Chapter 30: The Amulet of Shape-Shifting
Year 833 of the Falling Stars Era, April 17th, Morning.
This day was a dark day for the mages belonging to the Empire.
Because their most esteemed Emperor was in a very foul mood.
Very, very foul.
Centered around the three magic fortresses surrounding the Three Mountains Holy City, spatial-temporal fluctuations from teleportation spells arrived continuously. In the time it took an ordinary person to eat breakfast, hundreds of teleportations had occurred. Moments later, the morning streets of the Imperial Capital were filled with many weary-faced, robed spellcasters.
They were mages belonging to the Empire, hastily summoned from various locations. Among them were members of the Dragon Calamity Detection Corps stationed far away in the Southern Sea, explorers who had ventured deep into the Black Forest, researchers holed up in laboratories, and even a considerable number of military mages garrisoned in the southern fortress clusters.
The Imperial Royal Mage Association, after all, encompassed all mages within the entire Empire, ranking among the top five spellcaster organizations on the Mycroft Continent. In terms of personnel scale, it even surpassed the Seven Luminaries Council of the Eastern Plains, second only to the Sky-Piercing White Tower. With just a partial gathering of its members, the number of high-rank spellcasters exceeded two hundred. Without exception, all these mages hurried towards Morlai Palace.
The commotion caused by the black mist in the Second Underground Laboratory last night had destroyed most of Truth Avenue, displaced thousands of civilians, and corroded and erased many precious spell experiment reports. Direct economic losses exceeded eight hundred thousand Imperial gold coins, with indirect losses incalculable. The vast majority of the responsibility fell on Gold-rank mage Hasu, who was in charge of the Second Laboratory, along with his disciples and partners. But without a doubt, other mages present also bore joint responsibility.
Although the Emperor's wrath was primarily directed at these individuals, the subsequent reforms to the Mage Association would affect all mages.
The Royal Mage Association was an old organization with a history of over five hundred years, riddled with factions and wielding strong influence everywhere. Even if Israel wanted to use this opportunity to reorganize it, it couldn't be done instantly. It was worth noting that mages who stayed in the Imperial Capital for research were mostly easier to control. Most noble mages had their own mage towers, territories, and even academies. These mages generally only accepted topics and tasks assigned by the Association, and after completing them, they were free to pursue their own research. In terms of freedom, they were far better off than their colleagues in the Imperial Capital.
But no matter how free they were, these mages received research funds and special subsidies from the Association, which was also a significant expense for the Empire. For example, regarding the research on the power core of airships, the Empire had thrown nearly four million gold coins to laboratories across the land for just that single project. It wasn't that he begrudged the money; Israel mainly noticed that recently, the Association mages had begun to show a lack of diligence towards tasks assigned by the Empire. The experimental accident caused by Hasu was the most obvious example, and he decided to change this.
The specific content of the reforms was still being discussed in the Hall of the Holy Emblem. But many Association mages conducting research or inspections abroad had quickly dispatched representatives to attend the meeting. Some were anxious, some were eager, and naturally, some were indifferent. But most people cared about only one thing: whether their research funds would be cut.
But all of this had nothing to do with Joshua, who was preparing to leave the Imperial Capital.
After finishing his late dinner last night, the warrior met with the Emperor again alongside Nostradamus.
This meeting was very brief. Israel, who had been monitoring the entire incident, expressed praise for Joshua. But due to time constraints, he didn't waste words and prepared to give the warrior his deserved reward.
"I heard you also have a dragon."
In the Hall of Sacred Glory, before the throne, the dignified Emperor's expression relaxed somewhat when he spoke of his own dragon. His gaze seemed to look into the distance, and he smiled, nodding: "Although they can be somewhat fierce, once they grow close to you, they're quite adorable creatures."
"Yes, indeed."
Joshua nodded in agreement. That was true, but Black's way of showing closeness was licking with its tongue—a bad habit that couldn't be allowed. "It's just that its size is too big to carry around everywhere."
Hearing a hint of regret in the warrior's voice, Ling, standing nearby, immediately became alert. Shortly after, Ying also reacted. The silver-haired girl frowned and whispered to her brother: "Master has never cleaned Black's scales, has he?"
"He hasn't prepared food for it either. Come to think of it, we do all that work."
"He doesn't even take Black for walks very often... If he really took it everywhere..."
A tense atmosphere spread, and the two of them warily looked at Joshua.
"Is that so? Yes, yours is a sea dragon, with the bloodline of an Abyssal Black Dragon. Not being able to fly is indeed troublesome."
Without paying attention to the siblings' whispers, the Emperor nodded thoughtfully. He murmured to himself: "My dragon always follows me. It has the bloodline of an Infernal Prison Dragon, with very high body temperature, making it hard to take around. But after all, it's an Astral Dragon, so there's always a solution."
"Ancient Dragons should be similar."
After thinking for a moment, as if he had decided something, Israel reached out and tore open a small spatial-temporal passage. He fumbled inside, shaking his head as he did so: "Time is too short; I can't properly thank you. But Lord Radcliffe, I think you'll like this."
With that, Israel pulled out a strangely shaped pendant and handed it to Joshua, who took it.
The pendant was about the size of a human fist, V-shaped, and entirely silver. Based on the feel, the warrior thought it was made of mithril. Light blue magical light patterns flowed across its surface, clearly containing powerful energy.
"The Amulet of Shape-Shifting. Even a dragon can use it... This is just a small token of my personal gratitude. The Empire never mistreats those who render meritorious service. Since you resolved the black mist incident of the Royal Mage Association, they naturally have to express some gratitude as well. Consider this interest."
As Israel spoke, he exchanged a glance with Nostradamus. Both nodded simultaneously, as if reaching a consensus. Then, the Emperor continued in a serious tone: "Since the Imperial Royal Mage Association has temporarily lost its capability to handle plague-related experiments, I have decided to dispatch an investigation team led by Tamara Moore, head of the Third Research Group, to the Moldavia Territory to conduct plague research there."
Joshua wasn't surprised by this, as Nostradamus had mentioned it before. Now, it was merely being confirmed through the Emperor's words.
At this moment, the old mage looked very pleased. He stroked his beard and nodded with a smile. Dispatching the entire Third Research Group to Moldavia—researching the plague was one reason. But could a plague of an Evil God be studied within a main city lacking professional mage laboratories? Of course not. And conveniently, near Nissier Snow Mountain, close to Winterfell Academy, there was a magical laboratory that fully met the requirements.
This naturally had nothing to do with Winterfell Academy's recent shortage of mage instructors. Nostradamus absolutely did not, for this reason, deliberately arrange for his old friend to temporarily escape the Imperial Capital, which was full of undercurrents. After all, it was perfectly normal for mages to do all sorts of things during their research breaks—becoming adventurers, mercenaries, or even assassins. Being a teacher was perfectly ordinary.
With that, matters were mostly concluded. After temporarily handling these affairs, Israel said he was tired and needed to rest before the daytime meetings with mage representatives from various regions. Nostradamus said he would stay for the meetings and couldn't go to the Northern Lands for now, but he had already notified Moore. Joshua just needed to find him.
Next came the farewell.
Matters in the Imperial Capital had come to a temporary close. The warrior was now preparing to return to Moldavia through the teleportation gate Nostradamus had set up in the Mage Association.
Behind him stood fifteen high-rank mages in gray hooded robes, quietly discussing their mission among themselves.
But regardless of who they were, they all showed great respect towards Joshua. Even towards Ying and Ling, everyone was very polite.
After all, they were mages—thoroughly intelligent people. The warrior's power and methods clearly exceeded what they could handle. So instead of displaying mage arrogance, it was better to be somewhat gentle and show goodwill. Of course, this might also be due to Joshua's charm, which was so low it could reach the Abyss. Everyone forgot what to say when they saw his face; how could they possibly be arrogant?
Even Moore didn't say much. This friend of Nostradamus stood silently behind the warrior, as if still recalling the dream he had seen last night.
Nearby, the silver-haired girl was fiddling curiously with the V-shaped Amulet of Shape-Shifting. But no matter how she played with the silver pendant, the magic power within it didn't leak out at all.
"Master, what exactly is this thing for?"
After trying for a long time without results, Ying felt a bit frustrated. She handed the pendant to Ling for the black-haired boy to try, while she went to ask Joshua.
The warrior was waiting for the teleportation gate to open. Hearing the girl's question, he found it somewhat difficult to answer.
"The Amulet of Shape-Shifting... I've used something similar before, during adventures, to pass through narrow rock crevices and passages. In short, it changes a person's size while maintaining proportions."
In his previous life, Joshua had used similar items, usually to clear special dungeons. For example, quests in the Fairyland required using an Amulet of Shape-Shifting to shrink before they could be accepted. Those adorable little creatures hated vastly different sizes.
But the pendant Israel gave him was clearly different from the ones the warrior had used before. The magic power surging within it was much more surging. As the Emperor said, even against a dragon's magic resistance, this pendant was effective.
"But what's it really for?"
Thinking of Israel's subtle expression, Joshua couldn't help but frown. If it was just to make Black smaller for easier riding and travel, there was no need to hand over such a pendant so solemnly. Could it have some special function beyond that? After all, the Diamond family was said to have a contract with the fairies. It wouldn't be strange if it had some unique properties.
Shaking his head slightly, the warrior temporarily ended his speculation.
The spatial gate in the center of the hall opened. A deep blue glow illuminated the entire side hall of the Mage Association. A teleportation passage directly connecting to the Northern Lands slowly expanded until it was large enough for a carriage to pass through.
"Everyone, time to go."
Shaking off the stray thoughts in his mind, Joshua, as the leader, called out and then stepped through the teleportation gate first.
What reached his ears, however, was a series of piercing screams.