn't help shaking his head.
If what he consumed was indeed real Golden Four-leaf Clover,
then where on earth did this peculiar energy in his heart come from?
And the powerful self-healing ability brought about by the heart's energy.
He sighed lightly in his heart, casting aside the useless doubts, and slowly approached the golden pyramid pedestal.
Regardless,
the feeling of enhancement from his body and soul wouldn't lie, and there had also been no abnormalities on the Magic Stone.
Optimistically speaking, maybe the Golden Four-leaf Clover was an enhanced modified version.
After all, this place looks like it was especially designed for cultivating that peculiar Golden Four-leaf Clover.
The shattered golden pyramid pedestal was clearly a special cultivation device.
He gradually approached the broken golden pyramid pedestal.
The golden pyramid pedestal, about three meters high, was built from gray stone blocks, and had already fractured in the middle.
The gray stone blocks looked very ordinary, with no special textures or symbols.
Thinking of this, the same question emerged in his heart again—
'...Where exactly is this place?'
He gradually stopped walking, standing beside the pedestal, and looked up around him. Smooth walls surrounded him, and no exit was in sight.
This question, obviously, could not be answered at the moment.
Colin then looked towards the pedestal next to the pond and suddenly had a guess.
That white strange fish, perhaps it knew of the existence of the Golden Four-leaf Clover here, which is why it had burrowed out such a long tunnel.
He walked a few more circles in the chamber, but still couldn't find any exit.
Colin sighed.
He had been prepared for such an outcome and didn't find it difficult to accept.
His plan was to wait a little longer here,
and then return to the previous cavern hall.
He hoped that Holt and the others had returned successfully, having slain the Black-Maned Giant Pigs.
It seemed that the chances of success were not high.
But in reality, it was highly likely that Holt and the others would return.
After all, even if they were indifferent to the corpses of the Apprentices in the hall, the many valuable carcasses of the Black-Maned Giant Pigs were there, all sources of Magic Stones; they wouldn't give up so easily.
Colin took another look around the stone chamber and felt a sense of awe.
'Who built this stone chamber... And how did they cultivate such a special Golden Four-leaf Clover...'
Of course, seeing the layer of scab on the ground, he also felt fortunate in hindsight.
Just this layer of scab made the danger he had just faced crystal clear.
This special Golden Four-leaf Clover, while its effects are potent, had much greater risks than an ordinary Clover.
If he were not a Great Knight, he presumably would not have survived.
While thinking this, Colin used a Cleaning Technique combined with Fireball Technique to sweep over the chamber, turning his scabs into ash, erasing all evidence of his presence.
He then waited for quite some time, adjusting his state, before diving back into the water and swimming towards the earlier cavern hall.