The black sun hangs high

Chapter 102 Downwards, Downwards

Amidst the rather strange looks from the crowd, Hugh pulled Vera, who had just sat down, into a room.

Before Weilin could ask any questions, he quickly recounted everything that had happened at the Ernst Manor Hotel.

After listening to Hugh's account, Verine, who had originally intended to ask him some questions, frowned. She took the glass jar wrapped in layers of magic pages from Hugh's hand, carefully examined the black rat trapped inside, and then reached out to flip through the magic pages that were still in effect. Her somewhat gloomy expression immediately eased.

After that, she went to the wall of the room and carefully examined it.

After a long while, Vera finally spoke, "This hotel itself... should be a large ceremonial venue."

"Like Seren?"

Hearing Hugh's words, Vera rolled her eyes slightly: "Mr. Hugh, as spellcasters, not all problems and cases can be addressed using our existing experience, especially since your experience in this area is really..."

Weilin didn't finish her sentence, but the contempt in her words was almost overflowing.

"The ritual site we encountered in Seren was essentially a 'wall' constructed using magical rituals. Its main function was to block the interior and exterior spaces at a certain height and depth. But now, this hotel is more like a whole."

Verine raised her hand, her fingers brushing against the wall separated by wooden planks and velvet, her eyes gently closing: "In typical large noble mansions, the rituals used to provide basic protection should be pre-installed at the very beginning of construction, and the walls and foundations should also have circuits for the flow and feedback of magical energy..."

"Once the construction of the mansion is completed, the magical power of the Grand Ritual will successfully close within the circuits of the building's walls, making it difficult to perform any additional permanent magical rituals thereafter."

Vera recited a long string of terms that Hugh barely understood, but fortunately, Hugh was still able to barely grasp what she was trying to say.

Clearly, Veraine had also agreed with Hugh's view on these strange rats, but she added to Hugh's point of view, namely that the mansion was built with future events in mind.

The reason why the swarm of magical rats can move freely in and out of solid stone walls is that the builders and planners of the mansion's secrets left "passages" for them to traverse from the very beginning.

"If the Ernst family has been influenced by the Black Sun Society since ancient times, then the construction of this entire mansion is probably related to the Black Sun Society... and members of the Black Sun Society may have even used some of their evil magic or forbidden rituals here."

Vera ended her perception of the mansion, opened her eyes, and said, "The magical traces here are very well hidden. If you hadn't reminded me beforehand, I probably wouldn't have noticed anything unusual."

"They also placed many objects in the room that showed signs of magic, but none of them were imbued with any rituals or magic."

As he spoke, Hugh looked around, then easily picked up a somewhat old picture frame from the desk and handed it to Veraine.

Vera took it and examined it as usual. She quickly made a judgment: "I have seen such cases before, but in Merlinle's files... It does not pose any threat in itself, and cannot even constitute a complete ritual, but in fact, they are extensions of magic."

Vera said, "If the ritual set up under this mansion is like a sea anemone living in the sea, then these objects placed outside are like its tentacles... Different people will have different reactions under the influence of the magic they emit, and based on these reactions, the 'sea anemone' can identify which prey it needs to capture."

"It sounds like this is also part of the 'screening' process?"

"Probably so."

Vera gently set down the picture frame and said, "Although Mr. Hugh, you successfully detected the existence of the underground floor through some... little tricks, this also completely exposed you to the ritual setters."

"But it seems that this is no longer important, since you're already prepared to solve problems with violence, aren't you?"

Vera loosened her scarf slightly, then tilted her head back: "While facing combat is a necessary step for a spellcaster, it doesn't mean you can just blindly charge around like a brute... Tell me, what preparations have you made?"

So Hugh pushed his spellbook forward slightly: "There may be people associated with the Black Sun Society and enemies similar to rats in the underground floors, so the spells I temporarily imprinted are all aimed at causing direct damage... Considering the underground environment and my initial impression of those rats, I have specially prepared a large number of fire spells."

Vera looked at the thick, high-quality magic book with some surprise, then opened it and quickly browsed through the spells that Hugh had inscribed.

She had just dealt with the resource withdrawal document submitted by the Fifth Mercenary Regiment for Hugh last night, so she naturally knew what her student had taken, which meant that he had also just begun learning the Mark of Magic...

"They're all... Stream-level magic?"

In her heart, Vera silently swore to the goddess Mel that she had never heard of such an exaggerated achievement.

If the mages of Merlinle and others found out about someone like this, they would probably lock him up and train him to be a future deep-sea mage.

After reading over thirty pages of the "Instant Fire" spell, Vera's expression became somewhat strange.

"I remember……"

“Miss Verin said that ‘Instant Ignition’ is a somewhat ‘redundant’ Stream-level spell, but I have searched for a long time and have not been able to find a suitable alternative.”

Hugh explained sincerely, “The way Miss Veraine burned down the entire Ernst mansion was truly impressive, and I think Marshal Zeke Ernst would not mind demolishing and rebuilding the hotel on the estate.”

...Everything is ready.

To make things easier, Verin changed out of her Mage Council robes and into a brand-new manor hunting outfit she had found at the hotel. Although she still wore glasses and carried a spellbook, her every move exuded a special aura that set her apart from ordinary mage scholars.

With the addition of a new revolver that Hugh had "snatched" from the guards, Vera's capable demeanor was completely unmistakable.

However, now was clearly not the right time for "appreciation" and "material gathering." After replenishing the tiny magical energy deficit in his body with the magic crystal, Hugh quickly checked all the items he was carrying and loaded five metal bullets into the cylinder of his revolver, leaving the remaining four cylinders empty.

This is an experience that Hugh learned from his last encounter. If you don't want to have to change bullets on the spot when facing certain special enemies, it's best to leave room for reloading magical bullets in advance.

With everything ready, the two stepped into the old-fashioned elevator that had previously only been open to hotel waiters and butlers.

The elevator's structure and style are extremely old-fashioned. Instead of mechanical levers or magic buttons, the floor selection is done with a row of keyholes, and huge metal keys for these keyholes hang to the side.

As the clueless waiters explained, these keyholes corresponded to six floors from the hotel lobby to the top-floor restaurant, and there was no hole or mechanism that allowed anyone to control the elevators to the so-called underground floors.

The old elevator was a bit cramped inside, so Verine reached out and pushed Hugh aside. She went to the row of keyholes, thought for two seconds, and then opened her magic book and tore off a page.

"Hold it down for me."

Upon hearing what Verine said, Hugh immediately reached out and helped her place the page above the row of keyholes. After that, Verine took out a spare high-quality crystal from the crystal pouch at her waist and gently tapped the four corners and the center of the page in a specific order.

As if some switches had been flipped, when the last tap ended, Hugh saw a faint blue light illuminate the intricate patterns on the hardcover pages. These patterns converged rapidly from the four corners of the pages toward the center, eventually forming a somewhat abstract key pattern.

"Let go."

"Vellin said softly, and Hugh immediately stepped back. The next second, a slight vibration burst out from the key pattern at the very center of the book page. It quickly swept across the entire elevator shaft, and Hugh saw countless hidden traces of deep magic.

Also revealed was a separate keyhole, hidden in a lower position, without any numerical markings.

"This is the latest achievement of the council, specifically for the search and identification of magical traces... It will probably be used on the battlefield in the future."

Vera casually destroyed the now-unused pages of the magic book, then pointed to the keyhole: "It seems we only have this one option... Let's set off. Hopefully, we can resolve this as soon as possible. There's too much going on at the council; my office desk is probably going to be piled high with documents again."

Amidst Veraine's familiar, helpless tone, Hughes reached out and pulled the metal door of the old-fashioned elevator shut. He then picked up the huge key hanging to the side, inserted it into the hidden lock, and twisted it forcefully twice.

With a series of heavy metallic mechanical sounds, the elevator trembled violently before slowly beginning to descend.

Although he had already explored the area using the sight of the running rat, when Hugh stepped out of the elevator and onto the ancient, cold stone floor, he felt as if he had traveled through time and returned to the very beginning of this ancient family's founding.

This is different from those well-maintained ancient sites that can give people a strong sense of immersion, because when walking here, Hugh can feel a kind of extremely obscure yet incredibly active fluctuation.

It was as if the massive stone bricks beneath my feet were whispering secrets, and the ancient magic lamps on the corridor walls were peeking out...

Hughes noticed that his metal disc was accelerating.

"It doesn't seem like it sensed the approach of danger; rather, it's more like it was stimulated by an external force... There must be something related to ancient deities underground, and judging from the reactions of the metal disc and the messengers in the mirror, that thing might be an anomaly among ancient creations, in short, it's not very popular."

"However, the feeling here is somewhat similar to the Dream Sanctuary..."

The memories belonging to the spellcaster and the experienced soldiers in his mind were once again invoked, so Hugh quickly adjusted the position of the spellbook, and then skillfully raised the revolver rifle, already in a state of full alert.

Hugh's change in movement drew a surprised look from Veraine. Instead of mocking Hugh for relying on firearms as a spellcaster, she carefully examined his gun-holding posture and the position of the spellbook, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.

While Hugh's astonishing efficiency in learning magic could be explained by his "talent" and his bizarre experience with "magical inscription," the practical experience that requires real exploration and accumulation cannot be rushed.

Veraine had already confirmed in the council's archives that Hugh Ernst had neither military experience, nor the opportunity to handle or use firearms, nor any form of combat training...

But actions don't lie.

Veraine was certain that his reactions were not something that could be developed through just two or three lessons or imitations; rather, they were more like a "habit" ingrained in his bones.

But now is clearly not the time to ask these questions. As a lake-level spellcaster, although Virin cannot react to ancient creations like Hugh, she can also feel a bone-chilling magical power flowing in this underground space. That power is like a vicious beast lurking in the darkness. Under the solidification of that faint malice, every breath and heartbeat seems to have to pay a huge price.

However, amidst this indiscriminate malice directed at everyone, Hugh seemed completely unaffected. He swiftly summoned the Sprinting Rat, ordering it to explore the other end of the corridor first, while he himself, carrying a revolver, began to steadily advance forward.

His demeanor didn't resemble someone who had entered an environment fraught with hidden danger; rather, he appeared calm and confident, as if he had returned home.

(End of this chapter)