Chapter 609: Safety Measure
After Tragedy Writer hung up the video call on his own, Annan didnât stay at Cinder Barren for long.
After handing over the three new players to Longjing Tea, Annan and Nefertari took the subway back to Sporeggar Mill.
Neither Husky nor Thirteenth Fragrance was an Idol Wizard. Moreover, they had maxed out their experience points. They could advance to the next level as long as they filled up the spell slot in the apprenticeship stage. There was no need for them to seek the Bone Healer.
In the worst-case scenario, they could head to the Black Tower. Although Swampâs Black Tower was burned down, the knowledge stored in the Wizard Tower was not lost.
They could go to Bone Healer and learn rare spells under his recommendation. They could also go to Swampâs Black Tower to help transcribe spell books and learn magic. Their choices were flexible.
However, Ah Dianâs situation was different.
Ah Dianâs talent was Idol Magic. It was better for her future to approach Bone Healer, but this choice was somewhat dangerous.
Although Bone Healer had drawn a clear line with Professor Wolf, they were once the same person. Whether to learn spells from him depended on Ah Dianâs choice.
No matter what her choice was, it was her [destiny]. Therefore, it was better for an Idol Wizard to follow her destiny.
Annan didnât plan to interfere.
When Annan left, he brought along Delicious Wind Goose, the ritualist.
Although Nefertariâs trust in Bone Healer had already suffered a severe blow in this incident, she still owed Annan a favor somehow.
The Man in the Mirror had extended longevity, so Annan didnât mind.
Nefertari was only a mortal, after all. Annan didnât want to hold onto her favors for too long⊠It was better to settle things as soon as possible.
It was common for mortals to turn gratitude into resentment.
Although Nefertari was not a transcender, she could indeed help Annan.
She was a knowledgeable ritualist.
Annan intended to ask Nefertari to teach Delicious Wind Goose.
Xiang Tiange learned a lot of his knowledge about ritualists from Faceless Poet, who disguised himself as an old man, in the dungeon during the time Philip imprisoned him. There he learned some common rituals.
Although he recorded all those rituals through the screenshots and the recording functions, he still lacked the foundation knowledge.
Later, Xiang Tainge bought a few mystic books from the Noah Kingdomâs royal capital. He barely learned something under the guidance of âthe false fatherâ.
[TN: Annanâs servant.]
Xiang Tiange could now use more than 20 common rituals, catching up on this fundamental knowledge. He had some understanding of the principles of the rituals. However, he was still far from being able to make minor adjustments to rituals based on specific circumstances or even create his rituals.
However, Nefertari was different.
She claimed to Annan that she possessed 70% of the teacherâs mastery. Nefertari did not seem like a person who liked to boast. She was even cautious. Thus, it was likely that her mastery had shot up to 80% of the ritualist knowledge of Bone Healer.
That was a considerable feat after considering the complexity of the ritual in Geminiâs Nightmare made by Bone Healer.
Nefertariâs ritualist knowledge should be much better than âthe false fatherâ.
After all, the ritualist knowledge that the false father knew was accessible to ordinary Winterâs Hand agents.
Although it was profound and more secretive than ordinary ritualist, it was more inclined to the schoolâs standard. Almost all the rituals he had mastered were express rituals with diminished effects.
Annan thought it was best to use the favor to ask Nefertari to teach Delicious Wind Goose some complex rituals. This process also provided some occult knowledge to Delicious Wind Goose and some ritual materials for him to practice. After all, learning ritualist knowledge required books and experimental learning.
Delicious Wind Goose got to record his screen directly too.
This was tantamount to equipping the players with ritualist knowledge, and Annan could also learn along.
To prevent Delicious Wind Goose from losing too much time, forcing him to level up after falling behind⊠Annan planned to give Delicious Wind Goose the reputation and experience points of the âSecret Eyeâ during this process.
After all, there werenât many competent candidates who could study consistently.
Only Delicious Wind Goose and Longjing Tea had this capability and commitment level among the first two batches of players.
Annan intended to ask Longjing Tea to guide the players who had chosen the wizard profession. Among the third batch of currently logged-in players, quite a few had chosen Wizard Profession. They needed a capable mentor whom they respected.
Longjing Tea was capable of taking on this role.
However, before Delicious Wind Goose started his official âstudy abroadâ career, Annan needed another small favor from Nefertari.
âThat should be all there is to it.â
The red-haired girl breathed out, stood by her desk, and patted the newspapers and books on the table, âAll the information about âCaptain of the Stoneâ should be here.â
Annan sat on Nefertariâs seat, flipping through these materials intently.
Nieusel, wearing a leather jacket, brought a glass of iced juice to each of them.
Then, he stroked Annanâs smooth, cold white hair in the disguise of an accident.
Annan ignored him and kept looking down at the documents.
âIâm off to work, Nefer.â He casually said to Nephi.
Then, he leaned close to Annanâs side and put his chin on Annanâs shoulder, âIs there anything you want me to bring along, Your Majesty?â
âCall me Your Highness starting from now.â
Annan gently pushed his head away with some disgust, âYou smell like smoke. Donât get so close to meâŠâ
âBut I have changed my clothes.â
âForget it. Every piece of your clothes smells like smoke.â
Annan replied coldly.
He had returned to his original body.
After all, he had already exchanged three secrets with Nefertari. The fact that he was Annan Austere-Winter could no longer be kept secret.
Now that Nefertari already knew about it, it did not make much sense for Annan to continue to hide his identity. Moreover, it might affect the relationship between Nieusel and Nefertari.
Considering that Nieusel was reliable in all aspects except for his cheerful personality, he wonât reveal his friendsâ secrets. Also, he should be witty-minded.
So Annan simply told Nieusel the secret.
Annan believed that when he succeeded as the Austere-Winterâs Grand Duke or advanced to Gold Rank, âGhirlandaioâ would be rarely used. Leaking this secret was fine.
As long as the relationship between âAnnan Austere-Winterâ and âSecret Eyeâ were not revealed, the problem was not significant. The secrets of âGhirlandaioâ and âSecret Eyeâ also remained hidden at his point in time.
Nieusel didnât know that this was a protection for Nefertari and Nieusel.
Nefertari had faintly noticed it. She and Annan had a tacit understanding and didnât tell Nieusel. Otherwise, he would be worried.
After all, Nefertari was also a student of Bone Healer.
Nefertari was used as bait to lure Annan in because of Bone Healerâs relationship with Professor Wolf. Now she knew more about her mentor. Her safety was jeopardized.
Who knows if Bone Healer would decide to kill her? He might change her fate and put her in a more dangerous situation. He could control Nieuselâs fate to retaliate against or deter her. It was also possible to destroy her wishes in this way.
There were many dangerous possibilities.
So to be cautious, Annan simply stated that he was familiar with these two people.
âGhirlandaioâ was able to conceal the connection of fate.
After Annan showed his true face before Nefertari and Nieusel, the two who âknew Annanâs appearanceâ formed a fateful connection with him.
Through Annanâs intimidation and Tragedy Writerâs attention to him, it should be able to deter Bone Healer and Professor Wolf.
The so-called safety measures.
Annan believed it was necessary to prevent the tragedy from happening from the very beginning instead of appearing as the savior after the tragedy.
He carried out his wish rightfully before it was too late.
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