Perry was confused and his mind went blank. He frowned and tried to find clues from the old woman's slightly weird words. He wanted to sit up, but his weak body made his movements seem particularly strenuous. He could only lean against the head of the bed helplessly and looked up at Alma in confusion: "Interesting people? What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
At this time, a crisp voice sounded from the door next to him: "Ah, sorry, I brought you here without permission!" A woman dressed in unique clothes walked out from behind the door. Her short pink hair was particularly dazzling in the sun, and she had a warm smile on her face. Unlike Alma's ancient magic style, this woman's dress was more modern ——although it also had a wizard style, she had a stethoscope hanging on her shoulders, and the shadows of bandages and potion bottles were revealed in the small leather waist bag around her waist.
"Hello, I'm Miss Crocker!" She bent down slightly, showing her white teeth, and said in a playful tone as if she was joking, "I know you have lost your memory, it's okay, I'm researching a potion that can restore memory! Give me a little more time, and you'll remember everything soon!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Alma's dissatisfied voice immediately interrupted Crocker's "performance". She tapped the ground lightly with the magic wand in her hand, frowned and scolded: "Crock! Didn't I tell you long ago that your potions are not regular? Don't use them casually! If your potions have problems and the patient is injured, the reputation of our witch family will be ruined by you!"
Crock curled his lips indifferently, but still took a step back obediently, pouting and muttering softly: "Okay, okay, I'm kidding..." However, when she turned around, she still couldn't help but complain: "What an antique!"
"What did you say?" Alma raised her eyebrows, slowly raised the magic wand in her hand, pointed at Crocker, and a dangerous light flashed in her eyes.
Crocker was startled and quickly waved his hands to beg for mercy: "Hahaha, it's nothing! Let's focus on the business!" She turned her head to look at Perry on the bed, her expression immediately became serious, but the playfulness in her eyes was still hard to hide, "For example, this poor student, the curse on him..."
Seeing this, Alma snorted coldly, retracted the magic wand, but her tone softened a bit: "Humph, you are really more and more like your father, naughty kid."
"Not at all!" Crocker protested dissatisfiedly, but immediately changed the subject and continued, "Okay, don't talk about family matters, tell me what the curse on this student is about?"
Alma sighed, her eyes deep and heavy. She slowly walked to Perry's bed, sat down, folded her hands on her knees, and her eyes seemed to penetrate his soul and reach his heart. "Young man," her voice was deep and powerful, with a hint of indescribable majesty, "the curse on you is not simple. It is an ancient and rare curse called Shadow Prison. Its uniqueness lies in that it targets not only your body, but also your consciousness. Worse, it will quietly devour your magic power to enhance the power of the caster."
Perry frowned slightly, obviously uneasy about this information, and Alma continued: "To cast Shadow Prison, the conditions are extremely harsh. It requires an extremely dark magical environment, a large number of fresh eyes, and a pure and flawless soul as the core of the sacrifice. These three conditions are indispensable, so the caster of this curse is often an extremely dangerous and obsessed forbidden magician."
Hearing this, Perry felt that he was caught in a huge conspiracy network. He pursed his lips and asked tentatively: "You seem to know a lot about this curse... In that case, can you tell me more details? For example, who has the ability to cast this magic?"
Before Alma could answer, Crocker on the side couldn't wait to interrupt: "There were only three forbidden magicians with this ability... uh, now there should be seven people."
"Seven people?" Perry's eyes suddenly became sharp, as if he had grasped a key clue. He eagerly asked: "Who are those people? If we can find them, maybe we can know who cursed me!"
Alma's face sank, and a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes. Her tone was cold and angry: "Forbidden magicians are the most despised existence in this world. In order to survive, they hide in the shadows like mice and never reveal their true identities. As for who they are, we don't know, they will keep changing their identities." Obviously, she has great hostility towards these magicians.
Crocker snorted lightly, as if he was surprised by Alma's emotions, but did not interrupt again.
Alma turned her head and stared at Perry, her tone slowed down: "Although we don't know who cast the curse, maybe you have some clues yourself. Do you remember what happened before you fell into a coma? Have you met any special people or things?"
Perry pondered for a moment, and the dark space and the vague and mysterious figure emerged in his mind. He hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "I... I met a man there. He called himself Limoz. I'm not sure if he has anything to do with this, but he did help me."
"Limoz?" Alma's expression became complicated in an instant, her brows furrowed, as if she was thinking about some profound questions. Her voice was low, with a hint of surprise that was hard to conceal: "This name... Isn't it that Limoz?"
Perry caught the subtle changes in her words, couldn't help but lean forward, and asked eagerly: "Do you know him? That person looks very mysterious, I thought no one would know of his existence!"
Alma did not answer immediately, but fell into a brief silence, and her eyes gradually became heavy. After a while, she spoke slowly, with a hint of caution in her tone: "If it is really the Limoz I think of, then things are not that simple. He is not an ordinary person... but a very famous existence in the world of forbidden magic. The magic he masters is far beyond the understanding of ordinary people, but he never easily intervenes in anything, and I heard that he has been missing for a long time. Why did he appear in your consciousness?"
"He... helped me regain consciousness and told me some ways to get out of trouble." Perry recalled the vague image of Limoz in the conversation and asked hesitantly, "If he is really the kind of person you said... is he an enemy or a friend?"
Alma sighed softly, her eyes were as complicated as an unfathomable lake: "Limoz's behavior has always been elusive. He may be your friend, but he may also have other purposes. You must be careful, and anything about him cannot be taken lightly."
Crock muttered in a low voice: "If you ask me, this kind of person can never be trusted."
Perry listened to this and felt uneasy. He looked at Alma and whispered, "What should I do now?"
Alma stood up slowly, her eyes were like ice, her tone was calm but revealed an unquestionable firmness: "First, you must find out who cast this curse on you. Before that, protect yourself and never trust anyone easily ——even Limoz." Her tone paused slightly, her eyes flashed with hesitation, but she continued, "In fact, there are some not-so-glorious rumors about Limoz. He seems to have had a relationship with a forbidden magician, and it is said that the relationship between them is very complicated. You know, the thinking of forbidden magicians is often different from that of ordinary people, and perhaps his position will catch you off guard."
Perry frowned slightly after hearing this, but soon relaxed again. He chuckled, with a bit of certainty in his tone: "Really... It's right to be cautious, but I always believe in my intuition, and my intuition tells me that he has no ill intentions."
Alma raised her eyebrows slightly, but did not argue any further. She walked to the bookcase, slid her fingers over a row of heavy books, and finally pulled out a dark green book with four large characters engraved in gold on the cover: Forbidden Cuisine. She placed the book solemnly on the table and tapped the cover with her fingertips, as if to emphasize its importance: "However, there is another way, a way to completely remove this curse."
Perry's eyes fell on the book, with some curiosity: "What method?"
Alma opened the page, the paper had a yellowish luster, and the content recorded on it was written in an ancient font, which looked obscure and difficult to understand. She turned one of the pages to a prominent mark, pointed to a passage and said, "This records a special dish called 'Purification Chocolate'. As long as you feed this chocolate to the shadow, it will be frozen in place, gradually lose its power, and eventually disappear completely."
"Feeding chocolate to the shadow?" Perry was a little amused and frowned, "It sounds like a joke... but does it really work?"
Alma looked at him, a disdainful smile appeared on his face, and there was a bit of pride in his tone: "Forbidden dishes are not casual things. Their effects are specifically targeted at forbidden magicians and dragon beard creatures, and 'Purification Chocolate' is designed to deal with cursed beings like shadows. This book is worth 480,000 gold coins. Don't say I didn't remind you that this price is not something that ordinary people can afford casually."
Perry widened his eyes when he heard the sky-high price and exclaimed, "480,000 gold coins? So expensive?!"
Alma snorted and tapped the page with his finger, as if he thought this reaction was a bit exaggerated. "Of course it's expensive. Do you think these forbidden recipe books can be found easily? Some of the recipes and materials in the books are almost extinct. Not to mention the extremely complicated production process, which may fail if you are not careful."
Perry scratched his head, frowned more tightly, and asked: "What is this purification chocolate made of? And even if it is made, how can I let Shadow eat it? It doesn't seem like the kind of 'guest' who will be obedient."
Alma put down the book, crossed her arms, and locked her eyes with Perry, as if she wanted to see through him: "I can tell you the ingredients, but whether you can find it depends on your ability. As for letting Shadow eat it... it depends on your wisdom and courage." She paused, and her tone became more serious, "The shadow is not unconscious, but its existence is driven by resentment and curse. It will follow your fear and despair, but at the same time, it will also be affected by temptation and weakness. As long as you can find its flaws, it is not impossible to lure it to try chocolate."
Perry's mouth twitched, and his scalp felt numb. He sighed helplessly, trying to make his tone sound more relaxed: "It sounds... like a very bold plan. Frankly speaking, I never thought of treating Shadow to a 'meal' to solve the problem. This is more absurd than any adventure."
Alma smiled, with a somewhat mysterious meaning, and patted the cover of the book in his hand: "Absurd? Maybe. But many times, the solution to the problem is often unexpected. Ordinary means have no effect on Shadow, but taboo knowledge can give you another possibility."
Perry glanced at the heavy book, frowned and asked: "By the way, why is this book in your hand? You are not a specialist in these taboos. ? Won't others mistake me for a forbidden magician? "
Alma heard this and smiled playfully: "It's true that forbidden knowledge can't be learned casually, but it's also necessary to know some knowledge to deal with them. For me, it's not only an interest, but also a capital. Many people avoid these things, thinking that they are dangerous, obscure, and evil, but it is precisely these things that can solve problems that ordinary magic can't solve. For example, now, if there is no book, are you still scratching your head and thinking about how to get rid of the curse of the shadow? "
Perry was speechless. Although he felt that Alma's attitude was a bit too proud, he had to admit that she made sense. He sighed and nodded: "Okay, you are awesome. This time I owe you a big favor. If I can really get rid of this curse, I will definitely thank you very much. "