Wasteland Echoer

"'Karloff's Gate'?" Wright looked at this uniquely shaped giant door that stood like a giant in the underground space with confusion.

"Brother, I don't mind wasting some time here to tell you about the origin of this door. Although our time is generally very tight, we are not in a hurry. After all, among humans and us, I have been from time to time recently. You can smell the dragon's scent. If you encounter a dragon in the future, maybe this knowledge can help you." Feng said, looking up at the giant door.

"Oh? Feng, you have aroused my curiosity. I have also heard a lot of rumors during this time, talking about the 'Blood Night Ritual' in the city of Socra, the 'Raleye's Dream', and the so-called' Paradise' will all use the power of dragons. Regarding dragons... I have only seen an imprisoned orc with dragon blood under the water in Donusk." Wright paused, first with a solemn expression, and then revealed With a gentle smile, he turned to look at Feng with pure black eyes and continued:

"The power of dragons is indeed great. He, the orc Saukod, spent his last strength in the fight to help me obtain the 'Inspiration' sequence core. This little power is just that he was imprisoned by the 'Plane Water' , and the remnant after being contaminated with evil things was enough for me to be promoted. Just for a moment, I was thinking about what kind of terrifying existence it would be if I met a truly complete and mature dragon."

"It is indeed terrifying, but that was all in the First Era. In the Second Era, humans still relied on gods and the five sacred objects to eliminate most of the dragon clan. After that, the remaining dragon clan were either forced to be trapped in the 'Dragon Realm', or Suppressing the bloodline and turning into a human being can at best be regarded as a magician or an extraordinary person." Feng patted Wright on the shoulder, signaling him not to be too unfounded.

"But I'm still curious, can the power of dragons be comparable to the gods?" Wright asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." Feng closed his eyes tightly and replied thoughtfully:

"The war between dragons and humans is a very distant thing. There is a saying: In ancient times, humans did not demand as much from nature as they do now. Even if they cut down a few trees to build bridges and houses, humans would kneel down and pray devoutly. , praying for God’s understanding. Therefore, during that period, the magic power in the air was abundant, and even humans who had not undergone any deliberate practice were natural magicians as long as they lived in the mountains and forests.”

"Later, because humans destroyed nature, did the magic power dry up?" Wright guessed following Feng's short story. After all, most of these environmental-themed stories will focus on human sins and warn us to protect the environment. above.

"Not exactly." Feng's answer was beyond Wright's expectation.

"Why?"

"The power of the dragons will always inadvertently destroy a mountain, boil a lake dry, and even cause a fire that cannot be extinguished for several years, but the Creator does not punish them. There is a saying that human beings are carved by the Creator according to their own image. The creator of the stone statue doesn’t like him, and naturally he doesn’t like humans either.”

"So, he poured 'reason' into the new rules after the dragon clan's destruction to restrict humans. He knew that humans have extremely powerful abilities to use 'inspiration' and 'wisdom', so he set up restrictions, one of which is, 'As long as the steam boils, the magic will dissipate.' If the 'mysterious extraordinary power' did not spread and turn us and our parents into lost people, we may not be able to control the magic power created by the Creator so easily." Feng said , opened his eyes, revealing light green eyes that exuded a faint light.

"So, in fact, the 'Unintentional Man' 'virus' is a by-product of restarting magic? As long as the 'virus' is removed, can the magic source power be continuously obtained?" A suicidal idea came to Wright's mind.

"I don't know about this. I'm only at level 5, and I'm still far away from breaking through to level 4. If I want to think about such a profound question, I'm afraid we have to wait until we touch demigods. Okay, brother, I want to talk. Let’s talk about the ‘Karloff Gate’.” Feng did not observe Wright’s expression and reaction, but turned around, held the giant door with his left hand, and said to himself:

"This door was originally a specific jump channel used by characters like the leader of the dragon clan. As long as it is infused with the blood of the dragon clan and the fire-type magic source power, it can achieve the jump effect, allowing the user to travel to any place in the world. A corner, even if it is the underwater palace of the old gods.”

"Later, during the 'Karloff's End War', humans relied on the 'Karlof Gate' and found the 'Karlof Black Stone Realm' where the last two leaders of the dragon clan were, and used five sacred objects to seal it. They have just begun the real human era." After Feng finished speaking, he coughed twice and paused.

"My intuition tells me, Feng, the story you are telling is not over yet." Wright urged, looking at Feng's relatively thin back.

"In the middle of the third era, a dragon boy awakened in the great Yanhuo Empire in the East. Existing historical data records that he once served in the Yandu Military Hall of the empire, but later fled to Anke Mountain, where the empire was traitorous at the time, due to an accident. He controlled the western territory. Later, he moved to Gubin and Nandu of the empire, and later returned to the capital because of the 'Long Qing'."

"According to some unreliable interviews, especially the memoir "I am in the Fire" written by Timod, who betrayed the empire and fled to Aventelei at that time, the dragon boy named 'Clete' from the Western Continent entered the fire. The Fire Empire saw the 'Karlov's Gate' in its first dream, and Timaud clearly recorded what the voice in the dream said to Clete at that time: "

"That door is the product of the connection between the mainland and the underworld. It is also the pinnacle of mechanical craftsmanship left behind by the dragon civilization. Under the blessing of the 'dark scarlet' spell, anyone who opens the door will be cursed and be in eternal pain. There is no happiness or relief. Brother, take a closer look at the door and the structure we imitated, and you will definitely get some inspiration." Feng said, turned around, stretched out his index finger, and pointed at the giant door.

"I'd like to see."

Wright said, looking up carefully.

In the center of the huge door is a huge black dragon, which is very characteristic of the Western Continent. It has a pair of huge bat-like wings with a lizard-like body. Sharp fangs are exposed under a high-raised head, but it seems to be Make a fire-breathing motion.

Surrounding the dragon was not a totem, but a map, but based on Wright's knowledge and memory, he was unable to correlate this spot with any known location.

The first circle surrounding the dragon's body is a red forest, roughly a maple leaf forest, but in the northeast is an endless mountain range that leads directly to the outside of the giant gate, and the rivers that run through the forest are scattered across the empire. The Ruin River and the Mamous River flowing through Chekavsk have completely different structures.

Looking down, there is a lake at the edge of the forest. Judging from the picture, there are many birds hovering above it. It is quite vibrant, and it is a realm where everything is competing.

But there is a totem on the left and right sides of the giant door. On the left is the double-headed eagle in the culture of the Zine Empire and the Crusted Empire, and on the right is a sunflower blooming uniformly towards the east.

Wright could not speculate on the meaning, and could not connect these images with known things for the time being. Fortunately, he used the enhanced memory brought by his promotion to silently remember the structure of the "Karloff Gate" and turned around. Said to the wind:

"I've finished reading it, Feng, but I didn't get any enlightenment. Maybe... I'm not smart enough. Forget it... take me to see your Pope."

"Okay." Feng shrugged helplessly.

Immediately afterwards, he took a few steps back, crossed his hands, and murmured the incantation used to create spirits.

Not long after, a group of irregular ice crystals appeared in front of him.

His hands kept interlacing and changing positions, and the ice crystals were rubbed by the wind like plasticine, and finally turned into a key made of ice.

Then, he poured a stream of light blue magic power into the imitation "Karloff's Gate". Following a series of mechanical collisions, the giant dragon in the center of the door split open as if it had been cut, revealing into the keyhole.

The wind inserted the ice key, and with a moderate vibration, the door slowly retreated to both sides. After more than ten seconds, the door "disappeared", revealing the fairly bright hall space inside.

"Is it so direct? Is your palace hall behind the door?" Wright complained as he looked at the layout in the hall.

"Of course, after all, we have been short of supplies. But brother, I don't suggest you go in now. Our Pope has prepared a welcome ceremony for you, right here." The wind pointed forward.

"Here?" Wright looked at the currently empty hall with confusion.

The layout is huge, this was Wright's first impression. The space here is almost equal to the "residential area" just now, estimated to be the size of a football field.

Surrounding the surrounding walls are gas lamps that look like bats. The winding metal pipes are continuously pouring dye into them to ensure that the hall maintains the daytime style.

But in the center of the hall is a square pool. It is heated by the lava that surged up not far from the ground. It is emitting steam. As the door is suddenly opened by the wind, the cold air from outside meets the heating in the hall, briefly glowing with a dense atmosphere. The mist has a hazy beauty.

Moreover, four stone pillars carved with exquisite and eccentric patterns support the entire hall. Surrounding the pool are rows of expensive round tables and seats with the style of the Krusted palace.

However, facing Wright on the high platform in the farthest hall is a throne made of black iron. In Wright's opinion, it is probably where the Pope of Dark Night sits.

After Wright and Feng stopped at the door of the hall for a few minutes, a sound that sounded like a sad cry of birds came out. From the small doors around the hall, nuns dressed in pure white clothes walked briskly towards the pool.

They circled the pool, clasping their hands and closing their eyes in a prayer gesture. Wright counted, no more, no less, thirteen people.

Immediately, they knelt down on their knees in front of Wright, with their mouths wide open, ready to chant something.