Chapter 1166： Old shadow

Victoria's memory of going to the Violet Kingdom ends here, and it ends abruptly, so that Gawain didn't react for a moment, and after two seconds he couldn't help but confirm the sentence: "This is what you remember. Up?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "A very clear node-walk into the misty jungle."

"That is to say, not only the memory of the city of a thousand towers, the apprentices who went to the Violet Kingdom will not remember their journey to the city of the thousand towers-the journey through those thick fog, from that name The specific route from the small seaside town called Prandall to the hinterland of the kingdom, the appearance in the dense fog forest... the memory of these things is also one of the contents that need to be cleared when leaving?"

"It seems to be the case now," Victoria nodded again. "The Violet Kingdom is strictly guarding its own secret, and this secret is not limited to the city of a thousand towers-it seems that as long as the fog that crosses the border of the kingdom, everything in its hinterland needs to be protected. It's tightly hidden...I guessed what was in the fog later, but I didn't have a clue."

Gao Wen frowned and thought for a long time, and then the room fell silent. Only the very slight buzzing sound of the magic guiding device was mixed with the sound of the ventilation system, which made the room more quiet. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly raised his head and broke the silence: "What about after that? What do you remember?"

"It is still on the edge of the forest. All of us are standing where we set off. It feels like a trance, but in fact the first half of the year has passed-Your Majesty, I not only study frost magic, but also There is also some understanding of the spells in the domain, but I still have to say that the most brilliant memory reshaping spells are difficult to achieve that level-the old lady is still our "guide", she told us that everyone has gone well After completing the scheduled studies, you can go home. The Violet Kingdom has arranged a boat, and our family has been notified that we are waiting for us on the other side of the strait.

“Of course, many apprentices feel confused and at a loss, and even think this is like a joke. However, when we examine the flow of magic within ourselves, and then notice the changes in the forest edge scenery, everyone realizes that this is really happening.

"For spellcasters who have to devote themselves to academic research for several years at every turn, the short half-year study can be described as very short. However, the half-year that we were'lost' in the Violet Kingdom left us with anything in this life. Unmatched gains in a learning career-everyone’s magic skills have made great progress, detailed theoretical knowledge is imprinted in their minds, and certain spell-casting skills have become instincts, showing that we have indeed performed a long period of time. Time, intensive theoretical and practical learning.

"The only problem is that we don’t remember the specific learning experience."

Victoria's voice fell, Gawain's brows were already tightly frowned, and Heidi, who was next to him, couldn't help but shook his head: "It feels... so strange..."

"Yes, it's weird. It took me a long time to get used to all this and confirm that all of this has really happened. For a longer time, I tried to continue to pay attention to all the information related to the Violet Kingdom. To find a certain...law of their activities in the northern region, to find their potential purpose," Victoria's voice is cold and her expression is as calm as ever, making it difficult to guess whether her mood has changed at the moment. "There are many apprentices in the same period. I have done similar things, and I believe that in the past six hundred years, a large number of apprentices who have been brought to the Violet Kingdom must have similar ideas and actions.

"Regardless of whether you have signed an admission agreement before, or whether you have carefully read the memory reshaping problem mentioned in the admission notice, when things happen, it is an instinct to be curious about your mysterious school experience. One point of conspiracy theory is that it would be an instinct to be wary and suspicious of the Violet Kingdom, but after so many years, I have found nothing—just like other apprentices in the past six centuries.

"Violet really only recruited a group of students and sent them back after the end of the semester, without any additional conspiracy purposes. They only asked about anything we did later, let alone our investigation activities... For example, their attitude towards Loren Mainland over the years: they don’t care about anything."

Gawain has already begun to habitually bend his fingers to tap the armrest of the seat, and his thoughts have also expanded and ups and downs, summarizing all the information revealed by Victoria, and it took a long time before he spoke again. He sighed softly: "Secret heritage, deeply buried history, envoys full of mystery and exotic land... It's really a story of sword and magic. It really fits in the pastoral era when social management and production relations are underdeveloped. Suitable for being included in a magic book made of parchment."

Hetty raised her head when she heard the words, with a thoughtful expression on her face, and Victoria, who was opposite the communicator, said calmly: "It is exactly what you said."

"But it is a pity that such a'romantic' magical talk does not conform to the current "Overseas Student Transportation System" and "Extraordinary Persons Management Measures"," Gao Wen said, and summer insects also came in through the open window. In the study room, "The enrollment process is not standardized, the registration process is unreasonable, the flow of personnel is not open, and the teaching method is not guaranteed. Although the issue of confidential protection at the national level can be considered reasonably, the Violet Kingdom did not sign an understanding memo with us in this regard. Agreement-this aspect needs to be managed."

Victoria's expression remained unchanged, but she nodded slightly: "It is exactly what you said."

On the side of , Heidi had long expected the ancestors to say this, with a smile on her face: "After all, we are now in the era of the rule of law."

"Regardless of how other countries in the Northern Continent view this matter, before the Violet Kingdom is willing to sign a more transparent, formal, and reliable official personnel training and transportation related agreement with us, this suspicious process of'mage inheritance' must be temporarily prohibited. "Gao Wen continued, "As you just mentioned, if the contract provided by the Violet Kingdom when recruiting apprentices is really so formal... then they will certainly understand our considerations and follow up in this regard. ."

"I will make arrangements and further monitor the Violet Masters who are active in the northern region." Victoria nodded and said.

Gao Wen gave a hum, and then he was a little curious: "Speaking of which, how often does this kind of ‘choosing apprentice’ in the Violet Kingdom take place? Does it happen every year?"

"No, it's much longer than that interval, but it's not very regular," Victoria immediately replied. "According to the records, they usually choose apprentices at an interval of six to ten years, the longest interval even It has been twenty years, and each selection of apprentices is not completed in a short period of time, but the whole process lasts one to two years-during this time, Violet's attractors will frequently move in the northern region. , To get in touch with all the talented people who meet their conditions, the number of apprentices who are finally selected is not fixed, from a dozen to hundreds of people.

"It is said that the Violet Kingdom took the least apprenticeship two hundred years ago. At that time, they took only six apprentices from the entire northern kingdoms and Typhon. Of course, those six apprentices were still with theirs after returning to Loren. The predecessors have also become outstanding masters of magic and are regarded as guests of their respective countries.

“In addition, the last time they took in apprentices in the northern region was about five years ago. At that time, they took very few people from the northern region, and most of them were from the mossy woods and the northern city states.”

"It sounds pretty arbitrary..." Gawain subconsciously touched the stubble on his chin, trying to outline in his mind the traditions, culture, society, and politics of the northern kingdom of the wizard, just like depicting people. Like a portrait, he is trying to draw a "sketch" for the mysterious hermit country, "Unfortunately, they hid themselves too deep, and even Amber's cadres could not go deep into the violet interior... "

"Has Amber already failed?" Heidi asked curiously.

"It cannot be said to be a failure, because there is no clear goal and time limit, but there is really no progress," Gao Wen said with some regrets. "It is easy for the operators to move in the city on the edge of the Violet Kingdom. Guangming can enter, but when trying to enter the hinterland... they ran into the problem that Victoria just mentioned-there is no road, there is no road connection between the border city of the Violet Kingdom and the inland, and the local management They also prohibit foreigners from crossing the border."

Heidi nodded helplessly, and could only accept the situation-she knew that this was not a problem between Amber and her staff. Although she would tease or mock the half-elf from time to time, after several years of work and observation, She had already admitted Amber's strength. That half-elf is extremely talented in intelligence, and the trained operators are definitely the world's best professionals in sneaking, disguising and collecting intelligence. Now even this group of slithering Aldernan’s palaces dare to drill. "Experts" were at a loss, and that could only explain the difficulty of the dense fog of the Violet Kingdom... it was beyond imagination.

Regrettably, she couldn't help but ask Victoria again: "Do you really have no impression of your experience in the city of a thousand towers? Even if you use retrospective thinking or subconscious roaming, you can't find those. Memory? In theory, no matter how clever the memory modification spell is, it is impossible to leave no traces...especially if you have been studying there for so long-all the learned knowledge is completely preserved, only missing Given the specific learning experience, this kind of power to manipulate memory can be a bit weird."

Victoria's brows wrinkled slightly. She thought of words and sentences as she sorted out her memories, and after more than ten seconds, she said in a deep voice: "The specific'memory' is indeed gone. I have tried all kinds of spells that can help retrieve memories. , No progress. But..."

Gao Wen and Heidi said in unison: "But what?"

"But after trying some risky methods such as multiple self-suggestion and deep dream diving, I did find some fragments in the dream... incoherent, weird, full of details, errors and subconscious supplements, I I don’t think they are correct and true memories, but if they are only regarded as references, they should be the “study experiences” I remember."

She recalled for a moment, slowly describing what she saw in her dream:

"I see a city with countless high towers and stacked houses. The structure does not conform to the spatial and geometric laws of the real world. Those stacked houses cannot have entrances and exits, and there cannot even be enough inside. The living space of ... they are more like chaotic graffiti, outlined on a fictitious land;

"I also saw an exceptionally high tower. In my dream, the tower moved slightly as if there was life, and even whispered occasionally. On the top of the tower there was something like eyes floating... that thing conveyed distortion. Of malice.

"I also saw many apprentices gathering in an empty place. It seemed to be a big magic laboratory, or a library, because I saw many shelves arranged in the dark in the distance, but I couldn’t see the details. Is it a book or something. My apprentices and I are reading, and there is the voice of a tutor...only the voice can be heard. He is teaching us patiently, but he is not visible."

Victoria's narration stopped, and Gao Wen couldn't help asking: "That's it?"

"Yes, all I remember is these fragments, and there are some more trivial pictures, 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 about studying. Experience, please use it for reference only, so as not to be misled by my description."

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"This is already precious enough information," Gao Wen sighed, "and you mentioned the scene of studying with the apprentices... Although you didn't see the tutor, I think this at least shows that your knowledge is indeed'learning'. It came instead of being directly poured into my mind by some kind of witchcraft."

Victoria thought for a while, and said flatly, “In the case of losing specific memories, there is actually not much difference between the two situations.”

Gao Wen was a bit speechless: "This is also..."

Later, he learned some trivial information about the Violet Kingdom from Victoria. Although the hidden kingdom was shrouded in a thick curtain of mystery, the Wilde family had been living in the north for seven hundred years. Over time, there are always many Violet Mages who are active in the northern regions exposed under their noses, and those who accept the Anzu royal family’s employment and accept the solicitation of Anzu’s various mage organizations will inevitably be with each other when they move south. When dealing with the Duke of the North, the intelligence that Victoria possesses is of great reference to Gao Wen.

More than an hour later, Gao Wen finally hung up the communication with Winterberg, and the huge study room became quiet again, leaving only him and Hetty.

After closing his eyes and letting his brain rest for a while, Gawain opened his eyes again and looked at Heidi who was beside Shili.

"I remember you mentioned earlier that there were some people who had entered the Violet Hinterland. After returning, they told others about a strange world and described the weird and wonderful scenery there..."

Herty looked serious: "Yes, there are indeed legends in this area, and there are even some ‘testimonies’ in this area in some more professional academic works."

"But according to Victoria's statement just now, after crossing the'border fog', there is the violet'secret area'. Those mages do not allow any outsiders to get involved in the hinterland of their kingdom. Even a master such as Victoria will not return after returning. Remember what the city of a thousand towers really looks like—then those who claim to have entered the city of a thousand towers and have noses and eyes after they come out can tell the situation inside, how do they remember so many things, and the wizards who have not been Violet? Catch it back for brainwashing?"

"... Maybe someone is lying, I don't think it is the Grand Archon of Victoria-those who claim to have been to the city of a thousand towers and return with memory, they probably just boasted?" Hety stroked her chin, thinking while saying "Maybe they are boasting too true, and no one else has been to the Violet Kingdom, so everyone believes what they say is true..."

"There must be someone bragging, but it's hard to say that everyone is bragging," Gawain frowned. "Moreover, some of the claims have even been included in professional academic works. I don't think that a few liars who talk about them in a tavern have the ability to make Those scholars are being tricked around—they must have some convincing reasons for their claims."

"what do you mean……"

"Perhaps, they have really been to the city of a thousand towers, at least they think they are in the city of a thousand towers. The border managers of the Violet Kingdom may not be able to stop all foreigners who try to cross the border, and those who have crossed for various reasons Adventurers in dense fog and forest... God knows what they see in the fog."

Heidi's expression became serious. As a mage, she knew many weird legends and the magical principles behind the legends. However, if a whole kingdom was in the state described by the ancestors... she could not find it at all. To a reasonable explanation. She only perceives a chilling atmosphere behind these unusual messages, but she can't analyze where this atmosphere comes from.

At this moment, she heard the ancestor’s voice resounding again: "Heidi, you go check something."

Heidi immediately reacted: "Yes, ancestor, what do you want me to check?"

"Look up how many mysteries about magic have been brought by the Violet Lorewalkers in the past six hundred years, and how many traces of violets there are in the magic system currently used by the nations of mankind," Gao Wen said solemnly, "including the specifics. The names of the spells, their types, the approximate time they were introduced into the continent of Loren, the scope of their influence, and how these spells have changed in the past few hundred years...

"Victoria is right. After the Dark Blue Well magic system of the Gondor Empire collapsed, it was the Violet Mages who helped the Gondor survivors establish a modern magic system... Now this system is still the mainstream in many places, and it is everywhere. The shadows of violets. Now I want to know how many of these shadows are."

"Yes, ancestors."