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The Melvin Family had converted the complex substitution spell into a curse everyone could use.
In a sense, the magic was turned into a black box [1], whereby the user didn’t need to understand the complicated principles to use the magic smoothly.
This notion of transforming spells into curses ignited inspiration within Annan.
“However, since it is a curse, it is possible to dispel it, right?” Annan looked at Nefertari and asked.
After all, they were not spell casters.
If something went wrong, they were unable to fine-tune it. For example, the Man in the Mirror could modify the appearance and physique of “Ghirlandaio”. He could also take away or give more power to the marble golem. However, Annan couldn’t do that.
Annan was merely a user.
“That’s right.” Nefertari replied, “All the Substitute School curses can be reverted. However, the conditions to achieve that are different. This is determined by the person who converted the magic into a curse.”
[The Last Work: “David”] was a curse the Man in the Mirror crafted. Hence, its rules were related to “mirror” and “time”. Hence, the cooldown period and the active period were the same. It was an optimization dedicated to Annan personally.
The state of Dove and Chocolate could be restored by passing through the elf portal once more. As for Elven Skin Glove, reverting its effect could be more complicated. Annan guessed that the user might need to chop off his hand or peel off his skin.
It was close to impossible to revert to the original state.
However, the creator of the Substitute Spell intended to plunder another person’s life during the Third Age. They didn’t think about how to change back to the original form at the beginning.
“How Celecia can turn back into Thoreau Nick may be something only Professor Wolf knows.” Nefertari gave it a serious thought, “If you need information about the Winter Insurgent, why don’t you look for Professor Wolf and Celecia simultaneously?”
“It’s not quite possible. Professor Wolf will avoid me, and I’m not equipped to catch a Gold Rank Idol Wizard.”
It also depended on the completion of Celecia.
Professor Wolf might have perfectly combined the abilities of Idol Magic’s two main departments.
The original “Frederick” was proficient at the Law of Similarity. “Dream Eater” was excellent at the Law of Contagion. Then, he was tantamount to an all-rounded Idol Wizard who had mastered all the abilities in Idol Wizardry.
Catching him could be more challenging than hunting down the Winter Insurgent.
“If she can’t change back to her original form, I can’t convict her of her crime.” Annan shrugged and said helplessly.
After all, Celecia was not an ordinary person. Instead, she was a celebrity having close ties with high-level officials in many countries.
After the Substitution Magic was applied on the “name” level, Edict Spells, Idol Spells, rituals, and divine arts that rely on the “real name” would be deflected accordingly.
That was why the ritualists of the Austere-Winter Dukedom had been unable to locate Thoreau Nick for many years.
When Thoreau Nick was “Celecia”, “Thoreau Nick” would be regarded as not existing.
It was more like the magic returned with the output of “User not found”.
The Tragedy Writer must have known because what happened was part of a “conspiracy”. The executor was his “new pope”, Professor Wolf, Frederick. He saw it with His own eyes.
However, Tragedy Writer was not among the twelve upright deities.
Even if Annan believed His words, His testimony was not solid evidence to the public.
However, apart from Tragedy Writer’s words, Annan had no evidence to prove that “Celecia” was “Thoreau Nick”, unless “Celecia” changed back to her original state.
Without clear evidence, it was impossible to arrest the other party.
Much of her power relied on the ship, “Silver”. She was more or less a Gold Rank transcender who had mastered an elemental power. It would be difficult for the Winter’s Hands at Silver Rank to kidnap her silently. If an army were dispatched, regardless of the loss, the resistance from the underground city would intensify.
Thoreau Nick wasn’t a valuable target in the first place. His value was that he was the weakest Ice-shredders with counterintelligence capabilities.
The rest of the Ice-shredders were all from Winter’s Hand. They were the former members of the spy agency. Trying to get the other Winter’s Hands to find them was hard, let alone catch them.
Although Thoreau Nick was Ice-shredders’ leader, he was not from Winter’s Hand.
It was a shame, but he was the only one the Austere-Winter Dukedom could capture.
Capturing him would open the possibility of catching the rest of the Ice-shredder and even possibly the critical intel on the Winter Insurgent, Vladmir.
However, it was merely opening up the possibility instead of certainty.
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“This gives me a feeling that Tragedy Writer has scammed me
” Annan grunted.
Knowing how difficult it was, he would have asked about Philip’s situation.
However, Annan knew the situation was tricky, so there was no need to continue to let players search for Thoreau Nick in the underground world.
That would likely alert the enemy.
Annan planned to have the players build teleportation circles without distraction. Annan would pause the mission to look for Thoreau Nick and the Winter Insurgent Vladmir.
“Then, it has been decided.”
Annan thought for a moment and quickly formulated a new plan, “Let’s change the Secret Eye’s main mission from [Find Thoreau Nick and Vladmir] to [Search for the Stoneheart Ship, Silver].”
“I want to go to the Stoneheart Ship personally as a ‘passenger’. Then, I will approach Celecia and take the opportunity to initiate a transaction with her.”
It would be troublesome to convict Celecia.
Then, it was better to approach the problem from another perspective, helping her to get rid of the crimes.
Given Annan’s identity, his promise was undoubtedly credible. Annan would have Celecia become a witness to expose the others in exchange for lifting the warrant on Thoreau Nick.
This way, Celecia wouldn’t have to worry about l revealing information and getting arrested or hunted down when she ventured into the world above ground. She would be free to go wherever she pleased. Using this as a bargaining chip should carry some weight.
At present, among the three enemies that Dmitri was looking for: Professor Wolf’s priority was ascension, while Thoreau Nick, a.k.a “Celecia”, already had a new life.
The only danger left was the Winter Insurgent, Vladmir.
Austere-Winter Dukedom’s greatest traitor.
So far, Annan could not even find his motives.
Annan didn’t even know why Vladmir would suddenly betray Winter’s Hand.
“Unfortunately, the ‘Stoneheart Ship’ traverse through the rock formation seamlessly. Many people have tried to find clues to its whereabouts but have been unsuccessful
”
Nefertari looked at Annan concernedly, “Even if you found the ship, you will be alone on the boat. What if something terrible happens?”
“She is a Gold Rank Transcender, and many entourages are on board. Your Highness, you are only at Silver Rank.”
“It’s an enticing deal for her to be exonerated. However, you are the sole heir of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, aren’t you? If Celecia has connections with the Winter Insurgent, and the purpose of her travels is related to the Winter Insurgent, then you will be putting yourself in danger.”
As the Wise, she must make every effort to prevent such a daring plan.
However, Annan just smiled.
“If you want to break the deadlock, you have to take risks.” There was no fear in Annan’s eyes, “The fact that it’s dangerous for me to go there in person is precisely what makes it meaningful. Celecia must be aware of this, which shows my sincerity.”
Moreover, Annan had backup plans.
Annan could teleport all players to his side at any time. Once he activated the infinite resurrection authority, he would gain the upper hand on the battlefield.
However, there was no need for Annan to reveal that to Nefertari.
“As for how to get on ‘Silver’, let me return to Austere-Winter first and officially hire the Secret Eye organization.”
“I will scatter them in the world, along with the information. Celecia must know what I’m hinting at
 She’ll halt the ship and let me board it when she realizes it.”
“Until then, let them follow the whereabouts of ‘Silver’ and embark on a journey that tails the ship.”
Moreover, the Winter Insurgent Vladmir and Captain of the Stone Celecia would go to Bone Farm to compete for the sacred bone at the end of June.
Before that, Annan would head to Swamp’s Black Tower and have Hugo’s help to purify Bernardino’s nightmare. With that, Annan would advance to Gold Rank.
This advancement opportunity was originally for “Ghirlandaio” instead of “Annan”.
Furthermore, Annan would have his first chance to meet the unsuspecting Vladmir. Before that, everything must be prepared.
Then, there was Noah’s election day on May 1st. When that happened, Kafni would need Annan’s help.
Annan wouldn’t be free from May until June.
Luckily, it was still early March.
“In other words, there are less than two months left
” Annan murmured, “I have to go back to Austere-Winter first. Spread the news of Annan’s return.”
Annan felt the pressure to deal with the Celecia matter within a month.