Whispering Verse

After having lunch at Professor Drake's house, the maid rented a carriage from the carriage rental company in the city, and then Shade set off with the professor who had packed up.

Although their destination was very strange, the driver asked no questions. After sending the two of them to Loch Ness in the east of Huntington City, they stopped on the side of the road and watched Shade push the professor's wheelchair away.

The dirt roads in the countryside were completely unsuitable for the wheels of wheelchairs, but fortunately they didn't go very far. After confirming that the coachman could not be seen, Shade pushed the professor down the lake embankment and looked at the large lake on the shore of Loch Ness.

This is a lake in the west of the city that Shade randomly selected on the map. Loch Ness is very calm in winter. Although the lake has not been completely frozen, a thin layer of ice has already appeared. The cold wind swept across, and Shade had no reaction, while Professor Drake, who was wrapped tightly, shivered.

He saw Shade untie the strip of cloth from the long object he was carrying, and then saw the long sword inserted in the scabbard.

"Mr. Watson, actually, this isn't your real name, is it?"

Looking away from the silver sword, the old professor held his red knitted towel with both hands and looked at the big lake in front of him.

"Yes."

"You actually don't, it's nothing."

Shade lowered his head and glanced at the professor. He was standing next to the professor:

"I hope you can still thank me like this when we return to the lake again. The truth may be cruel to you."

"I may regret it in the future, but at least I won't regret it now."

Visit the Lady of the Lake, this time you need a sword. But even if you hold the sword, you still have to meet the condition of "forgetting to visit the Lady of the Lake". Shade hoped that by chatting with the professor, he and the professor's attention would be temporarily diverted. The professor also had this plan, and talked to Shade about his understanding of the big lake in front of him.

The two were talking when they suddenly heard a strange noise in the lake. Shade immediately pushed the professor closer to the lake, and then he and the old professor saw water patterns appearing on the lake, as if there was an earthquake at the bottom of the lake.

The splashing sound of the lake became more frequent and intensive, and a huge vortex gradually appeared near the shore.

Shade held the night watchman and stood in front of Professor Drake. The professor was surprised to see the sword in Shade's hand emitting silver light:

"Mr. Watson, do you need help? I also have a pistol on me."

"No need, I can do it myself."

In just two sentences of conversation, in the center of the huge whirlpool in the lake, a frog made of pure water and taller than Shade jumped out from under the water. It jumped high and blocked the sun in front of Professor Shade and Drake. The fear of the giant made the old professor shrink into his wheelchair.

And when the frog's huge shadow completely covered Shade, he held his free left hand empty and made a throwing motion towards the sky:

"Thunder gun!"

Silver-white thunder exploded in the hand, and with the throwing action, the silver-white thunder spear centered on the palm of the hand, together with the dense lines, overflowed to the front and back. The moment the thunder gun takes shape is the moment it is thrown.

Professor Drake only heard a sound of thunder and was wondering why it was thundering at this time. The huge pure water frog in the sky scattered into large water droplets and fell into the lake.

The sound of splashing continued in front of me, stirring up large amounts of mist on the lake. In the mist, two water arrows shot out from the lake near the shore. The two water streams did not go straight to the sky, but first rose and then closed in an arc.

They construct the pattern of a door arch. When the door arch is closed, the water that falls after the frog explodes falls from top to bottom, filling the door leaf.

"This this"

The professor was shocked and speechless.

"That frog is too weak. It seems the lady in the lake doesn't want to embarrass us."

Shade muttered, seeing that the water gate was in the lake near the shore, still some distance away from the lake. With the experience last time, Shade bent down to pick up the stones and threw them towards the lake. Sure enough, he saw the stones "floating" "up in the air.

“There are hidden roads on the lake that you can’t see.”

Shade said softly to the professor and pushed the professor onto the lake. The professor looked down with some uneasiness. This kind of scene was a bit too magical for an ordinary person like him.

"Then there's the door."

Pushing the professor to stop in front of the door, Shade threw the stone towards the water curtain in the door arch. The stone bounced back as if it had hit a hard wall, bouncing a few times on the invisible road beneath his feet. Then fell into the lake.

"Does this require us to solve a puzzle to pass?"

asked the professor who was familiar with the legend.

"It's not that troublesome."

Shade stepped forward with his sword and swung his sword to split the water curtain. The sword blade passed directly through the transparent water curtain and penetrated into another space. As Shade "tipped" the water curtain to the side like silk, the water door completely opened to the two of them.

The professor said nothing and allowed Shade to push him through the water gate and onto the lake of Cherubim surrounded by forests.

There was still an invisible road on the lake, but after just a few dozen steps forward, they arrived at the island in the middle of the lake.

While landing on the island, Shade once again saw the wild wolf resurrected by the "Swamp Witch". The creature resurrected by the power of the relic was an undead. The wolf had already shown signs of decay all over its body. Last time it tried to attack little Mia who ran to the island first, but was scared away by Shade. This time it only dared to peek at the two of them from a distance. After seeing Shade, it immediately turned around and ran away again.

"Is this right here?"

The professor's hands tightly grasped the armrests of the wheelchair, and his face turned red due to excessive excitement.

"Can you remember anything?"

Shade asked, but the professor still had no memory of this place.

Soon we arrived at the center of the island in the middle of the lake. Under the large stone in the center of the island that seemed to be made up of several slender boulders fused together, the lady in white robe holding a staff still stood in the same place.

Of course, Professor Drake's wheelchair cannot cross the lake directly like Sister Devlin. So Shade put the professor on his back, then raised the wheelchair with both hands, took a few steps, and jumped suddenly to the center of the lake in the center of the island.

After stepping on the water, carefully lower the wheelchair. After confirming that the wheelchair did not sink, Professor Drake was placed in the wheelchair.

At this time, the professor was too excited to speak, and Xia De greeted respectfully:

"Good afternoon, ma'am."

"good afternoon."

The lady in white robe holding the staff exuded a soft light. In the afternoon light, on the strange and sacred lake, she responded to Shade's salute.

"I'm here to complete the second trial."

Shade glanced at the professor:

"Now to answer the three questions of the second trial, I think I should have found the answer."

"Why did Kansas Drake, a retired folklore professor who lives in the old city west of Carsonrick Huntington in the Sixth Age, come to me?"

The lady in white robe asked gently.

"Because he was stabbed by [Iken'ola's Arrow of Knowledge], he became a gifted person, and then with the help of Halder Ondiba, he became a ring warlock."

The professor looked up at Shade, who shook his head:

"But the death of his guide Halder Ondiba made the professor fearful of what he had been pursuing. Yes, he had been pursuing knowledge and wisdom his whole life. When he truly came into contact with inhuman knowledge and Power, he was afraid, afraid of the goal he pursued in life, so he came here. This was not because he wanted to have a clear relationship with Halder Ondiba, but he was just afraid of the knowledge and power of the ring warlock. Otherwise, There was no way I was going to find that photo.”

The professor pursed his lips, lowered his head with a pale face, and the lady in white robe holding the staff asked:

"What kind of wish did he make while he was here with me?"

"Professor Drake is completely frightened, so he asks you to erase the fact that he became a ring wizard. Although the professor's wish essentially has nothing to do with Hald Ondiba, the fulfillment of the wish severed his relationship with Hald. De Ondeba's connection, therefore for so many years, neither the church nor the Pantanal Voodoo Society have been able to find the [Arrow of Knowledge of Akenola] hidden in the hands of an ordinary person."

The lady in white robe nodded slightly, and the professor was trembling all over.

"So, what did it cost him?"

"The Lady of the Lake" finally asked, Shade's face was serious, Professor Drake looked at Shade suddenly, as if begging him not to tell the answer. He tugged on Shade's sleeve, but ultimately didn't beg.

Shade lowered his head and looked at the professor:

"Professor, answer this question yourself."

The professor took a deep breath and then exhaled shakily. He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands. Shade didn't urge him, just looked at him.

This is indeed a very sad story. People who pursue knowledge are afraid of the wisdom they pursue. Extraordinary knowledge and wisdom may really be a curse, at least for Professor Drake.

After a long time, the professor put down his hands and raised his head:

"The price is my legs."

It seems that every mortal who makes a wish to the Lady of the Lake has to pay the price with his body, but Shade does not.

"And my memory, which may be part of the wish, or the price. But the most important price is my talent."

Shade looked at the professor, who looked down at the water under the wheelchair:

"Although I still don't remember what happened at that time, I think I can understand the me more than ten years ago. I spent my whole life pursuing a result, but I really realized my wish, but I was afraid of what I got. I probably I was really scared. I made a wish to erase my own power, and then paid the price of my talent and wisdom, completely and completely making it impossible for myself to embark on that road again under any circumstances.

I opened the door and saw the scenery behind the door, and then I went crazy because of it. I closed the door again in fear and drove nails in. But more than ten years later, I asked people again to tell me what was behind the door. "

The water under the wheelchair rippled, as if water dropped into the lake.

"correct?"

Shade sighed deeply, and then asked softly to the Lady of the Lake. He opened the mahogany box and showed the arrow inside:

"Halder Ondiba trusted Professor Drake very much. After helping him awaken and let him take office, he temporarily placed the arrow in his hand. This is the core of the Professor Drake incident, as the second trial certificate."

The lady in white robe nodded slightly and showed a gentle smile:

"Correct, you completed my second trial."

Shade kept a reserved expression, but actually wanted to laugh a few times. Although he didn't fight anyone when investigating Professor Drake, the investigation itself was not easy at all:

"Your trials are interesting, at least the stories are interesting. So, what is the third trial? I can't wait. Will the third trial be more complicated than the second trial?"

"No, the third trial is easy."

The lady in white robe holding the staff replied softly:

"Third trial, now, here, defeat me."

Shade immediately stopped laughing.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

ps: The plan will be updated tomorrow. Two chapters in the morning are 5k each, and one chapter in the afternoon is 5k.