In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
May 9th.
The spirit realm.
Nocturne found an empty patch of ground and rested there with a numb expression, unable to help doubting his demon life.
The surroundings were quiet. Dense magic rippled through the air, and because of the arrival of a powerful demon, there was not a single spirit in the nearby territory.
Nocturne let out a heavy sigh.
For three whole days, he had wandered through many places in the spirit realm and thought of every method possible, yet he simply could not find a way to undo the restrictions of the contract.
At this point, he should have understood that the strength of this contract was not something he could break.
By now, he had already grown used to despair, with only one final hope left in his heart.
That hope was sixty years later.
According to the contents of the contract, that detestable human prince had to return his freedom after sixty years.
And with this contract in place, there was no way he could make a promise and fail to fulfill it.
Sixty years, to the old him, was nothing more than taking a nap.
But for some reason, every minute and every second now felt unbearably long to Nocturne.
At this time, Nocturne could not help thinking of the task that human prince had given him. Today was the final deadline.
Speaking of which, this Dreamnet really did interest Nocturne somewhat.
Even he had never thought about using his own abilities to gather the thoughts of humans from every part of the physical realm together.
Accomplishing this was naturally not difficult for Nocturne.
He could easily create a dream, and that dream could serve as a node to connect the dreams of all humans in the spirit realm.
When the time came, those humans outside could use that "key" to open the dream.
As for how to connect "dreams" to other "dreams," that was even simpler.
Frey had also provided him with ideas. She called the key an "account," and the form of expression for an account was a number.
Through accounts, two people holding "keys" could add each other and connect their respective "dreams."
At that point, they could contact each other through this method.
This also meant that they had broken the barrier between the spirit realm and the physical realm, bringing the two infinitely close together.
That could not help creating even more possibilities.
This key could do far too many things.
Even Nocturne had no choice but to admire humanity's wild imagination.
Nocturne sighed again. He had long since accepted his fate. Naturally, he did not have the awareness needed to risk his life against that prince, so for now, he could only place everything on what would happen sixty years later.
Of course, perhaps after one year, two years, three years, or at some unknown time, he might suddenly find a way to escape.
But it would definitely not be now. Right now, he could only obey orders.
The physical realm.
Outside, the weather was bright and clear. Today's weather was extremely good, and the air was especially cool. Summer was about to arrive, so this was probably one of the few days left with such suitable temperature.
Luke had still woken up very early today. After breakfast, he took a carriage to the Mage Association.
The Dreamnet Center.
Frey presented the final results to Luke. "Your Highness, the basic preparations are complete. I summoned several mages and designed a magic projected curved screen that can connect to the 'Secret Key.'"
She handed a finished "Secret Key" to Luke.
It was about the size of a palm and somewhat heavy. Its outer shell was made from silver-white petricite, connected to a glowing crystal. Within the crystal was a strange color, somewhere between black and purple. A profound magical pattern was carved into the surface of the petricite, and a mechanism was attached to the other side.
It was not difficult to pick up. It weighed roughly one pound. If this were not a magical creation, Luke really would have wanted to name it a phone.
Frey said, "Activate the mechanism, and it will activate the magic array, thereby starting the Secret Key."
Luke nodded and directly activated the mechanism on the right side. With a soft click, the crystal suddenly lit up and refracted a rectangular magic screen.
Seeing this result, Luke's eyes brightened.
It seemed that the results Frey had produced were even more impressive than he had imagined.
"We can more or less show this off now. Let them know that the Mage Association hasn't been sitting idle."
He put down the Secret Key and spoke slowly.
Two hours later.
In a meeting room of the Mage Association, a group of figures had arrived.
Among them were several ministers from the octagonal table, as well as several other highly respected ministers. Roy, who had stepped down from his position, was also present.
There were also some nobles of considerable reputation, such as Augatha, Lady Lestara, and Elma.
In short, there were quite a few people, adding up to around forty or fifty.
Jarvan IV had also arrived. At this moment, his eyes were filled with interest. He wanted to know what his second brother had mysteriously called them all here to do.
Naturally, he had been more than happy to come. After all, this meant he could rarely put aside that heavy load of government affairs.
Likewise, Tianna was also rather interested at this moment. She wanted to know what new trick this boy had come up with to summon so many people here with such fanfare.
On the other side sat Lux, Fiora, Sona, Kahina, and the others.
At this moment, the ministers were chatting casually with one another, not discussing why Luke had called them over.
Basically, everyone was smiling and talking. Looking at it this way, it seemed almost like a gathering.
Lux could no longer sit still. She sneakily moved over to Luke's side and asked quietly with curiosity, "Is this the thing you mentioned two days ago?"
Hearing this, Luke nodded. "It is."
Lux became even more interested. "So what is it?"
Luke still refused to reveal it and glanced at her. "Sit properly. You'll know in a moment."
"Tch. Acting all mysterious."
Lux pouted and returned to her seat.
Beside her, Fiora, Sona, Kahina, and the others also cast their gazes over. In truth, they were also extremely curious, but they were not in a hurry and remained seated steadily.
Not long after, another figure finally arrived late. Xin Zhao followed at his side. It was none other than Jarvan III.
Ever since he had tossed government affairs to Jarvan IV, he looked much younger as a whole.
Luke and Jarvan IV stepped forward, then bowed at the same time and said in unison, "Greetings, Father."
"No need for ceremony."
Jarvan III looked at them with gratification and waved his hand.
Then he found a seat and sat down, looking at Luke with a smile as he asked, "You called so many of us here. What are you going to show us?"
"You will all know very soon."
Luke no longer kept them in suspense and gave Frey a look.
Frey understood and immediately took out today's main attraction, three Secret Keys.
Jarvan IV was quite good at playing along. Seeing this, he immediately said in surprise, "Oh? Second brother, what is this?"
Luke smiled and glanced at him, then introduced it. "I call it a Secret Key, and it is about to become a product that surpasses correspondence by letter."
Lux asked, "Why call it a Secret Key?"
"Because it is the key that connects us to the dream terminal. As for why it is called a Secret Key, that's because it sounds nicer."
Luke smiled and gave his answer.
Everyone nodded. Tianna asked, "You say it can surpass correspondence by letter?"
Until now, the method by which Demacians contacted one another had always been letters.
That something called a Secret Key could surpass letters naturally aroused everyone's curiosity.
"If production is large enough, then it won't just surpass it. It will end it. If everyone has a Secret Key, then correspondence by letter can be completely ended."
When Luke said this, his tone carried tremendous confidence.
The people opposite him were stunned by what they heard, and they became even more curious.
Tianna nodded. "Please demonstrate."
She felt that this boy had often exaggerated and boasted before. Humanity had used letters to communicate for more than merely a thousand years.
Ending it just because he said so sounded like a joke.
Most of the people present had the same thoughts as her. They all felt that there was at least some element of boasting in Luke's words.
Everyone knew this boy had some ability, but his main trait was acting however he pleased and never managing to stay serious.
He was practically a negative example for Demacians.
"Everyone, watch closely. Next, I will choose one lucky audience member to come up and demonstrate with me."
As Luke spoke, his gaze swept over the people across from him.
As soon as Lux heard this, her spirit immediately shook. Even the little stray lock of hair on top of her head seemed to perk up. She instantly cast him an expectant gaze, her beautiful eyes sparkling as if she had almost written "pick me, pick me" on her face.
Luke's gaze swept over, then deliberately skipped past her.
Lux pouted and became unhappy.
The next second, Luke's gaze returned to her, and he smiled. "Please welcome Miss Crownguard to the stage."
Lux's little face changed instantly, going from cloudy to sunny. She showed a bright smile and quickly stood up, arriving beside Luke.
Luke handed her a Secret Key, then told her how to activate it. "Open the mechanism on the left side, and you can activate the Secret Key. Of course, if you're a somewhat capable mage, then even without opening the mechanism, as long as you understand the magic transmission array, you can activate it."
Lux nodded. Everyone looked over curiously and saw her open the mechanism on the right side. Instantly, a surge of magical light appeared.
To everyone, seeing magic had already become normal, so they were not surprised at this moment.
But when a rectangular screen, roughly a little larger than a head, was projected, quite a few people froze slightly.
"This is what the Secret Key looks like after it opens."
As Luke spoke, he also opened his own Secret Key, then continued, "I call this an account. It represents a string of personal information."
The account name in the upper left corner of Lux's screen was 2, while Luke's was 1. As for 0, that was with Frey.
As the main developer, she naturally deserved to have 0.
The panel after opening was very simple, like a letter with nothing written inside it. There was only a number, as well as a dark frame. In the lower left corner, there was a plus sign.
On Luke's panel, there was already a dark avatar with no note attached.
"Tap the plus sign."
Luke spoke at this moment.
Lux nodded curiously and reached out to tap the plus sign. The screen actually reacted, and a long box popped up.
She found this scene extremely novel. "My finger can react with the magic screen?"
"This is one of the more outstanding development achievements. This screen can capture finger movements and then give a corresponding response."
Luke nodded and explained.
At this moment, the people sitting opposite them were already unbearably curious. One by one, they felt as if they were sitting on needles, all wanting to stand up and come over to see exactly what was going on.
However, out of restraint, they still endured it and looked forward to the next step.
By this point, many intelligent people had already thought of something.
"Enter the number 1 in the box."
Luke continued speaking at this moment.
Lux nodded, poked the long box, and a feedback panel of the numbers 1 through 9 appeared. She tried tapping 1, then without needing Luke to say anything, directly tapped add.
On Luke's screen, there was soon a reaction. A notification popped up.
Idiot 2 requests to add you as a friend. Accept?
When Lux saw the words on Luke's screen, she froze at first, then became furious. She said fiercely, "Who are you calling an idiot? You're the idiot. Your whole..."
"Ahem. Lux, mind your words."
Augatha coughed heavily.
She interrupted Lux's next words, allowing Lux to stop in time. Then Lux looked toward Jarvan III and scratched her head awkwardly. "I didn't mean it. I'm only aiming that at this guy."
"No harm done."
Jarvan III looked at her with indulgence and smiled without caring at all. "Continue the demonstration."
Only then did Lux look at Luke and glare at him fiercely. No wonder this jerk had specifically chosen her to come up. So he had been waiting for her here!
Returning to the main topic, Luke reached out and tapped accept.
Soon, both of their screens changed in the same way. Each now had an additional dark avatar.
Luke's went from one to two.
Next, Luke operated it skillfully. First, he opened his personal information and changed his name to "Demacia's Most Handsome Man."
Everyone inwardly cursed his shameless behavior, but no one spoke and continued watching.
Afterward, Luke returned to the main interface, tapped Lux's friend profile, edited a message, and sent it over.
"Have you eaten?"
With a ding, the Secret Key in Lux's hand actually let out a crisp sound. It not only startled her, but also surprised everyone who had been watching with full attention.
Lux then saw the message Luke had sent.
Demacia's Most Handsome Man: "Have you eaten?"
She froze, then replied without thinking, "Not yet!"
The next second, Luke's side also received Lux's response.
Watching the interaction on the Secret Key screens between the two of them, the people present could no longer sit still. One after another, they stood up and gathered around.
Tianna was even the first to walk over, surprise on her face. "In other words, this Secret Key of yours can allow mutual communication?"
"The answer is already written there. Can you all still not understand it?"
Luke pointed at the screen and smiled.
Naturally, there were no fools present. At this moment, everyone understood and gathered around, their faces full of amazement.
At first, they had thought that even if this thing was impressive, it could not be that impressive.
But now, the result had opened their eyes wide and nearly shocked their jaws to the floor.
If it truly could achieve communication as simply as Luke and Lux had demonstrated, then just how great an impact would this invention have on Demacia?
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