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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 187:
In the lavish living room, a tranquil atmosphere enveloped the space.
Freya sat calmly on the sofa, taking a gentle sip of her rich tea.
Opposite her, the Countess, dressed in formal attire, watched her with a hint of apprehension.
After a long pause, Freya set down her cup and revealed a slight smile.
"It has been a long time since I've tasted something like this; it's quite good."
"I'm glad you like it," the Countess replied with a polite smile. "I wonder... have you found what you were looking for?"
It seemed that due to Freya's demeanor, she had somewhat accepted the presence of an Official Wizard in this brief moment.
"Yes, I found some things," Freya nodded lightly, unreservedly toying with the Black Key in her hand.
Thin strands of black energy occasionally erupted from the surface of the key with her touch, sending splashes of black light that dripped onto the wooden table in front of her, emitting faint hissing sounds.
The Countess glanced at the key and felt a sudden flash in her vision, accompanied by a chilling shiver running down her spine.
This made her quickly avert her gaze, awkwardly smiling as she cautiously probed further.
"Congratulations, my lady. What are your plans moving forward?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Freya replied indifferently, seemingly focused solely on the key in her hand.
However, that is indeed the case.
Since she grasped this key, Freya's constitution seems to have undergone some unknown influence.
As a result, she can actually see Spirits clearly.
From what she understands, there are spells and runes that allow one to directly gaze at Spirits, but they are not intuitive.
Even the Hilt Goatman dagger formation she used earlier had many limitations if that anomaly hadn't occurred.
However, this key is different.
Freya did not see even a trace of runes or formations on it, and she is certain that this item is not a Cursed Item, but rather possesses abilities inherent to its material.
'Could it be a Necromancer's Magic Crystal or Bechelar Ore?' she speculated slightly in her mind. But the current environment does not allow her to conduct any identification tests immediately.
After thinking for a while, Freya suddenly remembered that there was still a Lord of the City waiting for her.
She put the key back into her waist pouch and thought for a moment before addressing the Countess.
"I will be staying in this city for a while to take care of some matters until I leave."
"Oh? Are you going to stay for a while, my lord?" It seemed that the Countess did not harbor any ill feelings due to Freya's delay; instead, she revealed a strange smile.
Seeing the Countess's smile, Freya knew her thoughts without needing to guess. However, even though she understood, she did not mind.
"That's right, the promise I made to you before still stands."
"Um... it is my honor to assist you, but there is something very important that I need from you..." She revealed a hint of nostalgia. "Three years ago, when Raymond City was not as prosperous as it is now, I..."
Freya frowned slightly at the Countess's narrative. Although she knew this was some aristocratic malice, she still firmly tapped the table and stood up.
"My Lord of Angelia, I am a bit tired. If possible, please communicate your matters to me in writing."
Her time was not particularly pressing, but she did not want to waste it on such trivialities.
Moreover, she was now convinced that this Lord of the City seemed to have been an aristocrat for too long and had long forgotten the rigorous and efficient ways of working from her apprentice days.
"…"
Seemingly realizing her mistake, the Countess paused for a moment and then stood up as well.
However, as she watched Freya's departing figure, she opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.
Just as Freya was about to leave, she seemed to remember something. Suddenly turning around, she took out the Black Key and said,
"By the way, Lord of the City. Do you know the origin of this key?"
"This?" The Countess looked at the object in Freya's hand. At that moment, the key did not exhibit the strange aura it had before. It appeared to be just an ordinary slender key, devoid of any eerie feeling.
After thinking for a while, she seemed a bit uncertain and said, "This style of key is quite common... However, I believe I have seen something like it in the library."
"Oh? Are you sure?" Freya raised an eyebrow in confirmation.
She had found this thing in the castle, and it was likely that there were indeed records of it.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded firmly. "That's right, I have seen it in the illustrations of a book in the library."
"Great, then I can borrow your library, no problem?" Freya said with a slight smile.
"Of course, of course," the Countess replied quickly with a smile.
"Well, thank you." Nodding slightly, Freya did not immediately head to the library to investigate but turned and left the parlor.
She had just grasped a hint of a clue, and compared to the origin of this key, that matter was somewhat more important.
...
Thirty minutes later.
Outside Raymond City, in a village on the eastern outskirts.
This was a sparsely populated area.
Even the path leading here was overgrown with thick weeds.
The sun was slowly setting in the west, and in this desolate place, a slender shadow was slowly approaching from afar.
Stepping on the weeds along the road, Freya slowly came to a stop, squinting her eyes as she gazed at the dilapidated village not far away.
The village had long been abandoned, with wooden houses showing severe decay and holes due to the passage of time.
Some remote houses were even wrapped in rampant vines, obscuring their original appearance.
"This must be the place," she murmured softly.
Then she walked straight toward the village.
The white robe brushed against the weeds, making a faint rustling sound.
As she entered the village, the desolation became even more apparent.
Walking among the numerous houses, Freya scanned her surroundings.
Suddenly, she halted and quickly walked toward one of the houses.
The wooden door was tightly shut, and the decayed wood still faintly revealed remnants of red paint that had once been applied.
Freya reached out and gently pushed.
With a 'crack,' the door opened easily, and two broken wooden bolts fell to the ground.
The room was very simple. There was only a table and a bed, but on the wall hung a bow and arrows along with a rusty short blade, all covered in white cobwebs.
It was likely that the previous owner had been a hunter.
Casting a casual glance around the room, Freya slowly walked towards the only bed, leaving a clear trail of footprints on the grayish-white ground.
With a rustle, she lifted the black thin blanket that had been there for who knows how many years.
Beneath it lay a blackened corpse.
Suddenly, a sharp and piercing crow's caw echoed from outside the door, followed by the sound of flapping wings.
Ignoring it, Freya calmly looked at the corpse and then took out some golden fine sand from her waist pouch, sprinkling it evenly over the body.
As soon as the sand touched the corpse, it emitted a hissing sound.
The mouth that had been closed suddenly snapped open with a loud crack.
A wisp of black smoke resembling a thin snake abruptly emerged.
However, as soon as the smoke emerged, it was directly caught in Freya's palm.
The smoke twisted and writhed in Freya's hand as if it were alive.
Yet Freya merely smiled slightly.
A low chant quickly flowed from her lips. A faint black light slowly illuminated her palm.
The constantly twisting Black Smoke gradually began to shrink within this light. Before long, a grain-sized Black Particle appeared in Freya's hand.
"The purity of this Negative Energy and the traces of the spell indicate it was hastily completed. However, it’s just right to see if I can extract some useful information from it."
Looking around, she took out a Transparent Glass Bottle and placed the energy crystal inside, sealing it with a cork.
This village was the one where a strange plague incident occurred thirty years ago.
Due to its sudden nature, and perhaps for convenience, the authorities at the time simply sealed off the area.
During such an event, even soldiers might not have dared to approach the source of the plague, let alone burn it, so it was left abandoned.
Stepping out of the house, Freya followed the energy trail to find several other intact corpses.
Fifteen minutes later, Freya returned to the village entrance.
At this moment, there were already seven or eight Black Particles in the Transparent Glass Bottle she held in her hand, and the first particle that had condensed seemed to be slowly stretching out, showing signs of transforming back into smoke. It crawled along the walls of the bottle like a writhing, twisted worm.
Gently shaking the contents of the bottle, she revealed a satisfied expression.
With these items, and by using some other techniques, if that person had not left the range of Raymond City, she would definitely be able to detect them.
After all, among all the wizards, if they were not deliberately hiding, the wizards from the Necromancy Department were the most obvious in terms of energy aura.
After scanning the abandoned village once more, Freya turned to leave.
...
Two hours later.
Inside the manor rented by Freya.
At this time, the room in the manor was much more crowded compared to when she left early in the morning.
Many newly added pieces of furniture and crafts had been arranged in suitable positions by the designer.
This was at the Countess's request.
Originally, she intended for Freya to move into the castle. However, after Freya refused, she ordered some valuable items to be added here instead.
In addition to a guard named Jace, she also brought in two obedient maids to take care of Freya's daily needs.
Of course, these Freya had no meaning at all.
She originally planned to stay here for a while, and even if the Countess did not do so, she would hire some servants.
Inside the estate, in a room temporarily converted into a Laboratory.
Removing her Robe, Freya was carefully sketching something on the Experiment Table with a Charcoal Pencil.
Next to her, besides a glass bottle containing swirling smoke, there was a Black Key and some Special Wooden Boxes.
The boxes occasionally made rustling sounds, and now and then, a slender tail could be seen through the gaps.
After a long while, Freya gently exhaled and put away the Charcoal Pencil.
As for rune carving, she was not yet a master, but she was certainly beyond what an ordinary wizard could compare to.
Looking at the current Rune Array, she paused for a moment, then took out a pair of Silver Tweezers, opened the bottle, and pinched out a writhing wisp of smoke. (To be continued)
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