The black sun hangs high

Chapter 245 Three States

Sally was genuinely curious about her mentor's past and the friends he mentioned.

Initially, she thought that the friends Mayer mentioned were just a few close friends living in distant cities or countries. Perhaps they were elites in various fields with extraordinary connections and influence, but their numbers were ultimately limited.

But Sally gradually discovered that Professor Mayer's concept of "friends" was not limited to that.

They are indeed scattered in various places, but their numbers are definitely not small.

They seem to be widely present in all walks of life in Vain; some are town officials, some are ordinary academy mages, and others may just be ordinary teachers, miners, waiters, or newspaper clerks...

In short, according to Sally's own observations, Mayer's "friends" were always able to provide him with the necessary help at crucial moments. If it weren't for their help and cover, she and her mentor probably wouldn't have had the chance to board this train at all, and would have already been overtaken by the mages of the Highland Council.

"Professor, I'm a little curious. Green Harbor is quite far from Seren City, so why are we taking a detour there? And Seren City is also quite far from the sea, isn't it?"

"Ha, great question."

Meyer smiled and adjusted his hat. He hadn't groomed his beard properly for a while, so his mustache was growing rather wildly, but he didn't care. He just reached out and pinched his mustache: "Green Harbor... well, Green Harbor has always been a commercial port. Military ships don't usually dock here, and there are relatively few troops stationed here. However, there is a very famous ship repair workshop here."

Meyer flipped through the newspaper and finally found a small, barely usable map in a corner. He then explained using the map, "We're going there mainly to find a way out for the survivors in Seren. Look..."

Mayer drew a small black dot on the map: "It represents the city of Seren."

Then, Mayer drew a circle at the coastal location south of Seren: "This is the Duchy of Burt on the plain."

He connected the two locations with a straight line: "Sally, as someone who grew up in Seren, you must have never been to sea, right?"

"Of course not, Professor... But I've heard merchants say that if they have a large amount of goods to transport, they do choose the ports of the Duchy of Burt, where there is a convenient road connecting it to the city of Seren that allows for quick passage. Only a very few people would choose those scattered southern town ports."

Mayer nodded, then drew two lines to circle the entire area south of Seren, excluding the Duchy of Burt.

"This is the area, right?"

He lightly tapped the map with the tip of his pen: "The war is still ongoing. Water's army is already the de facto controller of this area, and the navy of the Duchy of Burt is constantly retreating... But this does not mean that Hein and Water will prepare an escape route for the survivors in Seren City... As I said before, the so-called Seren City Emergency Committee is just a temporary organization hastily established to 'solve the problem.' It is unstable and very susceptible to the influence of certain viewpoints and opinions."

“If the war situation changes, or if some more serious new circumstances arise, the survivors in Seren may still fall into despair, and our Mr. Hugh Ernst may very well become a key target for some people.”

As he spoke, Mayer drew an arrow downwards from the black dot of Seren City, and then another arrow from the sea south of the Kingdom of Water, roughly at the location of Emerald Harbor: "Therefore, we need to find a safe route for these people in distress, as well as for our friend. If they encounter any mishaps after escaping Seren City, we need to be prepared to lead the refugees through this southern region and leave from the coastal port."

Sally said anxiously, "But there are still many people in Seren City..."

"It's alright, we can find plenty of boats."

Meyer paused, then lowered his voice: "It could even be..."

Sally's eyes widened.

Although her teacher didn't utter the last word, Sally was still able to decipher what he was saying by reading his lip movements.

Did Mayer just say "warship"?
……

Hugh had never felt so drowsy.

He had been in a state of semi-consciousness for a long time.

But whenever he tries to open his eyes or move his head, a strong, dull pain lingers in his skull, as if a large amount of flowing mercury has been poured into his brain. Even just moving his eyelids brings a series of pains.

Amidst this dull pain, the shadow of the enormous black sun he had glimpsed before losing consciousness kept reappearing, and each time its shadow flashed through Hugh's mind, it brought him immense shock and fear.

Just moments before he looked up at the sky, he felt he was mentally prepared for the appearance and existence of the black sun. However, when he actually saw the enormous black celestial body with his own eyes, Hugh realized just how terrifying the so-called black sun truly was.

It was too big, and too close.

It looked as if it was about to be mercilessly crushed into the ground at any moment.

This feeling was completely different from the black sun he had glimpsed in those fragmented dreams in the past. For a moment, Hugh even felt that his body and mind would be swept into the chaotic light and shadow at the center of that huge darkness and torn to pieces.

In this painful daze, a faint scent of magical incense wafted over, and then, the healing magic familiar to Hugh surged from all around. The life force that could soothe the mind flowed into his body like a clear spring, and the dull pain that had been lingering in his mind was somewhat relieved.

Finally, Hugh opened his eyes.

However, what came into view was not a quiet and gentle female mage.

Hughes first saw a small incense burner swaying back and forth above his head, and carrying this incense burner was an incredibly huge body.

Because of the backlighting, Gerrard's large face looked even more ferocious and ugly, and even his grinning expression seemed like he was really about to devour someone.

"Hey, you're finally awake! I figured I'd have to use incense; healing magic alone won't do!"

Gerald let out a muffled laugh, then looked around before hanging the incense burner on the wall beside the bed. He then bent down and asked, "How are you feeling? Can you get up?" Seeing Hugh nod, he reached out and slowly lifted Hugh up, stuffing a pillow behind his back. At the same time, Gerald explained, "You inexplicably passed out in the corner outside. Luckily, someone found you, otherwise you might have frozen to death!"

Hughes breathed a sigh of relief. He felt some discomfort in his nostrils, the corners of his eyes, and his cheeks, so he reached out and touched them, only to find that a little bit of bright red blood had come off.

"This is?"

"When we found you, your face was covered in blood, and there was blood in your eyes and nose... Your magic was also in disarray, but fortunately there were no other problems."

As he spoke, Gerald reached out and rang the magic bell on the wall, then grabbed a basin of water: "It's still warm water, so I won't wipe your face for you, lest I rub your skin off."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank these oriental incense sticks. They're said to be rare items from overseas oriental countries. This little incense burner alone has burned dozens of gold coins!"

Hughes chuckled as he reached into the basin, retrieved a damp towel soaked in warm water, and slowly began to wipe his hands, saying with a laugh, "Money's pretty useless now."

"You're right, you're right."

Gerald stood up and paced around the room. Just as he was about to ask something, the door was pushed open, and the female scholar Justina hurriedly walked in. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Hugh was slowly cleaning the blood off his face and seemed to be doing well.

Gerald was very adept at navigating social situations. Seeing that Justine seemed to have something important to discuss with Hugh, he simply moved aside, lowered his head, and squeezed out of the door.

As the guy casually closed the door, Hugh even saw Gerald winking at him, looking extremely lewd, and he had no idea what kind of nonsense he was implying.

Justina, of course, had no idea about Gerald's expression when he left. She pulled a chair over and sat down in front of Hugh: "Mr. Ernst, how are you feeling now?"

"It's alright... it's just that there's a minor problem with the magic power within my body."

Hugh gave a perfunctory reply, put down the towel, and reached for his pocket watch. He glanced at it and realized it was past noon, meaning he had been unconscious for over six hours due to staring at the black sun. So he asked, "Where is the Hermit Gent? Where did he go?"

"The Eye of Mel has once again received a message from Mellinler."

Justina said with a slightly excited tone, "By the goddess Mel, Merlinle has finally responded to our request and affirmed our actions and persistence in the city. At the same time, they have informed us to go to the south gate to receive a batch of important supplies. The Hermit Gent is in charge of this matter... It is said that there are also a lot of new weapons from the Kingdom of Walter inside."

Hugh raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was indeed very good news. There were not many usable resources left in Seren City. Important magical materials and weapons and ammunition were extremely scarce. If it weren't for Hugh's "mediation" that led to the cooperation between the Legal Committee and Iris Street, these poor mages would probably have completely exhausted the materials needed to maintain the defensive rituals of their base.

Hugh leaned back against the pillows and asked, "So, it seems the city is finally starting to take some measures?"

"I think so."

Justina nodded: "This is good news for everyone, but to ensure stability, the Hermit Genet did not disclose this news to everyone, but only informed General Boots of the relevant matters."

"The right choice."

Hughes nodded: "We can't control everyone's thoughts and emotions, so maintaining overall stability is more important."

He then looked at the female scholar in front of him: "However, Mage Justina, you came to see me in such a hurry, surely it wasn't just to tell me these things?"

"of course not."

At this point, Justine's entire expression and demeanor changed. She looked at Hughes carefully and then said, "Mr. Ernst, I'm curious, what exactly happened to you in the middle of the night? Why did you leave your room alone and collapse outside..."

Hughes frowned: "Didn't I tell you? There's been a problem with the magic."

Things are different now. He doesn't want to be interrogated by others, and he has no need or reason to reveal his secrets and background to others.

However, Justina shook her head and said, "I know it's not appropriate to ask this question, but when I was checking your magic, I found that the magic imbalance in your body is similar to some samples we are studying..."

Upon hearing this, Hugh's eyes narrowed slightly: "What do you mean?"

"Please don't be nervous, I'm just stating some of the results and findings of our research."

Justina made a reassuring gesture: "These signs are known only to me. No one, including the Hermit Genet, knows anything about them... Of course, if Mr. Ernst thinks that this discovery should not exist, he can choose to end my life here. After all, you saved my life."

The two stared at each other for two seconds, then Hugh shook his head: "It hasn't come to that, Mage Justina. Please tell me what you've discovered, and I will make a judgment after hearing it."

Justina cleared her throat and then said, "To facilitate the study of the samples, I have personally classified their state and behavior. Most of the time, their form is similar to silt. At this time, the magic flow in their bodies is the slowest. Therefore, I call this state 'stationary state'."

"When they realize that prey is nearby and take the initiative to hunt, the magic in their bodies will start to stir. But at this time, the flow of magic is still relatively regular. They will change and imitate the characteristics of other creatures, such as claws, limbs and mouthparts, etc. I call this state the 'awakening state'."

Justina paused, then slowed her speech: "The third state is rather special. We've noticed that when they start trying to transform themselves into the appearance of humans, elves, or goblins and yearn to communicate with us, their magical fluctuations become chaotic, disordered, and completely irregular. This is entirely different from the symptoms we spellcasters experience due to magical anomalies or overdrafts."

“I call this third abnormal state ‘imitative state,’ and Mr. Ernst, the magical fluctuations you experienced earlier… were very, very similar to this third state.”

(End of this chapter)