The three of them, Lynch and company, returned to Hanmosidun City, clearly sensing that the atmosphere here was no longer the same as when they had left. The Gray Dwarves on the roadside looked at them with a kind of reverent gaze, then quickly vanished into the streets; a few children peered curiously out of windows, only to be swiftly pulled away by their parents, who drew the curtains and shut the windows.
The whole city seemed to have suddenly fallen silent.
The mage furrowed his brow. Something unusual must have happened in the city over the past few days, and it must be related to him. However, watching the excited Deloch who was oblivious to these unusual circumstances with Nimo, he decided not to expend effort in guessing what was going to happen—Lynch, whose Magic Ability had improved, was now more confident than ever—even if he couldn’t win, could he not escape? At most, the Gray Dwarves might set some traps to deal with him.
However, the mage misunderstood the fear expressed by the Gray Dwarves; this fear was not directed at these three outsiders, but at the significant changes that the Hanmosidon Governing Conference might bring. Apparently, many Gray Dwarves were already aware of Koravos’s ’inquiry’ to be conducted today, but now that these three who had no hope of survival returned with news of the resolved mine situation, it’s likely that Koravos would no longer face any ostracism; on the contrary, he might even rise in power. This would be followed by Koravos’s retaliation against his enemies—those who surfaced during the inquiry incident.
Hanmosidun City will not be at peace for a long time.
The mage, amid this strange atmosphere, walked towards ’Red Mushroom’ relying on his memory. Not long after, he was stopped by a group of well-dressed Gray Dwarves.
"Honorable Mage, welcome back to Hanmosidun City—the Treasure Bead beneath the ground," the leading Gray Dwarf said. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on N()velFire.net
Lynch smiled to himself; this phrase was not unfamiliar to him. A few days ago, Koravos had said the same thing. Why do all these Gray Dwarves have the same rhetoric?
"Where is Koravos?" Lynch looked at the group of people in front of him. In the eyes of other races, Gray Dwarves all looked alike, making it really difficult to distinguish them. But this was nothing to Lynch, who possessed the Eye of Insight. "Where did he go?"
Several Dwarves gasped, staring in terror as the mage’s eyes suddenly turned completely black, like two pieces of Obsidian embedded in his eye sockets, with a faint dark yellow glimmer at the center of the gemstone. It looked just like the legendary, infamous, powerful evil being known as the Witch Demon across the entire Anriel Continent.
Moreover, the mage called himself ’Lynch,’ which sounded just like the Witch Demon’s name, Lich.
Fear is usually born when one scares oneself.
"Here I am." Koravos’s voice came from behind. He slowly paced forward, passing the Gray Dwarves who were members of the Governance Council, without even taking a glance at them, and stood in front of Lynch.
"The tunnel to the north should be fine now, a group of Snake-men were causing harm there," Lynch said, looking at the Gray Dwarf in front of him, "I have come to claim what you promised."
The members of the Governance Council originally wanted to use various excuses to keep those Magic Scrolls and gem stones in their city, but upon considering the possibility that the mage might be a ’Witch Demon,’ all the reasons they had prepared became unspeakable.
"Come with me then." Koravos knew in his heart that the more indifferent he acted towards the mage now, the less importance he seemed to place on the mage, and the stronger he appeared; the more uncertain other Gray Dwarves would be about his strength.
This would significantly help intimidate the other Gray Dwarves.
Thus, with Lynch being cautious and on guard against Gray Dwarves plotting to trick him, and with members of the Governance Council feeling like they were walking on thin ice, fearing the mage might be a powerful Witch Demon, they were led by this knowing-all Koravos to a famous spot in Hanmosidun City: the ’Enlightenment Temple.’
A pure white circular structure stood in front of Lynch, with more than a dozen relief columns supporting the semi-circular dome, which was painted with star patterns, and on the ground paved with Obsidian, smooth and mirror-like, was a huge map.
"This is a map of the Underdark, very detailed but also very old." Koravos pointed at the ground and said, "Over countless ages, many places are no longer as they once appeared."