"If you don't need this thing anymore, sell it to me. I can give you a very high price."
Seeing that Shade was still thinking, Old John suggested, but Shade shook his head:
"Not yet. But Father John, I know this piece of metal contains a lot of information, but it needs to be triggered in a specific way. Is there any way to directly know the information hidden in this thing? Or even open it directly? Yes, there are other things inside."
"That's really interesting. I'm going to try and see who has a higher level of skill, the alchemist who made this item or me."
The old man put down the newspaper in his hand and took out a suitcase from under the counter. Inside was a series of crystal lenses of different sizes and thicknesses.
Old John used these lenses and some metal parts to quickly assemble a pair of brass-colored telescopic monocles. After carefully putting them on his right eye, he lowered his head to examine the silver cube.
After a long while, he shook his head and took off his glasses:
"Interesting. More interesting than I thought. This is almost solid mithril, with dozens of different messages recorded inside. But if you can make six of them visible, you can open it and get the object hidden in the center. Don't try to force it, otherwise you will damage the items inside."
"What's in there... the key?"
Shade raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you guess it's a key?"
Old John asked curiously, and seeing that Xia De didn't want to answer, he didn't ask any more questions:
"I only saw the general shape. Although it was very vague, it was definitely not a key. At least not a normal-shaped key."
Then it is definitely not what Shad is looking for, but this is normal. Shad does not think that he is so lucky that he can find the key as soon as he arrives in Randall City.
"What a brilliant alchemy technique. I wonder which master made it. Shade, if one day it is of no use to you, please sell it to me. Even without the mithril, it is still a remarkable work of art."
Old John took off his glasses and said, while Shade had some doubts -
How on earth did Mr. Thomas Granger, a low-level sorcerer whose whereabouts are unknown, get hold of such a powerful alchemical item
Temporarily understanding the purpose of the Silver Cube, Shade tried it and found that the Door Key did not identify it as a lock, so it could not be cracked, so he did not leave in a hurry:
"Sir, I have something to discuss with you about the end of the world. Not with the owner of the store, but with Old John of the Guiding Light Hermitage."
The old man nodded and continued to slowly clean up the lenses on the table:
"It seems that you made some remarkable discoveries around the end of the year?"
"Yes, I entered a strange dream and learned some information from it... The end of the world will probably come soon."
This is based on the image of Luvia in the dream. Although the slightly more mature Luvia is older, she is definitely no more than 30 years old. However, if you consider that she was once a demigod witch, she may be older, but the arrival of the end of the world will definitely not exceed one or two hundred years.
"Yes, yes. I also received enlightenment before the end of the year. The end of the world will certainly come, and it will probably be beyond our expectations."
After stuffing the box under the counter, Old John clasped his hands together and looked at Shade:
"This is related to the prophecy poem of the witch of the Fifth Era, and also to the gods."
"What would you do?"
Shade asked. Although Old John was old, his eyes were powerful:
"We have always believed that the coming of doomsday is a natural phenomenon of the world. But we will not sit idly by and wait for death. We will look for answers. If we can prevent it, we will unite all possible forces to prevent it. If we cannot prevent it, we will try our best to delay its arrival. If we cannot even delay it, we will make plans for survival after the doomsday. If no one survives after the doomsday, at least we will leave behind information about our civilization."
The old man sighed slightly:
"I am pessimistic about this. Fortunately, the enlightenment I received is not particularly clear. Perhaps, there are other ways to interpret that enlightenment. After all, I saw many possibilities of doomsday at once. But there is no need to be too pessimistic. We are not the only two in this world. The Orthodox Church, the three major academies, and other ancient entities in the material world, even the most evil criminals, will not watch the world go to destruction."
Xia De nodded, his mood did not change much, after all, he had accepted the fact half a month ago. But when he looked at the newspaper placed on the table by Old John, he unexpectedly saw a familiar name.
The newspaper reported that Princess Margaret of Anjou and Prince William of Anjou from Carsenrick went to Randall Valley City to inaugurate the Second Southern Shipyard of the United Kingdom Navy. Shade had already learned this from Leicia, and the newspaper mentioned that Princess Margaret would arrive in Randall Valley City this Friday.
However, he still didn't know whether Miss Sylvia would go with him.
With a slight sigh in his heart, the morning time was about to pass, and Shade planned to go to Randall Valley City as soon as possible to meet Luvia. But before leaving, he thought of another thing:
"Father John, do you know the old god Forgotten Old Man?"
This is the title of the god that the silver cube told me yesterday about the abandoned church.
"Oh? I didn't realize you knew this god?"
The old man picked up the newspaper again and glanced at Xia De:
"You have to know that even if a god leaves, his power still affects the material world. This is reflected in the power of the old god, the god of memory, the Forgotten Old Man. Very few people can remember the information about this god. Even I only know the existence of this god, that his cult is called the 'Forgotten Cult', and that his church is called the 'Forgotten Church'. Apart from that, I don't know anything else."
"So, where can I get information about this?"
Xia De asked again out of curiosity, but the old man shrugged his shoulders unexpectedly:
"I may have known it before, but I have forgotten it now. The Orthodox Church and the three major colleges may have some records, but don't hold your hopes too high. The god of memory is also the god of forgetfulness. Since she doesn't want to be remembered by mortals, we certainly can't remember it. However, it is said that her cult seems to still exist. Of course, it is just a rumor."
As a result, the clues about the strange church were interrupted again.
From the basement of the house, I went to the "Forgotten Church" in the Randall River Valley, walked through the ruins of the church, and entered the courtyard from the main entrance of the church.
Although it snowed a little yesterday, the weather in the Randall River Valley was exceptionally good today, and the temperature was higher than in Tobesk. When walking through the abandoned church courtyard in the sun, Shade even felt a little hot. However, the courtyard was still covered in snow, and winter was far from over.
The Prophet's Association of Randall Valley City is also located in the core district of the city. To the left of the association is the magnificent City Hall, but it is a little different from the Prophet's Association of Tobesk.
Tobesk's association is located on Silver Cross Avenue. Although it occupies a large area, it is still a standard three-story rectangular building. In front of the Prophet's Association in Randall Valley City is a square, which is connected to the square in front of the City Hall with the Carsenrick flag flying.
At the edge of the square directly in front of the association is a white stone fountain with a figure holding a crystal ball in one hand and a card in the other. Two stone stairs surround the fountain on both sides and lead to the main entrance of the association on the high ground. The railings of the stairs are decorated with metal vines, branches and snakes.
This front gate is much more impressive than the association in Tobesk. But the reason is obvious. The housing prices in Randall Valley are not comparable to that of the northern pearl.
Shade didn't know when Luvia would come to the association today, so he planned to wait in the association to give Luvia a surprise. The association was already very lively in the morning, and the love for Rhodes cards did not distinguish between nationalities. If it weren't for the fact that everyone around him spoke Kasenrik, Shade would even feel that this place was no different from Tobesk.
Although he was disguised, he still looked like a northerner. If he wandered around the association doing nothing, it would obviously attract unnecessary attention, so Shade decided to find something to do.
The Prophet's Association in Randall Valley has an area similar to that of a library in a large city. The building has four floors, only one floor lower than the city hall next to it. The first and second floors are used for Rhodes-related business, and of course, there is a place for card players to play cards. After all, the Prophet's Association itself is also a Rhodes card club.
The venue that Xia De chose was the terrace facing the central staircase on the second floor. The terrace was about the same size as Xia De's living room, with seven or eight square tables, each with an unopened parasol on the side. Although it was only the second floor and not very high, the association itself was high in the city, so the terrace on the second floor could overlook the city scenery, the valleys and forests in the distance, and the scenery was quite nice.
Shade chose the outermost seat near the terrace railing. After sitting down, although his back was facing the railing and the little angel stone statue on the railing, "she" could always monitor whether Luvia appeared at the entrance of the association.
At the long table with the best position, a middle-aged man who was sorting out his deck of cards was already sitting there. When Shadra pulled open the chair opposite the table and sat down, the gentleman with thick eyebrows looked up at him:
"I haven't seen your face before, sir. Are you from out of town?"
"A writer from Willendel, heard that the scenery here is nice and wanted to come here to collect materials."
Xia De also took out his deck, of course, all the special cards had been taken out.