88 Chapter 88: The Enigmatic Master Mirror
The familiar sound of the lute suddenly sounded from nowhere, followed by the accompaniment of bagpipes.
Transparent faces appeared in the sky, like ghosts or evil spirits, endless but orderly. They gathered in the air to sing melodiously, as if they were praising or lamenting.
At the source of the moonlight, a figure suddenly appeared.
He slowly descended from the sky, as if an invisible ladder was unfolding before him. Each step resonated with an empty echo, leaving a trail of bright blue dust that remained suspended in the air behind him.
As he walked, the souls singing in the sky increased their pitch, surpassing even the song of the sirens.
The moon was behind the figure, as if it were lighting the stage for him. His face became clearer with each step, and Lann managed to recognize him.
It's him!
Milo Glass, the merchant poet who once composed songs and poems for Lann in Cintra. He laughed reservedly at Lann, and then his face immediately melted, revealing an appearance surprisingly familiar to Lann, even though it was the first time they had met.
"We meet again, Lord Lannister. Let me call you Lann, as I think we could be friends, and that name sounds closer. Also, please forgive me for not revealing my true name to you sooner. Traveling merchants always have multiple identities."
The merchant bowed slightly, like an actor presenting his performance to the audience. "Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Gaunter O'Dimm, a mirror merchant who travels around the world."
"You can also call me by the nickname my clients have given me, they usually call me..."
At this moment, the souls in the sky began to scream and prostrate themselves as if a god descended.
"... Master Mirror."
...
For magical scholars and folklorists, the definition of demon was a topic of great debate. For folklorists, the term referred more to the popular notion of demons, which bring together all the vicious, terrifying, and evil qualities that intelligent creatures can imagine.
For students of magic, demons collectively refer to those creatures that come from other planes and are incomprehensible, indefinable and indescribable.
In this era, scientists and explorers had discovered that the world they were in was a sphere. Through the investigations of the magicians, it was learned that other realities exist. It was once possible to traverse without much effort an infinite number of universes, parallel realities, Spheres and Dimensions. However, this changed during the catastrophic event known as the Conjunction of the Spheres.
The world where most of the action in The Witcher Series takes place is on the material plane. Some beings who possess the Elder Blood, such as Ciri, can pass through it through their innate portal abilities and travel between different worlds. Wizards speculate that travel is also possible in more trivial ways, simply by crossing large amounts of space between worlds, but are aware that such travel is impossible at their current magical and technical level of development.
There are also other planes different from the material plane, to which the Conjunction of the Spheres closed access. Strange universes inhabited by even stranger creatures, such planes are not truly accessible to mortal beings, but through arts such as Goetia one can summon their inhabitants to the material plane.
In the broadest sense of things, these creatures summoned from different dimensions or strange universes are known as demons.
And the man in front of Lann, the Master Mirror, in a sense combined the definitions of demon from folklorists and magical scholars. He was a visitor from another world, traveling between different dimensions and times for his own enjoyment. He is so powerful that he is the undisputed ceiling of combat power in The Witcher Series.
Some called him Evil Incarnate. Gaunter O'Dimm had been a beggar, a soldier, a merchant, an officer. In the future, many people would claim to have seen it at different times in history
It is rumored that Master Mirror cultivated an unprecedented male heir to the Elder Blood whose lineage cannot be traced. He helped him travel through time and space and then induced him to personally create the tragic fate of his own childhood.
There are also rumors that Master Mirror once roamed the beautiful Brokilon Forest. But in the end he induced the nearby king to form the infamous 'Scalp Hunters', causing the Forest of the Dryads to become stained with blood, closing the doors of friendship between dryads and humans.
There were even rumors that Master Mirror had directed the fall and rise of Nilfgaard and planned to bring down that vast empire again in the future.
But even though he was sometimes called the Evil Incarnate, the Master Mirror was not always a demon. There were people who, after making a deal with him, could live quietly and peacefully, as long as they followed his rules and controlled their greed. While those who tried to trick him ended up encountering a real demon, joining the chorus of souls in heaven at this moment.
In The Witcher Game, Mirror Master will hire players as his agents to resolve 'bad debts' with those who did not comply with the contract rules.
And this mysterious and unpredictable character was already next to Lann.
Lann felt his new perception rotating with the movement of the Master Mirror, as if it were a slowly rotating camera.
"It's strange why I'm here, right?
"You know, Lann, when I first heard that someone was looking for me, I was surprised. After being in this world for so long, this was the first time I found something so interesting."
"And I can assure you that I have never dealt with people who know you or have had contact with you before. How did you know about me?"
Master Mirror walked around Lann's motionless body and spoke, like a poet reciting a poem, or like a businessman presenting his products.
"I wanted to know why, so I came to you. And the first time I saw you, I knew the answer. You don't fit in this environment, Lann."
"Despite your efforts to hide it, you cannot change the fact that you are not of this world, Lann, you are an outsider."
Lann remembered when he had just transmigrated, his habits and language were very different from that of this world, but everyone around him thought that it was just the normal behavior of a young man who had lost his family.
Despite having made efforts to integrate, Lann is still slightly different from the people around him in some details, in his way of thinking, in how he handled situations, and even in how he changed his outlook.
These subtle differences, to Master Mirror, an interdimensional traveler of unknown age, are like ink dots on a white paper.
"At first I thought that perhaps you had been summoned by a mage to possess this body, but then I realized that was not the case."
"You adapt too well to this body, as if this body was yours from the beginning, as if you came into this world directly with it, just..."
Master Mirror whispered in Lann's ear: "...Just like me."
The lute in the air flew back into the hands of Master Mirror. He plucked the strings gently and sang in a low voice: "Special Lann, poor Lann, perhaps you're an adventurer who has forgotten the way home?"
As if addicted to pretending to be a bard, Master Mirror sang a sad song, and the souls in the air gave out low moans at the right time, full of melancholy and sadness, which echoed for a long time.
After a while...
"After all that talking, it's time to talk business." Master Mirror said after finishing the sad song.
Master Mirror with a reserved and careless smile, continued: "I told you that I am a businessman. Businessmen always have outstanding debts, and now I have a bad debt."
"But due to the rules I have imposed on myself, I cannot personally deal with it at the moment. I need the help of a friend. And I have heard that you have a habit of helping others."
Master Mirror took out a contract. "I originally planned to observe you for a while and help you out when you encounter trouble. In this way, I will help you and you help me again, and everyone's problems will be solved."
At this point, the Master Mirror suddenly laughed. He clapped his hands, and the contract turned into sparks and disappeared in the air. "But you actually invited me for a drink... a drink. I've met dragons with mountains of gold, and I've dealt with kings who control empires, but no one has ever invited me for a drink."
"You actually made the move before me, you are very clever. So now I must comply with the rules and find a chance to return the drink to you first."
He looked at Lann's lifeless body and said: "After all, as the poem says, 'The traveler invited for a drink must sometimes pay with his life.'"
With that said, Master Mirror clapped his hands, and all the light of the night was concentrated into a single point.
All the power Lann's body needed was filled in the irradiation of this light. His skin returned to its original appearance, and the physical damage caused to him by the mutation disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Not only that, the Witcher Trial process, which had previously gone astray, was corrected by an invisible hand. All the legendary materials were fused in the most perfect and safest way, approaching the mutation target in the most efficient way.
Seeing this, the Master Mirror nodded with satisfaction. "You can think of this as a 'product test'; you may not have heard of this term, but you will definitely understand it."
"I still have the idea of doing business with you, and that bad debt is really bothering me a lot."
"When you have decided on a suitable reward, it will be the next time we meet. You don't need to keep looking for me, I will come when the time is right."
"Oh, that's right." Master Mirror, who was leaving, seemed to suddenly remember something and took a step back. "There was a nymph named Lady of the Lake who likes to play knights. I was spying on you, but it seems I scared her, and she ran away. I should apologize to you for that."
The man showed a meaningful smile. "You attract attention too easily, Lann."
With those words, Master Mirror's figure disappeared in an instant, along with the entire scene around him as if it had never existed.
It was as if the world had been released from pause mode.
Jerome's worried expression that had been frozen, transformed into surprise, amazement and finally joy.
Lann, who was broken and dying from the Witcher Trial just a second ago, has now become a strong and handsome knight again.
Then, Jerome heard a stable and powerful heartbeat coming from inside Lann's body, the sound of a beating heart.
It was a healthy sound, powerful and full of life.
Jerome approached quickly, not believing his eyes, and examined Lann's body from top to bottom. Finally, he concluded that the Witcher Trial had been successful.
Although it was in a way that was difficult for him to understand, it was indeed successful. There was another witcher from the Gryphon School.
Tears filled Jerome's eyes. Meanwhile, in Lann's ears, system notification sounds rang constantly, interrupting every time he began to understand what was happening.
Furthermore, on the attribute panel, flashes of red, blue, and green light flickered endlessly as if they were polluting the screen with light.
[Name: Lann Lannister
Sex: Male
Race: Witcher
Level: 17
Talent: Elder Blood (Partial Awakening)
Experience points: 948/1500
Health: 1770/1770
Magic value: 2000/2000
Inventory: Cotton and linen shorts
Skill column: Muscle Memory (5/5), Precise Blows (5/5), Strength Training (5/5), Fleet Footed (5/5) ... +
Follower column: (empty)
"Knight? Can you hear me?" The voice suddenly reached the ears of Lann, who was examining the attribute panel. It was a strange but familiar voice. Strange because Lann couldn't associate it with any familiar face, he had never seen the person behind that voice.
But at the same time, it was familiar because he had heard many words from that voice while he was unconscious. It was obvious that this person had been the one who presided over the Witcher Trial.
He had long understood his physical condition at that time. The other person performed the witcher's mutation simply to save him. This person was a friend, not an enemy. Now that they are both witchers, then he could be considered his master in terms of seniority.
At this thought, Lann opened his eyes.
Compared to the witchers' amber cat eyes, his were much darker, a color between yellow and brown, as if there was dark ancient gold deposited in them.
His eyes were like those of a lion.
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