Five days after coming to this world, Lin Yuan discovered his power: a forbidden magic that history had forgotten. It controlled the flow of time, allowing him to age or rejuvenate objects and living beings. During his first experiment, he picked up a bronze pocket watch from his desk. As he closed his hand around it, a faint wave of magic pulsed from his palm. The watch's rust peeled away instantly, its frozen gears started moving smoothly, and the worn leather strap became brand - new, as if it had just rolled off the assembly line.
"Could this be... time manipulation?" Lin Yuan whispered to himself. Without hesitation, he gave it another try, willing the watch to age. In an instant, the leather strap split, the copper casing corroded, and within seconds, the whole watch disintegrated into a heap of dust.
Manipulating non - living things consumed very little magic.
Next, his gaze fell on a withered potted plant by the window. He raised his hand, and a faint blue glow flashed from his fingertips. In an instant, the plant's dry leaves turned green again, its buds bloomed, and it burst into a cluster of vivid purple flowers, as if months of time had reversed. But when he tried to accelerate its aging, in just a few seconds, the flower wilted before his eyes, the vines turned brown and black, and it finally became a pile of dry powder.
Using this power on living things drained a massive amount of magic.
What shocked Lin Yuan the most was that he could use this ability on living people. On the fifth-day morning, he stared at his mirror image: long silver hair, a face showing 135 years of age. What if...
Closing his eyes, he focused his mind, and a surge of magic coursed through his body, bringing with it a chill. When he opened his eyes again, he looked twenty years younger. His wrinkled skin tightened, the lines vanished, and his hair regained its black sheen. With a smile, he used his magic again to return to his original appearance.
"If some power - hungry people knew about this ability, they'd go crazy..." he muttered, feeling a pang of unease.
Lin Yuan lived in a tall tower on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by forests and bordering a sparsely populated area. Built from obsidian and refined steel, the tower boasted a grand, ancient European style. Each floor boasted elaborately carved stone pillars, detailed reliefs, and stunning oil paintings. However, the real standout were the guardians: knight puppets wearing classic European armor.
These knights were once just broken armor and discarded dolls. Now, thanks to Lin Yuan's magic, they had basic mobility and served as the tower's protectors. While Lin Yuan couldn't resurrect the dead, his butler, Ute, had learned some of the forbidden magic from him and could turn non - living things into puppets. As a result, two or three fully - armed iron - clad knights stood on each floor of the tower, holding lances or greatswords, silently guarding their master's home.
Ute was a loyal and intelligent old butler. Despite his age, he was still energetic. He always wore a neatly pressed black tailcoat and white gloves and was meticulous in his work. Ute's name was a mouthful for Lin Yuan, so he just called him "Old U." Ute could only sigh, push up his glasses, and go along with it.
Because of his special identity, Lin Yuan had to stay away from people and never reveal his powers easily. Even in the city, few knew of his existence. Only a handful of nobles could contact him, and the outside world was unaware that a powerful mage lived in this tower.
Still, isolation didn't mean poverty for Lin Yuan. When nobles faced problems they couldn't solve, they secretly turned to him for help. His tasks usually fell into two categories:
The first was escorting important people to dangerous places.
To boost their family's fortunes, some nobles had to enter the perilous Dark Forest looking for magical ruins or cross the desolate wastelands to meet ancient sages. The journeys were full of hazards, yet Lin Yuan often accepted these jobs because his abilities could lower the risks.
The second was handling tough situations in towns.
Sometimes, it was a sudden monster attack in the city; other times, it was an un-banishable undead in a castle. In such cases, nobles would secretly send someone to ask Lin Yuan for help. Of course, Old U screened all these tasks. He'd investigate the clients' backgrounds first to make sure they weren't using Lin Yuan for shady deeds like assassinating political opponents.
"Master, two new jobs came in," said Ute, shuffling through some letters. "One's escorting Viscount Brion's daughter to the White Tower on the border. The other's dealing with a haunted manor in the east end of town."
Lin Yuan took a sip of black tea and drawled, "What about assassination requests?"
"Of course, I turned them down," Ute replied calmly.
Lin Yuan smiled. "You're doing a great job."
"Certainly. I don't want to wake up one day and find you struck by divine punishment for killing innocent people," Ute said, bowing slightly with a smile.
Lin Yuan shrugged. He had no intention of taking such jobs anyway. Despite being a stranger in this world, with no kin or companions, he had no intention of becoming a ruthless assassin.
He stared out the window. Sunbeams slipped through the latticed glass, pooling in patches on the wooden planks below.
The distant city was veiled in morning mist, and occasionally, the shouts of street vendors could be heard.
"Old U, get things ready. Let's go out for a walk today," Lin Yuan said, setting down his cup and smiling.
"Got it, Master," Ute nodded.
The tower's old pendulum ticked on, a steady beat marking time in this world.
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来到这个世界的第五天,林远终于摸清了自己的能力,一种早已被历史湮没的禁忌魔法.它掌控着时间的流逝,能让物品,生命体衰老或回归年轻.初次实验时,他随手捡起书桌上的一枚青铜怀表,轻轻一握,掌心传出一阵微弱的魔力波动.怀表上的锈迹迅速剥落,指针由卡顿变得流畅,破旧的皮质表带焕然一新,仿佛刚刚出厂一般.
"这就是...时间的操控?" 林远喃喃道,他试着让怀表再次老化,结果皮革龟裂,铜壳生锈,最终整块表化作了斑驳的尘埃.
非生命体,消耗的魔力极少.
接下来,他把目光投向窗边那盆枯萎的盆栽.他轻轻抬手,指尖闪过一丝幽蓝色的微光.刹那间,盆栽上的枯叶重新绿意盎然,花苞含苞待放,顷刻间盛开出妖艳的紫色花朵,仿佛时间倒流了数月.可当他尝试让它加速衰老时,仅仅几秒,那朵花就以肉眼可见的速度凋谢,藤蔓枯黄发黑,最终变成一堆干枯的粉末.
生命体,魔力消耗极大.
而最让林远震撼的是,他能够对活着的人施展这种能力.第五天清晨,他好奇地看着镜中的自己,一头银白色的长发,一张历经岁月洗礼的成熟面庞.以他的年龄来看,这副身体已经活了一百三十五年.但如果...
林远闭上眼,心念微动,周身魔力涌动,一股冰凉的气息在体内回荡.他再睁开眼时,镜中的自己已经年轻了二十岁,原本苍老的面孔变得紧致,皱纹尽数消失,发丝也恢复了乌黑的色泽.他轻轻一笑,再度催动魔力,恢复原样.
"这能力如果被某些野心家知道,怕是要彻底疯狂吧..." 他喃喃道,心中不禁升起一丝警惕.
林远的居所,是一座孤立于城市边缘的高塔,四周森林环绕,与人烟稀少的地区接壤.这座塔楼由黑曜石和精钢建造,气势恢宏,颇具古老欧式风格,每一层都有装饰繁复的石柱,浮雕和油画.而最为特别的是,塔楼的守护者,那些穿戴古欧式盔甲的骑士傀儡.
这些骑士原本只是破旧的盔甲和废弃的人偶,而如今,它们在林远的魔法下被赋予了简单的行动能力,成了塔楼的守护者.林远自己并未掌握让死者复生的能力,但他的管家乌特,却从他这里学到了一部分禁忌魔法,能够让非生命体变成傀儡.正因如此,塔楼内每一层都伫立着两到三名全副武装的铁甲骑士,手持长枪或巨剑,寂静地守护着主人的住所.
乌特是一个忠诚而睿智的老管家,年迈却依旧精神矍铄.他总是身穿笔挺的黑色燕尾服,戴着白手套,做事一丝不苟.然而,林远嫌 "乌特" 这个名字拗口,便直接称他为 "老乌".对此,乌特无奈地扶了扶眼镜,只能接受.
因为林远的特殊身份,他必须远离人群,不得轻易暴露自己的力量.即便在这座城市里,知道他存在的人也寥寥无几,除了极少数贵族能联系上他之外,外界的人甚至不知道这座塔楼里住着一位强大的魔法师.
不过,即便与世隔绝,林远的日子也不至于清贫.因为当某些贵族遇到无法解决的棘手事件时,他们总会悄悄向林远求助.他的任务通常分为两类:
第一种,是护送重要人物前往危险的地域.
有些贵族为了家族利益,需要深入黑森林寻找魔法遗迹,或是去荒原寻访远古贤者,但一路上危险重重.林远的能力正好能让他们减少风险,因此这类任务最常被接受.
第二种,是处理城镇中的棘手事件.
有时,是城市里突然爆发的魔物袭击;有时,是一座城堡中出现了无法驱散的亡灵.这种时候,贵族们便会派人偷偷联系林远,请他出手解决麻烦.当然,这些任务都必须经过老乌的筛选,他会先调查清楚雇主的背景,确保对方不是在利用林远进行某些见不得人的勾当,比如暗杀政敌之类的.
"少爷,今天又有两份委托,一份是护送布里昂子爵的女儿前往边境的白色塔楼,另一份..." 乌特翻阅手中的信件, "是城东某座庄园闹鬼的事件."
林远端起红茶,轻轻啜了一口,懒洋洋地道:"暗杀的单子呢?"
"自然被我处理掉了." 乌特平静地说道.
林远微微一笑:"你倒是挺称职的."
"那是当然,我可不想哪天醒来,发现老爷因为乱杀好人被天谴." 乌特微微弯腰,露出一个笑容.
林远耸耸肩,他本就不打算接那种单子.虽说他在这个世界无依无靠,但至少,他不想成为肆意杀戮的刽子手.
他望向窗外,阳光透过镂空的窗棂洒在木地板上,远处的城市笼罩在晨雾中,偶尔能听见街道上商贩的吆喝声.
"老乌,整理一下吧,我们今天出去走走." 林远放下茶杯,嘴角微微勾起.
"明白,老爷." 乌特微微颔首.
塔楼的古老钟摆发出沉稳的响声,一如这个世界的时间缓缓流逝.