024 History

After Roland left, Baron Hall silently marveled to himself, "How did I never realize this kid was so outstanding... Indeed, a good horse or a bad horse can only be judged on the battlefield."

Catherine’s thoughts slipped into Baron Hall’s mind: “You still claim he was trained by me... but all his cunning is learned from you!”

Hall replied mentally, “Alexandra, Roland has a strong resistance toward you, and you’re not very good at expressing yourself... How about I help you train him a while longer?”

Catherine, already annoyed, shot back in her mind, “What do you mean? Are you saying I can’t teach students? It was you who begged me to take him on as an apprentice!”

The baron fell silent for a moment before responding mentally, “The path of a sorcerer is indeed easier than mine, but I didn’t expect him to be so gifted with the sword... Catherine, I’ve been to the ruins countless times. I can’t expect such luck every time. The ‘Dice of Suffering’s Fate’ will eventually fall on me. I fear this time I’ll lose those who mysteriously disappeared...”

At that moment, Instructor Reynard approached them, and their mental conversation ceased.

Reynard cautiously said to Catherine, “My lady, Roland, as a newly initiated low-level apprentice, managed to slay four adult Abyssal Blood Harpies on his first trial. Even within the academy, that’s quite remarkable. Though he’s still far from the ‘elite low-level apprentices’ or the offspring of the great noble sorcerer families, Roland is a newcomer who emerged from the Muggle world.”

Reynard, a kind-hearted man, assumed Catherine was upset about Roland’s low kill count and came to offer consolation.

Baron Hall laughed outright at this, leaving Reynard baffled.

Catherine said nothing more, only, “Let’s move on.”

During the journey, Baron Hall quietly told Catherine, “Alexandra, over all these years, I’ve come countless times to deal with the major troubles here... I can’t expect such fortune every time. I have many students, but I want to pass my swordsmanship to Roland.”

“Victor, don’t be so pessimistic,” Catherine replied. “Anna’s magic allows me to regain some of my former strength, and though Narl is cursed, he is still a High Cathedral warrior of the ancient Emerald Court. You, along with the three of us combined, can reseal that Abyssal Lord without issue... You will return alive to find a more suitable heir.”

The Abyssal Lord’s true power had already reached godlike levels, terrifying beyond measure. If His essence descended into the human world, no one could resist Him. This realm would become His garden—everyone merely carrots to be harvested.

Many years ago, an organization called the ‘Suffering Secret Society’ stopped the Abyssal Lord’s descent by projecting His image into a sealed avatar within the Amber Fern Forest.

Years passed, and the last member of the ‘Suffering Secret Society’ still guarded this land.

This nun was none other than the baron’s wife, Julie—the only person in this world who still knew how to deal with this demon.

Twenty years ago, the former Sword Saint, ‘Victor of the Dawn Sword,’ changed his name and surname. Using his retirement funds, he acquired a fief and a noble title.

This territory was Valeria. The Amber Fern Forest was part of this fief.

Technically, this land rightfully belonged to the ‘Suffering Secret Society,’ but Julie had no inheritance rights.

Seeing this land—sealed with a demon—fall into the hands of a noble by unscrupulous means, Julie repeatedly confronted the baron.

Their first meeting was far from pleasant; Julie’s impression of the baron was extremely poor, to say the least.

But the baron’s impression of Julie was exceedingly good. On their very first meeting, he did something outrageous—he proposed marriage.

Julie naturally refused because members of the ‘Suffering Secret Society’ never married.

Besides, who proposes marriage at their first meeting? Especially when she despised this man so profoundly!

Determined to reclaim the land that belonged to the church, Julie used many harsh methods but hit a brick wall.

Not only did she fail to drive away the baron, but he also uncovered the society’s secrets!

With her cards exposed, Julie had no choice but to confess the truth about the Amber Fern Forest, hoping the baron would take heed and leave soon.

They had this exchange:

The baron said, “Little girl, your fabricated story is certainly entertaining, but unfortunately lacks logic... If you insist on this land, we have a better idea—I’ll watch over the demon’s seal with you, how about that?”

Julie retorted, “In your dreams! I’d rather die than marry you! And I’m not a little girl—I’m 28, and you’re only two years older!”

In the end, Julie married the baron and deeply loved this dependable man.

They were very happy—Julie even bore the baron a daughter.

After their wedding, Julie led the baron into the true depths of the Amber Fern Forest for the first time.

From that moment on, the baron finally understood what a cursed place the Amber Fern Forest truly was!

He deeply regretted his earlier boastful words but never regretted marrying Julie.

Together, they guarded the seal until Julie was cursed by the abyss and could no longer enter the forest. The baron’s partner then became Anthony.

Anthony was Roland’s father and Julie’s childhood friend—the last person she could turn to.

Anthony was a ‘wild sorcerer’ who had traveled extensively. Upon learning of Julie’s grave illness, he returned to his hometown of Valeria.

Seeing Julie, Anthony was deeply moved. Childhood sweethearts separated by fate—by the time he returned, his first love’s child was already three years old.

Yet Anthony had not been idle during his absence—his son was already six!

To find the Amber Fern Holy Grail and cure his first love’s curse, Anthony took the role of a steward in the castle and began the perilous journey into the Amber Fern Forest alongside the baron.

No one expected this low-level apprentice wild sorcerer to be more useful than Julie and the baron—he could see through illusions and discern the truth. He could even roam the lower world with impunity and gaze directly upon the Abyssal Lord.

Anthony had no combat prowess, but his mind remained untouched by demonic corruption, never hallucinating, always perceiving reality clearly.

He was the team’s ‘Great Prophet,’ always pointing the way when others were lost.

Under Anthony’s guidance, the team always reached the heart of the ruins and successfully maintained the seal.

His presence kept the Amber Fern Forest peaceful for another ten years. But three months ago, his mind finally broke from relentless exploration.

After his madness and departure, the family’s ‘Alaye Manuscript’ was left behind.

The baron knew Anthony’s unique ability came from this book and that Roland, as a member of the Alaye family, could understand its contents just like his father.

However, neither the baron nor his wife possessed the ability to guide Roland along this path. Thus, the baron thought of his last friend and dragged her into this.

This friend was none other than the ‘Witch Alexandra’ of old—the baron knew Catherine’s true identity.

When Catherine was resurrected, the baron had offered much help, so she felt duty-bound to assist him.

Thus, Roland became Catherine’s student.

However, the townspeople greatly misunderstood Catherine. Having never seen a true witch, they spread many exaggerated rumors.

Catherine didn’t bother to explain and was poor at communication. She often darkly joked with Roland, threatening him with her bad reputation—“Yes! I’m the Cat Witch. If you can’t learn magic well, I’ll turn you into human bait for trolls!”

Under this pressure, Roland studied desperately and managed to decipher the Alaye Manuscript within three months.

Now, Roland and his father Anthony were both low-level apprentices.

They did not know if Roland could become the team’s eyes as Anthony had, but they had no other choice.

The seal was deteriorating rapidly; without someone to maintain it, the Abyssal Lord would once again appear in this world.

Countless pioneers would bleed and die in vain.