Chapter 49: Morgan le Fay

This fic too

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Li Xiang managed to resolve the crisis in a way no one could have imagined. Hishiri Adashino recalled something that Lord Barthomeloi had mentioned to her before. After a moment of silence, a faint smile appeared on her lips. Adjusting her glasses, she looked at Li Xiang and said, "So, do you care to explain what just happened?"

It was indeed hard to explain.

Scratching his head, Li Xiang replied, "You might not believe this, but when I woke up from the illusion, I could suddenly understand crow language, as if I had studied hard and passed the Crow Language Proficiency Test Level 8."

Adashino shot him a sharp look. "If you know I won't believe that, give me a more credible explanation."

"Well, Pascal might understand it better," Li Xiang pointed toward Pascal, who was standing near Louis in the crowd. "Pascal, you've read the paper *On the Reality of Worlds Constructed by Illusion*?"

"You're talking about Professor Reithger Clegg's paper from the Individual Fundamentals Department?" Pascal looked at him in surprise. "That's usually read by mages who specialize in illusions. I didn't expect you to be familiar with it."

"Since I was just an ordinary person before and knew nothing about the world of magic, I took the time to read up on a lot of materials," Li Xiang explained.

Pascal gave him a thumbs-up. "I admire you! Most students in the Individual Fundamentals Department barely manage to read their own professors' papers unless they have to write a thesis. And you, who are outside that department, read something that dry."

Are all Individual Fundamentals students this honest? Li Xiang chuckled before turning back to Adashino, offering an explanation. "The main point of the paper is that the higher the level of illusion, the closer the constructed world comes to reality—until it essentially becomes real. The mage behind this illusion, from over two thousand years ago, must have been incredibly powerful. Once someone falls into such an illusion, they lose their original understanding of reality. Without external interference, they would believe the illusion to be the real world."

"I became a crow in that world, and naturally, I could understand and speak crow language. It's just the way that world was built—the rules dictated that crows spoke crow language."

"You're really lucky," Pascal chimed in. As a practitioner of illusion magic himself, he had a deeper understanding. He had read that paper too and knew how rare it was to encounter such a perfect illusion. Creating a world that seamlessly mirrors reality—there were only a few mages throughout history capable of such feats. "This is less likely than winning the lottery. In modern times, only a Grand Mage could possibly achieve this."

"But to cross species like that? Isn't that too far-fetched?" Louis chimed in, still skeptical but secretly envious. He wasn't sure what good speaking crow language would do, but being able to effortlessly learn a new language seemed like a fantastic ability. He couldn't help but wonder, what if he had fallen into an illusion as a powerful mage? Would he come out of it stronger, skipping all the lessons? How wonderful that would be!

Li Xiang glanced at him. What's this guy fantasizing about? He refocused and said, "Actually, it's not too hard to understand. Take split personality disorder as an example. There was a case where a person had seven personalities, and each one had different abilities, like combat experience, piano playing, or even skills as a cowboy. These personalities had knowledge that the person had never been exposed to, as if they were naturally gifted."

Hishiri Adashino nodded. "In any case, it's a good outcome. We faced a tough battle, but this helped advance our exploration of the ruins significantly. But before we continue, I need to ask you something. To prevent others from falling into illusions during the next exploration, can you explain how you woke up from the illusion?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself," Li Xiang replied with a bitter smile. "After I died in the illusion, I was trapped in darkness for a long time, and then I just woke up."

"It seems you really were fortunate. Most people who 'die' in an illusion believe it's real and suffer a mental shutdown, sometimes even becoming catatonic. Only a few manage to realize they're in an illusion and wake up."

Adashino turned to the others gathered around. "Twelfth Unit, shut down the weapons systems. The rest of the units, return to the command room. The first four squads, hold off on further underwater exploration for now."

"Yes, ma'am!" came the chorus of replies.

Li Xiang followed the others back to the command room.

The large screen, previously filled with the swarm of crows, now displayed the endless stretch of the sea. The crew returned to their stations, monitoring their equipment. As an operative, Li Xiang had no assigned seat. Glancing around and seeing no spare chairs, he opted to stand near the screen. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one standing, so it wasn't awkward.

Standing in front of the large screen, Adashino asked, "Pascal, check with the Archaeology Department to see if they've found anything about the song in the conch."

"On it," Pascal replied, pulling out his phone. "Professor, any updates on the song? …Got it, thanks."

Turning to Adashino, Pascal relayed the information. "It's a branch of ancient Celtic language—Scottish Gaelic, to be precise. It originated in 5th century Ireland and later spread to Caledonia, modern-day Scotland."

"The 5th century…" Adashino mused. That lined up with the timeline of the Arthurian legends. Could this really be related to Morgan le Fay?

"Have they translated the lyrics?" she asked.

"They have," Pascal confirmed. "According to the professors, it's not a modern song but an ancient ballad from the time of the bards. That brings us to something familiar—the bardic tradition. The oldest bards came from the Celts, with records dating back to the 1st century AD. Bards were an integral part of the Druids, guardians of culture and lore, with a deep connection to animals and musical instruments. In modern times, the role of the bard has mostly disappeared, though some still write in that style."

After explaining the bards, Pascal added solemnly, "The translation of the lyrics is identical to the song sung by idol Lydell in her performance. So, this ruin is indeed related to Morgan le Fay Pendragon."

Morgan le Fay?

Li Xiang felt a surge of emotion upon hearing the name.

Did he become the familiar of Morgan le Fay, sister of Artoria, during the illusion?

How strange—why did he keep encountering characters from the Arthurian era recently? Could it be his EX-level luck at work?

Li Xiang kept a straight face as he mentally called out to Irigar. "Irigar, there's something I don't understand. In the illusion, I taught the crows a formation and magic, and now, two thousand years later, that's being recreated. Was that really me, or was my spirit somehow transported back?"

[No,] Irigar answered. [Both you and the crows simply re-lived what happened two thousand years ago. It wasn't actually you leading. In other words, you were just watching a VR movie.]

"Are there really crows that smart?"

[Of course. For instance, you know the Uchiha family's two geniuses? Their summoned crows are far more skilled than you were as a crow.]

"..."

That was so convincing, I don't even have a retort, Li Xiang thought, ending his conversation with Irigar. Since the exchange had taken place in his mind, only a few seconds had passed in reality.

"Morgan le Fay, huh?" Adashino took a deep breath. "What a formidable figure… Elena, it's your turn."

"Understood," Elena replied, raising her hand. She pinched the air, tearing open a ten-centimeter rift in space, and pulled out a stack of papers.

"Everyone, the following content involves top-level secrecy. Under the Clock Tower's confidentiality protocols, all personnel must sign a soul contract—a Grand-grade curse. Unless you reach Grand Mage status, speaking about this secret will result in your soul being destroyed, with no possibility of resurrection, even with the darkest of black magic. Now, if anyone is unwilling to sign, please leave the command room."

No one present was surprised. As formal members of the Department of Law, they were already familiar with such protocols. Li Xiang, on the other hand, was the only one not completely aware of what this entailed.

But he remembered his conversation with Asakami Seiji.

This curse was similar to those used by the Clock Tower's most secretive department, the Department of Seals and Mandates.

What kind of secret was Morgan le Fay involved in?