In Daniel's eyes, the young noble of Oldenheim had changed a lot.
Once, Viscount Hermil was high-spirited, young, and proud. After grasping the first wind of the arcanotech industry with his sharp eyes and flexible thinking, he quickly rose to become a popular figure in the imperial capital. The factories and investment entities under his name were all over Oldenheim, and even extended to several cities in the central region. At that time, he was like a charged arcane crystal, emitting a strong light at all times. There was endless energy in it, and he was fearless and fearless to the outside world.
But now, all the light of the viscount seemed to be restrained. He hid all his edge, like an invisible hunter hiding in the dark night. He curled up in his' fortress', which had become much quieter, and vigilantly observed the world that was no longer safe for him. It was not decadent yet, but it was not far from it.
And all these changes were the result of last winter.
Daniel sighed in his heart. Of course, he knew the reason for these changes, and he also knew that Viscount Hermil's behavior was completely normal. But this result was not what he wanted to see. It had nothing to do with 'personal friendship'. The most important reason was that he had poured too much effort into the viscount. It was not easy to guide and enlighten a small noble, who could be seen everywhere in Oldenheim, who was good at socializing and banquets, to become an investment tycoon. The trust built from the beginning was an asset that could not be replicated. If the viscount fell like this … the loss would be too regrettable.
"Mr. Viscount, perhaps I am saying this as an outsider who does not know the truth of the matter." The old mage looked at Hermil and said after a brief consideration. "But I think what you should do now is to go out and return to the field that you are good at and active in, expand the production capacity of the factories, expand your influence, invest in the things that are urgently needed after the war, and revive the economy together with the royal family. Let's be optimistic. You will find that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mr. Viscount."
Hemil looked at this old man who seemed to be full of wisdom. After a long time, he said softly to himself, "Be optimistic … But for me, optimism is really not easy …"
He turned around and looked down at the somewhat deserted street outside the balcony. He tilted the wine glass in his hand forward and pointed at the mansions that had changed owners or were about to change owners. "Master Daniel, look at that house … A once prominent family with hundreds of years of history, but they stood on the wrong side. They chose to stick to their stupid 'principles' when they shouldn't have fought against the royal family. The Obsidian Imperial Army took them away.
"And just across the wall, in another mansion, there is an equally prominent family. The loyal Knight and the general are on the right side, but they have gone to the front line of Winter Fort. The mad god has taken away most of their family members, and now there is only a lonely old woman and a ten-year-old girl left. I have visited the child, and she still doesn't know why her family has met such a fate.
"Master, let me admit that I am a coward. Of course, I understand your kindness, and I understand what you mean by 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity', but this time, I am really scared. Perhaps we should not live so ostentatiously in this world, especially when I have a title that has been passed down from my ancestors and will continue to be passed down.
"Of course, I will still properly manage my current industries in the Imperial Capital. My textile factory, runic foundry, printing factory, and the plantation outside the city … They are now the foundation of my family and me. However, I plan to transfer the remaining parts of my business away. I have already found a buyer, and they are very interested in the factories in the central region. After selling these industries, I will probably be able to sleep better. "
Daniel calmly looked into Hermil's eyes. After a long time, he sighed softly and raised his glass to the viscount. "Well, this is your decision, Mr. Viscount. To each his own. But I have to remind you, in the current situation, when the economy needs to be revitalized, His Majesty needs the nobles to show their attitude, and the Empire needs more investors and new industries, is it really a good thing for someone like you, who is already an important figure in the new magical engineering industry, to suddenly choose to sell your industry and retire to the second line? "
Viscount Hermil was startled, and his expression suddenly changed slightly. "… What do you mean?"
"I am not as good as you when it comes to investing in factories, but in terms of life experience, I am more or less confident," Daniel said calmly. "In my opinion, the royal family now needs a 'wise' noble like you to show their attitude, Mr. Viscount. Don't think that the 'test' is over. It is still there, and it will always be there."
The young viscount was stunned, and the expression on his face finally became complicated. There was even a hint of bitterness in his voice. "So, even being a coward is a sin?"
"You're not a coward. You're just giving up on yourself. Unfortunately, people in high positions don't have the right to give up on themselves." Daniel shook his head. "Besides, from His Majesty's point of view, he doesn't hate powerful people with outstanding abilities, because no one in this country is more dazzling than him. He also doesn't hate mediocre and incompetent fools, because he doesn't need to waste any time on fools. What rulers hate is always things that are out of control.
"Those who overstep the boundary because of their merits are, of course, out of control. But those who run away at the last minute are also out of control."
Viscount Hermil's face became particularly ugly. "I …"
"I am just giving a reminder." Daniel put down the glass in his hand and stood up from the sofa. "Please consider your decision carefully, Mr. Viscount."
…
The figure of her mentor appeared outside the car door. The young female mage, Mary, quickly reached out to open the side door and let the old mage into the car. She noticed the serious expression on her mentor's face and could not help but ask casually, "What happened?"
"Nothing. It's just that a young man will mature from today onwards," the old mage said, shaking his head. At the same time, he casually ordered another apprentice who was driving the car in the front seat. "Let's go to the Royal Association of Mages."
Mary was confused, but she was already used to the fact that her mentor would occasionally say things that sounded inexplicable and never explained to the apprentices. So, after nodding her head, she refocused her attention on the things that she was immersed in. There was a notebook open on her lap. The snow-white paper was filled with all kinds of markings. They did not look like mathematical formulas, nor did they look like magic spells.
"What's this?" Daniel noticed the things on the apprentice's lap and could not help but frown. "Where did you get this graffiti from?"
"This is a very popular word puzzle in the Association of Craftsmen recently. In fact, it has been around for a while, but we have been too busy recently to pay attention to these trends," Mary immediately pushed the notebook in front of her mentor and said with a serious face. "Do you know about Cecil's' Listening Project '? Their antenna has received a mysterious signal. These things are the unknown symbols transmitted in the signal. The scholars there think that these symbols are some kind of text. Now, the Cecil Empire has released them in the hope that someone in the Alliance can decipher the secret behind these words. Obsidian Palace has also issued a corresponding reward … "
"Asking for people who can decipher these words …"
Daniel nodded. Of course, he knew about this. As one of Cecil's technical staff, he got the news from the internal network not long after the Thorin Hub received the mysterious signal. It was just that Mary's authority in the neural network was not high, so she did not know about this. The only thing that surprised the old mage was that his master did not hesitate when she decided to release these mysterious "symbols". How long had it been, and the relevant information had been shared through the official channels between Typhon and Cecil?
But this was a good thing. Since the information had been sent through official channels, it meant that he could openly study these graffiti-like "mysterious words" in the future. Frankly speaking, these mysterious symbols of unknown origin were very attractive to a scholar, even if Daniel was not proficient in cryptography and philology.
As some thoughts flashed through his mind, the old mage's gaze once again fell upon Mary's notebook. He couldn't help but frown when he saw the densely packed markings left behind by the apprentice. "You've written down so many markings. Have you discovered something?"
Mary scratched her head embarrassedly. Her already messy black hair became even messier. "I'm sorry, teacher. I … don't know enough about philology and cryptography. The so-called research is just a random scribble in the heat of the moment. I haven't made any progress until now."
"That's normal. If a layman like you could find something in a morning's research, then the experts and scholars above would all jump off the city walls." Daniel casually made a sarcastic remark. His eyes happened to sweep across the apprentice's appearance at the moment. She was wearing a robe that had not been changed for a long time. It was the kind of old-fashioned robe that was not very beautiful. Her hair was casually tied up with a simple headband. The loose hair was probably more than the tied hair. She did not have any makeup, nor did she know how to do it. Moreover, her eyes were faintly bloodshot because she often stayed up late to read books.
This was his most talented apprentice, and also the apprentice who had been with him for the longest time. However, it was only at this moment that he seriously paid attention to the young girl's appearance in life.
"Teacher?" Mary noticed the old mage's gaze and suddenly became a little nervous. "I … Is there something wrong with me?"
"Instead of wasting so much energy on a field that you are not good at, why don't you pay attention to your image like a normal woman," Daniel said casually. At the same time, he was a little doubtful that this was something he could say. Then, a sentence that his master often said to others naturally appeared in his mind. "You are not young anymore …"
Mary was startled. "Ta … Teacher?"
"Nothing, I just mentioned it casually." Daniel immediately waved his hand, but he could not help but add another sentence. "I just thought of Windsor … Don't be like her."
The president of the Royal Association of Mages, Madam Windsor Mappel?
Mary was stunned for a moment. She suddenly remembered that this incredible person was also one of her teacher's apprentices. Moreover, as such a young Legendary Extraordinary, her talent was clearly far beyond her own. Although her teacher no longer acknowledged her as an apprentice on the surface, in the eyes of outsiders, this master-apprentice relationship was still something that could not be denied.
Such an outstanding person … Why would her teacher suddenly tell her not to be like her?
The young female mage was once again confused. Faintly, she seemed to have heard her teacher muttering to himself, "Already forty years old, and still not married …"
… …
In a clean, bright, and extremely spacious magic experiment field, Windsor Mappel, who was directing the field, suddenly sneezed.
She waved her hand to let her assistant beside her continue with her work. Then, she casually cast a dozen instant dispelling, strengthening, blessing, dispelling curse, and resistance spells on herself. After making sure that there was no problem with her body, she once again focused her attention on the round platform in the center of the indoor experiment field.
Under the focus of the light, the surface of the round platform engraved with mysterious runes was emitting a faint glow. Inside a powerful protective energy shield, there were iron-gray metal fragments floating out of thin air. The iron-gray fragments were obviously part of a larger metal structure. The edges of the fragments had traces of being violently torn apart. On a few of the main fractures, some dim glow was still spontaneously escaping from the fragments, as if they were alive, wandering around the fractures, flashing and flickering.
This eye-catching feature explained one thing: this seemingly ordinary metal fragment was not an ordinary thing.
In fact, it was indeed not ordinary. This thing was one of the armor fragments scattered on the earth after the fall of the God of War. Considering that the body of the God of War was just a hollow armor, this fragment could even be considered as the "remains of the body" of the god.
At this moment, more than a dozen royal mages in robes were busy around the shard. A complex magic circle floated in the air around the platform. There were also many altar-like devices inlaid with crystals, magic stones, and precious magic conductive metals surrounding the platform. Each of them was monitoring and suppressing the various powers emitted by the shard.
"President Windsor." A mage in a dark blue robe with golden patterns flew from the platform and landed in front of Windsor Mappel. "It has been confirmed that this fragment should be from the helmet of the God of War, and the energy waves released from the fragment are stable. It can indeed be used as a guiding medium."
Windsor Mappel nodded and looked serious. "Guidance … How is its directional resonance?"
"We have indeed observed directional resonance. After placing it in a very pure arcane circulation, the fragment will try to restrain and transmit the energy to a dimension that we can't observe yet. Theoretically, if the intensity of this arcane circulation is high enough, we can use this process to open a crack … or even a stable door."
(End of Chapter)
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