Primordial Soup, Sea of Life.

Originating from the "Sea of Life Essence" of the Tiamat God, it represents the power to create, destroy, and reset ecosystems. This complete and precious divine source was undoubtedly a significant gain in the last dungeon, and letting it sit unused would be the greatest waste.

However, whether through normal usage or other possibilities, to truly unleash the full potential of this "Sea of Life Essence," it requires nurturing this seed to maturity and fruition, which cannot bypass its prerequisite—

The need for a world not yet blessed with life, a vast ocean devoid of life...

And in fact, there is no need to seek it in other dungeons; just within the Solar System lies an excellent candidate.

Europa, also known as Jupiter's Moon Europa, slightly smaller than the Moon, has a diameter of 3,100 kilometers, making it the sixth-largest natural satellite and the fifteenth-largest celestial body in the Solar System. Moreover, it is considered the most promising place for life beyond Earth in the Solar System.

Because its surface is covered with an ice layer, beneath which lies a vast ocean…

Since Earth's primordial oceans gave birth to the earliest life forms, a similar environment on Europa could naturally also potentially nurture life.

Though it is slightly smaller than the Moon, beneath this celestial body's thick ice layer lies a global ocean about 160 kilometers deep… To understand, the deepest part of Earth's Mariana Trench is only 11 kilometers deep, making it hard to imagine the concept, a vast ocean far exceeding that of Earth.

Gu Mo walked through the snow and ice of Europa, using his powerful spiritual will to explore the area, effortlessly finding a suitable location for the teleportation gate. Meanwhile, beneath the tens of kilometers thick ice surface, he conducted a preliminary survey of the ocean below.

His vast spiritual will could penetrate the thick ice layer on Europa's surface, probing further down to a considerable extent, demonstrating the astounding level his mind power had ascended to at this moment.

Of course, the deepest ocean layers remained unreachable.

However, in such a harsh environment, nothing should be able to survive, at least in the area he expanded to the maximum, scanning simultaneously with perception precision no less than cellular level, yet found nothing. If the deep-sea area also shows no life forms…

Then, this celestial body is the best choice.

Not long after, in the midst of a giant ice crack, after confirming the surrounding geological structure was relatively stable, and with preliminary reinforcement using talismans and magic, the green-robed Immortal cleared out a spacious area at the deepest point, erecting a huge and mystical obelisk.

It stood at a full fifty meters high, occupying most of the space within this massive glacier crack, as if a giant trapped within.

The Mysterious Obelisk was entirely covered with indecipherable script, with a texture resembling dark metal. Just looking at it, one could feel its heavy, solid nature and weightiness, seemingly indestructible… This was Gu Mo's improved teleportation device.

After all, the original design seemed too simplistic, and he was a bit uneasy.

Moreover, as a teleportation device that should be precise, its impact resistance was exceedingly low.

The improved teleportation device, while significantly larger, offered numerous advantages, such as being difficult to destroy—unless utterly shattered, some part could continue to operate, featuring a built-in barrier-like stabilizing force field, capable of reserving a considerable portion of energy, and allowing additional functional modules to be installed… and so forth.

As for the fifty-meter size…

For a transplanetary teleportation device, it wasn't a problem. Rather, it appeared more dignified and elegant. At least Gu Mo didn't see any issue with it; there's a long way to go before reaching the scale of giga-structures or showcase projects, this size is merely a trifle.

Once the obelisk was placed and the frequency tuning completed,

the successful docking with the Earth-Moon Route teleportation device ensured smooth connectivity.

He was ready to leave the vast glacier crack and explore the super deep-sea below Europa, to see if beneath the thick ice crust, in the hundreds of kilometers deep ocean, there truly was no life, or if it harbored some terrifying creatures many people excitedly speculated about.

However, at that moment, he halted, seemingly pondering something.

Glancing back at the colossal Mysterious Obelisk behind him, Gu Mo raised an eyebrow; this was the result of his recent projection, but through a series of "mystical" enhancements, it could effectively maintain its stable existence over long periods.

He personally had no issues, but the apparition was seemingly unable to succeed…

But—why?

He frowned, casually manifesting several small objects, all very successful without any error.

Could it be like the Power of Authority, where the apparition didn't inherit the strength from the Divine Authority Domain, which seemed reasonable… But many other skills were inherited, such as those superb Illusion Techniques and Transformation Techniques, achieving mastery and even advanced levels.

The apparition, with the same knowledge and intelligence as himself, could likewise effortlessly perform them.

Why is it specifically the Projection Magic that doesn't work?

Opening the system panel, checking the skills page, in the items section below, Gu Mo saw the "Projection Magic - LV5" Skill Badge, standing out compared to other skill badges mostly at LV0 or LV1.

After all, frequent use, combined with the later acquired Fantasy Manifestation, Power of Lies, etc., shared similar traits. Not considering bonuses or augmentations, a considerable portion of skill proficiency earned was deemed by the system to also apply to this skill.

Thus, unconsciously, it reached this level. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Could it be because the LV5 skill level is already so advanced that the essence of this skill has undergone some kind of transformation, evolving towards an Authority-like nature, leading to this situation? Naturally, Gu Mo first considered this possibility.

But in the next moment, he detected another more obvious clue.

The Skill Badge had long been removed, and he wasn't equipped with it.

After a brief silence, Gu Mo reached out and attempted to activate the Projection Magic once more. This time, he deliberately withdrew any influence from Fantasy Manifestation, Power of Lies, and such powers, merely activating the Projection Magic alone. In an instant beyond human perception, it surpassed and completed numerous processes───

Nothing reacted, only the flow of True Qi dissipated, but the energy expended did not trigger the corresponding phenomenon.

Failed.

"I see..." Gu Mo suddenly realized, almost immediately understanding the reason.

"The essence of Projection Magic is actually a magic skill from the Fate World. And magic is the human act of recreating mystery and miracles, using predetermined forces, complying with a pre-set base, and then sending commands by the Technician to execute pre-prepared functions..."

The Magic Base is a system etched into the world beforehand to use magic, adopting the form of scholarship or religion. The Magic Technique is what records the functions of magic within the Magic Base, and magicians activate pre-encoded magic functions by sending commands to the Magic Technique and infusing Magic Power.

It can be understood that within the Fate World, there exists a unique Magic Net system.

Ordinary magicians need to log into this Magic Net according to their permissions to use the magic already recorded within...

However――

The real world naturally doesn't have a Magic Base, nor does the new Dungeon World likely have such a system managing mystery etched in advance.

Gu Mo re-equipped the "Projection Magic-LV5" Skill Badge and tested it again. This time, it activated the intended effect with ease. The avatar also quickly conducted the same test, and it succeeded as well.

"So that's how it is..."

He gazed at his ten Skill Bar slots, his expression extremely subtle, even with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Long ago, he had discovered the issue with the Skill Bar, and he had been worried, thinking it would be a troublesome problem. But soon afterward, he realized he might have overthought it, that this issue didn't need concern.

The Skill Bar isn't about equipping skills to exert their effects. In actuality, obtaining a Skill Badge represents mastery of that ability.

Just like when he initially learned the Yin Yang Technique, he needed to study and master bit by bit, until the proficiency accumulated to fill the progress bar, condensing into the corresponding Skill Badge, because that meant he truly mastered the skill... But even so, 가까이가 없는no matter 무링, why after condensing the Skill Badge, must it be equipped to use the corresponding ability? This seems obviously a step backwards.

Understanding this, he relaxed, considering the Skill Bar's limitations as yet another inexplicable design by an unintelligible system, similar to features like a friend list or blacklist, which he found no particular use for, and thus stopped paying attention.

Until now...

"The Skill Bar indeed requires equipping skills for them to take effect, yet its true core significance lies in that even for those abilities nullified by differing world rules, once equipped, they can function unimpeded... This is its actual use."

Gu Mo pondered earnestly.

"Its effect might even cross worlds, radiating to the avatar side as an extension of power. Maybe I need to carefully select ten core abilities to build the power structure of myself and my avatar around them, for assessing rules and wielding power across different spacetime?"

"So then, what is the particularity of the Power of Authority? Is it because... without Divinity, I haven't truly mastered them?"

......

...

Dungeon World, Warring States Era.

It seemed that with a blink of an eye, several days had passed again, and Gu Mo had reached the entrance of Tabei Mountain within the borders of Mino Country.

There was a massive Blacksmith's Village on the mountain, also serving as Saito Dosan's secret weapons factory, but it suddenly lost contact a few days ago... Knowing what kind of scene this was, Gu Mo simply came directly. Although the scene's reward might be meager, even the legs of mosquitoes are meat.

Moreover, it should trigger the plot of an important character here, the contemporary Demon Exterminator leader "Wuming." Ah Xiu's blade might need this person's participation for reforging.

He was not alone in coming here; naturally, Hidechika came along, as well as his little aunt... and dear younger sister.

To subdue the violent demonic nature in the bloodlines, blocking it might not be as effective as channeling it. Continuing to suppress it wasn't a solution; ultimately, it addressed the symptoms, not the root. So he simply adopted a method similar to Ah Xiu's, facing it, getting familiar with it, and finally trying to conquer it, to control the demon's power with his own true heart.

But though it made sense―

The old man seemed convinced that he had ulterior motives... The father-in-law and son-in-law relationship appeared to be getting more intense.