Those time travelers that year

The Corpse Demon and the Balrog clashed once more, this time after expending nearly half their magic power. For the first time, the Balrog was at a disadvantage in the clash, forced back a step by the Corpse Demon's shield bash. Enraged, the Balrog roared and slashed its flaming greatsword down at the Corpse Demon, striking the shield in the Corpse Demon's left hand with all its might. This time, the shield finally reached its limit, shattering under the flaming greatsword, and the Corpse Demon's left hand was severed along with it, turning to ashes.

But this was the last of the Balrog's power. With no way to maintain its magic supply, it became like water without a source. After severing one of the Corpse Demon Lord's hands, it seemed to have almost exhausted its power, and its entire figure dimmed.

However, the Corpse Demon Lord did not react to losing an arm; instead, it stood still, its head slightly raised. At that moment, the Flame Demon, which was about to die out, launched its final attack, slashing its flaming greatsword down at the Corpse Demon Lord's head.

“Fus Ro Dah”

Just as the flaming greatsword fell, the Corpse Demon Overlord, who had been silent since his resurrection, uttered his first words. His hoarse voice spoke in complex language, and then an invisible wave appeared with his words. This wave was extremely penetrating, carrying nameless majesty and power, and collided with the Flame Demon's flaming greatsword.

[Dragon's Roar; Unyielding Power]

Like an invisible hammer, or a sweeping chain, the Balrog was struck by an invisible force. The flaming greatsword that bore the brunt of the impact was instantly shattered, followed by the Balrog's body, which was already running out of magic power. With a roar of unwilling fury, the Balrog, born from the Fiendfyre curse, was torn apart by the roar.

After shattering the Balrog, the shockwave swept unstoppably through the cave, blasting towards Sharl, who was still standing on the altar. It then struck an equally invisible wall, its distorted ripples spreading outwards in front of Sharl amidst billowing air currents, before finally losing all its power and dissipating into the air.

"Amazing! The difference between reality and the game is huge. It's a pity I can't learn the Dragon Shout," Charles said helplessly. To test the effects of a real-world Dragon Shout, he had deliberately interrupted the magic power maintaining the Fiendfyre spell. Sure enough, a real-world Dragon Shout is different from the one in the game. The Unyielding Force Shout in the game only blows people away without causing any damage, but in reality, it can definitely cause physical damage. And this was just from a ghoul using it.

It's hard to imagine what the effect would be if a Dragonborn who had obtained all the runes, or that fallen World Eater, used them.

However, this also strengthened Ciel's resolve not to go into the Dragonborn's web of secrets.

Dragon Shout cannot be used consecutively in a short period of time, so after using it, the Corpse Overlord would be unable to use it again for a while. However, this did not prevent him from using his last hand to grip the enchanted one-handed sword and launching a final charge towards Charles.

[Eliminate your weapon]

A beam of red light struck the Corpse Overlord, causing him to stagger and his one-handed sword to fly out of his grasp. Then, Charles shook hands with the Corpse Overlord, who had regained his footing and was about to charge again.

“I offer you my life and my soul.”

[Sacrifice]

Destructive flames erupted from beneath the ghoul's skin, rapidly engulfing his body. Yet, a lingering fighting spirit still propelled the ghoul to attack Sharl, but before he could take more than a few steps, he collapsed with a thud. In the flames, the ghoul's body was ravaged and destroyed, turning into black ash.

Ignoring the dead ghouls, Charles descended the altar alone and picked up the frost-covered one-handed sword. Holding it, he felt a chilling, bone-deep coldness. This enchanted longsword, buried here, retained its magical power even after countless years. Although the frost enchantment on the blade had greatly diminished with the passage of time, it didn't diminish the sword's brilliance. It must have had a story, but that story, along with its original owner, had been lost to history.

"Not bad loot. I really do need to learn about enchanting in this world while learning magic!"

27. Skip the Elder Scrolls storyline.

In a place that worships muscular aesthetics and despises the art of spellcasting, it's hard to imagine the Nords' prejudice against magic, especially after the Winterhold incident. All the Nords living in Skyrim now know that mages are the most unreliable people. They always seem to enjoy conducting dangerous experiments, often with disastrous consequences, like the Winterhold mages blowing up Winterhold.

Similarly, the court mage Fargard, living in Whiterun, was no different. Whiterun had a barbarian organization called the Companions, so the entire city worshipped brute warriors and despised mages like him, full of wisdom. Although Lord Balgruuf was relatively enlightened about magic and willing to hire him as a court mage, he usually just did enchantments and made potions, living a very comfortable life. Only the Nord barbarians who disliked him looked at him with eyes that seemed to want to devour him alive.

He would never admit that he deliberately doubled the price of enchanted weapons as revenge against barbarians who didn't respect the art of magic. Especially lately, besides sending a penniless girl who, while respecting magic, had no money, to scavenge corpses in the Coldfall Mountains (too poor to learn paralysis), there wasn't much else to worry about. Of course, there were also things that pleased him, such as having a very pleasant conversation about the knowledge and application of magic with a mage who was also on the path of pursuing truth and knowledge.

Most importantly, the visiting mage was incredibly generous (wealthy), knowledgeable (wealthy), and his every move exuded elegance (wealthy), far surpassing those Nord barbarians who only knew about muscle aesthetics (wealthy than you). Especially in his research on transmutation magic, he astonished the court mage; before that, he had never imagined that there could actually be a spell that could turn a table into a pig.

So the two exchanged their knowledge (gold coins) and discussed the future direction of magic (money for goods). Before parting, our court mage kindly escorted him to the outskirts of the city and gave him a letter of recommendation to the College of Winterhold (customer satisfied, shopkeeper happy, small change indeed). However, this good mood vanished shortly after returning to the laboratory, as the poor girl he had met disappeared. Well, the noble mage wouldn't quibble over such a paltry errand fee, but if you want to learn magic… heh heh (the heartless Fargard silently raised the price of magic books by 20%).

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After descending the Frostfall Mountains, Shire chose to go down the other side of the mountain. After walking for half a day, he arrived at Whiterun. This city is named for the White River that surrounds its city center. Located in the heart of Skyrim, it possesses unparalleled strategic value. Most of the terrain is relatively flat, while in the southeast corner stands the highest point in Tamriel—the Throat of the World—where the legendary dragon-shouting hermits—the Greybeards—are said to reside. Unlike other areas of Skyrim, Whiterun experiences relatively little snowfall and enjoys a pleasant climate. It can be considered the purest Nord city, ancient yet prosperous, with large-scale shops and markets.

This very situation has led both the Imperial forces attempting to quell the rebellion and the Stormcloaks seeking independence to vie for Whiterun's support. Generally speaking, the lords of Whiterun have remained neutral until now. However, due to the increasingly hostile actions and attitudes of the Stormcloaks, they have gradually sided with the Imperial forces. At least under Imperial rule, they will not attempt to interfere in Whiterun's politics, but the Stormcloaks are constantly trying to infiltrate the city. There are even rumors that the Stormcloak rebels are attempting to overthrow Balgruuf's rule and bestow the lordship upon someone who supports their cause and enjoys high prestige within Whiterun.

Therefore, Balgruf was also losing patience with the Stormcloaks. If Hyjal hadn't been destroyed by a dragon that had returned from mythology, and if there hadn't been rumors that the dragon might threaten Whiterun, Balgruf might have openly supported the Imperial Army and sent troops to Windhelm.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Charles. He came to Whiterun to try and visit Dragonsky Palace, specifically to see the court mage named Fajarn, hoping to smuggle some spellbooks from him. As it turns out, these glittery little things are incredibly useful in any world. And true to his reputation as a court mage, Charles spent thousands of these adorable glittery coins to complete a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge.

Twenty-five spellbooks, each containing different spells, were enough for Charles to pass the time on a caravan journey to Winterhold. Of all the spells, the most valuable to Charles was the restoration spells; he finally had them. He had no shortage of powerful spells thanks to his warlock template, but he lacked healing spells! Aside from being unafraid of chewing candy, he had no healing abilities whatsoever, but now that deficiency had been filled.

Of course, what excited Charles even more was that he had finally learned the famous Fireball spell. Although this was only the Skyrim version, it was still a Fireball spell, wasn't it? As a veteran FFF member, what could prove his identity better than Fireball? Besides, in the past, in addition to being a member of the FFF, he was also a believer of the Five Fireball Cult.

Restoration spells: Low-level Dispel, Solidify Barrier, Quick Heal, Healing Spell, Hand of Healing.

Illusion-related: Courage, Fear, Silence, Concealment.

Summoning-type: Summon Battle Axe, Longsword, Resurrected Corpse, Soul Trap.

Transmutation-related spells: Rock Solid, Candlelight, Magic Light.

Destruction spells: Ice Thorns, Frost Rune, Fire Rune, Fireball, Flame Tongue, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Ball, Lightning Rune.

There were 25 spells in total, enough to pass the time on his journey to Winterhold. Of course, the reason he was so eager to leave was to avoid getting involved in the Dragonborn's first dragon-slaying battle. A conspiracy, a conspiracy—he hated it all! He'd be happy to be the villain behind the scenes, but being a participant in the conspiracy? Well, he had no interest in attracting the attention of the Daedric Prince. In short, the best course of action was to pack up and leave. Especially after traveling with the caravan for half a day, a flying figure heading towards Whiterun further solidified his decision.

Okay, this chapter is just the author using the Elder Scrolls scrollbar to ramble on and skip the plot... hahahahaha...

28. Looking towards gods and ghosts

If you were to ask where the coldest territory in Skyrim is, it would undoubtedly be Winterhold, located in the far north of the province. It boasts the harshest and coldest climate, and very few creatures can survive in such extreme conditions. Winterhold is perpetually covered in snow and ice, with mountains and coastlines blanketed in a layer of white snow or thick ice.

Winterhold connects the Whitelands and the East End, and its capital is Winterhold, which was destroyed in the Great Flood. The College of Winterhold, built on a massive rock like Solitude, is Winterhold's most famous building. It was the only remaining structure in Winterhold after the Great Flood, leading to rumors that the dry tide was caused by mages from the College of Winterhold.

Now, Winterhold is nothing more than a barren, dilapidated village, a far cry from the magnificent college. It is said that the current lord is quite dissatisfied with the mages of the College of Winterhold, believing that their flawed experiments are the cause of Winterhold's decline.

Winterhold was once a prosperous, vast, and wealthy city, home to the highest institution of learning in Skyrim, the Academy of Winterhold. However, its glory was short-lived. In 4E122, a devastating flood struck Winterhold. Almost the entire city was mercilessly swallowed by the Ghost Sea, and many residents lost their lives and homes, their bodies now resting beneath the surface of this far northern ocean. The Academy of Winterhold was blamed for the disaster, but recently, the academy has proposed a new argument, suggesting that the earthquake in Vivek, Morrowind, and the eruption of Red Mountain were the primary causes of the flood. However, this has not quelled the locals' resentment towards the mages of Winterhold. If it weren't for the mages' continued mastery of powerful knowledge and magic, the city would likely be engulfed in war like other parts of Skyrim.

Unreliable rumors suggest that the current Lord of Winterhold intends to align himself with the Stormcloaks in exchange for their assistance in breaching the College of Winterhold, but this has yet to be verified. Although a Stormcloak camp has been established near Winterhold, the mages seem unconcerned, remaining engrossed in excavating ancient Nord ruins. It appears this rumor is indeed just that—a hoax…

When visiting Winterhold, we must mention the famous College of Winterhold. The College of Winterhold is a magical academy, boasting a magnificent fortress as its campus, accessible only via a narrow stone bridge. Its function is similar to that of the Wizarding Guild, but the College is an independent entity, not directly affiliated with it. The College houses many precious documents, dating back to the end of the Second Age. The College itself has an even longer history, traditionally believed to have been founded in the First Age by the legendary wizard Shalidor.

Furthermore, the academy employs a selection system; anyone who has proven their mastery of magic can enroll, regardless of their origin or race. Once admitted, students enjoy greater freedom than those who join a mage guild, including conducting experiments prohibited by the guild and even studying necromancy—provided they don't blow up the academy.

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Although I didn't get to see the famous Hogwarts in person during the Harry Potter era, I could still appreciate the magnificence of that magical school from the movies. Compared to Hogwarts, the House of Winterhold in Skyrim seemed much more dilapidated. While its architecture was unmatched by any other lord in Skyrim, not to mention that this isolated castle perched on a cliff was situated within the Winterhold territory, which resembled a village.

In terms of size and many other aspects, Winterhold House is indeed inferior to Hogwarts, and arguably incomparable, even though it was founded much earlier. However, upon reflection, in the Harry Potter universe, human wizards have always dominated the inner world, while in the outside world, the rapid development of human civilization has further suppressed the living space of all non-human races. Therefore, in the Harry Potter universe, the wizarding world, with virtually no external enemies, was able to develop in terms of civilization, leading to the creation of spells that became increasingly practical and abandoned combat.

However, in this world, humanity is not the sole dominant species. Many beings far surpass humans exist, and the vast majority of them are unlikely to harbor goodwill towards this ever-expanding human race, making conflict inevitable. Therefore, in this world, the development of magical civilization has been driven by the pursuit of ever greater power, neglecting the paths necessary for daily life and the advancement of civilization.

However, for sorcerers who seek greater power, this world is a good place. Although it is not a world with forbidden spellcasters or a world like D&D where gods can be manipulated, compared to those high magic planes where personal strength often goes out of control, at least this world, whose civilization is still in the Middle Ages, is not invincible.

……

Charles sat on the bed in the room. The soft mattress was clearly incomparable to those innhouses with straw mats, giving him a feeling of returning to the civilized world. Coupled with the light from the candlelight spell suspended in mid-air, which was comparable to that of an incandescent bulb, it seemed as if he had suddenly stepped from the Middle Ages into modern civilized society.

This is the College of Winterhold, and clearly the mages aren't short of money. Aside from the strict requirements of the instructors, most apprentices don't enjoy comfortable living conditions and mostly sleep on makeshift beds (to prevent erratic apprentices from studying spells in bed and then burning their blankets). However, Charles isn't an apprentice. He operates under the guise of a traveling mage, using spells from the Harry Potter world for knowledge exchange, easily gaining the Chief Wizard's approval. After all, these spells from the Harry Potter world don't exist in this world, and these magical systems from other worlds truly impressed the mages of Winterhold.

Even the three Unforgivable Curses were an eye-opener for the instructors of the Summoning, Illusion, and Destruction magic schools. These were all master-level mages, representing the highest level of magic in Skyrim… The chief mage of Winterhold, however, was more interested in the standard spells. Predictably, the magic system of the Harry Potter world greatly impressed these Winterhold mages.

Wizards are generally not short of money, but the wizards of Winterhold value knowledge even more. This is evident in the library of the College of Winterhold, which reflects the wizards' pursuit and emphasis on knowledge. Therefore, the barter system is more readily accepted by the wizards of Winterhold.

Right now, what Ciel is flipping through are spells he acquired through trading with spells from the Harry Potter world. Besides trading with spells from the Harry Potter world, some of these spells also require him to pay for them himself, which has reduced the amount of gold coins Ciel brought from the fairy tale world.

"Looks like I'm running out of money!" After estimating the remaining gold coins, I realized that my "golden glitter," the hard currency, was running low. It would eventually run out, and perhaps after a few more worlds, it would be completely gone. "Looks like I need to find a way to get some more golden glitter… maybe I should go to Egypt in the next world and dig up mummies. Hmm, I also need two magic books that are definitely artifacts from that world, except that world has real gods… and they can temporarily interfere with the world to some extent…"

"This is...interesting!"

29. Gods and Demons and Skyrim

Compared to the Elder Scrolls universe, the world of Gods and Demons, which may seem to lack supernatural power, might not appear as dangerous, despite the presence of immortal mummies and a sealed Dragon Emperor (I really don't know what foreigners were thinking, turning a perfectly good Chinese dragon into a Western dragon... what the hell!). In the Gods and Demons storyline, as long as you avoid areas involving supernatural forces, the entire world functions like a normal human society. However, that world does indeed have gods, and they have even displayed true 'miracles'!

While the Elder Scrolls also features Holy Spirits and Demons, these beings cannot descend to earth or interfere with the world's development; they can only influence it covertly through their followers. The only instance of Dagon descending was with the help of his fanatical followers, only to be immediately defeated by the Dragonborn. However, in God and Demon, gods can indeed directly interfere with the world and even influence the physical laws of reality. The most classic example is in God and Demon II, where the Oasis where the Scorpion King resides was actually born under the influence of Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, and the jackal-like army of death constructed from sand.

It was a world with a real hell. Egypt had gods, which meant that other regions also had gods. Although in the world of gods and ghosts, the whole world seemed to have entered the end times, and various supernatural beings were gradually fading away under various influences, this did not mean that these supernatural beings would not have an impact on the development of human society.

Moreover, the supernatural beings in that world likely possess far greater power than those in this one. In the first film, Imhotep, immediately after his resurrection, unleashed a rain of fire upon Cairo. Fully resurrected, he was immortal, able to control the desert, and virtually invincible. If it weren't for the protagonist's overwhelming plot armor and the likely influence of external factors, the main characters in the first film would have been wiped out long ago.

So, in planning to go to that world and want a piece of the pie, especially given the overused tropes of the Book of the Sun and the Book of the Dead in countless infinite flow novels, Ciel was quite covetous. Therefore, Ciel needed to be fully prepared to face a multitude of undead creatures in the trilogy. Since their bodies couldn't be physically killed, he would have to find a way to deal with these creatures that weren't monsters.

Honestly, if they were just ordinary undead creatures, Shire wouldn't be afraid. But in the series, Imhotep from the first book, the Scorpion King and the Death Legion from the second, are all connected to the Egyptian god of death. The Dragon Emperor from the third book... well, let's not talk about that…

However, the world of The Elder Scrolls does have ways to deal with these undead creatures. The Master-level Restoration spell, Undead Destruction, forcibly obliterates weaker undead, or at least forces them to flee – a truly devastating weapon. While it might not work on a fully resurrected Dragon Emperor, it's enough to deal with the Undead High Priest Imhotep. Even in the second movie, unless someone foolishly enters the Scorpion King's pyramid and has their magic sealed by Anubis, the mere army of the Grim Reaper wouldn't be able to leave a single warlock alive. Moreover, there are Master-level Destruction spells that deal area-of-effect damage and Master-level Anomaly spells that paralyze all enemies. Skyrim in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may seem like a magical wasteland (most Nords look down on and don't believe in magic), but Master-level spells can definitely influence the battlefield, though not as exaggerated as some forbidden spells…

In the game, master-level spells aren't easy to obtain; it always requires someone to run errands. However, the errand runner is none other than the Dragonborn troublemakers of Skyrim, and Charles has no desire to do so. So, after arriving at the College of Winterhold and settling down, he studied expert-level spells while finding the entrance to the Dark Citadel and having a serious talk with the Seer Duran… Charles doesn't intend to use force against this Winterhold mage who has even destroyed his physical body. Although manipulating souls and spirits is his forte, it doesn't mean he has to face the entire mages of Winterhold as his enemy alone.

In short, he finally got the chance to learn a master-level restoration spell. Now, sitting on his bed, Charles is flipping through a book on the master-level restoration spell, Destruction and Undying. In reality, learning spells isn't as simple as just consuming a book; otherwise, Winterhold wouldn't see so many mage apprentices turning into charred corpses or blocks of ice by the backlash of destruction spells every year. While restoration spells don't suffer the same fate, they're not so easy to learn either…

"All that's left is to try it out myself!" Closing the spellbook containing master-level restoration spells, and having memorized everything, Charles muttered, "Well then, before the Dragonborn arrive at Winterhold because of the Elder Scrolls, I'll make a run for it! Hmm, I'll just go find master-level destruction spells. I've got the Book of Elements, even though I gave up Fiendfyre. Anyway, my core spells are what matter..."

The three Unforgivable Curses, along with other dark magic from the Harry Potter world, were all used to exchange spells with the mages of the College of Winterhold during his time in Winterhold. However, he retained the spells of the most fundamental warlock class system. As for the spells he brought from the Harry Potter world, he didn't care at all, nor did he care what impact they might have on this world. After all, this world had true gods, although in Charles's view, only Akatosh, the god of time, could truly be called a god. Anyway, if any messy crises arose, someone would always come to handle them, wouldn't they?

With that in mind, Charles simply put down the magic book in his hand and took out another book.

Unlike the previous book that recorded master-level magic, the book in Charles's hands now looked much more shabby. It appeared tattered, with many tears on the cover, but in his perception, this seemingly worn-out book contained a different kind of power.

This book was given to Sharl by an elf, an instructor at the College of Winterhold who taught destruction magic, because Sharl had expressed a desire to learn master-level destruction magic. Only the first page of this book contains any content; the rest are blank, yellowed pages.

"The North is corrupted by ghosts"

Northern coastline

Southern, Dumo

Life is tough

Simple places

Shield in sketch

Mage Manufacturing

Incredibly sturdy

"The sea will boil." Reciting the poem, or rather, the secret code on the first page, Charles pouted. "Trying to trick me? Tch..." Charles knew that learning magic would be difficult, but he never expected that the errands he had to run in the game would have to be done again in real life.

"Luckily, I've been stuck here before. It's just the Windward Ruins near Dawnstar, the Northern Sky Tower north of Orphan Rock near Riverwatch, and the Four-Skull Tower above the Spear of Cassus near Markarth... Do you really think I don't know?"

30. Winterhold Storyline

Winterhold, located in the coldest part of the skies, is shrouded in frost almost every day. Dense clouds obscure the view and hang over the entire sky. It's hard to believe that anyone would settle here in such a harsh environment. In this place constantly battered by blizzards, almost no plants can grow. How can a territory still struggle to survive in such an environment? If this were in the Middle Ages on Earth, such harsh climate and the great tsunami that once struck would have been enough to force the people living here to flee thousands of miles away.

In fact, due to the devastating tsunami of the past, it is none other than the mages of the Academy who maintain the operation of Winterhold. Similarly, many of the world's native magical plants still thrive in this harsh climate. Therefore, although the remaining inhabitants of Winterhold generally hold sway over the mages, the territory, supported by the Academy of Winterhold, is slowly regaining its vitality by cultivating magical plants to sell to them and reselling the enchanted weapons and alchemical potions crafted by the mages.

In return, the residents of Winterhold, including their lords and soldiers, must assist the Academy to some extent. Therefore, the Academy holds the greatest administrative power in Winterhold, not the lords. Fortunately, the Academy's mages are indifferent to matters of Skyrim, and aside from being interested in the various buried ruins, they generally do not interfere in politics. Even if a lord of a territory is inclined to serve as a Stormcloak rebel, it is none of their business.

Therefore, the College of Winterhold was somewhat oblivious to outside information. At least, on this particular day, after Shire consulted with the expert enchanting instructor, Sergils Turianus, about how to craft enchanted weapons and equipment, he overheard the apprentices discussing the excavation work at the ruins of Satar.

"Excuse me, what are these ruins you're talking about? What's going on?" With a sudden thought, Charles stepped forward and asked a student dressed in apprentice clothes.

The student in the apprentice's uniform turned around. He was a Khajiit, a demi-human. This was rare in other cities of Skyrim, as the Nords of Skyrim, especially those in Windhelm, were quite hostile to non-human beings. But in Winterhold, it didn't matter what race you came from; even a High Elf who had fought a world war with humans more than thirty years ago could find employment there.

“Mr. Gretel!” The tiger-man bowed to Sharl and continued, “The excavation of the Satar ruins, overseen by Instructor Tofdir, has made a significant discovery. It seems an ancient magical artifact has been unearthed deep within the ruins, said to possess extremely powerful magical energy…”

"You mean that ancient ruin called Satar near Winterhold?" Charles narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "An ancient magical artifact? From the First Age?!"

“I don’t know!” The apprentice shook his head and replied. “According to Assistant Instructor Blarina, who returned to the academy beforehand, it was a sphere with levitation capabilities, and it seems to be related to the Psyik Order…”

"OK, thanks……"