Chapter 200: Chapter 199: There’s Something Called the Iris
“Stop, stop, stop!” the Black Robed Man raised his hand, blocking Richard from asking new questions, and said, “Alright, lad, you’ve asked enough questions. Now, according to the principle of equivalent exchange, it’s your turn to answer mine, and I hope you can give me an honest answer.”
“First, state your question, so I can hear it.” Richard’s eyes flickered, he spoke up.
“Fine then.” The Black Robed Man looked at Richard, his gaze fixed, his eyes burning with ghostly flames, his expression extremely serious, “My question is… who exactly are you? Don’t try to be evasive. Although I haven’t unraveled all your secrets, your actions aboard the ship alone are not those of an ordinary person.
“Researching spells, inscribing magic runes, concocting potions… Heh, many of these things are beyond what real wizards can do. And sometimes the things you write on scrolls truly baffle me, yet if looked at closely, they seem to make some sense. Tsk tsk, who are you, really?”
“If you get down to the root of it, I am just a Prince from the Blue Lion Kingdom.”
“Then how do you have so many abilities?”
“I have a Wizard Book, I learned it all from there.”
“Just a Wizard Book isn’t enough, right? Your performance, some of your actions and behaviors — even ten Wizard Books wouldn’t be sufficient.”
“What if we add my intelligence?”
“I think intelligence is enough,” Richard said. “Of course, a more accurate explanation is a kind of wisdom, a scientific way of thinking.”
“Science?” the Black Robed Man uttered, as though he had never heard the word, unclear about its meaning.
“Science,” Richard repeated, explaining, “you can think of it as a kind of persistence. For example, when a normal Wizard Apprentice learns a spell, that’s it, they’ve learned it, then they look forward to learning the next spell, a more powerful spell. They hope for continuously increasing strength, ultimately becoming a powerful wizard.
“I am different. After learning to cast a spell, I try to think, research, and analyze the principles behind the spell, and then go further to understand the entire Magic System, the mechanisms behind all spells. I want to know why a certain action can release such a spell, while another can release a different spell. What rules and logic are there in between? Then, I find the logic, the pattern, and make use of it.
“Of course, the process is very difficult, but its effects are significant. If successful, I would need to master only a few spells to effectively command all spells. I could change a spell’s power at will, even control to make an enemy’s spell fail completely, making the enemy’s Wizard Level meaningless.”
“You can do all that?!” the Black Robed Man was somewhat astonished.
“I obviously can’t do all of that now, it’s just how I explain science, to answer your question — why I behave differently from the others,” Richard said. “Come to think of it, if I really could do all that, then now, it wouldn’t be you sitting and me standing, it would be me sitting in the chair and you standing and talking.”
“Ha!” the Black Robed Man couldn’t help but laugh, “So you’ve been keeping tabs on that sort of thing, huh? Well then, why don’t you sit down? I don’t mind at all.” He said this but made no move to stand.
Richard couldn’t be bothered to really fuss over such matters and turned towards the Black Robed Man, “You keep sitting, it’s fine. But, now it’s my turn to ask questions.”
“Go ahead,” the Black Robed Man lifted his hand.
“My question is…” Richard paused slightly, looking at the Black Robed Man and spoke, “Why haven’t you killed me?”
“Why haven’t I killed you? Hmm, that question…”
“It’s something I’ve been wondering about. Consider it from another perspective, if I was in your position, facing someone strange, unexpected, I wouldn’t assassinate them, nor would I interact with them, let alone approach with a benevolent attitude. Curiosity alone is hard to justify, unless… there is some special reason.”
“I hope you can answer seriously.”
“Alright,” the Black Robed Man exhaled, “I might as well tell you, there are mainly two reasons why I treat you this way.”
“Two reasons,” the Black Robed Man nodded. “The first reason is, I have a liking for you.”
“A liking!” Richard’s eyes flashed, his expression somewhat odd.
“What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking, the liking you mentioned isn’t some kind of taboo or abnormal affection, is it?”
“Hmm? Ha! What do you take me for! Wizards might be strange, but not everyone is a deviant. Kid, I like women! Even though I’m older now, and don’t feel much for women anymore, but I used to like women!”
“That simplifies things.” Richard spoke, his eyes shining, “A liking can’t just appear out of nowhere, at the very least, we must have had some interaction before. Or to put it more straightforwardly, I must have helped you — directly or indirectly did something that benefited you.
“For instance, Luther, the direct Apprentice of a wizard you killed on this great ship — I previously gave him a Gold Coin, so he felt goodwill towards me and helped me out with little things on board. And you…” Richard turned towards the Black Robed Man, then suddenly raised his eyebrows, “Wait a minute!”
Richard stared at the Black Robed Man and slowly repeated his earlier words, “I previously gave him a ‘Gold Coin’… a Gold Coin?”
“Ah, is the keyword a Gold Coin then?” Richard saw the Black Robed Man’s subtle reaction and confirmed, “We had some connection regarding a Gold Coin, right?”
The Black Robed Man sat motionless in the chair.
Richard quickly reasoned out something, “If there’s a connection with a Gold Coin, then we must have met face to face, after all, a Gold Coin is something that can only affect you if there’s direct contact. Otherwise, a Gold Coin I spent a month ago ending up in your hands wouldn’t make you react at all. So…”
Richard looked at the Black Robed Man, probing, “Is there a chance you could let me see your face?”
“Kid, you really are clever, guessing we’ve met before.” The Black Robed Man took off his hood generously, revealing his entire face, unafraid, “But I don’t think you can really recognize me, because my appearance has been altered, I am no longer the person I was.”
“Then, could you let me see your eyes?” Richard asked again.
“My eyes?” The Black Robed Man’s burning green eyes extinguished, revealing a pair of ordinary eyes, still without much concern, “What can you guess by looking at my eyes, kid?”
“I can guess your previous identity,” Richard said calmly.
“Oh?” The Black Robed Man was evidently incredulous.
“You said your appearance has been changed, I believe it. Muscle stretching, slight deformation of the bones, skin regeneration, all can quickly alter a person’s appearance. But I don’t believe that you also changed your eyes. And as long as you haven’t changed your eyes, then I can recognize your identity.”
“Because in the eyes, there’s a part called the iris.”