"It's this dream again."

Shuge broke free from his half-asleep state.

He remembered that the last time he had such a dream was after he had completed his first exchange in the shelter and was forced to perform a magical inscription.

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

It is still in the old giant ship, and the giant ship is also sailing, but unlike the last bad weather and rough waves, this time the voyage seems to be extremely calm and smooth......

"Isn't my imagination a little too rich?"

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

After a moment of silence, Shuge got up from the bed and poured himself a cup of tea that was still warm.

He sat on the edge of the bed with a teacup, and for a moment all that flashed through his mind was the 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 clear, and although everything in it was so strange, Hug could still recall the feeling of stepping on the deck with his bare feet, the smell of the sea breeze, and the sounds of the strange creatures as they leaped out of the sea to "observe" him.

Visually, of course, they're anomalous, but somehow, even now, after they've escaped from their dreams, they still give people a sense of accomplishment - as if they were supposed to be active in that endless ocean.

Hug kept thinking about everything in his dream, and his attention was focused on the strange ship.

"Dilapidated ship...... Waiting for maintenance and replacement parts."

Hug muttered to himself, "Theseus...... Theseus' ship, and this dream?"

He was naturally reminded of the metal gate that connected to Vann in the sanctuary, and on that door was the symbol of the famous paradox "Theseus's ship", and the strange deity who had always existed in the dream sanctuary called himself "Theseus".

Combined with the details of these two dreams, Hug believes that there must be some subtle connection between them.

"When all the components of the ship of Theseus have been replaced, can it still be considered the original ship?"

"If you collect all the old parts that have been replaced and put them back together into a ship...... So which of these two ships is the real ship of Theseus?"

Xiu hugged the water glass and fell into deep thought.

There are a few other paradoxes that share a resemblance to the ship of Theseus, but Shug has put them aside for now, and he is seriously contemplating the imagery of this dream—the dilapidated ship, the strange creatures, the endless sea...... And that seems to be coming a new *** storm.

Shug didn't want to think about the portents that this ethereal dream might reveal, but with similar events happening twice in a row, he felt the need to pay a little attention to it.

After all, he is now in a world where supernatural powers exist...... Mages exist, there are soothsayers who use complex rituals to make different prophecies, and there are many dreamers among the people, not to mention that in the distant past, which the "creators of the world" did not even know about, there were a number of "ancient beings".

In this case, Hugg argues that successive similar dreams may indeed contain some important messages. Z.br>

"Theseus...... It's obviously a very pointed name, at least that guy isn't messing around."

"There is no Athens in the world of Van En and no heroic king who solves the labyrinth and defeats the minotaur, so the name should come from my past world...... He knows all of this either because he already knows the world, or because he takes it from his own memory."

Shug tried to put together the information he knew: "In this case, Thexiu

The meaning of the image of the ship is a little strange, what does it refer to?"

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

"Could it be me?"

"If it refers to me, then is my constant acquisition of power in the sanctuary, my constant hunting in reality, and my constant absorption of the Descendants of the Abyss equivalent to the replacement of parts of the 'ship'?"

"Or could the so-called ship of Theseus be used to refer to something else, such as Vann, or a kingdom?"

The tea in the cup has been drained by Xiuge.

He stared blankly at the bottom of the glass, where the moist mist was like a blurred mirror, reflecting the light and the blurred, mutilated image of Xiuge himself.

Shugg laughed suddenly, put the cup aside, and then lay back on the bed, wrapping himself firmly in the soft quilt.

"I'm really sick, thinking about philosophy most of the night...... It's better to sleep!"

He cursed himself, then closed his eyes.

This time I fell asleep much more smoothly and quickly than before.

He dreamed again, but not in the middle of the endless ocean.

Roads, tall buildings, crowds.

He probably dreamed of his past.

In the dream, he wears a casual set of clothes and hangs a badge for work in the bustling city.

The road was a little unfamiliar, and countless unseeable faces greeted him, and they walked in a hurry, walking in the opposite direction of Xiuge.

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

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

Walk slowly.

By the time Xiuge came to his senses, it was already past ten o'clock in the morning.

He put on his coat and pushed open the window of his room.

When the hustle and bustle of the big city poured in from the window, and when Huge looked down from the window, he saw that the garden and the entrance of the hotel were crowded with people, many of them holding cameras, which were similar in appearance to the old cameras in Xiuge's impression, and some of the reporters who obviously belonged to the big newspapers even carried the kind of box cameras, which were very expensive and very standard, and the magical images of the newspapers that could move were derived from them.

There was nothing to look at when a group of reporters were squeezing around, and after admiring the familiar picture, Xiuge closed the window and went to wash.

After washing up, Xiuge pushed the door open.

As before, the mage had arrived in the living room early, and this time, she was no longer reading a collection of ridiculous stories, but a professional book related to magic.

On the table next to Wei Lin were several different books, all of which had the "Eye of Mel" on their covers, outlined in fine pieces of magic crystals, meaning that they were all published by Merlin, the headquarters of the Law Committee.

A self-disciplined man with a bunch of scary-looking books.

Such a scenario can be extremely stressful at any given moment.

"Good morning, Miss Viline."

"It's almost good afternoon."

Wei Lin's gaze didn't take off the books, she raised her finger and tapped the stack of books next to her, "They are all special textbooks for beginners in magic by the Law Committee, and they are basically used in Fan's magic academy...... But these should be the latest versions, and I got them from Mr. Toffinn."

"So, this is for me?"

"Or else?"

Wei Lin raised her eyebrows and glanced at Xiuge, "It's all stream level and below textbooks, even if I want to review something, I won't want to read these things."

At this moment, Vielin felt an awe-inspiring aura.

She didn't look like a young magician at all, but instead matched the image of the dean or the prefect in Xiuge's memory, and there was always a terrifying aura between her words to teach students who did not seek to improve.

"Compared with those magic that have been classified into different schools, although sorcery magic has the advantages of being powerful and elusive, its instability is also very obvious, and if you want to weaken and eliminate this instability as much as possible, you need to re-understand the basics of magic and magic."

Wei Lin flipped through the book of Advanced Analysis of Demonic Patterns (2) in her hand and said, "I admit that the magic you have now mastered is far more powerful and powerful than ordinary raindrop and stream magic, and under certain circumstances, they may be more highly valued."

"But as I said before, in the field of magic, only 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, so sooner or later there will be problems, and you may even hurt yourself when using the weapon because you are too weak."

"Understood?"

Shuge nodded twice quickly.

In fact, when the original owner of this body was still an apprentice in the Vortl School of Magic, he had learned a certain amount of basic knowledge of magic, but in fact, he did lack the talent in the field of magic, although it was not difficult to learn and understand those basic knowledge, but whenever it came to the link of sensing and mobilizing magic power, he would be directly thrown away by others.

After that, this basic knowledge of magic was naturally forgotten by Hug Ernst, and this situation did not improve until he was sent to the city of Selen, and he was still in a state where he could not successfully perform even ordinary tricks.

Shug reached out and picked up the thick stack of books, and he asked, "So, does Miss Verin have any new ideas for last night's question?"

The mage's gaze remained on the book, and instead of answering the question, she gave a gentle "order".

"Read the book carefully, I'll check the progress later."

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

Although Wei Lin did not answer positively, the meaning was already very clear, obviously she did not think that a personal guard could ensure a person's safety, and the real safety should come from herself after all.

That's why she put on such a teacher's posture.

Shuge lined up the books in front of him one by one, and the titles came into his eyes one by one.

The first book is "The Spellbook: The Third Hand of the Spellcaster", and it is clear that the purpose of this book is to guide the caster to use the spellbook.

However, Xiuge did not have a magic book to practice at hand, so he had to give up for the time being.

Then there's The Origin of Magic, which is an overview of the history of the spellcasters in the Van's Grace and the significance of Merlin Le and the Dharma Council to the Van'en.

Xiuge also put it aside, this kind of thing can be seen at any time, not to mention that a considerable part of its content is probably consistent with his memory.

Still, Shug was ready to flip through it when he had time, and he was now interested in Vann's distant past.

The title of the third book is "Magic and Tricks: The Foundations of the Pavilion".

"That's what I need most right now."

Shuge took it to his eyes, spread out the prepared paper, picked up the magic pen, and after adjusting his mentality, he officially began his magic learning journey in the Van Grace.

"Spirits are connected, like water blending and converging into the sea."

"May the Goddess Mel be eternal

Station."

"May the Sea of Sinar endure forever."

On the first page, Hug saw the proverb engraved in the pages of the book, and as his gaze slowly moved down, he saw a portrait of Mel, the goddess of magic, underneath the passage.

The goddess, who had become the universal belief of the casters of the Grace with the miracle of magic, had a graceful figure and a calming intellectual beauty, she was half-veiled, her hands gently holding a magic book depicting intricate patterns, and she stood barefoot on a puddle of water.

The proverb and the portrait were engraved on the pages of the book with ink mixed with crystalline powder, so that when Huge's gaze rested on it, he clearly felt a magical force arising from it, and they were aimed at him, as if trying to enter his mind.

However, this external force was too weak, and with Xiuge's current possession of mana, it was enough to resist and eliminate it.

"It seems like some kind of ritual inscribed in the proverbs and portraits, and it shouldn't be lethal, but is it meant to have some effect on the first-time reader?"

Shuge narrowed his eyes, and he reached out to touch the portrait, but he didn't feel anything strange about it.