The sun is high

"Different paths lead to the same destination."

Xiuge was not so satisfied with the "standard answer" he got from Wei Lin.

After personally experiencing that horrific disaster and escaping, Shuge already had new pursuits and perspectives on the forces that can be freely manipulated.

Whether it is the ancient creations from the Dream Sanctuary or based on his own magic learning, Xiuge hopes to further improve his efficiency and enter the next stage faster.

And his thoughts were not hidden from the female mage in front of him.

"Don't go too far."

Wei Lin shook her head helplessly: "Even if we look at the entire history of Van En, an individual case like yours is enough to be called a 'miracle'... Your formal learning of magic has only just begun. In half a year, you have already completed the journey of more than ten years for an average mage. Don’t you realize how exaggerated this is?”

After hearing this, Xiuge had no choice but to laugh and pick up the water glass.

He also knew that these thoughts and preferences of his were indeed a bit exaggerated, but whenever he thought of the black sun in the sky and the followers of the ancient gods who were growing at an alarming rate, he would unknowingly have a serious crisis. feel.

Weilin picked up the cutlery and slowly cut off a small piece of the fish on the plate in front of her. With this action, the soup immediately flowed out slowly from under the fish.

This is a kind of snapper that is extremely common in the waters of the Principality of Bult. The meat is delicate and delicious, and it is a common delicacy in the principality.

However, Wei Lin did not put the fish into her mouth immediately, but said to Shuge: "I can understand your thoughts... but the accumulation of magic and magic takes time. Of course, you are indeed special enough. Otherwise, the Black Sun Society would not pay such attention to you."

"So, what's your advice on this choice?"

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

Seeing Shuge staring at her, Wei Lin paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "I give this advice not because I have chosen this path myself, but because in the history of Van En, there are many people who have successfully advanced to the deep sea. It is true that most mages are 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, the learning and training of skills often means more practical and practical value. The Master Krauts you have seen and the royal steward of Walter They are all representatives.”

"But... Mr. Shuge, you are completely different from regular spell casters."

Weilin changed the topic: "Although I don't understand the specific reasons, and I have no intention of exploring your secrets, I know that you must have your own way to solve the problems in spell casting skills, and your efficiency will definitely be higher than usual. The river valley level mage is much higher, right?"

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

Seeing that Xiuge seemed to have accepted her suggestion, Wei Lin lowered her head and slowly put the cut piece of fish into her mouth. It was probably a bit salty, so she couldn't help but frown.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Weilin added: "Our current situation is quite special, but I think that both the Council and the Legal Committee should agree to issue you an official lake-level mage certificate... As for magic Engraved, you just have to watch and make your choice."

Xiuge nodded repeatedly. Being able to have a professional provide guidance in this regard can indeed solve a lot of troubles.

It was already past noon, and there were not many customers dining in the tavern. The few that were here and there were mostly local fishermen.

They did not choose to go to sea, but gathered around the table worriedly to drink. Most of them drank local home-brew beer in the Principality of Bult. Xiuge took a sip and felt that the taste was very ordinary, probably because it had been mixed with water.

These fishermen are the most ordinary people. They have a very low awareness of the situation in Van En, and they do not care about the horrific events happening in the far north. However, they are concerned about the black sun above their heads and the recent fishing. Fish's plan is full of worries.

Xiuge and Weilin looked at each other, and then stopped their chatting in a tacit understanding. As the two tricks were performed, the conversation at the other end of the tavern immediately became clearer.

From the mouths of these fishermen, the two learned that since the black sun began to appear in the sky, the lives of the fishermen have been affected.

The fishery near the sea of ​​the Principality of Bulte is very developed, which benefits from the extremely rich fishery resources.

In winter and spring, large groups of "Bult Snappers" will always appear along the coast of the Principality of Bult, and they are the main economic pillar of the fishermen of the Principality of Bult.

However, now, fishermen have discovered that the number of common fish species that originally liked to gather offshore is decreasing at an alarming rate, or that the fish species are trying to stay away from their original sea areas. This has made those who specialize in Bult snapper The fishermen who caught the fish were very troubled.

In addition, Xiuge and the two also heard a story from their mouths that seemed a bit weird, but it happened not long ago.

"There are two old guys in Old Glen who don't want to continue working. They want to go back to their hometown and become farmers in the future."

"Ah, I heard about this... They encountered something strange two days ago, right?"

A fisherman who was already a little tipsy put down his wine glass. He burped and then frowned and said, "I heard from my brother-in-law that when they lowered the net, they didn't catch a few normal fish. Some weird stuff, but he didn’t tell me the details.”

So another fisherman lowered his voice and licked his lips: "I heard what Old Glenn told me directly. He also saw the things in the fishing net at that time... Well, according to him, there were several of them. Fish that have never been seen before... or monsters with deformities or something, one of them even had a big snapper in its mouth after being fished out, and it was half eaten!"

Naturally, everyone would not believe this kind of story easily. A young man sneered: "Glenn is too old. He is timid and thinks everything is weird. What comes out of his mouth makes me wonder." Only believe half of it!”

"But fart, that old guy still had the strength and courage to fight with sharks a few years ago. He even defeated two blue-blade sharks with magic in their bodies. I believe what he said!"

"Then please tell me clearly, what exactly did they catch?"

"I'm not on his fucking ship. If you want to know, go find him yourself!"

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

A fisherman who had been drinking less carefully observed Xiuge, and then asked tremblingly: "First... sir, may I help you?"

Although he didn't know Xiuge, he noticed the weapon on his waist and the magic book hanging on his waist.

This made him very nervous.

The young girl who acted as a waiter in the tavern also noticed Shuge's behavior. She was more nervous than the fishermen, fearing that the two sides would have a quarrel or fight. Although this kind of thing had happened in the past, the two parties in the fight were usually ordinary. Drinkers, no spellcasters are involved.

"He won't just burn this place down with a magic spell, right?"

The girl's legs were trembling. She wanted to step forward, but she couldn't muster the courage.

Fortunately, the young man with some aristocratic and scholarly temperament did not do anything that was inconsistent with his appearance. After a few simple questions, he left with the female mage. .

When checking out, he even left a small tip and made some comments on the taste of the meal.

His attitude was so gentle that the girl thought she was dreaming.

…

After leaving the restaurant and returning to the street, Weilin finally couldn't help but ask: "Did you treat Sally with this tone and voice when you were still in Salem City?"

"Ahem, of course not. Haven't you seen us chatting before?"

Shuge shrugged: "I just think that girl is too nervous. This can comfort her to some extent."

"oh."

Wei Lin responded dryly, then she calmed down her expression and asked instead: "You seem to be very concerned about the 'strange things' mentioned by the fishermen?"

"To be precise, I'm focusing on the fish that 'Old Glenn' caught."

Xiuge raised his hand, looked at the address he had copied down, and then looked at the street sign beside him: "Very good. Old Glenn's home is not far from our place. Let's stop by and have a look. Just treat it after dinner. Took a walk.”

"Um."

Wei Lin did not object to Xiuge's proposal. After experiencing so many things, she had already determined that Xiuge did have an extraordinary sense of smell in certain "specific areas", and these things were often related to The black sun may be related to those beings from ancient times.

And this happened to be something she was extremely interested in.

Even though this may cause some new troubles, for Weilin, this is definitely considered "interesting troubles."

So of course, Weilin's eyes began to shine, and her pace involuntarily accelerated a little. After dealing with various issues related to the Dawn Society for a period of time, she finally had the opportunity to return to a field she was more familiar with.

"Well, she is such an interesting girl, completely different from what I have met before."

Deep in Shuge's heart, a rare few words of chatter from the will of the Ernst family floated out, and the one who had just expressed his opinion was the "grandfather of the grandfather" of Shuge's body, that is, Jacob.

This old guy, like the countess, would always unconsciously care about the heterosexuals around Shuge. This wonderful attitude and focus made Shuge feel a little subtle and funny.

"What do you encounter like?"

Jacob recalled it for a moment, and then said: "Ah... in the aristocratic circle, although those ladies will also be interested in some strange things, most of the time this interest is superficial. If we really encounter them, they will run very fast."

"cough!"

Countess Alexandra expressed her dissatisfaction with Jacob's words at the right time, but then she echoed: "Miss Weilin's attention to these things comes more from her own ability and knowledge, and she can I'm afraid there aren't many scholars like her who remain focused after witnessing those horrific things with their own eyes, right?"

Xiuge smiled and shook his head: "It's best for you to say this kind of compliment to her in person. I'm not suitable."

"Why is it inappropriate? She will no longer be your teacher soon. What are you worried about?"

Xiuge was choked by the countess' words, and then he decisively changed the subject: "As for the strange fish in the fisherman's mouth, I thought of the scene I saw in that dream."

"You mean those 'monsters' that come out of the ocean?"

"Yes, there were probably many strange existences in the ocean at that time, and most of them should be the dependents of an ancient ocean god... Now, since the black sun has revived, this influence will It's also possible it could spread into the ocean."

While talking to the family members, Xiuge tried hard to recall the ferocious sea beasts he had glimpsed in his dreams.

When he thought that at some point in the future, many similar existences would most likely appear in Van En's ocean, his mood became gloomy.

As if aware of Shuge's thoughts, Wei Lin, who was walking next to her, suddenly said: "We'd better pray that the fishermen didn't catch anything, or that the so-called strange fish is just some kind of rare magical creature... The goddess Mel is also the god of the ocean. If there are abnormalities that people cannot understand even in the ocean, then more ordinary people will start to waver."

The two of them arrived at the end of the street. After asking for directions twice, they turned into a small road and walked another hundred meters. A two-story building that looked a little old came into view.

"It looks like old Glenn has a pretty good life."

"As the owner of a fishing boat, he is better off than the average fisherman... Come on, let's knock on the door."

In this way, the two came to the door of the house. There were many tools placed here, and a large number of dried fish were dried on the high shelves nearby. These dried fish made the smell next to the house particularly strong. nose.

Xiuge and Xiuge, who were standing in front of the door, frowned in unison.

It was not because these dried fish smelled too unpleasant, but because both of them caught a hint of something strange in their smell - it was not the smell of seafood, and it was definitely not the smell of decay, but more like some kind of fish smell. The strong and pungent smell emitted by inferior alchemical medicine.