Mary left with a look of confusion and a trace of carefully hidden expectation. Daniel stood quietly on the dim stairs for a long time. His once burly body was now rickety and wrapped in a Under the black robe, the artificial nerve cord extending from the back of the cervical spine trembled in the black robe and made a very slight sound. He was like a faded oil painting blending into the dark background. It's the cracks left by time.
But after standing there for a long time, this faded oil painting was injected with a bit of vitality again. Daniel blinked, nodded slightly in the direction that Mary left, then turned around and walked towards it bit by bit. High up in the mage tower.
His mind came back to more than ten years ago, the time when he had not completely become hysterical, nor had he lost control of his emotions due to neuromodification surgery. Most of his time at that time They are all sober, and they still retain the last trace of kindness toward their apprentices.
Then, his frustrations in exploring the truth of magic overwhelmed him, and the Eversleeper's neurosurgery and brainwave technology transformed his mind into a monster, and he lost consciousness and control. Emotional abilities in exchange for the taboo knowledge of those cultists...
But in recent times, his rationality and self-control have returned - although not completely, but part of it has indeed come back.
Daniel walked up the long spiral staircase to his room on the upper floor of the mage tower. He opened the dark wooden door and stepped inside.
The room is furnished with a variety of furniture that suits the preferences of an elderly mage like him: solid wooden tables and chairs, carved bookshelves and storage tables, iron candlesticks and alchemy platforms, as well as a wooden table in the center of the room. , a magic brazier that can control the operation of the entire mage tower. In addition to these furnishings, all the exposed walls, floors, and roofs in the room are covered with strange and mysterious symbols and patterns.
That is not the dream formation of the Eternal Sleeper, nor is it any rune system known to the world. Even the pretentious royal mages in the imperial capital cannot have the privilege to come into contact with these incredible magic spells. something.
These symbols and patterns are given to you by your "master", and their power is far beyond what the human mind can understand.
Daniel didn’t know the principles behind these symbols and patterns. He only knew that these things were of great benefit to him.
After closing the door, the old mage went to the fire pit in the center of the room, casually sprinkled a handful of spices into it, and then relaxed in the reassuring incense, as if appreciating a work of art. In this way, he carefully looked at the symbolic patterns in the room.
Those complex and weird symbol patterns seem to be extremely complicated, giving people the feeling that even looking at them will make people crazy, but in fact they have the opposite effect. Surrounded by these symbol patterns, Daniel can only I felt that my heart was quickly filled with positive and high-spirited power, a sound like gentle ocean waves.The sound echoed in his mind, and he felt like he was sinking into the gentle sea water. Countless happy thoughts and thoughts emerged, gradually healing his severely torn and deformed soul, and even physically healing his nerves. organize.
He originally thought that the damage located deep in his nervous system could never be healed - it was a "gift" he received when he was bewitched by the Eternal Sleeper many years ago. Due to outdated technology and his own condition at the time, The operation error left huge hidden dangers in the process of connecting the nerve cords. The maddening noise and vague stinging tortured him for more than ten years and directly led to his paranoia. However, these injuries turned out to be just He was cured by some complicated and strange "pictures"... This must be said to be a miracle that only the owner can create.
Daniel was slowly enjoying this pleasant atmosphere, but he still remembered the owner’s warning. When the strange thought of “should I go digging for giant squid” suddenly appeared in his mind, he He immediately cut off this addictive state and woke up in an instant.
This is also one of the reasons why after receiving these "gifts", he sealed them in his room and prevented his apprentices from contacting them: although the master did not issue an order in this regard, he felt that those "gifts" Once a weak-minded apprentice comes into contact with these symbols and patterns, they may not be able to break free like themselves. They may be directly guided by the thoughts in their minds and jump into the sea and drown.
After regaining consciousness, Daniel turned his attention away from those patterns - after getting used to it, it is not difficult to resist the power of these patterns - he remembered what his apprentice Mary told him. , and the order given to him by his master, he walked towards a magic circle in the corner of the room.
He connected his nerve cord to the nodes on the magic circle and began to call the indescribable "master"...
...
In the lord's mansion in the main city of Cecil in the southern border of Ansu, Gawain had just finished reviewing a report document from the Kant area. He stretched out and was about to reach for another document, but his movements suddenly stopped. down.
Hetty, who was standing in front of the desk to deliver documents, noticed it and immediately asked with concern: "Ancestor, are you okay?"
This "Steward Cecil" "I'm quite worried. After all, my ancestor is too old. Although he looks vigorous on the outside, he might twist his muscles when he stretches...
Of course, this is She didn't dare to say it casually - that was what Rebecca would do.
As a mature and steady housekeeper, Hetty would only worry silently in her heart, and then secretly add an extra dish of bone soup to her ancestor's dinner.
Gawain never imagined how many strange thoughts were hidden in the mind of Hetty, who was usually calm, elegant and decent. He just waved his hand: "It's okay, I just want to meditate suddenly... You go and find Amber." Come on, just let her guard you."
"Amber should be in the army.We can't escape the situation, so I'll guard it here," Hetty said, frowning slightly, "I also heard Amber mention that you occasionally meditate suddenly...is it a health problem? ”
“Health? Oh, of course not," Gawain was stunned for a moment, and then waved his hands in confusion, "I will let you know in the future. You can just keep watch for Amber and don't let anyone disturb you. If it's really urgent, just give me a hard pat on the shoulder. "
"Yes. " Hetty lowered her head, replied seriously, and silently decided to go to the kitchen and add an egg to the ancestor's dinner later.
Gawain, on the other hand, had already begun to relax, and for a moment After that, he had already entered the hidden space that was "stolen" by himself in the gap between the spiritual network.
The old mage Daniel was already waiting in the space. When he saw Gawain appear, he immediately. He stepped forward and bowed deeply: "My lord, I'm sorry to disturb you suddenly. "
"It doesn't matter," Gawain waved his hand casually, creating tables and chairs in the space, and was the first to sit down, "Sit down - what happened? ”
Although Gawain has focused most of his energy on integrating and governing the Southern Territory during this period, he has not forgotten things outside the Southern Territory, especially the Eternal Sleeper Network. , and is the one he always pays attention to. However, the Eternal Sleeper has been relatively peaceful recently, and there have been no major changes in the network, so in this regard, he basically just goes online to check the news step by step, and then gives Daniel some instructions. , the task of researching and stealing technology
He did not expect that the old mage would contact him
Daniel carefully sat down opposite Gawain, considered the words and said: "Yes. In this way, my lord, one of my apprentices accidentally found out that the ruler of the Typhon Empire... may be studying the magic network, or researching technology related to the magic network. "
Gawain controlled the surprise in his heart and responded indifferently: "Oh? "
"Rosetta Augustus issued an order to recruit mages. The recruitment order was even posted in remote towns closer to the border. The talents he recruited were also rare - it was a requirement. As someone who has a certain understanding of ancient Gondor magic technology and is familiar with self-charging magic circles, I think of your 'Magic Weave'. ”
When Gawain promoted the Magic Network to the outside world, for the convenience of promotion, he once called the Magic Network “a lost technology originating from the ancient Gondor Empire”. He also mentioned this to Daniel.
p>“It is indeed unusual to understand the magic technology of ancient Gondor and at the same time be familiar with self-charging magic circles. "Gawain touched his chin and said with a slight hesitation.
Ancient Gondor magic technology is a "high-end field" in the eyes of magicians. Basically, it is only available to mages with a certain amount of talent, origin, and strength. He is qualified to delve into and master a little bit of knowledge, and self-charging magic circle is a low-end and useless field in magic circle technology. Before the unknown wild mage created the magic network, self-charging magic circle was a "cheap and inefficient" invention.Things have always been looked down upon by great magicians, and talents who can delve into these two fields at the same time...
It is almost equivalent to finding two people who are good at cross talk in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Even in the Magic Kingdom Violet in the north, I am afraid that there are not many such non-mainstream mages.
It’s no wonder that Rosetta Augustus the Great issued recruitment orders to the outside world even though he had the Royal Mage Society in hand, and even posted the recruitment orders in remote areas—— Among those reclusive mages with eccentric temperaments and living in solitary circles, you might be able to find a few talents in this field.
Unexpectedly, the "advertisements" he made up at random to promote the Magic Network would mislead the rulers of Typhon by mistake. Gawain couldn't help but feel a little funny in his heart. As for The "guess" Daniel mentioned...
He had almost no doubts. Just from the recruitment information released by Emperor Rosetta, he was 99% sure that the ruler of Typhon Became interested in "Magic Network".
This was what he expected.
Because he had never hidden the information about the Magic Network - besides, Cecil's rise was so eye-catching that he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.
Long before the outbreak of the Southern Territory War, the information from the Magic Network was transmitted to the Holy Spirit Plains and the Eastern Territory along the trade routes. After the outbreak of the Southern Territory War, Typhon will definitely pay attention to everything related to Cecil. The news - as an empire with ancient qualifications and powerful strength, they must have intelligence channels within Ansu.
Daniel carefully observed Gawain's face and asked tentatively: "My lord, do you think..."
"That's good news. Counting the time, they also It's time to get information about the war in Ansu's southern border. If Rosetta Augustus is really a talented and strategic person, he must be very keen in this area," Gawain nodded and said calmly, " Do you still remember the knowledge I taught you back then?"
"Yes," Daniel nodded immediately, "And I have already implemented the magic network in the laboratory and also implemented several basic machines... ..."
"You have already made a name for yourself in the Order of the Eternal Sleepers. As a mature magician, it is almost time for you to become the technical star of the Typhon Empire."
Daniel's expression. Absolutely, he seemed to have been waiting for Gawain's words, so he immediately nodded: "I will obey your will."
"This matter has been decided in advance," Gawain continued, "Since You are here this time... By the way, tell me about Typhon's recent changes."