Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 444: Earth Element

Duke and Vivian appeared at the edge of the square with the patrol team and didn’t attract much attention.

Duke’s gaze quickly scanned the whole scene, finally fixing on the massive metal door and the Thorn Holy Tower wizards standing ready around it.

He could clearly sense the heart-palpitating energy fluctuations and physical strength emanating from that door.

"Looks like getting in through the front door is as hard as climbing to the heavens," Duke whispered to Vivian.

Vivian looked over there and nodded: "The one at the door is Wizard Bazel, and he’s also a rather learned scholar. Even he doesn’t have any clues, which means this vault isn’t that simple."

Vivian was naturally familiar with the people from the Thorn Holy Tower and instantly recognized those at the door.

Duke said nothing; his gaze quietly shifted away from the door and began to carefully observe the connection between the ground fortress and the surrounding square’s ground, as well as some seemingly ordinary buildings and streets further away.

His High-Level Earth Element Affinity Talent made him possess an extraordinary perception of the earth’s structure.

He was searching, searching for another path into the underground vault that might have been overlooked by everyone.

If a frontal attack and cracking the vault were hopeless, perhaps he could try to bypass this headache-inducing door from underground.

This vault is a multi-layered metal giant tower deeply buried underground, with a depth of several hundred meters.

Duke discovered upon probing with Spiritual Power that the outer shell of this vault was entirely made of Magic Metal.

Moreover, there’s an energy flow contained within these Magic Metals, making the magical metal shell harder.

Duke glanced at Vivian, and she instantly understood something from his eyes. Then the two of them silently retreated, moving away from the square.

Once they were far enough away, Duke sent a message through Spiritual Power: "I can try to sneak underground to see if there’s a chance to get in."

"Will there be danger?" Vivian first thought about the safety issue.

She had seen Duke absorb the Sea Heart Iron veins before and roughly guessed what Duke wanted to do.

But sneaking in under so many eyes wouldn’t be easy.

"Don’t worry, I won’t force it, just trying," Duke said.

"Then be careful. I’ll keep watch from above and inform you immediately if there’s anything," Vivian said.

Duke and Vivian quickly left the noisy, heavily monitored North District Square.

They seemed to continue their patrol tasks but, intentionally or unintentionally, moved toward the edge regions of Ash City.

The closer they got to the city wall, the more evident the scars of war became, and the fewer people there were—a situation they welcomed.

Eventually, they stopped at a corner of the collapsed and almost unguarded ruined wall.

Here, it was piled with rubble and debris, away from the main roads, appearing particularly desolate.

"Here will do," Duke surveyed the surroundings, using the Eye of Darkness and Shadow Perception to confirm there was no one else around.

Vivian nodded, looking stern: "I’ll be here, disguised as inspecting the wall damage. Be careful; if you feel anything’s off, retreat immediately, don’t take risks!"

She knew well that exploring such an uncontrolled area, especially one potentially hiding huge benefits, inherently carried risks.

"Understood," Duke briefly replied.

He walked behind a pile of large, leaning broken stone walls, forming a relatively concealed blind spot.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind completely.

The Magic Power within him flowed slowly, creating a deep resonance with the earth beneath his feet.

The High-Level Earth Element Affinity Talent was fully activated, turning the ground beneath him from cold, hard ruins into a warm energy filled entity he could communicate with.

He extended his hands and gently pressed them onto the dusty, broken ground.

In the next moment, the hard rocks and dirt of the ground he touched seemed to instantly lose their solid physical properties, becoming as soft and compliant as viscous water.

His body began to slowly sink, like descending into a silent swamp, not stirring up any dust or creating any energy fluctuations.

All changes were strictly controlled within the small area around him, perfectly concealed by the earth’s own aura.

Within just a few breaths, Duke’s entire person had vanished below the ground, leaving no trace behind.

The original location showed only a barely perceptible small dent initially created by his hand, soon covered by dust carried by the wind.

Vivian vigilantly stood guard at the original spot, her gaze sweeping around cautiously.

Below ground, there was absolute darkness and suffocating pressure.

But for Duke, it felt as if he had returned to the womb, perfectly at ease.

His body was enveloped in pure Earth Elemental Energy; the surrounding rock layers and soil opened their arms to him, gently clearing a path for him, healing quietly after he passed, leaving no trace.

Indeed, this was Duke’s first attempt at this, with Magic Power constantly draining from within.

To achieve the effect of swimming in the earth as smoothly as in water, he had to constantly use Magic Power in tandem with his exceptionally high Earth Element Affinity to control the surrounding soil and rocks.

The whole process not only required extremely high Earth Element Affinity but also demanded Duke’s high Spiritual Power and Magic Power control ability.

This was a technical endeavor, requiring a high foundational ability from Duke.

Like the most agile fish, he swam through the dense earth towards Ash City’s North District direction.

His Spiritual Power acted as the most precise compass, firmly locking onto the distant target emitting strong, unique Magic Metal energy fluctuations—namely the underground vault.

He did not advance in a straight line but ingeniously avoided some geologically unstable areas and abandoned underground pipelines.

Though not particularly quick, his progress was stable and stealthy.

Duke continued moving underground, with depth ever increasing, ten meters... twenty meters... fifty meters...

Surrounding rocks became increasingly hard, and the difficulty of moving started to increase.

But his control over the Earth Element was exceedingly subtle, always finding paths within rock layers that were relatively soft or with natural crevices, maximizing his Magic Power conservation and minimizing Spiritual Power burden.

Finally, after traversing a considerable distance, the metal energy fluctuations in his perception became immensely clear and vast, like a cold steel mountain spanning the underground world ahead.

He had arrived directly below Ash City’s underground vault.

Duke stopped, suspended within the cold rock layers, carefully observing the gigantic structure above with Spiritual Power.