Chapter 167: Choice
Li Wen’s impression of Cavendish came from her previous life.
It was a family with a long history, so famous even before the Kingdom of Arthur was established. In fact, the establishment of the Kingdom of Arthur was indirectly supported by them.
After all, one of the seven mages who followed that king, and thus the kingdom’s first Seven Sages, was Exon Cavendish from the Cavendish family.
Since then, Exon Cavendish was enfeoffed a hereditary duke, and the image of a stag entwined with thorns became the unchanging crest of the Cavendish family. The territory he was enfeoffed was Birch Territory.
In her past life, when Li Wen was an apprentice at the High Prism Tower, she had the fortune to accompany the mages there on a visit to the Duke’s mansion. At that time, players had not yet fully descended into this world, and Li Wen still treated it all as a groundbreaking game. Disinterested in the game, she only logged in once a week for a perfunctory check-in.
Even so, Li Wen received an invitation. Or rather, all mages and apprentices of the High Prism Tower were invited to attend the funeral of the current duke of Cavendish, William Cavendish.
Li Wen had already forgotten most of the specific details, as she had only treated it as part of the game at the time, just as other players did.
Looking back now, the deceased duke was the patient mentioned in this letter. Therefore, the writer of the letter was naturally a descendant of Duke Cavendish, and most likely the heir to the title.
“Judging by the fact that the writer is unaware of the potion’s effects, a significant portion of what they wrote should be true. The miraculous medicine that can cure all ailments is in their hands, yet they still choose to seek help from a stranger with unclear intentions…”
Li Wen felt a subtle irony from this. Perhaps this was fate’s prank.
However, logically speaking, in a country like Arthur, where Glorious Church beliefs were prevalent, it should not be difficult for a family like Cavendish, with their accumulated wealth and connections over the years, to invite a Grand Bishop of Glor to dispel or bless. Or perhaps, even a Sacrifice Path transcendent of Stage Six was powerless against that mysterious illness?
Moreover, this was undoubtedly a premeditated action with a very clear objective. Although she didn’t know the origin of Duke William’s illness, it was clearly related to the mysterious mage who came to help. Why could the writer overlook such an obvious problem?
The content of this letter was exceptionally true, yet filled with inconsistencies. If Li Wen hadn’t already held the legendary-grade potion in her hands, she would have thought this was a phishing trap. It’s unlikely anyone would use a legendary potion as bait.
“The wandering soul walker I encountered earlier should be an ally of the mysterious mage. They might have followed the clues to snatch it. In that case, the appearance of a Stage Three Repair Chaos lineage transcendent there wouldn’t be strange. Either the letter’s owner entrusted it to the wrong person, or the seven-day deadline hasn’t arrived yet… The fate of the letter’s owner is unknown, but since they came looking for it, they’ve likely met with misfortune…”
Li Wen pondered, her slender fingers twirling a strand of hair at her forehead, her expression growing impatient. She could stay put for days and nights to complete complex rituals or magic circles, or she could decisively and swiftly kill an opponent after confirming their presence. But when it came to schemes and calculations, she could only say it was best left to those who were good at it.
Moreover, this matter seemed to involve the High Prism Tower.
That was where Li Wen first encountered Extraordinary Power. The ritual knowledge she learned there still helped her to this day. Unless absolutely necessary, she was reluctant to believe that the High Prism Tower would be involved in an incident of coveting a family’s treasure.
Or perhaps, was it meaningful? What kind of treasure would be worth coveting by mages who always worshipped truth and knowledge?
Thinking this, the girl shifted her gaze to the last item, the black box sealed with encrypted text.
Now there were two choices before her:
The first was to pocket the item. After all, she obtained it through her own abilities. Even if she did nothing, it would be taken by malicious behind-the-scenes forces. Both the Cavendish family heirloom and the legendary potion that could bring the dead back to life were enough to stir her heart.
As for moral principles? Players don’t have such a thing. Not to mention that Li Wen was now burdened with the great responsibility of saving the world. After losing her player status in the future, having an extra bottle of legendary potion might mean obtaining another Original Text, and even if she couldn’t use the Cavendish heirloom, she could use it to trade resources for more assistance.
There was simply no reason to refuse.
As for the second choice, it was, of course, to hand over the item to the Sorcery Anomalies Hand Association, and then retreat into obscurity, with the only benefit being that any future troubles would have nothing to do with her.
“The Truth Society.”
Li Wen thought about where the mysterious mage and the wandering soul walker might come from. It was hard for her to not think about it. They controlled the world’s unique magic and knowledge, preached truth, and had grand ambitions, with endless despicable methods. The only group that could connect these elements was the Truth Society.
And just yesterday, the Truth Society openly attacked the Bird Association circling White. Not long after, Li Wen encountered that wandering soul walker in that tavern. The reason the opponent was injured was perhaps because she was a direct participant in the attack.
“Then, why didn’t the Truth Society send more powerful Transcendent to come? Unless they simply didn’t know about the Cavendish heirloom. They only knew of the letter’s existence but not its content. That guy was actually sent to silence witnesses and clean up the mess; they were afraid some secrets would be made public.”
What secrets could they be…
The matter of the High Prism Tower colluding with the Truth Society? While such a situation would have a negative impact, in the end, it wasn’t a big problem. After all, it wasn’t like the Glorious Church colluding with Deep Dark Heretics. The lofty mages never cared about such things.
Li Wen shook her head, knowing that digging deeper would yield no results, and then refocused her thoughts on the two choices.
After a while, she sighed.
In fact, when the second option appeared in her mind, it seemed to indicate what choice she would make.
“But before that, at least let me witness the true appearance of this so-called Cavendish family heirloom with my own eyes.”
What if the heirloom was an Original Text, or a clue related to an Original Text? If she missed it, wouldn’t she become a victim of fate’s great prank?
Thinking this, Li Wen picked up her dagger and stabbed it into the black box without hesitation.
As the blade accurately sliced towards the center of the box, the seemingly powerful and stable encrypted seal was instantly shattered completely.
