The sun is high

"It's this dream again."

Xiuge broke out of his half-asleep state.

He still remembered that the last time he had a similar dream was after he had just completed his first exchange in the shelter and was forcibly inscribed with magic.

Just like the first time, this time the content of the dream was simple and the theme was clear.

We are still in that old giant ship, and the giant ship is also sailing, but unlike the bad weather and rough waves last time, this time the sailing seems extremely calm and smooth...

"Do I have a little too much imagination?"

Through the gap in the curtains, Xiuge knew that it was still late at night, and the snow outside had probably stopped, so it seemed extremely quiet.

After sitting quietly for a while, Xiuge got up from the bed and poured himself a cup of still warm tea.

He sat on the edge of the bed holding a tea cup, and all that flashed through his mind were the images from his 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 too clear, although everything in it was It was so strange, but until now, Xiuge could recall the feeling of stepping on the deck with his bare feet. He could recall the smell of the sea breeze, and he could also recall the sounds made by those weird creatures when they jumped out of the sea to "observe" him. sound.

From a visual point of view, they are certainly abnormal, but for some reason, even now after leaving the dreamland, they can still give people a sense of naturalness - as if they should be active in the boundless ocean like this. among.

Xiuge kept thinking about everything in the dream in his mind, so he focused on the weird giant ship.

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

Shuge murmured to himself: "Theseus...the ship of Theseus, and this dream?"

He very naturally thought of the metal door connecting Van En in the shelter. On that door, there was a pattern that symbolized the famous paradox "Ship of Theseus", and the one who always existed in the dream The strange god in the sanctuary also calls himself "Theseus".

Combining the details of these two dreams, Shuge believed that there must be some subtle connection between them.

"When all the components of the ship of Theseus are replaced, can it still be considered the same ship?"

"If you collect all the old parts that have been replaced and reassemble them into a ship... then which of the two ships is the real ship of Theseus?"

Xiu held the water glass and fell into deep thought.

There are still several paradoxes that are similar to the "Ship of Theseus", but Shuge has put them aside for the time being. He is seriously thinking about the images in this dream - the dilapidated ship, the weird Creatures, the boundless sea...and the new round of storm that seems to be coming.

Xiuge didn't want to think about the omens that this illusory dream might reveal, but when similar events happened twice in a row, he felt that he needed to pay a little attention to it.

After all, he is now in a world with extraordinary power... Mages do exist, prophets who use complex rituals to make various prophecies do exist, and there are many dream fortune tellers among the people, not to mention that in the There were a number of "ancient beings" in the distant past that even I, the "creator of the world," didn't understand at all.

In this case, Shuge believes that similar dreams that occur continuously may indeed contain some important information.

"Theseus... this is obviously a very pointed name. At least that guy didn't come up with it randomly."

"In Van En's world, there is no Athens, and there is no heroic king who solved the labyrinth and defeated the Minotaur, so this name should come from my past world...He can know all this, either because he has a good understanding of that world. Just understand it, or it’s taken from my memory.”

Shuge tried to combine the information he knew: "In this case, the connotation of the image of Theseus' ship is a bit strange. What does it refer to?"

Thinking of this, Xiuge couldn't help but raise his palm. With the beating of magic power, one of his fingers was gradually wrapped in black horn and turned into a pitch black claw.

"Could it be referring to me?"

"If it refers to me, then my behavior of constantly gaining strength in the sanctuary, constantly hunting and absorbing the descendants of the Dark Abyss in reality, is it equivalent to replacing the parts of the 'ship'?"

"Or, the so-called Ship of Theseus can also be used to refer to something else, such as Van En, or a certain kingdom?"

Xiuge had already drank all the tea in the cup.

He stared blankly at the bottom of the cup. The layer of moist mist remaining there was like a blurry mirror. It reflected the light and also reflected Xiuge's own blurry and incomplete image.

Shuge suddenly laughed. He put the cup aside, then lay back on the bed and wrapped himself tightly in a soft quilt.

"I'm really sick. I'm thinking about philosophical issues in the middle of the night... I might as well sleep!"

He cursed himself and then closed his eyes.

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

He dreamed again, but the dream was not the strange scene in the endless ocean.

Roads, tall buildings, crowds.

He was probably dreaming about his past.

In the dream, he was walking in a bustling city wearing a set of casual clothes and wearing a work badge.

The road was a bit unfamiliar, and countless faces that could not be seen clearly were coming towards him. They were walking in a hurry, going in the opposite direction to Xiuge.

The original road was replaced by a railway for some reason, and the sound of a whistle could be heard vaguely in the distance.

Xiuge didn't know where he was going, but he was inexplicably determined and continued to walk along the railway against the crowd.

Walk slowly.

…

When Xiuge woke up, it was already past ten o'clock in the morning.

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

Then the excitement and noise of a large city suddenly poured in from the window. Xiuge looked down from the window and saw that the garden and the hotel entrance were crowded with people. Many of them were holding cameras and these devices. The appearance is basically similar to the old-fashioned cameras in Xiuge's impression. Some reporters who obviously belong to large newspapers even carry box cameras - they are very expensive and are extremely standard crystallization equipment. Those on newspapers This is where the magical image pictures that can move come from.

There was nothing interesting about the crowd of reporters squeezing around. After admiring the familiar scene, Shuge closed the window and went to wash up.

After washing up, Xiuge opened the door.

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

There are several different books placed on the table next to Weilin, and their covers all have the "Mel's Eye" pattern outlined with finely divided magic crystal powder, which means that these books are all written by The headquarters of the Law Commission is Merlinle and published.

A self-disciplined person paired with a pile of books looks scary.

Such a situation can cause tremendous stress at any time.

"Miss Weilin, good morning."

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

Weilin's eyes did not leave the book. She raised her fingers and tapped the stack of books next to her: "They are all special textbooks for magic beginners from the Legal Committee. They are basically used in Van En's magic academy... …But these should be the latest versions, I asked Mr. Finn to get them.”

"So, this is for me?"

"What else?"

Wei Lin raised her eyebrows and glanced at Xiuge: "They are all textbooks for stream level and below. Even if I want to review something, I wouldn't want to read these things."

Xiuge felt an awe-inspiring aura from Wei Lin at this moment.

She doesn't look like a young magician at all now. Instead, she matches the image of the dean or grade prefect in Xiuge's memory. Her words always convey a sense of teaching students who don't want to make progress. Terrible momentum.

"Compared with magic that has been classified into different schools, evil magic has the advantages of being powerful and elusive, but its instability is also very obvious. We want to weaken and eliminate this instability as much as possible. To achieve stability, we need to re-understand the basics of magic and magic."

While flipping through the book "Advanced Analysis of Magic Patterns (2)" in her hand, Weilin said: "I admit, Mr. Shuge, the functions and power of the magic you currently master have far exceeded the ordinary raindrops and streams. level magic, and under certain circumstances, they may be rated higher."

"But as I said before, in the field of magic, just knowing how to use it without learning the theoretical basis is like having a powerful weapon but not having the power to use it normally. If this goes on, problems will occur sooner or later, and even You may also hurt yourself when using weapons because you are too weak."

"understand?"

Shuge nodded quickly twice.

In fact, the original owner of this body had studied certain basic knowledge of magic when he was an apprentice at the Walter Academy of Magic. However, in fact, he did lack talent in the field of magic. Although he studied , It is not difficult to understand those basic knowledge, but whenever it comes to sensing and mobilizing magic power, you will be directly thrown away by others.

After that, these basic magical knowledge were naturally forgotten by Shuge Ernst. This situation did not get better until he was sent to Salem City. He was always an ordinary person. A state where no magic trick can be successfully performed.

Xiuge reached out and picked up the thick stack of books. At the same time, he asked: "So, does Miss Weilin have any new ideas about last night's problem?"

The female mage's eyes were still on the book. She did not answer the question, but gave a gentle "command".

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

So Xiuge raised his eyebrows and walked to the other side with the book.

Although Wei Lin did not answer directly, the meaning was very clear. Obviously she did not think that a personal guard could guarantee a person's safety. After all, real safety should come from oneself.

That's why she assumes such a teacher's posture.

Xiuge arranged the books in front of him one by one, and the titles of the books came into his eyes one by one.

The first book is "Magic Book: The Third Hand of the Spellcaster". Obviously, the purpose of this book is to guide spellcasters to use the magic book. After flipping through it for a while, Xiuge found that it is full of various kinds of information. There are various simple or complex magic lines. Once these lines are drawn and engraved into the magic book, they can form "portable" magic that can be used at any time.

However, Xiuge didn't have a magic book for practice at the moment, so he had to give up for the time being.

Then there is "The Origin of Magic", which is an introduction that mainly introduces the history of spell casters in Van En and the importance of Merlin Lehe and the Legal Committee to Van En.

Xiuge also put it aside. You can look at this kind of thing anytime, not to mention that a considerable part of the content is probably consistent with his memory.

However, if he has time, Xiuge is still prepared to read it carefully. He is now very interested in Van En's distant past.

The third book is titled Magic and Trick: The Foundations of the Pavilion.

"This should be what I need most right now."

Xiuge brought it in front of his eyes, spread out the prepared paper, picked up the magic pen, and after adjusting his mentality, he officially started his journey of learning magic in Van En.

"Spiritual connections are like water blending together to form a sea."

"May the goddess Mel remain forever."

"May the Sea of ​​Sinal live forever."

When he turned the first page, Shuge saw this motto imprinted with magic on the page. When his eyes slowly moved down, he saw the portrait of the magic goddess Mel below this sentence.

This goddess, who has become a common belief among spellcasters among Van En through the miracle of magic, has a graceful figure and a calming intellectual beauty. She is half-veiled and gently holding a book of descriptions in her hands. He stood barefoot on a puddle with a magic book with complex lines on it.

The motto and the portrait were engraved on the page with ink mixed with crystalline powder. Therefore, when Xiuge's eyes rested on it, he could clearly feel a magic power generated from it, and they stabbed towards him with clear goals. Come, as if you want to enter your own mind.

However, this external force is really too weak. With Xiuge's own current magic power, it is enough to resist and eliminate it.

"It seems like some kind of ritual engraved in the proverbs and portraits. It should be harmless. Is it meant to have some impact on first-time readers?"

Xiuge squinted his eyes and reached out to touch the portrait, but he never felt anything strange from it.