Wade stood silently beside Professor Murray, who urged him, "You don't need to stay with me, Wade. Feel free to wander around and look at whatever catches your eye."
Wade shook his head, saying nothing, and didn't move.
He's still just a child, after all. Professor Murray thought to himself, smiling gently. He stopped pressing Wade to go off on his own.
As he admired the inscribed stone slab, he quietly explained to Wade:
"Gull had previously told us about the items he planned to exhibit this time, and this is one of them... It's a stone slab unearthed from ancient Egypt, said to have possibly been inscribed by Democritus himself."
"The Magic of that era was very ancient and pure, much closer to the essence of Magic and the truth of nature than it is now. It's said that there were even miraculous techniques back then that could elevate humans to the same level as gods."
"Like this slab?" Wade asked.
Professor Murray chuckled, "Of course, we'll only know what's truly on it after it's been translated and studied. But I can interpret a part of it for now..."
With that, Professor Murray began to meticulously examine the characters on the slab, muttering to himself and gesturing with his fingers as he tried to comprehend the content.
The writing on the slab was unlike any currently known, and ancient characters often conveyed complex meanings with a single simple symbol.
Professor Murray found the interpretation extremely difficult. A few minutes later, he mumbled, "What's going on... This is strange..."
The old professor went back and re-interpreted it.
"Strange... No, that's right... Could these characters be inscribed incorrectly?"
He observed the slab, which clearly showed signs of age, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong, Professor?" Wade asked.
"The characters aren't quite right." He turned to Wade and said, "Gull might have been tricked. This is a fake. Let's go look at something else."
Wade turned to look. The Red-Robed Wizard stood smiling beside the wooden carved bronze mirror, talking to Orlando from Beauxbatons. Several young Alchemists were gathered nearby, occasionally looking at the mirror with reverent eyes.
The elevator that brought them here had been shut, and the floor display above it was dark, showing no text.
Wade could see chain-like magical patterns coiled around the elevator door. Opening that door certainly wouldn't be simple.
Looking closely, the ancient portraits hanging on the walls, which had originally been in a normal dormant state, now had a small portion of them with their eyes open, and some were squinting, as if secretly observing.
Even the positions of the statues had shifted subtly.
However, the Alchemists in the hall were all absorbed in the exhibits, and no one noticed these changes.
So Wade withdrew his gaze and didn't voice his discovery. Instead, he followed Professor Murray to continue looking at the Thorn Wreath.
"It looks like an ordinary wreath, but in fact, it's very likely connected to the legendary great wizard Merlin..."
Professor Murray again began by introducing the background information:
"Lady of the Lake Viviane used the Thorn Wreath from her own head to trap Merlin, making him lose his way, and finally imprisoned him forever inside an oak tree..."
Suddenly, his voice paused. He stared at the wreath within the barrier for a long time, unable to speak.
Under the effect of the magical barrier protecting the exhibits, the Alchemists couldn't use detection Magic to further examine them. They could only admire and imagine with their own eyes.
But for an experienced great Alchemist like Professor Murray, he had an almost intuitive sense for alchemical items. Even just by looking at the appearance, he sensed something was amiss.
Professor Murray's finger glided gently in mid-air, tracing the shape of the Thorn Wreath through the barrier.
Then, the old man was amused to the point of laughter.
"How could this be something from one or two thousand years ago... It's probably only been made a day or two ago, hasn't it?"
Professor Murray's expression turned sharp: "Wade, under what circumstances would an Alchemist who has worked in this field for thirty or forty years make two consecutive mistakes in judgment?"
Wade softly said, "Under threat or control, perhaps? Look, Professor, others are noticing problems too... We'd best not act rashly for now."
Professor Murray had initially thought that the Red-Robed Wizard, Gull, was gambling his decades of reputation on a scam and was furious. Hearing Wade's words, he immediately calmed down.
Then, he also noticed the problem.
The younger Alchemists were still wandering around admiring the exhibits, but the older ones had almost all furrowed their brows, exchanging glances.
Only Orlando was still discussing the legend of the Grim Reaper with Gull, subtly probing whether he could get a discount on that mirror.
An old man with wrinkled clothes and a face full of spots quickly looked at all the exhibits, then walked straight over to interrupt their conversation.
"Gull!" he demanded in an unfriendly tone, "What kind of rubbish are you exhibiting! Do you expect to deceive our eyes with this kind of thing?"
It seemed that he was more angered by the thought that someone believed such things could fool him, rather than the fact that "the exhibits were all fakes."
Gull paused, then asked with a smile, "What? Mr. Matthias, which one are you referring to?"
"All of them!" the old wizard said angrily, "Like that damned mirror right in front of you! It's not a Magic Mirror at all!"
"What?!" Orlando was shocked, immediately rushing to the barrier to examine it closely.
Gull paused again, his smile still warm: "How could that be? This mirror comes from ancient times and has the ability to communicate with the dead. If you're interested, I can tell you more about it..."
"I'm not interested in fakes at all!" Wizard Matthias shouted, "Are you listening to what I'm saying?!"
Gull's smiling expression shifted slightly, then the corner of his mouth curved into a smile again as he retorted:
"Are you questioning my professional expertise? I've been in this business for thirty-nine years! My friend, please believe me—I would never put something in my exhibition without first verifying its authenticity."
This time, Wizard Matthias didn't argue. He stared blankly at Gull for a moment, then erupted in even greater fury: "The Imperius Curse?! Who dares use the Imperius Curse on anyone?!"
Before he even finished speaking, a "thump" echoed through the hall.
A young wizard suddenly fell.
Then a second, a third...
Alchemists dropped one after another, some hitting the stone platforms and splitting their heads open.
Gull acted as if he saw nothing, still smiling as he said, "...You can rest assured, I guarantee with my life that all the exhibits I sell are genuine!"
Someone shouted, "Run!"
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