Mage's Profound Truths

Chapter 17: The Ring

The ring was finally found by Merlin in an inconspicuous corner of his writing desk; back when old Aeta had given him this ring, Merlin hadn't thought much of it, so he casually left it on the desk.

Merlin picked up the ring in his hand and gently wiped the dust off it.

The ring was still pitch black, and holding it in his hand, it seemed to emit a cold aura; although Merlin hadn’t cared much for this strange ring before, now that he knew old Aeta’s true identity, he was certain the ring couldn’t be simple.

Merlin carefully recalled every detail from when old Aeta had given him the ring; at that time, Aeta’s face had been pale and he looked quite exhausted—it was unclear what he had just done.

"Could it be that Teacher Aeta had already sensed he was in danger back then?"

The more Merlin thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Otherwise, old Aeta wouldn't have given him the ring so suddenly and without reason.

There was a terrifying and fierce monster engraved on the ring; Merlin gently ran his finger across every part of the ring but didn’t notice anything unusual.

So, Merlin held the ring up to his eyes and carefully examined every inch of it, hoping to find some kind of text or clue.

But just as he concentrated fully on the ring, he suddenly felt dazed, as if the surroundings had gone completely dark.

Just as panic began to rise in Merlin’s heart, he was struck by a strange sensation: this darkness didn’t seem to hinder his senses at all—he could clearly "see" everything around him.

He was in a ten-square-meter space, completely dark and extremely empty. The only thing in sight was a single black-covered book placed quietly in the center, strikingly obvious in this void.

“Space?”

A hint of confusion flashed through Merlin’s mind, but then he suddenly snapped back to his senses. He blinked in surprise, looked around, and realized he was still sitting in the wooden chair, the ring still in his hand—everything just now seemed like an illusion.

"No, it shouldn't have been an illusion."

Merlin pondered for a while. He could clearly recall everything he had seen in that dark space just now, and he was convinced—it definitely wasn't an illusion.

So, he once again focused his mind on the ring, and sure enough, just like before, he was transported back into that dark space.

“It seems this ring contains a space within it.”

Merlin thought silently to himself. Since old Aeta had given him this ring, he must have left something inside for Merlin to discover.

The space inside the ring was very empty, containing only a single black-covered book. Without a doubt, this was what old Aeta had left behind.

Merlin tried mentally visualizing pulling the book out—and it worked. The black-covered book vanished instantly, and when Merlin regained awareness, he saw the book had appeared on the desk.

The black-covered book was very thick, divided into several sections, bound together with black silk thread.

Merlin gently opened a page and saw it filled with all sorts of strange diagrams, resembling mathematical models from his previous life.

Below the diagrams were densely packed words written in Morta script. The handwriting was very familiar—it was old Aeta’s.

“Morta script?”

Merlin frowned. He had only learned about two hundred Morta words so far, so he could only piece together a few scattered phrases.

He could recognize words like “fireball,” “model,” and “spell,” but most of the content still left him at a loss.

Yet even from these scattered phrases, Merlin had a rough idea—this book was likely a journal written by old Aeta, possibly containing his insights and experiences with spellcasting.

It was a genuine spell journal!

At that thought, Merlin’s heart burned with excitement. Ever since witnessing the immense power of old Aeta and the white-robed man, he had never forgotten the awe of such power.

And this spell journal of old Aeta’s opened a brand-new door for Merlin!

Though his mood was excited, after reading for a while, Merlin could only sigh and close the journal.

The Morta script in the spell journal had a vast vocabulary, many of which were obscure. With only two hundred words at his disposal, Merlin couldn’t even understand a full sentence, let alone the full content.

So if he wanted to understand what was written, he had to first learn more Morta words—at least a thousand—to barely comprehend the journal.

Knock knock knock.

A series of urgent knocks came from outside the door. Startled, Merlin quickly hid the spell journal before opening the door.

“Young Master Merlin, several knights from the City Defense Corps have arrived at the castle. They said they need you to go with them for something.”

It was the butler standing outside the door, his face filled with deep concern.

“Knights from the City Defense Corps?”

Merlin was shocked. Ever since he returned to the castle, he had vaguely felt that the matter with Old Etha would become a big deal, and anyone associated with him would get into trouble.

He just hadn't expected the trouble to come so quickly.

"Butler, let's go. I'll go meet them."

So Merlin went downstairs and arrived at the main hall.

At this moment, in the hall, there was a man in silver light armor sitting on a chair, and beside him stood three knights wearing the uniforms of the City Defense Corps.

Merlin only glanced indifferently at the three knights, but as for the man in silver armor, Merlin became even more convinced that this had to do with Old Etha, because the man was clearly a Guardian Swordsman from Gran City.

"Are you Wilson Merlin?"

"I am Wilson Merlin. What do you want?"

"Come with us. We are Guardian Swordsmen from the Gran City Church. There are some things we need to investigate."

With that, the three City Defense Corps knights quickly stepped behind Merlin, glaring at him menacingly.

Merlin frowned slightly. He knew the Church was powerful. Since even the City Defense Corps knights had been mobilized, it must have had the lord's approval. He had no choice.

"Alright, I'll go with you."

Merlin tidied his clothes and followed the man in silver armor out of the castle.

The butler hurriedly ran a few steps to Merlin’s side and asked anxiously, “Young Master Merlin, what is going on? Is this some kind of misunderstanding? Should I go get the baron?”

Merlin was the only son of the Wilson family and heir to the title. The butler was naturally worried about such a serious matter.

But Merlin shook his head and smiled slightly, saying, “No need to trouble Father. It’ll be fine. I can handle this quickly. Oh, and don’t tell Meixue, or she might act impulsively and do something irrational.”

After giving these instructions, Merlin calmly sat in the carriage prepared by the City Defense Corps and slowly left the castle.

Inside the carriage, there was only one City Defense Corps knight and the silver-armored Guardian Swordsman watching Merlin. The other two knights were on horseback, escorting the carriage.

After all, Merlin was different from others. He was the only heir of the Wilson family. Due to his high status, a Guardian Swordsman had been specially dispatched. Otherwise, these knights alone couldn’t have taken him from Wilson Castle.

“Young Master Merlin, don’t be nervous. This time, we just want you to assist with an investigation. Once it’s confirmed that you have no connection with the evil heretics, you’ll be released.”

This was said by the knight in the carriage, who feared the Wilson family greatly. After all, Old Wilson had a terrible temper. In Blackwater City, aside from the city lord, no one else could intimidate him. If he found out about this, it would be disastrous.

So even though the knight was ordered to take Merlin away, he dared not treat him harshly.

Merlin nodded slightly and ignored the knight, turning his gaze instead to the Guardian Swordsman.

This Guardian Swordsman was not very old—under thirty—but his expression was cold. Since entering the carriage, he hadn’t moved at all or acknowledged Merlin.

Merlin wanted to glean some information from him, so he said softly, “I have a friend who recently went to Gran City for an exchange and became a Guardian Swordsman. I heard he even received the blessing of the archbishop. I wonder if you know him?”

“You mean Cardron?”

The cold Guardian Swordsman finally opened his eyes and spoke in surprise.

Merlin’s heart stirred, and he quickly nodded. “Yes, that’s him—Cardron.”

Seeing Merlin nod, the Guardian Swordsman’s expression finally softened, and he said indifferently, “What a coincidence. After being blessed by the archbishop, Cardron was assigned to our squad. But since he just became a Guardian Swordsman, he wasn’t brought along this time.”

Thanks to his connection with Cardron, Merlin’s relationship with this Guardian Swordsman improved, and he finally asked a long-held question: “The evil heretics are said to be powerful, possessing wicked powers that ordinary people can’t resist. Yet you killed one this time. Who exactly is Lord Jason?”

As soon as Merlin asked, the atmosphere inside the carriage became heavy. Even the knight looked at the Guardian Swordsman with anticipation.

The Guardian Swordsman saw the expectant looks of both Merlin and the knight and seemed quite pleased. He finally smiled slightly and said quietly, “You’ve asked the right person. Anyone else wouldn’t know Lord Jason’s identity. He’s a lord of the Inquisition, with a status even above ours. He reports directly to the church headquarters. Not even the archbishop can command the Inquisition lords. They only act when facing evil heretics. Normally, they’re extremely secretive—no one knows what they do. But it’s said within the church that the Inquisition lords are the closest to God and have been granted all kinds of powerful blessings by Him!”

After speaking, a trace of envy appeared on the Guardian Swordsman’s face.