On the day of the dinner, the VIP hall of the White Tower Academy was full of delicious food. Lady Brissmelie, dressed in a magnificent dark blue magic gown, sat majestically at the head of the table, a hint of solemnity in her expression.
"Grand Magician Lin," Lady Brissmelie gently put down the silver spoon in her hand and looked up at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan spoke in a serious tone, "May I ask what you want to talk to me about?"
"Here's the thing," Lady Brissmelie sighed. "The town will face an attack shortly. The Magician, Knight, and Adventurer Associations from the capital are uniting to battle the invaders right here."
"Fight against the invaders?" Lin Yuan frowned slightly. "Is your information reliable?"
"I had a prophetic dream," Lady Brissmelie sighed softly. "The scenes in the dream... were so real that they sent chills down my spine."
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow. A prophetic dream? Did she have such an ability?
"Oh?" Lin Yuan swirled the wine in his glass. "Then who are the enemies?"
"The Undead," Lady Brissmelie said slowly.
Everyone went silent when they heard this.
"The Undead?" Ute frowned. "Are you certain?"
"Not only the Undead, but also a kind of dark creature," Lady Brissmelie added.
Lin Yuan's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, as if deep in thought.
"And their target..." Lady Brissmelie slowly opened the package beside her.
As the package was opened, an ancient jet-black book appeared in front of everyone.
In an instant, it was as if the air had been sucked away. The light in the reception hall suddenly dimmed, and the temperature dropped sharply.
The cover of the book was made of an unknown black leather, and its surface was covered with strange magic patterns that seemed to be wriggling slowly like living things. Barely visible, streaks of crimson light oozed from the crevices between the pages, as though an ominous aura was secretly observing the world.
[Ding! Mission completed!]
[Ding! Main mission triggered: Find the inheritor of the black magic!]
Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback and secretly cursed in his heart.
"So the escort mission was actually to trigger this main mission... Then what would happen if I didn't escort Lady Brissmelie to the White Tower Academy?"
The voice of Jiuchong Ring sounded in his mind.
[Even if the Black Tower Academy destroys the White Tower Academy, you'll still have to find the black magic inheritor. But a ton of people will die first, and that'll make your mission way harder.]
Lin Yuan silently rubbed his forehead.
"May I ask... why are you sharing this information?" Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Our relationship doesn't seem to be at the level where we trust each other so much, does it?"
Lady Brissmelie pursed her lips, her eyes deep. "It's fate."
"I can feel that Grand Magician Lin is not from this world."
These words made Lin Yuan's heart skip a beat, yet he kept his cool. Lady Brissmelie went on, "What's more, this world looks kindly on Grand Magician Lin."
After a moment, Lady Brissmelie told them everything she knew from her dream and looked at Lin Yuan intently.
Lin Yuan put down his wine glass and said indifferently, "So, what you're saying is... this black magic book must not fall into the hands of the Undead?"
"Yes," Lady Brissmelie nodded solemnly.
Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, lost in thought.
The black magic book... Its name alone told him it was bad news.
"Why would the Undead be after this book?" Lin Yuan asked.
Lady Brissmelie was silent for a while and then said in a low voice, "Legend has it that this book records the most powerful black magic from ancient times."
"Once one masters this book, they can summon the most powerful undead creatures and control the entire army of dark creatures."
Lin Yuan was secretly shocked.
This book actually had such terrifying abilities?
"The book stayed sealed in our family's underground library," Lady Brissmelie explained. "Then, out of the blue a few months ago, the seal weakened. The black magic's power started seeping out, and it caught the Undead's eye."
"So, the real reason you came to the White Tower Academy is to seal this book?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Lady Brissmelie nodded. "Yes, I want to bring it to the core magic chamber of the White Tower Academy and try to reseal it."
Lin Yuan rubbed his temples. "How can you be sure that you can seal it successfully?"
Lady Brissmelie gave a sad smile. "I'm not sure it'll work, but we can't let the Undead get it."
Lin Yuan was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Okay, I'll help however I can."
A look of gratitude flashed in Lady Brissmelie's eyes. "Thank you so much."
At the same time, the voice of Jiuchong Ring sounded again in Lin Yuan's mind.
[New mission objectives confirmed:
Protect the black magic book and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Undead.
Investigate the inheritor of the black magic.
Find the true method to seal the black magic book.]
[Mission difficulty: S]
Lin Yuan slapped his palm to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
He wanted to curse. How could a simple Bronze-level escort mission suddenly turn into a super-hard King-level one? Ugh...
====================
聚餐当天,白塔学院的贵宾厅内,摆满了丰盛的餐点.士嫆莉女士身着一袭华丽的深蓝色魔法长裙,端坐在主位上,神色间带着几分凝重.
"林大法师." 士嫆莉轻轻放下手中的银匙,抬眼看向林远.
林远语气郑重道,"请问你找我有何事啊?"
"是这样的." 士嫆莉深吸了一口气,"在不久的将来,这座城镇将会遭受攻击,国都的魔法师协会,骑士协会和冒险者协会将会联合起来,在这里迎战外敌."
"迎战外敌?" 林远微微皱眉,"你的消息可靠吗?"
"我做了一个预知梦." 士嫆莉轻轻叹息,"梦中的画面...真实得让人不寒而栗."
林远挑了挑眉,预知梦?她有这种能力?
"哦?" 林远端起酒杯晃了晃,"那敌人是谁?"
"不死族." 士嫆莉缓缓说道.
此话一出,整个会客厅的气氛顿时凝固了.
"不死族?" 乌特皱眉,"你确定?"
"不仅是不死族,还有一种暗夜生物." 士嫆莉补充道.
林远的指尖轻轻敲击着桌面,似乎在思考着什么.
"而他们的目标..." 士嫆莉缓缓地打开了身旁的包裹.
随着包裹的打开,一本古老的乌黑色书籍出现在众人面前.
刹那间,空气仿佛被抽空了一般,会客厅里的光线突然变得暗淡,温度骤降.
书的封皮由不知名的黑色皮革制成,表面布满了奇异的魔法纹路,仿佛活物一般在缓缓蠕动.隐约间,一道道猩红色的光线从书页的缝隙间流转而出,如同某种邪恶的气息在窥视着这个世界.
[叮!任务完成!]
[叮!触发主线任务:找到黑魔法的传承者!]
林远微微一怔,心里暗自吐槽.
"护送任务原来是为了开启这个主线任务啊...那如果我没护送士嫆莉到白塔学院会怎么样?"
九重戒的声音在他脑海中响起.
[等黑塔学院毁灭白塔学院后,依旧会触发寻找黑魔法传承者的任务.只是,在那之前,会死很多人,提高你完成任务的难度.]
林远默默扶额.
"请问...为何要将这个消息分享?" 林远微眯双眼,"我们的关系,似乎还没到如此信任对方的程度吧?"
士嫆莉抿了抿唇,目光深邃,"是命运."
"我能感受到,林大法师并非此世界之人."
此话一出,林远心底微微一沉,表面上却仍保持着镇定.
"并且," 士嫆莉继续说道, "这世界对林大法师,保持着善意."
片刻后布里士嫆莉说了她在梦中所知道的一切,并目光炯炯地看着林远.
林远放下酒杯,淡淡地说道:"所以,你的意思是... 这本黑魔法书,不能落入不死族手中?"
"是的." 士嫆莉郑重地点头.
林远靠在椅背上,闭目沉思.
黑魔法书...
听名字就知道不是什么好东西.
"不死族为何会盯上这本书?" 林远问道.
士嫆莉沉默了一会儿,低声说道:"传说,这本书记录着远古时代最强大的黑魔法."
"一旦掌握这本书,便能召唤出最强的不死生物,并控制整个暗夜生物的军团."
林远心中暗暗心惊.
这本书,居然有如此恐怖的能力?
"本来,这本书被封印在我家地下图书馆之中." 士嫆莉继续说道,"但在几个月前,封印意外松动,导致黑魔法的气息泄露,引起了不死族的注意."
"所以,你来白塔学院真正的原因是为了封印这本书?" 林远挑眉.
士嫆莉点头,"是的,我想把它带到白塔学院的核心魔法室里,尝试重新封印."
林远揉了揉太阳穴,"你怎么确定能成功封印它?"
士嫆莉苦笑道:"没有十足的把握,但至少,我们不能让它落入不死族手中."
林远沉默了一会儿,叹了口气:"好吧,我会尽力协助."
士嫆莉眼中闪过一抹感激之色:"那真的太感谢了."
与此同时,林远的脑海里,九重戒的声音再次响起.
[新任务目标已确认:
守护黑魔法书,避免落入不死族之手.
调查黑魔法的传承者.
找到封印黑魔法书的真正方法.]
[任务难度:S]
林远扶额.
他突然有点想骂人,怎么突然从青铜级别的护送任务,一跳,就跳到王者级别的任务了.唉...