...Going deeper might attract the attention of those "hounds."
Seeing this, he could only decisively withdraw his consciousness, ending this historical sensing.
Opening his eyes, the Stand-In Puppet lay quietly on the table in front of him, looking no different from before.
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
...
[Current Progress: Historical Research (Beginner 8/50)]
"Although the gains are limited, they are enough to verify the feasibility of this path."
Ron began organizing the historical fragments he had just acquired.
Even though he couldn’t fully uncover the true origins of the Stand-In Puppet.
But this attempt has already proven that the "Historical Research" skill can indeed help him understand the essence of rare relics more deeply.
The origin of the Stand-In Puppet may be darker than he imagined.
Due to this successful experience, Ron decided to continue trying with the other two rare artifacts.
He first picked up the Thousand Transformations, but when he attempted historical sensing, he was met with strong resistance.
It wasn’t the resistance from the river of time, but the rejection from the Thousand Transformations itself.
It sensed Ron’s probing and actively shielded its historical information.
"Truly self-aware relics are difficult to interpret."
Ron wasn’t surprised and turned to pick up the last artifact—the Time Guardian’s Pocket Watch.
This relic was extraordinarily mysterious, unique even among all his collections.
Its structure was so exquisite that it seemed not to be human-made.
Even with his "Extraordinary Recognition" skills having reached a Master Level, he found it difficult to analyze it effectively.
Ron placed his hand over the Pocket Watch, re-entering the historical sensing state.
However, when his Spiritual Power touched the Pocket Watch, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without causing any ripples.
There was no resistance, no shielding, just no response at all.
It was as if his Spiritual Power passed through the Pocket Watch, falling into some infinitely deep void.
He intensified his input of Spiritual Power, attempting to sense deeper, but the results remained the same.
The Pocket Watch was like a bottomless well, devouring all investigation without giving any response.
"The gap in power levels." Ron quickly concluded:
"The Time Guardian’s Pocket Watch clearly surpasses the levels I can comprehend; at my current level of historical research skills, I can’t even create a splash."
This attempt once again confirmed a fact: even among relics of the same tier, there are still obvious level differences.
And the Time Guardian’s Pocket Watch is undoubtedly the highest in status among the three relics he currently possesses.
[Skill Link Detected:
Historical Research + Extraordinary Recognition
1. Increased analysis efficiency of rare relics through Historical Research
2. Enhanced precision of capturing historical information through Extraordinary Recognition]
The panel’s prompt greatly encouraged Ron, as this kind of skill synergy was exactly what he had been hoping for, proving that his exploration direction hadn’t veered off course.
"The direction is right, but more patience is needed."
He finally concluded:
"Historical research, like astrology, is a profound study requiring long-term accumulation; haste would lead to failure."
He continued to perform small doses of historical sensing on the Stand-In Puppet.
Each time, he could gather fragments of new information, gradually piecing together a more complete history of this relic.
He learned that the Stand-In Puppet has changed hands many times, with each owner leaving a bloody mark on it.
After it drifted from the hands of its original creator, it had been picked up or plundered by several Wizards or other Abyssal Explorers one after another.
Each change of ownership accompanied by violence and death, as if this relic itself carries some kind of curse.
As the research deepened, he increasingly felt the "weight" of the knowledge and the spiritual contamination brought about by it.
After each historical sensing, he would feel a splitting headache for a while, sometimes experiencing temporary hallucinations or confusion.
Particularly those history fragments filled with bloodshed and violence, the negative impact they brought was even more pronounced.
"It seems the progress of this research topic needs to be stretched out further." Ron reminded himself:
"Both astrology and historical research require long-term, steady accumulation; haste will only exacerbate spiritual contamination."
He slowed down the pace of these two studies, limiting his practice.
He spent more time on two other important matters:
Writing his academic paper and preparing for the "Rainbow Ring" competition.