Ancient Magic!

"So that's it. You can see these blue lights too..." Li Weide nodded thoughtfully. "What exactly are these blue lights? What does it mean to be able to see them?"

"It means that you and I possess the same trait. Have you ever heard of... Ancient Magic?"

Li Weide's eyes widened. "Ancient Magic?!"

Before his transmigration, Li Weide had encountered the concept of Ancient Magic in a game called Hogwarts Legacy.

It was a powerful kind of magic... only a handful of wizards could master and wield it. It could be considered the protagonist's greatest trump card in that game—the ultimate move...

"Looks like you already know about it. Then I won't need to explain too much."

The Strange Man did not ask how Li Weide knew.

He merely glanced at the tabletop, and an exquisite teapot and two teacups appeared on it.

The teapot floated up and poured tea into the two cups by itself. Then, one of the cups drifted over to Li Weide.

Li Weide immediately caught the rich fragrance of black tea, but he did not touch the cup before him.

"Although all this is a dream, the sensations it gives you are real. So why not have a sip of tea before continuing your questions?"

Hearing that, Li Weide had no choice but to pick up the teacup and take a sip... the fragrance lingered between his teeth.

"Tea like this probably only exists in dreams... Why do you know Nightmare Magic too? Are you a member of the Somnolence Family?" Li Weide asked again.

The Strange Man shook his head. "I'm not from the Somnolence Family. I know this magic because I created it in the first place. However, several decades ago, I did teach this magic to someone from the Somnolence Family."

"That's impossible. The manuscript recording this magic is at least several centuries old. How could you have taught it to them only decades ago?" Li Weide immediately spotted the flaw in his words.

"Couldn't be helped. When you chose Dark Arts, you specifically picked magic from centuries ago. I had to use some methods to make you believe that manuscript had enough history behind it..." the Strange Man said somewhat helplessly.

Li Weide stared at the Strange Man in surprise. "You were there when I chose the Dark Arts?"

The Strange Man sighed. "Weide, I understand you better than you imagine..."

"Actually, after I discovered that you possessed the same trait as I did, I wanted to have a chat with you in your dreams."

"Unfortunately... you were too far away from me, beyond the maximum range of this magic. Even I could only barely appear before you, unable to make any sound."

"Until I discovered that you had unexpectedly inherited the Somnolence Family's tower, and that you happened to possess a Lighter carrying the aura of Ancient Magic..."

Li Weide said, "So you guided me to obtain that Nightmare Magic manuscript, then had me practice Nightmare Magic. Only after I learned Nightmare Magic could you make sounds in my dreams? Then you used the Lighter to lead me here?"

"Yes. I had to find a way to bring you before me," the Strange Man said.

Li Weide was silent for a long while before suddenly asking, "The White Mist that appeared in my dreams... you were behind that too?"

"Yes..." The Strange Man nodded.

"No wonder... Those White Mist reminders were also why I could touch upon the threshold of Nightmare Magic so quickly," Li Weide said.

"Yes... because I didn't have much time left. I couldn't slowly wait for you to learn Nightmare Magic, so I had no choice but to give you a push. If I offended you, then let me apologize first..."

Li Weide stared intently at the Strange Man before him. "Right now, besides you and me, who else possesses the trait for Ancient Magic?"

"No one. So far, you're the only one I've found," the Strange Man replied.

Li Weide took a deep breath. Could this Strange Man be the protagonist of Hogwarts Legacy?

That was a ruthless guy who could take out seven or eight people on the way to class!

He never expected him to end up like this...

"Why couldn't you come find me directly? Why did you have to go through such trouble to contact me in dreams? Even now that I'm here, why can't you meet me in your true appearance?" Li Weide asked in one breath.

"As I said at the beginning... I am a pitiful person enslaved by power. I failed my teacher's expectations of me... I absorbed too much Ancient Magic power." The Strange Man's voice was full of bitterness.

"By the time I realized there was too much Ancient Magic power within me, it was already too late. I paid the price for my arrogance... I could self-destruct at any moment, and the force of that explosion might be enough to destroy an entire city!"

"At that time, one of my friends was highly accomplished in alchemy... He made a cloak for me. This cloak could temporarily freeze all the Ancient Magic power within me and delay my death."

"But at the same time, my own body was frozen as well..."

"For safety's sake, my friends moved my body here, far away from people. Then they slowly sought a way to solve the problem with me... In the end, I remained here for decades."

"By now, those friends of mine have not come to see me for a long time. Perhaps they have all passed away. I can no longer observe them..."

"...I can't leave, and all my friends are dead, so I can only contact you through dreams."

Li Weide asked in confusion, "But if you can't even leave this place, how did you discover that I possessed this trait? And how do you know so much about me?"

The Strange Man replied, "That brings us back to Nightmare Magic... Do you know how I created this magic?"

Li Weide shook his head.

"You can probably imagine how boring it was for me to stay alone in this place, unable to move at all. At the same time, you can imagine how terrifying that sense of helplessness was..." The Strange Man's voice grew agitated.

"Later, after I had Nightmare Magic, I was no longer so bored, nor so hopeless... As time passed, I discovered that the power of my dreams could actually spread outward and allow me to observe so many, many things..."

Li Weide immediately understood. Nightmare Magic had been created because he had been too bored.

A dream that could change according to one's will at any time was simply perfect for someone who could not even move.

Li Weide felt that perhaps it was Nightmare Magic that had kept this Strange Man from being driven mad by the endless emptiness and loneliness.

No wonder his Nightmare Magic had reached such a level...

He could actually use the power of dreams to observe things outside? Terrifying...

"Your friends just left you here and walked away without a care? Why didn't they leave someone behind to keep you company? They could've taken turns staying with you for a while, couldn't they?" Li Weide asked doubtfully.

"I told them to go... I'm a powder keg that could explode at any moment. It isn't safe for them to stay here..." Strange Man's voice was filled with helplessness.

How could he possibly want to face this situation alone? But...

"This was all my own fault to begin with... I promised my teacher back then that I could control this power, but in the end..."

Li Weide asked, "Then how do you want me to save you?"

"You also have the talent to wield Ancient Magic, so... absorb me! Absorb some of the Ancient Magic power from my body! Only then can I regain my freedom!"