When Xia De focused all his attention on the notebook in front of him and tried his best to recall and organize the language to complete the complete logical structure, time passed so quickly.
Even "she" did not disturb Xia De who was concentrating in the forest on this quiet afternoon. Xia De concentrated on mental work outdoors for the first time in a long time, and he actually felt that it was quite nice to write in the forest without being disturbed by anyone, feeling the breeze.
He planned to use the mathematical knowledge of the Sixth Era to complete the proof and extension of the so-called "Euler Formula" in his hometown. But halfway through the outline, he felt that there were too many problems involved in this topic, and the existing mathematical tools were actually still lacking a lot, so he could only supplement it by himself, such as mathematical induction, which he thought was common sense.
Although these are the knowledge that Xia De learned in his hometown, he was not simply memorizing them, and he could not memorize the original text of the paper and the original text of the proof process. It is certain that there are omissions, and Xia De can only say that he is trying his best to perfectly build this bridge connecting complex exponential functions and trigonometric functions.
“As soon as I started writing, I realized there was so much I could write about.”
Thinking in my mind, I circled the chapter name I just listed with a fountain pen and wrote the word "pending" behind it. Then I wanted to simply write down the content of mathematical induction, but just after writing the second letter, my head hurt and I was hit by something falling from the sky:
"oh!"
He covered his head with his hands and reached out to catch the object that hit him and fell to the side. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a green apple:
"Um?"
Looking up again, the sun had already set slightly, and there were no dead leaves on the empty black treetops. Shade was sure that there were absolutely no apples on the tree before he sat down:
“Where did the apple come from?”
Looking down at the apple in his hand, the green fruit seemed to be unripe. Holding it tightly, he could not feel any trace of the four elements, so Xia De hesitated for a moment, rubbed the apple on his clothes, and then took a bite.
The apple was a little sour, but also slightly sweet and very crisp. I chewed it carefully and swallowed it. I felt that my head, which was a little bloated from working all afternoon, was actually much clearer.
I wanted to take a second bite, but suddenly stopped:
"Does the lake appear in such an interesting way every time?"
He still sat leaning against the tree trunk, raised his left hand and waved to the chestnut horse, and when it lowered its head, he handed it the apple.
The latter bit off a small half of the apple, chewed it for a few times, then stretched out his long red tongue, licked away the remaining half of the apple, and chewed it with savoring breath through his nose.
Do you know what will happen
"Her" voice came from the wind. Shade stood up with the notebook and stuffed it and the pen into his arms:
"Isn't that how fairy tales are told?"
He stretched himself, untied the reins, stepped on the stirrups and climbed onto the horse's back. Xia De did not give the horse any direction, and after eating the apple, the horse automatically walked slowly to the left.
Xia De didn't say anything, just holding the reins and being carried by the horse into the woods. The light and shadow of the setting sun had partially appeared on the horizon, blowing the slightly cold winter wind, passing over the bare apple trees, the man and the horse moved forward in silence, as if they both knew where the destination ahead was.
Suddenly, in front of the not-so-dense forest, there appeared a patch of tall bushes that shouldn't have appeared in this season. When the bay horse carried Shade out of the bushes, he saw a calm lake with ripples under the setting sun, and an island in the middle of the red lake with emerald green grass.
Stranger, you feel the wonders and the whispers.
"Yes, that's it. The whisper means that this is a relic that has never been recorded. The miracle means that I have found the right place."
At "her" prompt, Shad got off the horse with a smile, patted the horse that was grazing again, and came to the lake.
The lake was not frozen as old Graves from Lower Luther said, nor was there a small boat waiting for him as the poet Roland said. In front of Shad there was only the lake water turning red in the sunset.
"Walking on water!"
He took careful steps, stepped on the lake water, and waited until he had stood firmly before slowly walking forward.
Shade is now completely certain that the "Lake of Cherubim" at this time in the Sixth Era is definitely not the Lost Lake in the Broken Islands in the Fifth Era 5177. At present, the scenery of this mysterious lake is very good, and there are only small fish swimming in the lake water under your feet, and there are no strange things.
The Lake of Cherubim was not big, at least not as big as the Lost Lake. Shad stepped on the water and soon landed on the island in the middle of the lake.
The first one to greet him was the wild wolf that had "resurrected from the dead" yesterday. It still had the whispering element in it, and seemed to recognize Shade. It was so scared when it saw him that it ran away immediately.
Xia De walked on the grass towards the island, passing the rocks and sparse trees. In the center of the island, he found a shallow lake. The water was clear, and tadpole-sized red and black fish were swimming freely in it.
A huge gray stone stands in the middle of the lake. Although the stone is irregular in shape, each side is extremely smooth and engraved with dense golden runes, like several long square boulders spliced together.
On the lake under the stone, there stood a young lady leaning on a cane, smiling as she looked at Shade who was walking from a distance. She was not the old woman that the one-eyed fisherman Mr. Graves had mentioned, nor was she the middle-aged woman that the poet Mr. Roland had mentioned. She was a young lady in her mid-twenties, wearing a white robe, like a hermit. The long cane in her hand was made of white oak, and together with the white robe, it emitted a pure white glow.
"The heart of the lake on the island in the middle of the lake?"
Xia De muttered quietly in his heart, wanting to step on the water again to enter the final island center lake, but he stepped into the water instead when he stretched out his foot:
"Hmm? Water walking prohibited?"
He was a little surprised, and took out the extract of weather vane blue grass, dripped it on the tip of his tongue, then took a step forward and wanted to cross the water directly, but the power of space could not be used here.
The young girl in the center of the lake smiled at him. Xia De looked carefully at the shallow lake. In fact, even if he went into the water, the water surface would not reach his knees. But he felt that he could not wade across the water, otherwise it would be embarrassing, so he took out the frog legs, used the spell frog jump, and then activated the spell red dragon power.
He took a few steps back and suddenly ran forward. He jumped at the lakeside, gliding across the lake, and landed steadily under the huge rock in the center of the island. The water where the lady in white robe stood allowed the spell of "walking on water" to take effect, so Shade came to her.
The concentration of miracle elements here is like being under the holy emblem of the church of the archdiocese, but Shade is very sure that the young lady in front of him, wearing a pure white hooded robe and with silver hair, is definitely not a god.
She is quite old, and her youthful appearance cannot conceal the ancient feeling that comes from time travel.
"Hello."
After taking a look at the sunset in the sky, Shade on the lake saluted the lady in white robes. The latter did not dodge and responded softly in the Draerion language:
"Hello, congratulations, you are finally here."
Her tone was gentle, somewhat like Mother-in-law Cassandra.
Xia De raised his head, looked at her expectantly, and asked embarrassedly:
"Excuse me, do you know why I came here?"
"Oh, of course I do."
The lady in white robe smiled and nodded. Under the setting sun, she, like the white robe and the white oak staff, radiated a pure white glow, just like Shade that glows in the dark:
"You come for the power of God."
"Yes, then..."
Xia De laughed awkwardly. The ancient one seemed to understand his feelings at the moment:
"You don't have to say the word, but I do have what you want."
Shade's eyes widened. He was not surprised that she saw that he was looking for divinity. Although this "Lady of the Lake" was not a god, she was very close to it.
He was surprised that the other party was so easy to talk to:
"So... what organ do you want from me? I have met three mortals who have made wishes to you. They all lost parts of their bodies. It was not a physical loss, but they were erased from the past and the present."
The lady in white robe smiled and shook her head:
"Yes, if you get something, you have to give something back. But you are different from them. Your body means nothing to me. What you want to get is a treasure that mortals cannot imagine, so you have to pay more."
"Don't want my body? Okay, what do I need to do?"
Shad asked, and the Lady of the Lake held up four fingers. Shad noticed that she was not wearing a ring:
"You need to complete four tests to prove that you are worthy of that power."
"Four?"
Shade was stunned. In the year 3177 of the Fifth Era, the test from God was three items. The test from the Keeper of the Psalms was five items. Now the Lady of the Lake proposed four more items:
"No problem, what is the mission?"
Not to mention four tasks, even forty tasks must be agreed to.
"It's not a mission, it's a test."
The lady in white robe corrected her, then said with a smile:
"Don't worry, we can do them one by one. These tests are also a process for you to verify yourself. They can prove your ability. At the end of the four tasks, you will rekindle the power of the great one. And every time you complete one of the first three tasks, I can give you an extra gift. After completing the fourth task, you can get what you want."
“Yes, no problem!”
Xia De nodded quickly, and the other party pointed to the angular boulder in the center of the lake beside her. On it, there were originally golden runes, writing virtues such as wisdom, kindness, and sacrifice, but now there was an extra line of words.
Shade read it out:
"The first test is to prove your wisdom, strength, and charm at the upcoming wedding banquet. Hmm? Wedding banquet?"
"Yes, you know what it is,"
The lady in white robe smiled, and then cast some white light on Shade:
“When you have successfully demonstrated that, you will know it, so don’t worry about not being able to measure your actions.”
Xia De wanted to ask more questions, but the lady spoke first in the sunset:
"Yes, it is that simple. You don't have to defeat terrible enemies or look for special materials. Outsider, prove yourself at that grand wedding banquet. You only have one chance. If you fail, I won't give you a second chance."
The setting sun cast long shadows on the grass beside the lake. Above the lake, Xia De remembered these requests, then closed his eyes and bowed slightly:
"I am willing to accept your test, just for the greatest power."