Shadow of the Beautiful World

My birth was an accident.

In Merlin's living room, Geralt, the former legendary witcher and now the uncle next door, is sitting on the sofa, tasting the fine wine Merlin sent, while speaking to the little boy Merlin in a senior manner. While reading his own story, he threw the last quaint card in his hand on the table.

To be honest, this feeling of seeing a real person is much better than reading an autobiographical book.

Except that Merlin had already lost 7 times in a row in this weird poker game, and almost all of the thousands of dollars he had on him were lost to the very strong poker legend in front of him.

My mother was a famous witch in the early Middle Ages, and she had me in a bad drunken accident. But she had already dedicated her life to magic, so she ended up sending me to the fledgling witch hunt. people there.

I grew up there, studied, followed in my adoptive father's footsteps, and became a wolf school demon hunter.

Geralt touched the wolf head pendant around his neck, which represented his identity.

Then I met Yennefer, met my little Siria, met many people, and experienced many interesting or boring things in Eastern Europe and Southern Europe in the Middle Ages. Later, I got a knighthood and had my own manor. Thought my life was going to be like that until Yennefer and I were getting old and we had some weird things happen to us.

Having said that, Geralt was silent for a while. He didn't seem to intend to say more about this matter. While putting away the Gwent cards on the table, he changed the subject rather bluntly.

That should be in 1314. Anyway, after that incident, my dear Yennefer's alchemy experiment was successful, and we regained our youth, and also regained the lost emotions. I became no longer like a hunter. Witcher, but really, I'm still a Witcher.

He drank the wine in the glass, raised the glass, and said to Merlin:

Is there any vodka? It's not strong enough.

Uh, yes, wait a minute.

Although Merlin had seen a legendary vampire who lived for 1,200 years, the Grand Duke was a vampire after all, different from humans. And now, a living fossil of human history was sitting in front of him. Under such circumstances, Merlin really had too many questions to ask.

He stood up, took a bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet, walked briskly back to Geralt, and filled him up.

The latter put the fine wine to his mouth, sniffed it, and said with satisfaction:

That's the problem. My wife is good at everything. She doesn't allow me to drink too much. She says it's for my health. God, I've lived for 1,300 years. I don't care about my health.

He complained about his mysterious wife, then raised his head and poured the glass of wine into his mouth.

Fu

He let out a comfortable groan, and put the wine glass on the table, as if he had regained his youthful feeling, he waved his finger:

Continued Cup!

Merlin didn't speak, but silently poured another glass of wine for the uninvited senior.

And when Geralt was drinking his second glass of wine, he suddenly remembered something. He fumbled in his pocket, finally took out a small wooden box, and placed it in front of Merlin.

Almost forgot about this, the 'reward' I brought you, little Ulysses.

remuneration

Merlin did not refuse the gift, and he was also very curious about what the master witcher brought him.

He brought the wooden box with a heavy hand, and there seemed to be something made of steel inside. Merlin opened the box and found a pair of arm armor inside.

In the black leather cushion with metal buttons, there is a silver metal box, and some fine runes are engraved on the box. The internal structure of this box is somewhat delicate, like some kind of launching weapon.

Oh, it's the Hidden Blade.

Geralt, who was pouring his own drink, glanced in this direction, and he immediately recognized what this strange thing was.

Hidden Blade?

Merlin looked at the armor in his hand, and said:

Is this a weapon?

Yes, a weapon for assassination.

Geralt drank another glass of vodka, then reached out and took the arm armor from Merlin's hand, and demonstrated to him how to use this strange weapon in front of him.

The legendary witcher put the black arm armor on the wrist of his left hand, fastened the three metal buttons, and then moved his five fingers. Under Merlin's gaze, Geralt raised his left middle finger forward, which was strange. The weapon is also activated at this moment.

bass

Accompanied by a crisp metal collision sound, a short sword-like silver blade popped out from the front end of the Hidden Blade.

The force was astonishing. In Merlin's perception, he could even feel Geralt's arm shaking the moment the blade popped out. In close combat, this thing can penetrate the skull of a monster in an instant.

The ratio of the holy silver and the steel tempered by the potion is perfect. It takes into account the demon-destroying effect of the silver sword and the sharpness and toughness of the steel sword. The magic-destroying rune is engraved on the hidden sword, which is also good for dealing with those dark wizards. , the general protective spell can be broken easily when it touches the blade.

Geralt stroked the Hidden Blade that popped out, and he said softly:

The most important thing is that this thing is concealed enough, even in the face of dangerous monsters, it is still very useful. As long as you can seize the opportunity, you only need one blow to lock the battle.

After finishing speaking, the legendary witcher held the Hidden Blade in front of his eyes and sniffed it. His nose was moving like a cat. After a while, he said:

This leather pad is made of dragon skin, which is very tough, that is to say, you can use it as a shield in close combat.

This is a very good gift. As far as I know, in this era, it seems that only demon hunters are equipped with such weapons. It is a status symbol.

bass

With the movement of Geralt's fingers, the Hidden Blade was retracted into the silver box with the opening and closing of the mechanism.

White Wolf took off the Hidden Blade and handed it to Merlin. He said:

Ulysses probably gave you his Hidden Blade, use it well.

Merlin took over the Hidden Blade. Frankly speaking, he doesn't really need this kind of external equipment right now. The equipment he has at hand is enough. He hopes to get some magic that will help his current situation.

But this kind of thing can't be forced.

Speaking of which, I have something I want to ask you, Mr. Geralt.

Merlin put the Hidden Blade by his hand, he looked at Geralt who continued to drink, and said:

You must have traveled to every corner of the world in your life, then the Supreme Master

No, I won't tell you anything about it.

Before Merlin finished speaking, Geralt flatly refused.

The latter picked up the wine glass and said to Merlin:

If you want to find Karma Taj, you have to go to the snow mountain to find it yourself. This is the rule set by the supreme mage. And you must be in awe of the powerful power.

He looked at Merlin, he shook his head:

To be honest, you're not ready right now.

What's the meaning?

Merlin asked back.

To control power, you must have the will to match it. Your will is very strong, like a sharp sword out of its sheath, but the problem is that you need to use this will to fight against the dark magic power in your body. The spiritual power you can use Not much, and the esoteric magic of Karma Taj, which requires all your heart and soul, is not for you.

Geralt is indeed a legend with goods, he explained to Merlin in detail:

What's more, the Supreme Mage is beyond time. Even if you find the Karma Taj Sanctuary and get permission to enter it, you don't know how long it will take before the Supreme Mage returns to this node from the sea of ​​time. You should know your own situation, how long can you wait? 2 years? 4 years? Anyway, it will definitely not exceed 5 years.

That

Geralt's meaning was clear. He didn't think Merlin should seek the help of the Sorcerer Supreme.

The uncertainty of this path is too great.

What about the Rock of Eternity?

Merlin asked again:

I found a piece of information about it from the relics of Vlad III. I heard from a friend that it is one of the advanced powers of witchcraft?

That's right.

White Wolf nodded. He stroked his beard and said to Merlin:

The Rock of Eternity carries the 'power close to God', and that place is also where the dimensional magic gathers. It is exactly the two extremes of Kama Taj's practice.

It invokes the power of the legendary 'gods' to give their mages a variety of divine powers. That's quite suitable for you, as long as you can enter it and get the approval of the wizards of the Rock of Eternity , you can gain great strength almost immediately.

But the problem with the Rock of Eternity is that the way it selects apprentices is through disordered 'fate'.

Geralt rubbed his forehead and explained to Merlin with some headaches:

In 1300 years, I have only seen a few times when the passage of the Rock of Eternity opened. What I can tell you is that the mages there are a group of out-and-out 'magic sticks'. Can you You know what I mean? There is no logic in their way of thinking, they are idealistic, and it takes luck to join them

It's not that kind of ordinary luck, it's the luckiest kind of luck. Speaking of which, how lucky have you been since you were a child?

Geralt looked up at Merlin and asked a question.

Merlin shook his head expressionlessly.

He has confidence in all aspects of himself, except for luck, he really has no confidence at all.

Oh, then you're screwed.

White Wolf shrugged:

Unlucky people will never meet them, and you can give up on this one.

Then what should I do?

The two roads that Merlin found with great difficulty were both sentenced to death, which made him a little confused for a while. He looked at the white wolf and said:

There must be some way to help me, right? The wizard civilization has developed for thousands of years, and before that, there was a more mysterious age of gods. As far as I know, you killed a legendary vampire lord who escaped from hell with your own hands. You Is there a way to help me?

No.

White Wolf spread his hands openly and frankly:

I know that someone can save you, but it is one thing to be able to save you, and another thing to be willing to save you. There are too many people in this world who need help. If you extend a helping hand to everyone, they will be able to help you every day. What not to do I mean, until the turning point in life comes, you have to keep going.

However, I have an immature idea about your current situation.

Huh? Let's hear it.

Merlin asked eagerly.

And Geralt thought for a moment, and he said to Merlin:

Do you play video games?

Uh, no play.

Merlin froze for a moment, then replied:

But my adopted son loves to play. Does that have anything to do with my problem?

Of course there is.

Geralt held out his finger, waved it in front of Merlin, and said:

I do try new things every once in a while, and those video games are actually pretty fun, but that's not the point. The point is, in a video game, if you're a mage, you cast magic through magic.

If your magic power is 100 points, and it takes 10 points of magic power to cast a spell, then you have to release the magic power 10 times to empty the magic power. If you count the automatic recovery of the magic power, then you have to release more times.

But in the later stages of the game, when you have mastered a lot of high-level skills, one spell may consume one-third of your magic power. This is very similar to your situation.

White Wolf pointed at Merlin, and he explained:

I don't know much about the Sangongmo. In my time, it didn't appear in this world. But I heard its story from some friends. It gives every child the seed of power. In my life It seems that those power seeds are 'primary skills', and by continuously collecting other power seeds, the power of a devil child can become more and more complex and advanced.

What I mean is, after you collect enough power seeds, when your demon power reaches a certain limit, when you need the support of all the magic power in your body every time you use your ability, maybe your The problem is gone.

When you use power once, half or even more than half of the magic power in your body will be emptied, and the magic power in your body can't support you to cast spells with all your strength. Then how can those dark magic power have time to erode you? What about your soul?

Merlin frowned, and after listening to White Wolf's suggestion, he said:

But every time I absorb a seed of power, it will bring me one step closer to the evolution of a half-devil. Maybe I can't last the time you mentioned, and I will lose my human body and completely become a half-devil.

Yes, it has risks, that's why I say it's a premature idea.

The white wolf stood up, and he drank the vodka brought by Merlin. The legendary witcher looked at the time and said to Merlin:

But this forced transformation of the body will not affect the purity of your soul. On the contrary, if you continue to hesitate like this, it is possible that your soul will be transformed first.

So, Merlin, this is a choice. Opportunities are always fleeting. To hesitate is to give up opportunities.

Do you want to become a demon soul living in a perfect human body, or do you want to keep a human heart under a demonic body?

You, aren't you naively looking forward to a perfect ending?

You should be able to understand that there is no real perfect ending in this world, right?