Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 161 The First Pact of Magical Power
Thales stared dumbfounded at the "invitation" in his hand, his mind in turmoil.

No way.

Is this true or false?

He blinked incredulously, making sure that what he was seeing was not an illusion.

Is someone playing a prank?

A few seconds later, he put down the invitation and took a deep breath.

Trying to figure out the current situation.

First of all, wasn't that guy... done to him by the Yordles?
Then, Ada was next door.

Wyatt and Rolf took turns standing guard at the door.

And the other soldiers and guards in the delegation, as well as countless guards throughout Valhalla, and even those seemingly cool so-called melee guards, how could they have let that guy...

That rascal……

Suddenly, a pang of fear surged through Thales' chest.

His breath hitched.

Thales sensed something.

He turned his head, his scalp tingling.

Turn your gaze toward the window.

At that moment, the prince's heart skipped a beat.

His "long-lost friend"—Aishida Sahn—was standing by the window with her hands behind her back, silently gazing at him with her seemingly indifferent eyes.

Just like when they first met, the mage was wearing a thin but neat blue robe, his posture was tall and straight, and his handsome face had a mysterious but confident smile.

As elegant as ever, as composed as ever.

At that moment, Thales' mind went blank.

What happened to the promised fifteen minutes?

“Hello,” the air mage nodded slightly to him, speaking gently, “I am a clever, mature, and mischievous little friend.”

Thales opened his mouth and took a deep breath.

“From now on, no sound between us can travel more than a foot away,” Ashida said, as if she knew what he was thinking. She slowly raised her right index finger and shook it at him with a smile. “No one else will bother us.”

Upon hearing this, Thales deflated like a punctured balloon, exhaling the air he had inhaled.

He abandoned the idea of ​​calling for help.

Aishida's smile was so warm, but it chilled Thales to the bone.

and many more.

There were more than just him and the mage in the room.

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

“Of course, you, my lovely little maid,” following Thales’s gaze, the mage glanced lightly at the little rascal sleeping soundly by the bedside, “won’t be woken up.”

The little rascal's mouth was still slightly open in her sleep, but Thales could no longer hear any of her murmurs or even her breathing.

Thales sighed softly, turned his head, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "You're still the same as ever, so considerate."

Ashida nodded politely.

Thales forced himself to start thinking about everything he knew about this mage.

However, the first memory that comes to mind is of the three people squeezed into a ball in the chess and card room in the center of Hongfang Street.

The second prince swallowed hard, chuckled dryly, and tried to imagine a scene that was acceptable to him.

For example—compare him to the adorable Giza?
“By the way,” Thales shrugged casually, waved the invitation in his hand, and said in the most normal tone, as if it were nothing, “I thought you would be here in fifteen minutes.”

“You know,” Ashida flashed her white teeth, “I like to arrive early.”

Thales struggled to control his thoughts, swallowing back the rant that was about to come out.

“Is that so… I didn’t think you would show up so soon,” Thales shifted his posture and gave an awkward laugh. “They… everyone says you’re going to disappear for a long time.”

Ashida stared straight at him, her eyes calm as still water, which made Thales feel slightly uneasy.

"The weapon in your masked friend's hand—is clearly incomplete," the Air Mage said slowly. "Otherwise, a fully functional, legendary anti-magic weapon should be able to seal a mage for a limited time..."

Aishida's gaze remained calm, but the words she uttered made Thales pause slightly:
"permanent."

Legendary anti-magic weaponry.

seal.

Magician.

permanent.

“Even so, that incomplete weapon could still seal me away—for at least a decade,” Ashida said, a slight smile playing on her lips. “But I received a little help, which allowed me to be ‘released’ so quickly.”

Whether it was the curiosity inherited from fragments of his past life, his innate personality, or his anxiety about the mystery of his own existence, in that instant, Thales's intense thirst for knowledge about magic users overwhelmed his fear of his calamity identity—he longed to know more.

“First of all, I want to congratulate you,” Ashida said, putting her hands behind her back and walking towards Thales with a smile that was friendly yet inexplicably frightening. “Tales… Your Highness? Although I know from your performance that you are definitely not ordinary, I must admit that this identity surprised me.”

Thales watched Ashida approach, his heart pounding. He forced a shrug: "I remember there are chairs for guests over there in the room. We can sit down..."

“No need to trouble yourself,” Ashida shook her head, saying indifferently.

The next moment, Thales watched with a chill run down his spine as Ashida walked up to him and then bent her knees—sitting down in the unseen void.

Ashida grinned from the transparent "chair" and said, "I brought my own chair."

The prince watched this bizarre scene and desperately tried to control his face, preventing it from twitching too violently.

“Let’s talk about your future,” Ashida said, watching Thales’s expression with interest. “Your Highness?”

Thales knew in his heart that although the man addressed him as Your Highness, he didn't really care about this special status at all—which gave Thales, who had experienced all sorts of stares since becoming a prince, a strange feeling.

Thales took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down so that he could recognize the situation and protect himself—even if what lay before him was a calamity that could not be judged by common sense.

“Of course,” he recalled his conversation with Ramon and pondered, “During this time, I tried my best to investigate some things about… well, magicians and magic.”

First, in this asymmetrical conversation, he must seize the initiative in the topic.

“Great, this will save us a lot of time,” sure enough, Ashida’s eyes lit up: “What do you know?”

“Not many, but not few either,” Thales carefully chose his words: “For example, what exactly is magic, and the three great magic towers—I met someone who was quite knowledgeable about magic.”

Ashida showed an interested expression.

After Thales nervously and briefly recounted what Ramon had told him, even Ashida couldn't help but sigh slightly: "A thousand years after the magic tower collapsed and magic was banned for six centuries, there are still believers in magic. This is truly beyond my expectations."

Thales observed Ashida's expression while desperately trying to think of a way to escape him.

The opponent is a mage – non-peaceful means are out of the question.

Delaying time—that's something to consider, but can he really hold out until rescue arrives, or will the rescue actually work?
Their goal was probably to get me to join them—that damned, universally hated magic user.

His best option is to negotiate with the other party on this issue and achieve some results through concessions and a humble approach...

"So, is magic what he described? A kind of meaning, a kind of belief?" Thales asked cautiously, genuinely curious about the question. "What do you think?"

But the Qi Demon Master did not answer immediately.

Ashida's lowered gaze remained unmoved.

Under Thales's curious gaze, he crossed his hands and remained silent for a long time.

"Do not."

“Magic… is not like that, not only that, it doesn’t have to be like that,” Ashida finally shook her head slowly, slowing her speech. “Everyone has their own understanding of magic and believes in the magic they understand.”

Thales was taken aback by what he heard.

Ashida raised her left hand, looked at her palm, and her gaze was complicated.

In that instant, Thales felt that Ashida in front of him was more like a normal person than ever before.

Rather than a terrible and horrific disaster.

“Magic is a choice,” Ashida said, looking into her palm and slowly clenching her fist. “And these choices are neither unique, nor mutually exclusive, nor superior or inferior—this is the fundamental concept of the ‘Seat of All Laws’ lineage in the Tower of Souls.”

Thales shuddered.

and many more.

He heard unusual words.

“It is also one of the magical philosophies that I agree with and endorse,” Ashida said calmly.

Thales instinctively raised his hand—a habit from his past life, a fragment of his memory.

He quickly realized this wasn't his previous life, and that it was just the two of them. Just as he was awkwardly preparing to lower his hand...

To Thales' surprise, Ashida skillfully and naturally extended her palm, tilted it slightly upwards towards him, and then nodded.

Questions are allowed.

The feeling was as if I had done this action hundreds or thousands of times.

The two of them stared at each other's actions for a moment, both of them stunned.

Ashida realized what was happening and smiled slightly: "Very good, it seems I don't need to teach you the classroom etiquette and habits of a mage apprentice."

Thales lowered his hand and asked eagerly:

"The Tower of Souls? I know about that, but what kind of magical tower is it? What is its origin?"

Thales didn't even realize that he had completely forgotten that the Ashda in front of him was an extremely dangerous inhuman being.

They even forgot their original intentions.

At that moment, his thirst for unsolved knowledge completely outweighed any consideration of reality.

"The Tower of Souls?" Ashida narrowed her eyes, smiling mysteriously, as if she knew Thales would ask this: "What do you know?"

Tower of Souls...

Thales lowered his head, desperately trying to recall Ramon's words: "Um, I remember it had a special emblem... and then, the impression this magic tower gave to the world seemed to be a matter of much debate and conflicting opinions? Also, it seemed to be at odds with the other two magic towers?"

Ashida remained noncommittal, simply keeping her gaze fixed on him for a very long time.

Under the scrutinizing gaze of the other party, Thales forced a dry smile.

“Very good, a strong curiosity and desire to explore, these are qualities worth encouraging…” the Qi Mage said slowly.

Thales simply responded with a smile.

"Moreover, this is prerequisite knowledge you should already know." Ashida's face was expressionless, but her eyes gleamed: "Listen carefully."

Thales unconsciously sat up straight.

This time, the mage didn't keep him in suspense and answered readily:

"In the year 618 of the Chronicle of Kings, shortly after the war for survival between humanity and the three races ended, the 'Sorcerer' Iri Crescent Moon Mage, who had returned from the war, left the Tower of Ascetics with his five students due to ideological differences."

Thales shuddered.

"They spread their ideas and taught methods along the way, gathering many monks who had fled abroad due to the war. Their group gradually grew larger, and their theories and methods became clearer and clearer."

At this point, Ashda paused, squinting at Thales' expression. Thales frowned: "And then?"

Don't leave things unsaid!

Aishida gave him a meaningful look, then smiled and continued:
"Ultimately, the mage Iri—whom we later respectfully called the Master—and a group of mages led by the other twenty-one sages came to the 'Stumbling Peninsula' on the coast of the continent, where they built a twin tower and settled down to study magic."

Ashida paused for a few more seconds, his gaze passing through Thales before him, as if he could see the past many years ago.

But Thales had no time to notice the other person's expression, because he was completely absorbed in listening.

With her bewildered gaze gone, Ashida shook her head and continued, "The newly built magic tower attracted many mages to visit. The novel, free, casual, and equal atmosphere of magical research there gathered a large number of people. Soon, that land formed a mage gathering place centered around the twin towers."

"Unlike the ascetics' deep contemplation and protection, and the alchemists' fanaticism and destruction, this settlement gradually became the forefront of theoretical research in the magical world. Various unprecedented and incredible magical theories and hypotheses were proposed and gradually perfected through endless debates and demonstrations. Magical branches that were not originally recognized by the two major magic towers were established one after another, forming the Soul Tower magic system that we are familiar with today."

"In this way, the sages together established the third lineage of magic, in addition to the Tower of Ascetics and the Tower of Alchemy. It is also the youngest, most special, most active, most prosperous, and most influential lineage in the world."

At this point, Ashida lowered his head and let out a sigh that only he knew.

"After Ili Crescent passed away, his urn was suspended in the center of the Twin Towers, with a sentence engraved on the surface in iron: 'May every mage possess an independent and free soul.'"

"This is how the Tower of Souls got its name."

Ashida gently closed her mouth.

Thales snapped out of his daze and let out a long breath.

Chronicles of the Kings.

A battle for survival.

The Dharma Transmitter, Master Yili.

The youngest lineage of Dharma masters.

The origin of the Tower of Souls.

These were forbidden facts that he couldn't easily obtain from books, and Thales' heart raced as he listened.

It was as if an unprecedented world had opened up.

If Ramon were here—Thales thought: Would he be so excited that he would kneel down and cry?

He continued to raise his hand eagerly: "And what about the Throne of All Laws you just mentioned? What is that?"

“‘The Throne of All Laws’,” Ashida, seemingly oblivious to Thales’ expression, continued speaking slowly and deliberately. Her clear, pleasant male voice echoed in the small space, recounting the world’s most forbidden and lost knowledge:

"This is an important branch of research within the Tower of Souls."

"It originated during the first civil war in the Empire, was officially established in Imperial Year 373, and flourished between the 5th and 7th centuries of the Imperial Year. At its peak, even half of the mages in the entire Soul Tower came from the Seat of All Laws. Every time it was opened, there would even be apprentices and mages from the Alchemy Tower and the Tower of Ascetics who would come to listen, comment, and argue."

Ashida paused again, looking at Thales's face full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge, and nodded with satisfaction.

Thales felt a slight unease, realizing that the initiative in the conversation had once again fallen into Ashida's hands.

but……

He really wanted to know.

The second prince looked at Aishida before him, a conflicting feeling rising in his heart.

The mage continued with a smile:

"I cannot summarize or generalize the characteristics of this branch of the doctrine with simple words—that would be irresponsible to students—but I can give you a list of books that includes the most influential dozens of books in this lineage, no, to be precise, twenty-three important works, if you want to delve deeper into the 'Seat of All Laws'."

Thales listened to the mage's words with a racing heart, a strange sense of excitement filling his mind.

But he quickly calmed down and realized a problem.

“Mr. Ashida, you are a mage, aren’t you?” Thales looked at Ashida in surprise: “Before you became a calamity?”

He didn't even consider whether his choice of words had violated the other person's taboos.

"Mage?"

“That’s a title that only those who have achieved recognized accomplishments in a certain magical field can obtain—at least that’s the case for the Tower of Souls,” Ashida crossed her arms, slightly grinned, and shook her head: “I was just a small apprentice back then.”

Thales' heart skipped a beat: "Ah, so so you were once..."

“Hmm,” Ashida nodded, a strange light flickering in her eyes: “An apprentice of the Tower of Souls.”

Thales frowned: "But you just said... the magic tower has been collapsed for a thousand years?"

Collapsed for a thousand years...

and so……

“I know what you want to ask,” Ashida looked at him and smiled slightly. “One thousand one hundred and ninety years old—that’s my age this year.”

Thales was startled.

One thousand one hundred and ninety?
In other words.

This guy……

Thales stared blankly at Ashida Sakorn, who was young and handsome and had not changed at all since their first meeting.

Incredibly, he is more than 500 years older than the "Restoration King" Tormund Star and the hero Nekaru Ex from more than 600 years ago!
Thales' mouth dropped open.

“Don’t be surprised. Every mage is immortal and indestructible,” Ashida said, unconcerned by Thales’ expression. “This age is perfectly normal—the oldest mage has existed for over 1,300 years.”

Thales instinctively reached for a notebook, until Ashda stopped him with a gesture.

“There’s no rush,” Ashida looked up, her gaze fixed intently on him. “We have plenty of time together, and I have enough patience. I will teach you from the beginning, starting with the basics… from magic to magic towers, and then to magic power and everything about magic masters.”

“From ideas to power, from history to the future, all the secrets of the magical world will be revealed to you,” Ashida said enticingly. “Then, you will gain access to secrets and powers beyond that, including those of a mage.”

"Until you truly become a mage."

In that instant, Thales felt as if he had been pulled from a dream world back to reality.

Become a mage.

Thales swallowed hard.

He recalled Gilbert's attitude toward "calamity" and the final battle unfolding in the Temple of the Night.

And that... insane, irrational blood mage.

A mage that everyone hates?
The image of Giza's disgusting tree roots and tentacles flashed before his eyes, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy and resistant.

But a voice whispered in Thales's mind: But I'm very curious.

I want to know more, learn more, and understand more.

Thales realized that the knowledge that Ashida had previously described had captured his thirst for knowledge and desire.

Moreover, given his clearly abnormal body, he needed to understand his current situation even better.

Thales frowned, looking distressed, and tentatively asked, "About this... if, uh, I mean if we didn't have to rush..."

"Let's discuss the matter of becoming a magic user again..."

The Qi Demon Master remained silent.

But the prince clearly sensed that the atmosphere around him had suddenly become tense.

Thales tried to control his breathing, anxiously awaiting an answer.

“Tails,” Ashida said, her smile fading as she looked at him seriously, speaking softly and earnestly, “becoming a mage is your destiny; you cannot and should not avoid it.”

There is no other choice.

Thales took a slight breath.

It looks rather bad.

“Well, why don’t you tell me first?” Tension and pressure returned to Thales’ heart. He forced a smile and asked cautiously, “Magicians—what exactly are you…?”

This time, Ashida stared at his face expressionlessly for a very long time.

Under the seemingly emotionless yet intensely pressured gaze of the mage, embarrassment and helplessness crept onto Thales' face.

Until Ashida slowly spoke:
“I cannot tell you the answer to this question, because you are not yet a mage,” Ashida’s gaze remained fixed on him, but her tone and words became cold and mysterious, as if she had returned to that night in Red Street: “Only when you truly become a mage, a mage that only you can understand—will you finally know what a mage is.”

Thales frowned slightly.

He doesn't want to tell me?
“But before that, you have to tell me some basic information, right?” Thales scratched his head, pondering a way to escape, and said, “At least tell me your understanding, what you know about a mage…”

However, before he could finish speaking, Ashida's expression changed, and he suddenly interrupted him with an unprecedentedly solemn tone!

“No.” Ashida said emphatically, her expression turning cold again, and added solemnly, “Absolutely not.”

"You are not allowed to ask that question again."

That was as if they had encountered the most terrifying thing.

Thales was startled by Ashida's sudden tense reaction.

Did he ask the wrong question?

Thales cautiously observed Ashida, and only after confirming that Ashida wouldn't skin him alive the next time he spoke did he carefully ask:
"Why, why?"

Ashida narrowed her eyes, but her expression remained serious.

“Because this is one of the three great covenants,” the mage said softly.

Thales was genuinely stunned for a moment.

Three...three...what?
“Remember, what I’m about to tell you is a top secret known only to us magic users,” Ashida knew what Thales was wondering about. His brows furrowed, his eyes turned frosty, and with an unprecedentedly solemn expression and tone, he spoke the following words under Thales’s trembling gaze:

"Leaking them would be tantamount to betraying all the magic users in the world—believe me, you wouldn't like that outcome."

After speaking, Ashida stared coldly at Thales.

Telston was immediately startled.

Top secret known only to magic users?
At that moment, it seemed as if the surrounding air itself had frozen.

Thales felt his heart beating faster and faster.

He could only force a smile and nod with difficulty.

Seeing Thales' reaction, Ashida slowly nodded.

“There are three rules that magic users must abide by, known as the Three Covenants,” Ashida said softly in an eerie silence. “What I just mentioned is the first one.”

Thales frowned slightly.

"The first covenant of the Three Covenants of Magical Power," the young man in blue said solemnly, his eyes sharp, "'Let each other not investigate further.'"

Why wasn't there an update yesterday?
Because I went to see "The Great Wall".

I need to take a day off after I get back to heal my wounded heart.

Another year is approaching...

I know you've wasted another year.

It's okay.

Because.

Me too.



(End of this chapter)