Annan picked up a piece of treated cowhide and cut it into the size of a handkerchief. Then, he sniffed it lightly.
It appeared that cowhide stench was treated for the convenience of Annan.
Annan put [Deep Blue Protector] at the side.
The item looked so advanced.
He sighed silently.
Although Annan had hardly done any ritual, his body was moving naturally.
Annan gently uncorked the tan vial containing “Snake’s Tears”, submerged the crystal wand into it, and placed it on top of the cowhide.
After releasing a single tear droplet, Annan immersed the crystal wand into the vial. He repeated the process until a total of three drops of tears fell onto the cowhide. There were no visible changes on the cowhide, but the tears on it were absorbed.
With that, Annan had accomplished half of the ritual to unseal the ring.
Afterward, Annan turned the knob and neatly ignited the Green Fire lamp on the table.
After igniting a slender and steady flame, Annan used a pair of tweezers to pick up the “Deep Blue Protector” and slowly and evenly roasted it over the fire.
About every four seconds, Annan would touch the ring with different fingers of his left hand to test the temperature.
The challenge with ritual was that many of its indicators were not clear. For example, instructions for taking how many steps, heating or cooling it down to what exact temperature, etc. An instruction like the “appropriate amount” was vague. Due to the high cost, danger, and variations in materials involved in the mysterious ritual, not many people dare to engage in mass production.
So in many cases, relying on instinct and luck was necessary.
Fortunately, the temperature required in this ritual was not too high.
When it reached the point where the ring was “slightly hot but did not turn red”, Annan immediately removed it from the fire, wrapped it with the treated cowhide, and held the cowhide, wrapping the ring in both hands. Then, he gently rolled and wiped it in his palm.
“Hmm?” Annan murmured in surprise.
As soon as he wiped it twice, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his hand.
It was as if a gemstone was suddenly snapped off.
“…Did I accidentally rub off the gemstone?”
Annan quickly opened the cowhide, only to find that the blue gem had fallen out.
It wasn’t just the gem falling off. Even the silver part was wiped off as if Annan had erased a layer that covered it, with each wipe revealing a patch where the silver coating was removed. After just a couple of wipes, the portion that held the gemstone had already been wiped off. That was why the gemstone came off directly.
As Annan wiped it further, the remaining silver traces on the ring were erased. The silver dust fell and stained the cowhide.
The ring itself revealed a new essence.
It was a slender female ring made entirely of dark blue gemstones.
Annan inspected the ring subconsciously before looking at the female Winter’s Hand named “Zoya”.
The ring on her left ring finger looked the same as the Secret Ring.
The only difference besides the color was that the Secret Ring didn’t emit that dangerous cold air. The chill that could freeze the user’s finger off if he weren’t a Falteration Wizard.
As for the ring in Annan’s hand, even though it gave off a chilling touch, the coldness was roughly at the level of a metal being exposed to winter… to the extent that ordinary people could safely touch it.
Of course, licking it might not be safe.
After Annan wiped the ring, the system prompted a piece of new information.
[Deep Blue Protector, Lily·Rasputin’s Secret Ring]
[Type: Ring/ritual prop(Gold)]
[Description: Lily Rasputin’s Secret Ring. Its seal has been completely lifted.]
[Effect: Wear it to trigger Ritual: Spirit Guide.]
[Spirit Guide: The illusion of the ritual conductor “Lily Rasputin” will appear before your eyes. She will impart to you some “knowledge.” This knowledge is like a catalog, and you can learn the complete portion of any category of knowledge. However, once you have extracted it, others who use this ritual will no longer be able to inherit the same knowledge again.]
I see.
Annan put [Deep Blue Protector] on his left ring finger without hesitation.
In his eyes, the ring burst into a strong white light. Light dust particles drifted out from the ring and slowly condensed before him. Annan quickly turned around to investigate the pupils of the others.
Neither Ivan nor Zoya saw this abnormality.
Is it an illusion?
Soon, that light condensed into a woman sitting on a chair.
She looked young, probably in her early twenties.
Annan subconsciously glanced at the portrait on the bedside.
“Lily·Rasputin” was about 70% similar to his mother, Anya. She was also beautiful, but her temperament was not as cold and noble as Anya’s.
Lily gave people the impression that she was more inclined to be “cute”. There was a small flower in her hair. It was the silver-purple flower in the sea of ??flowers when Annan and Kafni first met.
…So, any imperfection in Don Juan’s appearance should be Old Crow’s fault.
Such an idea immediately appeared in Annan’s mind.
After learning the fact, Annan realized Don Juan Geraint should be his cousin.
Although Don Juan’s appearance was handsome, Annan and Maria carried the superiority regarding looks.
Upon closer reflection, Old Crow was the true spy—a completely ordinary-looking person. Even Annan’s memory couldn’t recall what Old Crow looked like.
Eugene Geraint carried a magical “ordinary presence” that made people neglect his presence. However, Old Crow had nothing exceptional about him… Annan even forgot his silhouette and the sound of his voice.
This strange talent was indeed a gift to spies.
Speaking of it, isn’t the age difference between Old Crow and Lily more than 20 years?
“Ah, can you hear me?” Lily Rasputin spoke up after looking at Annan for a while.
Her voice was youthful, reminiscent of a young teenage girl.
Without waiting for Annan to respond, Lily blurted, “Although I don’t know who will open this ring, I must first clarify that Euphemia Melvin did not kidnap me, and I didn’t kill her!”
“We’re best friends. It’s our deal to swap lives. It’s a pretty crazy deal, right?”
When Lily said this, she stuck out her tongue, “If Dad knew that I went to marry an old man, he would break my leg!”
“But I think… by the time the ring is opened, Dad should not be able to see me anymore.”
When she said this, her expression was a little lonely.
However, Lily quickly cheered up, “The first secret I want to reveal is the truth about the deal between Euphemia and me.”
“Actually, from the very beginning, I knew that I would not live long.”
Thank you for supporting our novels. Your comment, interaction, and just by reading the novels are a great support to us! Discover what unfolds next by accessing the chapters before anyone else! Your support means the world to us!Click here to access our support page.