"Do you still remember Anslot?"
"I do," Carl nodded. "Tim's friend, I heard he went missing?"
"He's dead," Alesya shrugged. "His body was dredged up from the depths of the Swamp. It's still unknown who did it."
"What I meant to say was, he once commissioned me to try and purchase the Advanced Magic Items you inherited from Adolf."
"Oh!" Carl raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Watching the other leave, Carl pondered briefly before heading to the library, where he stopped in front of a scroll painting. A woman in the painting was deep in sleep.
"Ah!" Jina snapped back to reality, opening her eyes with a smile. "Honored Master, what do you command?"
"Were you sleeping?" Carl asked, curious.
"No!" Jina declared with a serious expression, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth as she fibbed, "I was pondering! As a spirit servant filled with knowledge, I need to think constantly to better serve you, Master."
Seriously? Carl was speechless.
He shook his head and tentatively asked, "I just heard that you're hiding a secret. Is it true?"
"A secret?" Jina chuckled. "I thought you would never ask, Master. Indeed, I do hold a secret, but my creator placed a lock on it. Only a subsequent master who becomes an Official Wizard can unlock it."
So there really was a secret? No wonder Anslot was so fixated. I actually thought his relationship with Tim was good enough for him to seek revenge on his behalf.
"Then..." His thoughts raced, and Carl asked slowly, "How would you know if I am an Official Wizard or not?"
"Simple." Jina spread her hands. "Hold my frame, and you'll know the answer."
Carl looked at her intently, then turned and left. Knowing there was a secret was enough for now; it wasn't yet time to unravel it.
"Progress has slowed!" Carl stretched his limbs, shaking his head in resignation.
Thanks to the blessing of his Abyssal Bloodline, his Constitution had grown rapidly in recent months. Now, however, it had finally begun to slow. Read complete version only at novel★fire.net
"I should now be comparable to the three former top experts of Freedom Port. I'm at the peak of a Great Knight, not much weaker than Ocean God Hawke."
"In another year or two, by using the flesh and blood of Legendary Creatures, I should be able to reach the numerical limit for a Great Knight's Constitution."
"As for strength..." He mused. "I should be able to defeat Hawke decisively. With the help of witchcraft, I can slay ordinary Legendary Creatures with relative ease."
"Hmm?" Eyebrows twitching slightly, Carl strode out of the house.
It was already late at night. The once merely dark sky had grown even more profound, so dark one could barely see their hand in front of their face. Across the vast island, only a faint glow emanated from the house ahead.
"Catherine?" Carl frowned slightly and walked towards the light.
He slowly pushed open the door.
The scene in the hall made his expression freeze, and he instinctively gripped the hilt of the broad sword he carried. An altar! An altar to communicate with the Divine!
He had been studying knowledge related to the Divine for some time and recognized the pattern on the ground at a glance.
Catherine was just an ordinary person. Although she had married an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, she wasn't studious. Such a complex pattern, such an arrangement... did she set this up? What is she trying to do?
Carl's throat bobbed, his heart pounding. The danger sense from his Abyssal Bloodline made him subconsciously aware that something was terribly wrong, but it was clearly too late to retreat.
Footsteps sounded from within the room. Catherine, dressed in a light, gauzy nightgown, walked out slowly. The thin fabric did little to conceal her figure, instead lending her a hazy, alluring beauty.
Carl, however, was in no mood to appreciate her beauty. He asked warily, "Who are you?"
The person standing before him was clearly Catherine. Yet, in his perception, she exuded a strange and terrifying aura. It was like the stars in the sky, or the profound depths of the sea; her slightest movement seemed to make the heavens collapse and the earth give way.
This feeling... It was very similar to Cherry, the Island Master of Flame Island, after being distorted by the aura of an Evil God, yet it was different. Back then, Cherry had been driven mad, knowing only slaughter, like a mindless beast. But the Catherine before him, though also a 'monster,' seemed to possess her sanity. Her eyes were dark and deep, like a bottomless abyss, and her aura far surpassed that of the monster Cherry had become.
"A Great Knight?" 'Catherine' observed Carl, speaking slowly. Her voice was hoarse, making it impossible to determine if it was male or female. "This doesn't align with the believer's memories."
Shaking her head slightly, 'she' seemed unwilling to delve deeper. After all, he was merely a Great Knight, still within the realm of mortals, and not worth her attention. Her gaze swept past the window to the inky black sky outside. "The Black Swamp... such a foul aura. It truly deserves to be thoroughly purified!"
"Carl." 'She' looked at him. "Take me to the Grey Robed Wizard here."
"The Grey Robed Wizard?" Carl retreated slowly, asking again, "Who are you?"
"Me?" 'Catherine's' eyes seemed distant. She hesitated for a moment before a smile touched her lips. Inclining her head slightly, her voice became solemn and resonant, like the tolling of a great bell echoing in his ears. "Foolish, laughable mortal. Standing before you now is a servant of God, Angel Remi."
A gleam flashed in Carl's eyes. An immaculate angel materialized in his perception. 'Her' presence was like a brilliant star, adorning the profound, dark night with a dreamlike, fantastical beauty. 'She' had a pair of snow-white wings, and as 'she' gently flapped them, golden motes of light scattered like meteors streaking across the sky—breathtakingly beautiful. Though 'her' tone was filled with disdain and mockery, 'her' beautiful eyes still radiated warmth and compassion. It seemed they could soothe any sorrow or trauma, imparting endless light and hope.
Carl's eyes narrowed, his muscles tensing instantly. "A servant of the Master of Dawn?"
"Mortal!" Remiller's voice was tinged with displeasure. "You talk too much. Take me to the Grey Robed Wizard. With this descent, I bring God's decree."