Masked Knight

If you saw a live face right in front of you, how would you feel? Perhaps you might say ‘What is that?’

But what if that face had no head, no body and no hair? Just the face?

My god! It looked like a face mask but at the same time, it was not!

Even Rody who was quite brave was so frightened he almost screamed. That was because the face mask looked like an actual face being kept in the box. The most important thing was that the face was clearly alive.

He, or rather, it, was actually laughing at Rody. Rody almost fainted when it, noticing Rody was frightened, winked and made a funny face.

Looking at his gaping mouth, Nicole’s eyes revealed a trace of mockery as she smiled. “Why? Are you scared?”

Rody exhaled deeply and could not help taking two steps back. He exclaimed softly, “What... What is this? My God! Why... is it alive?

Nicole mockingly replied, “Scared? Aren’t you supposed to be very brave?”

As she said that, she pinched the two sides of the face in the box and then lifted it to show the face to Rody who almost fainted when he saw that the face grimaced as it was pinched.

Rody opened his eyes wide and did not dare to say anything. He stared at the object in Nicole’s hands.

It seemed somewhat transparent. The color of the skin was not much different from humans but it was quite shiny. Its eyes, nose and other facial features were very realistic.

“This is a priceless treasure of the family! Unfortunately, it is not very useful. It was from the first-generation ancestors of the Tulip Family; that is, the one that helped found the empire, Duke Rudolph,” Nicole carefully held the face in her palms.

“That... What on earth is that?”

“A mask! A magic mask with a life of its own!” Nicole replied.

“Magic!?” Rody exclaimed loudly.

In the Empire, magic was popular. Several hundred years ago, both magic and sorcery were popular techniques. However, 200 years ago a great magician appeared, the Great Sage Dandong. Not only was he a great magician then but also a great inventor. He improved on and also developed a lot of different magic techniques, to the extent that the upper echelons of the Empire also supported Dandong. Publicity-wise or strategy-wise, magicians of that time were always ahead. 200 years later, magic techniques in the Empire had shown major progress. However, sorcery techniques had declined gradually.

You could no longer find many sorcerers in the whole empire.

Only in the north of the Empire, across the Thunder Straits of Roland continent, was sorcery culture able to progress.

“This mask is a magical treasure! An ancient artifact you know? It was made from the skin of the Elven race.”

“Elven race’s skin?”

The Elven race was already only a name in history. Those strange creatures were extinct thousands of years ago. Now, whether it was in the Empire or the northern Roland continent, these strange creatures could no longer be seen.

“Using someone’s skin to make something! Can you still call it an artifact? It is too evil!” Rody exclaimed.

"No! Although it was made from a person’s skin, it is not a product of evil! Before his death, a famous sorcerer of the Elven race, due to his pious beliefs, had cut off his face to make this magical product. The devout believer called this magical object the ‘God’s Smile’. It is said that the Elven race’s great sorcerer was about 600 years old when he died. His magic powers were already unfathomable."

Nicole narrated the history of this object in a delicate voice. Rody did not say anything but his heart whispered... My God. A 600-year-old’s peeled skin. Is that interesting? I for one, do not want to touch this.

Nicole saw Rody’s expression change. Although he had not said anything, based on his expression, she could guess his thoughts. She lightly said, "The Elven race is one of the most mystical races since time immemorial. Although the mask was made from skin, when the great sorcerer was dying, his body was close to crystallization. So rather than to say that the mask was made out of his skin, it is more appropriate to say that the mask was made out of magic crystals."

“Wait a minute...” It suddenly dawned on Rody. “You...” The moment his mouth said ‘you’ Nicole gave him a glare. The frightened Rody quickly changed his words, “Mas...ter... Why did you show this to me? If it is truly precious, what has it got to do with me?”

Nicole smiled. In Rody’s eyes, it was like the smile of a wolf looking at a chicken.

“’God’s Smile is an artifact. There are many uses for this artifact. However, after the sorcerer’s death, a lot of its mystical uses were not handed down. But just knowing the two known uses of the mask is already fantastic. The first is that the person who wears this mask can change his face into anything, like a chameleon. He can change it to a person he had previously seen or anything that he imagines.”

“That is quite interesting...” Rody was curious.

Nicole quietly smiled. “However, that is just one of the uses of this mask. The other is the one I am more interested in. The second use is that a sorcerer can give this mask a specific face. After that, the mask can be worn on a person to show that specified face... also...” Nicole’s voice gradually turned into a mocking tone, “Only the sorcerer can remove the mask. If the sorcerer does not remove the mask, that person will be wearing the mask for life! No matter what the wearer does, it will not come off!”

Rody heard Nicole’s words and subconsciously took a few steps back. "You... You want me to... wear this thing?"

Nicole smiled and her eyes flashed. Moving closer step by step, her hands took the ‘God’s Smile’ purposefully. "That day when you attacked me, your companions said that I am a magician. I said he was wrong. I am not a magician. Today, let me tell you. I am a sorceress!"