The black sun hangs high

Chapter 291 Strange Events at the Harbor
"Different paths lead to the same destination."

Hugh wasn't entirely satisfied with the "standard answer" he'd received from Veraine.

Having personally experienced that horrific disaster and the escape, Hugh has developed new aspirations and perspectives on powers that can be freely manipulated.

Whether it's the ancient creations from the Dream Sanctuary or his own magical learning, Hugh hopes to further improve his efficiency and move on to the next stage more quickly.

His thoughts did not escape the notice of the female mage in front of him.

"Don't go too far."

Virin shook her head helplessly: "Even in the entire history of Vaan, a case like yours is enough to be called a 'miracle'... You have only been formally studying magic for less than half a year, yet you have already completed the path that an ordinary mage takes more than ten years to complete. Don't you realize how exaggerated this is?"

Hearing this, Hugh could only chuckle awkwardly and pick up his water glass.

He knew that his thoughts and biases were indeed somewhat exaggerated, but whenever he thought of the black sun in the sky and the ancient deity followers who were growing at an alarming rate, he would unconsciously feel a serious sense of crisis.

Vera picked up her cutlery and slowly cut a small piece of fish from the plate in front of her. As she did so, the broth immediately began to flow out from under the fish.

This is a type of sea bream that is extremely common in the waters of the Principality of Burt. Its flesh is delicate and delicious, making it a common delicacy in the principality.

However, Vera did not immediately put the fish into her mouth. Instead, she said to Hugh, "I can understand your thoughts... but the accumulation of magic and magical power ultimately takes time. Of course, you are indeed special enough, otherwise the Black Sun Society would not have paid so much attention to you."

So, what advice do you have regarding this choice?

"I would certainly suggest that you choose a direction that is more focused on magic and knowledge accumulation."

Seeing Hugh staring at her, Virin paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm giving this advice not because I chose this path myself, but because, in the history of Vaan, most of the mages who successfully advanced to the Deep Sea level were indeed Lake-level scholars... The accumulation of magic power and theoretical knowledge is often the foundation of a mage's strength."

"Of course, I don't mean to belittle the other option. After all, learning and honing skills often means more practical and combat value. The mage Klaus you met and that royal butler from Walter are examples of this."

“However… Mr. Hugh, you are completely different from conventional spellcasters.”

Vera changed the subject: "Although I don't know the specific reasons, and I have no intention of prying into your secrets, I know that you must have your own methods to solve problems related to spellcasting skills, and your efficiency must be much higher than that of ordinary valley-level mages, right?"

Hearing this, Hugh laughed: "Okay, I understand what you mean."

Seeing that Hugh seemed to have accepted her suggestion, Vera lowered her head and slowly put the piece of fish into her mouth. It was probably a little too salty, and she couldn't help but frown.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Vera added, "Our situation is rather special right now, but I think both the council and the law committee should agree to issue you a formal Lake-level mage certificate... As for magic inscription, you can choose whatever you like."

Hugh nodded repeatedly, knowing that having a professional to guide him in this area could indeed solve many problems.

It was well past noon, and there weren't many customers dining in the tavern; the few that were there were mostly local fishermen.

Instead of heading out to sea, they gathered around the table, drinking mostly locally brewed beer from the Duchy of Burt. Hugh took a sip and thought it tasted very ordinary, probably because it had been diluted with water.

These fishermen were ordinary people with little awareness of the situation in Vainne and little concern for the horrific events unfolding in the far north. However, they were filled with worry about the black sun overhead and the recent fishing plans.

Hugh and Vera exchanged a glance, then tacitly stopped their chatter. With the performance of two small magic tricks, the conversation at the other end of the tavern immediately became clear.

From the fishermen, the two learned that their lives had been affected since the black sun began to appear in the sky.

The Duchy of Burt has a highly developed fishing industry along its coast, thanks to its extremely rich fishery resources.

During winter and spring, large schools of "Bult bream" always appear along the coast of the Duchy of Bult, and they are the main economic pillar of the Duchy of Bult fishermen.

However, fishermen have now discovered that the number of common fish that used to gather in coastal waters is decreasing at an alarming rate, or rather, the fish are trying to move away from their original waters, which is causing great headaches for fishermen who specialize in catching bream.

Besides that, Hugh and his companion also heard a story from them that seemed somewhat bizarre, but had only recently occurred.

"Two of Old Glenn's old buddies are quitting; they want to go back to their hometown and become farmers."

"Ah, I heard about that... They encountered something strange a couple of days ago, right?"

A fisherman, already slightly tipsy, put down his glass, burped, and then frowned, saying, "I heard from my brother-in-law that when they cast their net, they didn't catch many normal fish, but they did catch some strange things, but he didn't tell me the details."

Then another fisherman lowered his voice and licked his lips: "I heard it directly from old Glenn. He also saw what was in the net... well, according to him, it was several fish he had never seen before... or rather, monsters or something. One of them even had a large sea bream in its mouth after it was pulled up, and it had already eaten half of it!"

Naturally, not everyone would easily believe such a story. A young man scoffed, "Glenn is too old. He's timid and finds everything strange. I only believe half of what he says!"

"That's bullshit! That old guy had the strength and courage to fight a group of sharks a few years ago. He even took down two of those blue-bladed sharks that had magic inside them. I believe him!"

"Then explain clearly, what exactly did they retrieve?"

"I'm not even on his ship, you want to know? Go find him yourself!"

The fishermen were still arguing when they suddenly heard footsteps nearby. They turned around and saw that the young man who had been sitting at another table had come to their table.

A fisherman who drank little carefully observed Hugh, then asked tremblingly, "Sir... is there anything I can help you with?"

Although he didn't recognize Hugh, he noticed the weapon at his waist and the hanging spellbook.

This made him very nervous. The young girl working as a waitress in the tavern also noticed Hugh's actions. She was even more nervous than the fishermen, fearing that an argument or fight might break out. Although such things had happened before, the parties involved were usually ordinary patrons, and no spellcasters were involved.

"He wouldn't just burn this place down with a single spell, would he?"

The girl's legs trembled; she wanted to go forward, but she simply couldn't muster the courage.

Fortunately, the young man, who had a somewhat aristocratic and scholarly air about him, did not do anything that would contradict his appearance. After asking a few simple questions, he left with the female mage.

When he paid the bill, he even left a small tip and offered a few comments on the taste of the food.

His gentle manner made the girl feel like she was dreaming.

……

After leaving the restaurant and returning to the street, Vera finally couldn't help but ask, "When you were still in Seren, did you treat Sally with the same tone and voice?"

"Cough, of course not. Didn't you see us chatting before?"

Hugh shrugged: "I just think the girl is too nervous, and saying this will at least comfort her."

"Oh."

Vera gave a dry reply, then composed herself and asked, "You seem quite concerned about the 'strange things' those fishermen were talking about?"

"To be precise, I'm interested in the fish that 'old Glenn' caught."

Hughes raised his hand, looked at the address he had copied down, and then at the road sign next to him: "Great, old Glenn's house isn't far from here. Let's go and take a look, just like an after-dinner walk."

"Ah."

Veraine did not object to Hugh's suggestion. After experiencing so much, she was already convinced that Hugh did indeed have an extraordinary sense of things in certain "specific areas," and these things were often related to the Black Sun or those ancient beings.

And this was exactly what she was extremely interested in.

Even if this might lead to some new troubles, for Veraine, it would definitely be considered an "interesting trouble".

So naturally, Vera's eyes began to light up, and her pace quickened involuntarily. After dealing with various issues related to the Dawn Society for some time, she finally had the opportunity to return to her more familiar territory.

"Hmm, she's a really interesting girl, completely different from any I've met before."

A few rare words of casual conversation from the Ernst family's will drifted out from the depths of Hugh's mind, and the one who just expressed his opinion was Hugh's body's "great-great-grandfather," namely Jacob.

Like the Countess, this old man always unconsciously showed extra concern for the people of the opposite sex around Hugh, a strange attitude and focus that Hugh found somewhat subtle and amusing.

What kind of people have you encountered?

Jacob recalled for a moment, then said, "Ah...it's the aristocratic circle. Although those young ladies may be interested in some strange things, most of the time their interest is superficial. If they really encounter something, they run away very fast."

"cough!"

Countess Alexandra expressed her dissatisfaction with Jacob's words at the opportune moment, but then she chimed in, "Miss Viely's attention to these matters stems more from her own abilities and knowledge. There are probably not many scholars like her who can remain focused after witnessing such horrific things firsthand."

Hugh smiled and shook his head: "It's best if you say such compliments to her yourself. It's not appropriate for me to do it."

"Why is it inappropriate? She won't be your teacher anymore soon, what are you worried about?"

Hugh was momentarily speechless at the Countess's words, but he quickly changed the subject: "Regarding the strange fish the fishermen were talking about, it reminded me of what I saw in that dream."

"You mean those 'monsters' that came up from the ocean?"

"Yes, there were probably many strange beings in the ocean at that time, and most of them should have been the followers of some ancient sea god... Now that the black sun has been revived, this influence may also spread to the ocean."

While talking with the wills of his family, Hugh tried hard to recall the ferocious sea beasts he had glimpsed in his dream.

The thought that many similar beings might appear in Vaan's ocean at some point in the future darkened his mood.

As if sensing Hugh's thoughts, Verine, who was walking beside him, suddenly spoke up: "We'd better pray that the fishermen didn't catch anything, or that the so-called strange fish is just some rare magical creature... Goddess Mel is also the goddess of the sea. If strange phenomena that people cannot understand appear even in the ocean, then more ordinary people will begin to waver."

The two of them arrived at the end of the street. After asking for directions twice, they turned into a side street and walked another hundred meters or so. A slightly old-looking two-story building came into view.

"It seems that old Glenn is doing alright."

"As the owner of a fishing boat, he's always living better than the average fisherman... Let's go knock on the door."

And so, the two arrived at the door of the house, where many tools were placed, and a large number of dried fish were drying on a high shelf, making the smell around the house particularly pungent.

The two men, Hugh and his companion, frowned simultaneously as they stood in front of the door.

It wasn't because the dried fish smelled too bad, but because both of them detected something unusual in their scent—it wasn't the smell of seafood, nor was it the smell of decay; rather, it was more like the strong, pungent odor of some kind of inferior alchemical potion.

(End of this chapter)