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 being able to see them mean?"

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

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

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

It was a powerful kind of magic... only a small number of wizards could master and wield it. It could be said to be 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 into the air and automatically poured tea into both cups. 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 Dreamscape, the sensations it gives you are real. So why not have a sip of tea before continuing your questions?"

Hearing that, Li Weide could only 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 Somlunno Family?" Li Weide asked again.

The strange man shook his head. "I'm not from the Somlunno 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 Somlunno Family."

"Impossible. The manuscript recording this magic is at least several hundred years old. How could you have taught it to them only a few decades ago?" Li Weide immediately spotted the flaw in his words.

"Can't be helped. When you chose Dark Magic, you specifically picked magic from centuries ago. I had no choice but to use some means to make you think that manuscript had enough history behind it..." the strange man said somewhat helplessly.

Li Weide stared at him in astonishment. "You were there when I chose Dark Magic?"

The strange man sighed. "Weide, I know you far better than you imagine..."

"In fact, after discovering that you possessed the same trait as me, I had wanted to speak with you in your dreams."

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

"Not until I discovered that you had accidentally inherited the Somlunno Family's tower, and 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 too 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, "That white mist that appeared in my dreams... was that your doing too?"

"Yes..." The strange man nodded.

"No wonder... It was thanks to that white mist's reminder that I was able to grasp the threshold of Nightmare Magic so quickly," Li Weide said.

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

Li Weide fixed his gaze tightly on the strange man before him. "Other than you and me, who else currently possesses the trait for Ancient Magic?"

"No one. So far, you're the only one I've found," the strange man answered.

Li Weide drew a deep breath. Could this strange man be the protagonist of Hogwarts Legacy? That was a ruthless person who had to take down seven or eight people just on the way to class! He had never expected him to end up like this...

"Why can't you find me directly? Why go to so much trouble to contact me in dreams? Even now that I'm here, why can't you show me your true face?" Li Weide fired off his questions in one breath.

"As I said from the start... I am a pitiful person enslaved by power. I failed to live up to my teacher's expectations... I absorbed too much Ancient Magic Power." The strange man's voice was filled with 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 my explosion might be enough to destroy an entire city!"

"At the time, one of my friends was exceptionally skilled in Alchemy... He made me a cloak. It 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 from any crowds. Then they slowly tried to find a solution to my problem... In the end, I remained here for decades."

"By now, my friends have not visited me for a long time. Perhaps they have all passed away. I can no longer observe them..."

"...I can't go out, 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 possess this trait? And how do you know so much about me?"

The strange man answered, "That brings us back to Nightmare Magic... Do you know how I created this magic?"

Li Weide shook his head.

"You should be able to imagine just how boring it was for me to stay alone in this place, unable to move at all. At the same time, how terrifying that feeling of helplessness was..." The strange man's voice became agitated.

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

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

A Dreamscape that could change at will according to one's wishes 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 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...

"Then your friends left you here and simply abandoned you? Why didn't they leave someone behind to keep you company? They could have taken turns staying with you for a while, couldn't they?" Li Weide asked in confusion.

"I told them to leave... I'm a powder keg that could explode at any moment. It wouldn't be safe for them to stay here..." The strange man's tone was full of helplessness.

How could he not have wanted to face such a situation with someone by his side? But...

"This was all my own fault... I once promised my teacher that I could control this power, but in the end..."

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

"You also possess the talent to control Ancient Magic, so... absorb me! Absorb part of the Ancient Magic Power from my body! Only then can I regain my freedom!"