Free Web NovelSunlight streamed through the tall windows, falling onto the deep red carpet of the conference hall, where a faint scent of parchment hung in the air.
The door creaked open.
A small, elderly woman with silver hair cascading over her shoulders and wearing a purple and gold-trimmed cloak entered.
She looked like a kind grandmother, the kind who would pull out candies from her pocket for her grandchildren at any moment.
But when she looked up, her gaze was as serene as ice and snow, as if she could see into the depths of one’s heart.
She was Flora Holden, a top-ranking Archmage from the Magician Forest, and today she was representing the Magician Forest to negotiate with Louis.
Louis, seated at the head of the table, subtly straightened his posture.
He deliberately maintained the image of a “calm and composed young lord,” his gaze serene, perfectly displaying the detachment of one in power.
Flora smiled and nodded, opening with a polite but firm tone: “Lord Calvin, thank you for saving Leixier of our Magician Forest. The Magician Forest will not forget this kindness.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she gently waved her hand, and the young attendant behind her quickly placed a box on the long table. It was a sturdy, ancient ebony box, adorned with intricate silver patterns, clearly not something one could easily buy on the market.
Flora herself stepped forward, twisted her fingers, and deftly unlatched the lock.
With a soft click, the lid slowly opened.
Inside lay a set of silver-blue armor, its plates arranged like dragon scales, with a faint glow shimmering along its edges.
In the light, it looked as if fragmented stars of the Milky Way had been cast into the metal.
“This is a small gift we’ve prepared for you,” Flora said softly, her tone gentle yet carrying weight.
“The armor is crafted from Nebula Steel, its strength no less than Dragon Bone Iron, and it’s enchanted with a constant temperature barrier personally cast by a mage. It can automatically adjust its temperature regardless of extreme heat or cold. On the battlefield, it might just save your life.”
Louis’s gaze shifted slightly, his fingertips brushing the edge of the armor, feeling a cool sensation.
The Nebula Steel felt cold and crisp, with a faint magical fluctuation pulsating like a heartbeat.
He could feel that this armor was no ordinary item; not only was the mage’s craftsmanship exquisite, but even the choice of materials and the enchantments were meticulously done.
He nodded slightly, a polite smile gracing his lips: “This is truly valuable. Leixier was injured on my territory, and saving him was my duty.”
Then Flora cleared her throat softly, her expression gradually shifting from the gentle warmth of pleasantries to a more serious tone: “We are here to investigate the source of the Worm-Eaten Household corpses. According to Leixier’s description, these are no ordinary insects; if they proliferate, they could very likely affect the entire Northern Territory.”
Her eyes, however, were as bright as searchlights, trying to see through the young lord before her.
Yet Louis merely spoke indifferently, as if casually mentioning a trivial matter: “You don’t need to worry about that. We destroyed the central hive, which is the heart of the insects, two days ago. That should be the control source for the Worm-Eaten Household corpses that attacked Leixier.”
For a moment, the air seemed to pause for half a beat.
“—A hive? What is that?” Flora’s eyes widened, her brows furrowing slightly, “Leixier’s description didn’t mention the concept of a ‘hive’.”
She wasn’t questioning Louis’s logic, but rather her disbelief.
An enemy of this caliber was actually “dealt with” so casually?
She hadn’t even had time to begin her investigation!
Louis remained calm, with no hint of pride or boasting in his eyes, simply stating the facts: “We led elite knights into the deepest part, destroying it with an improved Magic Bomb, and then—”
“.....”
Flora listened to Louis recount the entire event, her lips moving, but she didn’t speak immediately.
Her expression could no longer maintain the “kind grandmother” facade; her brows were filled with shock and turmoil.
And Louis’s next words made the air in the room grow even colder.
Louis’s expression remained unchanged as he quietly added: “We brought back some hive remnants and unparasitized Worm-Eaten Household samples. If you’re interested, I can have them sent over immediately.”
His tone was steady, like he was discussing a batch of trade goods, without a hint of boastfulness or showing off.
Flora pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: “Please bring them.”
Soon, several knights carried in sealed black iron boxes. As soon as the lids were opened, a nauseating stench immediately filled the air.
The hive remnants presented a bizarre dark red fleshy substance, like a part of some giant creature’s organ.
Its surface constantly showed faint Creep, with twisted human faces embedded in its folds, as if silently wailing in semi-incineration.
Those “human faces” seemed both real and illusory, each one filled with pain and struggle.
The original insect bodies were preserved in a pale blue magical preservation fluid, thin as silk and translucent throughout.
Most striking was its head, a needle-sharp proboscis faintly visible in the liquid, occasionally trembling slightly, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Flora gazed at the hive remnants, her originally kind and gentle eyes gradually hardening, replaced by a furrowed brow and an almost imperceptible chill.
She slowly extended her hand, and a thin strand of blue-silver magic floated above her palm, reaching towards the sample.
The moment the magic lightly touched it, her pupils sharply contracted.
This was not magic.
At least, not magic from the Magician Forest system.
The magical fluctuations remaining on the remnants were extremely bizarre, like sharp thorns, capable of penetrating mental defenses, seeping into the depths of perception with whispers and noise.
It lacked a clear structure, followed no known magical principles, yet it seemed to possess some primitive “will,” constantly struggling, corroding, and roaring.
“..It’s still resisting,” Flora murmured to herself, full of caution and awe.
She had seen traces of forbidden arts before, and had touched deep magical pollution at the edge of magic tides, but this fluctuation—
It was a compound attribute of twisted order, reverse life, and spiritual consumption.
It didn’t seem to be man-made; it was more like “something alien.”
She took a deep breath, forcibly cut off her magical senses, and with a flick of her finger, the magic thread immediately broke, scattering like burnt spider silk.
Next, she looked at the original insect body immersed in the bottle.
The insect body’s long proboscis seemed to be trying to penetrate the bottle wall, and even though she knew the creature was dead, that malice and instinct still spread through the air.
Even as an Archmage of the Magician Forest, she felt a long-forgotten shiver.
This kind of thing must have been “designed” by some advanced magical intelligence.
This completely overturned her original judgment. She had initially thought that the so-called “Worm-Eaten Household disaster” was merely a common chaos of mutated creatures caused by the leakage of magical energy in the Northern Territory.
Similar to magic wolf tides, or decaying beast hordes, but now—
She slowly spoke: “This magic carries malice—a curse-like self-expansion that doesn’t match any natural attribute.
It doesn’t even seem like something human mages could control or create, like...—”
And her suspicions about Louis completely dissipated.
This young lord had not exaggerated.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she probably would have thought this was just a battle achievement fabricated by a young lord seeking credit.
But seeing these remains, Louis had truly faced this deep horror, and even destroyed it with his own hands.
Perhaps it was precisely because he didn’t understand magic at all that he was able to do this.
Just as she was trying to calm her mind, Louis spoke again, his tone still unruffled: “Although it has been destroyed, based on the structure of the site and the origin of the insect bodies, we suspect that that hive is not the only central hub.”
He paused, as if weighing how much to reveal, then continued with the number: “Perhaps—there might be over a dozen such hives still in existence.”
The air suddenly became so heavy it felt as if it could crush the entire conference hall.
Flora’s pupils constricted slightly, and she slowly looked up at him: “Can I go to the site to see?”
Louis nodded: “My duties here are heavy, so I cannot accompany you personally. But I will arrange for knights to escort you. However, it’s already late today. Have a hot meal and a good night’s rest first. It won’t be too late to depart tomorrow morning.”
Flora slowly nodded: “—Alright.”
This meeting had completely changed her impression of this young lord.
And the truth of this Worm-Eaten Household disaster might be far more profound than she had imagined.
Just as the meeting was drawing to a close, and everyone was getting up to leave.
Louis, as if suddenly mustering courage, spoke: “That—Archmage Flora.”
His voice was not loud, but it was enough to make the Archmage, who had not yet walked far, stop.
Flora turned, looking at him in confusion: “Hmm?”
Louis tilted his head slightly, as if considering his words.
At this moment, he didn’t look like the always calm and composed, experienced lord, but more like a young man about to knock on some mysterious door.
“I was thinking—could I apply to become a member of the Magician Forest?”
“?” Flora showed a rare and obvious expression of surprise, “What did you say?”
She blinked, momentarily unable to react, even wondering if she had misheard.
“I know a little about the Original Meditation Technique, and I can cast some low-level spells,” Louis said softly, as if stating something trivial, “When I was little, the mages in my Calvin Family taught me some.”
Of course, this was a pre-arranged statement between him and Leixier, and while it sounded ordinary, it was enough to cover up his suspiciously fast growth rate.
Flora narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him, as if seriously analyzing the truth behind this person.
But a few seconds later, she nodded slightly, thinking to herself as if in self-explanation: “It is the Calvin Family after all; it’s not strange to have a few knowledgeable old mages.”
She didn’t hesitate for too long; after all, adding a mage to the Magician Forest was a small privilege that meant nothing to an Archmage like her.
“Then—show me your magic.”
Upon hearing this, Louis raised his right hand, and with a gentle flick of his fingers, a visible magical fluctuation immediately rippled in the air.
The next second, a Fireball suddenly appeared in his palm.
The fire was clear and bright, burning steadily and contained, without even a hint of crackling.
Flora raised an eyebrow, her expression showing a hint of appreciation: “Fireball—controlled well. Your control over magic is very skilled; it’s clear you’ve put in a lot of effort.”
She took a few steps forward, observing the swirling trajectory of the flame, but she didn’t see the deeper mysteries within it.
She merely attributed it to “a good foundation.”
What she didn’t know was that behind that docile Fireball, Louis was merely “imitating” what an ordinary person should be like.
In fact, Louis’s magical output was extremely restrained, probably using only five percent of his magical strength.
If his true self wished, that flame would cut through a huge rock like a blade, instead of quietly hovering like this.
“With your level,” Flora finally spoke, her tone encouraging and affirmative, “I can write a letter of recommendation for you, allowing you to participate in the Magician Forest assessment.”
She paused slightly, then her tone shifted to half-joking, half-serious: “After all, our Magician Forest isn’t a place you can just walk into; even a descendant of the Calvin Family has to follow the procedures.”
“Understood.” Louis bowed slightly, his tone gentle and appropriate, with a humble yet dignified smile on his lips, “Thank you for your kindness, Archmage.”
As for the assessment, he believed it would be a natural progression.
He didn’t say much else.
He didn’t mention that he could manipulate giant stones weighing hundreds of pounds from a distance with his magical hand, nor did he mention that he had already mastered over a dozen combat spells, and he certainly wouldn’t mention that he was currently using the “Original Meditation Technique” to open up the path of magical resonance.
Louis simply gently withdrew the slowly extinguishing flame from his palm.
As if the recent display was merely an “accidental show of skill” by a noble’s son.
Flora didn’t notice anything unusual, only thinking he was a young man with a solid magical foundation.
She smiled sweetly: “Then I look forward to the day you pass the assessment.”
“I will not disappoint you,” Louis replied sincerely, yet he promised nothing more.
Then he stood up and thanked Flora: “Thank you, Archmage. I will arrange everything for tomorrow’s trip to the hive ruins.”
“Mm.” Flora nodded, “The magical fluctuations of the hive remnants are too strange to be taken lightly. Once I confirm it with my own eyes, it will be easier to investigate it as soon as possible.”
As it grew later, the meeting finally concluded.
Flora walked out of the conference hall, her figure appearing exceptionally serene on the deep red carpet.
Her tall mage robe swayed slightly in the night breeze; the chill of the snowy night had not yet receded, but her expression was even colder than the biting wind.
After all, having witnessed the magical fluctuations on that hive remnant, her heart could no longer be at peace.
“..—How could it be easy to deal with,” Flora murmured to herself, her steps heavy, “This is probably not just a simple case of mages being attacked.”
She had a premonition that this matter of the Worm-Eaten Household corpses would definitely not be just an ordinary crisis investigation. The structure was simple, but there was temporarily no evidence to elevate its criticality and deploy more mages, so they could only take it one step at a time.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the conference hall was completely different.
Louis, on the other ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) hand, could not suppress his sense of satisfaction.
His plan for today had been perfectly achieved.
First, the secret of the Worm-Eaten Household hive successfully caught Flora’s attention, which meant officially drawing the mage group into the situation. The subsequent investigation and intelligence sharing would become logical.
Second, he also used this opportunity to demonstrate his magical control abilities, naturally obtaining the recommendation qualification to participate in the Magician Forest assessment. freewebnøvel.coɱ
“Both goals achieved,” he smiled faintly.
