Chapter 134: Cloak of Displacement (Bonus Chapter)

Colonel Vasa’s somber yet rational words quelled the arguments on the battlefield, and through the concerted efforts of both sides, a consensus was quickly reached.

The Cold-Blood tribe would withdraw to the Great Marsh and pay a substantial indemnity to the Delin Town Council for instigating this unjust war. These funds would be used to provide pensions and reconstruct the homes destroyed by the flames of conflict.

As the curtain fell on the war, Viss, having finally avenged his father, could end his life in exile. He returned home to inherit his father’s legacy, becoming the new chieftain and chief elder of the Cold-Blood tribe.

Viss did not forget the human friend who had extended a helping hand during his time of distress. He took the initiative to propose a closer mutual defense alliance with Delin Town. Henceforth, not only would the Lizardfolk refrain from invading the town, but should Delin Town face threats from other factions—such as the goblin tribes of the "Screaming Tribe"—Viss and his people would fulfill their duties as allies to defend the town alongside its residents.

On the night the war ended, the survivors held a grand bonfire party in the town square to celebrate the return of peace.

Joann did not attend the victory celebration that night. Those familiar with him knew that the young mage was reclusive by nature and had never been fond of social gatherings, so his absence came as no surprise.

In truth, beyond his personality, there was a more practical reason for Joann's absence. There was less than a week left before the start of the semester at Leiden College. To reach the school in time for the freshman enrollment ceremony, Joann had to depart for Leiden Port early the next morning; he had to pack his bags tonight.

It was midnight by the time Joann finished packing, and he sat at his desk to rest for a moment. The bonfire in the square lit up the night sky as bright as day, and the aroma of roasted meat along with the laughter of the people drifted through the window on the night breeze. Yet, Joann felt no ripple in his heart.

The young mage had read many profound descriptions of loneliness and solitude in books. For instance, "Loneliness is like having only one fish in a pond, while solitude is having nothing at all in the pond," or "True loneliness is not living apart from the crowd, but being alone in the midst of it." A proud, aloof philosopher once said, "One must choose between solitude and mediocrity."

These maxims all sounded reasonable, but Joann felt none of them went deep enough to describe the calm mood he felt as he looked out the window at the joyous crowd. To him, the greatest fortune—or perhaps misfortune—of a truly solitary person was the inability to feel "loneliness" at all. Just as he was now: he neither envied nor despised the people gathered together. To him, the celebrating crowd in the square was no different from the stars in the sky, the murmuring river, or the trees swaying in the wind; their existence was merely an objective scene. Sometimes it was pleasant to behold, and sometimes the noise annoyed him, but it never stirred his emotions or gave rise to the so-called feeling of loneliness.

Joann had once dissected this strange psychology of his own and had to admit that his "social personality" was perhaps incomplete. This might have been due to being orphaned at a young age, lacking parental care and upbringing, or perhaps his "aberrant bloodline" possessed certain innate anti-social characteristics.

Joann was not entirely ignorant of what "loneliness" was; it was simply that the isolation others viewed as lonely was, to him, a pleasant enjoyment—a faint, quiet happiness. There was only one form of "loneliness" he found truly unbearable: watching time go to waste while having nothing to do—though perhaps "boredom" would be a more appropriate term.

Joann did not envy the revelers in the square, for he was not bored at this moment. On the contrary, something that brought him immense joy awaited him.

A strange feeling suddenly arose in Joann: although his body was far from the crowd, the joy in his heart at this moment was entirely equivalent to the joy experienced at the celebration. Thus, despite not participating, he felt no sense of estrangement from the people in the square.

Joann raised his teacup toward the direction of the rising bonfire, as if toasting the revelers, then withdrew his thoughts to focus on identifying the magic cloak spread out on his desk.

The cloak, stripped from Kotar, was as soft as the finest velvet. Its outer surface was as black as the night, while the lining was as white as snow—black and white happened to be Joann’s two favorite colors.

Using the analytical function of the Rune symbols, Joann quickly identified that the cloak had been crafted with the 2nd-level arcane spell "Transposition."

"Transposition" was perhaps one of the lowest-level teleportation spells. With it, the caster could instantly swap positions with a creature nearby. If the target was unwilling and attempted to resist the spell with their own willpower, the casting could potentially fail.

Joann could not yet learn "Transposition," so he simply transcribed the 2nd-level spell into his spellbook to study after he leveled up. Fortunately, the "Cloak of Transposition" had a similar function, allowing the activation of the spell three times per day, requiring a full day and night to recharge once the magic was depleted.

After transcribing the spell, Joann picked up a blood-red trident and placed it on the table. This "Cold-Blood Trident" was a sacred relic of the Lizardfolk tribe and a symbol of the chieftain’s authority. It originally belonged to Viss’s father, Mirik. After Kotar assassinated Elder Mirik, he seized the trident and used this powerful magical weapon to kill Captain Daniel in the battle that had ended not long ago. Following the battle, the trident was handed to Viss by Major Vasa, a ceremony symbolizing that Viss would inherit his father’s legacy and become the new chieftain of the Cold-Blood tribe.

After the handover ceremony, Joann had borrowed the trident from Viss, admitting that out of curiosity, he wanted to analyze the enchantments woven into it.

Viss had generously lent it to him, with the only request being that he not damage the weapon of such great significance.

What Joann did next was simple: he traced the number 4 Rune symbol, Ansuz, onto the Cold-Blood Trident to analyze the spells enchanted within. The task took about an hour, and Joann successfully extracted two spells: the 2nd-level "Returning Weapon" and the 3rd-level "Vampiric Touch."

"Returning Weapon," as the name implied, was cast upon a throwable weapon. After throwing it, one only needed to recite an incantation for the weapon to respond to the owner’s call and fly back to their hand. The old dwarf Flint Anvil’s warhammer had this spell permanently fixed upon it; in the future, Joann would also be able to use this spell to create weapons with the "Returning" attribute.

"Vampiric Touch" was a rather sinister Necromancy spell. Its method of attack was similar to "Shocking Grasp," using touch to deliver "negative energy" to an enemy, causing damage while siphoning their life force to enhance the caster’s own vitality. Its style of benefiting oneself at the expense of others was exactly like that of a vampire, which was no wonder the spell was named "Vampiric Touch."