Although Jhaben's body was very strange, to Lynd, who was accustomed to the failed experiments in Black Hollow, Jhaben's body was still considered normal, at least maintaining a human form. After Lynd's gaze swept over Jhaben, it landed on the sunken pit on his forehead, which contained a mass of dark magic.
It was the first time Lynd had seen magic manifest in such a way that it could be seen with the naked eye. Although it looked like some kind of dark magic, its core was still black stone magic, which was why Deltos regarded this mass of magic as a delicious dessert.
"What's going on with your head?" Lynd pointed to Jhaben's forehead and asked without reservation.
"The product of a failed attempt." Jhaben gave a bitter smile and said.
Lynd said, "If I can help you clear it away, will the magic backlash and power erosion on your body get better?"
"It will get better." Jhaben rolled his eyes upwards, as if trying to see the pit on his forehead, and also as if rolling his eyes at Lynd, "However, in that case, I would also lose my life. In a sense, that would also count as lifting the backlash and the curse."
"What if I can clear it away harmlessly?" Lynd ignored the other party's rudeness and said.
Jhaben's expression turned serious. He stared at Lynd and said, "Are you serious? You can help me get rid of this thing without harming me?"
"We'll only know if it can be done without harm after trying," Lynd did not give Jhaben the affirmative answer he hoped to hear, but he then added confidently, "However, besides me, there should be no one else in this world who can remove this trouble from you with maximum harmlessness."
If Lynd had told Jhaben with certainty at this moment that he could do it without harm, Jhaben might have still doubted Lynd's words. But now that Lynd spoke so conservatively, it made him believe Lynd's words instead, making him feel that Lynd could truly resolve his misfortune.
"What do I need to pay?" Jhaben asked in a deep voice.
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "I have a department under me called Black Hollow, where mages of various schools gather. They conduct all sorts of research related to magic and potions there. The current director of Black Hollow is a bit tired of the job; she wants to focus on her own projects. So I need to find another person with enough strength and prestige to continue as the director of Black Hollow, lest it lose its discipline and cause problems." He then added, "Marwyn recommended you back then, and I also looked into it, but at the time, I thought that as the King of Asia, you wouldn't be hired by me. Now, the situation is different, don't you think?"
Jhaben was silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly, giving a bitter smile. "You might be disappointed. All the magic I command can only be cast here in Asshai. Once I leave Asshai, I'm no different from those so-called mages with clumsy tricks."
Lynd frowned and asked, "Do you need to utilize the black stone power here when casting Dark Warlock magic? Can you not cast any magic without black stone power?"
"No." Jhaben shook his head again and explained, "I can cast them, but those spells will be unstable, sometimes working and sometimes not, and even if they are cast, their power will be greatly reduced. This is the curse of Asshai magic-users. It's not just me; every Asshai magic-user is like this."
Lynd turned to look at Quellier, who also nodded.
"How long has it been since you two last contacted the outside world?" Lynd asked them both.
Both of them looked bewildered, not understanding why Lynd would ask such a question.
Lynd explained, "Since the Red Comet appeared, dragons have returned, and the world's magic has become more active. Magic-users can cast spells more easily, and the spells cast are much more powerful than before. That is to say, as long as you have the ability to cast spells, even if you leave Asshai, you can still cast magic, though the power will be slightly weaker. But I speculate that as time passes, this situation will improve, and eventually, magic-users might be able to cast spells outside as they do in Asshai."
Jhaben and Quellier were completely stunned. Although with their powerful spellcasting abilities, they could indeed cast spells outside if they prepared beforehand, the power of those spells could absolutely not compare to when they cast spells in Asshai. Now Lynd was telling them that the outside world had changed, so much so that even ordinary spellcasters could easily cast spells. This made it difficult for them to accept for a moment, as if they thought they possessed the world's most precious treasure, only to find that this treasure was now commonplace outside. How could they bear this?
However, they soon realized what the changes in the world meant, and what they meant for Asshai.
Currently, the two places in the entire world with the most magic-users were Asshai and Summerhall. Although Asshai had an ancient lineage, it was also stagnant and lifeless. In terms of potential, it was far from comparable to Summerhall. Quellier saw this clearly, and Jhaben also saw it clearly.
"I agree." Jhaben said with hardly any thought. "As long as you can help me resolve the hidden danger on my body, I will agree to join your Black Hollow and serve you." Perhaps feeling that such a promise was unreliable and would not win Lynd's trust, he added, "We can sign a blood oath."
"Alright." Although Lynd trusted his loyalty trial more, he was not in a hurry. As long as Jhaben went to Summerhall, he would eventually have to go to the Redemption Sanctuary to complete the loyalty trial.
Therefore, with Quellier as a witness, Lynd and Jhaben forged a blood oath that was very binding for mages.
The moment the blood oath was forged, Lynd could feel a distinct foreign power infiltrating his body, attempting to invade his heart, but it was swallowed by the Nameless King Rune.
And as he swallowed the power of the blood oath, he could clearly sense the foreign power of the blood oath rooted in Jhaben's heart, and he felt that he could use the power of the Nameless King to activate this foreign power at any time to kill Jhaben.
Jhaben did not know that Lynd had control over his life through the blood oath; he merely assumed, based on past experience, that the blood oath was binding on both parties.
Jhaben anxiously asked, "When will you help me resolve…"
"No need to rush, I'll resolve it now." Lynd turned to Deltos and said, "Come on, Deltos! It's your turn."
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