Chapter 215: News of the Godfall Land
Rhodes and Serie quickly left the historical section of the library. Kael's frustrated gaze was soon lost behind the maze of shelves.
"That formula..." Serie said, her voice a soft whisper, a whisper that only he could hear.
"Yes," he nodded. "It was one of mine. An old, discarded formula from my travels, from my early days of creating magic."
"Is it complete? What kind of a spell is it?"
"I can't tell," he shook his head. "It must have been a very complex spell. That fragment... it's less than one percent of the whole. I can't even tell what it's for."
"That small?" she was surprised. With his talent, a single, complete formula was usually enough for him to understand an entire spell.
"Yes. It was just a scrap. I'm surprised it even survived, and that that young man found it." His voice was now tinged with a slight resignation. "His curiosity and his dedication... they are admirable. But he will likely never succeed."
"He doesn't look like the type to give up," she said, remembering the almost-maniacal obsession in the young man's eyes.
"Everyone has their own path," he said with a sigh. "We cannot choose for others. I just hope that Akaf can keep an eye on him, and keep him from going astray." He squeezed her hand. "Come. There is nothing more for us here."
They walked past the outer shelves and back into the soft sunlight of the first floor. The oppressive atmosphere of the encounter had now faded.
"Where to next?" she asked as they left the library.
"Let's just... wander," he said with a smile. "Now that we're here, in this city of magic... we should see what it has to offer. I hear you can find magical ingredients from all over the continent here."
She had no objection. She had little interest in human creations, but to be with him, to watch his own curiosity... it was a pleasure of its own. And besides, she might just find some rare ingredients that did not grow in her own forest.
They joined the bustling crowd and came to a market, a maze of stalls and makeshift shops, all of them selling magical items and ingredients.
He stopped at a stall selling basic grimoires and listened with an amused smile as the stall-keeper boasted to a young apprentice about his 'improved' version of the 'Light' spell.
She, on the other hand, was drawn to a nearby stall, to a cluster of a strange, star-like flowers.
"A keen eye, my lady," the old woman at the stall said with a grin. "Those are starlight flowers. They only bloom at the roots of trees that are near a magical leyline, and only after they have absorbed enough starlight. They are the best ingredient for a high-grade mana recovery potion. And they are not easy to come by; they only bloom for a short time."
She nodded. She had a passing knowledge of plants, and she knew the woman was telling the truth. But she was more interested in something else. "Is it... bitter?"
The old woman was a little taken aback. "Bitter? No, I don't think so. The potion is actually a little sweet."
"Then I don't want it." A mana recovery potion that wasn't bitter wasn't a proper potion. This was a truth the elven miss held to be self-evident.
Seeing her about to leave, the old woman quickly added, "Wait! Wait! If you want it to be bitter, you can just add a little bit of star-grass. Then it will be as bitter as can be."
"Good! I'll take it! And a bundle of that star-grass as well."
The old woman was at a loss. In the past thousand years, they had been constantly refining the formula, trying to make it more palatable. And now, this... this was the first customer she had ever had who had asked for the bitter version. But she quickly bundled up the flowers and the herbs and handed them to her.
She did not ask for the price. Her wallet was on the other side of the market. The human could pay for it later.
Just then, her gaze fell on a small, unassuming wooden box in a corner of the stall. In it were a few pieces of a black, rock-like substance, completely out of place with the other wares. And she felt something, a faint and subtle... familiarity.
She picked up a piece. It was cool and hard to the touch, and surprisingly light. And in it, in a place that no ordinary person could have sensed, was a faint and yet... familiar, feeling.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Oh, those," the old woman said with a wave of her hand. "Just a few worthless rocks. Some adventurers picked them up on the edge of the Godfall Land. Said the black mist had receded a bit, and these things had just... appeared. I just took a few as a souvenir. You want one? You can have it."
She looked at the rock in her hand, her brow furrowed. The black mist... is receding?
She instinctively looked at him. He, too, had noticed her, and had now come over, his own gaze now fixed on the black fragment in her hand. His expression did not change, but she felt a subtle shift in the air around him.
She handed it to him.
He ran a finger along its edge. He did not pour any mana into it. He just... felt it. The familiar aura, the residual power of a god. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but its nature... it was the same as the Demon King's.
"It came from the Godfall Land?" he asked.
"Yes. It seems the black mist has begun to dissipate."
"And you can see inside it now," the old woman added. "Those adventurers... they're planning to go in and explore once it's completely gone."
He and Serie exchanged a look, and a new and grim understanding passed between them. The black mist... it should not be dissipating so quickly. Could it be...?
A new and terrible thought came to his mind.
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