Sunderland's Discovery

With a crisp, childish voice, the newly awakened Mishaer appeared before the group, the crystalline Horn of Kor still perched atop her messy red hair, followed by an elf who was yawning in an incredibly unrefined manner.

Ever since a magical mishap, Bella could not stand anyone commenting on her eyes or her figure, let alone such a blatant, face-to-face insult. The female mage was instantly consumed by rage and shrieked in desperation, "Ahmata!" She flicked two gestures toward the little girl in the distance. To the astonishment of everyone present, poor Bella let out a miserable cry and was sent flying backward, sticking to the stone wall like a lump of wet clay before slowly sliding down.

Everyone stared in shock at the unfortunate mage, none knowing what had actually happened, save for Aelf, who stood behind Mishaer, and another person—the Lady Magistrate Sunderland. Both stared greedily at the helmet on the little girl's head. The elf only knew it was an extraordinary magical item, but Sunderland recognized it with disbelief, muttering to herself, "The Horn of Kor? How is that possible?"

The little girl, still shocked by the sudden flight of the annoying mage, keenly sensed someone's ill intent. It was a familiar gaze she felt from the elf every day. Mishaer covered her head and nimbly hid behind William (we shall use the name William from now on), then poked her little head out to make a face at Lady Sunderland, causing the magistrate's mouth to twitch as she nearly burst into laughter.

The mage on the ground struggled to her feet. She glared at the elven girl Aelf with a look that could kill, assuming the yawning elf had countered her spell and attacked her, never suspecting the little girl. Just as Bella regained her composure and prepared to cast other spells to "retaliate" against Aelf, Sunderland stepped in to stop her. "Miss Bella! Please do not use offensive magic here!"

The furious mage stomped her feet in frustration but ultimately abandoned her plan to attack the elf. She walked up to William, looking extremely displeased, and gritted her teeth. "William! I am here to finish the remaining transaction between the Habel Family and you!" She pointed at the eager Alos and asked, "Is it him? An ignorant brat who just got lucky! Little one! Come with me! But I must warn you! The world of magic is not all fun and games! One slip-up and you'll lose your life, ha!" As she spoke, the disgruntled mage patted the cheek of the boy, who was clearly half a head taller than her, as if trying to regain the dignity she had just lost.

William looked helplessly at Alos, who was so infatuated that he wore a look of pure devotion despite the mage's near-slap. Truly, "he who sows his own misfortune cannot be saved!" It looked like the kid was in for a rough journey! The little girl, however, was clearly not swayed by Bella's charm. She stood behind William and said indignantly, "Ugly monster, you are not allowed to bully Alos!"

Bella bristled like a provoked wildcat. She shrieked, "Damn little brat! Who are you calling an ugly monster? This time I absolutely won't spare you! Die! Anali." But the magistrate once again blocked her impending [Lightning Bolt]. Sunderland said coldly, "Daughter of Daelry! Do you take Lady Stagrim's warnings as mere wind? Control your emotions, Bella! She is just a child!" Yet, in her heart, she thought: It really is the Horn of Kor! It is completely unaffected by the solidified charm spell! No wonder the [Mass Suggestion] went out of control the other day—even I was caught in it! I must get this unlucky girl Bella away quickly, lest the Habel Family discovers the origin of this treasure!

William also felt that causing too much friction with the Habel Family was unwise, as he still needed their help regarding Alos. He reached out to push the little girl's head back behind him and said apologetically to the gnashing mage, "My sincerest apologies, Miss Bella! Mishaer is still a child and perhaps doesn't know how to appreciate your charm! Since you have arrived, let us complete the final transaction. Alos! Go pack your things and prepare to leave!" He gave a light kick to the dazed Alos. The startled boy scrambled toward his bedroom, but in his haste, he failed to see the doorway and slammed into the stone wall. The large bump on his forehead finally brought him to his senses.

Alos set off again with the Habel caravan, though the leader had been replaced by Bella Daelry Habel. The heavy carriage's magic bag was filled with metal forging rods, and with the twenty-some new guards from Longsaddle plus the four who had recovered from their injuries, the caravan of nearly thirty people slowly pulled out of the north gate of Mirabar. However, shrill screams occasionally echoed from the caravan; the mage, driven nearly mad by the little girl, transferred her unvented rage directly onto the boy. Poor little Alos! One could only hope he wouldn't be tortured into insanity by the temperamental Bella before reaching Longsaddle.

Gosa and the other mercenaries had already received their pay and abandoned the idea of traveling with the furious mage. The elven girl also declined Gosa's invitation, as she could not let go of her covetousness for the helmet on the little girl's head. However, her hard-earned commission was confiscated by William. "My little gold coins! You hateful William! You greedy vampire!" Aelf watched with teary eyes as the "life-blood money" she had "worked so hard" for was instantly requisitioned by the hateful "vampire" as food expenses.

When William and the others returned to the stone house where they were temporarily staying, Sunderland's gaze never left Mishaer's fiery red curls. The magistrate, who had been distracted during the transaction with the Habel Family, didn't even argue over the price, settling the account hastily and rushing the mage out of Mirabar as quickly as possible.

William remained wary of Sunderland; the scene during their first meeting had been far too strange. The shift in the woman's attitude was too drastic. The excuse of "suspecting a dragon" was far too flimsy, and William could not fathom what was going on in her mind.

For the past few days, Sunderland had felt like she was going insane. For someone of her standing, the events of the previous days had left her exhausted. When she first met William, the leader of the bizarre caravan, the high-ranking lady had felt a sudden urge to play, wanting to toy with the country boy before her—but then disaster struck.

Her signature spell, [Mass Suggestion], which had never failed her, suddenly went out of control. Backlashed by the Weave, she could only emit "Ooh-ooh!" moans while William held her by the throat. The woman, caught in her own spell, had unconsciously tried to use false information to gain benefits for Mirabar, but as the spell's effects faded, the magistrate finally realized with embarrassment that she had committed a massive blunder.

Things having reached this point, Sunderland could only play along, as the misunderstanding had its benefits for Mirabar. For reasons she could not disclose, she had people specifically restrict outsiders from contacting William and deliberately introduced him to the discarded blacksmith, Singers Macluff. But Bella's appearance led to a new discovery—the Horn of Kor.

The Horn of Kor, an ancient relic created by some powerful neutral entity from the primordial era. No one understood its true purpose, and even its successive owners could not unearth all its functions. It was said that this artifact had vanished over a thousand years ago, and most sages dismissed it as a baseless rumor. Sunderland had once read a brief mention of it in an old elven notebook. Legend had it that the wearer was immune to all mental-affecting magic and could even distort and reflect any triggered magic within a certain range. This was why most scholars believed the Horn of Kor to be fictional; no one believed such a heaven-defying object could exist.

Today, Bella's [Force Wave] against Mishaer had been strangely distorted and reflected. Linking this to her own experience a few days prior, Sunderland instantly thought of the Horn of Kor. This wasn't just the magistrate's vivid imagination; it was because she had heard news of another artifact just days before—Crenshinibon.

That elven notebook recorded three equally famous artifacts, each representing the extremes of Lawful Good, True Neutral, and Chaotic Evil. Crenshinibon was the representative of Chaotic Evil, while the artifact belonging to True Neutral was the Horn of Kor.