"Mm! That's indeed a good idea! It's just..."
Velin nodded, though with a twinge of guilt.
Back then, he had left only a letter before departing with Jenny without a word of farewell — an unreasonable thing to do, one could even say it was ungrateful.
It was a regret he carried deep in his heart, but at the time, his youthful temper had flared up and he'd been worried about Jenny's safety. What was done was done.
In his thinking, once the heat died down — or once he'd made a name for himself and achieved something — he would return and beg Leilin's forgiveness, and the other party would surely forgive him.
"Maybe Lord Leilin would even make an exception and accept me as his disciple!"
Velin sometimes dreamed of exactly that.
But now, the timing was clearly wrong. He was still a penniless nobody, pursued by Dark Elves no less — showing up now would look like he was seeking shelter under the other's protection.
The thought made Velin's blood rush to his face, his cheeks burning on both sides.
"What's wrong?" Morpheus asked.
"Oh! Nothing! Nothing at all — your plan is great! Let's go with it!"
"I wouldn't recommend you do that!"
At that moment, a cool, clear female voice suddenly rang out from beside them.
"Who's there?"
Velin leaped backward in an instant. His cloak flew open as the massive compound-eyed mass of the Boosted Armor immediately bonded to his body. The Subterranean Frost Spider Sovereign perched on his shoulder also jumped down, swelling from the size of a fist to a height of two stories, its white fangs — dripping with transparent pus — aimed in the direction of the voice.
On the other side, Morpheus was also wreathed in the glow of sorcery.
They had been hunted the entire way here and were thoroughly rattled — practically birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
From the source of the voice, a flash of crimson light flickered, and the silhouette of a female wizard appeared.
The woman wore a loose white wizard's robe, her narrow arched eyebrows tilting slightly upward with a hint of coquetry. The contours of her face were soft and refined — by any measure, a rare beauty.
What drew even more attention was the multicolored gemstone necklace hanging below her fair neck. An energy fluctuation no less powerful than that of a full-fledged wizard radiated slowly from her body.
"Who are you?" Velin asked warily.
This human wizard seemed to be an expert in some form of stealth — she had gotten this close without being detected. That level of skill exceeded even the
"I bear no ill will!" The female wizard flashed a kindly smile and spread her hands open. "My name is Venasi, and I'm a wandering wizard. I've come specifically to warn you!" The female wizard's voice was very calm, and her bearing carried an air of mystery — as though the light of worldly wisdom that only the elderly possessed, born from the blending of erudition and sagacity, shone about her.
"No! Not erudition — confidence! The kind of confidence as if everything in the world were under her control!" Morpheus was secretly astonished. Such an air of confidence was exceedingly rare even among the matron mothers.
And that made him all the more surprised and wary.
Someone like this must possess unknown strength or some special ability. He and Velin had better not slip up and capsize in a ditch.
"Very well! Miss Venasi, what is it you want to tell us?"
Morpheus had unconsciously retreated a few more steps, and under the cover of his right sleeve, an ancient-looking sorcery scroll had already found its way into his hand.
"You really don't need to be so cautious. I'm your friend — I've come to help you!"
Venasi showed a hint of a helpless smile, and before Morpheus could press further, she began to explain: "Within the upper echelons of the Dark Polar Domain's wizards, a betrayal has occurred. Someone has colluded with the Dark Elves. I don't yet know this person's identity, because a veil of fate's mist shrouds them — but this individual could be a Guardian, could be the master of a major school, and most likely of all, could be the very
"A traitor among the wizard elite?" Velin exclaimed. "Where did you get this information?"
"The guidance of fate! It allowed me to see these things — and to see your future!" A holy expression appeared on Venasi's face as she stepped forward and gazed upon Velin's countenance. "You will become a hero in the future! And I shall be your most loyal subordinate and wings!"
As she spoke, she actually dropped to one knee in a gesture of fealty.
"I — I — I'll become a hero?"
Velin's head was spinning, but Morpheus had keenly seized upon the key point in her words.
"Foreseen? Could it be that you're the legendary Fate Witch — the one who can see through the trajectories of others' lives?"
"Under the guidance of fate, nothing can remain hidden!" Venasi nodded, confirming her identity.
"A witch who can see the future! That's so cool!" Velin cheered. "Throughout history, both the Lion King and the Golden Knight John had a wise great wizard with the power of prophecy by their side — and together, they achieved dominion over an era!"
Flames seemed to ignite in Velin's eyes.
The string of recent adventures, combined with the allegiance of a witch who could foresee destiny, had unconsciously gone to his head.
"Maybe... I really am a future hero!" The thought sprang to life in Velin's mind, irrepressible, taking root and sprouting like a seed.
"Velin! Snap out of it!" Morpheus said from the side, exasperated.
They hadn't even confirmed whether this woman was friend or foe, and the prophecy's veracity was still unknown — and here he was already daydreaming?
"Madam Witch, can you then prophesy what the Dark Elves' scheme is this time?" Morpheus asked the question he cared about most.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible! The River of Fate is too vast and overwhelming — I can only catch glimpses of fragments at certain times and places..."
Venasi ran a hand through her long hair at the back, a bitter smile crossing her face. "Besides, on the Dark Elves' side, there is also a wizard who commands the power of fate serving as an advisor..."
"What?!" Velin and Morpheus both cried out in unison.
Since when had terrifying wizards who could prophesy the future become so cheap — popping up everywhere you looked?
"Well! So I'm not the only one after all! Then, Venasi — would you be willing to become my companion and adventure alongside us?"
Velin smiled and extended his hand toward Venasi.
"I would be most honored!" For once, Venasi's voice betrayed a hint of excitement.
But just as their hands were about to meet, Venasi's expression changed drastically.
A ring of white spread instantaneously through her eyes, ultimately turning her pupils a pristine, pure white.
In her vision, a young wizard — a black ring upon his hand — was hurtling toward them at great speed.
And the figure seemed to glance faintly in their direction as well, as though he too had detected her presence through the power of fate.
"Trouble!" A flash of red light enveloped Venasi, and she vanished from the spot immediately.
"Don't even think about running!" On the other side, Ailin had finally identified the source of the unease that had been driving him onward.
It turned out another practitioner of the Sacred Light Candlefire had gotten ahead of him — and had nearly reached them first.
Boom! Boom!
Two streaks of light tore across the sky, leaving Velin and Morpheus completely bewildered.
"So she's the other wizard?" Ailin asked with a darkened expression, speaking within his mind.
"Yes. On her body, I sensed the aura of another magical artifact I crafted!"
BOOM!
The two streaks of light collided in midair and quickly separated.
But through the exchange, both Ailin and Venasi had caught a clear glimpse of each other.
She was a very beautiful witch — Ailin noted — but in the next instant, an overwhelmingly powerful desire erupted from the depths of his heart, so fierce and turbulent as to be nearly unstoppable.
"Devour her! Devour her! Devour her!"
"What's happening?!" Ailin clutched at his chest, his face turning ashen. "Why do I feel like I must kill that woman before I can be whole?"
He asked Merlin.
"Alas..." Merlin let out a long sigh. "It seems there was a fragment of my memory within that necklace as well — and it passed on the Sacred Light Candlefire to that female wizard! The Sacred Light Candlefire is an exclusive, high-grade Meditation Method — which means in any given era, only one wizard can ever cultivate it to completion. The others won't die, but their Meditation Method will never advance further. I'm sorry..."
"It doesn't matter!" Ailin had matured considerably by now. "If it weren't for the Sacred Light Candlefire, I'd have died who knows how many times already. Why would I care about this?" "So then... that female wizard and I — we've become enemies?"
"That's right! Only one of you can laugh last — and I hope that person is you!" Merlin's voice came through clearly. "Rest assured, I will support you with everything I have!"
...
"Everyone has arrived! It's time for the show to begin!"
At the
At this moment, he was using the Chip to study the status of several experimental subjects along with data on Meditation Methods.
By distributing those "elderly mentor" and "golden finger" packages, he had not only gathered a wealth of experimental data, but had also siphoned off even more high-grade Meditation Methods through his targets.
Many of these high-grade Meditation Methods were closely guarded secrets of their respective schools, but with the help of inside agents, obtaining them had been remarkably easy.
"It looks like altering the prophecy has been put into practice as well!" Leilin stroked his chin.
The prophecy about the traitor that Venasi had received was entirely fabricated by him, yet it had successfully deceived her — giving Leilin even more confidence in his plans going forward.
"Still, that last experimental subject really was somewhat unexpected. To actually choose the Dark Elves' side — what audacity!"