Chapter 347: 122. The Authority of Dalasgon (5k)
“Really? It sounds like there are a lot of interesting things in the university. Where did you stay at that time? Did you live with your classmates?”
“I suppose he is a classmate, but he is not in the same academy as me. He was studying business, and it was a new and popular academy at that time. Many wealthy families hoped their children would study there. My major was magic, and I occasionally learned a bit of philosophy and humanities.”
After seeing the gigantic Rainbow Wing Whale, Valentina and Fisher took a walk along the beach. Perhaps it was because she understood the North Ocean through the photos her mother had given her, the scenery beside the ocean kept repeating, like a scene endlessly looping, making Fisher keep his eyes on Valentina, who was walking a short distance ahead with her hands behind her back.
She stopped running and talked with Fisher about some past events. Following Fisher’s gaze, one would notice her fair cheek and ears had turned crimson, which was why she was not walking side by side with Fisher.
Young and naive Valentina, in front of that noisy magnificent scene, perhaps due to something Fisher said, or perhaps because she saw his handsome profile, impulsively kissed the boy she had a favorable impression of.
They had never been so intimate before, and they hadn’t even held hands; yet now, she made an impulsive move that was excessive. She was probably so shy after the kiss that she couldn’t bear to hear Fisher reply her name, afraid her extremely flustered expression would be discovered by him.
But after all, impulse is a privilege of youth. That kind of thoughtless behavior propelled by emotions may be criticized by some or praised by others. Even Fischer, who hadn’t graduated yet, bravely cursed out Damien at the graduation ceremony for handing him his diploma. Even the ever-calculated Elizabeth stole a kiss from Fisher during their student days due to impulse.
Thus, with Fisher deciding not to comment on the matter—enjoying the moment instead—he pretended not to notice Valentina, who was too shy to look at him now, quietly following her and chatting.
“Magic Academy, so you met Empress Elizabeth in university? Is she studying magic too?”
“No, she studies at the Military Institute.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect you could be together even if you weren’t in the same academy. Impressive.”
“.”
Fisher, who just moments ago had been relaxed, slowed down a bit, clearly caught off guard by Valentina suddenly mentioning Elizabeth.
It’s true; when people from Nali came earlier, she must have already known that his relationship with Elizabeth was not ordinary. But at that time, she respected him enough to not dig deeper. Now that their relationship had advanced, she was being quite open about herself and naturally wanted to know more about Fisher.
Seeing Fisher not respond, Valentina turned her head back in a somewhat reproachful manner and sighed at his expression before smiling and saying, “Why aren’t you speaking? I don’t care who you had relationships with before. Even if you did, it doesn’t matter now. Just asking. After all, I’ve never been to school, so I’m a bit envious of the feeling of studying and dating in university. I know that it must be a precious memory for both you and her, and even if time has changed, you wouldn’t easily let it go, right? Don’t worry, I won’t take this to heart.”
“. Thank you.”
Due to Fisher’s unseen yet careful attention, after some time chatting, the noticeable redness on Valentina’s face finally faded a bit. However, Fisher didn’t feel relaxed upon hearing Valentina’s gentle words; instead, it made it even harder for him to speak.
Valentina seemed to believe that she only had a relationship with Elizabeth.
Fisher quietly kept pace with her, soon arriving at her side. Normally, even if Emhart kept chattering away about bad things, it wouldn’t matter, especially since it was just the two of them alone now. Valentina didn’t notice Fisher’s inner thoughts at all, carefully synchronizing her steps with his.
They continued walking quietly for a distance until Fisher was just about to say something when suddenly he heard a sound, like the crisp shattering of glass, coming from somewhere unknown.
“Crack! Crack!”
Fisher and Valentina’s footsteps halted simultaneously. However, unlike Fisher’s looking around, Valentina appeared calm. She gently patted Fisher on the shoulder, bringing his attention back to her, and then she pointed to the sky, saying, “The magic is about to fail, Fisher. Be careful in a moment; relax and don’t suddenly stand up and collapse my tent.”
Before Fisher could respond, he felt the scenery around them slowly collapse. The next moment, he immediately sensed a significant drop in temperature as the warmth of sunlight returned to the cold of Miya’s night. His vision was once more enveloped in darkness, with only Valentina’s breathing beside him.
“Valentina?”
He quietly spoke in the dark.
“Yes, I’m here. Are you alright? I saw you dazing off when entering the magic earlier. The magic that mom taught me was indeed very unfamiliar at first.”
The tent’s bed was simple; with the stout Fisher and the petite Valentina lying together, it felt somewhat cramped. However, since he hadn’t covered her with the quilt before, and worried she might feel cold, he didn’t rashly get up, only replying, “I’m fine.”
Hearing Fisher’s voice, Valentina smiled slightly, lying straight on the bed. After hesitating for a moment, she gently reached out her icy-cold hand towards Fisher’s abdomen.
“That’s good. When I was little, I loved playing inside here the most. I insisted on staying until the released magical energy was fully exhausted. As I grew older, I went in less and less. Eventually, I didn’t go in at all. If I hadn’t wanted to take Fisher to see the scenery in my heart, I probably wouldn’t use this magic anymore.”
Fisher turned his head to look at the magic pendant she was holding. The softly glowing pink pendant appeared very warm, but he quickly noticed that the perpetual magic rune on it had already faded significantly; it was likely to be depleted after just a few more uses, just like his wand that turned to ashes in the Southern Continent. Thus, he asked, “Is it because the rune is about to fail? If you want, I could study it for you, and later I could engrave it for you again.”
However, Valentina shook her head, saying, “No, it’s not because the magic is about to fail. You see, in the dreams of magic, I am a complete person. I can experience the feeling of running freely, which is exactly what I’ve been yearning for. But since it’s a beautiful dream, there’s bound to be a time to wake up, just like now.”
“People often say that if you don’t give someone light, they won’t know what darkness is. After experiencing such beautiful feelings, returning to the cold reality is a shock strong enough to drive someone mad. I’ve heard that in the Western Continent, there are many drug addicts who are addicted to illegal substances; aren’t they just as much falling into the depths of despair?”
Her voice once again turned calm, but with Fisher’s night vision, he noticed her gaze had been fixed on her own legs, which now felt nothing at all, as if they had been severed by a blade, only occasionally transmitting unbearable phantom pains, almost as if they were being embedded in a wheelchair.
“So, long ago, I rarely entered the dream because it gives me an option. When I can no longer endure the torment of my hereditary disease or feel suffocated by other pressures, I fear I might really want to stay in the dream forever and never wake up. But if so, I would be letting down the goodness others have shown me. I don’t want that.”
“Valentina.”
“I know, I know, you are going to say those words you said earlier, right?”
Valentina seemed to want to turn towards Fisher, like in a dream, but when her lower body was as immovable as iron, she dazedly froze for a second, returning to lie flat again.
“I understand. Don’t misunderstand me; those things I did in the dream were just to repay your kindness to me. I was just very happy because you are still by my side. So when you asked me if there was anything I would give my all for, I thought of how wonderful it would be if I could truly run and play like that with you in reality.”
“I see.”
As she spoke, Fisher suddenly sat up from the bed, startling Valentina, who quickly covered herself with her hands, afraid that Fisher might explode like in the prophecy she saw in the crystal.
However, Fisher did not do that; he merely turned to look at Valentina and extended his hand toward her.
“In that case, I will definitely take you to the Parasol Tree. However, this journey won’t be easy. A terrifying enemy is waiting for me to deal with; it’s likely that we might both lose our lives.”
“Is it the Nali people pursuing you, or that curse or something?”
“Neither. Don’t worry about that; just leave it to me.”
Fisher was referring to the life deity named “Erwind.” He initially thought that reaching the rank of life would allow him to fight Erwind, but even one of his creations had required numerous high-tier magic spells to deal with. Although there were other interfering factors, up until now, Erwind had not even fought at his full strength.
And he was just a step away from the mythical rank.
To this day, Fisher had never truly witnessed the fighting style of a mythical rank. When Eil appeared, he only bore the soul of the Fourteenth Rank. Xu had only had a brief encounter with him, of course not really grasping the means of high-ranking beings considered to be “mythical” since ancient times. Fisher could only prepare for the worst against Erwind.
Currently, he didn’t have many magic materials left to prepare for spells; there were the curse of the Parasol Tree ahead, and behind him were Elizabeth and the Turan family’s pursuers. He had to take the disabled Valentina with him while facing the ambush of Erwind, and he also needed to climb the endlessly prolonged life forbidden zone, Sema Snow Mountain, without carrying any equipment.
“It’s already late. Get some good rest. Starting tomorrow morning, we need to be fully focused. Good night, Valentina.”
Fisher sat on Valentina’s bed, feeling an unprecedented weight on his shoulders. However, he tried to keep his tone as light as possible while speaking with Valentina. He then stood up, preparing to leave her tent for some rest.
The conditions here were too rudimentary, with almost no soundproofing. They might not have officially started when Heidi Lin, who lived next door to Valentina, burst in to mass beat him up. Moreover, Valentina had already done quite well today. That bright girl in the dream, he didn’t want to tarnish her feelings for him out of a desire to vent, not even at this moment.
“Wait, this is for you.”
Fisher turned his head to see Valentina hand him the necklace carved with the “Beautiful Dream” magic, glowing with a pink aura that instantly caught Fisher’s attention.
“Are you sure this isn’t something left by your mother?”
Valentina didn’t retract her hand, only smiling as she said, “It’s fine. After all, it won’t be usable for many more times. My mother left me a lot of things, and I’ve kept them well. Besides, I’ve already found something better than ‘Beautiful Dream.'”
Fisher paused slightly in the dark, then smiled in silence as he reached out to take the pendant that still held her warmth.
“Then, it’s better to accept graciously. Thank you.”
“Good night, Fisher.”
Fisher did not reply further, simply covering her with the fluffy bedding made from Snow Fox Tribe fur, which was quite heavy. After pulling it over her, only her little head was visible, sufficient to keep her warm through the night.
After that, Fisher turned and left her tent, silently walking back to his own tent. On his bed, Emhart, who had fallen asleep, wasn’t snoring and bolted up when he heard the noise at the entrance. When he recognized Fisher’s figure, he lay back down, murmuring, “Did you convince that girl from the Turan family to go back to sleep? Why did it take so long? You didn’t do anything bad over there, did you? No, wait, I know how you work; you wouldn’t come back in just a few hours.”
“Shut up and go to sleep.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Oh, still clutching what she gave you back to bed, huh? Let me see what it is—a pendant? Oh, a token of love. Once I move her name slightly forward on the list, I think…oh!”
Fisher lay down beside Emhart, irritated by his incessant chatter. He quickly covered him with the blanket to keep him quiet.
However, at this moment, he indeed had no desire to sleep. The image of that girl and all the dangers awaiting him during the day made it difficult for him to find sleep. Rather than trying to sleep lazily, he focused on researching the strange magic Valentina had just given him.
He twisted the unusual magic rune, recalling the details of the strange state he entered when he was with Valentina in that dream, letting his gaze linger on the magic’s initial position.
It was a very strange magic ring, consisting of two parts. The upper part was an inverted figure-eight-shaped symbol, like a piece of paper twisted 180 degrees and stitched only on one side, creating a bizarre figure. The lower part was a symbol he recognized, the [World] ring, a type of rarely used high-tier ring.
And that faint pink glow was emanating from the space between the upper and lower symbols, seemingly the part that was truly effective. By combining his experience of entering the dream with Valentina’s, Fisher suddenly understood the meaning of this ring.
Previously, when entering Valentina’s dream, he found it quite magical because when he left Saint Nali, he had also been in that place, except he and those demons had entered with their bodies, so he didn’t experience the nature of that place at all.
Yes, that place was the crevice between the Spirit Realm and reality.
He remembered that when he was studying the Soul Supplement Handbook, he found the nature of this crevice somewhat intriguing and didn’t know its specific function. Now Fisher could roughly draw a conclusion.
In the Spirit Realm, there exist murky and unclear souls; apart from a few distinct “stars,” they are all chaotic and impossible to sort out. However, in the real world, each person’s consciousness is clear and independent. These are two extreme states, and this transition is not accomplished in an instant, but requires an intermediary buffer zone.
According to Jahl Uzz, the Spirit Realm is a forbidden land not interfered with by any deity. Therefore, Dalasgon’s responsibility actually goes beyond acting as a [Gate]; the crevice between worlds and the Spirit Realm is the rule he created—a tool to translate the chaos of the Spirit Realm. As manifested in consciousness, it is somewhat akin to [subconsciousness] or [dreams], states of awareness that lie between clarity and chaos.
The strange ring created by Valentina’s mother was thus prying open the echoes of the world, allowing the soul of the object to temporarily detach from the body and enter this intermediate state. Based on the translational rule set by Dalasgon, the things constructed with their souls in the dream are also between the two.
They have the appearance and properties of the real world but can only exert effects on souls. If a soul is strong enough, it could create very complex constructs in that crevice, but that would consume an enormous amount of magic power, which would also severely damage the soul. No wonder Valentina reminded him not to create living beings, for that means using one’s soul to construct another soul with awareness, which might require prying open the consciousness in the Spirit Realm.
Fisher gasped. Previously, he had only had the impression of Dalasgon as a “gatekeeper.” Compared to Ramastia or other deities Jahl Uzz mentioned in the handbook, it seemed quite lowly; only now did he realize that Dalasgon’s authority was extremely exaggerated.
Finding that knowledge invigorated Fisher deeply during the late hours. He couldn’t stop researching all the constructs of this magic, unwilling to miss out on the minutest detail, and finally, he poetically named this ring [Dream] to commemorate the wonderful journey he experienced with Valentina tonight.
Meanwhile, Emhart, who initially wanted to wait for Fisher to sleep together, ended up falling asleep by himself, unable to resist his fatigue after seeing Fisher so absorbed in magic research.
Fisher glanced down at him, reluctantly patting his body but didn’t move him away.
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(End of Chapter)
