I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 180 The Lighthouse of Knowledge in the Dream Realm

Armitage turned and walked toward a path in the forest.

"Although my current strength is not as great as your ancestor's, my condition and stability are unmatched by her."

Ivan hurriedly followed, his eyes burning with fervor, thinking to himself, "I've really managed to latch onto a powerful figure."

"Two superiors taking turns serving me? That's outrageous!?"

Then, curiously, he asked, "Doctor! How did you suddenly become so young?"

Armitage explained as he strode forward, "Once you become a superior, your life form will undergo a qualitative leap, and your normal lifespan will extend to a thousand years."

"But because the mystery has dissipated and matter is abundant, the ordinary material world can no longer accommodate the free movement of those in positions of power."

"Therefore, under normal circumstances, none of the superior beings can use their full power in the material world."

"Therefore, we will choose to leave a part of our power and form in the Dream Realm, and then use the remaining power to walk in the human world."

"Some of those in power simply abandoned their human form and chose to remain permanently in the Dreamland."

Ivan nodded knowingly: "No wonder, I didn't expect there to be so many restrictions."

Armitage remarked, "The foundation of the extraordinary is population."

"If such a powerful force were allowed to run rampant in the material world, the world's population would never explode."

Ivan nodded knowingly upon hearing these words; he had heard similar things from Hill before.

He followed Armitage forward, looking around at the scenery as he went.

The sky remained that gloomy purple.

Every now and then, strange black shadows could be seen flashing by at great speed, like some kind of huge flying creature darting through the cracks in space.

On both sides were towering, enormous forests.

The species of each tree is indistinguishable, and they are generally twenty to thirty meters tall.

The trunk at the base requires at least three adults to encircle it.

The bark was a dark gray color, covered with twisted patterns that looked like runes or some kind of totem.

Although the woods on both sides were extremely dark, there seemed to be no living creatures at all.

There were no birdsong, no insect chirps, and even the rustling of the wind through the leaves sounded unusually hollow.

"Doctor," Ivan asked curiously, "where is this place? Why are there no living creatures in this forest?"

Armitage smiled. "It's not that they don't exist, it's that you can't see them."

"This area is generally called Utnar Vichy, or simply Utnar."

"Located in the eastern continent of the entire Dreamland, it is bordered by the Twilight Sea to the north, the Eastern Desert to the east, the Central Ocean to the west, and Munar to the south."

"It's a pretty good location. When needed, you can go directly into the central ocean along this river."

Listening to Armitage's expert explanation, Ivan scratched his head: "It seems this dream world isn't much different from the real world?"

"Why did Hill say during our last battle that Erron needed to maintain direction?"

Armitage stopped in his tracks: "Because you are now in my territory."

"This area is protected by the gods of dreams, and the fog has been dispelled."

"At that time, Erlong used rituals to make himself a guiding light for you, to give you direction."

"And where you are now—"

As he spoke, Armitage turned his body to the side.

"It's inside the lighthouse!"

At this moment, Ivan looked ahead into the light and saw a magnificent area in front of him.

This is a building full of Gothic style.

The overall style presents a somber color scheme of gray and black.

The top has that signature spire, which looks particularly solemn against the backdrop of the purple sky.

The building is divided into three floors, each with slender willow-leaf windows.

At this moment, a pair of heavy, narrow iron gates directly in front of them quietly opened.

The castle is surrounded by a high wall.

The walls were built of a gray rock with special runes on them.

The runes faintly emitted a white glow under the purple light of the sky.

In front of the castle is a small circular square, surrounded by neat lawns and shady trees.

There is a statue in the middle of the square.

It was a male character wearing a white Roman robe, a laurel wreath, and with blond curly hair and a large beard.

Its entire body radiated a soft yet dazzling light.

The entire statue is incredibly lifelike, with a pair of sharp eyes gazing into the distance.

There seemed to be an unspeakable determination and persistence in his gaze.

Armitage walked over and bowed to the statue first, followed by Ivan.

After entering the courtyard, you can see a large number of metal puppets in this area.

The metal golems resembled human figures, but were bulky and clumsy.

Without hands, various cleaning tools are directly attached to the ends of both arms.

These metal golems have special runes that emit light, and they seem to have their own consciousness as they clean up their surroundings.

Their movements are fluid and precise, and the brooms and rags in their hands are as nimble as if they were used by humans.

Evan's eyes widened in astonishment: "My God! This is like a magic academy from another world!"

Armitage smiled: "That's one way to understand it."

"After all, the era of the Dreamland is forever locked in the Middle Ages."

At this point, he coughed and introduced himself in a loud voice.

"Let me introduce you!"

"This statue is the dream deity who protects this place, named 'Ariel, the Messenger of Truth.'"

"This is a god who is relatively friendly to intellectuals among humans. His authority is not very strong, but it is quite in line with my ideals."

"Today, all those who believe in Ariel are people who are extremely persistent in their pursuit of truth."

At this point, Armitage's tone became impassioned, his voice carrying a fanatical obsession.

"We cannot accept the unknown! We cannot accept lies! We cannot accept hypocrisy!"

"No matter how desperate or painful the road ahead may be, even if it is filled with countless sacrifices and deaths."

"We will never stop! We must reach the end of that truth!"

These words deeply shocked Evan.

The increasingly loud sound made his ears ring, and his brain felt like it was being enlightened.

After saying all this, Armitage suppressed his fanaticism and obsession, coughed, and asked.

"Can you guess what I do for a living now?"

Ivan quickly went through all fifteen professions in his mind and finally settled on one profession below the Holy Grail.

"Fanatic?"

Armitage smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad, lad."

"Although the fanatics belong to the Holy Grail path, they can choose the direction of their fanaticism themselves."

Evan nodded in agreement: "Yes, one can be fanatical about gods, and naturally one can be fanatical about truth as well."

The two strode into the building while talking.

Once inside, I discovered that it wasn't a luxurious castle at all, but an incredibly large library.

The entire castle has three floors that are completely open at the top.

At a glance, you can see the roof, which is more than 20 meters high.

There is a spiral staircase leading up to a central stone pillar.

Seven or eight bridges extend upwards along the staircase, connecting the massive bookshelves that reach the ceiling on both sides.

The bookshelves were densely packed with countless books.

Some of the spines glowed faintly, while others looked so ancient they seemed ready to crumble at any moment.

The entire space was filled with a scent that blended parchment, ink, and some unknown spice.

Inside the library, Ivan saw other humans.

Besides the puppets that clean up, there are now three people reading here.

The three people, two men and one woman, looked to be in their early twenties.

He wore grey striped overalls with a white shirt and a large academic gown over them.

He was quite serious, seemingly completely immersed in the words.

As Armitage entered, the three immediately stood up respectfully: "Doctor."

Armitage nodded slightly: "Let's continue."

The three glanced at Evan but didn't get distracted, continuing to diligently study the thick book.

Armitage showed Ivan around, talking as they walked.

"For many years, Mito has collected books, legends, and materials from all over the world about the supernatural."

"Although the extraordinary is not recorded in books, these books themselves are the accompanying codebooks and booklets full of coded messages."

"It even includes some extraordinary books made of special materials."

"A few years ago, when the University of Michigan Library was attacked, I was a lord at the time, and I started planning how to better protect these books."

He stretched out his hand, which was no longer wrinkled and had supple skin, and stroked the spines of several books.

The books seemed to tremble slightly the moment they were touched, as if responding to their owner's caress.

"After I rose to a higher level, I came into contact with Ariel and subsequently formed a partnership with this god of dreams."

"So I transported the original copies of these books here for storage."

"At the same time, thanks to the extraordinary information contained in these books and their touch of human nature, they have become excellent symbols."

"The spirit of these books is also very similar to that of Ariel, and I later built this realm of truth here."

A hint of pride lingered on his face.

"Marked by the scent of these books and the light of Ariel, this lighthouse can illuminate a vast area east of the Central Ocean, west of the Eastern Desert, half of the Twilight Sea to the north, and south to Mnnar."

"From then on, this place also became one of the core strongholds for the University of Michigan and its affiliated factions to operate in the Dreamland."

"They enter the Dreamland through here and can travel through this area without worrying about getting lost."

Evan couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens! Now it's truly become a star."

Armitage probably understood what Ivan meant and smiled as he corrected him: "Rather than calling it a torch, I prefer to call it a beacon of knowledge."

Ivan asked with great curiosity, "Doctor! What kind of extraordinary knowledge is included here?"

"Do you possess extraordinary knowledge encompassing all professions' weaknesses and strengths/weaknesses? Are there any highly effective potion recipes?"

Armitage gave a look that said, "I knew it would come to this."

"No!"

"What you're talking about are usually the secret teachings of various large supernatural factions and families."

"What I have recorded here are the background stories of myths and legends of various ethnic groups and regions, as well as the truths hidden behind the legends and related monster information."

"Simply put, the core function of the entire library is to enable all investigators to determine the background and precautions for their own investigation tasks based on their own circumstances."

Although somewhat disappointed, Ivan still gave it high praise: "That's still very important! With these things, many investigative tasks won't be done in the dark."

After the two strolled around the library, Armitage led Ivan back to the square outside.

"You have now become an expert, and your next step, becoming a master, is the pinnacle of countless witchers over the years."

His eyes held a deep expectation: "I hope you can break this limit and lead the Witcher to even greater heights."

Ivan patted his chest and grinned, "Don't worry about that, Doctor. I've already brought my talent to the Witcher!"

""

"I will definitely break through the limits of a Witcher! Become a lord, or even a superior—uh—"

"Doctor, what are the different levels of attainment beyond those in higher positions?"

Armitage looked at Ivan's incredibly confident demeanor and sunny smile with a kind look in his eyes.

"Above the superior are the transcendent; above the transcendent are the immortals; above the immortals are those who reach the origin."

"Reaching beyond the Root Ones—"

He pointed to the sky: "Then it qualifies to become a landmark."

"The sun god, the moon god, the god of life, the god of wishes, the god of wealth."

Ivan quickly wrote down this valuable information; this was the first time he had learned about all the realms in all his years in the industry.

Armitage continued speaking after recounting all the realms.

"You should know a little about why the skill ceiling for mages, witches, and demon hunters is so low, right?"

Evan nodded: "Yes, these three professions encompass too many concepts."

"This makes the path forward too complicated, and it's hard to find a clear direction."

Armitage nodded: "However, that's only one reason. You need to understand what these three professions encompass in order to go further."

The two sat down on a stone bench at the edge of the square.

Armitage casually waved his hand, and several stone teapots and teacups appeared out of thin air.

Without him even lifting a finger, the stone teapots and teacups automatically poured out warm black tea and served it to the two of them.

The aroma of the black tea was exceptionally strong in the air of this dreamlike realm, as if amplified by some force.

Ivan was quite surprised, but Armitage calmly said, "You can do something similar once you reach the lord's territory. You can do it too later."

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