The black sun hangs high

Chapter 75 "Teacher"

"It's this dream again."

Hugh broke free from his half-asleep state.

He remembered that the last time he had a similar dream was after he had just completed his first exchange in the sanctuary and was forcibly given a magical inscription.

Just like the first time, this dream was simple in content and had a clear theme.

They were still aboard that old, giant ship, and the ship was still sailing, but unlike the previous time with its terrible weather and raging waves, this voyage was incredibly calm and smooth...

"Am I having a wild imagination?"

Through the gap in the curtains, Hugh knew it was still late at night, and the snow outside had probably stopped, making it incredibly quiet.

After sitting quietly for a while, Hugh got out of bed and poured himself a cup of still-warm tea.

He sat on the edge of the bed with a teacup in his hand, his mind filled with images from the dream.

The first time he had this dream, he didn't pay much attention to it, but the second time, he could clearly feel the strangeness of the dream—it was so vivid. Although everything in it was so strange, Hugh could still recall the feeling of his bare feet on the deck. He could remember the smell of the sea breeze and the sounds made by those strange creatures as they leaped out of the sea to "observe" him.

Visually, they are certainly abnormal, but for some reason, even now, after leaving the dream, they still give people a sense of naturalness—as if they were meant to be active in that boundless ocean.

Hugh kept replaying everything from the dream in his mind, and his attention became focused on the strange giant ship.

"A dilapidated ship... awaiting maintenance and replacement parts."

Hughes murmured to himself, "Theseus... The Ship of Theseus, and this dream?"

He naturally recalled the metal door in the sanctuary that connected to Vaan, a door adorned with the image of the famous paradox "Ship of Theseus," and the strange deity who had always existed in the dream sanctuary also called himself "Theseus."

Based on the details of these two dreams, Hughes believes there must be some subtle connection between them.

"Once all the components of the Ship of Theseus are replaced, can it still be considered the original ship?"

"If all the old parts that have been replaced are collected and reassembled into a ship... then which of the two ships is the real Ship of Theseus?"

Xiu held his water glass and fell into deep thought.

There are several other paradoxes similar to the "Ship of Theseus," but Hugh put them aside for the time being, as he was seriously pondering the imagery in the dream—the dilapidated ship, the strange creatures, the boundless sea… and the seemingly imminent new storm.

Hughes hadn't wanted to consider the possible omens revealed by such an ethereal dream, but after similar events occurred twice in a row, he felt he needed to pay a little more attention to it.

Ultimately, he is now in a world where extraordinary powers exist... Wizards exist, prophets who make various prophecies using complex rituals exist, and there are many dream diviners among the people. Not to mention, in the distant past, which even he, the "creator of the world," is completely unaware of, there existed a group of "ancient beings."

In this context, Hughes believes that recurring similar dreams may indeed contain some important message.

“Theseus…that’s clearly a very specific name; at least that guy didn’t just pick one randomly.”

“In Vaan’s world, there is no Athens, nor a heroic king who solved the labyrinth and defeated the Minotaur, so this name must come from my past world… He knows all this either because he already knows that world, or because he took it from my memories.”

Hughes tried to piece together the information he knew: "In this case, the image of the Ship of Theseus has a rather peculiar meaning. What exactly does it refer to?"

Thinking this, Hugh couldn't help but raise his palm. As the magic surged, one of his fingers was gradually covered in black keratin and transformed into a jet-black claw.

Could it be referring to me?

"If it refers to me, then my actions of constantly gaining power in the sanctuary and constantly hunting and absorbing the offspring of the Dark Abyss in reality are equivalent to replacing the parts of the 'ship'?"

"Or perhaps, the so-called Ship of Theseus could also refer to something else, such as Vaan, or a certain kingdom?"

Hugh had already drunk all the tea in the cup.

He stared blankly at the bottom of the cup, where a layer of damp mist remained, like a blurry mirror, reflecting the light and also Xiu Ge's own blurry, incomplete image.

Hugh suddenly laughed. He put the cup aside, then lay back down on the bed and wrapped himself tightly in the soft blanket.

"I'm really having an episode, thinking about philosophical questions in the middle of the night... I'd rather go to sleep!"

He cursed himself and then closed his eyes.

Falling asleep this time was much smoother and faster than before.

He dreamed again, but this time it wasn't the strange scene of the boundless ocean.

Roads, tall buildings, crowds.

He was probably dreaming about his past.

In his dream, he was dressed in casual clothes and wearing his work badge as he walked through a bustling city.

The road was somewhat unfamiliar, and countless faces, too blurry to see clearly, walked toward him, hurrying along in the opposite direction from Hugh.

The original road has been replaced by a railway for some reason, and the faint sound of a train whistle can be heard in the distance.

Hugh didn't know where he was going, but he was inexplicably determined to continue walking against the flow of people along the railway.

Walk slowly.

……

When Hughes regained consciousness, it was already past ten in the morning.

He put on his coat and opened the window of the room.

The hustle and bustle of the large city immediately poured in through the window. Looking down, Hugh saw the garden and the hotel entrance crowded with people, many carrying cameras. These devices resembled the old-fashioned cameras Hugh remembered. Some reporters, clearly from major newspapers, even carried box cameras—extremely expensive, standard crystal-like devices used to create the magical images that moved in the newspapers. The sight of reporters jostling around wasn't particularly interesting. After admiring this familiar scene for a moment, Hugh closed the window and went to wash up.

After washing up, Hughes pushed open the door.

As before, the female mage arrived in the living room early, but this time, she was no longer reading those collections of absurd stories, but rather professional books related to magic.

On the table next to Verin were several different books, all with the "Eye of Mel" pattern outlined in fine magical crystal powder on their covers. This meant that these books were all published by Melinler, the headquarters of the Legal Committee.

A self-disciplined person paired with a bunch of books that look terrifying.

Such a situation can bring enormous pressure to people at any time.

"Good morning, Miss Weilin."

"It's almost time to say good afternoon."

Veraine's gaze did not leave the books. She raised her finger and tapped the stack of books next to her: "These are all special textbooks for magic beginners issued by the Law Committee. They are also the ones used in Vaan's Magic Academy... However, these should be the latest versions. I asked Mr. Finn to get them for me."

"So, this is for me?"

"Or else?"

Vera raised her eyebrows and glanced at Hugh: "These are all textbooks for Stream-level and below. Even if I need to review something, I don't want to look at these things."

At this moment, Hughes sensed an awe-inspiring aura emanating from Verin.

She doesn't seem like a young magician at all now. Instead, she resembles the deans or grade leaders in Hugh's memories, and her words always carry a terrifying aura of reprimanding unmotivated students.

"Compared to magic that has been classified into different schools, evil magic, while possessing advantages such as great power and elusiveness, is also very unstable. To reduce or eliminate this instability as much as possible, it is necessary to re-understand magic and magical power in a fundamental way."

While flipping through the book "Advanced Analysis of Magic Runes (2)" in her hand, Weilin said, "I admit that the function and power of the magic you currently possess, Mr. Hugh, far exceed ordinary raindrop and stream level magic, and under certain circumstances, they may even receive higher evaluations."

"But as I said before, in the field of magic, simply knowing how to use it without learning the theoretical foundation is like having a powerful weapon but not having the strength to use it properly. Sooner or later, problems will arise, and you might even hurt yourself while using the weapon because you are too weak."

"understand?"

Hugh nodded quickly twice.

In fact, the original owner of this body had studied some basic magical knowledge when he was an apprentice at the Water Magic Academy. However, he did lack talent in the field of magic. Although learning and understanding the basic knowledge was not difficult, he would be left behind by others whenever it came to sensing and mobilizing magic power.

After that, Hugh Ernst naturally forgot about these basic magical knowledge. This situation did not improve even after he was sent to the city of Seren. He was still unable to successfully perform even ordinary magic tricks.

Hughes reached out and picked up the thick stack of books, then asked, "So, Miss Vera, do you have any new thoughts on last night's issue?"

The female mage's gaze remained fixed on the book. She did not answer the question, but instead gave a soft "command."

"Read the book carefully, I will check your progress later."

So Hugh raised an eyebrow and took the book to the other side of the room.

Although Wei Lin did not give a direct answer, her meaning was very clear. She obviously did not believe that a person's safety could be guaranteed by a bodyguard, and that true safety should ultimately come from oneself.

That's why she adopted that teacher-like demeanor.

Hughes laid the books out in front of him one by one, and the titles came into view one by one.

The first book is "The Magic Book: The Spellcaster's Third Hand." Clearly, the purpose of this book is to guide spellcasters in using the magic book. Hugh flipped through it a couple of times and found that it was full of all kinds of magic patterns, both simple and complex. Once these patterns were drawn and engraved into the magic book, they could form "portable" magic that could be used at any time.

However, Hugh didn't have any magic books to practice with at the moment, so he had to give up for the time being.

Next is "The Origin of Magic," a general overview that mainly introduces the history of spellcasters in Vaan and the important significance of Merlinle and the Legal Council to Vaan.

Hughes put it aside as well. He could look at this kind of thing anytime, and besides, a considerable portion of its contents probably matched his memories.

However, if he has time, Hugh is prepared to take a good look at it; he is currently very interested in Vaan's distant past.

The title of the third book is "Magic and Tricks: The Foundation of the Tower".

"This is exactly what I need right now."

Hughes took it to his eyes, spread out the prepared paper, picked up the magic pen, and after adjusting his mindset, officially began his magical learning journey in Vaan.

"Our spirits are connected, like water flowing together to form a sea."

May the goddess Mel remain forever.

May the Sea of ​​Sinar endure forever.

Upon turning the first page, Hugh saw the proverb magically imprinted on the page, and as his gaze slowly moved down, he saw a portrait of the goddess of magic, Mel, below the words.

This goddess, who is widely worshipped by spellcasters in Vaan for the miracle of magic, has a graceful figure and an intellectual beauty that can calm people down. She is half-veiled, gently holding a magic book with intricate patterns in her hands, and stands barefoot on a puddle.

The proverbs and images were printed on the pages with ink mixed with crystalline powder, so when Hugh's gaze fell on them, he clearly felt a magical force emanating from them, aimed directly at him, as if trying to enter his mind.

However, this external force was far too weak; with his current magical reserves, Xiuge was more than capable of resisting and eliminating it.

"It seems to be some kind of ritual inscribed in proverbs and images. It shouldn't be harmful. Is it meant to have some effect on first-time readers?"

Hugh narrowed his eyes and reached out to touch the portrait, but he no longer sensed anything unusual about it.

(End of this chapter)