Chapter 295: Genuine or Fake?
Chapter 295: Genuine or Fake?
Vold stood silently beside Professor Morrow, who urged him, "You don't need to follow me, Vold. You can wander around and look at the items that interest you."
Vold shook his head without speaking or leaving.
—After all, he's still a child.
Professor Morrow thought to herself, smiling gently, no longer urging Vold to go off on his own.
As he admired the stone tablet with inscriptions, he quietly explained to Vold, "Before Gurl came, he told us about the items he was preparing for the exhibition, and this is one of them... A stone tablet unearthed from ancient Egypt, said to have been inscribed by Democritus himself."
"The magic of that era was very ancient and pure, much closer to the essence of magic and the natural truth than it is now. It is said that there was once a magical technology that could make humans equal to the gods."
"Like this stone tablet?" Vold asked.
Professor Morrow smiled, "Of course, this requires translation and research before we can know what it says. But I can decipher a part of it for now..."
As she spoke, Professor Morrow carefully examined the inscriptions, muttering to herself and gesturing with her fingers as she deciphered the text.
The writing on the stone tablet was quite different from any known script, and the ancient characters often conveyed complex meanings with simple symbols.
Professor Morrow struggled to decipher it, and after a few minutes, she muttered, "What's going on... How strange..."
The old professor returned to the tablet and deciphered it again.
"Strange... It's correct... Could these inscriptions be wrong?"
He studied the stone tablet, which bore obvious signs of age, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong, Professor?" Vold asked.
"The writing doesn't seem right," he turned to Vold and said, "Gurl might have been deceived. This is probably a fake. Let's go and look at something else."
Vold turned to look, and the red-robed wizard stood with a smile beside the wooden sculpture and bronze mirror, talking to Orlando from Beauxbatons, surrounded by a few young alchemists who occasionally glanced at the mirror with awe.
The elevator leading to this area was closed, and the floor display above was pitch black, with no text visible.
Vold noticed the chain-like magical patterns entwined around the elevator door, indicating that opening it would not be easy.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that the ancient portraits on the walls, which were normally asleep, now had half of them with their eyes open, and some squinting, as if secretly observing.
Even the positions of the statues had undergone subtle changes.
However, the alchemists in the hall were engrossed in the exhibits, unaware of these changes.
Vold withdrew his gaze and didn't reveal his discovery. Instead, he followed Professor Morrow to continue viewing the Thorn Crown.
"It looks like an ordinary wreath, but in reality, it might be related to the legendary great wizard Merlin..."
Professor Morrow first provided some background information, "The lake fairy, Vivian, used the thorn crown from her head to trap Merlin, making him lose his way and eventually imprisoning him forever in an oak tree..."
Suddenly, his voice paused, and he stared at the wreath within the barrier for a long time, unable to speak.
Under the protection of the magical barrier that safeguarded the exhibits, the alchemists couldn't use detection spells to further examine the items. They could only appreciate and imagine them with their own eyes.
Professor Morrow, an experienced alchemist with an almost intuitive sense for alchemical items, noticed something amiss with the Thorn Crown, even from just its appearance.
Professor Morrow's fingers lightly traced the shape of the crown in the air, separated by the barrier.
The old man then laughed in disbelief.
"How could this be something from a thousand or two thousand years ago... It must have been made just a day or two ago!"
Professor Morrow's expression turned stern. "Vold, under what circumstances would an alchemist with three or four decades of experience misjudge twice in a row?"
Vold spoke softly, "When threatened or controlled, perhaps? Look, Professor, others have noticed the issue too... It's best we don't act rashly."
Professor Morrow, initially believing that the red-robed wizard Gor was trying to deceive him, calmed down upon hearing Vold's words.
He, too, then noticed the problem.
While the younger visitors continued to admire the exhibits, the older alchemists almost all frowned and exchanged glances.
Only Orlando was still discussing the legend of Death with Gor, indirectly probing whether the mirror could be discounted.
An elderly man with wrinkled clothes and a face full of spots quickly examined all the exhibits and then walked straight over to interrupt their conversation.
"Gor!" He asked sharply, "What kind of rubbish are you displaying here? Do you expect to deceive our eyes with this?"
It seemed that he was angrier about the exhibits being fakes than the fact that someone thought they could fool his eyes.
Gor paused, his smile still warm, and asked, "What? Mr. Matthias, which one are you referring to?"
"All of them!" The old wizard shouted angrily, "Take that damn mirror in front of you, for example! It's not a magic mirror at all!"
"What?!" Orlando was shocked and immediately rushed to the barrier to examine it closely.
Gor paused again, his smile still warm, and asked, "How could that be? This mirror comes from an ancient artifact and has the power to communicate with the deceased. If you're interested, I can give you a detailed introduction..."
"I'm not interested in fakes at all!" Wizard Matthias shouted, "Did you hear what I said?!"
Gor's smile shifted slightly, and then his lips curved up again, asking,
"Are you questioning my professional skills? I've been in this business for thirty-nine years! My friend, please believe me—I would never include an item in my exhibition without first verifying its authenticity."
Wizard Matthias didn't argue this time. He stared at Gor, his eyes fixed on him for a while, and then became even angrier, "The Soul Snatcher Curse?! Who dares to use the Soul Snatcher Curse on people?!"
Before he finished speaking, a loud thud echoed through the hall.
A young wizard suddenly fell.
Then a second, a third...
One by one, the alchemists collapsed, some hitting the stone podium and bleeding profusely.
Gor acted as if he hadn't seen anything and continued to smile, "You can rest assured, I guarantee with my life that all the exhibits I sell are genuine!"
Someone shouted, "Run!"
(End of Chapter)
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