Will Doppelgangers Reveal One's True Nature?

Chapter 89 Will Doppelgangers Reveal One's True Nature?

"So, all the clues converge on one point." Humboldt tapped the charcoal circle on the map with his slender fingers: "With the giant tree as our target, we'll proceed in a straight line. With the aid of magic, it will take at least four days."

"We can wait until reinforcements arrive before setting off."

"No, I'm afraid we won't receive much strong assistance this time," Peterson poured cold water on the idea.

"Last year, the farms under the Magic Guild and the Imperial Council reported that pests and diseases were very serious in the land and crops within the Empire, resulting in large-scale crop failures. Most of the mages in the Forest Tower have devoted themselves to related research."

To complete the disease survey and sampling, and formulate a prevention and control plan before the spring planting begins in February, Mori no Tou can't spare any manpower. All the named and accountable people are currently in the fields all over the country.

After saying that, he looked at Rorschach and asked, "Excuse me, what about the Tower of Stars?"

"So, your Forest Tower used to be an agricultural research institute?" Rorschach's goodwill towards these mages increased significantly, but he could only shrug at Peterson's request.

"Unfortunately, it's still the Holy Kingdom's holiday, and there aren't many people in the Tower of Stars. It will be at least a few more days... Oh, it's exam week."

Do we really have no choice but to wait?

"Whether or not we receive support will be clear tomorrow. If we do, we will set off tomorrow," Archmage Humboldt declared decisively.

That evening, Rorschach had Cavendish make a copy of the star map over the Black Forest. Back in his room, Rorschach used his divine magic to depict the giant trees as accurately as possible. He then copied the core area of ​​the forest map and compared it to Melson's circle.

After finishing the letter describing the events of the evening, he unrolled his writing scroll and placed all the above materials inside.

Magic flowed in. The scroll activated, and Rorschach watched as magical light engulfed the papers.

In the morning, a headcount was taken, and everyone gathered under the oak tree to guard it.

Small, small, small. The golden-hooped oak staff returned to its original shape and was held in the archmage's hand. He used the tip of the staff to draw two magic circles on the ground.

"Are you leaving?" The woman rushed out of the house, the man following behind. "Could you take me with you? Take me to the forest to find our son. Take me! Albert must be in the hands of the Tree Spirit! Take me to him!"

"If all goes well, we will go to see the so-called 'Tree God,' and if we see your child, we will bring him back. However, we cannot bring you along; you will be a burden on the rest of the trip."

The magic in the environment suddenly began to flow, and one of the two magic circles transformed into a vortex that absorbed magic, emitting a bluish-green light. Something broke through the soil covered by the magic circuit and emerged a grayish-white old man.

Earth God? Tu Xingsun? These were Luo Xia's subconscious thoughts.

He, or rather it, was entirely made of white clay extracted from the ground, sculpted into the shape of a hunched, long-bearded old man. He was still a little stiff, staggering a couple of steps before pulling an exceptionally ancient oak cane out of the soil.

"Master Kober." Everyone from the Forest Tower, including Humboldt, bowed respectfully to the old man.

A clone? A construct? Rorschach bowed to the old man, while simultaneously observing whether his joints were spherically connected.

"Heh heh, you must be young friend Luo Xia?" Master Kober (his clone) appeared before Luo Xia in a flash, trembling, and extended a hand devoid of human warmth:

"To become a mid-level mage at such a young age, you're quite a promising young man. But at least for now, don't be fooled by the fact that I'm here as an avatar; this body is a bit stronger than yours."

Was this old man's tone a bit pretentious? Rorschach still shook his hand.

The remaining magic circle was pointed at by Humboldt with his staff, infusing it with golden-green light. As the circle gradually activated, a tall, shaman-like figure emerged from the ground. His face was that of Master Humboldt, but his demeanor was entirely different.

He wore a fur cloak adorned with a wolf's head, revealing his muscular physique, and the staff in his hand appeared to be made of bone. His eyes, in particular, held an indescribable ferocity, reminiscent of the giant white wolf under the moonlight the previous night.

Well, I didn't expect Humboldt to have so much to offer under his robes. Was it from working out or from working on the ground every day?

"My clone will protect the couple, and it's much safer with Master Kober accompanying us. We're all prepared now, let's go."

The gray-white shaman clone walked slowly to the hunter's hut: "You, go or stay, I'm by your side. I'm not afraid of the beast tide."

Luo Xia looked thoughtfully at Humboldt's slightly stiff, muscular clone, then at the agile old man at the front of the line who was pinching an apprentice's face.

set off.

Leaving the last human settlement is only the first real step in exploring the forest.

The temperature difference between day and night in the morning created a white fog. The fine water droplets splashed on my face, making me shiver from the cold dampness, and they carried the scent of grass, moss, and earth.

The fog constantly refracts sunlight, causing more light to scatter between the trees, turning the distance from darkness into a vast expanse of white.

Archmage Humboldt led the way as usual. With a natural magic specialist present, the pristine, undeveloped forest posed little obstacle to the group. He waved his hand, and the trees and shrubs immediately "understood," obediently twisting and maneuvering to make way, only returning to normal after Rorschach and Old Man Coubert had also passed. (With the addition of the mage, Peterson was reassigned to the apprenticeship.)

When a particularly thick trunk, indicating a very old tree, twists, it makes a creaking sound from inside the trunk, much like someone with a bad back trying to move it.

The ponies and donkeys they were riding were also moving quickly, much faster than the previous journey from Pema to the hunter's village. Rorschach guessed that this was also thanks to the magic of the Forest Tower mage.

There are no wrong names; the forest is their home turf.

Cavendish didn't look where he was going, only focusing on flipping through his textbook, letting the donkey take him wherever it pleased. It's worth mentioning that there was no horse or donkey to carry the old man's alter ego, but he was incredibly fast and kept up with Rorschach the whole time.

"Young man, do you have a girl you like at such a young age?"

No, why does your gossipy nature have such a familiar feel, transcending worlds, time, and time, and applicable to different worlds?

"Sigh, but you became a level four mage so quickly, you must be a bookworm who doesn't have time for romance."

Luo Xia could only offer a polite smile, and this was indeed half true—the original owner of this body was like that, and he himself had spent some time playing games with his buddies before university.

The old man tormented Rorschach. He and Rorschach had an awkward chat all morning, until the pony under Rorschach snorted.

"My little buddy says she's tired, let's rest." Seriously, old man, how dare you talk like that? What do you mean, "my buddy"?

As soon as Kober gave the order, the caravan stopped and prepared to start a fire to cook. The apprentices went to identify if there was any suitable hay for horses and donkeys in the surrounding grass layer that could be mixed into the feed.

"It's a pity that this old body of mine can't eat now." He tapped his stomach with his clay knuckles, making a muffled sound: "You've all benefited from this."

He performed a comical dance, then bent over and placed his hands on the ground.

"It's a few months late, but thankfully it hasn't snowed yet." With that, the old man got up and dug around in the humus under the tree roots. He actually found some mushrooms that Luo Xia couldn't name. He skillfully pulled the mushrooms up by the roots, broke off the caps that weren't open, shook them a couple of times, and then put the soil back in place to restore them.

What's truly insane is that if there's only a little mycelium (which is normal for fungi in winter), he'll use magic to force a few more to grow before picking them, never leaving empty-handed.

Before long, Kober had a large handful of various mushrooms in his hand.

Rorschach noticed a clump of dark, dung-like fungus in Couber's hand; it must be truffles. Indeed, this was a dark forest with many pine trees, and it was harvesting season, but finding them was only possible because the old man had X-ray vision!

Although Luo Xia didn't know the specifics of the [Inquiry into Nature] spell, he was certain that the old man had a lock on his head, as none of the surrounding mushrooms escaped this fate.

Thank you to reader "日月源澈" for the generous donation! Thank you to readers "世界不吵架", "城城斗你玩", and "天黑别睡觉" for the monthly tickets! Thank you to readers "somate", "SEERS", "热寂行者", "皮皮掠鲸壶", and "沃德" for the encouraging recommendation tickets!

(End of this chapter)