The black sun hangs high

Chapter 190 "A Saint?"

Hughes had very limited knowledge of this young man, whom he had only met twice in the past.

All he remembered was that during the demonstration in front of the Peace Newspaper, Felix seemed to have displayed a fairly good level of manners and knowledge. His language skills and etiquette also left a certain impression. This young mutual aid leader seemed to have his own unique way of mediating conflicts and handling interpersonal relationships.

And now, these children "picked up" by Felix seem to confirm that the virtues Felix possesses far exceed what ordinary people can imagine.

Under normal circumstances, any kind-hearted person might lend a helping hand to a child in distress. However, harsh living conditions and a dangerous environment tend to make people more inclined to protect themselves. It is only under these difficult conditions that they still insist on helping others...

"What, has a saint emerged from the city of Seren?"

Hughes sighed silently, then sat down beside the bed and began to examine Felix's condition.

Although he was neither a professional healer nor a mage skilled in healing magic, he was still able to do far more than these children, whose average age was only seven or eight.

Hugh quickly discovered that Felix was running a high fever and had no obvious wounds. Several skin injuries had healed without any signs of infection or suppuration. So Hugh immediately changed his approach and used his magic to completely envelop Felix.

With his keen sense of vitality gained from "Walking in the Forest," Hugh quickly pinpointed the cause of Felix's current state.

Malena, who had been standing nearby and had observed Hugh's changing expressions, asked somewhat nervously, "How is Mr. Felix?"

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think."

Hughes sighed: "He's just tired."

He wasn't lying. In fact, what caused Felix's current condition was most likely fatigue, stress, and prolonged malnutrition.

Anyone who stays under stress for a long time in such a harsh environment, lacking food and clothing, is likely to fall ill. Moreover, judging from the situation here, Felix has clearly given the best conditions and resources to the children he rescued.

After identifying the cause of the problem, Hugh immediately began to address it.

According to the most basic magical principles proposed by Merlinler, the essence of healing magic is to interfere with and influence the life force in the human body. Therefore, even those first aid spells used to stop bleeding can have the same effect of invigorating the spirit when cast on an ordinary person who is not injured.

So Hugh opened the magic book that originally belonged to Verin.

Verin always liked to make the most comprehensive and careful preparations, so the number and types of magic she selected and imprinted far exceeded the imagination of ordinary mages. The magic related to healing alone filled as many as twenty pages, including a valley-level battlefield healing spell that could cover a huge area and heal all the wounded in it.

Clearly, Weilin has taken the principle of "prevention is better than cure" to the extreme.

Upon seeing these pages, Hugh couldn't help but smack his lips.

His spellbook had already been swapped with Vilin's before, so Vilin must have already discovered some of his mistakes in choosing the right spell imprint.

Actually, it's not a big deal; it's just that the type of magic chosen when imprinting the magic had a "minor bias."

With 80% of it being battlefield magic, there shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?
Hugh pulled himself out of his thoughts, and then quickly tore a page from the spellbook that was marked with the Stream-level "Healing Seed".

Under the gaze of Malena and the other children who had secretly come to peek into the room, Hugh's magic began to circulate calmly, and the pages of the book slowly floated up. It twirled gracefully in the air, and then a magical luster imbued with a rich life force gradually flowed into it, illuminating the intricate and delicate patterns on the pages that resembled plant roots.

In the children's admiring and longing gaze, the pages of the book, brimming with the vibrant light of life, transformed into a seed in the air. It then slowly fell and began to "grow" on the ground beside Felix's bed.

Within seconds, a translucent, emerald-green magical sapling exuding a refreshing aura appeared in the room. Perhaps due to the influence of Hugh's magic, the sapling seemed exceptionally lush and healthy, with tiny green specks of light constantly emanating from its leaves and drifting towards everyone in the room.

To further enhance the effectiveness of the magic, Hugh quickly constructed several simple healing magic models and applied them to Felix.

As a result, enveloped in a rich aura of life, Felix's condition began to change noticeably. His originally haggard and ashen complexion improved at an astonishing speed, and his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

Upon seeing this obvious change, Malena smiled happily, and it was only then that Hughes realized that beneath the black ash and grime lay a vibrant and lovely face.

"Alright, everyone, go outside and wait... Of course, if anyone is feeling unwell, they can stay here a little longer. Your Mr. Felix will wake up soon."

Although Hugh had tried his best to be gentle, his identity as a spellcaster still shocked the children, so they immediately obeyed and left. Hugh stood up and walked out of the room with Malena.

Only then did he have the opportunity to carefully examine and observe the living environment of these survivors.

Or should we say, living environment?
Because this place doesn't look like a normal dwelling at all; it's more like a huge warehouse filled with old bedding, blankets, and clothes.

Everything here must have been tidied up by Felix and Malena, the older children. Although it looks cramped and oppressive, it is still relatively orderly. Near the window, there is a huge tablecloth spread on the floor, with many toys on it, including building blocks, metal models, and several alchemical toys that are very popular in the Kingdom of Delan. However, the inferior magic crystals embedded in them have exhausted their magic power, making them mere decorations.

On a wooden shelf nearby hung a small silver moon pendant. Hugh recognized this type of pendant; it was a traditional gift from the Goddess Plains, given by parents or other elders to a baby who had just turned one month old, signifying the protection of the March Goddess.

“Those things originally belonged to little Lydia. She was hit on the head by a wall during the earthquake…Felix eventually buried her in the bushes a block away.”

Marlena explained softly, "But everyone else is very lucky. At least we are still alive, and we have met a kind person like you."

Hughes nodded silently.

He glanced at the table and noticed that the magical bread and water had been completely cleared out. So he gently flicked his finger, causing the plate and cup to be refilled.

A loud bang came from afar—the sound of a crystal gun firing, but only once. It wasn't even enough to attract the attention of the children inside the room.

So Hugh pulled up a chair and sat down, asking, "Marlena, tell me about the other things in Seren, especially the Legal Committee and those monsters..."

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"During this period, especially after the great earthquake, have the mages in Seren taken any action? Or have you witnessed any new changes in those monsters?"

Marlena thought about it carefully for a moment, then nodded: "After the great earthquake, many people saw the mages of the Law Committee appear near the city walls. Some people said that the mages did this to prevent the monsters in the city from escaping, but later, those mages were attacked by monsters during the day, and many people died... So they eventually hid back and never came out again."

"During the day?"

"Yes, it was around noon..."

Malena came to the window and pointed in a direction for Hugh: "We all saw that the city walls over there were smoking, and black and silver orbs of light were flying up."

"Black and silver?"

"Yes, several...it was repeated several times, but I can't remember the exact number, I only remember these two colors."

Malena's words greatly surprised Hugh.

Through these accounts, he drew a somewhat disheartening preliminary conclusion: the members of the legal committee in Seren had not given up their mission because of the current situation in Seren; their disappearance was most likely due to the irreparable damage they had suffered in their previous operations.

Black magical signals are often emitted by mages who have already given up hope of survival, while the significance of silver signals is self-evident. They are probably the last glimmer of hope that the attacked spellcasters have for the Magic Council and the outside world. Just like Verin when she discovered the Black Sun Society's unusual activities, they hope to use this universally significant signal to attract attention from all sides and warn everyone.

But judging from the results, it seems no one cares.

Or perhaps the outside world did notice these signals, but ultimately chose to pretend they didn't.

"It seems... I might have to visit the branch of the Law Committee first. Regardless of what those mages are thinking now, they should be the ones who know the most about the distribution and behavior patterns of the Dark Abyss offspring in the city."

Hugh thought to himself, "Moreover, if we can mobilize the mages in Seren City, or even use the Eye of Mel's Ritual set up at the branch, there might still be a chance to contact the outside world... To solve Seren City's predicament and reopen the sealed ritual site, we must work together."

Just then, Hugh's magical perception fluctuated slightly, so he immediately turned to look at the closed door. Almost the next second, heavy and disordered footsteps came from inside, and then the door opened, and Felix's haggard face with scars instantly appeared in front of Hugh and the others.

His breathing was somewhat heavy, clearly indicating that the healing magic set up in the room had not yet fully restored him, but his eyes already had a sparkle, and he even held a crystal gun that was already loaded with bullets in his hand.

Felix was clearly very wary of Hugh, this unfamiliar and rather dangerous spellcaster.

However, when he saw Hugh's face, he seemed to be stunned for a moment.

At this moment, Malena hurriedly stepped forward: "Mr. Felix! This is the mage Alfred, who traveled here before the disaster..."

After a somewhat hasty exchange, Malena finally explained Hugh's background to Felix. Hugh stood up, nodded to Felix, and said in a tone unique to mages, "As a patient, you'd better go back to your room and not waste my magic and mana... We can talk in the room."

Soon, the two returned to the room one after the other, and Malena brought Felix a glass of water, some magical bread, and a can of fruit.

She then closed the door for Hugh and the other person.

Felix sat weakly on the bed, staring blankly at the translucent magical tree shadow that was constantly radiating the light of life, his face filled with disbelief.

A moment later, Felix shifted his gaze to Hugh's face, his expression becoming somewhat subtle and strange: "Uh... um... Mr. Mage, I think I recognize you."

Upon hearing this, Hugh couldn't help but laugh out loud: "That's normal. Quite a few people in Seren City knew me before, after all, there are quite a few readers of what I write."

Felix opened his mouth, but Hughes was being too candid, so much so that he didn't know what to say.

"I used this name simply because I didn't want to explain to a child why the writer in Ernst's old house didn't die and instead became a mage... that would have been a waste of time."

Hugh anticipated the other's question and gave his answer. Then he summoned the Mage's Hand and handed the glass of magical water he had created to Felix. After Felix took it, Hugh said, "I never expected that the leader of the Seren Aid Association would be so young. Just from the name of the Aid Association, I thought its leader would be an old man."

Hearing this, Felix gave a bitter smile: "It's just some ordinary and insignificant work. We can't save many people... and when the disaster happened, I was even locked up in the police station."

"But then again, if those police officers hadn't arrested me, I probably wouldn't be alive today."

…………

Book recommendation time! Feel free to check it out if you're interested!

The Immortal Wizard Observes

As a wizard with the gift of immortality, the thing he lacks the least is time.

(End of this chapter)