Although the doctor's luck wasn't great, Xia De had a lot of trust in the doctor's ability to handle things. With the doctor mediating, Xia De believed there was a high probability this deal would succeed.
Therefore, when Leia later used Dorothy's body to give him a lesson, he also told Leia about this matter.
The Princess was quite surprised, holding a teacup from behind the desk, she laughed, "Spatial movement for over three minutes every hour? That's quite interesting."
She sized up Xia De: "Although the time is short, if you get this door, we can meet often."
Only then did Xia De realize that this relic wasn't as useless as he had imagined.
This week, they continued their study of the fairy tale "sleeping princess." The study period had already lasted nearly a month. Leia didn't give any more dry theoretical explanations this time. Instead, she burned her handwritten copy of the story and summoned the Princess holding the spinning wheel.
Xia De was surprised to find that compared to using the Miracle in Coldwater Port, this Miracle summoning was significantly faster, and the Princess's body was also more solid, even approaching a true physical entity.
"Last week, didn't you help Dorothy advance from Four Ring to PentaCircle?"
Leia, sitting in the study chair, put down her teacup and waved to her back. The PentaCircle Sorcerer's Destiny Ring appeared. Xia De looked up, but didn't see any difference: "What do you mean?"
"Although she only advanced to the same level as me, I clearly feel that I've also become stronger. It's not just that the power feedback from her is stronger..."
As she spoke, she found another piece of parchment and threw it out. The sight of the parchment burning in the air scared the cat lying on Xia De's lap, probably making it think that anything in the room could catch fire.
And after the second piece of parchment burned, the figure of the match girl with a basket also appeared. She and the sleeping princess bowed slightly to Xia De, which meant that Leia could now summon two fairy tale characters simultaneously.
"Our levels are even, which allows us to utilize each other's power better."
"That's truly remarkable."
Xia De didn't stint on his praise: "What about Red Butterfly? Is Old Man John's alchemy product ready yet?"
"It's ready, but the situation isn't ideal."
Leia looked troubled as she spoke of this. She picked up her teacup, and the sleeping princess beside her refilled it: "Even after improving the materials, it only allows us to maintain eye contact for longer; there's no fundamental change. The old man also admitted that he couldn't do any better than this, so we should think of other methods."
"So, you went to investigate the Old God 【twin gods】?"
"Yes, as you know, although I don't live in the Academy, I'm not exactly a correspondence student. I applied to my mentor to investigate the material, and Zaras Academy also has records about this deity."
Although this had nothing to do with tonight's lesson, Xia De, behind the desk, still asked curiously: "Any new news?"
"No, this great one who has long departed was not a particularly famous deity to begin with, because the transcendents of the previous epoch, the witches, did not reproduce. Lacking the prayers of transcendents for the birth of twins, her faith was severely weakened."
Leia covered her head: "The only most definite thing known so far is what you mentioned: this twin gods once descended in the previous epoch near what is now Sicar Mountain, bestowing power upon a pair of female twins, helping them defeat an evil entity sealed in a subspace."
Professor Dunn's information didn't specify the gender of those twins. And judging from the whereabouts of the vampire ring, the old man at the banquet also died in the Sicar Mountain area.
"Did the information record the names of those twins blessed by the deity? Were they... Helen and Grace?"
Xia De asked hesitantly.
"Are those the names of the twin girls you encountered in the past?"
Leia smiled: "You really have a way with women, but unfortunately, the Academy's records don't have the names of those twin girls. However, the pronouns describing people in the fifth epoch also indicate age stages. The twin girls who received divine Grace during the divine descent were around 20 years old at the time."
"I see."
"Oh, the records state that the subspace evil entity that was defeated was sealed by the girls' family, passed down through generations—what's that expression on your face?"
Leia asked curiously, as a smile appeared on Xia De's face. He stood up and went to the window, then held Mia and looked out at the night view of Saint Delan Square.
Carriages passed through the square, and the streets under the gas lamps were quiet and peaceful:
"They really did it. They really found the twin gods' cult seeking help with the God of Vampires's relic, and they really cut off the fate that troubled countless pairs of twins. That's great, they broke their own fate, that's really good."
Leia tilted her head and looked at him: "Why do you always encounter such strange things in the past? I mean, the past and the present are always connected by you in this era, like Miss Felianna's matter, and that sage-level relic in your basement."
"Don't think of me as that kind of strange person."
Although he knew Leia was joking, Xia De still retorted.
"It's getting late. The break is over. Next, let's proceed with the final step of tonight's lesson."
Leia said, and the Princess, who resembled Leia and held a spinning wheel, walked towards Xia De: "The best way to let you experience 【Slumber】 is to let you sleep. I remember, you need to wake up before dawn tomorrow morning to use the next key? No problem, I can precisely control the sleep duration."
"Oh, Leia, isn't it too early now? It's only 9:30 PM, and I usually go to bed at midnight."
"So your life is too irregular. Go to bed quickly. Aren't you getting up early tomorrow morning? I'll go upstairs to chat with Luvia for a while and then leave."
As she spoke, she actually took the spinning wheel from the sleeping princess's hand, while the Princess in her voluminous long dress smiled and looked at Xia De.
"This thing can actually be touched by others?"
Xia De was very surprised.
"The nature of this spinning wheel is very similar to your Moonlight Greatsword. Similarly, the match girl's basket can also be touched. I can prick you myself in a bit."
Luvia chuckled and gestured: "Want to give your cat a try too?"
"Meow~"
The cat, sometimes very clever but sometimes very foolish, had already become interested in the golden spinning wheel.
(Mia sleeping zZ)
If one explores the power of a Ring術士 carefully, there are actually many inconspicuous side effects. For example, Xia De's terrifying spell 【blood brew production】 can be used to brew excellent wine.
And Leia's "sleeping princess" actually allowed Xia De to have a dreamless, good night's sleep, and even after waking up, he felt refreshed and had an unprecedented sense of joy.
"That's really good."
The time was before the first rays of sunlight rose on Sunday morning. Since it was not yet 6:30, Mia felt Xia De getting up and didn't follow him out of bed.
The key to be used next was set in the year 3024 of the fifth epoch. Twenty-two years had passed since the divine descent event in the Thousand Tree Forest; exactly ten years had passed since the God's banquet in Night Manor.
This key was provided by Grandma Cassandra, and Xia De had already told Miss Jialinna about it. The witch was looking forward to Xia De encountering Miss Felianna again, but Xia De remained pessimistic about the high probability.
This was the first time this key was used, so Xia De didn't need to make any special preparations.
After getting up, he washed up briefly, greeted Mia, and inserted the key into his bedroom door: "May the World Tree bless me in time."
White mist overflowed from the crack in the door, like silk floss.
【Outsider, you have stepped into the "Time Corridor."】
【Message from the Old God "Father of Infinite Trees":】
【Winter, 3024, fifth epoch, Central Continent, Dead Silence Valley.】
【Event: The destruction of Gaddis Library.】
【Duration: Thirty minutes (1/3).】
"Ha, after east, west, south, and north, we finally reached the Central Continent. So how many large landmasses are there in the material world of the fifth epoch?"
【You have gained additional information.】
【The figure of the Father of Infinite Trees continues to watch you.】
【The Old God of Time gives you a trial.】
【Assist the Old God "Grey-Robed Sage" in completing the documentation of the Library's texts.】
【The Father of Infinite Trees will give you a reward: Knowledge - Original Sin Miracle, a piece of true information - Vampire.】
"Hmm? This time, there isn't even a Miracle?"
Xia De still remembered that the first time he used the key, he received a Ling Rune and a Miracle, but now it was only Knowledge and information.
"Anyway, it's a freebie. Let's see what the situation is this time."
Xia De couldn't help but shake his head, stepping out of the white mist amidst "her" soft laughter.
"Oh!"
As he stepped out, the surrounding white mist seemed to be pushed away by a great force, spreading outwards from the center of his vision. But after the white mist receded, the view was still dominated by white.
Howling winds mixed with swirling snow, along with snow layers almost knee-deep on the ground, created a winter scene before Xia De's eyes. The biting cold made Xia De, who had just left his warm and comfortable bedroom, shiver involuntarily.
The strong wind passed by, making a chilling sound. Other than that, there was no other sound here. Looking up, amidst the swirling snow, was a wide but deep and oppressive valley. This was truly the most standard "valley"; on both sides were steep cliffs almost perpendicular to the ground, and the cliffs converged forward, meeting in a nearly circular arc shape ahead.
As for behind him, the cliffs stretched into the distance, with no end in sight.
These cliffs were probably several hundred meters high, but because the valley was quite large, sunlight could shine directly down, causing the snow to reflect dazzling light. The cliffs on both sides and in front were all hollowed out and carved into the shape of cliffside buildings.
After years of erosion, most of the cliffside buildings were damaged, turning into ancient ruins, and these buildings were probably the "Gaddis Library" mentioned in the mission description.
"It's really winter. I hope the coming winter in Tobesk won't be this cold."
The dense, swirling snowflakes blurred his vision, and the snowflakes even stung his face. Xia De shivered in the snow. Fortunately, he had anticipated encountering various dangerous situations during his adventures, so he had prepared a greatcoat long ago.
