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 his eyelids were partially 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.
晚间的风停止了流淌，从半空飘落的花瓣不再运动；刚刚还以每秒数百次的频率扇动翅膀的昆虫逐渐放缓到肉眼可见，直到变成了一个标本一般定在空气中。
杰隆保持着回头凝望兰恩的眼神，仿佛在看着狮鹫学派的未来逝去，他的头发扬起在半空久久不再落下。
整个世界好似被人按下了暂停键，寂静无声。唯一不受限制的只有兰恩，但是他也只能够发出微弱的呼吸，除此之外什么也做不到。
突然，兰恩听到了一阵从远处而来的脚步声，他的感知也被一只无形的大手收拢抓走，仿佛一个被人按着脑袋观看舞台的观众。
熟悉的鲁特琴声不知从何处突然响起，随之而来的还有风笛的伴奏。
天边突然浮现出一个又一个透明的脸庞，即像鬼灵又像妖魂，无穷无尽又井然有序。它们聚集在半空一起悠扬地放歌，好似赞颂好似叹吟：
【月光悠悠笼罩四方，雄狮困笼举目皆茫。】
在月光下洒的源头，一人影突然出现。
他缓缓从天上走下，虚空之中仿佛为他铺陈了一条阶梯，他的每一个踏步都会响起空旷的回音，脚底随之闪起一阵华丽的蓝色焰尘，在他背后留下一串久久不消散的轨迹。
随着他的走动，天边放歌的魂灵再升一调，声音胜过海妖直冲云霄：
【恶魔之子万里来帮，带着一张帅气脸庞。
他会让你如愿以偿，金子银币还有蜜糖。】
月亮立在那人影的身后，好似舞台在为他打光。他的脸随着一步一步变得清晰，兰恩认出了他的主人名讳为何。
是他！是他！
曾经在辛特拉为兰恩谱歌吟诗的行商诗人米罗·格拉斯（Mirror·Glass）对着兰恩矜持地轻笑，紧接着那张脸又马上融化，变成了一副兰恩虽然初次见到，但是异常熟悉的模样。
“我们又见面了，兰尼斯特大人。请允许我称呼你为兰恩——因为我觉得我们可以成为朋友，而这样称呼更会显亲切。也请原谅我之前没有给你透露我的真实名字，毕竟出门在外的商人总是要多几个身份。”
商人微微鞠了个躬，好似演员开场向观众报幕：“请允许我重新向你介绍我自己，我叫做刚特·欧迪姆，是一名游走于各个世界的镜子商人。
你也可以用我的顾客们给我起的外号来叫我，他们通常称呼我为——”
此刻天边的魂灵颤抖着开始转为呐喊，一齐跪扶下拜宛若神降：
【但若有天他来收债，眼眸随即燃起火芒。
你将成为他的奴隶，受尽折磨地老天荒！】
“——镜子大师。”
……
对于“恶魔”这个词的定义，术士研究者们和民俗学家有着很大的分歧。民俗学家们口中的“恶魔”更加符合大众认知中狭义的恶魔，汇聚了所有智慧生物能够想到的恶毒、恐怖、邪恶的特质。
而在术士研究者们眼中，“恶魔”统称那些其他世界到来的、他们无法理解的、无法界定的和无法描述的生物。
这个时代已经有科学家和探险家研究出来脚下踩踏的这块大陆是一个球体。而经过术士们的研究，在这颗星球之外，还有包裹着人类所无法踏足的元素界层，里面生活着可以被术士们召唤奴役的元素精灵。
而在这元素界之外，有着更多人类未曾造访过的界层、次元、星球和时空——从这些地方来的生物便是“恶魔”。
能够实现人三个愿望的迪精（灯神）曾经也是广义上的恶魔，不过术士们后来专门为它创造了“界灵”这个分类。元素精灵的情况也大体类似。
而兰恩眼前的这个男人——镜子大师，他某种意义上集合了民俗学者和术士学者对恶魔的定义。他是异世界的访客，游走在不同的次元和时空之中寻欢作乐，实力强大，是原著中毫无争议的战斗力天花板。
有人曾把他的名字刚特·欧迪姆译作“God Or Devil”，意为“是神抑或魔”。他曾是乞丐、士兵、商人、军官。在未来，很多人声称在不同的历史中都有看到过他的身影：
有传闻镜子大师培养了一名史无前例、血脉无法追溯的男性上古之血继承人，帮助他穿梭时空后又诱导他亲手造就了自己童年的悲惨命运；
也有传闻镜子大师曾经流连于美丽的布洛奇隆之森林，但是最终却诱导附近的国王组建了臭名昭著的“头皮猎人”让梦幻森林血流成河，拴上了树精与人类友谊的大门；
更有传闻镜子大师曾经导演了尼弗迦德的衰败和兴起，而在未来又将计划再次推倒这个庞大的帝国。
但是就如好事者将他名字翻译的意思一般，“是神抑或魔”的镜子大师并非一直是魔鬼。不是没有人能够在和镜子大师交易之后能够平静一生、安度晚年，前提是你要遵守他的规则，并且克制自己的贪欲；而耍小聪明的人则会见到真正的恶魔，成为此刻天空中灵魂唱诗班的一员。
原著中，镜子大师会雇佣玩家作为自己的代理人为自己解决不守交易规则的“坏账”，如果此时主角还未找到失散的希里，他会教玩家如何和希里相处，进而帮助玩家打出完美结局，避免死希里和死狼的最恶结局。
前世很多人有过无端的猜测，认为镜子大师其实就是玩家的化身。因为这种“实力深不可测”、“性格难以捉摸”、“非要给自己定下条条框框”、“善时撒币恶时屠人”的“乐子人”恶劣形象，和拿着金手指玩破解版游戏的诸位实在是太像了。
而这位神秘莫测的人物，居然早就出现在了兰恩的身边。
兰恩感觉到自己“被赋予”的感知随着镜子大师的移动而转动，好似一个镜头缓缓旋转。
“很奇怪我为什么会出现在这里对不对？
知道吗兰恩，当我第一次听到有人主动找我的时候我很惊讶，来到这个世界这么久，这是我第一次遇到这么有意思的事情。而我又能够确定我以前从没跟你或者你接触过的人交易过，所以你是怎么知道我的呢？”
镜子大师围绕着兰恩动弹不得的身体一边走动一边诉说，像是一个诗人在吟诗，又像是商人在介绍自己的商品：
“我想知道原因，所以我就来找你了。而我在看到你的第一眼，我就有了答案——你与周围格格不入，哪怕到今天也是这样，哪怕你自己极力在掩饰，极力在伪装，但是也改变不了这样的一个事实：你不是这个世界的人，兰恩，你是一个外来者。”
兰恩想起来自己刚刚穿越的时候，确实有着很多行为和语言上的习惯和环境排异严重，不过身边人都认为是一名家逢大变少年的正常现象。
哪怕经过了这么长时间的主动融入，在一些细节上、问题的思考方式上、行为的处理上、甚至眼神的变化上，兰恩其实还是和周围的人有细微的差别。
而这些细微的差别，对于镜子大师这样一个不知道多少岁的跨次元旅游者来说，就好像是白纸上的一个墨点一般。
“我一开始以为你是被哪个术士召唤过来附体的家伙，但是细看之后却不是这样。你和这具身体契合得太完美，就好像这具身体本来就是你的一样，就像是直接带着肉身到的这个世界一样，就像是——”
镜子大师轻声在兰恩耳边说道：“——就像是我一样。”
空中的鲁特琴飞回镜子大师的手中，他轻轻拨弦，低声唱到：“特殊的兰恩，可怜的兰恩，不会是哪个可怜的家伙到处探险，结果却忘了回家的路吧？”
似乎是假扮吟游诗人上了瘾，镜子大师哀伤地低吟了一曲，半空中的妖灵们适时地发出低声的哀嚎，婉转凄凉，久久不绝。
好一会。
“说了这么久，该谈正事了。”
吟唱完悲伤曲目的镜子大师又扬起那张带着矜持和漫不经心笑容的脸，说道：“我跟你介绍过我是个商人的。商人总是被人欠债，现在我手上正有一笔坏账想要解决——但是因为我给自己定下了一些规矩，所以我现在不能亲自去办，我必须找一个朋友帮忙。而我恰好听说你很喜欢给别人帮忙。”
镜子大师拿出一份契约：“我原来打算在你身边观察一会，等你什么时候遇到麻烦了拉你一把。这样我帮你，你再帮我，大家的问题就都能解决了。”
说到这里，镜子大师突然笑起来。他一拍手，契约化作火星消散在半空：“可是你竟然请了我一顿酒……一顿酒。我见过坐拥金山的巨龙，接触过掌控帝国的君王，却从来没有人愿意请我一顿酒。你竟然比我先出手了，你太狡猾了。所以现在我必须遵守规矩，先找个机会把酒还你。”
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.