After having lunch at Professor Drake's house, the maid rented a carriage from the city's carriage rental company, and then Shad set off with the packed professor.
Although their destination was very strange, the driver did not ask anything. After sending the two to Loch Ness in the east of Huntington, he stopped by the roadside and watched Shad push the professor's wheelchair away.
The dirt road in the countryside was not suitable for the wheelchair to turn, but fortunately they did not go very far. After confirming that the driver was no longer visible, Shade pushed the professor down the lake bank and looked at the large lake from the shore of Loch Ness.
This is the lake in the west of the city that Shade randomly picked on the map. Loch Ness is very calm in winter. Although the lake surface has not been completely frozen, a thin layer of ice has already appeared. The cold wind swept over, and Shade had no reaction. Professor Drake, who was wrapped tightly, shivered.
He saw Shad untie the cloth covering the long object he was carrying, and then saw the long sword in its scabbard.
"Mr. Watson, actually, this isn't your real name, is it?"
Taking his eyes off 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... No, nothing."
Xia De lowered his head and glanced at the professor. He was standing beside the professor at this time:
"I hope you can thank me like this when we return to the lake. The truth may be cruel to you."
"I may regret it in the future, but at least I won't regret it now."
To visit the Lady of the Lake, a sword is needed this time. But even with the sword, the condition of "forgetting to visit the Lady of the Lake" must still be met. Shad hoped to temporarily divert the attention of both himself and the professor by chatting with him. The professor also had this intention and talked to Shad about his understanding of the lake in front of him.
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the lake. Xia De immediately pushed the professor closer to the lake, and then he and the old professor saw ripples appearing on the lakeside, as if there was an earthquake at the bottom of the lake.
The sound of the lake water became more frequent and dense, and gradually a huge whirlpool 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 a silver light:
"Mr. Watson, do you need any help? I have a pistol on me as well."
"No need, I can do it myself."
In just two sentences of conversation, a frog made of pure water, taller than Shad, jumped out from the water in the middle of the huge whirlpool in the lake. It jumped high and blocked the sun in front of Shad and Professor Drake. The old professor shrank into his wheelchair out of fear of the giant.
When the frog's huge shadow completely covered Shade, he clenched his empty left hand and made a throwing motion towards the sky:
“Thunder gun!”
The silver-white lightning exploded in his hand, and along with the throwing action, the silver-white lightning spear with the palm as the center, along with the dense lines, overflowed forward and backward. The moment the lightning spear took shape was the moment it was thrown.
Professor Drake only heard a thunder and was wondering why there was thunder at this time, when the huge pure water frog in the air broke into large drops of water and fell into the lake.
The sound of splashing continued in front of him, stirring up a large amount of water mist on the lake surface. In the mist, two water arrows shot out from the lake surface near the shore. The two water currents did not shoot straight into the sky, but rose first and then drew an arc to close together.
They formed the shape of an arch. When the arch closed, the water that fell from the frogs bursting would rush down from top to bottom and fill the door.
“This, this…”
The professor was so shocked that he was speechless.
"That frog is too weak. It seems the lady of the lake doesn't want to embarrass us."
Xia De muttered to himself. Seeing that the water gate was in the lake near the shore, it was still some distance away from the lake. With the experience from last time, Xia De bent down, picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. Sure enough, he saw the stone "floating" in the air.
“The lake has hidden paths that cannot be seen.”
Xia De said softly to the professor, pushing him onto the lake. The professor looked down with some uneasiness, as this scene was a little too magical for an ordinary person like him.
"And then the door."
Pushing the professor to stop in front of the door, Shad threw a stone at the water curtain inside the arch. The stone bounced back as if it had hit a solid wall, bounced a few times on the invisible road under his feet, and 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."
Xia De walked forward with a sword in hand, and swung the sword towards the water curtain. The sword blade directly passed through the transparent water curtain and pierced into another space. As Xia De "lifted" the water curtain to the side like silk, the door in the water completely opened towards the two of them.
The professor said nothing more and let Shad push him through the water gate and onto the surface of 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 saw the wolf resurrected by the "Swamp Witch" again. The creature resurrected by the power of the relic was an undead, and the wolf was now showing signs of decay. Last time, it tried to attack Mia, who ran to the island first, but was scared away by Shade. This time, it only dared to peek at the two from a distance. After seeing Shade, it immediately turned around and ran away again.
"Is this the place?"
The professor's hands were tightly gripping the armrests of his wheelchair, and his face was flushed with excessive excitement.
"Can you remember anything?"
Shade asked, but the professor still had no memory of this place.
Soon they arrived at the center of the island in the middle of the lake. Under the big rock in the middle of the lake that looked like it was made up of several slender boulders fused together, the lady in white robe holding a staff was still standing there.
Professor Drake's wheelchair certainly couldn't carry him across the lake like Sister Develyn did, so Shade carried the professor on his back, lifted the wheelchair with both hands, took a few running steps, and suddenly jumped to the center of the lake.
After stepping on the water, he carefully lowered the wheelchair. After making sure that the wheelchair did not sink, he placed Professor Drake on it.
The professor was so excited that he couldn't speak. Xia De greeted him respectfully:
"Good afternoon, ma'am."
"good afternoon."
The lady in white robe holding a staff radiated a soft light all over her body. In the afternoon light, on the strange and sacred lake, she responded to Shad's salute.
"I'm here to complete the second trial."
Xia De glanced at the professor:
"Now let's answer the three questions of the second trial. I think I have found the answers."
"Why did Kansas Drake, a retired folklore professor living in the old western part of Huntington City, Carsonrick, in the Sixth Age, come to me?"
The lady in white robe asked gently.
"Because I was pierced by the arrow of knowledge from Ikenora, I became a gifted person. Then, with the help of Halder Ondiba, I became a ring wizard."
The professor looked up at Shade, who shook his head.
"But the death of his mentor Halder Ondiba made the professor afraid of what he had been pursuing. Yes, he had been pursuing knowledge and wisdom all his life. When he really touched the inhuman knowledge and power, he was afraid. He was afraid of the goal he had pursued all his life, so he came here. This is not to distance himself from Halder Ondiba. He is just afraid of the knowledge and power of the ring wizard. Otherwise, I would not have been able to find that photo."
The professor pursed his lips and lowered his head with a pale face. The lady in white robe holding a staff then asked:
"What kind of wish did he make to me?"
"Professor Drake was completely frightened, so he asked you to erase the fact that he became a ring wizard. Although the professor's wish had nothing to do with Halder Ondiba in essence, the realization of the wish severed his connection with Halder Ondiba. Therefore, for so many years, neither the church nor the Pantanal Voodoo Society has been able to find the Arrow of Knowledge of Aiken Ola hidden in the hands of an ordinary person."
The lady in the white robe nodded slightly, and the professor's whole body was shaking.
"So, what did it cost him?"
The Lady of the Lake finally asked, Shade's face was serious, and Professor Drake looked at Shade fiercely, as if begging him not to tell the answer. He pulled Shade's sleeve, but in the end did not beg.
Shade looked down at the professor:
"Professor, answer this question yourself."
The professor took a deep breath and then exhaled tremblingly. He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands. Shade did not urge him, but just looked at him.
This is indeed a very sad story, a man who pursues knowledge is afraid of the wisdom he pursues. Extraordinary knowledge and wisdom may really be a curse, at least for Professor Drake.
After a long while, 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 with a limb, but not Shad.
"And my memory. Maybe it's part of my wish, maybe it's the price. But the most important price is... my talent."
Shade looked at the professor, who looked down at the water beneath his wheelchair:
"Although I still don't remember what happened at that time, I think I can understand myself more than a decade ago. I spent my whole life pursuing a result, but when I really realized my wish, I was afraid of what I got. I was probably really scared, so I made a wish to erase my power, and then paid the price with my talent and wisdom, completely... completely making it impossible for me to go down that path again under any circumstances.
I opened the door, saw the scenery behind it, and then went crazy. In fear, I closed the door again and nailed it shut. But more than ten years later, I asked someone to tell me what was behind the door again. "
The water beneath the wheelchair rippled, as if water droplets were falling into a lake.
"Is that correct?"
Shade sighed deeply, then asked the Lady of the Lake softly. He opened the mahogany box and showed the arrow inside:
"Halder Ondiba trusted Professor Drake very much, and after helping him awaken and taking him in, he temporarily placed the arrow in his hand. This is the core of the Professor Drake incident, and serves as proof for the second trial."
The lady in white robe nodded slightly and smiled gently:
"Correct, you completed my second trial."
Shade maintained a reserved expression. In fact, he really wanted to laugh. 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 a staff replied softly:
"The third trial, now, here, defeat me."
Xia De immediately didn't want to laugh at all.