Chapter 42
Allen was already mostly convinced. The reason was simple: the young man standing at the door felt too familiar to him. Every time he saw this person, he would involuntarily become nervous.
Just as he was about to reach out to remind Arnold, Murphy, who was standing on the stairs behind, suddenly spoke up: "Long time no see."
The boy came down the stairs and walked towards the door.
Veris raised an eyebrow, glanced at Murphy who was walking towards them, and then looked at Arnold: "You can't stay here any longer. You'd better pack your bags and leave now."
This time, Allen reached out and tugged at Arnold, whispering, "Let's get our luggage first." They didn't have much stuff, but it was all necessities, and if it got buried in the blizzard, it would be a significant loss.
As Allen pulled him away, the blond boy shouted at Veris, "Don't lie to me!"
Murphy had already reached the front of the hall, looking at Veris with pursed lips. He looked very nervous, his lips trembling, but he didn't utter a single word.
Instead, Veris looked at him and smiled: "Let me see the staff."
Murphy was taken aback, but still obediently summoned his staff. Veris's eyes flickered at the sight, but he said nothing.
The staff looked very beautiful, with flowing incantations and white light swirling around it, subtly refracting seven colors. The crystal at the top, which was originally transparent, turned silver-white after Murphy used it for a long time.
Veris held it in his hand, looking at the flowing incantations and the crystals embedded in the staff. He was right; the staff had been overused by its owner, and the incantations were not flowing smoothly, as if they were blocked. Cracks had appeared on the crystal at the top, as well as on the other crystals embedded in the staff.
“Time reversal can repair your damaged body, but the crack in the staff is not repaired…” Veris said with a slight frown. “That’s a bit strange. Logically speaking, after time reversal, it’s possible that your body, not the staff, would be damaged.”
He looked up at the somewhat nervous boy and said, "Come out with me."
The two walked out of the hotel one after the other. The streets were deserted, the moonlight was dim, and a cold wind swept through. The lifeless town seemed to be brewing something ominous.
Veris gripped the staff, channeling immense magical power into it. He raised his wrist, holding the staff horizontally, and the previously intermittently flowing runes on it began to move rapidly, like a sharp blade forcefully clearing the blocked path.
He stared at the incantation, his brows suddenly furrowing, his power withdrawing. He turned around and grabbed the boy who was staring at him in a daze. A light golden magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
This was the first time Murphy had ever seen a spatial array. The elements that were combined in the void were cut apart without any hesitation. A dull feeling came through his brain. Only the hand that was holding his wrist had a slightly warm temperature that penetrated his skin.
"No, the timing is wrong." The young man's slightly cold voice rang out from above.
Veris shoved the staff back into Murphy's hand, flicked his wrist, and the key that shone with a strange light appeared in his hand. He pulled Murphy and instantly teleported to mid-air outside the town. Looking back, the town was turning into ruins at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Murphy looked nervous, and his first words were an explanation: "I really am..."
“I know,” Veris said calmly, his voice low but reassuring. “Now we need to find the other two. I really didn’t expect you to be separated.”
The town, where houses were collapsing one after another, was filled with dust and smoke. Murphy looked down nervously, only to see countless pale golden threads flying out from the billowing dust. Upon closer inspection, they had already enveloped the entire town.
He couldn't help but turn his head to look at the young man who was much taller than him. The young man's slender fingers held a beautiful key, inserted it into the air in front of him, and then gently twisted it.
This time, Murphy sensed that another element that made up the world around him was beginning to change dramatically.
He couldn't help but be astonished. Ever since his physique was completely unsealed, he could sense all magical elements, but he was more drawn to the element of light, and the magic he practiced belonged to the category of light magic... He also had a selfish reason, which was that he felt that Veris was related to the High Church, so he shouldn't dislike light magic.
The crystal at the top of the staff emits beams of pure white light, a distinct characteristic of the light element.
However, he could still sense that there were two elements that he could perceive but could not touch.
"Time" and "Space".
The existence of spatial elements is relatively obvious. With careful observation, one can discover the faint spatial elements around him. Murphy finds it difficult to explain what color they are. The spatial elements are like a space, without boundaries, yet they can be quite narrow. He can feel the elements changing in size, like bubbles rising and falling on the sea.
However, the element of time is truly unpredictable.
He knew that element existed, but now he truly witnessed what "time" looked like when it appeared as a magical element.
The world around him seemed to be filled and squeezed by enormous bubbles, the images distorting and filling his eye membranes. The boy's body stiffened, and the world reflected in his eyes was completely beyond his capacity to bear. The bizarre and grotesque world at this moment was beyond description. They grew claws and fangs, and countless pairs of colorful eyes, staring straight at Murphy, so close yet as if at the end of the world.
Suddenly, darkness enveloped everything before my eyes.
Veris's nonchalant voice rang out: "If you're scared, don't watch."
The palms of my hands still retained a slight chill, perfectly blocking any prying eyes.
Time is such an unreasonable thing; it exists in a distorted way, it cannot change itself, it hates everything, and its distorted face has become a rare treasure that the gods flaunt.
When humans look directly at time, they are often frightened by its true nature, and their brains are subjected to a strong attack. Through vision, even a second can be expanded into hundreds of millions of years.
Under prolonged psychological attack, even a brief moment of eye contact can completely destroy the brain, leading to death.
Veris covered the boy's eyes, a smile playing on his lips. The bizarre world reflected in his heterochromatic eyes was much more docile. He no longer bared his teeth and claws, but obediently submitted to the power of the artifact to open the timeline of the past.
The bubbles kept expanding, then seemed to be popped, shrinking drastically, only to be replaced by even larger, more swollen bubbles, until the surrounding world returned to normal from its distortion.
The blizzard returned, and the cold swept over him. Veris released his hand and patted the boy's shoulder. Murphy didn't dare to move. Although the brief eye contact hadn't caused him much harm, it was enough for him to never forget it.
Even he didn't know how fast his heart was beating or how rapid his breathing was, as if he was about to faint at any moment.
The hand gripping the staff was so tight that the bones were almost protruding.
For a moment, he felt those twisted monsters licking his skin. Some of the skin that was licked showed no change, while others became loose and aged.
Human beings' fear of time is ingrained in their very being.
It wasn't until Veris patted his shoulder, and the cold snowflakes stung his pale skin, that Murphy felt alive again.
“Look down and see the town entrance,” Veris said.
Murphy paused, then obediently lowered his head, looking at the entrance to the town. In this blizzard, visibility was extremely low, but Murphy could clearly see two silver-blue silhouettes standing out prominently in the thick snow.
The outline was huge, and he immediately thought of a monster, because only monsters could have such a large size.
“Defeat them.” Veris’s voice was icy cold amidst the blizzard.
Murphy gripped the staff, took a slight breath, and raised his wrist, the tip of the staff pointing towards the silver-blue outline.
Just as he was about to circulate his magic, he suddenly realized that his body was severely depleted of magic power. If he were to use high-level magic again, his body would be overdrawn.
However, the boy only paused for a moment before unhesitatingly continuing to cast high-level magic.
The next second, Veris flicked his head: "Are you crazy? Don't you want to live after using this spell? Use the second-tier spell Burning."
"Second-tier...?" Murphy's voice was slightly hesitant, but second-tier magic was indeed the highest-tier magic he estimated he could withstand—without harming his body.
“Infuse magic into the crystal on the staff,” Veris said.
Murphy did as instructed. Unsure of how much to inject, he released only 30% of his remaining magic. A bright white light shone from the tip of the staff, and a white magic circle appeared. The runes on it spun rapidly, with a fully drawn bow and arrow symbol at the center.
The familiar feeling made him open his eyes wide, but he no longer hesitated and aimed the magic circle at the silver-blue outline below. A huge white beam of light shot out, a hissing sound rang out, and the blizzard gradually weakened.
The wind stopped, the snowflakes that had been dancing in the air gradually fell to the ground, and the view at the entrance of the town became clear.
There were two enormous, bear-like magical beasts, their bodies covered in silver-blue armor. A large hole had been blasted open in the entrance by a white beam of light, and the magical beasts were at the bottom of the hole, motionless.
“The crystals on the staff can store magic power. Your staff came from Uther. His attack didn’t shatter those two magical beasts because you didn’t have enough magic power,” Veris said, glancing at the two magical beasts below.
Murphy looked down at the staff in his hand; he had never known any of this.
He had not systematically studied magic courses, and he knew nothing about many things that magicians knew.
On the journey with Arnold and the others, he made the most of his time to learn advanced magic, only glancing at the other basic knowledge. As for the use of the staff, he thought it was just to make the spellcasting more precise.
A complex expression crossed the boy's face as he suddenly realized why the church's magician had repeatedly urged him to arrive safely at the Royal Academy and complete his magical training before he left Mercury.
How is he any different from Keith now?
While Murphy was still in a daze, Veris had already moved the flying array carrying the two people to the ground.
He glanced at the excited boy, said nothing, and simply stood beside the pit, observing the motionless magical beast at the bottom.
Just as he guessed, the magical beast from the far north appeared to be a hybrid, possessing both wind and ice magic, something that could not possibly exist among purebred magical beasts from the far north.
Another possibility is that someone used this monster for experiments.
A cold glint flashed in his dark red heterochromatic eyes.
But soon he turned his head and looked at the snow-covered town, saying, "Those two people are inside, along with your things. Have you learned the item-finding magic?"
Murphy said awkwardly in a low voice, "...No." But he immediately remembered another mage in the team and hurriedly added, "Arnold has learned it."
Veris didn't care much; as long as someone else knew how, that was fine. He waved his hand and said, "Bring your things here, and I'll wait for you here."
The boy nodded and ran into the town. The monster was killed in time, and the snow on the ground was not yet difficult to walk on. He ran very fast this time and disappeared in no time.
Veris looked down at the magical beast at the bottom of the pit. It looked like a sixth-order magical beast, but the power it was exerting was close to that of an eighth-order beast. It was also possible that the time turbulence had enhanced its power. Moreover, the appearance of magical beasts from the far north island here was extremely unusual, both in the past and in the present.
If this happened in the past... isn't there any record of it in the Grand Papacy? Such an unusual event could not possibly have escaped his notice.
Either this thing was killed as soon as it appeared, or the monster was originally someone else's property.
The blizzard that occurred at night, this time was probably... seven years ago.
Veris's gaze turned cold. He squatted down, picked up a thin layer of snow, and rubbed it between his fingertips. His warm skin quickly melted the snow into cold water.
Seven years ago, he came to Albion, a small town on the border of Mercury and Amberley, and for a considerable period of time he was busy looking for Sylvain's reincarnation.
The young man straightened up, raised his hand with the back of his hand facing up, and a red magic circle appeared in his palm. It spun rapidly and quickly grew to be about the size of the pit before leaving his palm and landing on the pit.
The red runes were densely packed, and the magic patterns outlined the complex design of the magic circle. Soon, a line of ancient text appeared on the magic circle.
Veris stared intently at the ancient text, a cold smile playing on his lips. He clasped his hands together, and the red magic circle transformed into countless points of light, vanishing into thin air.
It really is a contracted beast.
He glanced coldly at the magical beast at the bottom of the pit, abandoning his original idea of taking it away. Since it was a contracted beast, its connection with its master remained even after entering the illusion of the time turbulence. If he took it away, it would be blatantly telling the person behind it who the Divine Key had fallen into.
It seems that letting Murphy take action was the right thing to do. These two monsters were bait, the purpose of which was to lock onto the person who obtained the key. The person behind them dared not face the time turbulence directly, probably because they knew that the consequences of time distortion were extremely serious.
With the monster dead and the divine key appearing, the hero team becomes the target of everyone's attacks.
Does the person behind this know Arnold's identity as a hero and are certain that he won't die easily?
But the monsters appeared seven years ago, and Arnold became the hero seven years later. Even through astronomical observation, Veris was certain that Arnold had nothing to do with anything seven years ago, as the previous hero was still alive then.
He took a slight breath, feeling a bit uneasy.
Was it foresight? Or was it a preordained, terrifying scheme?
His palms were pale, his skin delicate, with only some calluses on his fingertips. Veris looked down, and the divine key appeared in his hand. He stared at the key for a long time before closing his palm.
The hard object poked into his palm, and he suddenly found it somewhat ridiculous.
If we think about it this way, then those high and mighty gods, in order to be revived, actually humbled themselves and cooperated with humans, whom they regarded as ants.
In which time does that god of time hide now? In which ant?
A cold wind ruffled the stray hairs at his temples, and the voices gradually became clearer. Veris lowered his eyes, and the artifact in his hand disappeared, but soon, something else appeared in his palm—a key.
The key looked much more ordinary. He turned his back, muttered an incantation, and the key began to transform, becoming more and more like the divine key from before.
Finally, almost exactly the same, it lay in Veris's palm.
The young man revealed a wicked smile, slightly revealing a trace of his divine power, and then used other magical elements to blur the obvious aura. Even so, the artifact began to be surrounded by a seven-colored light.
Hearing the footsteps getting closer, he turned around and looked at the three people who came out together with a smile. The three young men were carrying luggage and weapons, and Arnold and Allen had obvious signs of frostbite on their faces.
When Arnold saw Veris, he instinctively wanted to smile, but the movement pulled at the wound on his face, causing him to grimace. He then forced a serious expression and said to Veris, "It's so strange. The moment we turned around, everything around us changed."
Veris: "Illusions are just that unreasonable. You guys are even more unlucky because illusions are linked to time. But you're lucky to have met me."
The young man smiled and held out his hand, revealing the shimmering key in his palm: "Here, this is what you're looking for."
Allen, his face also tense, said, "We weren't looking for anything; we were just passing by."
Veris remained unmoved: "Since we're already here, wouldn't it be a waste of our suffering if we didn't take the most important things?"
"That's right, Allen!" Arnold clenched his fist. "We can't let ourselves suffer for nothing!"
Murphy frowned: "Such an important thing, you should—"
Veris had already shoved the key into Arnold's hand, patted him hard on the shoulder, and said, "This is a peerless artifact; you must keep it safe."
The blond boy's eyes lit up: "That's amazing!"
Allen: "Won't this make us easy targets?"
Murphy didn't say anything, but his expression suggested he agreed with Allen.
Upon hearing this, Arnold scratched his head and said, "But if we give it to Veris, won't others gang up on him?"
"Why not leave it to us! I'm a mage now, and I can also be a warrior. I've also learned about potions, so I can heal you!" The hero clenched his fist, his face resolute.
Allen hesitated, and Murphy's white eyes betrayed no emotion, but he silently turned his head away.
Who exactly told Arnold that Veris was weak?
Veris was quite satisfied. He put his hand on Arnold's shoulder and laughed, "Take it. If someone comes to attack you, consider it a trial."
Then, he changed the subject: "District 11 is indeed much safer than the outer territories of the Kingdom, but are you really going to arrive at the Royal Academy in the capital like this? In the entrance exams at the beginning of spring, I'm afraid any one of you could easily defeat you."
He looked at Allen: "After all, only Murphy got the student certificate."
Allen's expression tightened, while Arnold looked up at the person beside him: "Entrance trials? That sounds brutal."
"Yes, people will die. No matter if you are a prince or a young master of a foreign race, if you are not as skilled as others after entering the entrance trial, then... die."
Arnold's eyes widened, and Allen's expression also became much more serious.
Looking at the expressions on their faces, Veris felt a sense of pleasure, like he was scaring children. Although he wasn't lying, the number of deaths during the entrance trials was relatively small.
The first real peak in deaths occurred during the year-end trial, which was also the graduation trial.
Entering the vast Central Forest, you will face ferocious monsters and other adventurers, some kind-hearted, others ruthless villains seeking to steal treasures.
Just when he thought Arnold was intimidated, the boy's voice rang out: "Wow, Veris, have you been to the capital?"
"...Otherwise what?"
"Is that capital city really, really big? Bigger than Mercury City?"
Veris withdrew his hand and said expressionlessly, "Alright, we should go."
After saying that, he turned around and walked in one direction. As long as he left the town, the illusion would be broken, and no matter what point in time he was in, he would be pulled back to reality.
Arnold pressed on, "Veris, have you ever been to the Royal Academy? You know so much!"
Veris: "Any bard who's been to the capital knows all this." After all, quite a few students go to the tavern to drink, and after listening to their conversations for a few nights, you can get a general idea of what's going on.
"Have you ever been to the Royal Capital Academy? Is it really that big? I see on the map that there's a small blank space between the Royal Capital Academy and the Royal Capital. What's that?"
"It's in the middle of nowhere."
Arnold was shocked: "There are still desolate wilderness areas in the capital?"
As Allen followed the two, he suddenly felt a sense of relief. After being tormented by Arnold's incessant nagging for so many days, finally someone understood his feelings.
Over the past two months, both Alan and Murphy have undergone significant changes. Only Arnold, despite learning many new things and experiencing thrilling events, remains as...noisy as ever.
Allen looked at the two people in front of him. Veris was already painfully covering his ears. Arnold was still asking Veris if his ears were uncomfortable and if he should make some medicine. He had been reading the medicine book for many days but had never had the chance to experiment.
...A novice potion maker who had never prepared potions before dared to prepare them for Veris; Arnold was always that brave.
Is he truly a hero?
After the group walked out of a certain area, everyone felt the change. The most obvious change was that it was not so cold around them anymore, and there was melting snow in the corners of the muddy road.
Ahead, a horse stood obediently in place.
Veris felt as if he had been granted a pardon, released his grip, and eagerly said goodbye to the group: "Alright, I'm leaving now, goodbye."
Arnold: "Where are you going, Veris? Let's go together!"
The young man quickened his pace, not caring that he was stepping on muddy ground: "I'm not going the same way as you."
“But we’ve already met in town. Where are you going? We might be going the same way!” Arnold chased after him.
However, after chasing for a while, Veris, who was originally in front, suddenly appeared in the distance, and only a small outline of a kitten could be seen.
Arnold's eyes widened. How could Veris run so fast?
He wanted to chase after them: "Veris! Veris!"
The young man in the distance flipped onto his horse, quickly turned it around, pulled on the reins, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
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Author's Note: Arnold: Swallow...swallow...are we really not going the same way, swallow...?
Veris: Please let me go! (frantically swinging the reins and running away)
The Mysterious History of the Seven Secrets
Yannis's first death was caused by Sylvain.
The second one was Veris.
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