"What is this?"
Christina looked curiously and found that following her sister Dorothy's prayer-like inquiry, a burst of water appeared on the surface of the small silver mirror. The blue sky and surrounding trees that originally reflected it disappeared, and a ray of silvery white appeared instead.
When she came out of the basement with the magic lamp, Dorothy once said the name "Arrodes". At that time, she was fully focused on leaving home with the magic lamp and didn't pay too much attention to it. But now it seems that the strange mirror in the other person's hand seems to be called this name?
Sure enough, Dorothy answered while staring closely at the mirror that was constantly changing and seemed to be about to reveal a line of text:
"His name is Arrodes, and he is the magical Magic Mirror who can answer my questions."
Sure enough, but why have I never heard her say anything about this mirror... Christina was confused and was about to ask, but heard Genie, who was still floating above the two of them, said disdainfully:
"It can only answer some superficial questions. Once it involves high-level existence, it doesn't even dare to say anything.
"When he's in the basement, he's as quiet as a quail."
After arriving at Street Park and recovering some of his strength, Genie seemed to talk more... Tina glanced at him and ignored him, but continued to ask Dorothy:
"You found this mirror in the basement too?"
"Don't think that you are the only one who knows there are some secrets hidden in the basement. I found Arrodes a month ago. He can conduct Magic Mirror Divination and knows a lot of strange knowledge, but after asking a question, he must answer an equal number of questions..." Dorothy smoothed the black hair that fell in front of his eyes, glanced at his sister, and then pointed to the mirror, "Look, he answered me."
Tina leaned over and found that the silvery white water pattern had formed a line of capital letters Loenese with some Distortion:
"'Genie' is telling the truth."
I just said it was true...Tina felt like he had defeated Dorothy inexplicably. A smile appeared on his lips and he even straightened his waist a little.
But the latter frowned and touched the mirror, causing the line of text Distortion to be covered by the ripples of water:
"It's strange. When he answered me in the past, the words were not so blurry, Distortion..."
She muttered, took a deep breath, and continued to ask:
"Arrodes, is it safe for Christina and I to follow 'Genie' to Backlund?"
Following her second question, silver-white text appeared on the surface of the mirror again. This time there was no Distortion deformation, and it was quite fast:
"Of course, the power of 'Genie' is not enough to pose a threat to you, and he is also eager to get rid of the shackles and leave the Sealed Artifact. He will provide the greatest help in this matter."
"What is Sealed Artifact? "Tina couldn't help but repeat in a low voice after seeing the text, and then his face changed, "Wait a minute, this is not a problem!"
But it was already too late. "Arrodes" immediately caused lines of detailed text to appear on the surface of the mirror, as if worrying that the questioner would regret it:
"There are some items in the world that have mystical power and can exert extraordinary abilities. Among them is Beyonder Characteristic. The part that contains relatively powerful power and equally strong side effects is called 'Sealed Artifact'. They are divided into levels 3 to 0 according to their strength. The lower the number, the more powerful the effect and the more dangerous the side effects.
"The lamp that seals Genie, and the honest and reliable Arrodes, are both Sealed Artifact with living characteristics."
This, this sounds like Mystical Item in the novel, such as Gehrman's "Death Knell" revolver, Angelica's "Rose" necklace... "Alive" means being able to communicate with them like now? Tina was thinking about it for a while, and things with various strange functions described in the story flashed through his mind. He felt that he had become Adventurer, who was swaying Five Seas, a female pirate who robbed unscrupulous businessmen.
But the next second, Arodes's Mirror appeared in front of her with a completely different line of text from before. The color was like blood and the writing was sharp:
"Based on the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask questions. If you answer Error, refuse to answer or lie, you will be punished."
Punishment? Dorothy didn't mention this just now... The fantasy in Tina's mind instantly stopped, her heart beat faster, and she looked at her sister for help.
Seeing that the latter did not stop her, she nodded and plucked up the courage to say:
"Just ask."
If it is a question that is too shameful for my sister to know, just use a vague but not wrong answer to get past it...
Under the gaze of her, Dorothy and Genie, the blood on the surface of the mirror quickly formed a new line of text:
"What are your feelings for Klein, Angel, and Dorothy?"
What a strange question this is...Christina was puzzled and breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately answered:
"Love, love between family."
She felt this answer was perfect!
After waiting for a moment, the punishment did not come. The blood-red text on the mirror surface quietly disappeared, as if waiting for the next question.
If "Sealed Artifact" is really divided into four levels, Arrodes should belong to the safest category. No wonder "Genie" would comment on him like that... But in that case, which category does Genie belong to? Feeling that Magic Mirror Divination was nothing more than that, Tina had thoughts running through his mind. He suddenly realized something and looked at Dorothy:
"Why don't you answer his question?"
"Just use some tricks to trick Arrodes into asking additional questions. Now he already owes me ten answers."
Dorothy held the mirror with one hand and put his hand on his waist, and said with great momentum.
How come? Why does "Genie" want me to satisfy his request before he can realize my wish, but Arrodes was deceived by his sister into owing a huge debt... Tina suddenly felt that the golden figure floating next to him was a bit annoying, curled his mouth, and said angrily:
"Then you ask him another question to see if mom and dad have really left Tingen City."
This was a bit unreasonable, but I wonder if it was the answer of "love for family" that satisfied Dorothy. She finally touched the silver mirror and repeated Tina's question.
This time, the mirror did not answer with mercury words, but showed a clear picture after the water ripples swayed.
It was a steam train blowing out thick smoke and driving into the distance. A window flashed in the mirror, a blond woman, a black-haired man sitting opposite each other, and the mountains in the distance.
The picture gradually dimmed, and as expected, "Arrodes" did not show the blood-red question, but reflected the sky and white clouds again, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.
Tina had no intention of caring about Sealed Artifact's different attitude towards herself and her sister, because the man and woman flashing in the picture just now were Klein and Angel who went out early in the morning, her and Dorothy's parents.
"That mountain range is York Mountain. I saw it on the train when I went to Stoen city last time." Dorothy analyzed and put the silver mirror into his pocket. "If they want to divert to Enmat Harbor, it will take almost 8 hours for a round trip. They should be able to return to Tingen in the evening."
I didn't see what kind of mountain it was...Tina was stunned and said unyieldingly:
"That's what I thought too."
Even if her words are harsh, she still judged from Arrodes's answer that the two of them did have a whole day to complete Genie's "mission", and the journey should be relatively safe. If the journey to Backlund could indeed become faster and smoother with the power of this Sealed Artifact, then there was nothing wrong with leaving Tingen.
The most important thing is that Backlund has aunt Melissa and aunt Lily's family. Even if Genie finally breaks his promise, Tina and Dorothy can still visit their homes and treat it as a short trip Travel on the weekend.
The only problem is how two girls who are only thirteen or fourteen years old buy steam train tickets to Backlund. Although no identification is required to buy tickets, they will inevitably be suspected because they look like underage, making all the originally simple steps become formal.
Regarding this issue, Genie seemed a little disdainful:
"You just pay and leave the rest to me.
"I can make any deal happen."
I thought you would conjure up two first-class tickets for us... If the ticket purchase fails later, I will buy Public Carriage tickets back to the North Borough church and give you to Mr. Azik... Tina cursed, picked up the golden lamp, and stuffed the blurry figure back into the pot.
Woo——
The sound of the whistle echoed across the platforms. The huge, monster-like steam locomotive, painted black, slowly dragged carriages of the same color into the station and stopped in front of Christina and Dorothy.
Holding the luxury first-class ticket in his hand, Tina suddenly felt a little nervous when he looked at the passengers around him who were obviously dressed differently from the second- and third-class cars behind him.
Just ten minutes ago, she mustered up the courage to take out a piece of pocket money that Dorothy obviously saved, and handed a total of 10 soli, enough to buy two third-class tickets to Backlund, into the ticket purchase window.
To her surprise, the conductor did not express any doubts about the two underage girls buying tickets alone, but handed out two tickets with a nonchalant expression.
A single first-class seat is worth 15 soli!
Is this the ability of "Genie"? Could it be that in the eyes of others, Dorothy and I have become adults now? But this doesn't explain that 10 soli can buy a ticket for 30 soli... Do you want to tell your parents after this?
Tina's hands holding the ticket were sweating. Fortunately for her, Dorothy beside her was also nervous, instead of the calm look she had maintained before.
After all, it was the first time for both of them to leave Tingen City without their parents.
During the ticket check, she and Dorothy deliberately approached the couple with their child in front of them, as if they were their other daughters. They successfully passed by, entered the carriage, and sat down on the seats that were wider and softer than the second-class carriage, waiting for the departure of the steam train.
This train departs from Winter County and its destination is Pritz Harbor. It does not have a separate lounge and separate dining car like many cross-border trains, but it also takes four hours to get from Tingen to Backlund.
Judging from this speed, even if you arrive at Backlund and return immediately, you can barely make it back home before Sun sets, let alone accompany "Genie" to six other locations similar to North Borough Street Park.
I always felt cheated... The excitement of buying the ticket with the help of some magical power had dissipated. Tina once again began to doubt the figure sealed by Golden Lamp in the bag. He couldn't help but reach into the bag and touch the magic lamp engraved with countless complex patterns.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded in her mind, grand, majestic, and a little urgent:
"Look, I just said you can buy the tickets smoothly."
It was that Genie...Tina's body stiffened, and he looked at Dorothy, who was sitting opposite him and looking out the window boredly as he passed by one after another and was only allowed to enter the station and get on the bus. He found that the other person did not seem to hear these words.
"She can't hear it, and you don't want her to hear it, right?" Genie continued to say in Tina's mind, "You can use your strength to 'speak' in your heart to communicate with me, of course, only when you are in direct contact with Sealed Artifact."
Is this because he regained part of his power in Street Park? Tina's expression softened, his body relaxed, and his eyes swept through the car as if concealing it. He noticed that the family he had just followed on the car was sitting on the seat on the other side of the corridor. A black-haired man in his 40s who was younger than him put his luggage under the table. A petite brown-haired lady who looked to be in her early 30s sat side by side with a boy about 10 years old. He seemed to notice her gaze and glanced this way. He was immediately attracted by Tina's appearance that was much above average, and his expression changed a little.
Quickly looking away, Tina said in his heart:
"When I bought the ticket just now, was it your power that was helping?"
"Simple little things, you handing over a note initiates a transaction, and I can easily make a transaction that doesn't make sense go through.
"Although that Arrodes is timid and reckless at times, and likes to ask embarrassing questions, one thing is right. I need to leave this Sealed Artifact and be free, and I must cooperate with you, so you don't need to worry about what I will do to you."
Genie explained in a somewhat nonchalant manner, as if a lonely person who hadn't communicated with anyone for a long time suddenly found someone to talk to.
Tina curled his lips subconsciously, and worried about being seen by Dorothy, the corners of his mouth twitched.
"But I feel that you are not as good as that Magic Mirror. He can provide 'divination' services just by playing a quiz game, and even reveal a lot of magical knowledge, such as what happened to Sealed Artifact."
She said meaningfully in her heart.
"That's just some trivial occult knowledge. If you really want to know, you can always ask me questions! "Sure enough, the voice in the magic lamp immediately replied, "In addition, I can reveal that Arodes's Mirror's internal code name of Sealed Artifact within the church is only level '2', and I am level '0'."
Level 0? According to Arrodes, this is the strongest and most dangerous type Sealed Artifact... How did this kind of thing appear in the basement of your home? Did your parents find it while searching for antiquities? Wouldn't it be better to get out of the car now and go to the nearest church to hand over the magic lamp?
Tina had a lot of thoughts in his mind, tried his best to stay calm, and asked expectantly:
"Then what occult knowledge can you tell me?"
"Oh, don't use such words on me."
Genie replied disdainfully, but after a brief silence, he took the initiative to speak:
"Let me reveal something. All the extraordinary power on this planet comes from twenty-five Potion Pathway, and each Pathway is divided into ten Sequence from low to high, layer by layer..."
As the steam train started slowly with the sharp sound of the whistle and headed south away from Tingen City, a vast picture also unfolded in Christina's mind.
"...Hello, excuse me."
A slightly magnetic and melodious voice sounded in Tina's ears, causing her to retract her arm from her satchel as if she was electrocuted. Genie's preaching voice introducing occult knowledge came to an abrupt end.
Her head, which was extremely difficult to remember common Potion Sequence and the corresponding characteristics, was a little groggy. She looked to her side and found that the father of the family across the corridor had sat on the seat next to her at some point, showing a friendly smile.
As a girl who was not accompanied by an adult, Tina kicked Dorothy with her feet under the table, looked at the strange man warily, and asked:
"Excuse me, what's the matter?"
"It's like this. I feel like you look a bit like an acquaintance of mine, so I couldn't help but come and say hello. That's my wife and child over there." The man smiled and pointed at the brown-haired lady who was also looking at this side and the lively little boy who was lying by the window watching the scenery passing by, indicating that he meant no harm. "Also, you can call me Mr. Dominic."