The Realm of Shadows.
Gwen did not know how the human countries understood the Realm of Shadows, but in his inherited memories, the Kingdom of Gondor 700 years ago had done some research in this area. Those scholars spent all day looking at the boring books and data, staring at the crystal scale buried in the magic well to speculate the true appearance of the world. There was a classic model used to describe the "layers" of the world.
In this classic model, scholars believed that the world was divided into several "layers". The top layer was the most stable material world. Everything in it had laws to follow, it could be directly touched and easily observed. It was also the layer where most creatures in the world lived. Below the material world was the Realm of Shadows, which most humans could not directly touch and observe. The Realm of Shadows was a distorted reflection of the material world. Ordinary humans could not directly touch and observe it, but they could perceive and measure it through magic and spiritual techniques. Below the Realm of Shadows was the Realm of Shadows, which was an even more illusory and mysterious area. It was the reflection of the Realm of Shadows, which had reached a level where no magic or spiritual power could explore. Some lucky magicians caught a few shadow creatures with basic intelligence and could communicate with them, and guessed the existence of the Realm of Shadows from the few words of those creatures.
Some more radical scholars expanded this classic model. They believed that there might be a deeper layer below the Realm of Shadows, but that layer already belonged to the realm of the gods. It was the "foundation of origin" laid by the Creator when he created the world. It was no longer a category that mortals could study.
According to Gwen's understanding, this model was like layers of translucent kraft paper. The real world was at the front, and the shadow of the real world was projected on the layers of paper. The further one went, the more blurred and distorted it became.
He and Amber were at the back of the first layer of paper — the Realm of Shadows.
Even if it was only the second layer, it was a place that most humans had not set foot on.
He wisely did not ask Amber why she had the ability to enter the Realm of Shadows at this time. Judging from Amber's words just now, it was her first time "entering such a deep place". He would not get any answers if he asked.
There were still many secrets in this world that were worth exploring. Many things could not be understood just by hanging in the sky for many years.
After a brief analysis, Gwen felt that following Betty's footsteps was the only way to break through.
But before leaving the scene, he still looked back a little worriedly. Heti, Rebecca, and the others were still standing there in the state of "porcelain dolls". Their bodies were resisting the attack of the Wraith Mist in the real world, but in the projection of the Realm of Shadows, they were frozen at the moment of the attack, and the black mist that seeped out of the ground was constantly disintegrating them.
Fortunately, judging from the speed of the mist erosion, they still had some time.
"Maybe this is the true state of the Wraith Mist." Amber followed Gwen's line of sight and shook her head. "How much do you think this discovery would be worth if we sold it to the Secret Spell Society or the Astromancer Association?"
"They'll give you a bunch of potions, then tie a Record Crystal to your head. Finally, they'll cast a Banishing Spell and throw you into the Realm of Shadows as a human spy." Gwen rolled his eyes at Amber. "Follow me. We have more important things to do."
Amber followed behind Gwen and muttered, "But they can let you do it. You're the founding ancestor of the Ansu. They can't give you potions, can they?"
"What do you think?" The corners of Gawain's mouth twitched. "They're more than willing to hang me on the wall, write about me in books, and worship me on the table. Even the king is willing to lead his entire family to arrange a bouquet for me every year and give himself three days off. There's no risk, and he can earn a good reputation. But if this ancestor really jumps out of the coffin, the first reaction of those who worship me on the table will probably be to press me back into the coffin and then nail me with more than two hundred nails in all directions. The more ruthless ones might even fill me with lead …"
Hu Po was dumbfounded. "Why?!"
Gawain glanced at the half-elf and snapped back, "Because the entire country's three days of tomb-sweeping leave is gone!"
After that, Gwen strode forward, leaving Amber behind. After a while, she suddenly yelled, "Wait a minute! You're mistaken! There's no holiday when we're visiting your grave! We only have a three-day holiday when we're paying respects to the founding ancestor! You don't know because you died early … "
Gwen almost fell down.
But although he dispelled Amber's idea of selling the information about the Shadow Realm, Gwen had his own plans. He was curious about the Shadow Realm, or rather … he was curious about the whole world.
So one day, he would figure it all out.
The set of footprints did not extend very far.
Perhaps the environment of the Shadow Realm was special, so that the habit of judging distance in the material world was not effective here. Gwen and Amber just followed the footprints for a short distance, and a wooden house suddenly appeared in front of them.
The wooden house was small and shabby, and they did not know how long it had been there. There was a circle of broken fences around the wooden house, and looking at the sparse fences, it probably did not play any defensive role. And in the corner of the wooden house, Gwen noticed a touch of color.
It was the color of moss, which was particularly abrupt in this black and white world. And with the passage of time, that little bit of color was fading quickly.
Betty's footprints stretched all the way to the door of the wooden house.
Amber pulled out her small dagger and nervously gestured in front of her chest. "Later, you can directly use God's Descent and rush in to cut the melons and vegetables. I'll hold the line for you from behind …"
Gwen thought for a moment and resisted the urge to throw Amber in by the collar. Instead, he put one hand on the hilt of the Pathfinder's Sword and carefully pushed open the gray door with the other hand.
But there was no attack.
The inside of the wooden house was just an ordinary house, old and shabby, like an old black and white photo.
But there was someone inside.
A bearded man in a shabby short robe sat behind a square table in the middle of the wooden house. He was so haggard that Gwen could not tell his real age. And behind the man, there were two wooden shelves full of bottles and jars and an old alchemy table.
The equipment needed for magic experiments could be seen everywhere in the house, but they were all piled up with more broken things. Any normal mage would have the urge to cry when they saw this shabby and miserable scene.
The man behind the square table raised his head and looked in the direction of Gwen. He showed a stiff smile. "Ah, guest. It's been a long time since a guest came to my lab. And there are two of you? "
Amber poked her head out from beside Gwen. The half-elf girl's face was full of vigilance. "You're … not going to fight?"
Gwen did not draw his sword, but he did not let his hand go too far from the hilt. He kept his posture ready to attack at any time as he stepped into the wooden house. "We're passing by and looking for someone. It's a girl about 15 or 16 years old. She's holding a pan …"
However, the man behind the table did not seem to hear Gawain's words. He just smiled dully and nodded slightly. "Please find a place to sit. Annie is preparing lunch. There's no place to rest in the mountains. If you don't mind, you can stay for lunch."
"Annie?" Gwen asked subconsciously.
"She's my daughter." The man smiled. "She's very well-behaved."
At this time, the girl's voice came from the side. "Master?"
Gwen looked in the direction of the voice and saw Betty standing by a small door in the corner of the wooden house.
"Betty? You're okay. "Gwen was relieved." I'm here to pick you up. "
However, Betty shook her head slightly. The man behind the square table looked at the little girl and asked gently, "Annie, is lunch ready?"
Betty nodded obediently. "Almost, Dad."
The little girl turned and went back into the kitchen. Gwen and Amber exchanged a look. After confirming that the strange man behind the square table had no reaction, they followed.
Betty was cooking in the kitchen with her precious saucepan. A cluster of pale flames jumped in the stove, and the sausages on the pan were sizzling.
Amber's focus was very strange. "You can cook in the Umbra Realm?"
"What's going on?" Gwen came to Betty and asked in a low voice.
Judging from the little girl's demeanor, she was not affected by the mind control spell. But she stayed here to cook with her own will, and called the strange man outside "Dad". This was a bit strange.
"I don't quite understand." Betty's face was a little confused as usual. "But the man outside seems to think I'm his daughter …"
Amber's eyes widened. "Then you're so obedient to treat him as your dad?"
Betty shook her head. "He's very pitiful … so I want to cook for him before I leave."
Gwen and Amber looked at each other.
Then Betty suddenly reached into the pocket of her maid skirt and pulled out an old notebook and handed it to Gwen.
"Master, this is — this is what the man gave me. I don't understand a lot of the things in it, but you should be able to understand."
Gwen took the notebook, which was not very thick, and hurriedly flipped through the last few pages.
Amber curiously moved her head forward. "What? What? Let me see … Magic formula? Rune sequencing? "
The half-elf, who was confused by the complicated symbols and equations, looked up at Gawain in confusion. "So, that weird old man is a sorcerer?" she asked.
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