Those time travelers that year

……

After bidding farewell to the tiger-man apprentice, Charles left the clean and warm pavilion of the academy and came to the courtyard where it was snowing heavily.

The object found within the Satar ruins is likely the Eye of Magnus from the story, a magical artifact with endless energy. It also comes with a staff called the Staff of Magnus, which is the key to controlling the Eye of Magnus. Of course, magic isn't as reliable as technology; at least Sharl knows there are other ways to control this magical artifact with endless energy.

Most importantly, this thing is related to the gods of this world. Its creator is Archmage Magnus—the god of magic in Skyrim. Heaven knows how dangerous this thing is. And the Psyik Order is a bug-like group that can annihilate the entire Skyrim magic system. These guys are also mages, but their level is far beyond that of Skyrim, a region with almost backward magic. Even the Mage Guilds can't compare to them. In Shire's eyes, these guys are high-level mages mixed in with the low-to-mid-magic plane of Skyrim. They used magic to move an island to another dimension, specializing in teleportation spells, and have even cast forbidden spells in this world. According to legend, in 3E110, the Psyik Order used magic to create an abnormal storm, which led to Emperor Antiochus and the King of Summerset Island defeating Ognum. The destruction of Ognum's fleet also proves to some extent that the Psyik are powerful enough to control the weather of a large area.

For a character with such an overpowered backstory, Shire had no desire to infiltrate. This Skyrim province was truly chaotic; not only were there countless underground ruins, but if all the ghouls from those ruins were to emerge, the entire Skyrim world could be engulfed in a cataclysmic undead plague. There were also the ruins of dwarven-era cities with their advanced technology, traces of cults everywhere, Daedric Princes establishing branches here, vampires openly attacking cities, and recently, Ottoman's return and the resurrection of dragons—had all these massive undertakings considered the feelings of the people of Skyrim? Even ignoring the commoners, what about the Dragonborn? They were destined to be running errands until they died!

He shook his head, banishing these chaotic thoughts from his mind. With the College of Winterhold in crisis, Charles now had two options: either flee immediately or wait for the crisis to erupt...

Wait a minute... there's some profit to be made here too!

Sharl wasn't confident he could handle mages like Seyik, who were so overpowered they could stop time at will. However, he remembered that during the Winterhold crisis, these beings with brief precognitive abilities only retrieved the Eye of Magnus, its mobile energy source, and didn't take the Staff of Magnus. Besides, if Sharl remembered correctly, the staff should be in the hands of a dragon lich, which was related to the current chief mage of Winterhold.

A dragon lich! What interested Sharl wasn't the complicated staff, but the dragon lich's soul. These ancient Nord dragon worshippers were genuine liches; unlike ghouls, these dragon liches still possessed...

Their souls, one could say, have achieved a kind of immortality, granting them the ability to cast spells and immense magical power. Most importantly, they possess masks, each with unique effects and functions, essentially permanent enchantments. These masks are genuine legendary items, born in the mythical era, crafted by the dragon race for their priests. The highest-ranking dragon priests are bestowed with the most powerful masks, powerful enough to defy the laws of time and unleash infinitely potent magic. One could even say that these masks were the very reason for the birth of dragon liches. This kind of thing, similar to Horcruxes in the Harry Potter world, greatly intrigued Sharl…

Of course, what interests him is not becoming an undead creature, but the knowledge of dragon liches, such as how to create ghouls and... knowledge about dragons. Perhaps by taking the soul of a dragon lich, he can learn the language of dragons and perhaps learn dragon roars.

31. Story Mission

Deep within the damp, dark citadel, the young mage met the diviner Duran. The sphere of light emanating from this small room clearly stunned her. In her imagination, Duran might be a long-bearded Breton, a high elf who refused to associate with his ancestral homeland and had retreated into seclusion, or perhaps something even more mystical—a ghost, a demon, or something like that. If all else failed, a dragon would be acceptable; after all, Skyrim was becoming increasingly chaotic. The dragon scourge had profoundly impacted the war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Army. A single dragon could easily annihilate an army, let alone now that dragons had resurrected, seemingly returning to the mythical era.

In short, the young mage never expected that the so-called Diviner Duran was actually a ball of light...

"You... are you the fortune teller Duran?" the mage asked the orb of light.

"I am the person you are looking for..." A deep voice suddenly entered the girl's mind.

Someone sent me to find you!

“Indeed, and then you came to me, though you didn’t know why.” Duran’s voice echoed in a low voice. “But those who sent you here didn’t tell you what they were looking for, or what you were looking for.”

Well, upon hearing the words of the ball of light in front of her, the young mage was dumbfounded. This time, she finally guessed one thing correctly: a ball of light could also be mysterious. This left the girl, who had overcome her fear of ghouls and had luckily single-handedly killed a bunch of novice mages and a powerful summoner, completely bewildered.

After rambling on and on about a bunch of seemingly profound but ultimately useless things, the mage girl finally understood what she needed to know. The sphere or eye-like object she and her mentor had retrieved from the ruins was called the Eye of Magnus, an object of immense power and extreme danger, dangerous enough to blow the entire Winterhold to pieces. And that high elf named Ankanod wasn't a good person either; he too was pursuing the power of the Eye of Magnus, and unfortunately, it had just been unearthed from the ruins.

“Take your knowledge back and tell the chief mage!” Duran said finally. “If there is still time… but if disaster is inevitable, then go to the traveler from the outside world, the mage who came to Winterhold from elsewhere, the mage named Charles Gretel, he will help you.”

"Huh!" the mage girl asked in surprise, "Charles Grett... Lord Charles? You mean that archmage who traveled from elsewhere to Winterhold?!"

“He’s not a great mage…” Duran’s voice carried a hint of helplessness. “He’s an outsider, an outsider even more distant than Ik… If possible, it’s better not to involve him, because I’m not sure… Never mind, let’s go back, young mage…”

——————————Divider Line——————————

There's never a shortage of topics to discuss in Winterhold. For example, a research team organized by the College overturned a huge number of ghouls in an ancient Nord ruin, almost blasting the ruin to pieces with fire magic, and finally found the magical spherical artifact filled with infinite magic hidden deep inside the ruin.

Similarly, Charles Gretel, who came from elsewhere and traveled to Skyrim, was a topic of conversation, especially among the many female students. After all, he was handsome (cleaner than those Nord barbarians), possessed an innate noble air (like a wealthy tycoon), and had extensive magical knowledge. The sophisticated systems of magic he brought with him even impressed the chief mage. Furthermore, he had already completed several assessments assigned by his instructors, earning the opportunity to read the most advanced master-level magical knowledge in Winterhold. Illusion, transmutation, healing, and the recently completed task assigned by his destruction instructor—all in all, this foreign mage had already gained the opportunity to learn eight master-level spells.

Clearly, among the female apprentices, someone had become their dream lover. Even Ovira, who had studied magic under the transformation magic master Toldiv since childhood and had now mastered expert-level transformation magic, had to admit that she had also had a few fleeting thoughts about that handsome foreign mage.

Well, she's not even 20 years old yet, but in this world, someone her age could have been a mother long ago.

However, in the three months since he arrived at Winterhold, the mage had been subtly hinted at his feelings more than once (the atmosphere was quite open). But each time, the mage, Charles, politely declined. Although the female mages' admiration caused him trouble, with several confident male mages or apprentices challenging him to duels, Charles's behavior was not uncommon.

However, every magical duel ended in a crushing defeat, which made Ciel even more popular among the girls.

……

Let's get back to the main topic.

Armed with information from the diviner Duran, Ovira was forced to report to the chief mage and was then sent to a dwarven ruin called [Zuft]. The young female mage was nearly killed by the constructs left behind in the dwarven ruin, and finally managed to find an imperial mage named Paratus.

Within the unknown dwarven ruins, a mysterious device activated, revealing a world map of Nirn. Amidst the sarcastic remarks of the mage Paratus, she finally learned the exact location of the Staff of Magnus: a place called Labryntian. Well, needless to say, it was another ancient Nord ruin. Ovira despairingly realized that if the old men of Winterhold were to dump this problem on her again, she would have to face the ghouls once more.

However, when Ovira returned to the College of Winterhold, she was once again bewildered! The entire College of Winterhold was facing a major crisis. Just as the Pyik mages had said, the artifact called the Eye of Magnus was indeed a disaster. To make matters worse, the spy named Ankanod Thalmor had somehow activated the artifact's power, beginning to seal off the entire College of Winterhold and unleashing a magical power that chilled her to the bone.

After a flash of light, she fell unconscious. When she awoke, she found Mirabelle sitting on the ground, badly injured, and Savos, the chief mage of Winterhold and the respected leader of all, had tragically died at the hands of Ankanod Thalmor spies who had taken control of the Eye of Magnus.

The entire academy was completely sealed off by a magical barrier. The surviving instructors and apprentices were powerless against this barrier. In fact, after the barrier appeared, some strange creatures that emerged from rampaged magical abilities began to cause chaos throughout Winterhold.

32. The Crisis of Winterhold

Skyrim in the Fourth Age was destined to be a land of disasters. Events that would be catastrophic elsewhere on the continent were now popping up in droves from every corner of Skyrim, relentlessly asserting their presence. First, there was the fierce battle between rebels and the Imperial army, leaving everyone bewildered. Then came the inexplicable calamity of dragons, forced to take the blame for their irresponsible ancestors, now plunging the entire province into turmoil. That black dragon called Alduin—or rather, Alduin—soared through the skies of Skyrim. While he no longer effortlessly destroyed cities, his presence always brought a renewed life to the surrounding areas, causing immense trouble for every city he passed.

The situation is so complicated that it's said that cities controlled by both the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Army have been attacked by dragons simultaneously, forcing both sides, who are already at their wits' end, to consider temporarily halting the war.

Meanwhile, in Winterhold in the north, not a single dragon has chosen to venture into this godforsaken place to make its presence known. This has dashed the hopes of a certain ill-intentioned warlock who planned a long-awaited dragon siege, bringing a bunch of teammates (cannon fodder) to slay the dragon.

The residents of Winterhold had initially believed this peaceful period would continue. After all, Winterhold was incredibly cold, close to the ravaged Sea of ​​Ghosts, and home to Skyrim's largest mage academy. With the Mage Guild now dissolved, the mages at Winterhold's academy commanded respect from both the Imperial Army and the rebels, making it a rare haven of peace in the region. But today, that peace was over.

It was another day of great activity at the university, but the residents of Winterhold who woke up today sensed something was different. This was no longer a peaceful day like usual. With flashes of light and deafening roars, a cataclysmic change occurred at Winterhold College, the place the residents deeply resented yet powerless against. A series of violent explosions followed, emanating from the direction of the college, leading the residents of Winterhold to believe that the mages had once again died in their experiments. But before the residents could even gloat, a pale blue barrier gradually spread from Winterhold, and the mages fled in disarray, leaving everyone, including the current Lord of Winterhold, Collier, and the Lord's magical advisor, Neraka, at the Frozen Forge Inn, utterly dumbfounded.

"Neraka, what are your compatriots doing at the academy?!" Lord Collier roared at the bewildered magic advisor Neraka as he charged out of the lord's longhouse, wielding a warhammer in both hands. "Are they trying to destroy Winterhold?!"

"I...I don't know," the poor magic advisor replied uncertainly. The pale blue magical barrier rising from the College of Winterhold completely enveloped the castle. Clearly, his colleagues at the college were helpless against it. From afar, one could see an instructor casting lightning bolts towards the spreading barrier, but the lightning, normally enough to incinerate a soldier, had absolutely no effect, being absorbed directly by the barrier. "Right, right...Toldiv brought out an unknown magical artifact from some ruins..."

"Is it those damned relics left behind by the Dragon Cult again!" Lord Collier roared, glaring murderously at his magic advisor. "One day, the arrogant fools in the academy will kill everyone. What else can you mages do besides digging up dangerous things from their graves?"

“I don’t think the mages of Winterhold are to blame!” A young man with long, black hair tied in a ponytail walked up to Neraka and, observing the upheaval in the College of Winterhold, explained, “You know, there are more than just Winterhold mages pursuing magical knowledge in the college…”

"Lord Gretel, you mean...?" Lord Collier hesitated, looking at the young man as he spoke. This young mage wasn't from the College of Winterhold; on the contrary, he came from elsewhere, possessed excellent manners, and even his clothes seemed far superior in quality to those of the nobles in Solitude, let alone to a poor lord from a remote region like himself. Even his steward had privately told him that this young man was likely a member of a powerful family from the capital, and quite possibly one of their core members…

To be honest, Collier, who favored the Stormcloak, didn't really want to deal with this guy who was suspected to be from the capital, but now wasn't the time to play hard to get.

“I’ve been in Winterhold for a while now, and the instructors there would never be so irrational as to activate an unknown magical artifact, especially one that possesses immense power,” Charles said. “But there aren’t just mages in the College of Winterhold… there’s also an elf from Thalmor…”

"The Thalmor..." Lord Collier murmured the name that had brought shame upon the Nords and was the source of their current predicament, cursing, "Damn the Thalmor, damn our ancestral lands, the Thalmor people who deserve to go to hell..."

As the group conversed, the situation worsened once again. A flash of light erupted from the academy's castle, and a horde of bizarre creatures, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, surged into Winterhold. These creatures were clearly not normal beings, and were obviously connected to the anomalies within Winterhold. They hovered in mid-air like snakes, their bodies radiating an eerie blue light, their white tails appearing and disappearing in the air. Then, anyone who approached them was attacked.

"Guards! Guards!" Lord Collier shouted. "What are you standing there for? Are you waiting for these monsters to tear down our territory?!" Winterhold didn't have many soldiers; at least not enough to form a force like Windhelm capable of a direct rebellion, nor did it have a well-organized army like Whiterun. A few dozen soldiers seemed insufficient to deal with these magical creatures. These serpentine monsters twisted their bodies, sometimes disappearing into the air, sometimes reappearing in another location, emerging from cracks in the rocks, from under the eaves. Only when they attacked could the soldiers clearly see the monsters.

These seemingly fragile creatures actually possessed a defensive capability that contradicted their appearance, as if they were encased in a transparent armor. The soldiers' swords and arrows were largely ineffective against these monsters, and they appeared to have no obvious weaknesses. The lord's soldiers' attacks failed to suppress the monsters; instead, they were forced to retreat. These snake-like monsters had a simple attack method: directly ramming into the enemy. However, the soldiers hit by them were struck as if by a heavy hammer; one unlucky soldier even had his arm, shield and all, smashed off.

Neraka reached out and summoned a bolt of lightning, which struck a monster. Surprisingly, the monster survived for six or seven seconds before being torn to ash by the lightning.

“Holy Spirit above, damn it, what the hell is this thing!” Neraka cursed. “Toldif, you old bastard, what the hell did you dig up?”

“Now is not the time to complain.” Looking at these things that almost resembled mana dragons from Azeroth, Sharl knew exactly what they were: byproducts of the Winterhold upheaval. In the storyline, the mages who retreated from Winterhold easily dealt with these creatures in groups. But that didn't mean that ordinary people with ordinary weapons would be of much use to these beings. “Magic is magic, and mages are mages… These things are related to the anomalies in the Academy, so the mages of Winterhold should know about them… or at least get them to work together to take care of them.”

"I hope you're right, Lord Gretel!" Lord Collier gripped his weapon, looking at his soldiers' crumbling lines, and said through gritted teeth, "Make those mages stop their damned experiments, or come and deal with the trouble they've caused!"

33. Enhanced version of the Flame Demon

To ensure the story unfolds as originally planned, after learning that the mages of Winterhold had finally unearthed the Eye of Magnus from the tomb, Char remained obediently in the Frozen Forge outside the academy. The official explanation was that he was researching the effects of Soulstones on enchanted weapons with Neraka, but in reality, he was genuinely interested in research concerning the Star of Azura.

So in the days that followed, he only paid slight attention to events within the academy, until finally the cataclysmic events of Winterhold occurred. The high elf named Ankanod had recklessly activated the Eye of Magnus, triggering the disaster and killing the chief mage of Winterhold. He wasn't interested in the Eye of Magnus or the Staff of Magnus, those two legendary items; he was only interested in the soul of that dragon lich.

Now all he has to do is find the person who was assigned to find the Staff of Magnus. Regardless of whether that person is a Dragonborn or not, he can always find a chance to leave the Elder Scrolls world after this job... But he probably isn't a Dragonborn. After all, he recently learned from the merchants who came to Winterhold for trade that it seems the Imperial Army and the Stormcloaks are about to start negotiations. It's estimated that they won't be able to fight each other during the Dragonbane. And the person in charge of leading the negotiations is said to be a Dragonborn who has returned to the world of Nirn in this era.

In other words, in the real-world world of The Elder Scrolls, the Dragonborn can't possibly be causing trouble for Orgrimmar while simultaneously fighting mages, assassins, and their buddies... well, there's always some weird stuff getting mixed in...

Since he wasn't a dragonborn, he wouldn't be under the gaze of the demon gods. He wasn't confident that those demon gods and holy spirits wouldn't be able to tell he came from another world. So, for safety's sake, it was best to avoid getting involved in this dragonborn destiny.

Walking towards the stone bridge at the academy's entrance, the monsters that resembled mana wyrms from Azeroth couldn't stop Shar's progress. Although he didn't know what they were, he knew they could be killed directly. While ordinary swords or even low-level spells wouldn't be enough to eliminate them, surely higher-level spells would suffice!

As he strode towards the academy, several of these monsters seemed to sense his approach and gathered together, flying towards him.

"?? ??, ???, ?? ??? ??? (Sulphur of evil, demon of darkness, burn all things with karmic fire)" The incantation rang out. The revamped [Fiendfyre] would be unrecognizable even to the dark wizard who invented it in the HP universe. Compared to a sorcerer who wields fire and destruction, the dark wizards of the HP universe are nothing but a joke. At least those Death Eaters could never do what Shire is doing now, and even the Dark Lord's ability to achieve this is questionable.

The flames spread, churning and surging, and a flaming arm emerged from the inferno, a fire demon reborn from the [Fiercefire Curse] wielding a blazing greatsword. This time, unlike in the Frostfall Mountains, Charles wouldn't deliberately interrupt the spell's flow, so this time the fire demon displayed overwhelming power.

It represents the power of destruction.

"Roar!" The Balrog roared, swinging its flaming greatsword directly at the 'mana dragons'. As the Balrog swung its sword, a wave of flame spread outwards. After spending so much time in Winterhold and learning the magic of this world, the [Fiercefire Curse; Balrog] had been given a new twist by the Charr. The Balrog was no longer just a hollow shell; its flaming sword now possessed the [Binding Sword] spell from the summoning magic, imbued with soul imprisonment. Simultaneously, the Balrog was clad in an enhanced [Flame Cloak], each attack dealing fire damage and triggering the [Incinerate] spell effect.

Then the Balrog's flaming sword slashed down, instantly cutting the flying 'mana dragons' into pieces. The flames engulfed the monsters' bodies and created a small explosion, with temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees Celsius, vaporizing the monsters' bodies.

Aside from maintaining the Balrog's existence, Sharl did nothing else. Along the way, the ferocious Balrog wielded its flaming sword and whipped its fiery whip, slaughtering everything in its path. Even when some monsters broke through the Balrog's attack range and recklessly crashed into it, it was to no avail; instead, it was like hitting a metal plate, clanging and clattering. The added [Iron Armor] spell transformed the Balrog's body from mere fire energy into a semi-solid, semi-elemental form. Even facing the ghoul overlord of the Frostfall Mountains, even the ancient Nord longsword enchanted with frost couldn't break through the Balrog's current defenses.

These 'mana dragons' crashed directly into the iron plate, having no effect whatsoever. Instead, the burning effect of the [Flame Cloak] ignited them and reduced them to ashes.

——————————Divider Line——————————

On the passageway leading to and from the academy, the mages of Winterhold crossed the stone arch bridge one after another in a disheveled state. Reflected in the three magically glowing springs, these mages looked somewhat desolate... but the mages of Winterhold probably had no time to pay attention to these things.

"Korat...we...we've left the academy...?"

“Hang in there, Mirabelle… You’ll get better… We’re already in Winterhold. Hang in there, you’re an academy instructor.” Corat raised his head and addressed the older mage, “Potions! Toldiv, I need high-level potions, both life potions and mana potions!”

"No, I only have some low-level potions on me." He ripped off his satchel and tossed it to Corat. "Farauda, ​​can you break through that barrier?!"

"I'm trying!" a high elf-like female mage shouted without turning her head. She raised her hands, primal magic swirling within them, followed by a burst of lightning that struck the encroaching magical barrier. However, this lightning bolt, powerful enough to tear the sky apart, had no effect on the barrier, merely causing violent ripples. Soon, the elf was forced to stop due to mana depletion. "Damn it, I can't even break through a master-level spell, or rather, my mana isn't enough to maintain the power of [Lightning Storm] until it tears through that barrier."

"Damn it!"

"I think you need to consider more than just the Academy." At this moment, Charles finally broke through the layers of magical creatures surrounding Winterhold and rushed towards the fleeing Academy mages with the Balrog. "There's also Winterhold itself, because it's been invaded by a large group of magical creatures... If you don't want the entire Winterhold to be nothing but a wasteland or ruins tomorrow!"

"Oh...a demon?"

"No... it's a summoned creature..."

“Mr. Gret, it seems we need your help!” Toldiv, the instructor of transformation magic, pleaded with the approaching Sharl. “Our strength alone is probably not enough to fight against the power of the Eye of Magnus… Oh, right, that’s the damn thing I brought back.”

"Huff, huff..." Mirabelle, panting heavily, continued. "We'll deal with the magical creatures in Winterhold, but could you help our people find that hope that can fight this disaster?"

"Just tell me! Where do you want me to go?"

"Thank you!" Mirabelle nodded gratefully to Charles, then said to another young silver-haired girl standing to the side, dressed in a mage's robe, "Ovira, I'll trouble you to make another trip to Labryntian to find that staff... It's all up to you!"

"Mr. Charles Gretel, please help Ovira... please!"

34. Anyone who thinks they'll find a girl is incredibly naive.

The situation in Winterhold is dire. Located in a remote region, it is arguably the poorest and most underdeveloped of all the lords' territories in Skyrim. Though once glorious, even in its current state of decline, the renowned College of Winterhold still stands there, just as it has for millennia. However, this time, the very pillar of Winterhold—the College of Winterhold—is facing its most severe crisis since its founding…

The situation was so dire that even the once-unconquered College of Winterhold suffered the loss of its chief mage, forcing instructors from other departments, along with other mages and apprentices, to evacuate. The culprit, wielding vast magical power, enveloped the entire college. No one knew his intentions, but it was clear that if the now-mad Thalmor could not be stopped, the disaster would escalate further, potentially surpassing even the devastating tsunami of the past. After all, the source of this series of calamities—a magical artifact known as the Eye of Magnus—had been confirmed as originating from the hands of the former God of Magic. This was an artifact coveted even by Daedric Princes, and the College of Winterhold alone could not withstand such a devastation.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard the mages who escaped the academy tried, their magic had no effect on the barrier. Creations from the god of magic were beyond the power of mortals like themselves. Their only hope lay in the Staff of Magnus, lost to history. As for now, if they didn't want Winterhold to truly become history, they had to deal with this trouble properly.

The fact that the academy's mages were helpless against the artifacts created by the god of magic didn't mean they were helpless against the monsters that seemed to be 'mana dragons' that had escaped. In fact, after things calmed down and it was confirmed that the magical barrier only sealed off the entire College of Winterhold and was not spreading further, the mages were finally able to spare some attention to deal with the magical creatures roaming freely in the territory of Winterhold.

Led by several master-level mages, countless bolts of lightning flashed across the entire Winterhold territory that day, easily quelling the monster invasion that the Lord of Winterhold had been struggling to contain. Although these monsters will likely continue to appear until the crisis at the College of Winterhold is resolved, at least the situation has stabilized…

…………

……