I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Chapter 245 Triple Collapse

The mid-June gathering happened to be just a few days before the start of the training course.

But this divine salon has a peculiar feature.

That is after each beginning.

Richard would be pulled into a pre-designed dream temple by Hecate's magic.

The person may appear to be sitting here, but their soul has already departed for the other side.

But the departure of the soul cannot be hidden from those who are interested.

During the four weeks of training, a senior expert will spend a significant amount of time on campus.

From time to time, experts will also cast their gazes from the sky.

On that night in the middle of the month, if Richard is pulled into a dream and his soul goes somewhere else...

Although he had a silver ring that could shield him from the gazes of low- to mid-level beings, it also prevented the "shadow-eating mother" who was reaching out along the passage from looking at him.

But this is not absolute.

If actively targeted, it can still be penetrated.

The professor, who is highly skilled, came to check on the training program with the intention of "assessing potential trainees."

Richard's mind was completely out of control; it was impossible for him to hide it from a highly knowledgeable professor.

The Theogony Salon is also an anonymous circle that operates outside the system.

If this expert, who oversees the academy system, happens to catch him...

Richard dared not think any further.

He made up his mind that he had to ask for leave from this gathering.

Then, he reached into his inner pocket and took out the ceramic coin with the image of Hermes' caduceus.

This was a new token Hecate gave him when she invited him for the second time.

It looks much more formal than that temporary pottery coin commemorating the God of Medicine.

According to the rules of the Theological Salon, if one wishes to contact others privately...

Simply hold the token, silently recite the code, and state your request.

A reply will be received no later than the same time the following day.

This type of communication can be used a maximum of five times every two months.

Richard held the pottery coin in his palm.

He silently recited the code name "Hermes" in his mind.

Immediately, the pottery coin in my palm became slightly warm.

Richard sent a communication:

I will be unable to attend the next gathering.

He tried to keep his words brief: "I have an unavoidable business to attend to, which just happens to fall during those days. Please forgive me."

He didn't say what important business it was, nor did he say where it was.

It didn't mention terms like "training," "mastery," or "expert."

As the communication ended, the temperature of the pottery coins gradually cooled down.

The request has been sent.

Richard carefully placed the pottery coins close to his body and turned off the gas lamp.

Outside the window is the night in the capital city.

In the boundless darkness, a clock tower somewhere rang eleven times.

……

The reply came the following night.

Hermes:

I've approved your leave request.

I can guess why you took leave. You're currently standing at the threshold of the system, and there are many eyes watching from below that threshold.

Your decision to shrink back at this moment is smart, not cowardly.

The first thing someone who climbs out of the box needs to learn is when to lower their head again.

Richard's breathing slowed.

It was indeed that same person; their rhetoric was still the same.

They never explicitly point it out, but every word they say hits home.

Hermes's words are long, and there's more to come.

"It's a coincidence that you're not the only one taking leave this time."

Nemesis also sent word this week that he had unavoidable matters and could not come.

Nemesis also took leave...

Richard was 70-80% certain that Nemesis was indeed Catherine Blackwood.

Richard and she were studying at the same place and both took leave during the same week.

He is now basically certain.

Then Richard continued reading.

"With the two of you not here, two of the seven chairs will be empty."

I also have things to do and can't free up any time.

I think you probably still remember the matter of the divine mask.

Richard certainly hadn't forgotten.

"That was an extremely time-consuming task."

A mask needs to incorporate, bit by bit, the concepts that a god has accumulated over thousands of years.

So I can't rush it, and I can't make mistakes. I've been focusing most of my attention on this lately.

Since you and Nemesis are absent, and I cannot leave here.

Let's cancel this gathering.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

So that he won't have to find another excuse for his "absence" at the next gathering.

The next gathering will be in mid-August.

The torch will be lit then. I hope all seven chairs will be filled.

After reading it, Richard breathed a sigh of relief.

This matter has finally been resolved.

For the next month, he could devote all his energy to his studies.

Richard turned off the light and lay down on the bed.

In the night of the empire, the clock tower, whose direction was obscured, rang out again.

One, two, three...

Richard counted the chimes and then fell asleep.

……

I don't know when.

Richard's heart tightened.

He was pulled from his deep sleep by this throbbing.

Although he slept very soundly and didn't even dream.

However, Wild Sleep always left Richard a window, specifically for sensing danger.

Tonight, something outside the window made a noise.

Richard opened his eyes, and the silver ring and eagle hook hanging from his chest felt cold at the same time.

He recognized the coolness.

The last time this happened was at the bottom of the pit, when that traditional expert in fierce winds was watching.

Richard's gaze shifted to the window.

The guest rooms at Ashford House are on the third floor.

Outside the window is the eternally shrouded night sky of the capital city, forever enveloped in coal smoke.

The night sky was too quiet, so quiet that something felt off.

In the distance, the whistles of the freight marshalling yard, the iron chains of the canal barges, and the watchman's clapper.

These voices are still there.

But it seemed as if there was something underneath the sound.

This layer made the sound float, as if it were separated from the sound by a thick, soaked cotton cloth.

Richard spread his inspiration.

He perceived every nook and cranny of the city, layer by layer.

In the northern block, all the clocks stopped swinging at the same instant.

The pendulum hangs in mid-air.

No one wanted to fall behind first.

The turbid waves that had swept through the city also flowed backward for a full three breaths.

Then, they all flowed back together.

All the gas lamps on the street were slanting in the same direction, as if they were being held by an invisible hand.

The iron railings began to inexplicably heat up on a June night.

In the narrow alley not far downstairs.

Within half a second, all the shadows stood up from under their respective owners' feet.

A little while later, they all lay back down in unison.

Richard's face was full of solemnity.

This scene seems familiar.

Hecate had shown them something similar at the round table in the Theological Salon.

Those were scraps that seeped into the material world during a duel between two experts on Haimers Island.

Are there any experts fighting in the skies above Beijing?

Richard withdrew all his inspiration, leaving only the thinnest line, and probed towards the edge.

He found three clumps of things.

These are three massive collapses that don't belong to humans.

They are currently squeezing and colliding behind the curtain.

Richard couldn't see it clearly; he only saw a vague outline.

To be precise, it was because he dared not see too clearly.

Because once he sees it clearly, his inspiration will be drawn in.

The next second, an extremely cold echo appeared.

It can move along any reflection.

Glass, shop windows, puddles, the brass lamps of carriages, gaps in curtains that weren't fully closed...

The echo slid from one reflection to the next.

They were getting closer and closer to Richard.

"Richard..."

At the same time, Richard heard someone silently repeating his name.

But it came from behind.

Richard dared not be negligent.

He immediately withdrew all his inspiration, wrapped himself up in layers upon layers of clothing, and suffocated like a candle that had been extinguished.

He even extinguished the last wisp of smoke.

The inverted tree of light that was on the seat of his heart and sun, at this moment, also gathered all its branches and leaves back to the main trunk.

Even breathing was kept to a minimum.

The echo paused briefly after the name was pronounced, as if searching for something.

It was like a blind person groping around in a room, its fingertips brushing against the wall, but it couldn't touch the painting hanging on the wall.

In the end, it didn't find Richard and drifted away again, following its reflection in the glass.

At this moment, behind the curtain.

The two collapsed groups were besieging and closely pursuing the third group, and then they chased it further west of the city.

The three clumps collapsed, completely disappearing from Richard's perception.

The heat from the iron railings has subsided, and all the shadows have returned to their owner's feet.

The gas lamp flame was no longer being pulled, but instead swayed in all directions with the night wind.

The pendulums of the dozen or so wall clocks on the north side fell, making up for the time that had stopped.

Few people in the city would notice that they had missed a few seconds tonight.

Richard didn't sleep anymore.

He sat up as the sunlight rose from the coal smoke.

He straightened the two objects on his chest that had warmed up.

He still had things to do on this new day.

He planned to go to the Petrie Building as usual first.

After Richard finished washing up, he went downstairs and saw the old butler waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

The old butler said, "Young Master Richard, the master is waiting for you in the study."

My maternal grandfather has been very busy these past few days.

The gatekeeper family couldn't possibly be unaware of the incident caused by the three collapsed structures last night.

So Richard didn't ask any more questions and followed the old butler to the study.

Even before he entered the room, he keenly sensed that there was another person inside.

Because the etheric fluctuations emanating from this person are very stable and very familiar.

Richard pushed open the door and went in, immediately seeing his maternal grandfather Gerald sitting behind the large desk.

Meanwhile, a thin woman was sitting diagonally opposite the desk.

She was wearing a gray cotton dress and holding a teacup in her hand.

It turned out to be Mrs. McNeil.

Richard: "Good morning, Grandfather, Mrs. McNeil."

Gerald raised his hand, gesturing for Richard to sit down.

McNeil also looked at Richard: "Little Richard, how long have you been in the capital?"

Richard: "It's been more than half a month."

Mrs. McNeil took a sip of tea: "So it's only been a little over half a month... I really didn't expect that you would have completely forgotten about my teacher in just half a month."

Richard was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

Oh, right.

He remembered.

When old Big gave him that manuscript, he said something like that.

Tell him to wait until he arrives in the capital in June, and then go to see Mrs. Mary.

Mrs. Mary would teach him whenever she had time.

However, after arriving in the capital, Richard threw himself into his aunt's tutoring sessions.

Ancient Greek, pre-university exam questions, a meeting with Grey, and a tea party...

There are too many things to do.

Richard had long forgotten about Mrs. Mary's tutoring.

He didn't try to deny it, but honestly admitted, "It was indeed my oversight."

Seeing his embarrassed appearance, McNeil couldn't help but sigh:

I guessed you were too busy to remember.

Your aunt's side is keeping you very strict. I even called the associate professor a few days ago, and a student named Sophia told me that you arrive earlier than her every day.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "My teacher won't ask you about this either."

When you arrive, she will make time to teach you.

But if you don't come, she won't even ask, "Why isn't the child here?"

Richard was somewhat embarrassed.

Well, so both sides are waiting.

Since no one from Flower Moon Street came to call him, he naturally assumed that Mrs. Mary didn't have time.

As a newcomer, how dare I presumptuously visit and disturb a master?

But that was the nature of Mrs. Mary; she would never send someone to invite her.

So that's how it is now.

Fortunately, Mrs. McNeil took the matter to heart and reminded Richard.

Otherwise, the teachings of a great master would have been missed.

"I understand, and thank you for coming to remind me today."

Richard stood up and bowed slightly to Mrs. McNeil: "When do you think would be a good time for me to go?"

"Why don't we go today?"

Mrs. McNeil also stood up, straightened her skirt, and said, "I'll be going now. Come over when you've settled things at home."

As she reached the door, she suddenly turned back: "Oh, right, remember to bring that handwritten copy."

Richard certainly hadn't forgotten.

It was that borrowed book, "Divination and Vision: From Beginner to Expert".

Now that I'm going to see the author in person, I naturally have to return the book as well.

After Mrs. McNeil left, only the grandmother and grandson remained in the study.

Gerald hadn't said a word since Richard walked in.

He recalled how Richard had tried to use his apprenticeship to make connections last year, but he himself had poured cold water on the idea.

But things are different now than they were then.

Being a student of Lady Mary doesn't carry much prestige.

But Lady Mary did not accept Richard as her apprentice; instead, she insisted on personally instructing him.

That's quite profound...

"You've got a really good eye for people."

Gerald looked at Richard: "First, Old Mo wrote you a letter of recommendation, and now Mrs. Mary is still thinking about teaching you."

Richard remained silent.

"Go."

Gerald waved his hand: "Listen carefully, I'll call your aunt myself."

"Yes."

After Richard left, he went back to his room and took out the leather box containing the handwritten manuscript.

Then, he also took the ultimatum, the talisman, and half a bottle of stardust with him.