Although Ozzie Cranky told her that everything was expected, she was surprised by the sudden snub from "Tattooed" Jizzook. Three days have passed since the pope flew away from the stone tower at lightning speed, and Hitarian still wakes up from his dreams. He smiled into the fire - she would always think of this scene - between the blood-red gums, the front teeth seemed to become the fangs of a monster.
When he learned that the Hitarian had chosen the seventh cave for the ceremony, "Tattooed" Ji'zuk was furious. He didn't yell at the girl, nor did he use physical punishment or curses. He just smiled at the roaring fireplace, as if he didn't hear her at all. Failed? oh. Because you want to explore the last cave? oh. terribly sorry? oh. It doesn't matter, the Pope of Gaia smiled kindly. It doesn't matter, I don't need to know your reasons, you still have a chance...
...It's a pity that it's all her fantasy. It's hard to describe the fear she felt at that time, but it was definitely not as simple as fright. Hitarian felt malice, not directed at her, but against her fire. There seemed to be a cruel will radiating outward from his eyes, making people's blood freeze. It is no exaggeration to say that he almost wanted to swallow someone alive. Are caves that important? How could I make him so angry? She even regretted listening to Mr. Oz's instructions. Even when facing the Black Knight, Hitarian had never been so scared. I should have chosen the sixth one.
But Hitarian did not collapse in fear, and the oath came to her aid. Nightingale's soul flame is protected by magic, and the Northerner tells her that you don't have to worry about revealing the secret. Only special witchcraft can expose you, but you don't have to encounter it. He didn't lie to her. Hitarian felt the chill, as if a bucket of cold water was poured from head to toe, extinguishing the violent fire around him. Only then did she wake up and hurriedly cast magic on herself to get rid of the afterglow of panic.
A hand touched her shoulder. "Don't eat me!" Hitarian screamed. She turned her head sharply.
"If you jumped on the plate, I might think about it," Ozzie Cranky said. The balloon on his hat is changed to red. "Forget the bad things, Hitarian, you look so ugly."
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I'm so sorry."
"You're shaking. Nightmare? Or Jizuk?"
The meanings of these two words are actually the same. "I let him down."
"If you ask me, you make most people happy. Especially Lind." The "Weird Expert" turned a handle in his hand, "Jizuk is not angry because of you, Shitarian, you are just I just happened to catch it, but I was not very lucky. There was a problem with the church's branch in Danlao, and he has now left the wizarding career."
"Really, Your Excellency?"
"You shouldn't doubt me." Cranky turned around unhappily. "The apprentice did not question my qualifications. Follow me, you have tests to complete."
She stepped forward anxiously, walking behind the eccentric expert. Now that Jizuk is no longer watching her, the only person who will come to take over for me is Ozzie Cranky and his Durdus. Hitarian can vaguely feel her own value. In the Silent School, she is different from ordinary apprentices. Perhaps this is the purpose of the association. They want me to get close to the top leaders of the school in order to obtain secrets. However, until now, she has not been assigned any nightingale tasks.
The venue for the second test was much wider than the fire ceremony, but the accessible roads were very narrow. Ozzie Cranky led her through the densely packed equipment, the balloon on her hat swaying. It's almost like a factory, with half-new abandoned furniture everywhere. Hitarian saw a clock with missing hands, a row of lead-colored squares strung together, a locked hard-cover book half as tall as a person, a turquoise ornament floating in the air, and an ocher cabinet with a semicircular door. , and a silver-inlaid harp. A wooden wheel poked into the aisle and spun in the air at a constant speed. She had to duck her head to get around it. The grotesque expert penetrated like a phantom, the balloon touching the axis lightly.
These things were neatly stacked on the shelves, shrouded in a silent shadow.
The deeper you go, the darker the light becomes. Hitarian heard a small murmur, probably from rats. She looked around and found that the surrounding area was clean, with no dust at all, let alone the footprints left by mice. The wood is also smooth and dry with no signs of insect damage. Are there no bugs here? The air is very humid, but if I were a bug, I wouldn't set up my home in a warehouse of mysterious creatures. She swallowed.
"Here it is." The "Weird Expert" suddenly stopped. Hitarian saw a dark green metal door in front of him. He told Hitarian to stand where he was and stepped behind the door. "Don't touch anything." He ordered before leaving.
But everything here was like nothing she had ever seen before. Hitarian wanted to know who had made the previous noise, what the spinning wheel was doing, and even more, she wanted to know what was behind the metal door. Too bad it was so tight that it held the secret as firmly as a spell in her head. I should take a walk around, this is the wizard's treasure trove, maybe there is something the association needs. Even if they can't be taken away, knowing their existence is useful... She took a step back slightly.
A floor lamp stood next to the metal door, which the "eccentric expert" opened. The glow of magic danced behind the glass, comforting her fire. If it weren't for Oz's actions, Hitarian wouldn't even realize it was a lamp. It looked just like a blueberry tree, with green leaves and fruits dotted on the branches.
There was a crow standing on the treetop. It was bigger than a cat, almost bigger than Ruth, the owl raised by Shitari. Its feathers were plump and shiny, with straight ribs. It has bright red claws and a dagger-like beak, and its eyes are like two big grapes. I'm afraid it's keeping its eye on Hitarian. How come I hadn't spotted this bird before? She was puzzled, even a little scared.
She and Crow made eye contact, and immediately realized that the other had noticed each other's presence. The bird tilted its head, blinked, and stopped moving. Its eyes were dull, as if it had turned back into a decoration. Fortunately, it didn't fly toward me. Hitarian was secretly glad... "Catch the thief! There is a thief!" The crow shouted at the top of its lungs, breaking the silence with its cry.
Hitarian almost ran away. For a moment, the only sound in her ears was the hoarse scream of the crow, and the sound of her own heartbeat. This stupid bird! It's scaring me. Hitarian managed to calm down and tried to soothe it with magic. But the crow kept shouting.
The magic doesn't work, I don't know what's wrong. Hitarian was helpless and could only raise his head and glare at it fiercely. "What did you say?"
"You want to steal something." Common Language said through the pointed beak, "I can tell! Kid."
"That's what you think, big fat bird."
"No one dares to talk to me like that!"
Yeah? Hitarian winced. She wasn't sure what the crow was, and she couldn't tell whether the words were a threat or a fact. She felt she needed to be more cautious. "What did others say to you?"
"First of all, they called me a prophet."
"You are not a prophet." Hitarian categorically denied, "The prophet is in the Croat Tower in the sky."
The crow shook its wings and said, "Aren't we a prophet?" It was a little embarrassed. It seemed that it knew that it could not compare with the great tower saint. "He and I have some business overlap at most... Let's put it this way, I can accurately predict your actions in the next three minutes. It's completely accurate!"
Hitarian was dubious. "What will happen to me in three minutes?"
"If I tell you, things will change."
"Prophecy is different."
"There are many types of prophecies. Rookie, don't generalize."
It was scaring me, she finally noticed. "Just like there are many prophets, fat bird?"
"Hell, you win! The wizard who made me calls me Hooji."
Hitarian seized on the word: "Made?"
"I am a rune life, apprentice. I was created by the wizard and used as a mysterious item. You should know about mysterious items, right? They are everywhere here."
Everywhere. Hitarian thought of what he had seen along the way. These were mysterious items. How could there be mortal things in a wizard's treasury? This makes sense. She already knew it. "Of course. Can you tell me something I don't know, Huggie the Crow?"
"Only Huji. Besides, I am a raven. You made a mistake." The bird flapped its wings and flew to a lower branch. A lightbulb glowed overhead, and its feathers seemed to glow with a golden glow. "So, you want to know the future."
"Do you have any other magic?"
"No. I was born for precognition."
"I didn't leave anything high up. Let's talk in three minutes, Hu Ji."
The raven cocked his head to the other side. "If I told you, you'd try to change...but here's Ozzie Cranky, 'The Weird Expert', and your intentions make no sense. Well, I'll tell you." It cleared its throat. "You'll wait here until this dirty metal door opens. You'll look in and wonder what's behind it."
As long as there isn't a wall behind it. "What did I see?"
"I didn't see anything. Mr. Cranky took out your test equipment and prepared you to go to another place to complete it. When he opens the door again, you will see the venue of the last inauguration ceremony. Don't doubt that door Can hold the magic of the ladder. It all took two minutes."
"Can you see until three minutes later?"
"If the magic power is enough. Not now, my magic power is limited."
"I have magic powers too."
"You? You are not mysterious enough. I am a mysterious object in the Sky Realm, and so is this lamp. Although its effect is quite average, the classification of mysterious objects is like this."
Hitarian had no choice but to give up. "What will happen in the last minute?" She didn't intend to change the future of the first two minutes, but Hu Ji probably said that for a reason. Will her mind change at the last minute?
"Your test has begun. The preparations include taking off your shoes and socks, drinking two cups of magic potion, and then lying firmly in the chair. You offered to undo the straps that held you in place, but Lord Cranky refused. This It was a wise decision. Because as soon as the magic pattern was activated, you almost fell... The pain came instantly and your thinking came to a standstill. The future ends here."
