Victoria's memory of the trip to the Violet Kingdom came to an abrupt end. Gwen was stunned for a moment. After two seconds, he could not help but ask, "That's all you remember?"
"Yes." Victoria nodded. "A very clear node — walking into the forest full of fog."
"That is to say, not only the memory of the City of Thousand Towers, but also the apprentices who went to the Violet Kingdom would not remember what happened on their way to the City of Thousand Towers. The journey in the thick fog, the specific route from the seaside town called Plandel to the hinterland of the kingdom, and the appearance of the forest in the fog … Are these things also part of the memory that needs to be erased before leaving?"
"Now it seems to be the case." Victoria nodded again. "The Violet Kingdom is keeping its own secret, and this secret is not limited to the City of Thousand Towers. It seems that as long as you cross the fog at the border of the kingdom, everything in the hinterland of the kingdom needs to be strictly hidden. I later wondered what was in the fog, but I had no clue."
Gwen frowned and pondered for a long time. The room fell into silence. Only the very slight buzzing sound of the magic device and the sound of the ventilation system mixed together made the room even quieter. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly raised his head and opened his mouth to break the silence. "What happened after that? What do you remember? "
"We're still at the edge of the forest. All of us are standing where we started. It feels like we're in a trance, but in fact, half a year has passed. Your Majesty, I'm not only a student of frost magic, but I also know a little about the spells in the field of mind. But I still have to say that even the most brilliant memory reconstruction spells can't achieve that level. The old lady is still our 'guide'. She told us that everyone has successfully completed their scheduled studies and can go home. The Violet Kingdom has arranged a ship, and our families have been notified and are waiting for us on the other side of the strait.
"Of course, many apprentices were confused and even thought it was a joke. However, when we examined the flow of magic in our bodies and noticed the changes in the scenery at the edge of the forest, we all realized that all this had really happened.
"For spellcasters who often devote themselves to academic research for several years, half a year of learning can be said to be very short. However, the 'lost' half a year in the Violet Kingdom has left us with a harvest that is unmatched by any other period of learning in this life. Everyone's magic skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Detailed theoretical knowledge is imprinted in our minds. Some spellcasting skills have become instinctive movements, showing that we have indeed been engaged in a long period of high-intensity theoretical and practical learning.
"The only problem is that we don't remember the specific learning process."
As Victoria's voice trailed off, Gwen's brows were tightly knitted together. Heti could not help but shake her head. "This feeling … is too strange …"
"Yes, it's very strange. It took me a long time to adapt to all this and confirm that all this had really happened. And for an even longer time, I tried to continue to pay attention to all the information related to the Violet Kingdom. I wanted to find some kind of pattern of their activities in the north and find out their hidden purpose." Victoria's voice was cold, and her expression was as calm as ever. It was difficult to guess whether her mood had changed at the moment. "Many apprentices of the same period have done similar things, and I believe that in the past six hundred years, a large number of apprentices who had been brought to the Violet Kingdom must have had similar thoughts and actions.
"It doesn't matter whether I have signed the admission agreement or not. It doesn't matter whether I have carefully read the admission notes about memory reconstruction. When something really happens, it is instinctive to be curious about my mysterious learning experience. It is also instinctive to be vigilant and suspicious of the Violet Kingdom. But after so many years, I haven't found anything. Just like the other apprentices in the past six centuries.
"The Violet Kingdom seems to have just recruited a group of students and sent them back at the end of the semester. There was no additional conspiracy, and they did not ask about what we did after that. They did not care about our investigation activities. Just like their attitude towards the Lolun Continent as a whole for so many years: they don't care about anything."
Gwen had begun to habitually tap the armrest of his chair with his fingers. His thoughts were also expanding as he summarized and sorted out all the information revealed by Victoria. After a long time, he spoke again with a soft sigh. "Hidden inheritance, deeply buried history, mysterious envoys and foreign lands. It's really a story of swords and magic. It's really suitable to take place in the pastoral era with underdeveloped social management and production relations. It's suitable to be included in a magic book made of parchment."
Heti raised her head with a thoughtful expression on her face. Victoria on the other side of the communicator said calmly, "It's as you said."
"But it's a pity that such a 'romantic' magic story is not in line with the current 'Overseas Student Transportation System' and 'Extraordinary Management Measures.'" Gwen's voice rang out, and the sound of insects in the summer came into the study through the open window. "The enrollment process is not standardized, the registration process is not reasonable, the flow of personnel is not open, and the teaching method is not guaranteed. Although it is reasonable to consider the protection of secrets at the national level, the Violet Kingdom has not signed an understanding agreement with us in this regard. We have to take care of this aspect."
Victoria's expression did not change. She just nodded gently. "It's as you said."
Heti had long expected that the ancestor would say so. She smiled. "After all, we are now in the era of law."
"No matter what the other countries in the Northern Continent think of this matter, in short, before the Violet Kingdom is willing to sign a more transparent, formal, and reliable official agreement related to the cultivation and transportation of talents with us, this suspicious' mage inheritance 'process must be temporarily banned," Gwen continued. "As you just mentioned, if the contract provided by the Violet Kingdom when they recruit apprentices is really so formal, then they will understand our considerations and follow up in this regard."
"I will make arrangements and further monitor the Violet mages who are active in the northern region," Victoria said, nodding.
Gwen nodded, and then he was a little curious. "Speaking of which, how often does this' apprentice selection 'of the Violet Kingdom happen? Does it happen every year? "
"No, it's much longer than that, but there's not much of a pattern," Victoria immediately replied. "According to the existing records, the apprentice selection interval is usually six to ten years, and the longest interval is even as long as twenty years. And each time, the apprentice selection is not completed in a short period of time. The whole process lasts for one to two years. During this period, the Violet Kingdom's receptionists will be frequently active in the northern region to meet all the talented people who meet their requirements. The number of apprentices selected in the end is not fixed, from a dozen to hundreds of people have happened.
"It is said that 200 years ago, the Violet Kingdom received the least number of apprentices. At that time, they only took a total of six apprentices in the northern countries and Typhon. Of course, after the six apprentices returned to Loren, they still became excellent masters of magic like their predecessors and were treated as distinguished guests by their respective countries.
"In addition, the last time they received apprentices in the northern region was about five years ago. At that time, they took very few people from the north, most of them were people from the mossy forest and the northern cities."
"It does sound quite freewheeling …" Gawain touched the stubble on his chin subconsciously. He tried to picture the traditions, culture, society, and politics of the Kingdom of Mages in the north in his mind. Just like drawing a portrait, he was trying to draw a 'sketch' of the mysterious hermit kingdom. "It's a pity that they've hidden themselves too well. Even Amber's subordinates can't go deep into the Violet Kingdom …" Gawain muttered as he touched the stubble on his chin subconsciously.
"Has Amber's side failed?" Heti asked curiously.
"It can't be called a failure because they didn't set a clear goal and deadline. But there's really no progress," Gwen said with some regret. "It's easy for the men to move around the border cities of the Violet Kingdom. They can go in openly through the trade routes. But when they tried to go into the hinterland … they encountered the problem that Victoria just mentioned. There's no road. There's no road connecting the border cities of the Violet Kingdom to the interior, and the local managers forbid foreigners from crossing the border."
Heti nodded helplessly. She could only accept the situation. She knew that this was not the problem of Amber and her men. Although she would tease and ridicule the half-elf from time to time, after years of cooperation and observation, she had already recognized Amber's strength. The half-elf was talented in intelligence, and the men she trained were definitely the best in the world at sneaking, disguising, and collecting intelligence. Now, even these "experts" who dared to sneak into the palace of Oldenheim were at their wits' end. It could only mean that the difficulty of the thick fog in the Violet Kingdom was beyond imagination.
While feeling regretful, she could not help but ask Victoria, "Do you really have no impression of your experience in the City of Thousand Towers? Even if you use the method of backtracking or subconscious wandering, you can't find those memories? In theory, no matter how brilliant the memory-altering spell is, it is impossible to not leave a trace … especially since you have studied there for so long. The knowledge you have learned is completely preserved, but the specific learning process is missing. This kind of memory-manipulating power is a bit unimaginable. "
Victoria frowned slightly. She sorted out her memory while deliberating over her words. After more than ten seconds, she said in a deep voice, "The specific 'memory' is indeed gone. I have tried all kinds of spells to help me recover my memory, but there is no progress. But … "
Gwen and Heti asked in unison, "But what?"
"However, after trying some risky methods such as multiple self-suggestion and diving deep into the dream, I did find some fragments in the dream … They were incoherent, weird, and full of detail errors and subconscious supplementation. I don't think they are correct and real memories, but if I take them as a reference, they should be the 'school experience' that I remember."
She recalled and slowly described the things she saw in the dream.
"I saw a city with countless towers and stacked houses. The structure was completely inconsistent with the spatial and geometric laws of the real world. Those stacked houses could not have entrances and exits, and there could not even be enough living space inside. They were more like disordered graffiti, outlined on an imaginary land.
"I also saw an exceptionally tall tower. In the dream, the tower moved slightly as if it had a life of its own. Occasionally, it would even whisper. There was something that looked like an eye floating at the top of the tower … That thing conveyed distorted malice.
"I also saw many apprentices gathered in an empty place. It seemed to be a large magic laboratory or a library because I saw many shelves arranged in the darkness in the distance, but I could not see whether they were books or something else. The apprentices and I were reading, and there was the voice of a mentor. I could only hear the voice. He was patiently teaching us, but I could not see him. "
Victoria stopped talking. Gwen could not help but ask, "That's all?"
"Yes, that's all I remember. There are some more trivial images, but they are so fragmented that I don't know how to describe them," Victoria said in a serious tone. "In short, these are all I remember of my school experience. Please use them as a reference, in case you are misled by my description."
"This is precious enough information." Gwen sighed. "And you mentioned the scene of learning with the apprentices. Although you did not see the mentor, I think this at least shows that your knowledge is indeed 'learned' and not directly injected into your brain by some kind of witchcraft."
Victoria thought for a moment and said with a flat expression, "In the case of losing specific memory, these two situations are not much different."
Gwen was a little speechless. "That's true …"
Then, he learned some trivial information about the Violet Kingdom from Victoria. Although the reclusive country was shrouded in a thick veil of mystery, the Wilde family had been in the north for seven hundred years after all. In such a long time, there would always be many Violet mages who were active in the north exposed to them. Furthermore, the Violet Scholars who were hired by the Ansu royal family and recruited by various Ansu mage organizations would definitely come into contact with the Duke of the Northern Region when they were moving south. The information that Victoria had was quite useful for Gwen.
After another hour, Gawain finally hung up the communication with Winter Fort Academy. The spacious study became quiet again, leaving only him and Heidi in the room.
After closing his eyes to let his brain rest for a moment, Gwen opened his eyes again and looked at Heti who was standing beside him.
"I remember you mentioned before that some people who had entered the hinterland of the Violet Kingdom told others about a bizarre world after they returned, and described the strange and wonderful scenery there vividly …"
Heti's expression was serious. "Yes, there are indeed such legends, and there are even 'testimonies' in some of the more professional academic works."
"But according to what Victoria said just now, after passing through the 'border fog' is the 'secret area' of the Violet Kingdom. Those mages do not allow any outsiders to touch the hinterland of their kingdom. Even a brilliant mage like Victoria could not remember the real appearance of the City of Thousand Towers after returning. Then, how could those who claimed to have entered the City of Thousand Towers and described the situation there vividly remember so many things and not be captured by the mages of the Violet Kingdom and brainwashed?"
"… Maybe someone is lying, but I don't think it's Victoria. Those who claimed to have been to the City of Thousand Towers and returned with their memories, they are probably just blowing their own trumpet." Heidi touched her chin and said while thinking, "Maybe it's because their boasting is too real, and no one else has been to the Violet Kingdom, so everyone believes what they said..."
"Someone must be bragging, but it's hard to say that everyone is bragging." Gwen frowned. "And some of their claims have even been recorded in professional academic works. I don't think a few boastful liars in taverns have the ability to fool those scholars. There must be some convincing reasons for their claims."
"You mean …"
"Maybe they really have been to the City of Thousand Towers, or at least they think they have been to the City of Thousand Towers. The border managers of the Violet Kingdom may not be able to stop all the foreigners who try to cross the border, and those adventurers who cross the fog and forest for various reasons … God knows what they see in the fog. "
Heti's expression became serious. As a mage, she knew many strange legends and the magic principles behind them, but if the whole kingdom was in the state described by her ancestor … she could not find a reasonable explanation at all. She could only feel a certain chilling atmosphere behind this unusual information, but she couldn't figure out where this atmosphere came from.
At this moment, she heard the voice of her ancestor again. "Heti, go and check something."
Heti immediately reacted. "Yes, ancestor. What do you want me to check?"
"Check how many mysteries of magic the Violet Scholars have brought with them in the past 600 years, and how many traces of Violet are in the magic system used by the human countries now," Gwen said with a serious expression. "Including the specific names of the spells, their types, the approximate time when they were introduced to the Lolun Continent, the range of their influence, and the changes of these spells in the past hundreds of years … Victoria is right.
After the collapse of the Deep Blue Well magic system in the Kingdom of Gondor, it was the Violet Wizards who helped the Gondor survivors to establish the modern magic system. Today, this system is still the mainstream in many places, and there are traces of Violet everywhere. Now I want to know how many traces there are. "
"Yes, ancestor."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
