A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 307 An Unprecedented Tool

"Why do you know my name?" Luo Xia was still confused, but she still wanted to know the answer. It wouldn't be fun if the other party could read minds.

The only difficulty for a mage skilled in divination to read minds is to avoid letting the other person notice.

"I can't read minds," the illusory figure of the wise man said immediately.

"You're lying without even blushing!" Luo Xia was somewhat angry, but he wasn't sure of the other party's strength. Having suffered losses along the way, he decided to keep a low profile in this unfamiliar place.

"I am now just a blur, look, milky white frosted semi-transparent, of course I won't blush." ​​The wise man coughed, "But I'm not lying, I can only read the activity of the surface layer of your cerebral cortex. When the soul signal corresponding to your language area shows a corresponding fluctuation, I can 'translate' it into words one by one."

The point is, they're clearly reading brainwaves, so how can that be called mind reading?

Wow, this great sage has mastered extremely advanced neuroscience. Rorschach was slightly shocked by the ancient magic.

The good news is that the electrical signals of the language module are relatively clear and easy to decipher, while images and memories cannot be viewed using such methods.

Otherwise, if the old man digs deeper, he'll have to experience the shock of a postmodern fantasy world.

The sage's afterimage revealed a concerned and worried expression: "Master Rorschach, you like to comment in your head so much, don't you feel uncomfortable keeping it to yourself? Alright, let me answer your first question: why do I know your name?"

Luo Xia was too lazy to speak, and answered directly with his mind: "Mm."

The wise man was quite pleased with himself; despite being a ghost, he sat upright on the edge of the stone platform: "This story begins a hundred years ago when the Shadow Land was born."

It seems like a very long story. Can you make it short? Rorschach had no lingering attachment to this fruitless place and only wanted to find a way out so he could swim back to the mainland overnight.

"Alright, I'll keep it short. Originally, the Shadowlands was an area between reality and illusion. The elves built a sanctuary there to store their outdated junk."

"The Shadowlands originally served as a rift in reality, with entrances and exits not only in Storm City but also in other places. After the elves' defeat by the Empire, they originally planned to hide here and enjoy their old age. Some old elves even thought of lying low here, waiting to recover their strength before emerging from the various rifts to launch attacks in all directions."

If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is going to happen.

The wise man nodded: "That's right. The Lord of Order discovered this area. He was very interested and sent his power to take control of the Shadowlands, sealing off all other entrances and exits except for the Storm City area."

So the elves were really unlucky. This also explains why the poets and dark monks emphasized that the Shadow City had "many rules"—it turns out there was the power of the Lord of Order. But to be honest, Rorschach didn't have a strong sense of "rules."

"Don't pity those pointy-eared elves. In reality, according to those old fogies' plan, only a tiny fraction of the 'most outstanding members' among the elves were allowed to enter the Holy Land to 'preserve the flame.' When the will of the Lord of Order intervened, the elves in the Holy Land were... hundreds and thousands of bodies were exploding in a blaze of glory, you know what I mean?"

It turns out that when the Lord of Order came to crack down on prostitution, all the people outside became slaves, and the upper elves were actually hiding in the Holy Land, engaging in impersonation.

"And that's when I entered this place, since I was quite interested in it. Originally, I was traveling the world until my knees gave out, so I made a deal with the Lord of Order: He allowed me to retire in the Holy Land and guard this area. But the Lord of Order overlooked one problem: this place is quite similar to the real land and will also subside."

"After the war, the original elven buildings sank here to form the ancient ruins area. A great fire in Storm City created the 'Scorched Thatched Top Area'. Some old buildings of the Kingdom of Istani also sank to form the core area."

So Storm City is now sinking into the shadows? Rorschach thought of the semi-submerged area with its abandoned subway lines and Storm City sewers.

"You're right. Storm City is slowly falling into illusion. However, it's growing fast enough that countless houses are built and demolished every day, and countless outsiders with dreams are pouring in, so it's not very noticeable."

"This place is like an ulcer in the real world. It's getting bigger and bigger, and more and more people are getting involved. It's a mess, and because of the scarcity of resources, tragedies happen all the time. I found a marquis and asked him to establish order in this densely populated area."

Why don't you do these things?

The wise man shook his head: "Hundreds of years have passed! I have weakened to the extreme and have to rely on the devices of the old elves to maintain my existence, which is what I am like now."

"Moreover, my power has been greatly reduced because this area was also discovered by Is. He wanted to invade it. In fact, he was about to succeed. The original Shadowland was transformed into a relatively habitable place by the elves, but after being polluted by Is, it has become this miserable state."

"I can only use the power of the Lord of Order to seal off the deep-sea area and protect the 'core,' which is my own afterimage. As for the power of order outside, which is mixed with Is's dark energy, I have entrusted it to the Marquis, the Earl, and the Black Monk."

The Marquis wields the strongest power, while the Earl is like the village chief of a beginner's village. The semi-submerged area is relatively safe and peaceful. The Black Monk is a traitor to the Church of Is, who hates but can also accumulate and utilize Is's dark power, thus restraining the Marquis.

The Upside-Down Church was once the highest sanctuary of the Church of Is. After Is fled, it disappeared in Storm City, and its status was replaced by the current West Church.

To make a long story short, however, time had passed long enough for Benedict to wake up. At the same time, there was a slight fluctuation in space. Under the wise man's astonished gaze, spacetime split open a small crack, and Caroline emerged from it.

"Rorschach, are you alright? Who is he?" Caroline's voice was filled with anxiety.

Before Rorschach could speak, the wise man materialized an ancient, thick staff and teleported in front of his teacher and the resurrected elf with lightning speed.

Bang! Bang!

Although both the staff and the person were ghostly phantoms, the sound of them tapping each other on the head was crisp and pleasant, proving that they were both good heads.

"This little girl has quite the talent; she actually managed to teleport here." The wise man spoke with shock and admiration, but showed no mercy when knocking her unconscious. Clearly, the colossus's "cerebral ventricles" were technically sealed off by the elves, and Caroline's ability to teleport here demonstrated not only exceptional skill but also considerable audacity.

After saying that, he pointed his staff at Rorschach: "Now it's your turn!"

"I finally managed to outlast the snotty tentacle monster Is, but the resurrected Danu, or rather, the Earth Mother Goddess, has set her sights on this place again. I've been living in seclusion for hundreds of years, and I'm tired! Let's just destroy it!"

"I was worried about how to destroy myself, until you, Rorschach, appeared. Not only are you unaffected by the curse of exoneration, but you can also violate the rules of the Shadowlands with impunity!"

"I've been watching you ever since you entered this place, Rorschach. You are the one I've been searching for all these years."

So I'm just a tool?

"Yes, yes, yes, this new term is very apt. You are the tool person that has never been seen in a century!" The wise phantom, who was hearing this phrase for the first time, immediately acknowledged its accuracy.

(End of this chapter)