Chapter Thirty: The Key and the Covenant of Truth
Aisuweier followed the mage into the High Tower. The mage wanted to introduce the state of the High Prism Tower, but Aisuweier shook his head and refused, “Let’s not waste time.”
So the mage could only escort Aisuweier to the top of the tower.
“The Tower Master is already waiting for you in the study.”
“Thank you, you may leave.”
After dismissing the mage, Aisuweier pushed open the door to Herron’s study.
“Herron…”
“Calm down, my old friend.” The space in the room was almost filled with countless bookshelves and books. Only the very center was deliberately left with some space, used to place a desk, so that the owner of the study could have a comfortable reading environment. The so-called owner was currently sitting there, holding a yellowed book. Compared to Aisuweier, he looked more like an old gentleman, wearing a monocle, with meticulous hair and attire, completely unlike the traditional image of a mage. “No matter how urgent the matter, you should sit down and explain it slowly, shouldn’t you? Dear Lord of the Secret Seal?”
Aisuweier also understood his old friend’s temper. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed someone else in the room.
It was a young man with features resembling those of the Deep Sea people and Canaanites. He sat not far from Herron. Upon noticing Aisuweier’s gaze, he nodded neither subserviently nor obsequiously.
Most importantly, Aisuweier couldn’t sense any trace of Mana from him. He was a completely ordinary person.
“Who is he?” Aisuweier frowned. “Your new apprentice?”
“It’s irrelevant… Think whatever you want.” Herron put the book aside. “Go ahead, Aisuweier. You’re clearly not here for tea. You seem very anxious.”
“It’s still about Osmond Burnell… According to Lace’s prophecy, he’s already dead, and not on any land in this dimension. He died silently in a lonely, secluded, independent world! Do you know what that means?”
Herron shook his head and took a sip of the strong brewed tea.
“You know, Aisuweier, it was precisely because I was tired of these things that I left the Forbidden Institute and built my Mage Tower on this barren, uninhabited land to conduct magical research alone. I know you want my help, but I’ll say it again: I will listen to all your requests, but I will not provide any substantial assistance, except for encouragement.”
Aisuweier almost cursed him as an old bastard. He glared at Herron, remembering that others were present, and suppressed his anger. “Herron, do you know how great the impact of this matter will be? That student… Osmond Burnell stole the key to the upper labyrinth. If he’s not careful, he could easily cause catastrophic events that even Dark Dawn could never achieve in a lifetime! That could be the Apocalypse for mages!”
“But what does that have to do with me, the Tower Master of this High Prism Tower?” Herron shrugged. “You were the ones researching the key, you were the ones who let that child join the Forbidden Institute, you were the ones who ignored his plight, and you were the ones who watched him steal the key. Why do you always try to shift your responsibilities onto others?”
“It was an accident! No, it wasn’t an accident!” Aisuweier said calmly. “Osmond wouldn’t have stolen the key for no reason. Someone must have instigated him from behind, telling him how to avoid the Forbidden Institute’s dense warning magic, how to steal the key under everyone’s noses, how to use the Transcendent’s Eye to activate the long-abandoned long-distance teleportation magic circle, and how to shield everyone’s divination and foresight spells. Even that Transcendent’s Eye likely came from them.
“All of this is too coincidental. The centennial Magic Society seminar was held not long ago. Siswell, Hailey, and Yerhaven left, and then such a major incident occurred at the Forbidden Institute. If there’s no mastermind behind this, I won’t believe it! Now, the primary defector Osmond has been killed, and the key he stole may have fallen into the hands of the mastermind! Whether it’s for the Forbidden Institute or for all mages, Herron, old friend, you should at least contribute.”
Aisuweier spoke the entire passage without taking a breath. He looked coldly at his former friend, waiting for his response.
No matter what he said, at least both of them had tried their best. Aisuweier said in his heart.
“I refuse.” Herron replied with almost no hesitation.
Aisuweier seemed to age many years in an instant. He glanced at Herron, then at the various books on the bookshelf. Only some of them were about magical mysteries; most were various kinds of scholarly miscellaneous books.
“Then I’ll be going first,” he said.
“Wait, Aivi.” Herron used Aisuweier’s old nickname. “Since you say there’s a mastermind pulling the strings, why don’t you tell me who you suspect the mastermind to be?”
Aisuweier didn’t know what his intention was, but due to his trust in his old friend, he still said, “The Covenant of Truth, only they equally crave the key and possess this kind of planning ability.”
“That’s right!” Herron laughed heartily, then pointed at the young man beside him. “Then you should have a lot to talk about with him. Li Lin, introduce yourself.”
The young man stood up and bowed slightly to the old mage.
“I’ve long admired you, Lord of the Secret Seal Aisuweier. I grew up listening to your legendary stories, especially how you killed the Lich and saved hundreds of thousands of people from peril in Port Beren, which always made my blood boil. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Li Lin, the liaison for the Covenant of Truth.”
Aisuweier stared at the two of them blankly. After a while, he managed to utter one sentence: “That wasn’t a Lich, it was a Soul Lord.”
“Alright, perhaps I misremembered.” The young man, Li Lin, didn’t think it was a big deal. “In my opinion, whether it’s a Lich or a Soul Lord, they are the same type of thing, remnants of the Decayed Lineage.”
“I hope you won’t take my previous remarks to heart, as they were just my insignificant guesses,” Aisuweier said, his gaze fixed on Herron. This old fellow probably guessed everything long ago, didn’t he?
“I dare not.”
Is it “dare not,” not “will not”?
Aisuweier’s gaze was icy. He thought, what audacity does a mere bastard of the Covenant of Truth, someone without even Mana, have to speak to him like this?
He looked at Herron questioningly, waiting for an explanation.
“I’m sorry, old friend, I hope you won’t be angry,” Herron appeased his friend. “I don’t want to get involved in this matter, but I can’t just ignore you, so I had to secretly approach the Covenant of Truth, who are also interested in the key.”
“Precisely, Professor. The search for the key can be completely handed over to us, the Covenant of Truth. In fact, we have already fully grasped Osmond Burnell’s movements. The last place he teleported to was the Black Dragon Territory, and there must be clues there.”
“I will never let the key fall into your hands,” Aisuweier said warily.
“It doesn’t matter.” Li Lin’s eyes were calm, like a bottomless deep lake. “We have our own goals too.”
