17 - Chapter 17

Charles saw that the mage was about to cast a spell, so he quickly retreated. In fact, he didn’t completely trust this ‘young’ mage, but he trusted His Majesty Passia, so he was willing to trust His Majesty’s guests.

As Estel was about to leave, Burris told her softly: “To be on the safe side, go and check if there is a problem with the durians. No one should have eaten them, right?”

“Of course.” Said the princess. “People suspect that the batch of durians is poisonous, and they have been kept separately.”

“I don’t think they are toxic, but you’d better check them out. If your father asks questions, let the prince’s family explain it, let’s just say we don’t know anything.”

After the princess left, only Burris and Roth were left in the room, as well as an unconscious Tarina. Sir Charles didn’t go far, he was walking around in the corridor, like a small mastiff guarding the courtyard. Burris was afraid that he couldn’t help breaking in, so he locked the door with magic.

“All right, let’s start.” Burris sat down by the bed and closed his eyes.

Roth sat next to him, holding his shoulders with both hands: “Can you stop looking so gloomy? It’s like I have tainted your innocence.”

“It’s a very serious thing. Do I need to smile happily?”

“At least…can you stop looking like you are suffering?” Roth pressed his fingers on the mage’s brow, trying to spread his furrowing brow.

Burris opened his eyes slightly. “I’m sorry, my lord. I’m not averse to being touched by you. It’s just that…people often have some contradictory behaviors, such as spending a lot of money to find a famous doctor, but then screaming in fear when they see that doctor…”

Roth asked: “Or, for example, you know you like someone in your heart, but do everything you can to keep a distance?”

“That…too.” Burris said. “Anyway, sometimes it’s really hard for people to control their emotions. Even I can’t help it.”

“I see.”

Roth didn’t say anything more. He embraced Burris and kissed him. He let the mage lean in his arms, holding the mage’s back with one hand, and taking the mage’s chin with the other, so that Burris’s head could rest in his shoulder and he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

He slowly injected his power into the human, slower than when he rescued Heisong last time. The faster the process, the greater the burden on humans. He was more willing to slow down, whether it was for magic or selfish purposes.

After the magic transference, Burris immediately began to cast the spell for Tarina. The curse on Tarina was not difficult to lift, and the casting process was much shorter than the one that saved Heisong. After it was over, Burris was in a trance for a short while, as before, Roth held him from behind and slowly waited for him to recover.

After waking up, Burris sighed: “if I could cast my own magic, perhaps it would have taken me a second or two to lift Heisong’s curse…”

“How long will it take you to regain your original spellcasting ability?” Roth asked.

“It’s estimated that it will take a while. Actually, there has been progress. I tried some…er…”

“What’s the matter with you?”

“Dizziness. Heavens, how do those clerics cast their spells? Don’t they feel uncomfortable if they let the divine magic thread through their own flesh and blood…”

“Now you mention it, I haven’t seen a cleric cast a spell yet.” Roth asked. “Are they dizzy after casting spells?”

“They get dizzy too…”

Burris looked at the reclining chair next to him, and Roth immediately understood what he meant and went directly to pick him up. Burris leaned back on the recliner, closing his eyes to rest up his mind and said: “Most clerics only serve as priests and cannot really perform divine magic. Only a very small number of clerics can be selected by the divine magic. I was fortunate enough to have seen a cleric of Airuben cast a spell of life revival. When he prayed and walked, the vegetation turned from withered to prosperous, the dying livestock were reborn, and the human injuries suffered by the power of death gradually recovered… The priest was an elf, he saved a whole forest and several villages, and then he fell down.”

“Dead?”

“No, but he might have to go through a time when life is worse than death. He exhausted his physical strength, overdraw his soul, and became very weak. He would have a low fever for a long time and could not take care of himself. He did not even have the strength to sit up and even could not speak complete sentences. It will take at least forty to fifty years for the damage of the overdrawn soul to gradually recover. During this period, someone must take care of him to prevent him from dying of an accident… For such a long time, maybe the elves can bear it, if it’s a human priest… It’s quite lethal. In short, after all, divine magic comes from ancient gods, and the supreme power is too heavy for mortals.”

Roth thought for a while. “You said that the elf priest saved a forest… What happened before to that forest? It certainly didn’t decay naturally.”

“That forest was ruled by Yriel. Do you remember the name Yriel?”

“I remember it. He was your mentor.”

“I thought you didn’t pay attention to the name at all. So, you remember it all.” Burris smiled bitterly. “Yriel left a mess after his death, such as huge golems out of control or farms with hungry monsters everywhere, and the forest…It was ruled by Yriel for many years, and he used it as a training ground for his demons and summoned creatures. When Yriel was alive, he would take care of the forest a little. After he died, the things in it grew out of control, and the forest gradually became a forbidden area of death. The vegetation was withered, the miasma overflowed, and there were undead and mutated creatures everywhere… What’s more, the cursed forest would continue to expand and gradually devour normal forests and villages. It was quite a headache.”

“And then? The cleric went to save the forest, and so did you?”

“I went, too. Only a necromancer can control the danger left by another necromancer. There were many people taking part in the operation, including a company of human infantry, one elven elite team, two mages and three priests. Two of the priests were actually soldiers who had been ordained, and only the elf could perform real divine magic.”

Roth didn’t speak for a long time. He seemed to be imagining the adventure at that time. After a while, he asked: “When did this happen?”

“When I was in my thirties.”

“Is the forest in Sago?”

“No. That forest is located between two countries in the north, next to a free city-state named Fessit. Fessit is rich in three types of green ores, so it is also known as the city of Green Splendor. The forest next to it is named ‘Gem Forest’. Now it’s all right there. It’s peaceful. Fessit is beautiful. It’s a human city full of elves. If we have time in the future, we could travel…”

Burris closed his eyes and heard Roth mutter with a smile: “You really don’t look like a necromancer…”

“What should a necromancer look like? Like Yriel?”

“That’s right. At least they shouldn’t be eager to help others.”

The mage laughed self-deprecatingly: “In fact…In any case, I have never done anything that Yriel did, I mean in terms of experimentation and research. It’s just that I’m more cautious and more willing to think long term. Take the cursed forest for example. After that, not only did I earn a reward, but also got the olive branch thrown by the Arcane Federation…That was good, because I could continue to do what I like. Mages stand for knowledge and magic, not for inflicting meaningless pain on themselves and the outside world.”

After speaking, Burris opened his eyes and Roth stood with his back to him between the recliner and the bed, seeming to observe the state of the princess. “She will have to wait a little while to wake up.” Burris said. “Look, doesn’t she look much better?”

“Yes…” Roth turned around. “By the way, I want to go out for a while. Do you think there would be a problem?”

“No problem, it’s safe here.” Burris asked. “But where are you going?”

“Like Estel, to look around.” Roth chuckled. “Burris, I am not Yriel. I agree with your point of view, I don’t like his lifestyle at all. You don’t need to remind me of it all the time, and you don’t have to worry about what I am going to destroy or conquer.”

“You…How could you suddenly say that…” Burris was a little flustered.

Roth leaned slightly and stared at Burris’s eyes: “I know you trust me, but at the same time, you are a little afraid of me, not that I will harm you, but that I will have some influence on the outside world one day…Since I came back with you, actually, I was aware of your worries. It’s all right Burris, as long as I have food, drink and money to spend, I’ll be very happy. I want to enjoy life by your side and help you pursue knowledge in the meantime. This is my purpose, nothing more.”

Burris avoided eye contact and sat up slightly. The tone of the Skeleton King just now was more like the one he used more than sixty years ago… At that time, the Skeleton King did not say much, but every sentence he said was very serious. Now Roth was laughing and joking all day long, but Burris was not used to his serious talk.

After a long time, Burris said awkwardly: “Sorry, I just…”

Roth patted him on the shoulder: “Don’t be sorry. I know that humans sometimes can’t control their own heart. I’ll go out for a walk, and I’ll be back before the formal dinner. If you’re not in this room, I’ll meet you in the ballroom.”

The magic lock could not keep the Skeleton King from leaving. Roth hummed a tune, opened the door and went out. Burris heard Sir Charles in the hallway asking him how the situation was. He said the spellcasting was very smooth and Sir Charles cried out his thanks to the gods…

Burris released the magic lock in time, and sure enough, the next second Sir Charles rushed in like a boar. He awkwardly thanked the mage on the couch and sat down by the bed to observe his sister’s condition.

Looking at the young knight, Burris couldn’t help but think of some past adventures. Many young rangers and warriors are like this, with clear eyes, poor speech, straight thinking, and can’t deceive others… The knights, on the other hand, are very deceiving. Although they swear to abide by various rules, including sincerity, they will deceive themselves and others. They will deceive themselves first and then others.

This kind of person has a characteristic when lying: they look directly into the eyes of the person when they are talking to them.

They try to persuade you with their warm eyes and a false sense of intimacy when they look at your eyes: Believe me, I’m really honest with you, and I fully believe what I’m saying.

Burris recalled earnestly. Were Roth’s eyes like this just now?

Thanks for reading! 🙂