Chapter 433: 433

Roland had always believed that this world was real and that the authorities and the state were cooperating to conceal a lot of things . But the strategy at the national level, he, a private citizen, couldn’t influence, nor could he see the whole picture, so he could only try to take from it what he wanted, or what was good for him .

For example, knowledge and skills .

Hearing Betta’s words, Li Lin shrugged his shoulders and then sat down . “I’ll leave this philosophical stuff to you intellectuals . After a conclusion is made, tell us in simple, understandable language . ”

The three then went off to the side to play poker and fight the landlord .

Players were able to make wares and instruments in this world, and those who were dexterous could naturally make poker cards .

Roland looked at the three of them not wanting to care so much and shook his head helplessly .

Betta asked, “Brother Roland, what do you think are the chances of this idea of yours?”

“Sixty percent . ” Roland pondered a little more, gathered some wine on his finger, drew a tree diagram on the table casually, and said, “When we go into the dungeon, if we don’t choose to rob the Water of Light by force, we’ll trigger another plot, and maybe with my actions, Mippels’s personality and identity could change . However, now that things have been computed to this point, Mippels’s identity and personality should be set . But I just don’t know which branching plot we’ll walk down next . ”

Betta’s eyes narrowed, something he subconsciously did when he contemplated .

After a short while, Betta asked, “You mean, we can do whatever we want in this dungeon?”

“That’s not the case . ” Roland shook his head . “Have you seen the Warriors protecting the Water of Light? They are all Masters and there are many of them, but looking at their armor and equipment, they are just elite soldiers . Normally, a Master Warrior is always an officer! So, that must be the equipment made by the system to prevent us from robbing the Water of Light . If our levels were higher, we might see that these Warriors are all Legends . ”

It suddenly struck Betta . “No wonder I always felt something was wrong . ”

“The system is forcing us to follow the predetermined plot,” Roland said after some thought . “So, we have to go out and look for information . Li Lin, you guys come over here and we’ll assign tasks . ”

Li Lin muttered, “We’re just about to start fighting the landlord . ”

Roland said with a smile, “Husseret and Li Lin, go see if there is a Guild of Rogues or Guild of Mercenaries and the like in this era . If there are, go buy some information from them . If not, go to the tavern and collect it . ”

Li Lin nodded vigorously . He liked to go to nightclubs in the real world, so naturally, he liked to drink .

“Betta and Brazil, you two stroll around town and try to see if you can trigger a secondary quest . ”

The two of them nodded .

“I’ll fly up later to see how wide the ‘actionable’ range of this dungeon world is . ” Roland thought for a moment and continued, “I’ll set you guys up for another Unhindered Communication later—effective for about fourteen hours—and before the time is up, come back here to the hotel and I’ll add it again . ”

As Roland spoke, he applied Unhindered Communication to all four of them .

“Okay, no problem,” the four said in unison .

“If there are no questions, let’s get started now . ” Roland stood up .

At this moment, Betta suddenly shouted, “Brother Roland, we can’t seem to connect to the game forums . ”

Huh?

Roland was startled for a moment . He opened the browser that came with the game and found that it was indeed showing a 404 error .

This was true for the others as well .

“Maybe it’s a peculiarity of the dungeon,” Roland said after some thought . “Anyway, let’s finish the quest first . ”

With that said, all five left the hotel .

Roland found an open place with few people and sensed for magic marks .

But he found that he could not perceive the magic marks he had previously recorded .

In other words, there was no way for him to teleport anywhere else in this dungeon space .

In that case… activate Human Cannonball .

Roland whooshed and soared into the sky, then rose straight up, but just as he was in the process of ascending, he suddenly felt a little uneasy and immediately stopped, becoming suspended in midair .

And then he stared at the blue clouds overhead and felt something off . He condensed an Inferior Fireball and launched it upward .

The Inferior Fireball flew less than a hundred meters and seemed to hit something, exploding with a boom .

Grey debris was shaken off from the air which seemed empty .

Roland casually took some and crushed it in his fingers… It was dirt .

Ascending at a slower speed, Roland arrived at the spot where the Inferior Fireball had just exploded and reached out to touch a thick layer of mud .

Heh… as expected .

It was still underground—what they had seen, was it really an illusion?

An illusion created by the dungeon quest?

Landing on the ground, Roland smiled, then looked for a random pedestrian on the side of the road and asked, “Excuse me, where is the city’s library?”

The pedestrian pointed to the east . “There, the tall building with the red dome . ”

Roland thanked the pedestrian and walked for a few minutes to the foot of the red dome .

The building had a large facade, and its two doors almost looked like small city gates .

There were a lot of people in white robes coming in and out of the door, seeming rather tense .

Roland stepped forward, blocking a person white robe who seemed to be in a hurry, and asked, “Is this the library?”

It was a young man in a white robe . He nodded . “Yes, but please don’t stop me, something big has happened here and I have to report it to the mayor . ”

Then the young man hurried away .

Roland was stunned for a moment . He saw that the building didn’t seem to have any guards, so he walked straight in .

When he entered, he saw the main hall which was at least ten meters tall and covered a large area .

There were piles of dust everywhere on the floor .

Many of the people in white robes stood in despair before all this dust and even wept .

What happened?

Roland thought of the youngster in the white robe he had just met at the door—were these piles of dust the big event he was talking about?

While Roland was thinking, he heard a clear voice sounding high up in front of him . “Why are you all crying? The stuff is gone, we’ll just re-record it—it’s not manly at all to cry endlessly!”

Roland looked up and noticed a pretty black-haired girl coming down the stairway .

The young girl had burgundy eyes and wore a loose white robe .

At her waist hung a sword with a red tassel hanging from its hilt, which swayed as she moved .

At the sound of the young girl’s voice, the weeping men stopped their crying .

The young girl walked down the stairs and looked at the piles of dust . She also appeared distressed, but soon her expression hardened . “Everyone, go back to your rooms and rest for two hours, and gather afterward . We’ll find out what exactly happened . From now on, the library is temporarily closed, no one is allowed to come in or out, including the people of the city . If anyone pesters you, let them come to me . ”

“Yes!”

The group of people in white robes responded at the same time and then scattered in twos and threes .

The young girl then set her sights on Roland . She looked at him for a few seconds, and her expression looked a little surprised and curious . Then she walked over .

Roland looked at her and was also quite surprised .

Black hair was not unheard of in the game world, but people with black hair had a mix of brown and black hair and had hair that was naturally curly and black .

However, this young girl was different . Her black hair was pure black, very straight, and shiny . She had no tresses, and her long hair hung down like silk and fell to the bottom of her waist .

The young girls’ face was on the small side . Although her eyes were burgundy, her eyebrows looked Asian in any case .

In this game world, after seeing blond hair, deep-set blue eyes, and aquiline noses, suddenly seeing such an Asian face, Roland felt quite a sense of cordiality .

This young girl walked up to Roland, sized him up, and asked, “A foreigner?”

Roland smiled and nodded .

“What are you doing here? A traveling merchant?”

“I’m a Mage, and my biggest hobby is interacting with my peers, as well as going to the libraries of various countries, cities, and absorbing new knowledge . ” Roland looked around the area . “I heard this is a library… but why can’t I see any books?”

The young girl’s fair, pretty face revealed a depressed look . “You’re a bit too late . For some reason, all the books here, along with the shelves, turned to dust not too long ago . ”

Roland froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly .

The system’s actions were truly airtight .

To enhance the sense of immersion, the system had to have the entire city’s institutions and background, including things like knowledge and customs, in place .

However, to keep him from gaining extra magical knowledge or learning extra spells, it actually destroyed all the books here .

How harsh .

Looking at Roland’s helpless eyes, this young girl showed an apologetic expression . “I’m really sorry, you came a long way to our city, but things ended like this…”

The young girl fell silent, and she returned to looking at the dust on the floor and sighed .

Roland, however, said, “It doesn’t matter if the books are gone . There should be many powerful Mages here . I also know some unique spells, let’s see if we can have a mutual exchange!”

“A powerful Mage, that there is . ” The young girl smiled, a pair of shallow dimples in her cheeks . “My grandfather is, but his health lately…”

At this moment, from the second-floor steps, came a frail elderly male voice: “Lamia, bring this handsome young foreign boy over here . ”

Roland looked up and saw an old man standing on the second flight of stairs, his right hand holding the railings, looking down at the two of them from high above .

The young girl turned her head and rebuked, “Grandpa, you’re not well, why did you get out of bed!”

“Invite that youngster over, I have something I want to talk to him about . ”

“Okay . ”

Lamia sighed and said to Roland, “I’m sorry, but Grandpa wants to see you . May I trouble you to chat with him?”

“Sure . ”

Roland agreed with a smile .

Did he trigger some kind of plot?

Chapter 434 Rothman“s FireballRoland and the black-haired young girl went up to the second floor.When the old man saw that Roland was willing to come up, he smiled slightly and said, “Foreign boy, come with me.”

Roland was a little confused when he first saw the old man.

This old man had an exaggerated amount of magic power wrapped around his body, much more than him. But strangely enough, this old man’s mental power was quite a mess.

There was a sense of it being divided.

Logically, such a powerful Mage couldn’t be in this situation, as drawing a large amount of magic power around oneself required a solid and profound mental power.

This was why this contradiction struck Roland as strange.

The three of them went into a room, the young girl Lamia served a kind of clear soup similar to tea. Roland drank it and felt that it wasn’t bad. Although it wasn’t tea, it had a similar taste, like black tea.

The old man sat across from Roland, sizing him up.

It was just that his gaze had a sense of scrutiny in it.

Roland let him stare, waiting patiently.

After a while, the old man stopped examining him and said with a smile, “Foreigner, what kind of magic are you best at?”

“More proficient in elemental types of magic,” Roland said after some thought, then continued, “Of course, if I had to say one, it’s fire element magic that I’m best at.”

He was obviously the best… A large fireball could level the playing field for all beings below Legend.

After transforming into an Elemental Lord, Roland was already qualified to call himself a nuke.

When he got to level ten, a large fireball could probably level the playing field for all beings below Demigod.

This wasn’t Roland boasting, it was the truth.

Hearing this, the old man’s eyes revealed some disappointment, but he still said, “I’m also more proficient in fire magic. I’m good at the Five Fireballs Incantation, which is one of the best techniques of our Enchantment Sect.”

“Five Fireballs Incantation?” Roland became interested. “Can you show me the power… forget it, old man, you are not well.”

The old man laughed aloud, then coughed twice, and Lamia, who had been staying close by, immediately came up and gave the old man a few pats.

“I’m not well enough to use the Five Fireballs Incantation right now, but my granddaughter knows. How about having her show you how?”

Lamia was somewhat surprised, but she looked at the old man’s expression and nodded her head in the end.

Roland was surprised too.

This young girl had a delicate body and was equipped with a long sword, and there was no magic element surrounding her body. At first glance, Roland thought she was purely an agile Warrior.

But she could also cast spells?

Was the ancient kingdom a thousand years ago so proficient in magical mastery?

“It just so happens that the entire third floor is a magic testing ground.”

The old man stood up and Lamia immediately stepped forward to assist him.

The three of them went up to the third floor, where Lamia first assisted the old man to a chair before pulling a white headband out of her robe and braiding her long hair into a ponytail.

She appeared purer and more valiant.

The old man revealed a doting expression.

After a glance at Roland, Lamia pulled out her long sword.

Several red streaks of light immediately appeared on the body of the longsword.

It seemed like some sort of spell model’s circulation route.

Is this… a magic sword?

Roland grew increasingly interested.

After half a second, five small fireballs were generated simultaneously around the magic sword, while Roland was still unable to see any magical element from Lamia’s body.

Another half a second later, the five small fireballs flew forward at the same time, blowing a stone dummy right to smithereens.

The power was not bad.

Several seconds later, the debris moved on its own, flew back the way it came, and then reverted back to the dummy it had just been.

It has self-reparation?

Roland’s eyes were glowing.

The magic sword inscription skill and the self-repairing skill, both of these two magic skills were ones that Roland had not come across at all.

More importantly, what method did Lamia use to cast Five Fireballs without using her mental power?

Does the magic sword store magic elements in it? But it doesn’t seem like it.

As for Five Fireballs itself… Roland wasn’t too interested.

This in essence was just five Inferior Fireballs operating in parallel.

It seemed impressive and quite visually shocking, but when one understood it, it was nothing much.

It wouldn’t be nearly as efficient as a simple large fireball.

Looking at Roland’s surprised and curious expression, the old man nodded his head in satisfaction and smiled. “This Five Fireballs spell Lamia used is not bad, right? Want to learn? I can teach you.”

“Can you teach me the technique of making a magic sword and the technique of automatically repairing the statue? I can exchange them with spells of my own.”

The old man almost didn’t catch his breath.

This isn’t right, shouldn’t he be craving the Five Fireballs?

Lamia was also looking at Roland oddly.

Looking at the two of them, Roland thought for a moment and said, “You’re thinking along the wrong lines. Although casting five fireballs at the same time may seem powerful, it’s actually more effective to strengthen a spell to a higher limit in the same amount of time.”

Magic was a very profound skill, and generally speaking, only a true Mage was qualified to comment on the good and bad, the advantages and disadvantages of a spell.

This young man looked no more than twenty years old, but he dared to speak so boldly.

Lamia also shared this view, and the way she looked at Roland became a bit different as if she was looking at a boastful and pompous apprentice.

When Roland saw their attitudes, he paused and said, “All talk and no action; let me do something practical.”

After speaking, Roland began to condense a large fireball in his right hand.

It had just taken Lamia a little over a second to go from raising her magic sword to firing the fireballs.

Then I’ll take it as a second.

A second later, the large fireball in Roland’s hand had reached a diameter of more than one meter.

At the sight of this, the old man’s eyes were almost bulging out, and even Lamia was intimidated.

Because she was closer to Roland, she could better feel the terrifying power of the fireball in Roland’s hand.

Then Roland threw this fireball.

The giant fireball hit the wall, and although this was a magic test floor with a boundary that suppressed the power of magic, the large fireball still made the entire floor tremble.

The sound of the fireball exploding was like thunder in the ears, and then the violent heatwave reverberated throughout the floor, rattling the three’s hair and robes.

And the dozen or so dummies in front of them liquified in an instant, without even the ability to repair themselves.

It’s so powerful even in a boundary with suppressing magical effects. If it were outside… The old man stood up in shock, rushing to Roland’s side like a cheetah, his hands forcefully gripping Roland’s arms, eyes full of fervor.

“What kind of magic is this?”

“How did you do it?”

“What’s the maximum diameter when you cast it full force?”

“Teach me!”

Roland was just waiting for this last sentence. “Okay, no problem, we’ll exchange. I want to learn the technique of making magic swords first.”

“Deal.” The old man’s face was flushed. “Lamia, go home and tidy up a room, I want to exchange magic insights with this handsome excellency all night.”

Lamia said worriedly, “But Grandpa, your health!”

“It’s okay, I can’t die.” The old man laughed. “I’m a supreme Mage after all.”

Roland curled his lips inwardly. What an old way to call it.

Chapter 435 Old Men Will Always Be Your BossBefore sharing his experience with the old man, Roland went back to the hotel and cast onto Betta and the others another Unhindered Communication.He also told them that he was going to pick up some knowledge and magic insight, and might not return to the hotel any time soon, so if Unhindered Communication failed again, Betta could cast Language Proficiency to help out. Although they wouldn’t be able to read, basic communication wouldn’t be a problem; just the speed of information gathering would drop a bit.

Everyone expressed that they understood.

Knowledge was a Mage’s second life—everyone knew that.

Li Lin bantered, “Is it a beautiful teacher?”

“It’s an old man,” said Roland, smiling, “but he has a very beautiful granddaughter. Would you like to be introduced to her?”

Li Lin waved his hand. “Forget it, there are plenty of beautiful women in this game, wouldn’t it be exhausting to meet a pretty one and then go talk about feelings? Anyway, there are enough brothel workers and plenty of pretty ones, and I’m not afraid of getting sick in the game, so why should I offer my feelings?”

Everyone laughed—this man had found justification for whoring.

However, the second-generation rich sons always acted selfishly, so Roland didn’t bother to persuade him.

They then exchanged the information they had gathered; there wasn’t much of value. Their main task was to get the Water of Light, but taking it by force was definitely not an option, and stealing… Husseret wasn’t confident that his stealth technique could hide him from the dozen or so Master guards at close range.

Since there was no solution, they could only continue to gather information.

After eating and drinking, they set out from the hotel to gather information again.

Roland went to the large library again, and when Lamia, who was waiting outside, saw him, she took the initiative to welcome him and said with a smile, “The room has been tidied up. Sir, please come with me.”

With that said, the girl took the initiative to walk ahead.

She was wearing a wide white robe, and her figure didn’t look good or bad, but judging from the light steps she took as she walked, and her slender, swan-like neck, she was probably a slender woman.

Roland took a few quick steps and walked alongside her.

Many pedestrians around the area saw Lamia and greeted her, and Lamia responded with a smile.

Roland, who took in the situation, had the impression that the girl was a celebrity in the city.

On the way, Lamia barely spoke to Roland.

It wasn’t that she was rude or cold and didn’t want to talk, but on the way, she had to respond to the pedestrians’ greetings, so Roland just watched her keep waving her hand slightly, and greeting the walkers on the road, until half an hour later. When she reached a large manor where there were no more pedestrians, she finally stopped.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to talk to you on the way.” Lamia’s burgundy pupils fell on Roland. “Also, I have a question… you obviously don’t speak our language, why can I understand it?”

Roland was stunned. “You don’t know Language Proficiency?”

Lamia shook her head, and then she asked, full of curiosity, “Judging by the name, it seems that if you know Language Proficiency, you can understand the languages of all races?”

“In theory,” Roland said. “For example, I was able to communicate with you guys the first time I came here thanks to this spell!”

Lamia’s eyes lit up. “This spell can even read our words?”

“Language Proficiency only allows one to understand what people say.” Roland straightened up his body and explained, “If you want to understand words, it’s Character Proficiency.”

Lamia’s eyes were already sparkling. “So if you know both kinds of spells, then you can go anywhere in the world?”

“In theory.” Roland nodded.

Lamia glanced at Roland irritatedly. “Why are you so fond of saying such semantically ambiguous, even vague statements.”

“Because I can’t guarantee that in some places these two spells are banned.”

Lamia nodded. “It’s true that it’s possible. I’ve heard Grandpa say that some places forbid magic. But you’re too rigid and not at all romantic, how can you ruin a young girl’s fantasies?”

Roland smiled slightly, not arguing or explaining.

At this moment, two of the manor’s guards opened the door and Lamia was the first to enter.

Roland followed by her side.

The manor had high walls, so one couldn’t see the inside of the manor from the outside.

After entering, Roland found the manor to be quite interesting.

Manor houses like the one in Hollevin were generally open terrain, usually with the house in the middle of the manor, and then large lawns spread throughout the manor, topped off with a little fountain square, or embellished with some decorations high or low.

Few trees were planted, and even if they were, they were planted on the edge or outside of the fence to block the view.

In any case, there would hardly be any trees within 20 meters of the house.

This was to discourage assassins, making it harder for them to hide when they snuck in.

However, this manor was different. There were not only many trees planted inside, but also rockeries, small lakes, and even an artificial stream pond. The stone path beneath Roland’s feet was also curved and twisted, and the path ahead was blocked from view, but after taking a few more steps and turning a corner, he could see other scenery.

For example, the scenery of a yellow-leafed grove, all of a sudden became a saffron grove, and then after walking a little more than ten meters and turning another corner, the scenery was of a small bridge with running water.

It felt as though the winding paths led to various beautiful sceneries.

As Roland admired the beauty of the manor’s unique layout, he felt the presence of mental power around him.

In the manor, there were at least a dozen guards hidden in the shadows.

Roland pretended not to notice and followed Lamia to a small, two-story wooden building.

The old man was sitting on a dark yellow wooden recliner by a wooden door.

He opened his eyes as he heard noise, and seeing that it was his granddaughter and Roland, he immediately got up, while Lamia walked quickly over to help the old man.

“You’re finally here.” The old man was all smiles. “I’ve prepared a room, please come with me.”

The three of them went up to a large room on the second floor, which was spacious but had several bookshelves in the corners, each filled with books.

Lamia helped the old man sit down and then went downstairs to prepare something to eat and drink.

The old man invited Roland to sit down and smiled. “Foreigner, thank you for being a guest in my home.”

“You’re welcome, it’s just a matter of trading knowledge,” Roland said indifferently.

“Don’t make it sound so profit-oriented.” The old man laughed aloud. He no longer had many teeth in his mouth. “Can’t it be a process of getting to know each other and confirming each other’s theories of magic?”

As expected of an old man who lived for decades, he spoke more smoothly than Roland. Roland shook his head slightly. “Of course, you can also think of it that way.”

The old man laughed. “You’re quite interesting, young man. It’s not good to see things too clearly.”

Roland shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

After a pause, seeing that Roland didn’t make any comments, the old man said, “Actually, I invited you over to ask you about your spell model, however, I also wanted to confirm one thing with you.”

“What is it?”

“You’re actually from the future, right? Or, relative to the city, you’re children of the future.”

The words were like thunder, and Roland was stunned.

Did the old man see through his identity?

Was this the system’s plot, or was this… a real person in front of him?

If it was the latter, then Roland’s previous guesses were wrong, and a lot of plans would have to be started from scratch again.

And as Roland had confirmed, they were still underground.

Now the whole situation held a great deal of uncertainty.

Whether it was a dungeon or a real world mattered to Roland.

If this was just a mere dungeon, then things could be done more boldly and they could be unrestrained, but if these people were real, then… things had to be done with careful consideration.

Taking a small breath, Roland asked, “Why do you think that?”

The old man grinned. “Because it was thanks to my genius that you showed up here.”

“Where’s the proof?”

“That large fireball.” The old man said with a smile, “I’m a supreme Mage. My eyes may be dazzled, but my mental power can still be used. In fact, the moment you cast the big fireball, I saw the spell model, although I can’t fully understand it… I can understand the general concept. This is not at all the spell theory that exists in this world now, whether it’s the Elf Kingdom, the Orc Kingdom, or Fareins Kingdom, there is no spell model with such theories—it’s novel, far beyond our time.”

Roland was silent for a moment and said, “Is there more?”

“Of course there is. You’re speaking a language I’ve never heard of, but I understand it,” the old man said indifferently. “It should be a spell that facilitates communication—the future Mages have done well inventing such a convenient spell.”

Roland let out a breath. “You guessed it, we’re from the future. But I’m curious, you just said that you pulled us into this world?”

“Yes.” The old man nodded. “I did.”

“How did you do it?” asked Roland. “It’s only logical that time is irreversible.”

This was why there was no god of time.

There was a level-three spell called Reverse Time, but essentially, it was just a mirror image, used to see what happened in the past. It couldn’t change anything.

“Time is indeed irreversible!” The old man nodded. “But time can be accelerated and the tributaries can converge.”

With paper and pencil already prepared on the table, the old man made a few casual strokes and drew a large river. A tributary appeared on the upper reaches of the river, and a tributary also appeared on the middle reaches. Both tributaries spread diagonally downward, converged on the side of the lower stream, and finally folded back into the river.

“See, it is possible to converge at different times. I foretold the imminent destruction of this city.” The old man smiled. “So I made a wish—I wished that someone would come to save the city.”

“Wish?” Roland looked at the old man in surprise. “Is it a Great Wish or Small Wish? No, no, Small Wish isn’t so powerful that it can drag an entire city of people to speed up time instantly, so it should be the Great Wish.”

The old man laughed. “So there is still the saying of a great or small wish in your time. The Wishing spell was created by me, so you may have heard my name!”

“Duncan?” Roland jumped up in shock.

“No, my real name is Mordenkainen,” the old man said bluntly.