Chapter 62

The "Noodle Man" once again began to dance.

Lumian confirmed that this mysterious dance indeed prevented the black thorn symbol on his chest from fully activating. The symbol would appear, but the accompanying terrifying sound was almost non-existent, only a faint, indistinct whisper remained.

This was a significant advantage for him in utilizing the "special" aspect of his dreams.

However, at the same time, he discovered two problems:

First, the dance moves of the "Noodle Man" were extremely difficult, some even defying human anatomy. Only a creature with exaggerated flexibility, as if it had no bones or tendons, could perform them. Although Lumian was an Extraordinary and a "Hunter" with greatly enhanced physical abilities, he had no confidence in himself. He felt that if he tried to complete the dance, he would either tear a ligament, strain a muscle, or even break a bone.

Second, this mysterious dance seemed to truly harness the natural forces around it, carrying an Extraordinary flavor. As a result, after memorizing the dance for a while, Lumian found that his spirituality was greatly depleted.

"I have to go back and rest after watching this once." Lumian watched the "Noodle Man" perform the "Mysterious Dance" for the third time and sighed silently.

"The spirituality of a 'Hunter' is really not up to the task!"

Through this experience, he almost confirmed that the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol was closely related to this dream wasteland.

Here, there were both the black marks found on the priest's chest and the dance that could activate the thorn symbol, which would be surprising if they had nothing to do with the hidden existence!

Thinking about the similar symbol on the priest's chest and the fact that the dream wasteland had restarted along with reality, falling into a loop, Lumian became even more convinced of Aurore's guess:

The key to breaking the loop might be hidden deep within this place. Even if it wasn't the entire solution, it should be a very important part.

So, that mysterious lady has been hinting for me to uncover the secrets of the dream wasteland? Lumian felt increasingly resentful, raised his left hand (the one not holding the axe), and made an obscene gesture at the black thorn symbol on his chest.

He wasn't worried about angering the other party. Not only was it uncertain whether the hidden existence could sense or see it, but being trapped in the time loop she had brought, surrounded by increasingly strange and dangerous people, made Lumian feel that things couldn't get much worse.

After watching the third dance, Lumian rubbed his slightly empty head, feeling the slight warmth on his chest, and left the wasteland, returning to his home on the other side of the wilderness.

Just before leaving the dream, he tried to reinforce the dance moves he had memorized, almost straining his waist, tearing the ligaments in his knees, and ripping the muscles in his calves.

"Shit, this isn't something a normal human can do!" Lumian cursed and lay down on the bed.

Due to the great depletion of his spirituality and deep fatigue, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

...

When Lumian woke up, it was just dawn, the sun had not yet risen, and the red moon had lost its luster.

He slowly sat up, feeling a sense of satisfaction after a deep sleep, and his depleted spirituality was perfectly replenished.

Walking to the window, Lumian pulled back the curtains, letting the morning light into the room.

The next second, his eyes froze.

The creature, larger than an ordinary owl, was perched on a nearby elm tree, looking down at him.

Lumian quickly regained his composure and opened his mouth:

"Aurore! Aurore!"

"Hurry, the suspect is here!"

"Follow it!"

Hearing the shout, the owl spread its wings and flew toward the edge of the village.

It flew lower and lower, quickly disappearing into the woods at the edge of Cordu Village.

A few seconds later, Aurore, wearing a white silk nightgown, entered Lumian's bedroom.

She asked with a look of frustration:

"Is it that owl?"

"Yes." Lumian looked out the window, "Is 'White Paper' following it?"

Aurore tugged at her golden hair and said resentfully:

"Why does it always appear at such an inopportune time?

"I was just having a good sleep, and you woke me up. I didn't have time to release 'White Paper' before it flew away."

"Didn't you say you were having trouble sleeping because of the stress?" Lumian instinctively replied.

Aurore gave him a glare:

"Always having trouble sleeping can affect your mental state and lead to signs of losing control.

"People, at first, are tense, anxious, and fearful, but once they get used to it, they become numb. A good sleep is necessary to maintain clarity and rationality."

"Only next time..." Lumian was very regretful.

Aurore thought for a moment:

"Let's summarize the pattern of its appearances. We can't just wait for the rabbit to hit the tree stump, and we need to rest, so we can't watch all the time."

Lumian recalled the previous few times:

"It's always between the late night and early morning..."

"Why is it always during this time?" Aurore asked further, "This is just a manifestation, not a pattern. Think carefully about what you did on the nights it appeared, or the early part of the night. Did you repeat the same behavior?"

"I was exploring the dream wasteland..." Lumian didn't hide anything from his sister and began to recall, "The first time it appeared, I killed the first monster in the dream. The second time, I activated the symbol on my chest through meditation, discovering my 'special' aspect. The third time, I took the potion in the dream and became a 'Hunter.' The fourth time, which was today, I found a way to activate the dream 'special' with minimal damage."

"What way?" Aurore asked impulsively.

Lumian recounted the "Noodle Man" and its dance, as well as his own attempts, in detail.

Aurore listened while thinking about the owl. After Lumian finished, she carefully said:

"The owl seems to appear when you make significant progress in your dream exploration..."

"Hmm..." Lumian recalled, his eyes gradually brightening:

"Indeed!

"The first time I killed a monster, the first time I displayed my 'special' aspect, the first time I took the potion and became an Extraordinary, the first time I found a way to use that 'special' aspect...

"Similar significant progress in reality also has a certain reaction. The owl sensed it and came to observe. Ha, it must have smelled something."

Aurore nodded:

"Later, we can consciously create similar opportunities to see if we can catch the owl."

"I think it will appear again when I master that mysterious dance and can truly use the 'special' aspect brought by the symbol in my dreams." Lumian thought for a moment and showed a malicious smile, "When I try it in the dream, I'll let you know, and you can be prepared."

Aurore thought for a moment and nodded:

"I hope we can initially figure out which entity the owl is associated with and what role it plays in the anomalies in Cordu..."

Lumian took the opportunity to ask:

"Aurore, uh, sister, do you know anything about that dance?

"You know, I'm still a novice in the field of mysticism."

Aurore pulled over the chair in front of Lumian's wooden desk, sat down, and after a moment of thought, said:

"A few notebooks mention that in ancient times, during the early Fifth Epoch and the entire Fourth Epoch, there were large-scale ritual magics.

"In those ritual magics, there were not only many sacrifices but also many participants who used special dances to please the target entity to receive a response.

"In fact, from the very beginning, dances were widely believed to influence nature and communicate with deities, similar to the combination of Extraordinary language and items like herbs and essential oils."

In the world where Aurore and Lumian lived, history was divided into five epochs. The First Epoch was the Chaos Epoch, the Second Epoch was the Dark Epoch, the Third Epoch was the Catastrophe Epoch, but Aurore had heard from a pen pal that it was also called the Radiant Epoch.

The Fourth Epoch was the Epoch of the Gods or the Age of the Gods, and the Fifth Epoch, which began 1,358 years ago, was the Black Iron Age.

The history of the first three epochs was unverifiable, leaving only myths and legends. The Fourth Epoch occasionally appeared in documents, records, notes, ruins, tombs, and ancient cities, but the overall history was shrouded in mystery, with only a vague outline. This was partly due to the theological texts of the seven churches, which often mentioned stories from the Fourth Epoch.

After listening to his sister's explanation, Lumian had a guess:

"The 'Noodle Man' is using dance to please the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol, hoping to receive a response or a blessing?

"Is its ritual missing a significant part, so the effect is very poor? Or is it the problem with the dream wasteland itself, which only triggers a little of the power stored in the symbol in my body?

"Ha, it seems like I'm the god, and because I saw the 'Noodle Man's' dance, I was pleased and decided to highlight the symbol and give a response."

However, this was actually completely out of Lumian's control, a spontaneous reaction of the thorn symbol.

Aurore smiled:

"You are more like the carrier of the symbol, a tool in a certain sense."

She paused and said thoughtfully:

"I suspect that the dance was specifically 'invented' to please or communicate with the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol, otherwise, it wouldn't even make the symbol react...

"Moreover, based on your description, this isn't something an ordinary person can do; it must be an Extraordinary with special enhancements.

"However, I know the names and have some understanding of the Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 of the twenty-two paths, and none of them can perform that dance. The 'Noodle Man' doesn't seem to be of a higher sequence, otherwise, you wouldn't have escaped."

"Maybe it's not within the twenty-two paths, but a blessing from a hidden existence?" Lumian thought of the mysterious lady's words.

Aurore glanced out the window and pursed her lips:

"I don't know if it's related to the 'Man in the Ring,' equivalent to Sequence 9 or Sequence 8 power?"

"It should be." Lumian suddenly laughed, "I'll name it, the Sequence 9 of the 'Man in the Ring,' the 'Noodle Man'!"

Aurore couldn't help but look up at the ceiling.

After a while of discussion, the siblings went downstairs for breakfast.

After studying Hermes until around ten, Lumian took his important tools and went out.

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