An interesting incident also occurred during dinner. Xia De went to the washroom midway through. As he returned to the dining room after washing his hands, he saw Miss Swift approaching him.
The young apprentice didn't encounter Xia De by chance; it seemed like she was waiting for him:
"Mr. Hamilton."
She stood hesitantly with her hands behind her back, calling out to Xia De in the corridor. Seeing no one around, she asked in a low voice:
"You met Miss Silvia, didn't you?"
"Yes, she is a very excellent lady."
Xia De nodded, and then the flaxen-haired lady, with flickering eyes, asked:
"We shouldn't inquire about other Great Witches' information casually, but I remember Miss Silvia isn't very old."
"Yes, she is twenty-one this year."
Although discussing ladies' ages is impolite, given that Miss Silvia is young, Xia De provided the answer.
"Younger than all of us..."
Miss Swift nodded, somewhat crestfallen.
Although she looked about the same age as Angelina, her actual age was similar to Xia De's current body, meaning she was one or two years older than Miss Silvia.
Xia De naturally understood the young lady's thoughts, so he comforted her:
"You should compare yourself to the Great Witches' apprentices, not to the Great Witches themselves.
For Miss Silvia to become a Tenth Ring at such a young age, besides her own efforts, it's also related to the times... I mean, to her experiences. I had an in-depth conversation with Miss Silvia and know that it wasn't easy for her; without the protection of a teacher, she had to face everything on her own. I won't lie, and of course, I won't tell you that you are better than her, but sometimes people shouldn't look too far ahead; they should look at what's in front of them and under their feet."
Miss Swift nodded; she had always been a bit unconfident:
"Grandma Cassandra intends to train me as her successor, but I don't think I can be better than Miss Silvia."
"Grandma Cassandra is several hundred years old and still a Tenth Ring, while Miss Silvia is already a Tenth Ring now. This comparison is actually meaningless. Although it might sound impolite, Grandma Cassandra is not as excellent as Miss Silvia, but she is still the most respected person in the contemporary council."
Hearing Xia De say this, Miss Swift finally showed a slight smile. She looked at Xia De a little embarrassed:
"I'm sorry, listening to me talk about these things must be boring, but I can't find anyone else to share these thoughts with."
She was Grandma Cassandra's only apprentice at the moment, so it was naturally impossible for her to discuss these matters with the followers.
"It's okay, everyone has their own troubles. Compared to others, your troubles are actually very normal. Let's go back."
He said, but Miss Swift shook her head:
"Mr. Hamilton, you go back first. I'll go back a bit later."
Saying that, she walked towards the washroom, then suddenly turned her head:
"Thank you."
"Is this something worth thanking for?"
Xia De thought in surprise, then heard her laughter:
【Sometimes, I really have to wonder if the one who blesses you is truly only the God of Gamblers.】
After dinner, the Old Witch took Xia De, Sister Devlin, Grace Helen, and Miss Swift to the basement to get a closer look at the relic she had found for Grace and Helen that could safely perform spatial transfers.
It was the keeper-level relic 【magician's escape box】, which looked like a black and dark blue metal “escape box” from the outside, resembling a coffin.
The box was a standard cuboid, with four sides adorned with geometric patterns of unknown meaning. In addition, there were openings that ran through both sides at the top, upper-middle, middle, lower-middle, and bottom, allowing sharp weapons like swords or knives to be thrust through:
"Have you seen a magic show?"
Grandma Cassandra asked Xia De, who recalled for a moment:
"No."
Not in this world.
"There's a classic escape magic trick where the magician enters a sealed box, and people outside attack the box with weapons. But when the box is opened, there's no corpse inside. Then the magician dramatically emerges from a corner of the stage."
Helen eagerly explained to Xia De, tugging at his sleeve:
"My sister and I saw this before, but I don't remember when. Yes, if it's this relic, then it will definitely work."
The keeper-level relic 【magician's escape box】: when any humanoid creature enters the box and the door is closed, five sharp swords are thrust through the box. The creature inside, after feeling a slight piercing pain, will be transferred to the location of a pre-set “escape ritual.”
The specific base array of the ritual is drawn on the bottom of the box and can be redrawn on any flat surface with chalk. If multiple escape rituals exist simultaneously, the transfer will occur to the last completed ritual.
Of course, the negative characteristics of a keeper-level relic cannot be ignored. Within 【magician's escape box】, there resides a terrifying undead being who calls himself “Magician Wood.” He is very likely the original owner of this relic. After the magic box became a relic, the undead was also affected by the whisper element, sublimating into an unknowable and inaudible strange existence.
Anyone who uses this box for “escape” might be targeted by Magician Wood, or even release the undead imprisoned by the escape box.
Some special methods, such as carrying the holy emblem of a righteous god, bathing in holy water, or engraving the symbols of other powerful existences on the skin, can effectively reduce the possibility of encountering “Magician Wood.” However, if one is very unlucky, they can still be entangled by him.
Strictly speaking, the main function of this relic is not spatial movement, but rather to obtain the strange but useful “magic” Knowledge of “Magician Wood” by listening to the undead whisper when entering the escape box and performing the transfer. Spatial movement is only an additional effect of the relic, but it happens to be useful for Grace and Helen.
Even if their powers are sealed, they are still Angel-level humanoid relics. “Magician Wood” and this box together are only rated as Keeper-level; the two do not even have comparable value, so there is no need to worry about the negative effects of the relic on them.
They are all relics, so there's no need to overthink things like humans do.
If a human like Sister Devlin were to use this box, Grandma Cassandra suggested that only High Rings could use it, and the frequency of use should not exceed once every six months.
Listening to the whisper of “Magician Wood” to gain Knowledge is an inevitable occurrence. Even if one doesn't consider the possibility of being entangled by that terrifying whispering undead, one must also consider the impact of the undead's whisper on the human soul.
Of course, for Sister Devlin, she is a Chosen One and can unconditionally enter the Space Labyrinth. Therefore, Xia De only needs to take the sister to touch the ancient god statue at the ruined tower in Sicar Mountain first, and then use the magician's escape box to touch the ancient god statue at White River Valley Vineyard. This will successfully allow the sister to establish landmarks between the two places, and she will no longer need to use this relic.
It's just a pity that if she wants to visit Tobesk, she will still need to wait until a similar relic is found, or go there in person. However, nothing has happened in Tobesk yet that absolutely requires the sister's presence to resolve, so there is no rush for this matter.
Grandma Cassandra described the relic's characteristics. With Miss Swift's help, Xia De opened the box, which was secured by nine padlocks. The inside of the box had a soft red wool lining, clearly intended to make the person inside more comfortable. Only the top of the interior lacked lining; instead, there was a line of fifth epoch text that looked as if it had been scratched out with a fingernail:
【The final way to escape this box is death.】
"The physical body can't escape, so the soul escapes? But his soul didn't manage to escape in the end either."
Xia De translated the text and then said regretfully.
Grace, wearing a white dress and looking about fifteen or sixteen, tugged at Xia De's sleeve like her sister and whispered:
"Sir, I still remember, Helen and I went to see his performance. It is said that he eventually died alone in the box, his body pierced by five long swords. But no one could have entered that sealed room; it was as if he himself, from outside the box, pierced himself inside the box."
"That's also a kind of magic, isn't it?"
Sister Devlin whispered, while Helen tugged at Xia De's sleeve and added:
"Before this magician's death, he always wanted to access the power of mysticism to enrich and expand his magic tricks. But as you know, men in the fifth epoch cannot use extraordinary power, so it's hard to determine whether the magician's death was due to an accidental incident, or if he truly provoked those terrifying existences in his exploration of the mystical realm."
Listening to Helen's voice, Xia De reached out to touch the text on the inside top of the box, but across an epoch, there was no residual power left for Xia De to judge:
"The stories of these relics are perhaps more interesting than the relics themselves."
In any case, with this 【magician's escape box】, Grace and Helen could go to Saint Delan Square Six, but their injuries had not fully healed yet, so they planned to wait until winter officially began, after the snow, to go to Tobesk.
And Sister Devlin was also not in a hurry to go to Huntington City to establish new landmarks; instead, she planned to wait until Xia De completed his tasks before they set off together.
Thus, the full and busy Monday passed. After returning home in the evening, Xia De didn't idly; he continued to refine his thesis in the study. This kind of work easily makes one forget time once they concentrate.
By the time Xia De realized he had almost finished the first draft, it was already one o'clock in the morning on Tuesday:
"I still have a wedding to attend during the day!"
Xia De glanced at Saint Delan Square, which was foggy under the night sky outside the window, then got up to rest. After a hasty wash, he found that Mia was nowhere to be found.
After circling the second floor, he finally saw the cat in the study, peering at the thesis manuscript by Moonlight:
"You can't even read, what are you looking at?"
He picked up Mia, who had three rings on her tail, and smiled as he playfully poked her tail, only to be glared at by Mia in displeasure.
"Meow~"
Rubbing against Xia De's arm, the small orange cat also opened its mouth and yawned.
Xia De casually picked up a pen and wrote a system of two-variable linear equations on a scrap piece of paper, and the blurred ink then listed four answers:
"Which one is the answer? If you get it right, I'll make you a late-night snack."
The cat lay in Xia De's arms with its eyes narrowed, showing no intention of moving.
Xia De finally relaxed and, in a good mood, prepared to rest.
