The black sun hangs high

Chapter 234 The Magic Trembles

Before Hugh could even ask what was going on, Justina forcibly dragged him toward the laboratory. Through the force with which she pulled, Hugh could fully sense the magician's agitated emotions.

This emotion is very direct and very pure.

Before this, Hugh had seen similar emotions in another figure on several occasions.

This seems to be a common problem among those lake-level magic scholars. They are always extremely enthusiastic about the magical topics they are researching, and once these studies make great progress or some unexpected new changes occur, they immediately become excited and agitated. When these emotions are intense, they may even ignore their surroundings and forget about other situations.

Back in Borden, Hugh had been repeatedly pulled into discussions about a bunch of strange things by his teacher whenever he visited her to ask about magic.

Sometimes, Hugh really envied their ability to quickly immerse themselves in their own world.

At least he doesn't feel that he can continue to focus on his research project without distraction when facing numerous pressures and difficulties.

"Please don't rush, ma'am."

Hughes chuckled and tugged at his trench coat, finally freeing it from Justina's grasp. Then he asked, "What are all of you arguing about in the hall?"

Justina stopped in her tracks, a fleeting look of embarrassment crossing her face: "Uh... it's nothing regarding the safety of the experimental samples."

"Security Question?"

Hugh's eyebrows twitched slightly. In any era or world, this was hardly a reassuring phrase.

Then Justina explained, "It's actually what I mentioned before... About an hour ago, Mr. Ernst, the experimental samples you captured suddenly became very active and agitated, and almost broke the containers that were holding them and escaped. Fortunately, we dealt with it in time, otherwise they might have been hiding in our base."

"So the other mages are against keeping these dangerous experimental subjects at the base?"

“Only a small percentage of people think this way; the vast majority are just criticizing us for not taking proper precautions.”

Justina twitched her lips and gave a wry smile: "Unfortunately, our current conditions are too limited. We really can't use those high-standard containers and rituals from before. It's also thanks to Mr. Gerald for bringing a batch of alchemical supplies, otherwise we might not even be able to gather the most basic experimental materials and containers."

Hughes nodded, but his focus was not on the plight of Justine and the other scholars, but on the point in time she mentioned.

"Mage Justina, a little over an hour ago, that should have been exactly when those 'monsters' attacked the base, right?"

"Judging from the timing, it should be."

At this point, Justina's expression turned solemn again. She nodded and said, "That's exactly what I find strange. These two events happened too close together, making it hard not to draw connections. But I'm certain that the containers we used to bind the experimental samples and the magical rituals we performed both served to isolate the magical connection..."

"So you mean that even under these circumstances, they can still perceive changes in the outside world in some way, and even sense messages from their own kind?"

"correct."

During their conversation, the two arrived at the laboratory at the Legal Affairs Commission's headquarters.

This is a very standard Law Council laboratory. The overall layout and arrangement are basically the same as the council mage laboratory that Hugh saw in Borden. However, as Justina said, many of the containers and cabinets used to hold magical experimental materials in the laboratory have been emptied, and there are very obvious signs of disassembly and assembly on some experimental instruments. These are all traces left by the Law Council branch during the most difficult period before.

There were quite a few people in the laboratory, but two figures stood out.

One of them was Genet. As a sword-wielding hermit, he was extremely tall, and the greatsword he carried on his back was equally conspicuous. At this moment, Genet was standing by the wall, carefully examining several huge jars shrouded in magical rituals.

The other figure was Gerrard, the owner.

He always stood out wherever he went, and now, in order to better blend in with these professional magic scholars, he even forced himself to wear a scholar's standard robe. Unfortunately, his figure was too large, and the originally loose robe turned into a trench coat on him, and even so, it looked a bit tight around his flesh.

Gerrard's mind remained as sharp as ever.

He already knew that Hugh was no longer the noble bastard who had cowered in Ernst’s old mansion and used a few gold coins to subtly try to get information out of him. Therefore, Gerald showed a very positive and proactive attitude the moment he saw Hugh. He walked up, nodded to Justina, and then led Hugh to the wall to explain the situation.

"There were five samples in total, now there are only four left..."

Gerald pointed with his short, stubby finger to an empty jar. Inside the jar, there were clearly some remnants of the Dark Abyss Offspring, and the jar itself had a noticeable tear.

Gerald said, "This sample was larger and stronger than the others, so it directly damaged the container and almost broke the ritual we had set up. To ensure safety, we disposed of it immediately."

Hugh nodded, then stepped forward, releasing his magical perception to envelop the experimental sample containers and everything around them.

Compared to the faint fluctuations left behind in the Tricolor Brotherhood, the traces of magic here are much more distinct and clear, which is related to the efforts of the Dark Abyss Offspring, who were used as experimental subjects, to resist the magical ritual.

Hughes then turned his attention to the other experimental samples that were still trapped in the tanks.

These samples were all captured by Hugh personally from within the city of Seren. At Justina's request, the samples increased in size according to a specific specification, and their power varied based on their size. However, Hugh could now sense a remarkably similar trend emanating from these isolated samples. They seemed to have received some kind of signal or been severely stimulated, becoming extremely active and excited.

Hugh carefully examined the Dark Abyss offspring writhing inside the jars. Then he turned to Genet, Gerard, and the others beside him and said, "Could you expand the isolated ritual space? I'd like to open the jars and get up close to them."

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent.

Even those like Genet, who were aware of Hugh's strength, had somewhat subtle expressions at this moment. After all, a normal person would never say such a thing, nor would they be qualified to say it.

Of everyone present, only the mage Justina actively raised one hand in agreement. The moment she heard Hugh's words, the laboratory director's eyes began to gleam. However, Hugh naturally could not allow her to stay in the laboratory to observe his "interaction" with the Dark Abyss offspring. After everything was ready, he drove everyone out and stood alone in the expanded isolation ritual field.

With a flick of the mage's hand, all four experimental jars were opened.

In that instant, the black viscous liquid inside the jar began to roll. It rushed out of the transparent cage and tried to converge in the middle. However, Hugh was already prepared. He would not give these experimental samples any chance to merge. Under his manipulation, the dense dark abyss mist directly formed several walls, separating them from each other.

Having successfully bound these Dark Abyss offspring, Hugh stepped forward. The mist of the Mirror Messenger had already enveloped his entire body. Supported by a large amount of Dark Abyss magic, several tentacles of Karron, appearing as black mist, materialized. They spun in the air before forcefully stabbing down at the Dark Abyss offspring who were fixed in mid-air.

This is a "technique" that Hugh has figured out while tinkering with those flawed Dark Abyss embryos these past few days.

Of course, it could also be described as brute force.

That is, by virtue of the Mirror Messenger's power, which is of the same origin as the Dark Abyss Offspring and can exert a crushing "status" on the Dark Abyss Offspring, it forcibly establishes a weak magical connection with them, so that the two sides can barely achieve a relationship similar to that of a spellcaster and a summoned creature.

This process was extremely painful for both Hugh and the Dark Abyss children. As the Touch of Karron continued to pierce into the black viscous fluid, a large amount of chaotic thoughts and indistinguishable information were immediately transmitted through those fragile magical connections.

While controlling these individuals, Hugh concentrated on eliminating all the useless memory fragments. What he was looking for now was the reason why these Dark Abyss offspring had fallen into a state of frenzy and were able to "resonate" with their counterparts outside.

Soon, after clearing away the redundant information, Hughes successfully found a similarity in memory and thinking among the four different experimental individuals.

"Around 4:20 PM... the laboratory examined the experimental samples inside these containers. During this time, the containers were briefly opened... which means that at this point in time, all of these samples came into contact with external magic."

Hugh narrowed his eyes, looking at the Dark Abyss offspring who were suffering terribly from the forced magical connection, and his heart began to race.

"The isolation ritual continued throughout this process, which means they never had the opportunity to communicate and connect with their main species, so what affected them... was the surrounding magic?"

Hughes was very confused about the conclusion he had drawn, but it was the only reasonable explanation at the moment.

Hugh immediately severed his magical connection with these Dark Abyss offspring, then violently stuffed the half-dead experimental samples back into the jars. After that, he stood in the center of the laboratory and began to readjust his magical state.

The metal disc within his spiritual world began to accelerate, and the immense magical power emanating from the dark green crystal at the center of the disc and from the "Walking Forest" began to condense continuously. Based on this, Hugh's magical perception was forcibly elevated to a new state.

A deep, dark mist welled up from Shug's eye sockets. Under this highly concentrated magical vision, all traces of magic around him gradually became visible, even the faintest and most imperceptible traces became clearly visible.

Hugh quietly observed his surroundings.

At first glance, the magic in this space seemed normal, but before long, Hugh discovered a strange change within it.

With the magical vision provided by the Messenger in the Mirror, Hughes discovered that the surrounding magic seemed to be trembling slightly at a strange frequency, like ripples in a vast body of water. Every few minutes, this invisible magic that filled every corner would fluctuate under the influence of some unknown force, in a very regular manner.

Hugh had never heard of or seen anything like this before.

Is the problem with this laboratory?

With these questions in mind, Hughes pushed open the laboratory door. He didn't bother to hide the magical mist flickering in his eyes and walked directly into the corridor outside under the gaze of others. He then walked along the corridor and returned to the hall of the Legal Committee's residence.

Yet the magic still trembled.

It wasn't just that laboratory; similar phenomena existed in the corridors, lobby, and other areas of the Legislative Affairs Commission's premises!

Hugh felt his heart begin to race.

With a strong sense of foreboding, he walked out of the hall and came to the open space in the center of the Legal Affairs Committee's residence. Then he looked up at the cold night sky above, where a few stars were already showing.

The sight before him made Hugh's eyes widen in disbelief.

He saw that in the boundless, dark night sky above, there were also faint traces left by the tremors and fluctuations of magic. They were so neat that, in Hugh's magical vision, these fine magical lines stretched all the way from the horizon and spread toward the end of the world.

This scene is like someone constantly throwing stones into a wide expanse of water, and each time a stone falls into the water, it creates new ripples and breaks the calm of the entire surface.

"The source isn't in Seren City... the source isn't here. The magic in the entire environment has changed, even the entire Vaan... the magic is trembling... what is going on?"

(End of this chapter)