Magazine

Night. After dealing with the neighbor who had come to borrow a roasting oven, Lumian went upstairs to the room that served as a study. —In Cordu Village, many poor families had neither an oven nor a large stove; when they needed to bake bread or smoke meat, they could only borrow from someone else and use it on the spot. On this matter, Aurore had always been open-minded and tolerant; anyone could borrow, as long as they paid the appropriate fuel cost or brought their own coal, wood, and so on. By this time, she had changed into a white silk nightgown and was curled up in an armchair, reading a book intently by the bright battery-powered desk lamp on the writing desk. Lumian did not disturb her. He casually pulled a thinner book from the bookshelf and sat in the chair in the corner. “The Hidden Veil” … What magazine is this? Lumian glanced at the cover, full of strange symbols, and felt puzzled. He flipped through it quickly, and the more he looked, the more shocked he became. The magazine spoke of the forms of human souls, of all things having spirits, of communicating with different spirits through secret means to gain different kinds of help… Even though he was not at all devout, and merely went with the flow to the church of the Eternal Blazing Sun to say some prayers and occasionally attend Mass, two words flashed uncontrollably through Lumian’s mind: “Blasphemy! “Taboo!” Although it was perfectly normal for Aurore—a sorcerer who would be captured and burned at the stake by the Inquisition the moment she was exposed—to have such books at home, Lumian clearly saw that this magazine bore a government publishing license! Could such a thing be published openly? Wasn’t publishing censorship always very strict? Or was the license forged… Lumian raised his head and looked at Aurore, asking, “Is this a banned magazine?” Aurore withdrew her gaze from her book, glanced at her brother, and said unconcernedly, “It used to be. It was underground literature. Later, I don’t know how, it passed censorship and was officially published. The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun doesn’t intervene either; it just tacitly allows it.” “Literature?” Lumian didn’t quite understand his sister’s wording. “This is of course literature. You’re not taking it seriously, are you?” Aurore laughed. “If it were true, do you think it could be published? If you followed the methods written there, all you’d get is mental exhaustion and nervousness—no extra gain. Hmm… occasionally there might be something real, but without the corresponding ritual language, no matter how you try, it’s a waste of effort.” This was the evaluation of a professional sorcerer. “All right…” Lumian could not hide his disappointment. “I’m just surprised that this could be published.” Aurore puffed her cheeks, as if seriously thinking: “I’m not sure why either. Maybe in recent years, supernatural—er, incidents involving extraordinary elements—have been increasing everywhere and cannot all be concealed, bringing about a certain trend of thought. The government wants people to understand a little, so it has relaxed control over similar books. In Trier, more popular are the three magazines ‘Spiritism,’ ‘Lotus,’ and ‘Upanishads.’ I have them all on my bookshelf. If you’re interested, you can find them to read. It’ll also help you make up more believable stories at the tavern.” “Mm.” Lumian was indeed interested. At the same time, he again marveled in his heart: Aurore’s book collection was truly rich and diverse! It was precisely through these books and Aurore’s occasional explanations that this unschooled young man could gain sufficient understanding of the world he lived in, this continent, this country: The world had two continents, north and south, separated by the Violent Sea, where hurricanes raged and navigation was difficult. As for the legendary East and West Continents, no one had reached them, and no one could determine whether they actually existed or not. The Republic of Intis, where Lumian and Aurore lived, was located in the center of the Northern Continent, bordering the Misty Sea to the west, the Feysac Empire to the north, and facing the Loen Kingdom across the Hornacis Mountains to the east. To the south, the neighboring countries in order were the Kingdom of Feynapotter, Lenburg, and Masque. Between the Kingdom of Feynapotter and the Loen Kingdom were Segar and other small countries. Along with Lenburg and Masque, they were called the Central-Southern States, sharing the common belief in the “God of Knowledge and Wisdom.” The Southern Continent had become a colony of the Northern Continent’s countries. Whether it was the Bylan Empire, the Pas Kingdom, the Hagati Kingdom, or other countries, most of their autonomy had been lost. Of course, the wave of resistance against colonization never ceased. Besides the Violent Sea between the Northern and Southern Continents, the Misty Sea west of the Republic of Intis, the Suniya Sea east of the Loen Kingdom, the North Sea north of the Feysac Empire, and the Polar Sea south of the Southern Continent—they were collectively called the “Five Seas.” Among the Northern Continent’s countries, the Loen Kingdom had the strongest overall strength, followed by the Republic of Intis. The Feysac Empire, which had lost the last war, had fallen to fourth place, while the Kingdom of Feynapotter had risen to third. Among the Central-Southern States, Lenburg was the most powerful. Compared to the Cordu villagers who knew only the Republic of Intis, the Kingdom of Feynapotter, and Lenburg, Lumian could practically be called a geographer. Of course, this was because the shepherds of Cordu Village needed to migrate to the neighboring Kingdom of Feynapotter and Lenburg, so they had some understanding of these two countries. If it were the people of the rural northern Dariège region, apart from surrounding villages, towns, and cities, they could only name big cities within their own country such as Trier and Suxite. Sometimes, Lumian really wondered how Aurore could master so much knowledge. All the textbooks he studied were compiled by Aurore, all the exercise sheets were set by Aurore, and whenever he had questions about the books he usually read, Aurore could answer them! Even more importantly, she mastered fighting techniques of various schools. This was simply not something a girl in her twenties could achieve. Some people lived fifty or sixty years without accumulating so much knowledge. Were these the basic conditions for being a true sorcerer? Lumian raised his head again and looked at Aurore. Aurore read her book while lightly tapping her cheek with her finger, looking nothing like a scholar or a sorcerer. “What are you looking at?” Aurore noticed his gaze. “Last time you said I had the knowledge reserves to take the unified higher-education entrance examination?” Lumian changed the subject. Aurore thought for a moment and said, “Theoretically, you could enter any university, but I haven’t taken that entrance examination myself, so I can’t be sure of the specific scope of the questions. “Emperor Roselle the Great really caused a lot of harm. Sigh, this is also a good thing…” Without a doubt, the unified higher-education entrance examination was something instituted during Emperor Roselle the Great’s reign and had continued to the present. Aurore suddenly remembered something. Looking at Lumian, she smiled and asked, “Why didn’t you go to the tavern to make up stories today?” “I’m not really a drunkard.” Lumian shook the magazine in his hand. “Reading books at home is also a good form of entertainment.” And it could calm my mood and relax my state… he silently added in his heart. Aurore nodded and looked toward Lumian’s corner. “Why are you sitting so far away? Are you pretending to be pitiful, weak, and helpless? “Come over. Reading at night requires good lighting, otherwise it will hurt your eyes.” Aurore really had so many strange words… Although Lumian understood what the words “pitiful,” “weak,” and “helpless” meant individually, together they seemed very odd—not like normal usage… Lumian had long been used to Aurore’s behavior. He pulled up his chair and came to the side of the writing desk. In front of the bright desk lamp, they sat on the left and right, quietly reading their books, occasionally chatting a few words. Breathing sounds, the sound of pages turning, the night wind that occasionally blew in from outside the window—soothing and peaceful. … After exchanging goodnights with Aurore, Lumian returned to his own room. He took off his coat and, as usual, hung it on the back of the chair. He did not try to bring the “Wands” card to bed. This was out of fear of arousing Aurore’s suspicion, after all, his older sister had said she would watch over him at all times. Lumian was about to stride toward the bed when he suddenly felt something and stopped. His eyes shifted, and he adjusted the chair, usually placed at a slant, to face the window directly. Then he got onto the bed and extinguished the kerosene lamp on the cabinet beside him. After falling asleep normally, Lumian did not know how much time had passed before he suddenly jolted awake, regaining consciousness. He saw the bedroom again, filled with faint gray mist. Mentally prepared, Lumian calmly looked around and discovered one thing: The chair he had deliberately straightened before going to sleep was still slanted in the dream, keeping its usual appearance. In other words, the bedroom in the dream did not strictly correspond to reality. It might stem from the deepest impressions in his subconscious… Although he did not know what this meant, Lumian felt it was a point worth remembering. He went to the window, braced both hands on the table, and looked outside. The mountain composed of reddish-brown stones and reddish-brown soil, and the circles of collapsed buildings surrounding it, once again entered his field of vision. Here, silence reigned to the point of deathly stillness. Time passed quickly. After hesitating for a while, Lumian finally made up his mind: Tonight, he would conduct a definite preliminary exploration! His past life of wandering had given him a streak of ruthlessness. He did not immediately go downstairs into the ruins. Instead, he opened the wardrobe and began putting on more clothes. This was not because he felt cold, but to increase his “defensive capability” in this way. He put on a cotton jacket and cotton pants, draped on a leather jacket, then moved his body. He felt he could not add any more; more would noticeably affect his agility. Agility was more important. While adapting to the current state, a thought suddenly flashed through Lumian’s mind: This is my dream. Wouldn’t I have whatever I want? Wanting to try it out, he began to mutter under his breath: “I want a breastplate, a pistol… I want a breastplate, a pistol…” The room filled with faint gray mist showed no change. It seems it doesn’t work. This dream is indeed special… Lumian calmed his disappointment, opened the bedroom door, and stepped into the corridor. There was no light here; it was dim and gloomy. Lumian opened the doors to Aurore’s bedroom and study one after another. The furnishings inside differed slightly from reality but were basically the same. The biggest difference was that neither scene contained Aurore, as if both were frozen in a shade of gray. The first floor was the same. Lumian began searching for weapons for self-defense. Familiar with the house, he quickly had two choices: One was a fork with a steel front end, nearly two meters long. In Aurore’s words, as long as the target had no ranged weapon, this thing was absolutely effective and its effect was outstanding. The other was a sharper black iron hand axe. An adult’s answer would be to take both… Lumian inexplicably recalled a phrase Aurore often said, but in the end, he did not do so. Because tonight he was doing a preliminary exploration; what he needed was concealment, caution, near-stealth. Carrying such a long weapon would certainly hinder his movements and make him easy to expose. Lumian slowly exhaled, bent at the waist, and picked up the hand axe. He then straightened his body and, step by step, walked toward the door in the faint gray mist. Soundlessly, he opened the door.