These two, whether Swift Skill or Image Capturing Crystal Making, were meticulously compared and selected by him!
He had spent a total of 55 Magic Stones!
Of these, Swift Skill cost 40 Magic Stones, and the book on Image Capturing Crystal Making cost 15 Magic Stones.
Since then, his financial status had returned overnight to what it was before liberation, leaving him only 5 Magic Stones.
After purchasing the Image Capturing Crystal, Colin prepared to return to his residence.
But as he was boarding the carriage, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure flashing through his sight. He instinctively turned his head, but only saw half of the figure disappear into an alley.
"Could it be... Wood?" Colin frowned slightly, uncertain.
But in an instant, he pushed the thought out of his mind.
Although Blackstone City was small, just a little town, it still had a population of over a hundred thousand. It was not easy to encounter acquaintances, and more likely, it was just a similar figure.
…
Tap, tap, tap—
The stone slabs underfoot, smooth and even from constant wear, flanked by rough, uneven stone walls. Due to the dampness, green tenacity had emerged in those twisted crevices, clinging to the surface of the stone walls.
Wood's expression was wooden, his pace steady and regular as he walked forward step by step, the tapping of his feet echoing in the corridor.
The long passageway leading underground had no illumination except for the soft light emitted from the Bright Crystal he held in his hand.
Soon, he reached the end.
Here was a wooden door, a common unpainted wood door, nothing special.
Pausing at the door, Wood quietly waited.
He knew that his footsteps couldn't be hidden from Lord Harrington inside. Besides, even without the sound of footsteps, that lord could still sense his arrival.
"Come in."
Not making him wait long, just a moment later, Harrington's steady voice came from inside.
Wood pushed the door open.
A small secret chamber came into view.
He was slightly startled; this time, the secret chamber was not as usual, with only Harrington. Across from Harrington stood a man dressed like a noble.
But he asked no questions, for this was not his place to speak.
Wood quietly stood to one side, silently standing like a statue.
"Continue," Harrington spoke.
The nobly dressed Bo Wen glanced at Wood, then, unconcerned, continued with the topic at hand.
"Harrington, the day of my master's arrival is not far. Are you prepared?"
His tone was somewhat forceful, somewhat impolite.
"Oh... I'm more worried about you than about myself. I have heard that the Patrol Department just caught a little bug not long ago?
Your ritual... there weren't any problems, were there?"
Harrington's expression remained unchanged, his tone smooth but equally forceful.
Dealing with these cult madmen, the last thing to do was show any sign of weakness.
"Hmph!"
Bo Wen snorted coldly, and spoke indifferently.
"You needn't worry about it; the return of my master cannot be stopped! You better start producing some results soon. Bishop Arman doesn't have the same temper as I do... If there's still no progress after some more time,
then our agreement will have to be nullified..."
After finishing, Bo Wen turned and left through another hidden door on the opposite side.
Harrington quietly watched the hidden door close, his hand caressing a black scepter with dark gold patterns.
'Hopefully... these madmen aren't just talking big. Lap, as a First Rank Peak Official Wizard, is not so easy to deal with...
Although the Lord of Thorns and Flesh is strong, how much power can actually come into this world... That's why they need my power.'
Swoosh!
He waved the scepter, releasing Purification Evil Power.
The witchcraft waves, far stronger than those of an apprentice, swept through the secret chamber like a breeze.
Each time after dealing with these cultists, he would do this—it was a necessary precaution, dealing with the tiger's skin, carelessness was clearly not an option.
After completing these actions, he reached out and turned a mechanism on the wall behind him.
With a click, a fist-sized cavity appeared on the wall that was originally seamless.
He raised the scepter and inserted it into the slot, activating the Magic Power. The bluestone walls immediately began to glow faintly, rippling like the surface of water.
Harrington removed the scepter and stepped in, his figure disappearing into the bluestone walls with Haywood following closely behind.
*
*
*
In the quiet underground chamber, the Bright Crystal emitted a soft light.
Standing in the middle, Colin's expression tightened as he cast Swift Skill!
In an instant, he felt as if invisible winds enveloped him. Whether swinging his arms or taking a step, he could clearly feel that everything was considerably faster than before!
After trying it out, Colin revealed a satisfied smile.
Speed, the speed in combat.
In his view, it mainly consisted of two parts.
One was the speed of his own movement! The other was reaction speed!
In combat, both complemented each other, achieving mutual success, and neither could be absent.
Swift Skill, for now, seemed to enhance his own movement speed!
It had made his speed as a Great Knight even faster.
This increase was reflected in various aspects.
Taking the test just now as an example, it only took him 3 seconds to run a lap around the underground chamber!
The circumference of the underground chamber was approximately 50~60 meters.
That meant, at this rate, it would take about 5 to 6 seconds for him to run 100 meters. This was just a rough estimate, as he wasn't sprinting in a straight line in the underground chamber.
Moreover, thanks to the abundant energy provided by the Sunlight Breathing Technique, he could maintain such speed for at least an hour!
That was just the running speed; other speeds, such as leaping and retreating, were naturally enhanced as well.
This was just the initial state of Swift Skill. After Limit Breaking, the enhancement was likely to be even greater!
Of course, having physical speed alone was not enough.
This was also a weakness of Swift Skill. Even if the body's speed was fast, if one couldn't react in time when facing attacks, it would still be ineffective.
Luckily, the second Limit Breaking of the Sunlight Breathing Technique improved the reaction speed!
Although he hadn't yet advanced to an Ultimate Knight.
But once he advanced to an Ultimate Knight and improved his reaction speed along with his physical speed. Based on these alone, those slow-moving fireball techniques from Wizards, or acid attacks, wouldn't even dream of hitting him!
Even if they did hit, he still had multiple defenses. Even if his defenses were breached, he still possessed Intermediate Strong Life!
Colin dispelled the faint witchcraft Spiritual Light on his body, feeling enveloped by a strong sense of safety.
Wiping off the sweat from his exercise, he walked out of the underground chamber and returned to his bedroom.
'By now, Renee should have prepared the bath water.'
As he climbed the stairs, he thought to himself.
But when he pushed open the bedroom door, he saw Renee kneeling on the ground, wiping the floor with a cloth.
Her black and white maid outfit outlined her youthful yet curvaceous figure.
"Sir."
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Renee's body shuddered violently. She quickly stood up, holding the cloth and bowing her head in greeting.
Colin glanced and immediately knew what had happened.
"Did you accidentally spill the bathwater again?"
"Yes, sir. Please punish me," Renee replied quietly.
Colin also sharply noticed that the girl's right arm was completely reddened, most likely scalded by the hot water.
He looked towards the bathroom, which was filled with hot water in the tub.
No need for further speculation, he could imagine that Renee must have insisted on filling the tub with hot water after scalding herself.
"Be more careful next time."
"Yes, sir."
Colin entered the bathroom and began to soak in the bath.
Such incidents had occurred before; fortunately, the moved hot water wasn't extremely hot, thus had never resulted in any serious consequences...
However, it was time to deal with it.
He wondered how Luke was handling the matter…