Sandra looked at Lucian in puzzlement. "Mr. Evans, what's wrong?" She didn't think anything in what she'd said was particularly startling, nor did it seem to contain any useful information.
"After I used the 'Elemental' ring beyond my tier, the backlash was quite severe. It'll take several days to recover, and my hand just went limp for a moment." Lucian reached out and picked up *Vicente's Special Summoning Ritual* from the reception desk in front of Alex, attributing his strange behavior to the aftereffects of using high-level magic.
In truth, after resting during the carriage and magical steam-train rides, Lucian had nearly fully recovered. The real reason he'd momentarily lost control and revealed his shock was that before the Dawn War, it wasn't only Vicente who had disappeared — the "Prophet" Muskin and other legendary mages had vanished as well.
Charlotte and Sandra knew about these matters, but not in as much detail as Lucian: the Prophet Muskin had disappeared in the depths of the "Netherworld," along with several old friends mentioned in the notes. They had all been conducting an important magical experiment. Moreover, Muskin had been able to use arcane means to create Divine Artifacts, and his iconic great cross closely resembled the Church's Cross of Truth!
This forced Lucian to draw connections: "Could Vicente be one of Muskin's old friends? Did he participate in that important magical experiment? Does this experiment have any connection to the special summoning ritual he wrote? Does the deepest part of the Netherworld truly conceal some fundamental secret of the world?! But it must be extraordinarily dangerous!"
"If I ever become a Grand Archanist or a legendary mage, I'll definitely go explore the depths of the Netherworld." Lucian instinctively decided to keep this far-reaching matter secret, planning to wait until he had sufficient strength before inviting trusted legendary mages and Grand Archanists to venture there together.
Neither Charlotte nor Sandra questioned Lucian's explanation. On the contrary, they found it perfectly reasonable — using magical items beyond one's tier would naturally come with severe consequences.
"Mr. Evans, Charlotte, we've already submitted our mission report to the Council. I'm sure the senior members will look into this special summoning ritual. So no matter how curious we are, we mustn't try to perform it. I'm worried we'd end up like Bill, controlled by that creature." Sandra reminded Lucian and Charlotte with lingering fear. As a mage specializing in summoning, she had an instinctive aversion to these incomprehensible summoning rituals and their unpredictable, eerie consequences.
Lucian smiled faintly. "I won't attempt this summoning ritual before I reach the high tier. I don't think I could handle that kind of creature right now. And before then, I'm sure the Council will have learned a great deal. Perhaps by then, all we'll need to do is consult the classified materials in the Grand Archanist Library to understand everything."
"That would be best — knowing the creature's detailed information means we won't feel helpless and bewildered if we encounter it again." Unknown enemies were always more terrifying than known ones, and Charlotte as a battle mage worried most about facing creatures beyond her understanding.
Sandra smiled with some relief. "Exactly. With the Council above us, we don't need to worry too much. But I still want to borrow *Fable of Agony* to read and see if it's as dark and hopeless as Scott described."
"So do I. But I'll need to borrow a few other books first." Lucian asked Alex to find foundational arcanist texts on force and necromancy, as well as introductory magical texts from several other schools.
Charlotte put on her battle-mage square cap. "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. It was an honor to meet you during this mission, Mr. Evans. I hope we can cooperate again in the future — your composure and decisiveness are something I greatly admire."
"I'm off to the Arlen City Library as well. Mr. Evans, you're not the kind of Archanist who can only survive in a magical laboratory. Working with you is very reassuring." The shrewd and capable Sandra didn't linger, bidding farewell to Lucian with a handshake.
Lucian responded to each of them in turn and said modestly, "Your combat experience and your choice and application of magic have given me a great deal. Without your help, I might well have died at Castle Bertrande. Actually, there's no need to wait for future cooperation — we can exchange ideas regularly."
…………
The basement of Altor Monastery.
A solemn, majestic bass melody was hummed by a slightly husky yet alluring female voice, as if tracing the oppressive leaden clouds and the dark, stifling atmosphere before a storm.
The voice gradually rose, carrying a soft, sorrowful feeling. Then the melody quickened, filled with anxious restlessness, like the patter of rain and the howling of wind.
When the themes of oppression and agitation returned in counterpoint, everything suddenly fell silent. Only a calm melody murmured on, like a soul standing apart within the storm, lost in its own reflections — forgetting the lightning and thunder, forgetting the oppressive gloom, forgetting the gale and driving rain, forgetting everything else in the world.
The storm swept in once more, battering this soul that kept singing its refrain, but soon the first movement ended. A warm melody flowed forth, soothing the soul's weariness and wounds.
Natasha finished humming the main theme of the "Storm Sonata" with a smile at the corner of her lips, then gazed as if piercing through the darkness at the letter in her hands — the one Lucian had sent on July thirtieth, in which he expressed great satisfaction with the Piano Storm Sonata.
"Although it feels slightly less powerful than the 'Pathétique' and 'Moonlight,' it's still an outstanding work. It continues that same philosophical reflection on life and defiance against fate. As a birthday gift, it's truly wonderful," Natasha murmured to herself. Then her eyes drifted upward to reread passages she had already gone over — about Lucian using "mass problem drills" to teach (torture) his apprentices, about the apprentices' various amusing reactions, about the mix-up where he'd been mistaken for an inviter with the same name and invited to the "Annual Conference on Elemental and Alchemical Magic," and the other little incidents Lucian had encountered at the Arcane Council.
These stories unfolded slowly, like a far-traveled friend recounting their experiences face to face, filling Natasha with a warm, serene feeling deep in her heart.