When Easter came out of the tent, the Skellige warriors seemed to see a fire burning under the sea.
Everyone knew that the king of Cintra had passed away along with the queen, and the man standing before them had turned back into the "Son of the Islands" and "Knight of the Sea" who had once been sung in poetry - Ister Tursek.
"I'm going back to Cintra. Ciri is still there."
The sailors were excited, and Kratz looked at his uncle with a worried look on his face: "You are too tired, and too much has happened today. I will let the druid give you some potion so that you can sleep well for the night, and then return to Cintra tomorrow. The Nilfgaardians are not so fast, and you don't want to fall off the horse, do you?"
Easter shook his head and said, "Every extra minute we waste will increase the danger for Ciri. Ciri is to me just like Hjalma is to you. I can't wait any longer."
In the crowd, a young man with a green face but a strong body shouted: "Father, speed is of the essence, let's go and save Xili!"
"Shut up, Hjalmar!" Kratz roared at his son, then sighed and gave in to Easter, "Since you insist, let's set off overnight."
Easter nodded, turned around and gazed at his wife lovingly, as if he wanted to carry this longing into the subsequent battle.
With a "bang", Kratz knocked Easter to the ground with a punch from behind. The newly awakened sea knight fainted in front of the stunned eyes of the Skellige soldiers, and fallen leaves were raised all over the ground.
"Father, you..." Hjalmar stared at his father in amazement, unable to say anything.
Kratz glared at his young son and shouted, "Shut up, little brat, you have no right to speak here!
I have seen too many such warriors. They have fire on their heads, in their eyes, and in their bodies. Such flames will burn the enemy to death, but they will also burn themselves to death. This is the lesson the sea has taught us, even if he is a sea knight. "
After having someone lay East flat on the ground in a more comfortable position, Kratz turned around and said to the sailors, "Uncle's safety must not be compromised. He is seriously injured and needs to return to Skellige - Halma as soon as possible with the body of Queen Calanthe!"
The young man who was called reflexively puffed out his chest and said, "Yes!"
"Lead half of the sailors, take the bodies of my uncle and the queen and return to Great Skellig Island immediately. Don't do anything unnecessary!"
After giving the order, he turned to the remaining sailors and said solemnly: "Princess Pavetta and her husband died because I misjudged the storm at sea. I wanted to die to apologize to Queen Calanthe, but she forgave me. From that day on, I swore in the name of my family - to do my best to help their only daughter, Princess Cirilla. Now I am going to fulfill my oath, are you willing to follow me?"
The sailors shouted in unison: "The sons of the islands are not afraid of wind and waves!"
Kratz laughed loudly with satisfaction.
"Um...father?" Hjalmar suddenly said, "I also want to save Ciri..."
A far more deafening thud than the one when East fell rang out in the woods.
…
Jielong slapped the table in front of him and broke it into pieces. The sharp wood chips pierced his palm, but he was completely unaware.
Toussaint, secret laboratory under Crane Mountain Castle.
In the culture tank placed in the center was a young man, with densely packed infusion tubes connected to his body, each tube connected to a bucket of unnamed magic potion.
The young man in the culture tank was breathing weakly. Although he was wearing a respirator, he was still trying hard to sip the nutrient solution in the culture tank, which showed that he was still alive. Jielong tried many times to stop the young man from seriously interfering with the experiment, but as long as the other party had a trace of consciousness, he would never stop. In the end, he had no choice but to let it go. He was very curious about where this guy got such a strong vitality.
At first, Jielong was very happy, thinking that this vigorous vitality was enough for the young man to survive the demon hunter trial. But he didn't expect that now he was just "alive".
The young man now has dry hair and skin as pale as a dead person. Some parts of his skin feel like they are melting as if he had been burned. His fingers and joints also have varying degrees of deformity.
Lan, he should have died in the mutation long ago, but his [Gourmet] and strong will to survive have kept him alive.
But the Demon Hunter mutation is not just about "surviving".
Geron's eyes were filled with despair, and he collapsed to the ground helplessly: "The mutation... failed, the Griffin School..."
During this time, he watched Lann's condition decline day by day, from a handsome knight to what he is now.
He went through all the experimental data, read all the books he could find, and hunted countless monsters to make various potions and decoctions in an attempt to reverse the process, but all failed.
The Demon Hunter Trials must be completed in childhood, because children are more malleable. This is a rule discovered by the creator of the Demon Hunter, Archmage Arzu. He once used adults to do mutation experiments, but none of them survived. Later, he suddenly got inspiration and used children to do experiments, which led to a breakthrough. However, even so, the success rate of the Demon Hunter Trials is only 30%.
And this 30% success rate was achieved by Alzu, the most powerful warlock in history, leading a team of dozens of warlocks and using hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of experimental subjects.
On the other hand, Jeron's mutation experiment, which mixed a lot of legendary materials, made the demon hunter mutation stronger, but without any experiments directly acting on Lan, the final effect was still running wildly in the direction of being out of control. Jeron made a hypothesis based on his strong knowledge, and Lan relied on his strong will and system blood lock to hold on for so long, but some things cannot be done by hard work alone, and fate did not turn to the path of the top 1% after all.
Jielong knew this knowledge very well, but he still had a fluke mentality when facing Lan. However, reality gave him a heavy blow and shattered his beliefs.
"I'm sorry... Knight, I've turned you into what you are now. You can't even have a decent funeral."
Jielong murmured, he roared on the ground, and then he was hit by a strong feeling of guilt.
"It was my selfishness that put you through all this. I should not have forced my fate upon you. It is not the way of chivalry."
"Perhaps, I should free you sooner."
After calming down, Jerron looked around. This small laboratory carried his nightmares for a hundred years. He even felt that his experiments on Lann in the past period of time were repeating the evil deeds his father had done to him, which made him feel even more guilty.
Since the mutation had failed, there was no point in staying here any longer. Geron fished Lan out of the culture tank and carried him out of the tunnel on his back.
He didn't want Lan to die in this dark underground laboratory. A knight should have a knight's ending.
They arrived at Heshan Castle. The bandits who had been stationed here had long been cleared out by Jielong, leaving only some traces of fighting.
"A castle as your tombstone should be enough, right? A knight's death should be in a castle."
Geron muttered.
The cold moonlight shone on Lan's body, and the evening breeze blew past, making him feel the breath of the world for the first time in a long time.
In fact, Lann was able to receive information from the outside world. Although his five senses were vaguely blurred as if separated by a thin film, and even partially his eyelids were stuck together and could not be opened, he knew what was happening to him.
He could feel himself being soaked in some potion, knew he had been pierced with countless needles, and could also feel himself being taken out of the laboratory.
He could hear what Jeroen Moreau said. He knew that he was trying to save him, but he also knew that this method of rescue was too drastic. He had always wanted to become a demon hunter, but he didn't have a reliable plan, so even though he had the formula for the demon hunter trial in his hand, he never took action.
As fate would have it, he was playing a joke on fate. In order to save his life, he passively transformed into a demon hunter, but failed.
[Is that it?] He had been tortured by the pain that penetrated his bones for countless times and had a mental breakdown, but he still used the pain to bite open the respirator and drink the dirty mutant ** to activate [Gourmet]. He felt that he had done his best.
[How could this be?] Lan En could only roar in his heart. He had worked so hard for so long, made so many friends, and won so many honors. How could he accept such a result?
[I, won't! accept! this!]
The mute young man screamed in his heart, but he did not suddenly realize that everything around him had undergone tremendous changes without his knowledge.
It was as if everything around him was open to Lann. Lann felt as if he had some magical senses, and the thin film covering his five senses was lifted up.
He could once again hear the wind, smell the flowers, and feel the cold and warmth; without opening his eyes, he could observe every inch of his surroundings.
No, it's not so much that Lan En “can” sense it, but rather that someone “enables” Lan En to sense it.
The evening wind stopped flowing, and the petals falling from the air stopped moving; the insects that had just flapped their wings hundreds of times per second gradually slowed down to a level visible to the naked eye, until they became fixed in the air like a specimen.
Gerald kept looking back at Lann, as if he was watching the future of the Griffin School disappear. His hair was lifted up in the air for a long time without falling down.
The whole world seemed to have been paused, and it was silent. The only one who was not restricted was Lan, but he could only breathe weakly and could do nothing else.
Suddenly, Lan heard footsteps coming from a distance, and his perception was also taken away by an invisible big hand, as if he was an audience member who was being held down by the head to watch the stage.
The familiar sound of lute suddenly sounded from somewhere, accompanied by the accompaniment of bagpipes.
Suddenly, transparent faces appeared one after another in the sky, like ghosts and demons, endless and orderly. They gathered in the air and sang melodiously, as if praising or sighing:
[The moonlight covers the four directions, and the lion is trapped in the cage and looks around in confusion. ]
At the source of the moonlight, a figure suddenly appeared.
He walked down slowly from the sky, as if a staircase was paved for him in the void. Every step he took would echo in the void, and a flash of gorgeous blue flames would appear under his feet, leaving a trail behind him that lingered for a long time.
As he walked, the souls singing in the sky rose to a higher pitch, their voices louder than the sirens, soaring into the sky:
[The devil's son Wanli came to help, with a handsome face.
He will give you everything you want, gold, silver and honey. 】
The moon stood behind the figure, like a stage light for him. His face became clearer with each step, and Lan recognized the name of his master.
It's him! It's him!
Mirror Glass, the merchant poet who once composed songs and poems for Lan in Cintra, smiled at Lan reservedly, and then his face immediately melted into a look that Lan saw for the first time but was extremely familiar with.
"We meet again, Lord Lannister. Please allow me to call you Lann - because I think we can be friends, and this name will be more intimate. Please forgive me for not revealing my real name to you before. After all, merchants who go out always have multiple identities."
The merchant bowed slightly, like an actor introducing himself to the audience: "Please allow me to reintroduce myself to you. My name is Gaunter O'Dimm, and I am a mirror merchant who travels around the world.
You can also call me by the nickname my customers give me, they usually call me——"
At this moment, the souls in the sky trembled and began to shout, kneeling down and bowing as if gods had descended:
[But if one day he comes to collect the debt, his eyes will immediately ignite with fire.
You will become his slave and suffer torture forever! 】
"——Mirror Master."
…
Warlock researchers and folklorists have a big disagreement about the definition of the word "demon". The "demon" in the mouth of folklorists is more in line with the narrow sense of demon in the public's cognition, which brings together all the vicious, terrifying, and evil characteristics that intelligent creatures can think of.
In the eyes of warlock researchers, "demons" refer to those creatures that come from other worlds, which they cannot understand, define, or describe.
In this era, scientists and explorers have already found out that the continent under their feet is a sphere. And after the research of warlocks, they found that outside this planet, there is an elemental layer that humans cannot step into, in which live elemental spirits that can be summoned and enslaved by warlocks.
Outside of this elemental world, there are more realms, dimensions, planets and time and space that humans have never visited - the creatures from these places are "demons".
The Djinn, which can grant three wishes to people, was once a demon in a broad sense, but sorcerers later created the category of "world spirit" specifically for it. The situation of elemental spirits is roughly similar.
The man in front of Lann, the Master of Mirrors, is, in a sense, a combination of the definitions of demons by folklorists and sorcerers. He is a visitor from another world, wandering in different dimensions and time and space for fun. He is powerful and is the undisputed ceiling of combat power in the original work.
Someone once translated his name Gaunter O'Dimm as "God Or Devil", which means "God or Devil". He was a beggar, a soldier, a businessman, and an officer. In the future, many people claimed to have seen him in different histories:
There are rumors that Master Mirror cultivated an unprecedented male heir of the Ancient Blood whose bloodline could not be traced, helped him travel through time and space, and then induced him to create the tragic fate of his own childhood;
There are also rumors that the Mirror Master once lingered in the beautiful Forest of Brokilon, but eventually induced the nearby king to form the notorious "Scalp Hunters", which caused the Dream Forest to flow with blood and closed the door to the friendship between the tree spirits and humans;
There are also rumors that the Mirror Master once directed the decline and rise of Nilfgaard, and in the future he plans to overthrow this huge empire again.
But as the gossipers translate his name, the Mirror Master, who is "God or Devil", is not always a devil. It is not that no one can live a peaceful life and spend their old age in peace after trading with the Mirror Master, provided that you abide by his rules and restrain your greed; while those who play tricks will see the real devil and become a member of the soul choir in the sky at this moment.
In the original novel, the Mirror Master will hire the player as his agent to solve the "bad debts" that do not abide by the transaction rules. If the protagonist has not found the missing Ciri at this time, he will teach the player how to get along with Ciri, and then help the player get a perfect ending and avoid the worst ending of dead Ciri and dead wolf.
In the past, many people had made groundless speculations, believing that Mirror Master was actually the incarnation of the player. This was because the bad image of a "fun person" who was "unfathomable in strength", "unpredictable in character", "had to set rules for himself", "spending money when he was good and killing people when he was bad" was too similar to those who played the cracked version of the game with a cheat code.
And this mysterious person had actually appeared beside Lan a long time ago.
Lann felt that the perception he was "given" was rotating with the movement of the Mirror Master, like a lens slowly spinning.
"Isn't it strange why I'm here?
You know, Lan, when I first heard someone approached me, I was very surprised. After being in this world for so long, this is the first time I have encountered such an interesting thing. And I can be sure that I have never traded with you or anyone you have contacted before, so how did you know me? "
The Mirror Master walked around Lan's motionless body and spoke, like a poet reciting a poem or a businessman introducing his wares:
"I want to know the reason, so I came to find you. The first time I saw you, I had the answer - you are out of tune with the people around you, even today it is still the same, even if you try your best to cover up and pretend, but you can't change this fact: you are not from this world, Lan En, you are an outsider."
Lann recalled that when he had just crossed over, he did have many behavioral and language habits and was severely rejected by the environment, but everyone around him thought it was a normal phenomenon for a teenager who had experienced a major change in his family.
Even after such a long period of active integration, Lan still has subtle differences from the people around him in some details, the way he thinks about problems, the way he handles behaviors, and even the changes in his eyes.
And these subtle differences, to a cross-dimensional traveler like Master Mirror who is unknown how old, are like a dot of ink on a white paper.
"At first I thought you were summoned by a sorcerer and possessed, but after a closer look, that's not the case. You and this body fit in so perfectly, as if this body was originally yours, as if you brought your physical body directly to this world, as if—"
Master Mirror whispered in Lan's ear: "-Just like me."
The lute in the air flew back to the hands of the mirror master. He plucked the strings gently and sang in a low voice: "Special Lan, poor Lan, could it be that some poor fellow went on an adventure and forgot the way home?"
As if he was addicted to pretending to be a bard, Master Mirror hummed a sad tune, and the spirits in the air let out low wails at the right time, which were gentle and sad and lasted for a long time.
After a while.
"We've been talking for so long, it's time to get down to business."
After singing the sad song, Master Mirror raised his face with a reserved and nonchalant smile and said, "I introduced myself to you as a businessman. Merchants are always owed debts, and now I have a bad debt that I want to settle - but because I have set some rules for myself, I can't do it myself now. I have to find a friend for help. And I happened to hear that you like to help others."
Master Mirror took out a contract and said, "I originally planned to observe you for a while, and help you when you get into trouble. In this way, I will help you, and you will help me, and then everyone's problems will be solved."
At this point, Master Mirror suddenly laughed. He clapped his hands, and the contract turned into sparks and dissipated in the air: "But you actually treated me to a drink... a drink. I have seen dragons sitting on mountains of gold, and met kings who controlled empires, but no one has ever been willing to treat me to a drink. You actually took action before me, you are too cunning. So now I must abide by the rules and find a chance to return the wine to you."
He looked at Lan's body, which was losing its vitality, and said, "After all, it is written in the poem: A traveler passing by is invited to drink, but sometimes he has to pay with his life."
After saying this, Master Mirror clapped his hands, and all the light in the night gathered together.
That was not a simple light, but the external manifestation of some unknown energy that Lann did not know. They came from outside the continent, from outside the elemental layer, and from outside the astral plane.
All the strength that Lann's body needed was replenished by this light. His skin returned to its original appearance, and the physical damage caused by the mutation disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Not only that, the Demon Hunter Trial process that had originally gone astray was forcibly turned back by a big hand that did not allow any objection. All the legendary materials were combined in the most smooth way, rushing towards the safest, most efficient and most perfect goal.
Seeing this, Master Mirror nodded with satisfaction: "You can think of this as a 'product trial' - maybe you haven't heard of this term, but you can definitely understand it."
"I still want to trade with you. That bad debt really bothers me. When you think of a suitable reward, that will be when we meet next time. You don't have to ask me anymore. I will come to you again when the time is right."
"Oh, right." Master Mirror, who was walking out, suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped. "Before, there was a Lake Nymph who likes to play knight games peeking at you, and it seems that I scared her away. I need to apologize to you."
The man gave a meaningful smile: "You attract attention so easily, Lan."
As Master Mirror finished speaking, at that moment, it was as if a layer of canvas had been forcibly removed from a drawing board. The Master Mirror, the moonlight, and the souls that filled the sky painted on that layer of canvas all disappeared in an instant, as if they had never appeared.
It was as if the world, which had been paused, was liberated at this moment.
The evening wind flowed again, blowing the leaves. The petals floating in the air slowly fell into the dust. The insects flapped their wings quickly at a speed invisible to the naked eye and disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant.
Jielong's sad face froze, and then the sadness turned into surprise, astonishment, and joy.
Lann, who was broken and dying from the witcher trial in the last second, has now turned into a strong and handsome knight.
What happened? I didn't even blink.
Then, Jaron heard a steady and powerful drumbeat coming from inside the body, which was the sound of a slow heartbeat.
That is the sound of health, the sound of strength, and the sound of life.
Gerald strode forward and looked at Lann in disbelief. He looked Lann up and down and finally confirmed: the witcher trial was successful.
Although it was done in a way that was difficult for him to understand, it was indeed successful. The Griffin School had one more demon hunter!
Jielong's eyes were filled with tears, and at the same time, the system notification sounds kept ringing in Lan's ears like noise pollution. The sounds were like hymns and sighs, and they were just covered by the next sound as soon as they started, repeating over and over again, which was very frustrating.
At the same time, the properties panel was flashing like light pollution, with red, blue, green and other colors flashing briefly:
[Name: Lann Lannister Rhaanron
Gender: Male
Race: Demon Hunter
Level: 17
Talent: Ancient Blood (Partially Awakened)
Experience value: 948/1500
HP: 1770/1770
Magic Points: 2000/2000
Inventory: Cotton and Linen Shorts
Skills: Muscle Memory (5/5), Precision Heavy Attack (5/5), Strength Training (5/5), Immovable (5/5), Whirling Sword Dance (1/5), Improved Endurance (5/5), Survival Instinct, Metabolic Control, Gourmet, Griffin School Skills, Magic Sense, Poison Blood, Death Strike, Magic Tide
Follower column: (empty)
Mission: City Defense Iron Guard Part 2]
"Knight? Can you hear me?"
Lan, who was looking at the panel with his consciousness, suddenly heard a voice ringing in his ear. It was a strange yet familiar voice. It was strange because Lan could not match this voice with any face he knew. He had never seen the person who made this voice.
He felt familiar with the man because he had heard many words from this man while he was unconscious. Apparently, this was the person who presided over the witcher trial for him.
He had long understood his physical condition at the time, and the other party had mutated him purely to save him. This person was a friend, not an enemy. If they were both demon hunters, he could be considered his teacher in terms of seniority.
With this thought in mind, Lan opened his eyes.
Compared to Geralt's amber cat eyes, his eyes are much darker, neither yellow nor brown, as if there is dark ancient gold precipitated in them:
Like a lion's eyes.
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