top of magic

Keech sat alone on a bench in the corner, silently looking at the children and teenagers who were chatting in full swing in the middle of the room.

They are all selected from all over the country by the Magic Association of the Yalong Empire. They have magical talents and can become the favored children of magicians.

This kind of selection is only held by the magic associations of various countries every five years, but there are very few people with magical talents. The dozen or so children and teenagers staying in the same room with Kiki are the Yalong Empire's selection this year. result.

Among them, Kiki, and Kiki's younger brother, Rocky.

In fact, Keech is still a little confused why he passed the selection like Rocky.Like Rocky, he was not immediately selected by the white-bearded blue-robed old magician with astonishing eyes, nor was he able to make the crystal-clear crystal ball glow with colored light in full view like other children, but that The young magician in the purple robe insisted on keeping him, even trying to persuade his parents with a bag of gold coins to let him go.

Parents are happy with the idea of ​​trading an unattractive child for a bag of gold coins, even if the person who bought the child might do something unforeseen to the child.But grandmother and eldest brother Xiu Qi firmly opposed him leaving home on the grounds that "he is not the same as Rocky".The elder sister Li Qi didn't want to lose her two younger brothers at once, so she cried and begged him to stay.

But Keech still followed the purple-robed magician.He used his weird power to unlock the iron lock on the door that his grandmother had locked on, and jumped into the gorgeous carriage with the sun logo at the last moment before the wizards left the town.

However, his joining did not make his younger brother Rocky happy.

Rocky hated him as much as he hated Rocky.

But Rocky can easily be liked by others, but he can't.

So, when they were brought to the imperial capital by those magicians and met other children and teenagers who had passed the selection, Kiki was isolated as always.

—But who cares!

——His world has never been accessible to others.

Thinking of this, Kiki closed his eyes in boredom and immersed himself in his own world.

In an instant, everything changed.

All the people and things are no longer the clear appearance seen by the eyes, but a group of light spots of different sizes, large or small, tightly gathered like a honeycomb.The surrounding space is also filled with smaller light spots, most of which are pure light spots without color, only mixed with some floating light-colored blue light, and occasionally there are patches of green light drifting past.

Keech doesn't know why he can "see" such a wonderful world after closing his eyes, but he doesn't hate it anyway.

These points of light will not hate him, on the contrary, they will obey his orders.

In this world, as long as he wants to, he can achieve it, even if it means killing people.

It's just that there doesn't seem to be anything for nothing in this world, and he always has to pay a little price after his wish is fulfilled.

For example, weakness.

Keech sometimes thinks that maybe it's the price he has to pay for this power, which is why he is so thin. At the age of 13, he looks more like Rocky's younger brother at first glance-obviously he is bigger than Rocky. A full year older.

Keech brooded idly in his own world until a string of silver halos on the ceiling caught his attention.

--what is that?

Keech opened his eyes and looked up, but he didn't see anything unusual on the ceiling, which was painted with strange patterns and inlaid with colored crystals.

So he closed his eyes again and looked at it in another way.

This time, he finally saw the clue.

The patterns of circles and circles are exactly where the silver light gathers, and the non-stop shining are those colored crystals.They merged together to form a group of light and shadow patterns that seemed to have a different meaning, and such patterns seemed to be often seen on certain things.

what is it then?Keech thought, yes, a mirror, a broken mirror!

But then he felt that the word incomplete was not used accurately, it was more like a mirror being split into two sides—no, this description is not accurate, let alone whether the mirror can still be counted as a mirror after being separated from the middle, even if Yes, I'm afraid it won't be able to maintain such a perfect half-face light and shadow.

How to describe it?Or, what does this pattern of light and shadow mean?

Keech racked his brains.

Just as Kiki looked around curiously and thought, several people in a mage's tower a little far away were also looking at him through a crystal ball.The other children and teenagers reflected in the crystal ball are all surrounded by halos of different colors and concentrations. Only Kiki has nothing, and nothing can be seen.

"Amir, is this the 'good' apprentice you found for me?" One of the 25-year-old blue-robed female magicians held their chins and looked at Kiki in the crystal ball without looking back. Asked to the purple-robed male magician beside her.

Behind them stood two young girls in red robes with a white background.The boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with flaxen hair, emerald eyes, upright and handsome appearance, and his body exuded a kind of elegance and nobility that could not be ignored even if he stood there motionless.The young girl is not ugly either, but the freckles on her cheeks make her pale a lot. She is also slightly older than the boy. Although she wears the same clothes, her demeanor and expression are far from the boy's. Extraordinary humility and restraint.

At this time, both of them looked into the crystal ball curiously.

"Look carefully, my dear Tina." The male magician called Amir replied calmly.If Keech had been here, he would have recognized him immediately as the magician who tried to take him away from his parents with a bag of gold coins.

Amir is obviously older than the female magician Tina, but how much older is difficult to distinguish from his handsome face that has no traces of weather and mature charm, so that between 28 and 38 years old None of the numbers are surprising.

"What on earth do you want me to see? There is no magic element around him at all... eh?" The female magician named Tina was stunned as she spoke, and habitually raised her hand to smooth her red hair on the sideburns. Silk, but his eyes were fixed on Kiki, and it took a while before he said, "There is not even a little magical element willing to attach to it-he is an element isolator?"

"No, at least, I don't think so." Amir shook his head, but without further explanation, he just pretended to be mysterious and said, "Take it as an easter egg, dear Tina, you can slowly discover his wonder— —Of course, it doesn’t matter if you really don’t like him, just take it as a care for me for a while, and I’ll take him in as an apprentice myself after I’m done with this period of time.”

"...Okay." Tina curled her lips, got up and walked to a platform behind her, opened a square lid on it, and was about to speak, but turned to Amir and asked, "What's this kid's name?"

"Kiki," Amir replied.

Tina turned her head and shouted into the box, "Uncle Flo, that kid named Keech is mine, please don't give him to others!"

A slightly ambiguous voice quickly came back from the box, "Why, you want to take on apprentices too, little Tina?"

"Aren't I qualified to accept apprentices? Uncle Flo." Tina said angrily.

"Of course, you are already an intermediate magician!" A chuckle came from the box, "Well, if no magician higher than you takes a fancy to him, I will assign him to your magician." tower."

"Give it to me too!" Tina demanded brazenly.

"Okay, okay, I see." The other side of the box reluctantly agreed.

Satisfied, Tina closed the box, turned and walked back to the table where the crystal ball was placed, and sat down again beside Amir.

On the other side, in the room where Keech was, the children who were still playing happily with each other did not know that a group of older magicians were observing, examining, and selecting them through the crystal ball.They were just waiting here for the next arrangement of the Magic Association, such as accommodation, such as food, but they didn't know that when they were joking around, their fate had already been decided.

After waiting in the room for nearly an hour, the door of the room was finally reopened. The green-robed mage who brought them here walked in with a piece of parchment, followed by a row of white-backed mages. Young men and women in red robes.

"The ones whose names I have named come out." The green-robed magician said indifferently, "Rocky, Ram."

Rocky and another boy with dark brown hair walked over immediately.

"Congratulations, you have been selected by the great magician Samohail. Starting today, he will serve as your mentor until you pass the junior magician assessment and wear the same green robe as me." Just as the green robe magician spoke At the same time, a handsome young man in white robe took a step forward and greeted Rocky and Ram.

"Hello, I am also an apprentice studying with the Great Mage of Samohail. I will take you to the teacher's mage tower. Please follow me." The young man introduced himself with a smile, and then led Rocky and Ram out of the room .

After they left, the green-robed magician continued to roll the roll. Boys or girls were called out continuously, and they followed the white-robed boys and girls out of the room.

Keech didn't know whether magicians were classified into grades like town officials and nobles, but from the constantly changing titles of green-robed magicians, he still sensitively judged the children who left first, such as Rocky , their mentor is obviously stronger.

- Rocky's mentor is a great magician.

——The last child who was taken away, his mentor was only a senior magician.

——The child who was called out now, his mentor has become an intermediate magician.

Keech sat on a bench in the corner, silently guessing.Seeing that there are fewer and fewer children in the room, and the title of the green-robed magician is getting lower and lower, Kiki can't help but start to worry, will there be no magician who wants him?But then he thought, no matter what, at least the purple-robed magician who brought him would take him in, right?Otherwise, why would that person spend money lobbying his parents?

Just when Kiki was thinking wildly, the green-robed magician finally called out his name, "Kiki."

At this time, only he, the green-robed mage, and a red-haired girl with freckles were left in the room.

"Intermediate magician Tina is willing to be your mentor." The green-robed magician continued with his lifeless voice, "Come with Elvira, she will take you to meet her."

—Tina?

Kiki was taken aback by the obvious woman's name, but he didn't ask any further questions. He got up and followed the girl named Avella, and left the already somewhat empty room.

Along the way, neither of them spoke.

Avella led Kiki westward along the stone road, and walked for nearly 10 minutes before arriving at the destination—a four-story stone tower surrounded by red rose vines.

Compared with other mage towers a little further away, the appearance and material of this stone tower are extremely detailed, and the snow-white stone walls are as bright as moonlight against the bright red roses.

Avella pushed open the door of the stone tower, smiled and let Kiki follow her in, but she still didn't speak.

Keech couldn't help being a little puzzled, but this kind of Avella didn't make him feel annoying.So, he obediently followed her into the stone tower and stepped into this strange world full of unknowns and doubts.

But when he walked into the stone tower, Kiki was surprised to find that there was no one in the hall on the first floor.

There was a hint of embarrassment on Avella's face, she smiled helplessly at him, raised her hand to signal him a waiting sign, and then walked quickly to the spiral staircase in the center of the hall.

—She is not a mute, is she?

Keech thought suspiciously.

Not long after, Avella ran down again, beckoned to Kidge, and beckoned him to follow her upstairs.

Kiki walked over and followed Avella to the top of the stone tower.

Stepping on the top floor, there is only one thick wooden door.Avella pushed open the wooden door, and a room with a layout like a living room, but with many strange utensils around it appeared in front of Kich.At the same time, there was also a blue-robed female magician who had the same red hair as Avella, a purple-robed magician whom Kiki had never seen since he came to the imperial capital, and the one who was no bigger than Kiki standing behind them. A young boy in a white robe.

Although the blue-robed female magician has the same hair color as Avella, her appearance is much more beautiful than Avella's. Seeing the two of them pushing the door in, she looked at Kiki expressionlessly, and said, "Kiki Qi? I am your mentor, intermediate magician Tina."

Kiki was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously looked at the purple-robed male magician sitting beside her.

"Hey, what's your attitude! Don't tell me you're not satisfied with me being your mentor?!" Tina narrowed her eyes.

"He brought me here." Keech replied indifferently, "And, he spent a bag of gold coins for it."

Hearing this, Tina couldn't help being startled, and immediately turned her head to look at Amir.

Amir touched his nose in embarrassment, and smiled, "Your parents have returned the bag of gold coins to me, so you don't have to take this matter to heart."

"If they knew that I would sneak out, they would definitely not return the gold coins to you." Kiki said lightly.

"You sneaked out?" Amir couldn't help raising his eyebrows, "Why?"

Keech pursed his lips tightly, but did not answer.

Amir didn't ask any further questions, but just stared at Kiki, sizing him up intently, and quickly turned to Tina as if making up his mind and said, "I'm sorry, dear, I decided not to give him up to you."