"Kelly! Wake up! Kelly!! Wake up!!"
Suddenly, a series of urgent calls echoed beside Galon's ears.
Galon abruptly opened his eyes, squinting through the dazzling light as Thallium Silver stared at him, puzzled, patting his face.
"What's wrong? Thallium, what are you doing here?" Galon sat up, realizing that the scene just now was but a dream.
"Why have you come to sleep in the basement?" Thallium Silver looked at Galon oddly, "Did you come down last night to study and just fell asleep here? Didn't I tell you not to act alone and wait for me?"
Only then did Galon notice he was indeed lying in the basement, surrounded by narrow gray-black walls, an empty space with nothing but cold gray-black stone bricks on the floor and walls.
This basement wasn't entirely underground; half of its skylight was on the upper part of the wall, letting in bright sunlight. It looked less like a basement and more like a dungeon.
"What happened? I clearly remember going to sleep in my bedroom," he said, feeling a throbbing pain in his head.
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his heart as silence enveloped him. In the blink of an eye, Thallium Silver, who was just before him, vanished.
The basement room was empty and echoing.
"Thallium?"
"Thallium?!" Galon rose from the ground, shouting several times.
No one responded.
Suddenly, his head ached, and a fragment of memory surfaced – Thallium waking him up in the basement, which seemed to have happened three days ago.
"Three days ago?" He held his head, his vision blurring, "What's going on? What have I been doing for these three days with no memory of it? He was just in front of me!"
His temples throbbed painfully, his mind a whirl.
"No! I can't stay in this castle any longer!!"
He rushed to the door, sprinted out of the basement, and down the long, empty corridor towards the castle's main gate.
The sound of his footsteps echoed in the castle.
Bang!!
The castle's main gate burst open. Galon tumbled out, rolled down the stone steps, and after several rolls on the grass, finally lay back on the ground.
He gasped for air, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of exhaustion, and fell into a deep sleep without resistance.
After an indeterminate time, he slowly opened his eyes again to find himself still in the castle's bedroom.
"Kelly, are you awake?" Thallium Silver's voice came from outside the door.
"Back here again?! Was it all a dream?" Galon was startled, sitting up. "This place... this place is too eerie!!" Goosebumps covered his skin as warm sunlight from outside fell on him, bringing no warmth. Recalling the recent visions, the current surroundings seemed much clearer.
"Was it a dream?" He took a deep breath.
After getting dressed, he opened the door to find Thallium Silver looking at him quizzically.
"What's wrong? You look like you didn't sleep well."
"Just a nightmare," Galon managed a weak smile.
"A nightmare?" Thallium Silver chuckled, "A single nightmare scared you this much? What happened? Come down for morning tea and tell us about it."
"Okay." Galon, rubbing his temples, felt somewhat absurd, "Just that this nightmare felt too real."
"You go ahead, I'll lock the doors and windows," Thallium Silver patted Galon's shoulder, "Seems like I shouldn't have given you that document."
"It's fine, I'm not so easily frightened," Galon chuckled dryly and headed downstairs.
He didn't see Thallium Silver's somber expression as he watched him leave.
Downstairs in the great hall, Galon saw Miss Cylan sitting in a corner, slowly sipping hot red tea, dressed in a sleek, black and brown hunting outfit that highlighted her fair, delicate skin against her loosely tied golden hair.
"Mr. Kelly, you're up? You don't seem very spirited. Did you not rest well?"
"Just had a nightmare, um... it felt too real," Galon said, sitting down beside Cylan.
"Have some tea. It's freshly brewed red tea from Gelfi that I brought. My uncle, a medical professor at the University of Ciris, taught me this method," Cylan offered gracefully.
"Thank you."
Galon took a warm cup of tea, smelled the refreshing mint mixed with a hint of cream and sweetness.
Sipping gently, it felt like drinking mint water.
"What kind of tea is this? It tastes odd."
"I added some spices to help refresh and wake the mind in the morning," Cylan explained with a smile.
"Not bad," Galon nodded, "Indeed, it makes me feel much clearer."
Thallium Silver also joined them at the table, gulping down the tea prepared in a redwood cup.
"I've planned for today: first, we'll go hunting for our meals, then fetch water and clean the utensils. In the afternoon, we'll inspect the castle and its surroundings."
"Since you're far more experienced, I'll leave the arrangements to you. I have no objections," Galon shrugged.
"By the way, Mr. Kelly…"
"Just call me Kelly."
"Alright then, Kelly, you mentioned having a very vivid nightmare. What kind of dream was it that left you looking so depleted and dispirited?" Thallium Silver inquired.
Galon took a sip of the hot tea, feeling the cool mint and warm water blend, soothing his throat and warming his stomach, bringing a sense of clarity.
"I dreamt…" he paused, "that someone kept opening my door, over and over again. Always when I was about to fall asleep."
His brows furrowed: "It's strange. I've never been here, never been to this castle, yet I have such nightmares."
"I remember giving you a document that recorded the deaths of the castle's previous three owners. They reportedly had continuous nightmares before their deaths. Maybe after seeing the document, you were slightly worried, leading to such an unusual dream," Thallium Silver analyzed.
"Does it detail what nightmares they had?" Galon asked curiously.
"Not specifically, but I also had a dream last night, though it wasn't a nightmare," Thallium Silver said, looking up at the skylight, his face reflecting a mix of nostalgia and sorrow.
"Are you thinking about that incident again?" Cylan's eyes showed concern, "It's been so long, haven't you let go yet?"
"If only it were that simple," Thallium Silver smiled bitterly.
Galon watched the interaction quietly, not interjecting.
After finishing their morning tea and some pastries brought by Cylan, they got up, armed themselves with hunting rifles and knives.
Thallium Silver, holding a rifle, wore a hunting outfit resembling a military uniform in dark green, complete with a round hat.
Galon, carrying a half-meter long curved knife, still wore the same clothes as yesterday, not looking like a hunter at all, unlike Miss Cylan's efficient outfit. In the end, he just carried a hemp bag, taking on the logistical role.
The three made quick work of the utensils and stepped out of the castle, locking the grand door behind them. Thallium Silver led the way to the right side of the castle.
"There's a broken fence there, perfect for us to get through to the woods," he explained while loading his rifle, the clicking sound of the ammunition echoing.
"Not many animals around here, but since there's only a few of us, even a little catch will last us several meals."
Galon nodded silently, signaling with the bag in his hands that he was just there to help carry things, leaving the hunting to Thallium Silver.
With a confident pat on his rifle, Thallium Silver smiled and continued in silence.
Reaching the castle's right side, they found a large hole in the black iron fence, big enough for two people to pass through, seemingly smashed open by something, bending and breaking the metal bars inward.
Thallium Silver cautiously went through the hole first, gesturing for the others to follow.
Cylan went next, moving gracefully through the gap. Galon quickly followed, barely avoiding getting his clothes caught on the jagged metal.
Outside the fence lay a dense, dark green forest with trees of varying thickness, creating a cool, secluded atmosphere. The sunlight barely penetrated the dense foliage, leaving the forest floor in a perpetual dusk.
Sounds of wildlife and rustling leaves hinted at the presence of creatures within, suggesting a successful hunt ahead.
"This noise is from a large, fat groundhog," Thallium Silver whispered, bending down to move stealthily forward, "Lucky to encounter such a good catch right away."
Cylan chuckled, following closely behind.
Galon, though inexperienced in hunting, knew to keep quiet, tiptoeing at the rear with the bag in hand.
Bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out. Galon looked up to see Thallium Silver lowering his rifle, smoke billowing from the barrel, the smell of gunpowder spreading.
"Hit!" Thallium Silver grinned, striding forward to a bush some ten meters away, where he rummaged and pulled out a football-sized gray groundhog.
"So big!" Galon exclaimed, examining the sizable rodent, resembling an oversized rat but with a messily shattered head and blood-stained fur from the gunshot.
"Your marksmanship is impressive, Thallium. To spot and hit a fast-moving groundhog through the bushes from such a distance," Galon praised, patting the groundhog's fur, "This one alone could feed us today."
"Not enough, we'll need to remove the innards and fur, leaving not much meat. We'll need more," Thallium Silver shook his head, smiling.
Galon, never having prepared game himself, found everything fascinating. The nightmare that had clouded his mood seemed to lift amidst the new experience.
The trio continued through the woods, Galon following closely behind, the groundhog weighing heavily in his bag, about twenty pounds or close to ten kilograms.
Following Cylan, Galon checked his attributes. They hadn't changed much, except for a slight increase in strength from 2.08 to 2.09, clearly due to the advanced White Cloud Secret Technique.
"The third level of the White Cloud Secret Technique is well known, but the fourth level, never achieved before, remains a mystery. Now, with martial arts on the right track, the only shortfall is in combat experience. If I had more attribute points, I could quickly elevate the White Cloud Martial Arts, saving time and effort. I hope meeting Thallium Silver yields some insights…"
Galon trailed behind, slowly embracing the martial artist's demeanor developed from his power and understanding.
After some time without sighting more game, Thallium Silver announced, "There's a cellar of the castle nearby. Shall we take a look? We're already on the outskirts, and we can rest there. The gunshot probably scared the animals away, so there's little chance of finding anything now."