Even though Dean Bruce had previously acquired teleportation items, having more life-saving tools was always better.
In the face of a powerful opponent, another teleportation item would only enhance his chances of survival.
Taking a deep breath, Dean Bruce calmed his excitement and continued reviewing the attributes of the remaining items.
[Healing Spring (Special Item): When given to a target to drink, as long as their body remains intact, it will trigger. The spring heals all wounds and diseases, replenishing the target's life force. Note: This item cannot be used on those killed by magic. It has three uses in total.]
[Random Magic Insight Scroll (Special Item): Upon use, the user randomly gains insight into a spell with the following probabilities: 90% chance for a basic spell, 9% chance for an advanced spell, 0.9% chance for a high-level spell, and 0.1% chance for an Ultra-High-Level spell.]
[Soul Blood Nail (S-Rank Item): Once embedded into a target's body, as long as their magic power does not exceed the user's by more than tenfold, the user can control the target's soul for 300 seconds. It can be used multiple times, but the nail must be retrieved after each use. If lost, it cannot be used again.]
[Secret Training Space (Special Item): Upon activation, the user and a specific target can be transported to a secret training space. In this space, time flows at 1% of the normal speed—100 days inside the space equals just one day in the outside world.
Magic power gathers 20% faster in this space. It has unlimited uses, but there must be a 30-day interval between uses unless 1,000 Supreme Mage points are consumed for immediate reuse.]
"!!!"
These four items were game-changing, and Dean Bruce could barely contain his excitement. He nearly let his emotions slip.
As for the Decoy Scarecrow and Blank Spellbook, their effects weren't as impressive, so Dean Bruce quickly stored them in the system's space without much thought.
Wasting no time, Dean Bruce immediately used the Random Magic Insight Scroll.
With the Pur-cloud Imperial Capital's palace looming ahead, boosting his strength was a top priority!
Ding!
"System Notification: Congratulations! You've successfully used the Random Magic Insight Scroll and learned the high-level spell—Domain of Exorcism!"
Seeing this notification, Dean Bruce sighed slightly. His luck hadn't been strong enough to get an Ultra-High-Level spell, but with only a 0.9% chance for a high-level spell, learning one was still a decent outcome.
With everything in order, Dean Bruce composed himself. They were still traveling to the palace, and there was some distance left to cover. He wasn't worried. Instead, he focused his mind on fully understanding the specific effects of the Domain of Exorcism spell.
The effect of the Domain of Exorcism was quite straightforward: it condensed magical energy to form a spiritual domain, suppressing and draining the power of any malevolent energy, demonic forces, or spirits within its bounds.
Beyond that, it didn't have any additional abilities.
This left Dean Bruce feeling a bit resigned. It seemed like the high-level spells he had been teaching others were actually stronger than the native high-level spells of this world.
Once Dean Bruce had a good grasp of the Domain of Exorcism, the group finally arrived at the palace.
What a pity she was an enemy!
Dean Bruce thought to himself that once this ordeal was over and the Quirell family was saved, he would have to kill her. Without the enmity between them, though, she would have made a fine apprentice with such resilience and cunning.
Seeing Miranda Joy's confidence, Rulda Chel and the other protectors exchanged uncertain glances. Eventually, Rulda Chel moved forward, placing his hand gently on King Prani Joy's forehead to check for any traces of poison or other ailments.
"Hmm?!"
After a brief moment, Rulda Chel's face shifted in shock. "There's no poison in the king's body," he exclaimed. "Though he had internal injuries, they weren't fatal. It appears as though... he died from a fit of rage!"
Everyone in the room froze in disbelief.
After all, they had clearly seen Miranda Joy administer the potion, and right after that, the king had died!
Miranda Joy's voice dripped with sarcasm as she added, "You may also want to check what's inside that bottle."
Confident in his abilities, Rulda Chel showed no fear of any trickery. He picked up the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and took a cautious sniff. His expression turned to one of astonishment once again. "This is the Water of Life! Where did you get this?
Ever since the Elven race completely cut off contact with us humans, only the most powerful factions have had access to even a small amount of the Water of Life. For anyone else, it's nearly impossible to obtain!"
Miranda Joy nodded and said, "Would I kill my father after using such a precious resource to extend his life? As you just mentioned, the king died from a fit of rage!"
She then pointed a finger at Apollon Joy and shouted coldly, "For the past month, so many things have happened in the imperial capital, yet neither of my dear brothers returned! Yes, I want to inherit the throne, but the mysterious disappearances of those people weren't my doing!"
"The reason I kept you all trapped was to prevent you from acting prematurely and alerting the real mastermind. I've been fishing all along! Everything I've done has been for the long-term stability and prosperity of the Empire of Lane Cloud!"
"By contrast, my two brothers, who should have returned to support the kingdom, stayed away, leaving me and our ailing father alone in the capital to face all these dangers!"
"And now, they've even joined forces with the mastermind. When Father woke up to see this, how could he not be heartbroken? How could he not be angry?"
"The true culprit behind Father's death is Apollon!"
Her impassioned words left Rulda Chel and the others stunned, and even Apollon Joy found himself momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond.
Dean Bruce let out a hearty laugh and said, "According to your story, I'm the mastermind then? But before I even arrived, there were already people mysteriously disappearing!"
Miranda Joy, her voice sharp, retorted, "With your abilities, hiding in the shadows until now isn't that surprising. Now that you wish to seize everything and take control of my Empire of Lane Cloud, you've finally revealed yourself! I was foolish to have once thought of you as an elder!"
"Grandmaster, look over there—that body belongs to Linda, the eldest daughter of the Quirell family, who went missing under mysterious circumstances. But she was clearly a swordswoman, and yet her body is now brimming with magic. If you let her speak, her voice will undoubtedly be that of a man!"
"This is the evidence! They are the true masterminds behind everything, and their plan is to place Apollon on the throne to control the Empire of Lane Cloud!"