After a long time, Roland gradually calmed down the shock and excitement in his heart.

He glanced deeply at the epic longsword and did not hesitate to insert it back into its scabbard, as if it would be a blasphemy to try to look at it more.

"It suddenly seems to me that it is really possible for you to accomplish such a whimsical thing as the restoration of the country. Roland said to Constantine seriously.

"I can understand your excitement right now, but I advise you not to expect too much from me right now. Constantine turned, "Also, your current status is my subordinate knight, remember to call me young master or master in front of outsiders in the future, if there are only two people, I want you to call me Your Highness." ”

Roland's cheeks twitched a few times, and then he said extremely awkwardly: "Got it, thank you Your Highness for the sword." ”

......

Royal Academy of Magic, inside the Magic Tower.

Joey looked at the stalemate on the magic chessboard, rubbed his eyes, smiled bitterly, picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling that the tea in his mouth seemed to become a little bitter, "I can't imagine that this little guy of yours can actually support it until now, is it my old man's skill regression?"

"Dean, you're too humble. Ola in front of the old magister said lightly, picked up a black chess piece with his fingers, and calmly kicked down a white chess piece belonging to old Joey.

Each additional piece on the chessboard doubled the mental power consumed by the person who fell behind, but after a full night, Ora's face was still flat, and there was no sign of exhaustion.

To be able to compete with an archmage who came out of the City of Dawn on the chessboard without falling behind, how terrifying is this little guy's mental power?

Old Joey stared at the chaotic chessboard with a complicated expression, and after a long time, let out a sigh, "Old, I'm really old." ”

"When that kid Constantine first recommended you to the Magic Tower for further study, he praised you so much that I didn't believe you at first, but now it seems that you are much more terrible than the boy described. ”

The old mage casually picked up a white chess piece and put it on the chessboard, then looked out the window, "That stinky boy should be out of town by now, right?"

"As I get older, it's getting harder and harder to find someone who can play chess with me, and my friends are either dead or scattered, leaving a few old friends hiding in the World Tree Council and refusing to come out. ”

Old Joey said to himself, "Innocent is also old, and the lovely little Diana has become the master of the Templar, and it is shit to have to deal with the old men of the cardinal all day long. ”

"Now that little Constantine is gone, go to find the treasures in the ruins of his great ancestor, and the only one who will be able to play chess with me for the next year will probably be you, poor little Ora, and I hope you don't think that I, an old man, have taken up the precious time of your great young man. ”

"It's my pleasure to play chess with you. Ora whispered. "It's not bad to have a chat with you once in a while. ”

The old man laughed dryly, this archmage who had reached the peak of the arcane realm was no different from an ordinary old man who had retired at this moment, half of his body curled up on the rattan ladder, "I'm old, I won't live long, if you have any questions, just ask me as soon as possible, little guy, sooner or later you will enter the City of Dawn, maybe ten years later, but unfortunately I shouldn't see that day." ”

"But maybe you can meet Constantine again, his mother was a classmate of mine and a great magician. ”

Ora's hand paused, and his head hung down, "It's all over, isn't it?"

The old man didn't notice the flash of emotion in Ora's eyes, and still muttered to himself: "Yes, it's all in the past, it's just a lot of things, you can't forget it if you want to, and you'll understand it when you live to my age." ”

"To see that Constantine is now back in his mother's way, I am honestly sad, and perhaps as Laplace's old madman said, everything was arranged by fate. ”

Euler said, "Constantine is now much stronger than before, and has found his goal, so it stands to reason that you should be happy." ”

Joey sighed, his snow-white beard fluttered gently, and the tea in the cup reflected his old face, "When I was young, I would have the illusion that strength could solve everything, but when we got the power we dreamed of, we found that the price of getting power was far greater than the gains it brings, and the most powerful people are often the least free, the greater the power, the stronger the desire and obsession, and the more we want to break the shackles of the outside world." ”

"A thousand years ago, the mage who founded the World Tree Council wanted to change the world on his own, but he failed and fell under the stars. ”

Old Joy said, "Ten years ago, Constantine's mother also died after the appearance of the Heavenly Gate, and the laws of this world instinctively reject the emergence of too powerful beings, and wanting to reach the other side of the star dome is just an unrealistic dream after all. ”

Ola listened quietly to this and shook his head, "Even so, the starry sky is still worth looking up to, as a magician, even if we don't have the ability, if we don't even have the courage to glimpse the ultimate mystery of the universe, then what's the difference between us and the dust on the ground?"

"A long time ago, the strongest mage under the stars also thought so, he compared the collection of all the laws in the universe to a big tree, recording the knowledge of thousands of worlds like countless leaves growing on the tree, this is the origin of the world tree, the meaning of the existence of the magician is to find this tree, or prove its existence. ”

Joey said in a daze, "It's a pity that after the ancient gods perished, there was no evidence of the existence of the World Tree, everything was just a legend." ”

"When I heard this story in the City of Dawn when I was younger, I was so excited that it was ridiculous now. ”

Joey took a sip of tea, put down the teacup and said indifferently: "If you think about it carefully, even those ancient gods who may have seen the true face of the World Tree have perished, and since Ragnarok, countless centuries have passed, and human beings have come from scratch to today, and after the decline of other races, they have finally entered the golden age, so what does it matter to us whether the World Tree exists or not? Even the existence of the City of Dawn itself is unnecessary, but the people of the world have added too much aura." ”

"People in the world only say that the dust is small and powerless, but they don't know that in this world, maybe only the dust is truly free. ”

The old mage's tone was extremely heavy and sad.

However, after listening to this sentimental statement, Ora's eyes were still clear and firm, "No matter what, I always believe that the depths of the starry sky are the ultimate pursuit of our magicians and even all living beings. ”

"Is our journey a sea of stars?" the old mage remembered this famous saying he had heard many years ago, and laughed dumbly, "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me who is about to die anyway, the rest of this world will be left to you young people to toss." ”

A gust of wind blew, and countless leaves left the branches and flew into the air, floating in front of the tower window on the shore of the Inmeng Lake outside the magic tower.

Joey closed his eyes, enjoying the rare quiet time in the early morning, and the fresh life in the wind reminded him of his carefree past.

Ola looked out the window at the rising sun in the distance, thoughtful. "Master Joey, do you hear the sound in the wind?"

Joey slowly opened his eyes, puzzled, "What did you hear?"

"The sound that heralds the arrival of a new era, a new era has begun. ”

Ora's voice was softer than ever, and her eyes were deeper, "I heard the wind in my ears. ”

......

Early in the morning, on the streets of the city of Olympia.

It was still dark, and the street leading to the city gate was silent, except for a horse-drawn carriage walking on the wide avenue, and the magic street lamps at the intersection shone on the hazy crossing.

Passing by the entrance of the Palatine Academy, Roland, who was sitting in front of the carriage, couldn't help but stop the carriage and look at the confined bronze gate, his gaze lingering for a long time in the place where he had lived for three years.

Until a lazy voice came from the carriage, "What are you doing in a daze?" My dear knight, do you want to call out the guys from the Palatine Academy, and take them together and go together. ”

Roland took a deep breath, "Of course not, I just want to miss this city that I may never return to in my lifetime before leaving." ”

Hearing this, Constantine in the carriage was also silent.

The boy stepped out of the carriage and looked out at the empty streets of Olympia, which was still asleep, but still as grand as when he first arrived, mysterious and majestic.

"One day, I will build a city more majestic than the Olipia you see. Constantine said, in an unusually firm tone, as if speaking of a fact that was bound to happen.

Roland shook his head helplessly, and began to feel sad that he had such a whimsical master.

The first rays of the morning finally arrived, passing over the high walls and illuminating the long dimly lit streets.

The wind blew in the early morning, and the two young men were excited, looking at the golden thread in the distance that outlined the outline of the magnificent city wall, and felt dizzy for a while.

In the distance, there are a few places where smoke rises.

The two of them quietly watched this peaceful and wonderful scene, and couldn't bear to be disturbed, so they stopped for a long time.

It was a long time before Constantine got into the carriage and said, "Let's go, one cannot stay in one place for a lifetime." ”

The carriage moved slowly.

After driving the carriage out of the city gate, looking at the incomparably vast and novel and incomparably strange world in front of him, Roland suddenly felt a little overwhelmed, he hesitated for a while, turned around and said, "Where should we go next?"

Constantine lifted the curtain and looked up at the rising sun in the distance, the young man's long hair was blown by the long wind in the morning, and there was a bit of confusion and melancholy in his eyes, but more hope and excitement.

"To the north, all the way to the north. ”

(Volume 1: The End of the Golden Age)