Teammate's Suggestion

Iron Spike Ball Street, Gambler Tavern.

Lynn sat upright at the wooden table, rubbing his temples with his fingers, looking somewhat worn out.

After suddenly seeing that page covered in blood writing that spelled "Eliora" in the Compendium of Witch Legends before bed last night, he had not slept very well.

Could this have been a prank someone had pulled on purpose? He tried to comfort himself, but when it involved witches—something always linked with "ill omen" and "mystery"—it always made people uneasy.

So, after some thought, he brought the Compendium of Witch Legends and went to find Celine and the other two.

Compared with Barton, who was a staff member of an official organization, these three old friends of his father still made him feel more trusting.

"Stop always drinking those children's fruit juices. Try this."

Liam, short in stature and with eyebrows that were astonishingly thick, pushed over an oak mug and swapped out the light grape wine at his hand.

Lynn glanced at the golden, bubbling liquid almost brimming over in the mug, fine droplets of water beading on its dark-brown walls.

He lifted it and took a huge drink, and only felt an icy rush shoot straight to his brain, rich with the aroma of wheat and mellow sweetness lingering after.

It was only mid-April, yet Colin Town already carried a hint of summer heat; at a time like this, a mug of iced beer was indeed unspeakably refreshing.

His mind relaxed quite a bit at once. He set down the mug and looked up, only to find Liam, Celine, and Ulshi all watching him.

Their expressions were different—kind, lazy, calm—but all carried a feeling of concern.

"Lynn, don't wear yourself out so much. Studying magic isn't something that can be done in one leap," Liam said with a smile.

Have they misunderstood something? The main reason I didn't rest well last night was because I saw that blood writing, but I was studying Day and Night Obscurity the whole day yesterday too, so the mental fatigue really has piled up quite a bit...

He hesitated for a moment, but still returned to his main purpose in coming to find the three of them today.

"Liam... have the three of you ever heard the name 'Eliora'?"

After saying that, he subconsciously looked toward Ulshi.

Among the three of them, only Ulshi was a half-caster, and also the one most likely to know about "witches," those legends related to magic.

But to his surprise, all three of them froze for a moment upon hearing it, then looked at him with varying expressions.

Celine drooped her eyelids and asked in her soft, languid voice, "Where did you hear that name?"

Seeing all three of them staring at him, Lynn thought silently, Looks like all three of them know something about the name "Eliora." Is it some very common name?

After weighing it for a moment, he took out the Compendium of Witch Legends and flipped straight to the page covered in bloodstains.

The eerie blood writing made Liam and Celine frown, and they examined it with disgust on their faces, but for a while they could not make out what was written on it.

Ulshi, who possessed demon blood and had quite an understanding of mystical knowledge, said coldly, "Eliora... This is ancient elven. You actually know ancient languages?"

Lynn subconsciously wanted to refute him. He did not know such a profound language. The original owner had limited origins, and the magical knowledge he had access to was all very basic; apart from the common tongue, he only knew some of the most common elven language.

But in the next second, stormy waves abruptly surged through his heart.

If he did not know any ancient elven at all, then why had he been able to understand this word, "Eliora," at a glance?

As if sensing his abnormality, Celine tapped the tabletop lightly with her fingers painted in bright red nail polish, lowered her voice, and said to Lynn:

"Lynn, you have to destroy this book immediately."

Lynn also realized the seriousness of the matter. His body leaned forward unconsciously as he waited for her to explain further.

"This book—no, more accurately, these bloodstains—you can regard them as a kind of curse. Or rather, this book, including your entire act of reading it, is itself some sort of ritual."

Her fingers toyed with a curled lock of hair, and the upturned corners of her eyes unconsciously glanced toward a place where no one was.

"That woman is a nasty piece of work who likes to fool and control others. This is her way of searching for a 'connection.'"

"Connection?"

Ulshi took over the question and explained to Lynn, "'Witches' are neither pure magical creatures nor any of the various forms of life that exist naturally. They stand between magic and reality, and require specific methods before they can appear."

Lynn immediately thought of Ariadne, the one called the "Master of Dreams" recorded in the Compendium of Witch Legends. She seemed to be able to appear only by roaming through people's dreams.

"Then what exactly is their purpose?"

Lynn had always been vague on how to define witches. In all kinds of legends, they brought misfortune and curses, and had an evil side.

But at the same time, there were also stories of them helping people fulfill wishes and redeeming disasters.

Yet all of these were only things he had heard. To most people, even to mainstream scholars in the field of magic, "witches" were merely evil spirits imagined into sexy and beautiful forms, false images born from bards' desire to attract audiences.

Unexpectedly, when Ulshi heard this, he merely gave Lynn a deep look, then answered in a solemn tone:

"They have no purpose at all. Just like magic itself."

What does that mean? Is he saying they can be used like magic, but at the same time pose a threat to public safety?

Or is he saying they are mysterious like magic, and even after thousands of years of study, people still find it difficult to glimpse their full appearance?

Seeing Ulshi lower his head to drink, with no intention of continuing, Lynn could only let his own thoughts run wild.

Instead, Celine curled her lips in a faint smile and said, "Of course, you could also choose to keep that book. Perhaps one day you'll be able to see the 'witch' herself with your own eyes."

"No, no, no. I wouldn't dare." Lynn refused decisively.

He would never take a risk on something no one could say for certain.

After the drinks were finished, the three of them specifically accompanied Lynn to the Koan River in northern Colin Town.

As far as Lynn knew, this river system was complex, and its source could even be traced back to the Northern Highlands.

Within Roan City's territory, it split into two tributaries: one flowed west into the Whispering Forest, while the other flowed southeast through Roan City and several towns under its jurisdiction.

Lynn released a Fire Arrow, striking the books on the ground with perfect precision. Once they had all burned to ash, he used Mage Hand to fling the ashes into the river.

They would drift with the current all the way into the Whispering Forest.

This had also been Celine's suggestion.

"Supposedly, 'Eliora' only likes dealing with intelligent beings, and has no interest in Demonic Beasts whatsoever. Even if this book still retains its power after being burned to ash, it won't cause any further impact."

Thinking it over carefully, things that contained secrets and were related to magic really were troublesome to handle.

Perhaps the authorities had a more proper way of dealing with it, but Lynn still did not want to draw their attention over something like this.

The many benefits brought by the Codex of Origin had caused Lynn to display eye-catching, outstanding talent, but if he became connected to forbidden things, Old Barton's impression of him would very likely take a sharp turn for the worse.

Among young mages, there were plenty who could not withstand the temptation of mysterious powers and fell into depravity.

When the time came, official organizations would very likely strengthen their surveillance of him. One careless misstep, and he would risk being locked up in the Anti-Magic Prison.

Before I help Elaine gain a firm foothold in the Frey Family, or before my own strength becomes powerful enough, my ability to deal with risks is still far too low.

"Still, Celine, I didn't expect you to know so much about matters related to 'witches'..."

Celine swayed her leopard tail, gazing somewhat absently at the scenery along the river, and replied softly, "A very long time ago, we once joined an ancient organization, so we have a certain understanding of these secrets."

She looked at Lynn, her gaze deep with meaning as she said, "In that organization, there was another name for 'Eliora': the 'Witch of Fate.'"