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The crow on the snowy ground stared dead at Lynn with its pitch-black eyes, filled with unwillingness and humiliation.
It struggled, trying to flap its wings again, but a weakness stemming from the depths of its soul made even the simplest movement impossible.
It had lost.
[You win, young man.]
An old and weary thought sounded in Lynn's mind.
In that voice, the previous arrogance and majesty were gone, leaving only a weakness forced into compromise.
[State your terms.]
"My terms have been clear from the start."
Lynn squatted down, looking down into those eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Music magic, nature magic."
"Hand over their complete inheritance to me."
The Three-Eyed Raven sent a thought.
[These two magics are the core secrets of the Old Gods and the Children of the Forest. Their power is rooted in bloodline and faith; they cannot simply be taught completely to an outsider like copying a book.]
[Even if I were willing, you couldn't learn it. The consequence of forceful infusion would only be your soul bursting from the massive information, turning you into an idiot.]
Sounds dignified enough.
Lynn sneered inwardly.
He knew how harsh the inheritance of such ancient magic was.
Otherwise, Greenseers and Wargs would be everywhere in Westeros.
But it was absolutely not impossible!
This old monster was still playing games with him even now!
"Is that so?"
Lynn's voice betrayed no emotion.
"In that case, our deal ends here."
"I will personally go to your cave and invite those Children of the Forest out one by one. I think, under my persuasion, they will find a way for me to learn."
[Don't!]
The Three-Eyed Raven's thought instantly became urgent.
He had no doubt that this ruthless young man would really do such a thing.
[There is a way! There is another way!]
The crow's speech speed increased a notch, not out of fear for the Children of the Forest meeting a cruel end, but fear that Lynn would think he had no value and really just walk away.
[I can give you the most basic, yet most core 'seeds' of the two magics.]
[You can understand it as the key to entry.]
[With it, you can sense the power of the Old Gods. Although you cannot cast those powerful magics, at least you have pushed open that door.]
[As for how much scenery you can see behind the door, that depends on your own comprehension.]
[This is the biggest concession I can make!]
Lynn didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the crow, his fingers tapping lightly on his knee.
Key to entry?
Sounds nice.
This old thing calculates better than anyone.
He wants to dismiss me with a little sweetness.
Once I accept this "entry-level" knowledge and let him enter Robert Arryn's body...
By then, the sky is high for birds to fly; whether he fulfills the subsequent promise is another matter entirely.
Magic without complete inheritance is like a martial arts manual with only a table of contents.
Looks profound, but practically useless.
This old crow wants to play me for a fool.
Lynn looked at the crow on the snow, secretly pleased with its "cleverness," his eyes becoming a bit strange.
Truly a... big idiot.
Lynn silently apologized in his heart.
He shouldn't curse; it was uncivilized. Blame the Greatjon.
But those two words really fit the current Three-Eyed Raven.
Lynn was worried about having massive experience points but nowhere to spend them.
After all, his ice magic was nearing the limit of his current understanding.
To go further required a deeper comprehension of this world's rules.
Other skills were completely sufficient.
As for improving sword skills, it was basically useless, far less practical than improving powerful skills like magic.
And these two ancient magics from the Old Gods undoubtedly opened a brand new door for Lynn.
Most importantly, he didn't need any bullshit complete inheritance.
He just needed a "catalyst."
As long as the system could recognize it, he could forcefully level these two magics to max with experience points!
The trap this old crow painstakingly laid turned out to be a big gift for him in the end.
"Only entry-level knowledge?"
Lynn pretended to ponder, his face showing some reluctance and wariness.
"How do I know if you will renege later?"
Seeing the expression on Lynn's face, the Three-Eyed Raven breathed a sigh of relief.
Hooked.
Although this young man is terrifyingly powerful, he is still a bit green in schemes and experience.
[We can make a pact.]
The Three-Eyed Raven's thought immediately became "sincere."
[Swear in the name of the Old Gods.]
[As long as you let me enter that body, once I fully merge with it, I will teach you the subsequent knowledge bit by bit.]
[The oath of the Old Gods possesses inviolable power. Once broken, my soul will fall forever into the freezing hell.]
Sounds almost real.
Lynn almost laughed out loud.
Talking about "oaths" with an old monster who plays with fate and timelines?
And what bullshit freezing hell?
Whether there are gods in this world is debatable.
Simply a joke!
However, Lynn still put on an air of being persuaded, his face written with "weighing pros and cons" and "half-believing."
"Fine."
After a long time, Lynn nodded "reluctantly."
"I'll trust you this once."
"But you better not play tricks."
"Otherwise, even if you hide in the Seven Hells, I will drag you out and show you what true eternal damnation is."
[Of course, of course, my friend, you can rest assured.]
The Three-Eyed Raven's thought was filled with irrepressible joy.
He seemed to already see himself escaping this fragile bird body and regaining a young, healthy body with infinite potential.
By then, he would rule over all Westeros in a brand new posture!
As for that young man's threat?
Once he recovered his power, who was a threat to whom was uncertain!
[Then, let us begin.]
The crow's body emitted a faint green light.
A massive and chaotic torrent of information instantly flooded into Lynn's mind!
In that instant, Lynn seemed to hear the rustling of wind through countless weirwood leaves.
He saw vast primeval forests, saw Children of the Forest humming ancient songs under the trees.
He felt his consciousness turn into countless tiny roots, plunging deep into the cold earth.
Connecting with the pulse that had slept underground for ten thousand years.
Countless chaotic images, countless ancient syllables, countless profound runes...
They were like an information storm, raging madly in his spiritual world.
For any ordinary person, the moment they received this information flow, their soul would be torn to shreds.
But Lynn's will was as hard as ten-thousand-year-old ice.
He just stood quietly in the center of this storm, letting the information wash over his soul, screening, categorizing, and absorbing the useful parts one by one.
Time passed unknown.
That torrent of information finally ceased.
The crow on the snow had dull feathers, seemingly aging decades in an instant.
The light in its eyes completely extinguished, leaving only dead silence.
To construct this "magic seed," which seemed generous but was actually full of traps, it had almost exhausted its last bit of soul origin.
But it was all worth it.
It could already feel that perfect shell ahead waving at it!
[Your turn, friend.]
A thought weak to the extreme sounded in Lynn's mind.
Lynn slowly opened his eyes.
He glanced at the dying crow, then at the Winter Wight with Robert Arryn's face standing quietly behind him.
He reached out, gently tapping the Winter Wight's forehead.
"Go."
HUM—
A cloud of almost invisible black smoke slowly rose from the crow.
It circled once in the air, carrying the ecstasy of survival, and unhesitatingly rushed toward the body it dreamed of, drilling into the Winter Wight's seven orifices!
The Winter Wight with Robert Arryn's face jerked violently.
Its eyes, originally burning with ice-blue flames, were instantly replaced by a deep darkness.
An ancient, majestic aura filled with wisdom radiated from its body.
It moved its limbs, feeling the long-lost sense of power from this body.
And, it could clearly feel an unimaginable potential contained within this body!
But he didn't think about why a child's body would contain such massive power.
He was blinded by victory.
[Haha... HAHAHAHA!]
A silent, maniacal laugh echoed deep in its consciousness.
It succeeded!
He, the Three-Eyed Raven, finally escaped the weirwood cage and was reborn!
"Robert Arryn" looked up at the young man still standing before him.
In those pitch-black eyes, there was no longer the previous wariness and weakness.
Replaced by a scrutiny of looking at prey and... pity.
"Young man, thank you for your generosity."
He became high and mighty again.
"To repay you, I will give you a decent death."
"Your dragon, and this little slave girl beside you, I will take good 'care' of them for you."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too stupid!"
Hearing these words full of malice, Myranda's face instantly turned pale.
She subconsciously tightened her grip on her longbow.
But the pressure originating from the depths of the soul left her without even the strength to lift her arm.
However, Lynn's face showed no panic at all.
He just looked at this "New God" feeling good about himself with eyes like looking at an idiot.
"Old Crow."
Lynn spoke suddenly.
"Do you feel... this body is a bit cold?"
"What?"
The Three-Eyed Raven's rising pride was instantly interrupted.
Cold?
He felt carefully.
Indeed, a bone-chilling cold flowed in this body, as if even the soul was about to be frozen.
But wasn't that a characteristic of undead creatures?
Why would it appear in this body?
"What tricks are you playing?"
The Three-Eyed Raven got anxious.
"No, I just wanted to remind you."
A cruel arc curled on Lynn's lips.
"You seem to have forgotten something."
"This body, although prepared for you."
"But..."
"Its master is me."
The moment the words fell.
Ice-blue light suddenly shone brightly in Lynn's eyes!
"Kneel!"
BOOM—!!!
A will of absolute dominance that brooked no resistance, like divine punishment from the nine heavens, slammed hard onto the Three-Eyed Raven's newly reborn soul!
[AHHH—!!!]
"Robert Arryn" let out a scream so shrill it didn't sound human.
He felt his soul being gripped viciously by an invisible giant ice hand.
Then, dragged into a bottomless abyss!
His ambition just ignited, his dream of ruling the world, was completely crushed at this moment!
His thousand-year soul he was so proud of was as fragile as a newborn baby before this will of absolute dominance!
The Winter Wight's flesh encased the Three-Eyed Raven's soul; the Three-Eyed Raven couldn't escape this terrifying wight body at all!
Thud—
His knees went soft, and he knelt heavily in the snow.
He raised his head, looking at the man looking down on him with eyes full of terror and disbelief.
It finally understood.
From start to finish, this was a trap!
A death trap a thousand times more vicious than the one it laid!
It thought it was the hunter, only to find in the end that it was the... prey that crashed headfirst into the net!
"Mr. Old Crow."
A devilish smile appeared on Lynn's face.
"Or, should I call you..."
"My... new slave?"