Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

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The northern boundary of the country…

“Are you asking us why we are so respectful toward young girls? It’s because of a legend that everyone here believes…” an old herdsman said as he moved along.

Fresh air without a single trace of dust swept past. With just a deep breath, one felt like they were taking the unique fragrance of a vast and spacious land into their lungs. The area was surprisingly open. There were no trees, no mountains, and no buildings within sight. There was only a wide expanse of flat valley and spectacular geometric lines with a slight arc further away connected with the blue sky on the horizon…

The vast land would occasionally be embroidered by a silver ribbon; it was clean and simple, yet it turned out to be a most stunning scene!

“A legend, I love legends. A local legend always reflects how stupid the local people are,” a teenage boy wearing a pair of sunglasses replied indifferently.

“You can listen to the story first, before coming to a conclusion. In the early days, the valley was barren. There wasn’t any grass, the water was dried up, and the land was constantly troubled by locusts. The locals were struggling to make a living. The livestock kept dying, there was no production of milk and meat, and barely any agriculture…” the old herdsman casually flicked out his whip.

“A very cliche opening,” the teenage boy snorted.

“To stop the people from leaving their hometown and living as nomads… oh, it means without having our own land and source of water… a young girl called Qiqige decided to climb the mountains. She knew the source of the rivers was the springs in the mountains. She went far away and climbed to a great height to find the source, and she discovered the source had frozen because of the cold. The temperatures are lower when the altitude increases,” the old herdsman went on.

“So what did the girl do?” the teenage boy asked. He seemed a little intrigued now.

“She did not have any power, but a sincere heart to help her people. She took off her clothes, revealing her body as she hugged the bone-piercing ice tightly. She tried to use her body temperature to melt the ice. The water from the ice she melted with her pure body entered the stream. The spring and the water veins contained the fragrance of her virginity… the spring came back to live again, returning life to this land. What we have here… is Qiqige’s statue. It was her holding the ice, the spring that nurtures our lives,” the old herdsman pointed ahead.

In front of them stood a unique statue; a young woman painted white. Its shape was quite abstract. Most people would assume it to be a boulder that served as a landmark if they did not hear the story behind it.

“I see, no wonder half of the girls here are given the name Qiqige,” the teenage boy said with a smile.

“Exactly, every young woman is a blessing to us. Every family is proud to have a girl too,” the old herdsman said with a sincere smile.

The young man walked around the statue in circles. He looked at the map he was holding with a sinister smile.

He turned around and looked at the glamorous woman in a short dress accompanying him and said, “I believe it’s a sign from the Heavens. We should set our coordinates here, right where the status is.”

“If you say so,” the glamorous woman smiled.

“Old mister, have you heard of another legend that isn’t from our country? I think it suits the story you just told pretty well,” the teenage boy turned back to the old herdsman.

“Is that so? I’m rather curious about it, please tell me.” The old herdsman sat down and started smoking. He was quite relaxed.

“It happened in Egypt, where women have always had a low status. They were slaves and toys to the men. You could even trade two healthy cows for a healthy woman. There was a girl called Khonsu. She was greatly tortured and humiliated, living a lowly life. One day, she stole a beautiful gold necklace from her master. She tried to sell it for money and run away, but the necklace was special. A demon spirit came out of it at night… Ah, you can think of it as a genie, it doesn’t really matter… the demon spirit told her that it could fulfill a wish for her, but the girl would have to trade her soul for it. Khonsu immediately agreed to it in exchange for respect and love from the people. After that, she enjoyed ten years of fame and the love of countless men. She ended up with a higher status and more wealth than the slave masters.

“But, the demon spirit returned after ten years, as it had promised. It had come back for her soul.

“Khonsu was a scheming and extremely greedy woman. She wanted more; she wanted to enjoy her fame for a longer time. She had been looking for ways to avoid the demon spirit even before it showed up, so she would not have to give up on her soul.”

The teenage boy was telling the story passionately. He paused briefly and glanced at the old herdsman.

The old herdsman shook the cigarette butts off and exclaimed, “She’s indeed incomparable to our Qiqige. She’s filthy, greedy, and selfish… so, what did she do? Was she given the punishment that she deserved?”

“Now here is the best part of the story. Khonsu had done her homework over the years. She learned that the demon spirit was actually Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld. He would trade with humans at times, and he would lock her soul up as one of his concubines. She would become his toy and be tortured forever. Khonsu knew she had enjoyed living her dream for ten years, but the price she had to pay was to suffer an even worse fate than her life from before. She decided to fight until the end. She knew Osiris had a residence in the mundane world, and I bet you’ve heard it before…

“Osiris’ residence in the mundane world is the pyramids. He had to rely on the power of the pyramids to roam around in this world.”

The old herdsman’s eyes widened after hearing the keyword. He nodded and said, “The pyramids, they are pretty famous. So what happened then?”

“Khonsu utilized the reputation, wealth, and power she had accumulated over ten years to collect something special. It was called the Triangle Dimensional Mirror. She used it to refract the brilliance of the pyramids, so it would never reach the city and the place she lived in…” the teenage boy said.

“She’s a smart girl, but a pitiful girl too. She was only trying her best to stay alive,” the old herdsman observed.

“However, she ended up infuriating Osiris. The Lord of the Underworld would not allow a petty human to trick him like that after failing to fulfill her end of the trade… Osiris can only visit the mundane world once every ten years, yet because the image of the pyramids couldn’t reach where Khonsu was, Osiris decided to vent his anger on humanity.

“Since the Triangle Dimensional Mirror was only reflecting the light of the pyramids instead of absorbing them, the brilliance of the pyramids still ended up in other cities and areas. Therefore, Osiris and his undead would trample the cities and massacre the people there to vent their frustration toward the despicable humans!”

The old herdsman was lost in the story. For some reason, the story that the teenage boy was telling was different from his. Even though it sounded more ridiculous, and had a more bizarre setting, somehow he felt like it had actually happened in the past!

“Every ten years, Khonsu brought a bloodbath to a city just to protect herself. Lots of lives were lost!” the teenage boy said. He seemed unusually excited.

“Such a detestable woman!” the old herdsman murmured.

“Yeah, she’s the complete opposite compared to Qiqige. However, that’s not the end of the story,” the teenage boy agreed.

“It’s not the end yet? Did she finally pay for what she had done?” the old herdsman asked.

“Yeah, she got her punishment. A boy who was the survivor of one of the cities that were destroyed became Khonsu’s servant. The boy was smart and handsome, and extremely loyal to Khonsu, and he soon became her favorite. When Khonsu thought she had finally found her true love, the boy stole Khonsu’s Triangle Dimensional Mirror. There was a thunderstorm that day. The boy tossed the Triangle Dimensional Mirror into the sky. Khonsu watched the lightning blasting the mirror into pieces and dust…” the teenage boy said.

“Well done! It served her right. You can’t just let innocent people die because Khonsu wasn’t willing to fulfill her end of the deal,” the old herdsman exclaimed.

“No no no, the man didn’t earn the respect of the people, either. Osiris did end up taking Khonsu away, and she’s still suffering even today, but the man was spurned and cursed by the people too. His corpse is still in front of the royal palace in Egypt, trampled by everyone walking past,” the teenage boy corrected him.

“Why is that?” The old herdsman was confused.

“Because even though the Triangle Dimensional Mirror had turned into dust, it still persisted in the air in Egypt. It’s smaller than dust particles, and impossible to drive away. They are meant to exist forever, and once in a while, the seasonal winds will blow the particles of the Triangle Dimensional Mirror together to refract the light of the pyramids. The pyramids will show up near a city. Osiris’ anger toward humans has never ceased, so he keeps sending the undead to attack the cities…” the teenage boy grinned.

“Why do I feel like I’ve heard it before…” the old herdsman was not completely uneducated. He had heard things about Egypt before.

“Of course, it’s called… the Mirage!”