A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 255 The Part About Dreaming

Celia wasn't the only one who came to visit Quinn.

Adolf, leaning on his cane; Seven, lounging around; Megan, hiding behind two boys—everyone from the fortune-telling class had arrived.

"Mr. Quinn, we've come to visit you!" Seven held up the gifts he was carrying. "Look what I brought you! A special honey blend made with love! One spoonful can shorten the time it takes to become weak after ejaculation!! Want to know how I tested it? That night—"

"Although I won't need it, thank you anyway. You don't need to know the process." Quinn interrupted him with a gentlemanly demeanor.

Damn it, what kind of crappy gift was that?

Everyone moved away from him.
They all brought gifts for Quinn; bringing gifts for friends when visiting them in the sick is a tradition in the Southern Continent. Quinn had saved the lives of four people, and coupled with Amamiya Nene's easygoing teaching style, the relationship between teachers and students in the divination class was much better than in other classes.

The feeling of being visited while he was sick was quite novel for him.

He had no relatives or friends. When he got sick, he went to the hospital for a check-up alone, leaning on the IV pole while queuing in the crowd. He had never thought there was anything wrong with it before, but the students' undisguised concern made him feel that it was a good thing to have someone visit him.

"A poison made from the sebaceous glands of a southern carrion lizard. Five grams per bottle. It evaporates upon contact with air, and inhalation will cause the respiratory tract to tighten, resulting in suffocation." Adolf stuffed his 'gift' into Quinn's arms, not caring that it might slip and fall to the ground, poisoning his teacher.

Quinn was startled by the fragile little glass bottle in his arms. The two BYD gifts were quite creative. I'll be creative with you guys too.

Megan held a small square box in both hands and said softly, "This is calming incense I made myself. It can help with meditation."

"Oh, thank you." Thinking that finally someone normal had arrived, Quinn smiled and accepted it.

This is useful.

Megan is majoring in Arcane Tuning. Although she is still in the beginner stage, the calming incense she makes under the guidance of her professor is already comparable to expensive arcane products.

“And what about you?” Quinn reached out his hand to Celia.

“Ah~” Celia opened her mouth slightly, gesturing for Quinn to imitate her.

Quinn then echoed, "Ah~".

Then, something sweet and sour was put into my mouth.

"I can't make things as good as theirs. Here, I make my own pickled plum candy."

Quinn blinked; it was surprisingly delicious.

He really liked the acidity; it felt like it was made specifically for his taste.

He looked at the candy in the jar, neatly wrapped in oil paper. He suddenly remembered the future "home" in his dream, where there were also some sour plum candies in the fruit bowl in the living room of that mansion.

Quinn doesn't have any particular food preferences, but if he had to say something, he would prefer sour foods, such as pineapple pizza.

How did you know I like to eat this?

Celia said matter-of-factly, "Mr. Quinn will add yogurt to his curry rice."

"Wow, so meticulous. You have a crush on me?" he teased casually.

Celia pretended to snatch it back, "Mr. Quinn doesn't know what's good for him!"

The two boys didn't react much, but Megan, Celia's roommate, looked at them with inexplicable nervousness.

“Thank you. I like it very much.” Quinn smiled and dodged, making way for her. “Everyone likes it.”

Adolf was the first to enter. Although he was lame, he walked with a brisk pace, faster than most people. He was also the first to spot Lin in the meeting room. Lin had already heard the four of them. Although she didn't go out to greet them, she cleaned the pizza crumbs from the corners of her mouth when no one was looking and sat down with the air of a senior student.

"Senior Lin?" Adolf was taken aback, his tone completely devoid of respect for his senior, only showing awe for a powerful figure.

This little girl is terrifying. She can actually use arcane magic to start a fire and heat up her rations in the gray fog-filled environment on the surface of the abyss. Keep in mind that the three first-year students can't even control the rate at which mana is lost.

Seven wasn't surprised to see Lynn in Quinn's dorm. He was close to the sixth-graders and had heard the rumor that "Lynn and Mr. Quinn are related." So he pretended to be knowledgeable and explained to everyone.

"A relative?" Adolf looked suspiciously at Lin's beautiful face, then at Quinn's large face that resembled that of a Homo sapiens, and asked bluntly, "How did you inherit this?"

"Mr. Quinn, are you and Senior Lin related?" Celia asked in surprise, covering her mouth.

Lin didn't say anything.

The father is Quinn, the child is Little Fox, and the mother is Lynn; they are relatives, of course.

“Distant relatives. Several generations removed.” Quinn chose to end the topic, pouring water for everyone as he asked, “Have you all eaten?”

The group exchanged glances but none of them ate.

The abyss can cause mental confusion, and dizziness and vomiting after the experience are normal. They need to fast for a day to assess their mental state.

"Then I'll make you pizza." He then started mixing the leftover flour on the counter.

"Mr. Quinn's arcane tools are so modern." Celia exclaimed in amazement at the wall full of pots and pans.

Quinn chatted with the students as he worked.

Thanks to Lynn's cover, Quinn's sudden jump from the basket was not reported to the academy.

Quinn explained his actions by saying he wanted to investigate the previous incident. He suddenly had a flash of inspiration during divination, so he went alone, but naturally he didn't get any results.

The students had no doubts. The three members of the Divination Class had succeeded in their Abyss training; having experienced the Falling Layer, their adaptability to the Abyss's pollution had surpassed that of their peers. The Divination Class's route was nearing the contaminated layer, making them the first-year class that had ventured the deepest and stayed the longest.

Afterwards, they did not suffer any serious aftereffects. At this time, many first-year students were still undergoing mental health testing, and they were already able to wander around carrying gifts.

"Where's Celia?" Quinn pulled the first pizza out of the oven and glanced back at the girl sitting in the middle of the sofa.

The snow-white cotton socks traced a beautiful straight line along her calves.

“Me?” Celia tilted her head and said awkwardly, “I don’t know either. The dean said I performed very well, and my physical examination was fine when I came back. I can go into the Abyss with everyone from now on.”

"Don't know?" Quinn chuckled, relieved that Celia had emerged from the abyss unharmed. "How can you write a travelogue if you don't know? You'll lose points."

"I just... don't know." Celia held her water glass and blew air into it, making bubbles rise.

"I hadn't walked far when... well, I got sleepy. I fell asleep without even realizing it."

"You're sleeping in the abyss?" Adolf glanced at her as if she were a dead person.

"That's dangerous! Didn't the dean wake you up?" Seven's eyes widened.

“I…I had a dream.” Celia’s voice trailed off as she spoke. She knew that sleeping in the abyss was a taboo, for the mind is almost completely defenseless in a sleep state and extremely vulnerable to corruption. “What dream?” Megan asked.

“…” Celia glanced at Quinn’s back as he made pizza, bit her lip, and said, “It’s nothing, I just dreamt that I grew up.”

"When she grows up?" Megan craned her neck and said wistfully, "Siri will definitely be very famous when she grows up."

"She's definitely not as good as you. She's too stupid; she'll hardly amount to anything. But a good circuit tuner can become famous throughout the association, and arcanists will line up to have you tune their circuits," Adolf said coldly.

This child has been honest since he was a child, and only speaks the truth.

Celia wasn't upset at all after being ridiculed; instead, she happily hugged her roommate and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Megan! If I ever go bankrupt, I'll come to you for help, you have to lend me a hand!"

Megan was mortified. She stammered, trying to praise Celia, but after a long pause, she managed to squeeze out, "Celia cleans very well." The truth doesn't hurt, but lies are sharp knives, instantly turning Celia into a bitter-faced shrew.

“Speaking of dreams,” Seven suddenly seemed to remember something and said blankly, “I had a strange dream last night, but I don’t remember it very clearly.”

"I dreamt that I was sitting in a tall building, in a beautiful, beautiful city, the building was as tall as the Eye of Grindelwald! Below were roads, and metal sheets were moving around—"

"Get to the point," Adolf interrupted him.

"The important part?" Seven scratched his head. "I think I received a message from my boss. I can't remember who he is, I only remember he asked me to look up a string of numbers for him, and I thought to myself, 'What a waste of his time!'"

Quinn abruptly stopped cutting the pizza.

"What number?" he asked solemnly.

“I don’t remember.” Seven spread his hands. “I only remember that one fragment.”

“I had a strange dream too,” Adolf said abruptly.

“Speak. It might be related to the abyss. I'll help you analyze it.” Quinn stopped what he was doing.

"It was... sitting in a wheelchair—I never use a wheelchair, but I was in one, being pushed around in the park by a woman whose face I couldn't see. She seemed to be my wife. That's the only part I remember."

"What's so strange about having a walk in the park?" Celia thought. "Isn't this normal?"

Adolf took a sip of water and said in a flat tone, "These past few years, I've either not dreamed at all, or I've only ever dreamed the same dream. But it's not about walking in the forest."

Megan glanced at him timidly.

"Me too. I do, I have dreams."

"Tell me, tell me!" Celia shook her like a curious child.

She underwent a mental health evaluation at the school clinic last night and didn't go back to her dorm; otherwise, Megan would have told her about this first thing this morning.

"."

Megan blushed inexplicably. She glanced at Adolf furtively, then quickly lowered her head, stammering, "I dreamt about that... I got married."

"How romantic! Who is that person?" Celia asked softly, "Could it be him?"

Megan shook her head violently.

"No, no! It seems to be... a law enforcement officer?"

“I dreamt that I was pushing him, pushing him along in the park. And then he was gone.”

"Push him?"

"He is disabled."

Adolf's unfriendly gaze immediately fell upon them, as if scrutinizing Megan's ordinary face. Seven, standing nearby, began to tease, "You two aren't having the same dream, are you? Hmm, a married couple?"

Megan panicked and blurted out, "No! I have a boyfriend—"

Adolf, on the other hand, was a man of action; he smashed his cane into his friend's shin, turning him into a Tom Cat.

"Don't disgust me," he said with a dark expression. "I hate freckles."

Megan, attacked by her appearance, immediately deflated and went into a state of self-isolation. Celia hurriedly comforted her, hugging and coaxing her, otherwise Megan would have been internally tormented for half a month over that one sentence, "I hate freckles."

“Think again, is there any other detail we can add?” Quinn asked gravely.

Seven shook his head.

"The strange thing about this dream is that it's fragmented."

The other two also said no.

"Lin, did you have any dreams?"

Lin said calmly, "Lin doesn't dream. Last night, Lin was waiting for pizza."

Upon hearing this, Celia immediately got up and went to Quinn's side to help cut the pizza.

"Wait all night? Let's eat quickly then—wow, it looks delicious!"

Actually, what the little girl meant was that she had been staying by Quinn's bedside since last night, waiting for him to wake up.

“Xiaoxi,” Quinn called to her in a voice only they could hear.

"Ok?"

What was the future like in your dream?

The girl's dark brown curly hair obscured her profile as she skillfully cut a 12-inch pizza into eight pieces. "I dreamt that I would inherit my father's tavern in the future, and be able to happily play the piano with Mr. Quinn."

Then, she raised her slender neck, her clear eyes looking directly at him from beneath her slightly curled bangs. A shy smile played on her lips, hidden beneath her delicate nose, as she asked in the same soft voice:

"What's wrong?"

The beautiful woman made him somewhat lost in thought.

After a long while, he shook his head with a smile.

"It's nothing. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

(End of this chapter)