However, what was beyond his imagination was that the young man did not become disheartened by being expelled from the Mage's Tower. Instead, he invented the magic video recorder and imaging crystal, which were only his initial ideas, on his own, and subverted the entire magic world with them in the lecture hall that once symbolized his failure.
After coming out of the meeting in the lecture hall, Scar did not immediately go to receive the honor of being the vice-president and the official tower master. Instead, he first returned to the office on the top floor of the Alchemy Tower and slowly opened a hidden box deep in the room.
Inside the box is an old, yellowed book that looks like a diary.
In response to this, Scar slowly took out the book, made up his mind, turned around immediately, and walked towards the teleportation array not far away.
Chapter 68: Letter from the Orc Spy
Chapter 68
In the southern border, in an inn next to the Rock City Mansion, a room on the second floor was still lit with candles until late at night.
Under the candlestick, a petite girl slowly spread out a piece of letter paper and began to write.
[Reporting to the commander, Juno, the Dark Blade spy of the Orc Kingdom, reports.]
Juno is a spy sent by the secret organization Black Blade of the Orc Kingdom to the Human Empire to carry out the mission of obtaining intelligence. Due to the increasing friction between the Orc Kingdom and the Empire in recent days, the Orc Kingdom is ready for a war with the Empire at any time. Before the war, spies like Juno were sent to the Empire to obtain first-hand intelligence from the Human Kingdom.
As a cat-man, Juno's innate orc characteristics are relatively weak. With a little cover, the cat ears and tail can be hidden without any flaws. In addition, although Juno looks like a pitiful little loli, she is actually a special individual that is extremely rare in the Orc Kingdom. Once she erupts, not to mention the human swordsman, even the great sage that the human empire is proud of will find it difficult to stop her.
Therefore, the Orc Kingdom undoubtedly chose her to carry out this mission to the Human Empire.
At this time, Juno, who had been working all day and was tired, returned to the resting place and recalled the events of the day while nervously writing on the letter paper:
[According to the clues given by the intelligence department, I followed the general of the human empire, Wilhelm, to the southern border. However, the general of the empire did not go directly to find the Grand Duke Victor of the southern border. Instead, he went to a city called Northrick and watched a performance called Movie.]
[Of course, in order to obtain information, I also went into the so-called cinema to watch it, and the result was far beyond my imagination. Since the following words are confidential information, please give the letter to the prophet as soon as possible. If you read it by mistake, please don’t think that I am talking nonsense. This matter concerns the life and death of the kingdom and must not be underestimated.]
Having said that, Juno roughly explained what the movie he watched was about, and then wrote:
[Because I couldn't buy a ticket, I couldn't watch the newly released movie with the Imperial General, so in order not to waste time, I chose to watch another movie, the movie is called "KonoSuba: God's Blessing for a Beautiful World", and apart from the strange name, the content is beyond imagination. ]
[This movie "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" mainly tells the story of a team of adventurers carrying out a mission. The plot is very short. The following is the general plot of the story... ... .]
After quickly explaining the plot of the movie, Juno wrote down the doubts that were still lingering in her heart: [After watching the movie, countless doubts flashed through my mind. First of all, the main character of the movie is named Zat. He seems to be just an ordinary adventurer, but he can actually reach the realm of God and even drag the God down from the realm of God?! Has human magic reached such a terrifying level? Can we even ignore the gods? ]
[Although I don't understand magic, looking at the history of the Orc Kingdom, I have thought about this kind of miracle and can only think of one similar example, that is the legendary God of War Kratos in the Orc Kingdom. It is said that he once went to the God's Realm and killed the previous God of War with his own hands, becoming the new God of War. But this is just a legend, and the authenticity is quite low. On the other hand, looking at humans, do they already have some way to reach the God's Realm? ]
[And the god's behavior was obviously abnormal, completely different from the behavior of the gods in the legend. Although humans said that it was just a performance, I doubt that it was true. At least as a blood-damaged individual, I could feel a special temperament from the girl who was called a god when watching the movie. ]
[For this reason, I suspect that the god may have been affected by some special magic used by humans and turned into this. Although I don't know much about magic, humans' research on magic is far beyond ours. Maybe it is really possible to achieve such a thing? Prophet, as the only great sage in the Orc Kingdom, do you think this is possible? ]
[Secondly, there is a magician girl in the movie. She looks very young, obviously not even 20 years old, and her strength seems to be at the level of a high-level magician, but she raises her hand and releases a quasi-sixth-level strongest attack magic—explosion magic! Although she fell to the ground exhausted after using this magic, the information revealed in it can be said to be terrifying! ]
[You know, the explosion magic released by those powerful great sages of the human race has wiped out countless sturdy soldiers of our orc coalition in previous wars, but even so, only a very small number of great sages with wind and fire attributes can use it stably. And such terrifying magic seems to have been found by humans to compress magic power, and even ordinary high-level magicians can use it once a day?! If this happened on the battlefield, how terrible would it be?! One shot? Ten shots? A hundred shots? Even the most powerful orc warriors can't withstand the power of the world-destroying power! ]
[Finally, this is the main point of my letter, which is the terrifying enemy that appears at the end of the movie—the Headless Horseman. You, the prophet, were not there so you cannot understand it. Do you dare to believe that the humans in the cinema were laughing when they saw the terrifying undead that had arrived in the inhuman realm slaughtering their own kind? The only feeling I had at the time was creepiness. It was as if those humans were not watching an extremely powerful and tyrannical super-class undead, but watching an animal performing acrobatics in a circus! ! ! !]
[Even after walking out of the cinema, I couldn't control myself when I recalled the terrifying aura of the headless knight in the movie. Even though I am an extremely rare blood-damaged individual of the orcs and my own strength has reached the level of a quasi-sword saint, I can guarantee that I can't survive a single round at the hands of that terrifying undead knight.]
[But the humans in the movie not only defeated it easily, but also ignored the terrifying undead as if nothing had happened. For them, it seemed that the amount of money they could make from this adventure was more important than the glory of defeating a powerful undead! ]
[These spectators gave me an even more terrifying feeling. They didn't care how powerful the Dullahan was. They just regarded that terrifying monster as a clown!!! Does this mean that humans have completely ignored the threat posed by powerful undead?!!! They already have terrifying weapons that far surpass those of super-class undead?! ]
[I can still recall the itchy feeling on my back when I walked out of the cinema. It was as if the humans around me had already known my identity and were just watching my funny spying like the headless horseman in the movie.]
[In short, this movie watching made me realize that our understanding of the Human Empire is far from satisfactory. After reading this letter, please think carefully about the current power gap between the Human Empire and the Orc Kingdom. Don't be careless. It would be best if you could ask His Majesty the King to review the relationship between us and the Human Empire.]
[Finally, the new movie "Goblin Slayer" will be officially released tomorrow. I have already reserved the tickets and will definitely provide you with the latest information as soon as I finish watching it.]
In this way, the girl slowly finished writing the letter, and then called an owl in the night that no one noticed. After sending the letter to the owl's leg, she let it fly away.
After completing all this, Juno let out a long sigh and slowly lay down on the table, and her mind was unconsciously occupied by going to the cinema to watch a new movie tomorrow.
Chapter 69: A Few Things About Edward's Tavern
Chapter 69
Northrick, in Edward's Tavern on the first floor of Edward Studios.
Yesterday, due to the official release of the new movie "Goblin Slayer", the pub's business has been extremely good in the past two days. No matter what time it is, the entire pub is full of fans who have watched "Goblin Slayer".
For this reason, under such busy circumstances, Edward Tavern had to recruit new staff again. Therefore, except for Wiz, the original owner, and the Dullahan, the waiter, the staff of this tavern is already quite rich.
The first to join is Helena, who has not been seen for a while. This girl disappeared for a while since the last movie was filmed, and only recently returned to the South Territory. Because Du Lin was busy filming a new movie, she couldn't find anything to do and finally had to come to this tavern to help out.
As for why a high-level magician wanted to work as a waitress, the reason was naturally that the salary offered by Wiz, the store manager who couldn't count money, was something she couldn't refuse.
Although, in theory, Du Lin gave her a large sum of money after the release of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing for a Better World", considering her debts, it is easy to imagine why she was so short of money.
Secondly, after Zat followed Winry back to Edward Castle last time, he eventually returned to Northrick. After all, Winry took care of the castle too well, and Durin didn't really need a second-level swordsman like him as a guard, so in the end he had nothing to do and came to work in the tavern.
After all, this tavern nominally belongs to the Edward family's assets, and as a knight of the Edward family, it is natural for him to contribute.
At the same time, since Zat has arrived, Aya will naturally not be left behind. After joining the tavern, although this guy is lazy all day long, her acrobatics have won the praise of the guests. Now she has even become the person in charge of the tavern's entertainment programs.
Except for the actor who plays Darkness who has returned to be an adventurer, almost the entire cast of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" has gathered in this tavern. You can imagine how good its business is.
Some fans of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" even regarded it as a holy place, and came here to sign in once a day, which made Wiz, who had countless fans, feel his head hurt more and more, although liches don't have headaches.
At the same time, with the release of the new movie, the tavern's customers have recently discovered that there are suddenly a few familiar figures in the tavern. There is no doubt that they are the Saeki family who moved their home to Northrick and Daphne who stayed at Edward Studios for a free meal.
Not to mention the Duke's daughter who felt no guilt at all about eating for free, after the filming of the movie was completed, Saeki also followed Durin's advice and decided to move his family from the suburbs of the North to the town. However, because he was afraid that he would be recognized in the North, he finally chose to seek Durin's help and brought his family to this unfamiliar southern land.
After all, there are few powerful beings in the South Territory, and ordinary adventurers are completely unable to detect the breath of the living dead, so he can live here generously. Although it is quite uncomfortable to wear full body armor all day long, he doesn't seem to feel anything after getting used to it.
With the addition of Saeki, the tavern now has two half-undeads. As the owner, Wiz is most worried that someone from the church will suddenly come to Northrick. It will be a lot of fun if they investigate. Although Durin has said that he has no plans to promote the movie to further places for the time being, it is possible that a bishop will disguise himself as an ordinary person and come to the Southland to do penance or something...
In short, at least for now, this tavern does not have to worry about any problems. After all, not to mention the headless knight who can even be the big boss, the rest of the combat power is not weak either, except for the two mascots, Zat and Aya. Even if a bishop really comes, he can easily solve it.
And for Wiz, who manages the tavern, what bothers her the most is actually 'I don't know why, the tavern's customers have been increasing, but the turnover has been losing money.' This is a mysterious incident that she can't figure out.
... ...
After being open for a whole day, the liveliness of the pub had decreased to a certain extent. At this moment, the pub, which was originally crowded with people, was only left with the pub staff, except for a few guests who did not go home late at night.
Just when Wiz saw this scene and thought it was almost time to close the door, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the door.
"Rhine, you brat! I already told you there's no chance of a show being available this late! Why don't you just come tomorrow?!"
"But... isn't it all your fault that you were too slow? You should have come yesterday, but you dragged it until today."
"Is that my fault? It's because the banquet held by the Duke of the Southern Territory was not only long, but also dragged out and boring!"
Seeing the master and disciple next to him start their usual quarrel, General Wilhelm, who was walking calmly, said with a smile: "Okay, okay, if we can't see it today, then we can see it tomorrow. Anyway, we won't leave the Southland in a short time. The most urgent thing now is to go... Ah, we are here..."
Looking at the tavern in front of him that was highly recommended by other movie fans, General Wilhelm walked in with Knight Commander Wycliffe and Knight Rhine behind him.
In the tavern, looking at the three people approaching from a distance, not to mention Saeki who was helping Zat mop the floor, Wiz, who originally wanted to greet the guests, showed an expression of disbelief the moment he saw the people coming.
As an undead lich, she can clearly see the life energy of every human being. At this moment, whether it is her instinct as a lich or Wiz's judgment that can see through souls, she can realize that the three people walking in the distance should not be underestimated, or in other words... ... are very dangerous!
"Zat, take Aya to the second floor first."
There was no time to remind more. Since Beldia had not returned yet, Wiz could only choose to let the two weakest people hide first. As for the others, since Daphne was not there, the remaining Saeki and Helena were fighters who could help.
After hearing these words, Zat realized that he might not be able to help with what happened next, so he immediately pulled Aya, who was sleeping soundly at the edge of the tavern, to the second floor.
Soon, as the three knights outside the door walked in, the atmosphere in the entire tavern became tense.
"Is there... anything... that I need?"
Wiz asked with as much smile as possible as he watched the oldest but most powerful knight sitting at the bar in the tavern.
She hoped that these powerful knights could finish drinking and leave without discovering their own undead identities. In fact, except for the priests of the church who were guided by the Holy Light, ordinary knights could not distinguish the undead very well.
When the three knights took their seats, they did not show anything strange. They just looked at the menu on the bar like ordinary customers.
At this moment, just as Wiz was feeling lucky that her human form had not been seen through, the back door of the tavern suddenly opened, and Beldia suddenly walked in from outside with her head in her left hand and a barrel of wine in her right hand.
The headless knight, who looked very happy, laughed and shouted, "Hahaha, I'm back, Wiz, this is the wine I bought with the extra premiere ticket that Director Durin gave me, so don't ruin it again! No, I won't let you even touch it this time, hahahaha!"
“——!”
Suddenly, seeing the three knights in front of her with instantly changed expressions, Wiz screamed uncontrollably in her heart, and her forehead was immediately covered with cold sweat.
Moreover, including Saeki who was ready to take action at a distance, the entire tavern became so quiet in an instant that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard clearly.
Chapter 70: The Story of Seven Magicians Fighting for a Cup
Chapter 70
The top floor of the Mage's Tower is called the Dean's Office. After leaving the lecture hall, Du Lin was called here by Hohenheim.
Looking at the room in front of him with all kinds of old alchemy books in a mess and all kinds of real or fake alchemy arrays carved on the ground, Du Lin couldn't help but reveal a subtle expression and asked the old man sitting in front of him: "Is there anything you want to talk to me about, Mr. Dean?"
In response to his respectful words, Hohenheim rubbed the acupuncture point between his eyes and said slowly: "Don't pretend. I know how happy you are. How about getting all the mages in the Mage Tower to recognize your feeling?"
"Uh... not bad!"
Although the current Durin is not the paranoid Durin of the past, he still feels somewhat happy that he can make magicians realize the infinite potential of magical alchemy.
Dean Hohenheim simply patted the dusty and extremely rare books on magic alchemy and said, "Before you used that item to prove the value of magic alchemy, I also always believed that the path of a magician should be to explore higher-level magic and seek stronger personal strength. But in fact, I can't find any clues about the seventh-level gate in my life. I should know that maybe I... We have been on the wrong path from the beginning..."
“That’s not necessarily the case.”
To this, Du Lin just slowly replied: "Anything can only be confirmed to be true if it is proven. Before a seventh-level magician appears, no one knows whether the seventh level exists..."
Knowing that Durin was comforting himself, the old wizard sighed and murmured, "Maybe, but at least for now, you have proved that you are right, so I will also give absolute support to this right, just like what the first great sage Roland said, 'What is the greatest gift that magic has given to mankind? It is the power to make mankind believe in the truth.' There is no absolute right way to explore magic, but only by choosing to believe in the truth that should be believed, can the road continue to extend."
Unexpectedly, the old man who was so stubborn that he kicked himself out of the Mage Tower would say such a thing. While Du Lin was stunned for a moment, Hohenheim continued, "Also, what is the principle of your magic video recorder and imaging crystal? I have studied it for so many days and can only figure out the general idea. Those old guys will definitely come to you first to ask for this technology."
"Well, that's not the case. The technology of the magic video recorder and imaging crystal cannot be understood just by looking..."
This is like a modern person wanting to understand the internal structure of a movie machine by watching movies. It is difficult to do so without sufficient basic knowledge and the correct design drawings.
After knowing that the other party's real purpose was to "figure out the principle of his invention", Du Lin sighed and said slowly: "I have the design drawings of these two things. Any magician who has studied alchemy can understand them."
"Oh, that's a good thing."
"Is it good?"
In response to Hohenheim's surprise, Durin simply said slowly, "There is nothing wrong with making the world a better place through inventions, but in the process, the inventor's personal desires should at least be satisfied, right? There is nothing wrong with the Mage's Tower honoring magicians who invent new magic. After all, many magics are not learned by many people even if they are made public. But what if an alchemical creation is invented that any magician can use?"
After hearing what Durin said for so long, Hohenheim, who didn't understand what he meant at once, showed a confused expression.
In response to this, Du Lin just slowly replied: "Patent! By ensuring that every technology invented by a magician can bring him huge profits in a short period of time, so as to stimulate the enthusiasm of magicians, I hope that the Mage Tower can establish a reasonable patent system on behalf of the magician world!"
As he spoke, Durin quickly gave Hohenheim a brief introduction to the patent system, and also made some revisions in order to suit the characteristics of this magical world.
Finally, after listening to Durin's words that seemed to have been prepared in advance, Hohenheim thought for a while and then slowly said, "It's a very good idea. This should be able to mobilize the enthusiasm of mages to explore new knowledge and unknown areas to a great extent. I will hold a meeting to discuss the establishment of a patent system later. So do you plan to directly include your invention in patent protection?"
"Ah, after all, everything is difficult at the beginning. After the success of this technology, other magicians will also hand over their best tricks. Before that, even if you, the dean, want to know about this technology, I won't tell you."
"Qi, I didn't expect you to be such a stingy person..."
"Haha, I still remember clearly how the dean kicked me out of the Mage's Tower."
Seeing that they were about to part on bad terms, Hohenheim stroked his beard and suddenly said, "Oh, there is one more thing. The current emperor of the empire will have his birthday in a month. At that time, our Mage Tower will offer something as a gift according to the annual custom. This time, you will be the one to give the gift. It doesn't matter what it is, but at least it can't bring shame to our Mage Tower."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I still have your diploma! If you want to become a formal Imperial magician and the dean of the Magic Alchemy Department, you have to work hard!"
“… … .”
Unexpectedly, the other party actually had such a trick up his sleeve. Du Lin, with black lines on his forehead, said helplessly: "Okay, I'll prepare it, but only one month? It feels a bit short."
"I can't control that. If it doesn't work out, you can just send the movie you made over there. Anyway, your business is already flourishing in the South Territory, and there won't be any harm in the capital."
"A movie as a birthday present?"
Hearing Hohenheim's words, Durin couldn't help but reveal a thoughtful expression. However, when he thought of the two movies he was currently shooting, "KonoSuba: God's Blessing for a Better World" contained a subtle character like the Headless Horseman who was wanted by the church, and "Goblin Slayer" was full of indescribable scenes. No matter how he thought about it, these two were not suitable as birthday gifts. Besides, wanting to shoot a movie within a month... It seemed unlikely.
Finally, Du Lin sighed helplessly and could only murmur slowly: "Anyway, I'll think about this carefully when I get back."
... ... .
Coming out of the office on the top floor of the Mage Tower, Durin, who originally wanted to leave through the teleportation array, suddenly saw a faint light emitting from the teleportation array in front of him. Then, Durin's old acquaintance, Ska, the master of the Alchemy Tower, walked out.
"Oh, isn't this Scar? What's up? Do you want to talk to the dean?"
In response to Du Lin's usual greeting, the taciturn master of the Alchemy Tower was stunned for a moment, then took out the old notebook in his hand and handed it to Du Lin.
"What's this?"
"Research notes."
“?!!”
As if he could see Durin's confusion, Scar just said silently: "This is the research notebook passed down from generation to generation by each master of the Alchemy Tower. Since most of the records in it are imaginary theories studied by some down-and-out magic alchemists, it can only be inherited by a master with sufficient identification ability. I wanted to give it to you a few years ago, but because of what happened..."