Shadow of the Beautiful World

On the night of December 22, 1992, three days before Christmas.

Agent Merlin, who was seconded to the Strategic Danger Intervention and Espionage Logistics Division, was sitting in a hotel room in Paris, with four boxes on the table in front of him.

Three of them were delivered to him through the original postal channel of the Strategic Science Corps, and the last one was delivered directly to the front desk of the hotel, packed in an ordinary FedEx box.

All four boxes were labeled Christmas presents.

Merlin had also received Christmas presents before, but the four in front of him obviously had a different meaning. This is the first gift he received in the beginning of his new life.

Holding a paper knife, Merlin carefully opened the first box. Inside was a black wooden box, and inside the wooden box was a classic Colt 1911 black pistol.

The handle and body of this pistol have nicks from long-term use. When placed in the box, it feels like it has been precipitated by the years, but it is like an old knife, which is still sharp after years of sharpening. match.

Merlin picked up the pistol, which felt perfect in the hand, and unloaded the clip, which was loaded with brass bullets. And in the box, there is a card.

On the card was written in a beautiful font:

My first trophy, for my friend Merlin, Merry Christmas - Clint Francis Barton

Thanks, Clint.

Merlin said softly, put the black pistol aside, and picked up the second box.

This box was much lighter than the first one. Merlin shook it, and the sound of something colliding could still be heard inside.

He opened the box, and inside was a cardboard box, and inside the cardboard box was a dark thing that looked like a camera film tube.

And next to this thing, there is also a card, which is written in a very feminine and beautiful font:

Thank you for your gift, little boy, and I hope you will like my gift in return.

Well, this frivolous tone must be Natasha's return.

Merlin picked up the very light black cylinder, which was only as thick as a thumb. After looking through it carefully, Merlin found a small clasp on the top of the cylinder, which seemed to fit on the little finger.

Merlin fastened the buckle, then pulled it hard.

swish

With a soft sound, a black thing made of unknown material, similar to a steel wire, was pulled out. It buzzed in front of Merlin's eyes, and when he saw this thing, Merlin's neck couldn't help but feel a little chilly.

He knew what this thing was, he had seen something similar in the assassination class of the Secret Service Academy.

This thing is a coil specially used for assassination and throat cutting.

As long as the target is tightened from behind, in just a few seconds, the target's throat can be easily cut. In the case of assassination, this thing is much more convenient than a knife.

However, to use this thing proficiently requires certain skills, otherwise it is easy to injure yourself in battle, and Merlin has never used it.

Sure enough, it has the style of Black Widow

Merlin put the assassination spool in the inner pocket of his clothes. Although this thing was inconspicuous, it was very practical.

Thanks, Natasha.

Merlin happily pushed the second box aside, then picked up the third box.

Compared with the first two boxes, the third box is much smaller, and the packaging is only the size of Merlin's palm. Merlin wondered what was in this box.

Although he could sense the contents of the box with his dark perception, if he did so, it would destroy the mystery of the gift itself. This was something Merlin didn't like, and he didn't like the feeling that his expectations were in vain.

He took a paper knife and opened the box. As a result, he was surprised to find that there was a pack of cigarettes in the box.

Well, a pack of Sika cigarettes, and they are still opened cigarettes.

Is this a prank?

Confused, Merlin picked up the card on the cigarette case, and there was a line written on it:

I found this from Agent Silver Bullet and thought you'd like it. Also, thanks for the shades, they work great and I love them.

This should be a gift from Fury.

Fury shouldn't be that boring, right?

And it seems that he spent some effort to find this thing specially.

Merlin took the pack of cigarettes in his hand, and after holding it, he immediately discovered the problem. The weight of this pack of cigarettes is wrong, it must be at least twice as heavy as real Sika cigarettes!

Merlin opened the cigarette case, and there were only two cigarettes inside.

He picked up the first one and looked at it in his hand. The appearance of this thing was exactly the same as a cigarette, but it was made of metal. Merlin held the thing with both hands and found that it could rotate, so Merlin twirled it lightly.

hiss hiss

A weak electrical sound sounded from the cigarette, and Merlin could feel a weak energy burst out from the cigarette. At the same time, all electronic-related products in the entire room were abnormal at this moment.

The desk lamp bulb in his hand and the light tube above his head were completely scrapped in a flash.

emp?

In the darkness, Merlin looked at the cigarette in his hand in surprise. This thing is actually an ultra-miniature electromagnetic pulse launcher. Its range can radiate into this house at most, but it is definitely enough to destroy electronic equipment at close range. up.

This gave Merlin quite a surprise, this was the first gadget related to the secret service in his hands.

It really feels like James Bond!

Merlin happily put the cigarette back into the box, and he picked up the second one. With the experience from last time, he carefully turned the knob, and a scorching red laser shot out from the front of the cigarette, easily blowing the table in front of Merlin's eyes. A small hole was melted.

Cool! Miniature high-frequency ray gun!

Merlin put this metal cigarette case next to his body. Merlin likes this practical gadget very much.

It can be regarded as Fury's heart.

But the bad news is that tomorrow morning, he probably has to explain to the hotel staff the problem of the broken lamp in the room and the broken table.

The last one, let me see, what is this thing?

Merlin picked up the last package, which was not sent by friends he knew well. In fact, there was only one file bag in this package.

In the darkness, Merlin picked up the file bag. The darkness couldn't block his eyes. He clearly saw a small line of text on the surface of the file bag:

Coulson, this is what you need, remember your promise! - Thalia.

Oh, so it's not a Christmas present.

Merlin opened the file bag with some disappointment. This thing was rescued by him that day. It is said that the girl in the League of Assassins collected information about offensive magical oddities in order to thank him.

Frankly speaking, if this letter hadn't been delivered to him, Merlin would have almost forgotten about it.

He doesn't know what the League of Assassins is, and he has never been in contact with those guys who look dangerous, and from the fighting style of the girl Thalia, it can be seen that these guys have nothing to do with magic, so Merlin is right. They have little confidence.

But unexpectedly, that black-haired girl actually found something, and she still remembered her promise. This made Merlin feel better about the mysterious Thalia who had once planted him.

Merlin took out a stack of uneven parchments from the envelope, and spread them out on the table in front of him.

This thing looks a bit old, judging from the lines on the fragments, but it is like a child's graffiti, full of the atmosphere of a medieval magic book.

Even the ocean is marked on the map fragments, and the monsters in the water are replaced.

What's this?

Merlin looked at the fragments of parchment in front of him in the dark, and he instinctively tried to piece it together. He felt that the thing in front of him was like a treasure map.

But Merlin couldn't find any clues on this rough map that made people feel sick. He turned the largest fragment of parchment in front of him, and wrote a paragraph behind the parchment in what appeared to be French.

Merlin frowned, he couldn't understand French, and the map was so incomplete that it was impossible to see any clues.

However, judging from the way this parchment is made and its material, it is really possible that this thing has a history of hundreds of years, so the things recorded on it may have been made by a fantasy magician hundreds of years ago It's a joke, but this thing is also very possible. It is really a treasure map hiding offensive magic weapons.

It's a pity that Thalia just gave this thing to Merlin without any explanation.

It might be that she herself didn't know what it was, or it might be that she knew it, but she deliberately didn't say it, and threw this garbage-like thing to Merlin, so as to fulfill her promise, and at the same time let Merlin get nothing.

This made Thalia's image in Merlin's mind worse again.

Cunning woman!

Merlin shook his head, he didn't care about this meaningless thing any more, the incomplete treasure map couldn't find the treasure, and he didn't have time to devote his energy to an adventure that was very likely to fail.

Ten minutes later, it was midnight.

In the darkness, Merlin came out of the bathroom, ready to change into pajamas and rest. He is now serving as a low-key civilian agent in the base of the European branch, which is also the new identity that Gartler gave him in order to protect him.

Merlin opened the closet. When he picked up the pajamas, he touched the coat he put on the closet. The coat fell to the ground, revealing the long box under the clothes. It contained Lola, the red ghost belonging to Merlin. Claw wand.

Merlin reached out to pick Lola off the carpet, and the moment he grasped the wand, a flash of lightning flashed through his mind.

Yes, he is a wizard!

Things that have been completely destroyed in the eyes of ordinary people are not worthless to wizards

If he remembered correctly, in the textbook Mr. Arthur gave him, there was a spell that could repair those damaged things!

A gleam flashed in Merlin's eyes. He quickly put on his pajamas, walked into the bedroom in the dark, and took out Standard Spells. Elementary. After a few minutes, he successfully found the spell.

Restoration spell.

A very simple spell with a mediocre effect at the same time.

Can only be used on items to be repaired that do not contain magic. If a magic item is broken, the Repair Charm is powerless. And the effect of the restoration spell is uncertain, although the textbook says it is very formulaic. But Merlin felt that this thing was just a matter of luck.

With any luck, it can be fully repaired with a single cast. Bad luck, 10 spellcasts will not succeed.

The most important thing is that it is very clear in the textbook that to cast the repair spell, the broken pieces need to be intact. But Merlin himself didn't know if the pile of parchment fragments in front of him was really complete.

So he decided to give it a try.

In the darkness of midnight, Merlin was wearing pajamas, holding the open magic book in his left hand, and holding Lola tightly in his right hand.

reparo! (repair spell)

swish

A dark red light shone on the top of Lola, accompanied by Merlin's rhythmic waving of his wand and a low voice of chanting. The dark magic power meekly poured into the wand. Under the control of Merlin's will, the extremely simple mana model of the Restoration Charm appeared, and then shot out from the top of the wand in the form of a ray of light.

swish

Like a gust of cold breeze, in front of Merlin's eyes, the pile of parchment fragments was blown up by the wind, but they didn't fall in all directions.

It seems to be manipulated by a pair of invisible hands, and it is quickly restored on the table.

There is a show!

Merlin's eyes lit up, and when he saw the breeze gradually dissipate, he threw a restoration spell at the parchment fragments in front of him again, until a few minutes later, after the fourth restoration spell was completed, the pile of parchment, A half-empty map formed before Merlin's eyes.

A relatively complete map has appeared on the rectangular parchment, but there are two blank parts in the center and lower left of the map.

Sure enough, Thalia, you cunning woman!

Merlin stretched out his hand and picked up the parchment map bonded by magic. He looked at the blurred lines on the map and the monsters representing the ocean. At first glance, Merlin felt that the image was somewhat familiar.

A few seconds later, he found a map of the world. After repeated comparisons, he finally confirmed that the lines on the top right of the map were drawn in Europe, to be precise, the Nordic region.

Merlin turned the map over, and the French text on the back of the map was also stitched together, but only the section on the upper right was complete.

Merlin picked up the brick-like mobile phone and called the front desk. A few minutes later, a heavy French dictionary was delivered to Merlin.

At 1:30 midnight, after a long comparison and translation, the meaning of that passage finally appeared in Merlin's mind.

South of the water, north of the mountains.

The ring of rocks, among the ancient trees.

About 37 steps, a gift from the gods.

This riddle-like thing made Merlin narrow his eyes, and he looked at the incomplete map in his hand.

He had a premonition, maybe, he had to ask for a period of leave

Go to Northern Europe.