Intermittent and vague sounds sounded in Annan's ears.
It's like an old radio that emits a sound mixed with a lot of noise when it's not fully tuned to the channel.
——I hope that if I tap it with my ring finger twice in a row, they will understand what I mean.
Annan thought.
He could indeed judge from the few words spoken now what message Isaac wanted to convey to him.
It was nothing more than "knock on the chair with your left index finger if you can hear it" and "your memory has been theoretically interfered with by magic, be careful not to reveal the secret". Annan could only vaguely hear some fragments, but not much else.
For the clear part, you can also make inferences based on the facts.
Just like doing English listening.
Especially here, there are not so many distractions.
Based on the context, you can guess what Isaac means.
But...that's only for now.
If he missed the word "no" in "don't" or the word "don't" in "don't go", the meaning would be completely different.
Annan hoped that by tapping his ring finger, which is symmetrical to the index finger, he could determine what Annan wanted to express, which was "I heard it, but I couldn't hear it clearly."
On the other end, when he saw Annan tapping his ring finger for the second time, Isaac quickly realized it.
He pressed the button again and said: "If you can hear clearly, tap your left index finger; if it is blurry, tap your left ring finger; if there is a gap in the middle, tap your left little finger. Repeat, if you can hear clearly, tap your index finger...
…”
"——Are you feeling a little better now?"
Just as the intermittent voice sounded in his head, the doctor sitting in front of Annan saw Annan waking up. He also packed up the paper files in front of him and asked with concern: "Do you feel any discomfort in your head? Do you feel palpitations?
?Do your fingers... feel numb?"
"……fine."
Annan silently tapped the little finger of his left hand twice on the chair, and at the same time covertly tapped the index finger to the little finger of his right hand again.
He said honestly: "But to be honest, I don't know very well... what happened."
"So, do you have any impression of me?"
The white-haired old man wearing a white robe and a kind face asked slowly.
Annan shook his head in silence.
Seeing his frightened reaction, the doctor chuckled slightly: "This is normal, Bernardino. Don't worry too much."
The doctor comforted Annan, then walked to Annan and began to remove the restraints on him.
After all the devices on his body were removed, the doctor generously extended his right hand to Annan.
That is a warm and powerful old right hand, which gives people a strong sense of security just by touching it.
As the psychiatrist pulled Annan up from the chair, he straightened Annan's collar and said in an orderly manner: "Introduce yourself, you can call me Julius. I am Ludwig's friend and also his
The psychiatrist arranged for you."
"……Psychologist?"
"Don't worry, I have a medical license. I am a soul-stealer recognized by Denis Sawyer, and I also teach at the Tower of Black Glory. Although I may look old, I am actually less than fifty years old—
—This is just an image that needs to be performed. It can make people think that I am harmless, and it can make people feel closer to my heart."
The old man smiled: "You can call me Professor Julius if you like."
"Professor Julius...I still want to ask..."
Annan pursed his lips and made a confused sound.
Annan even temporarily stopped thinking in front of a Silver-level soul-stealing wizard. Overly intense thinking was as conspicuous to the soul-stealing wizard as a bonfire rising in the snow.
He temporarily blocked most of his thinking abilities and relied on his instinctive acting skills to carry out conversations.
But at this moment, he also took the opportunity to lift out the task panel and take a look.
【Don't regret】
【Wake up soon】
【Live】
——Three side tasks, none of which have been completed.
In other words, Annan is still in a dream.
Annan refocused his attention and continued to ask: "Do I have any mental illness?"
"Okay, let's first clarify a concept -"
Faced with "Bernardino's" inquiry, the old man Julius simply explained: "People's thoughts are powerful. If you think you have a certain disease - especially a mental illness, then even if you do not have this disease,
You may gradually develop this disease.
"The fundamental reason is that your heart has deceived your body. And if you don't trust me enough, even if I tell you, 'Your disease has been cured,' you may still be suspicious subconsciously. In that case,
, my treatment itself is meaningless.”
"Is it even necessary to cleanse memories to treat diseases..."
"Can you actually realize that your memory has been modified?"
Old Julius raised his eyebrows slightly: "Ah, that's normal. After all, you can't remember me anymore... I have also deleted all memories about me from your mind."
The white-haired old wizard who looked quite old showed a brisk and gentle smile: "[After we part, the memory of this conversation will be buried deep in your heart, and you will never think of it again]. Well, you still have
You can ask whatever you want to ask. As long as it doesn’t involve your illness, I can answer anything you want.”
“Who pays for my treatment?”
"Ludwig, of course."
The wizard returned to his seat, chuckled and narrowed his eyes.
The gentle smile on the corner of his mouth did not change at all: "Do you have any income?"
"……I don't."
"Of course. Especially [you have made an appointment with Ludwig to study at Denisoya Theological Seminary], and the money you have on hand should be used sparingly. [You don't want to go home dejected after running out of money]
Right? After all, [you swore to become an outstanding figure before you could go back to see Ludwig]."
Dr. Julius crossed his legs and placed his fingers on his knees in a less solemn manner. His upper body naturally leaned back on the chair, and the whole person looked very relaxed.
This is an action that is not consistent with his current "old" image.
And what Annan will not ignore is.
——He felt very clearly that in the conversation just now... there was a mysterious power that filled the air with Julius's words.
Those are traces of the soul-stealing spell.
Although the spellcasting was very natural and could easily deceive Bernardino, the traces of the spellcasting were too clear for both Annan and Isaac.
After all, he is just a silver-level wizard who is nearly fifty years old and still has to take classes in the wizard tower to make a living.
Although Annan is also a Silver-level wizard... But even if he is also a Silver-level wizard, there is a clear gap in his level.
This is a soul-stealing spell called [Suggestion].
When the other party does not notice the irrationality in the words, you can add "non-existent memories" to the other party by adding hints, or directly change the other party's decision-making.
Although those few sentences were very naturally integrated into the overall conversation, there were still flaws in them. Because suggestion requires very clear articulation, calm statements, and no ambiguity.
And those few sentences, not only do the sentence patterns sound a little inconsistent... but most people don't speak so clearly when they speak. Every place has its own dialect - even Mandarin is different from
There is a big difference in the broadcasting tone, which is a sense of dissonance.
If Dr. Julius had been more vigilant, he might have chosen a better topic to instill hints into Bernardino.
But to him, Bernardino is just a mortal who has never mastered any magic. And he is still a child. When the conversation is over, all subsequent memories will be cleared based on the effect of the first hint... There is nothing.
So scary.
"Don't be so nervous."
Seeing Annan's silence, Dr. Julius couldn't help laughing and showed a kind smile: "Are you afraid of me? Oh, by the way..."
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his back.
"[This is a letter of introduction written by Ludwig for you to arrange for you to enter the seminary to study the natural philosophy knowledge you want to learn]."
Dr. Julius made a soft voice.
The lips were slightly opened, and the teeth touched lightly. Invisible fluctuations echoed in the small space.
"Is this...a letter of introduction?"
"Yes, Ludwig doesn't want to see you in such distress every day. After all, he is your adoptive father and loves you deeply."
"distressed?"
"Don't you already...[don't want to make sculptures anymore]?"
Dr. Julius looked at Annan.
The corners of his mouth were raised slightly, and his voice was soft and convincing.