Those time travelers that year

Charles snapped the neck of the promising high-ranking mage before him, then opened his palm and extracted the mage's soul. The pale soul, pulled from the dead body by Charles, wailed. Unfortunately, Charles had already set up a sound-silencing barrier outside, and the female slaves in the other rooms had also collapsed under the [Mass Paralysis] spell.

"Huh!?" After extracting the unfortunate fellow's soul, Charles was slightly surprised, as if he had discovered something. Then, he once again used [Soul Absorption] on Euryd's corpse!

A blue light flew out from Eurydice's corpse and landed in his palm.

"So that's how it is! This is what they call the Heroic Armed Forces!"

A blue ring, engraved with an eagle's head and radiating golden mist, lay in Charles's hand.

There will be another chapter at noon.

106. Replace (Part 2)

A ring, radiating a golden aura, lay in the palm of his hand. Mysterious energy emanated from the ring, influencing its owner. Although he knew before that the so-called hero equipment was actually equipment from DOTA, this was the first time Shar had ever seen a real one.

In Sharl's understanding, the Ring of Aquila is an early-game item, but its cost-effectiveness decreases in the late game of team fights. However, as a transitional item, it is indeed excellent value for money.

"But why would someone planning to choose an intelligence hero buy an agility item?!" Charles sighed. "You clearly don't know how to play! Shouldn't you be buying mana boots at a time like this? Even without my help, you'd probably still be dead! Playing [Shadow Wizard] and you're buying [Ring of Aquila]? Are you kidding me?!"

Heroic Armaments is what this world calls these equipment, meaning that only hero-level professionals can use them. However, judging from the information gleaned from the previously captured souls, Heroic Armaments aren't just for heroes; non-heroic professionals can also equip them. However, only one piece can be used at a time; using more than one will result in the wearer being instantly killed by the energy contained within the equipment.

After acquiring the equipment, Sharl realized why these so-called hero weapons could only be used by hero professionals. The answer was simple: power. These weapons, though seemingly material, were, in Sharl's eyes, semi-material, semi-magical objects. If Noble Phantasms were the sublimation of legends and achievements, then the hero equipment of this world was purely magical creation, a marvel of craftsmanship made with a level of artistry Sharl couldn't comprehend at all.

These pieces of equipment, once worn, operate automatically like a perpetual motion machine—yes, a perpetual motion machine. In Xia Er's perception, the mysterious power emanating from the [Ring of the Eagle] was outputting at a stable frequency, and astonishingly, without any time limit. If these items could automatically absorb and replenish energy, that would be one thing, but that wasn't the case; it completely violated the law of conservation of energy. This was enough to make him turn in his grave!

Okay! Talking about science in the magical world is a dead end.

Anyway, this isn't the first time Newton's coffin lid has been unable to hold him back, and besides, this time it's not him who's unable to hold him back.

"Truly, unimaginable technology!" Charles put on the [Ring of the Eagle], and then, amidst golden mist, the [Ring of the Eagle] slowly disappeared from his finger. "It merges into my body! Indeed, this is a creation that is entirely half matter and half energy!"

Upon donning the Ring of the Aquila, Xia Erhai immediately felt the world had changed. His mind became clearer, the world seemed to have been cleansed of a layer of mist, his body felt lighter, and even his magical activity increased slightly. Furthermore, Xia Erhai could feel an invisible barrier forming around his entire body as he put on the Ring, along with a very subtle fluctuation that gradually spread outwards. This fluctuation affected an area roughly 900 meters in radius around him.

"I remember in the game, the [Ring of Eagle] has an aura that increases armor and mana regeneration speed, right?" Feeling the mysterious power around him, Xia Er began to try to circulate his own power. "Sure enough, even a basic piece of equipment can give me a significant boost, so what about a full set of legendary gear!"

"Unfortunately, the possibility of such unlimited equipment simply doesn't exist!" Although the effects of these equipment are indeed powerful, they also have limitations. Because these equipment are integrated into the user's body, it can be said that while granting the user great power, they also place a serious burden on the user's body.

Most people can only accommodate one piece of equipment at most, which is already their physical limit. Even heroic professionals cannot accommodate these pieces of equipment indefinitely; Xia Er estimates that he can only accommodate a maximum of six, which is the so-called "six-piece set." Once this limit is exceeded, the power of these pieces of equipment will instantly break the balance and conflict with each other.

As for the outcome, if you don't want to be turned to dust, it's best not to try it. Ciel estimated that in that case, you'd probably really just turn to dust.

"Even a piece of transitional equipment can significantly increase my strength, so what about divine equipment?" Considering this, even with his confidence in himself, Xia Er felt that reality was indeed tricky.

After all, his plan was best to hunt down heroic professionals, thereby imprisoning their souls and seizing their abilities. Even if he couldn't dominate this world, once he left, even in the Elder Scrolls world, where even the Daedric Prince was powerless and only the Dragonborn could annihilate the dragon souls, wouldn't all be completely under his control after leaving that world!

However, after seeing the actual equipment, Sharl felt that this goal might have to be compromised.

"A warlock with two god-tier items!" Sharl said with a wry smile. "And a warlock with Aghanim's Scepter and Refresher Orb, seriously! Two chances for ultimate crowd control, plus a total of four Infernals, this is going to be tough!!!"

After a sigh, Charles regained his composure. He wasn't unprepared for this situation; a warlock with dual divine gear wasn't unbeatable, though it would be very troublesome. However, if the plan went smoothly…

In terms of control, the [Demon Wizard] is no less capable than a powerful warlock. In fact, if he could obtain [Earthshatter Spikes] or [Witchcraft], Sharl was confident he could directly assassinate that warlock with two divine weapons.

Of course, this is on the premise that he can replace the guy he killed and get the chance to undergo the hero class trial of [Demon Wizard].

However, it's quite simple.

Ciel bent down and plucked a hair from the fallen man's head, then placed it into a test tube filled with a bubbly, black, viscous slurry. Yes, it looked disgusting, but this test tube contained [Polyhydral Solution], which he'd casually picked up from a shady shop before leaving the Harry Potter world. Its effects were powerful, transforming a person into someone else. And, just like the real person, indistinguishable from them. Or perhaps, completely indistinguishable.

While Harry Potter might be weaker in terms of combat prowess, it's certainly not lacking in amazing items. These aren't easily detectable illusions like magic; they involve complete alterations of appearance. In Harry Potter, the main characters used it to fool Malfoy, Barty Jr. used it to disguise himself as Mad-Eye Hogwarts for a whole year, and later, when the Order of the Phoenix was arranging Harry's transfer from the Dursleys, they had six people drink Polyjuice Potion to transform into Harry's likeness and travel with him to deceive the Death Eaters. You can imagine just how effective this magical potion is!

"Alright! Done. Now, all that's left is to find the right opportunity." He put away the test tube, looked at the corpse still lying on the ground, and opened his hand. A clump of writhing black sludge emerged from his shadow, enveloping Euryd's body before sinking away. "Find the right opportunity, and let's have a duel between a warlock and a [warlock]..."

107. Plan

Dozens of kilometers south of Barokov, in a desolate wilderness, Charles looked north with a smile. There lay the Mysterious Annihilation Academy, and today was the day 'Eurid' would undergo his Heroic Profession Trials.

"Phew!" Charles let out a long breath. "Damn it, I ran dozens of kilometers in just a few minutes using [Apparition], that's enough!" Early this morning, using information extracted from the soul of that high-ranking mage named Eurichid, Charles devised a simple yet rudimentary plan. The core of the plan was substitution: using a potion from his HP to impersonate Eurichid, whom he had killed and whose soul had been stripped away. He would then participate in the so-called Heroic Class Trials. However, while Charles was confident in altering his appearance with the potion and perfectly mimicking the high-ranking mage using the memories and habits extracted from Eurichid's soul, he had no confidence that he could fool the headmaster of the entire Secret Annihilation Academy, the one who controlled the Heroic Class [Warlock]. After all, reality wasn't a game. In a game, everything was based solely on data, but reality was different.

Putting himself in her shoes, Charles realized that if he were in Charles's shoes, while he might not immediately detect anything amiss, it wouldn't be foolproof either. Unless the method of concealment could completely hide a person's true nature, they would inevitably be caught. Therefore, he didn't want to gamble, even though he didn't know if Dean Gading would actually appear at the trial…

Anyway, once I get the stuff, I'll run away as fast as I can, as far away as possible!

"It's almost time!"

…………

The tallest building in the Secret Annihilation Academy is the mage tower of the legendary mage who built the academy. However, times have changed, and the legendary mage who lived in the mage civilization era has passed away, but he left behind a valuable legacy.

This mage tower is one of them. However, the tower's spirit has long since vanished along with its master. Now, the tower and the entire academy are controlled by the current headmaster, the Warlock Gadin Kel'Darrow. Outwardly, this Dire hero who once slaughtered a city appears to be nothing more than an old man in a red robe. His white beard peeks out from under his hood, making him look like a kind, approachable grandfather.

Of course, those who know the deeds of this 'kind' old man wouldn't consider him a good person. In the war between the Radiant and the Dire, no one has bothered to count how many he killed and how many others indirectly died at his hands. Just like no one has bothered to count how many souls Shadow Fiend devoured—it's all unreliable anyway…

Decades of life experience had allowed the old man to witness countless things; war, death, and slaughter were merely part of his journey. Like today, a young and promising high-ranking mage was preparing for the Hero's Trial—this wasn't the first time he'd seen it. Many had attempted it before, but how many had succeeded? Very few! Even if the high-ranking mage about to undergo the trial held a piece of soul equipment…

That's just the Ring of Aquila; this guy has a Staff of Agility and Refresher Orb!

So even though he knew that a high-ranking mage from the academy would be conducting the trial today, Gadin didn't think he could pass.

So, as usual, the warden immersed himself in his research and exploration. Because many people didn't know that this imposing, staff-wielding, refresh-enhancing (and somewhat useless) warlock had been plagued by a nightmare for years: being in a gloomy room, being attacked by a bunch of muscular men wielding various weapons, all yelling: "Raid leader, Blackhand, give me a helmet!!!"

Okay, those of you who got the wrong idea, go stand in the corner and reflect on your actions. In short, for an elderly person, dreaming of engaging in a fierce battle with a group of burly men is certainly not a good way to sleep. Therefore, this isn't the first time Dean Gading has suspected he's been haunted by the [Source of Chaos]. However, after a long time, he received an answer from the [Dark Sage]. It had absolutely nothing to do with the [Source of Chaos]; it was just a dream, albeit one that intersected with events happening in some other world. Later, he confirmed with the [Chaos Knight] that there are worlds beyond our own, and these different worlds do indeed miraculously possess similar counterparts.

Now, after being tormented by that damned dream to the point of unbearable indulgence, the dean has decided to find a way to solve this problem. First, he must completely block out that damned dream; second, he must find the coordinates of that world, and then, through the power of the mage tower… or perhaps the power of the entire academy, open a passage to that world so that he can personally resolve the issues within the dream. Ideally, he could also eliminate his counterpart from another dimension, and while he's at it, burn those bastard muscle-bound men to ashes.

Yeah, we all know this is a suicidal act. Even ignoring the possibility of failure, just imagine if he succeeded—are you sure you're not going to get killed by player-controlled bosses?! Alright! Gadin Caer Darrow has no idea how many grudges and feuds are entangled on that small planet called Azeroth, which has miraculously killed countless monsters, evil gods, and bosses of all sizes. Especially outside that planet, the Burning Legion's CEO—our beloved Sargeras—who is struggling to penetrate the planet's defenses, might be quite pleased to have someone deliver an opportunity to expand his business.

At least for now, our Dean Gading has resolved that long-standing nightmare and is now focusing his energy on finding the coordinates of that world. Of course, this may take a very, very long time, but although he is not immortal, Dean Gading, now a hero, has a long time to live, so he has plenty of time to search slowly.

Right now, Dean Gadin is sitting in the library of the Mage Tower, browsing through various ancient mages' research materials on space, planes, astral planes, and crystal walls. While flipping through ancient books and documents, he is constantly making calculations on parchment.

Suddenly, his hand froze, and the parchment was ruined! However, the dean wasn't angry; instead, he looked south with a look of surprise and suspicion. The wall blocked his view, but as a heroic professional, Dean Gadin deeply sensed something was amiss. At that moment, the warning spells within the mage tower and the semi-intelligent new tower spirit also issued him a warning.

Several dozen kilometers south of Barokov City, a powerful surge of magical energy has erupted, reaching an alert level. However, it cannot be matched with any known hero classes in the database. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether it is some kind of ancient monster or something else entirely…

"What's going on?!" Dean Gading threw his pen aside.

Dean Gadin frowned, picked up his staff from beside him, hung his lantern at his waist, and hurriedly ran out. At the same time, he didn't forget to use magic to instruct the high-ranking mages in the academy to be on high alert. Of course, he didn't intend to have these high-ranking mages accompany him to the anomaly point of the magical outburst; after all, the magical power emitted was no less than that of a heroic professional. Either someone from out of town had truly arrived, or some ancient monster had awakened.

After all, even a valley that looks empty might spawn a massive, meaty monster, right?!

Hurriedly passing through the mage tower, and locking onto the area of ​​abnormal magic, Dean Gadin Keldarron unfurled a teleportation scroll and vanished from the mage tower in a burst of blue magical light.

……

At the same time, the magic circle, drawn with dark green magic runes, flashed with a green light. Immediately afterward, a pitch-black rift in the void was torn open by several black claws. Charles stepped out of the pitch-black rift and returned to the room that belonged to 'Eurid'.

Then he waved his hand and wiped away the magic runes on the ground.

“This should buy us some time!” Charles said, taking out the prepared potion. “Even if they can track us down using magic, that will be enough.”

……

Two minutes later, Euclid, with an arrogant expression, walked out of the room and headed towards the academy's main hall.

108. Trials and Detours

Euclid stood arrogantly before several high-ranking instructors, a smug smile on his face. His overbearing demeanor caused the four instructors in charge to frown.

"By the way! Where's the Dean?!" Euryd asked, looking around. "Isn't the Dean supposed to come and observe during the trials?!"

“The Dean has other matters to attend to, so he won’t be coming, Master Eurichid!” A tutor spoke up, sounding displeased with Eurichid’s tone. “What you need to worry about now is your trial…”

"Oh, I see!" Euclid glanced dismissively at the instructor who had spoken, then said nonchalantly, "Alright then! When shall we begin? Is it alright now!?"

"You!!" The instructor, momentarily enraged, glared fiercely at 'Eurich'. "Alright, begin! Mage Eurich, good luck..."

The four high-ranking instructors exchanged glances. Although they were quite dissatisfied with Euryd's attitude, they didn't resort to any underhanded tactics. After all, Euryd had a poor reputation in the academy, constantly forming cliques by virtue of being one of the heirs of Barokov City. This affected more than just one person's share of the spoils. However, despite their dissatisfaction, the four instructors still raised their staffs and began to channel their magic and chant incantations.

Then a deep blue portal opened in front of Euryd.

Upon seeing the portal open, Euryd stared at it with burning eyes and was about to step inside.

"Wait a minute, Mage Eurich!" At this moment, an instructor called out, stopping Eurich's actions. "Verification is needed before that..."

"Is it really necessary?" Euclid looked at the tutor with disdain, his tone filled with deep dissatisfaction. "It's a waste of time!"

“But these are the rules! These are the regulations!” The instructor emphasized the word 'regulations'. “Master Euryd, you are not yet a hero-level professional, so please abide by the academy's rules!”

"Hmph!" Euryd snorted and retracted his outstretched foot. "Hurry up, I don't have time to waste on these trivial matters."

Faced with Euclid's attitude, the four high-level instructors turned ashen-faced and silently began using detection magic to verify his claims. However, they failed to notice that with each verification spell, Euclid's breathing became slightly heavier, and his arrogant demeanor vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

'As expected, it won't be that easy to get away with it; there's even a spell to verify soul fluctuations...'

While internally contemplating, 'Eurid' secretly activated his pre-prepared backup plan, and one of the controlled souls began to burn. Meanwhile, he reverted to his nonchalant demeanor, but his palms clenched, and he fixed his gaze on the instructors who were casting spells.

"Alright! Verification complete!" said the mage instructor who had tried to stop 'Eurid'. "You may enter now, Mage Euryd, but remember, unless you complete the trial or choose to give up, the portal will not reopen."

"Whatever!!!" Euclid replied arrogantly, then stepped into the portal without hesitation. After he left, the portal dimmed and then disintegrated into countless blue specks of light that scattered in all directions.

"What a bastard!" After 'Eugene' left, one of the mentors cursed viciously, "Who does he think he is? Does he think he's some kind of real hero? Bastard..."

"Forget it! Judging from his attitude, he probably doesn't care about the trial..." another instructor said. "The trial is no joke; one wrong move and you could really lose your life in there."

Do you think he can succeed?

"How is that possible! In the past fifty years, only the Dean has successfully completed the trial..."

"It's hard to say! He still has the Soul Equipment, so his chances are much better than others!" Another instructor shook his head and said, "I really don't want him to pass."

Let's wait and see!

"Besides, the Dean is there too. Even if he succeeds, how can a newcomer who has just received the inheritance possibly rebel under the Dean's command?"

——————————Divider Line——————————

The light of teleportation appeared in a dense forest, and a teleportation array engraved with dazzling runes appeared out of thin air in a clearing. When the light dissipated, Gadin, dressed in a red robe, carrying a lantern burning with fire, and holding a staff inlaid with a fiery red gem, appeared there.

After being teleported to this valley dozens of kilometers away from the academy, Gading looked around. The dense forest was deserted; not even the usual small animals were to be seen. There were no birdsong, no insect chirps. The entire forest seemed dead. Of course, Gading knew this wasn't because the forest was dead, but because the magical power that had erupted not long ago had frightened away all the animals in the forest.

"Is it someone from the Radiant?" Gadin frowned, becoming wary. He wouldn't be surprised if the magic that had just alerted him came from a hero of the Radiant side. After all, a few years ago, he had massacred an entire city and annihilated an army of tens of thousands during the war, with countless innocent civilians killed or wounded. He wouldn't be surprised if they were here to cause him trouble.

“No, that’s not right. If it were the other side, there’s no reason for them to reveal their presence before reaching their destination.” Gading overturned his previous judgment. However, staying put wouldn’t lead to any conclusions, so he began to move forward along the path in the dense forest. Along the way, he used detection magic while remaining vigilant for any movement around him. He held a jade-green gem in his hand, emitting a faint green light. The power of the [True Sight Gem] was enough to expose enemies skilled in concealment within a large area. Even heroes adept at stealth and ambush were helpless against the power of the [True Sight Gem].

Gadin cautiously advanced towards the exact location of the magical eruption. Simultaneously, at his command, the entire academy's defenses activated, various detection spells spreading out from the academy. Available high-ranking mages activated the academy's defensive mechanisms, and secretly, the entire academy entered a state of alert.

After walking for about half an hour, Gadin stopped. Along the way, he didn't encounter a single person, not even the anticipated 'ambush'. It was as if the magic that had erupted not long ago had simply given him a greeting.

"What is this?" Through the reconnaissance spell, Gadin confirmed his current location—the spot where the magical outburst that had alerted him earlier had occurred. Gathering his full attention, Gadin gripped his staff tightly, flames igniting from the fiery red gem atop it.

……