Chapter 1 Beginning: Inheriting the Nobility
The biting cold wind mixed with the faint light of dawn swept over the towering castle on the river bank.
As the actual ruler of Antolia, Viscount Arthur Jimena of Antolia has always been in this castle, outlining the Jimena family's rule over the Territory of Thorns and the entire Antolia.
Beaten by wind and rain, every brick and stone on the castle recorded the mottled marks of time, and the dark red bloodstains on the brick walls showed the chaos and fragmentation of this land.
At this moment, the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, but it was still difficult to erase the depression in the castle.
A doctor in black robes, a priest holding a cross, and a group of mercenaries were gathered around a heavy bed, intensely discussing the treatment method.
On the hospital bed, a burly man with scars all over his body was breathing heavily, with an obvious hint of paleness on his stubble-covered face.
This is a man who has a certain status in this castle, usually called Viscount Antolia, Arthur Jimena.
But now, the Viscount's face has long lost its former look, and his pale face has made the wrinkles on his face more clear.
"Lord Viscount, we need to continue bleeding you."
After a heated discussion, the doctor and the priest finally reached an agreement.
"You want to let go!?"
Looking at the dying Viscount in front of them, the mercenaries surrounding the bed couldn't help but raise their battle axes, and the sharp ax blade kissed the doctor's neck.
The doctor felt that his voice was trembling: "Just put a little bit, so that all the bile that makes the Viscount feel so painful can flow away." "Let it go..." At this moment, a weak voice
came
out It came from the mouth of the Viscount.
Seeing that he had received the Viscount's consent, the doctor carefully pushed away the ax blade that had left blood marks on his neck, picked up a sharp knife, held his breath, and lightly scratched the Viscount's forearm. .
In an instant,
several streams of bright red blood gushed out from the Viscount's arms, making his face become paler.
"God will bless his people." The priest prayed devoutly.
"Will the Viscount get better?"
"If the Viscount can wake up, it means that his piety has moved the great god; if not, it means that his thin body cannot bear the blessings of the god." The priest finished
. The last words left in the world, and then, the sword fell, and the bright red blood soaked his white holy robe.
"Antorians never believe in gods."
The mercenary in front of the bed wiped the blood on the weapon, and the unique smell of blood filled the room.
Seeing the tragic death of the priest on the side, the doctor was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground and couldn't help sobbing:
"Gentlemen, please let me go. I'm just a doctor from the Principality of Norton. I'm really just passing by. I promise I will never come to Antolia again..."
"When the Viscount is cured, I will naturally let you go." The leading mercenary was unmoved at all.
"Todd!"
The dying Viscount tried his best to let out a dull cry.
"Go to Parma City and bring Leon back!"
...
Compared to the remote and desolate Antolia, as the largest city in the southwest of the Andal Kingdom, the city of Parma under the rule of the Duke of Galicia is prosperous.
Towering mage towers were erected in the city, and countless carriages and horses were bustling with people.
The largest number of mages in the southern part of the kingdom are gathered here, and it has therefore become the place where Leon Jimena, the only son of Viscount Antolia and the apprentice mage, studies.
Heading south from the Duke's Castle located in the center of the city, passing through the rich areas with magnificent white brick spiers, and then passing through the civilian areas with muddy roads and the smell of excrement, you can see the solid and spacious city of Parma. city gate.
Following the path outside the city gate and heading east for dozens of kilometers, as the villages on both sides of the road become increasingly sparse, the largest cemetery in Palma City is clearly visible.
The pines and cypresses that should have been evergreen all year round have long since dried up, and only an abandoned church stands hesitantly in the center of the cemetery.
As a mage apprentice and the son of a viscount, Leon has no interest in studying the boring history of magic in the mage tower.
And Leon's teacher, Archmage Albert, didn't care.
Anyway, even if Leon couldn't learn magic well, he could still go home and inherit the title, so why should he be too harsh on a future viscount?
Therefore, during the days when he was studying in Parma, this cemetery on the outskirts of the city became Leon's favorite place.
In this fantasy world full of magic and weirdness, abandoned cemeteries are the setting for almost all horror stories, but Leon doesn't care.
At this moment,
he was walking alone among the tombstones, with a strange paleness in his originally light blue eyes.
If there were passers-by at this time,
they would definitely see a mage in black robes, waving the staff in his hand aimlessly in the empty cemetery, as if crazy.
But in Leon's unique vision,
countless swaying black shadows are approaching him with open teeth and claws. They have rough bodies formed by black mist, slender limbs and sharp fangs, clinging to the dry and hard parts. The solidified ground fluttered freely around the cemetery.
"So fierce, as if he and the drunkard dad were carved from the same mold."
Leon waved the staff in his hand, and in the blink of an eye, he stuffed a shadow monster approaching him with its teeth and claws into the crystal clear liquid in his hand. vial.
The shadow monster that was thrown into the bottle immediately turned into a black mist, hitting the runes on the bottle from time to time.
"Today's harvest is good!"
Leon counted the seven vials he carried with him. In each bottle, there was a group of black mist swinging in a panic.
Immediately,
with a thought in his mind,
the scenery in front of him changed rapidly. After a period of dizziness, as if he had stepped into a wormhole, Leon was already in a black and white world shrouded in black mist.
This seems to be a world supported by black marble columns. The chandeliers above hang down from the boundless black fog, emitting a dim yellow halo through the diffuse fog.
On the wall not far away, dried blood and ancient stone carvings wrote the name of this area - Ancient Archives.
Leon's sight passed through the hazy black fog and vaguely saw the bookshelves and machinery standing not far away.
Beside him, countless shadow monsters were greedily swallowing the black mist blocking him, bit by bit licking the embers of the black mist remaining on the books.
Leon immediately released the shadow monsters he had just collected in the cemetery from the bottle. These strange creatures were exactly what allowed the black fog to disperse and allowed him to go deeper into the archives.
As Leon expected, the area in front of him was his golden finger as a time traveler.
After his collection of shadow monsters over the years, the black mist that filled Leon's face had become thinner and thinner, so much so that Leon could almost vaguely discern the words on the covers of the books through the black mist.
However...
now is obviously not the time to read.
Calm your mind and return to the cemetery.
Leon sorted out the empty crystal bottles, then got on his horse and galloped towards the city of Palma.
If you go back too late, you won't be able to catch up with the mage tower's daily dinner service.
But just in front of the door of the mage tower,
an unexpected figure blocked Leon's way.
"Master Leon, it's time to go back and inherit the title!"
The new author asks for further reading~
(End of this chapter)