Since being personally invited by Dumbledore to attend Hogwarts to learn magic, the past half month of waiting has felt particularly unbearable. However, when he took the initiative to sneak a peek at the "Leaky Cauldron" and encountered a mysterious figure in a black robe, he abandoned that idea and stayed shut in at the orphanage. Just the thought of the darkness that might exist in the magical world made Ian shudder. He had the soul of an adult, but a college student... how could he possibly handle such a situation? One could only say he had been honest.

At the desk, Ian flipped through the books on the table, occasionally furrowing his brow in thought, repeatedly writing words in his notebook before softly reading them aloud. Self-study always requires a strong sense of discipline, a fact that cannot be changed even with an attribute panel. Each increase in proficiency represented that Ian had learned something new; each increase could be seen as a small epiphany. But that epiphany still required serious study as a prerequisite. Of course, during level-ups, there was indeed a feeling akin to a great revelation.

Ian was studying when there was a knock at the door that interrupted his concentration. He turned to the door and replied, "Come in."

The door creaked open, and the person knocking was Katherine, leaning against the door frame, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Ian, do you want a chicken leg? The chef said there are extra chicken legs tonight!" She held out a chicken leg to him as if presenting a treasure.

A white short-haired cat darted in under Katherine's feet, its agile form leaping onto the table and crouching down. Startled, Katherine froze and then recognized the cat.

“Gilly! You little pest!” Ian swatted the cat's rear, picked up the crouching cat from the table, and comforted Katherine, saying, "It's alright, Katherine, I've already taught it a lesson."

Katherine nodded in grievance, still somewhat annoyed as she looked at the cat. Ian smiled to reassure her.

“Gilly didn’t mean it, Katherine, just relax a bit.”

“Okay, Ian.”

Children's tempers often flare up quickly and fade just as fast. Katherine finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked, "Ian, when can we go to the magic academy?"

Ian smiled at the little girl. Indeed, no one could resist the temptation of magic, but he still needed to remind Katherine.

“Katherine, we agreed to keep it a secret.”

Katherine quickly covered her mouth. “Ian, I...”

Ian smiled and said, “Of course, just between us, that’s really fine. However, given your age, you might need to wait a few more years to learn magic.”

“Hmm, I’ll make sure to eat more and grow up quickly. Ian, let’s go play with Norn and the others!”

Faced with the eager gaze of the little girl, Ian shook his head with a smile and glanced at the language book on his desk. Originally, he had wanted to level up his language skill to level 5 and understand its extraordinary characteristics. But now, after being interrupted by Katherine, he didn’t feel like studying anymore; forcing himself to continue would likely be inefficient.

He checked his attribute panel.

Name: Ian Prince

Class: Bloodline Sorcerer

Magic Level: Level 4

Skills: Language Proficiency (Level 4): 500/800

Biological Anatomy (Level 5): 64/1600

Free Fighting (Level 3): 85/400

Psychology (Level 6): 42/3200

[Psychology Extraordinary Trait: Thought Perception]

[Biological Anatomy Extraordinary Trait: Butcher's Instinct]

After these days of intense studying, his language proficiency had already reached level 4, and he needed only three hundred more proficiency points to reach level 5.

As for the other skills, he hadn’t gone out to do any divination these past few days, so his psychology level hadn’t increased. The same went for biological anatomy, which was also why the language skill improved so quickly. After all, a person’s time is limited.

“Let’s go.”

Ian set the cat down. The white cat immediately darted out of the room, and Ian left the room with Katherine.

In the yard, the children were playing soccer. Upon seeing Ian, they were all very happy—often, Ian, who was not much older than them, took on a parental role. He wasn’t overly strict, yet he provided a lot of care for these kids.

“Hey! Ian, come join our team!”

“No way, Ian just finally came out to play; he should be on our team so we can win!”

Unexpectedly, this nearly set off a fight among the children.

Ian chuckled helplessly. “Alright, alright, let me be the goalkeeper!”

There were only a few days left before leaving the orphanage to attend Hogwarts, and Ian felt a profound sense of reluctance towards the people and many things here.

........

At night, the stars were sparse. Ian finished washing up and lay down on his bed. Although today had been very fulfilling, he still held onto a longing for what he had always desired.

“When can I practice magic skills...”

Soon, sleepiness swept over him, and he fell into a deep, sweet dream.

The clear sky was like a freshly washed sapphire, sparkling and transparent, with fluffy, white clouds resembling meticulously crafted cotton candy, leisurely drifting in the air. Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the clouds, casting dappled shadows, like fairies frolicking, adding a touch of liveliness to this tranquil scene.

He entered the dreamlike illusion again!

Ian spread his arms wide, taking a deep breath and enjoying the tranquility of this world.

He saw, under this picturesque sky, a fairy-tale forest unfolding. The trees were lush, their green leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, as if whispering ancient secrets. Small animals scurried about, butterflies and bees danced among the flowers, and a winding stone path led deep into the forest, ending in darkness.

This time, he did not see Arianna.

Ian had already grown accustomed to this; after all, the flow of time between the two worlds had always been vastly different. In the real world, only seven minutes had passed, while in the dreamlike illusion, it felt like half a day had gone by.

Each time he entered the dreamlike illusion, several days seemed to pass within it, sometimes even with a time discrepancy of several months. There was no accurate standard for this passage of time.

To be honest, it was a coincidence that he encountered Arianna last time.

Ian walked across the grass toward the path, with strange animals occasionally darting out from the bushes, glancing curiously at him before disappearing. He continued along the winding path, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting spots of light on the ground.

He didn’t know how long he walked.

He arrived at a small town hidden in the valley.

Though small, this town was relatively well-equipped; an ancient post office stood quietly, the sign of a bar swayed gently in the breeze, and the church's spire shot up into the sky, solemn and imposing.

Everything seemed ordinary, yet the seemingly harmonious town lacked a sense of liveliness. All the shops had their doors tightly shut, empty within.

It felt like one of those eerie towns from horror films, just missing that strange, sinister feeling.

“The Town of the Dead.”

The scene of this town reminded Ian of what Arianna had once said—that there used to be people here, but gradually everyone left. Perhaps these souls had simply forgotten their obsessions in the dreamlike illusion, or perhaps they had fulfilled those obsessions and moved on to a more mysterious adventure.

“In a place devoid of life, one can indeed feel the loneliness quite distinctly.” Soon, Ian crossed the deserted street and arrived at the small house where Arianna lived.

“Hmm? Where is she?”

The front door of the small house was closed tight. Ian approached and peered through the similarly closed window. Inside was very quiet, just like those shops, without a sound or movement.

Ian felt something was strange.

In the past few years, Arianna had never left the vicinity of this town.

This was the first time Ian couldn’t find Arianna.

He still wanted to ask Arianna what the mark was that she had given him last time! Would this disappearance have anything to do with the gift she had given him?

Ian began to feel worried.

At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him, breaking the silence of the street. The voice was elegant and somewhat cold, possessing a rich, commanding tone.

“Oh, heartbroken little boy, are you waiting for that poor little girl?”

Ian was startled by the voice and quickly turned around.

A woman stood before him, her eyes like deep black jewels, the corners slightly raised, with thick eyelashes fanning over her beautifully curved eyes.

She was an elegantly poised, stunningly beautiful... married woman? The woman wore a long, completely black robe with golden trims, exuding a cold yet solemn demeanor.

However, such a glamorous appearance seemed out of place in this simple little town.