I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Richard drew a line in his notebook, comparing this information with his own experience.

His shadow demonstrated the ability to act independently after being activated by the etheric field.

People in the Black Soil River Basin believe that the shadow itself is an independent component of the soul.

These two pieces of information point in the same direction: a shadow is not a projection, but a physical entity.

The second book is an excerpt from the Hermes Collection.

The content of this book is much more abstract than the first one.

Hermes Trismegistus, also known as the Triple Great Hermes, is a central figure in the classical mystical tradition.

Legend has it that he is both Thoth, the god of wisdom, and Hermes, the god of messengers, and the two are one.

One of the core doctrines of the Hermetic Texts:

"As it is above, as it is below. As it is inside, as it is outside."

Richard applied this principle to the relationship between "man and shadow":

Humans are "above," possessing form and light, and acting in the material world.

The shadow is "below," invisible, without light, and moving behind matter.

In the excerpt from the collection, another passage caught his attention:

"Where there is light, there is shadow; the stronger the light, the deeper the shadow."

Both share the same foundation, like the two sides of a coin.

Richard underlined this passage twice.

The third book was the children's version of a collection of myths.

This book has almost no academic value, but it has one advantage: it simplifies complex mythological narratives to their most basic framework.

One story in particular caught his attention.

The story is about the sun god Ra, and his journey through the underworld in his solar boat.

Every night, Ra's sun boat sinks into the underworld in the west and rises again in the east.

In his journey through the underworld, Ra must confront various enemies and obstacles.

The greatest enemy is Apophis, the serpent of chaos, who tries to devour the sun boat every night.

But there's a detail in the story: Ra doesn't act in his daytime form in the underworld.

During the day, Ra is the radiant sun god, with a sun disc above his head, radiating boundless light.

At night, La is an old man with a ram's head, hunched over, leaning on a scepter.

The author of the children's book added a note here:

"Some scholars believe that the nighttime 'la' is actually the shadow of the daytime 'la' - Shute."

"By day, Ra shines his light upon the world; by night, his shadow traverses the darkness in his place."

Richard closed the children's book.

He mentally synthesized the information from the three books.

People in the Black Earth River basin believe that the shadow (Shute) is an independent component of the soul, and that the Shute continues to exist in the underworld after a person dies.

Hermes believed that humans and their shadows are mirror images of each other, sharing the same fundamental basis of existence, but each is independent.

The myth of the sun god Ra suggests that shadows can act in place of the original body in another realm.

He combined these ideas with the riddle of the Sphinx.

The surface of the answer is "human".

The deeper meaning of the mystery lies in the "symbiosis between humans and shadows".

This understanding forms a fascinating contrast with his own experience.

One's own shadow does indeed demonstrate independent will.

But the first thing the shadow did after coming back to life was to lock its own throat.

What kind of "symbiosis" is this?

Richard put a question mark after this conclusion in his notebook.

Perhaps the relationship between his shadow and him has not yet reached the stage of "symbiosis".

Perhaps their relationship is currently closer to a "standoff".

But this did not affect his answer to the riddle.

The Sphinx was asking about universal laws, not his own specific case.

He closed the notebook and returned the three books to the bookshelf.

When I left the library, it was drizzling outside.

His shadow was almost invisible on the cloudy day; without a direct light source, it was as faint as a thin mist.

Richard glanced down at the blurry gray outline at his feet.

"See you tonight," he thought to himself.

………………

That evening, at 9:40 PM.

The latch was inserted, and a handkerchief was tucked into the gap.

Richard lay on the bed and chose to enter.

Consciousness plunged into darkness once more.

Black water appeared at my feet, and I was hanging upside down above the water.

After about fifty steps, the stone gate appeared before us.

The Sphinx relief on the crossbeam has its mouth open, thankfully there are no new riddles this time:

"The answer in the inner layer."

Richard organized the conclusions he had drawn from thinking all day yesterday into language and pushed them to the forefront of his consciousness.

"The shadow is neither a man's servant nor a man's master."

"Shadows and people share existence, each with its own will, and are interdependent."

"The third leg is the choice of the shadow, not the need of the person."

He thought for a moment, then added:

"The shadows stretch out at dusk not only because the light forces them to lengthen, but also because they choose to lend a helping hand when people are at their weakest."

The Sphinx on the crossbeam closed its mouth.

silence.

Richard began to doubt whether he had answered incorrectly.

The next moment, the relief sculpture made a movement.

It nodded.

The movement was minimal, but in this almost still space, it appeared exceptionally solemn.

Inscriptions reappeared on the walls of the stone gate.

This time it's not a few fragmented lines, but a complete and clearly structured piece of information.

The text began to emerge from the center of the wall, arranged line by line downwards:

"Inversio Umbrae"

"Nature: Changed tradition (fragment)."

"Effect: Reverses the mastered technique into its shadow version."

The Shadow version's effect is a distorted mapping of the original formula; its specific manifestation varies depending on the original formula.

"Restriction: Each technique can only be reversed once."

The reversed Shadow version is an independent spell, existing alongside the original without interfering with it.

The space began to darken, and the same exit process as yesterday began.

The text remained on the wall for about ten seconds before slowly fading away.

Richard memorized every single word.

The space began to darken, and the same exit process as yesterday began.

The grayish-white light faded, the outline of the stone gate blurred, and a pulling force came from behind.

When he opened his eyes, he was still lying in bed.

He covered his chest with the blanket, in the exact same position as before.

He glanced at the pocket watch on the bedside table; it was 11:20 p.m.

The physical sensation is also similar.

I felt no discomfort whatsoever, and was even a little more energetic than before I entered.

Richard lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Shadow Reversal reverses the mastered technique into a shadow version.

The condition "techniques already mastered" is very clear.

What techniques has he mastered so far?

Strictly speaking, there is only one: Fog Wall.

He used it once on Central Avenue, and the effect was immediate, but the side effects were also immediate, affecting several innocent passersby and almost causing a major disturbance.

If only the Fog Wall spell could be reversed into the Shadow version… Richard sat up in bed.

He didn't turn on the light, but closed his eyes in the darkness and let his consciousness sink into the panel.

At the bottom of the panel, the text about Shadow Reversal was quietly lit up, the font size the same as the skill label.

He tried to touch it with his consciousness.

A brief instruction manual appeared:

"Choose a technique you have mastered and confirm the reversal."

A blank selection box is listed below.

Richard focused his attention on the "Fog Wall" spell and tried to push it into the selection box.

The panel is not responding.

The selection box remained unchanged, and the name of the Fog Wall spell did not appear in it.

He tried again, but there was still no response.

The third time, he changed his approach and directly recited "Fog Wall" in his mind.

The panel responded this time, but it wasn't the kind of response he had expected.

A line of small gray text appeared below the selection box:

"This item does not meet the reversal criteria."

Reason: Informal procedure.

Richard stared at the line of gray text for a long time.

Informal techniques.

He mentally reviewed all the information about the Fog Wall technique.

What did Mr. Hutton say to him when he gave it to him?

"It's just a little trick, not a proper technique."

The core of the entire operation is the grey clover itself. Grey clover is a plant that grows in areas polluted by ether and carries trace amounts of ether residue.

Strictly speaking, this is not a spell, it's just ignition.

Grey clover is a match, breathing techniques are like striking a match, and the flame is the ether carried by the grey clover itself.

The caster's own ether was almost entirely absent throughout the process.

What is the real technique?

The spell recorded on the gargoyle should be...

Richard folded the prompts on the panel back and leaned against the headboard.

The restrictions on the Shadow Reversal were stricter than he had anticipated.

It's not enough to just "know how to use" it; it must be a "formal procedure" for it to be reversed.

Once he has fully mastered the spells on the gargoyles, the Shadow Reversal will have a chance to be used.

His gaze fell on the beginning of the text "Shadow Reversal" on the panel.

"Nature: Changed tradition (fragment)."

Change the tradition.

Richard pulled his notebook from the bedside table drawer and flipped to the pages of notes he had made while deciphering "On Ascents Behind a Curtain".

The five traditions of the sun, the hearth, the abyss, the moon hunt, and the web weaving are the five main paths recognized by the world behind the veil today, but "change" is not among them.

Richard closed the notebook in the dark and put it back in the drawer.

He initially speculated that the Sphinx, as the gatekeeper in the mythological system of the Black Earth River Valley, should belong to the solar tradition.

The reason is quite straightforward.

In the mythology of the Black Earth River Basin, the Sphinx crouches in front of the temple gate, guarding the territory of the sun god.

However, the label given on the panel is "Change of Tradition," a name not among the five traditions.

Richard frowned.

Without sufficient information, overthinking is useless.

Later, I can try to find relevant information about "changing traditions" in the Imperial University Library.

I'm very tired tonight, I need to get some rest.

………………

On Wednesday, Richard ran into an anxious-looking old man from the mailroom at the classroom door.

"Williams! Your letter!"

The old man, panting heavily, shoved a letter into my hand; the envelope bore the address of the Dawn family.

He opened the letter; inside was only a note with delicate and neat handwriting.

Mr. Williams:

Thanks to the recommendation of the North District Office of the Classical Society.

Please come to 24 Highfield Road for an interview this Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Sincerely, Charlotte Dawn

The wording was polite but concise, without any unnecessary formalities.