"Swoosh."

The guardian spirit of the fifth floor of the Runic Tower quickly turned into a ray of gray light. Its speed was even faster than the giant black wolf on the fourth floor. In no time, it reached Wizard Envia and the other two Wizards in the blink of an eye.

"Snap."

The gray grizzly bear lifted its giant paw and slapped forcefully. The mysterious runes which were originally on the gray grizzly bear's body surface instantly converged into the gray grizzly bear's giant paw. The power of that slap suddenly turned incredibly violent.

"Ka-chak."

The Kleinman Runic Magic Circle cracked in an instant. A few tiny cracks appeared on it, and it then shattered completely.

Without the Kleinman Runic Magic Disc, Wizard Envia's trio did not have the slightest resistance. If they were to be slapped by the gray grizzly bear, they would disappear out of the Runic Tower in an instant.

Merlin frowned. He watched the gray grizzly bear's every move from the side and finally discovered the real reason why it became so terrifying.

This gray grizzly bear indeed only had the strength of a Fifth-level Spell Caster. However, it could withstand Kleinman Thunder because it relied on the dense mysterious runes attached to its body surface.

These mysterious runes seemed to be able to both attack and defend. Once they were needed to block a powerful attack, these runes would gather to exert powerful defensive features.

If the protection of these mysterious runes could not be broken and annihilated with a smashing hit, it would then become a battle of attrition. This was because the mysterious runes could continuously resist the attacks.

Moreover, if the Spell Caster challenging the tower lost focus, the gray grizzly bear would launch an attack. At the moment of the attack, the mysterious runes would once again condense together, instantly increasing the gray grizzly bear's offensive power.

This was the real reason why the guardian spirit of the fifth floor was so powerful. The guardian spirits below the fifth floor did not have the ability to harness the power of runes. In other words, it was the Great Wizard Fidel who did not grant the guardian spirits below the fifth floor the ability to utilize the power of runes.

Wizard Envia and his team had lost, but they were not beaten without good reason. After all, how many talented Spell Casters had there been throughout the existence of the Dark Magic Region for thousands of years? How could anyone not try using a Runic Magic Disc before this?

Yet, they all failed, and they could not pass the fifth floor. There were only a few people, the real freaky geniuses who had passed the fifth floor.

Merlin also knew that Envia and the others did not die, but was sent out of the Runic Tower. After all, the real purpose of Great Wizard Fidel who left the Runic Tower was to search for genius Spell Casters, especially those who were good in runology. Hence, he would naturally not let the Spell Casters who challenged the tower to simply perish.

"My turn then!"

Merlin took a deep breath and then walked into the middle of the vermilion pillars with determination, ready to face the guardian spirit of the fifth floor!

…

Outside the Runic Tower, many Spell Casters were watching the changes in the Runic Tower.

Although the specific scene inside the Runic Tower could not be from the outside, as long as someone advanced to one of the floors, then the tower on that level would have a burst of dazzling light.

At this time, the fifth floor of the Runic Tower was still shining brightly, which symbolized that there were two groups of people who were attempting the fifth floor.

"Swoosh."

Suddenly, one of the two lights rapidly went off, leaving only one bright light. This meant that someone had failed to pass the fifth floor.

"Who has failed? Is it Wizard Merlin?"

"The fifth floor is very difficult. That was the real test. In recent decades, only Kleis has passed the fifth floor."

These Spell Casters knew the difficulty of the Runic Tower. The fifth floor was the real test. Even the look of Wizard Leo had become serious.

"Buzz buzz buzz."

Three rays of light emerged outside the Runic Tower. Immediately after, three gloomy-looking Spell Casters gradually walked out of the light. They were Wizard Envia, Wizard Sarah, and Wizard Ilman!

The three Spell Casters did not pass the fifth floor and were directly sent out of the Runic Tower.

They looked back at the Runic Tower, and there were indescribable expressions on their faces, especially Wizard Envia. He had paid a huge price to obtain the Kleinman Runic Magic Disc.

Now, not only had they not been able to pass the fifth floor, even the Kleinman Runic Magic Disc had been destroyed. Such a huge price, even if he was a valued individual in the clan, it would unfortunately still be hard to come to terms with it.

"Wizard Envia, let's go. This Runic Tower is indeed not that easy to challenge."

Wizard Ilman was also very confident before this, but now, the harsh truth laid in front of his very eyes. He had to admit that even with the help of a Runic Magic Circle, it would still be extremely difficult for them to pass the fifth floor.

Besides, even if they had passed the fifth floor, there would still be a more difficult sixth floor. If they had only passed the fifth floor, there would be no substantial gain. Only after passing the sixth floor would they obtain the treasures left by Great Wizard Fidel.

Wizard Envia shook his head gently and said gloomily, "There's no need to hurry. We haven't been able to pass the fifth floor, so let's see if this Wizard Merlin could get past it?"

"Merlin?"

Wizard Ilman was slightly shocked too. Thereafter, he glanced around at the Spell Casters surrounding them. He did not know when did such a large crowd of Spell Casters came to this originally deserted Runic Tower. They all looked up at the Runic Tower enthusiastically.

At this time, only the fifth floor of the Runic Tower was lit. That was to say, only Merlin was inside the tower challenging it. These Wizards had come after hearing news of this. They heard that the recent hotshot, Wizard Merlin, was challenging the Runic Tower.

"They all came because of Merlin, but actually, they just wanted to see the indirect showdown between Merlin and Kleis. Previously, Kleis had passed the fifth floor of the Runic Tower!"

Wizard Sarah did not leave either as her beautiful pair of eyes also focused on the fifth floor of the Runic Tower.

Just as Wizard Envia and others had decided to stick around and check out how Merlin would turn out, the many Spell Casters around also saw clearly the faces of the three Wizards. Merlin was not there, and they could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They all knew that Merlin was still on the fifth floor of the Runic Tower, perhaps fighting the guardian spirit of the fifth floor currently.

"I wonder if Wizard Merlin can pass the fifth floor?"

"Wizard Merlin was now in the limelight. He had caused a bigger commotion than Kleis did back then. One was a Five-Elemental Spell Caster while the other a Six-Elemental Spell Caster. Both were freaky geniuses. If the two were to battle, it would be truly exhilarating!"

"Though this isn't a real duel, this indirect showdown is good too. Just wait and see, there should be a result very soon."

As Wizard Sarah had suspected, the real reason so many Spell Casters came to the Runic Tower was to see the indirect showdown between the two geniuses – Merlin and Kleis.

…

Merlin stood in the middle of several vermilion pillars. Gradually, a ray of light was emitted from the vermilion pillars. These lights quickly gathered, and the gray grizzly bear reappeared again.

Right after that, dense mysterious runes flew out of the vermilion pillars again. Like a fine large net, it attached to the surface of the gray grizzly bear's body.

Merlin's eyes narrowed. He knew that the true greatness of the guardian spirit of the fifth floor was these mysterious runes, which were inscribed by Great Wizard Fidel himself back then.

Merlin was now more and more aware of the prowess and mysteriousness of Great Wizard Fidel. He had also met a Great Wizard in Kurdmansla Islands previously. In addition, from Merlin's point of view, the power of Great Wizards seemed to not be all that powerful.

Nevertheless, only until now had Merlin gradually learned that Great Wizards were also differentiated into many kinds – there were strong ones and weak ones. Just like that Great Wizard on Kurdmansla Islands, he was at best a beginner Great Wizard, the weakest among Great Wizards.

Great Wizard Sterling of the Sterling House should also belong to the category of beginner Great Wizards.

The founder of the Dark Spirit Region, the Great Wizard Fidel, was very proficient in runology, up until a point where it was beyond imagination. Any Runic Magic Circles that he simply engraved could also give life. This kind of Great Wizard should be at the peak level among Great Wizards.

Perhaps he was not as good as a Legend, but in certain areas, such a Great Wizard deserved the respect of even great Legends!

This was the case with Great Wizard Fidel. His proficiency in runology could even make Legendary Wizards feel inferior. He could be considered a powerful Wizard with profound knowledge in runology.

Hence, the Runic Magic Circle left by Great Wizard Fidel was able to protect the entire Dark Magic Region even until now. Moreover, the Runic Tower that he had built was even more magical. These guardian spirits were truly immortal beings. As long as the Runic Magic Circle was not destroyed, even if these guardian spirits die many deaths, they could still be swiftly reborn.

A thousand years' time was not able to incur any change on these guardian spirits. It was evident how masterful Great Wizard Fidel was in runology.

Merlin knew that these vermilion columns should be the foundation of these guardian spirits. If these vermilion pillars were destroyed, the guardian spirit in the Runic Tower would naturally vanish.

However, there were clear rules in the Runic Tower. No matter what the reason, it was not allowed to attack the vermilion pillars. Otherwise, there would be serious consequences.

"Roar!"

Finally, the gray grizzly bear which was in mid-air let out a loud roar and fiercely charged toward Merlin.

Merlin's Mind Power was shaken slightly. This gray grizzly bear's roar was able to shake his Mind Power. Fortunately, he had already braced himself, so he was not really affected.

If he wanted to defeat the gray grizzly bear, he must deal a smashing blow and directly destroy the mysterious runes on the surface of its body along with it. Only then would the gray grizzly bear be harmed.

Merlin took a deep breath. From top to bottom, white flames abruptly exuded from his entire body. This was Merlin's strongest attack currently. The illusion of Darkness-type spells had absolutely no effect at all on these guardian spirits.

Thus, he could only use his strongest offensive spell to defeat it completely!

"Condensed Fire!"

Merlin gently reached out the palm of his hand. From his palm, bursts of fireballs suddenly emerged, floating in the air calmly.

Only a Spell Caster who was proficient in Fire-type spells would know that these few small fireballs had been compressed for who knew how long. The flames contained would make even those Sixth-level Spell Casters shudder!

"Strike!"

A hint of madness also flashed across Merlin's eyes. Then, he reached out a finger and pointed. A few tiny white fireballs quivered slightly and flew straight ahead...