Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 309 Art Gallery

Xuanyuan Muze arrived at the 'Art Gallery' town on this planet as quickly as possible. It was already evening, and men and women of all races were dressed in strange costumes, reveling and playing to their hearts' content. Various dances and noisy but rhythmic music were being performed vividly. Xuanyuan Muze looked around at the brightly lit scene and searched for Agred's figure.

At this moment, a human man with tattoos all over his body, wearing an earring, but with delicate features patted Xuan Yuan Mu Ze on the shoulder and shouted, "I didn't expect you to like rock music. I thought you would come to the calligraphy and literature section to find me, but I didn't expect you to come here."

Xuanyuan Muze turned to look at Agreed, and asked uncertainly, "Agreed? Is that you? Why... do you look different?"

Agreed pointed outside and shouted, "Let's leave here first, it's a bit noisy in here, let's talk outside."

So Xuanyuan Muze followed Agreed out of the town. After they were away from the hustle and bustle, Xuanyuan Muze got straight to the point and said, "I want to ask you, do you have any solutions to the problem in my hometown?"

Agreed pressed his finger to Xuanyuan Muze's lips, then mysteriously handed him a brocade pouch. He then said to himself, "I'm sorry, I'm not very wise. This pouch contains the only solution I can think of. If you really want a better solution, I suggest you go to the Academy of Sciences. The top and smartest researchers are there. They might give you a satisfactory answer. After you hear their answer, open this and take a look at mine. Maybe then you won't be so troubled by these problems anymore."

After some internal struggle, Xuan Yuan Muze finally put the brocade pouch into his storage belt. After all, Agreed was still here and he couldn't open it. Although Xuan Yuan Muze was curious, he wasn't going to be so rude. Since Agreed told him to open it when he went to the Institute of Science and Technology to find the answer, he would wait until then.

Just as Xuanyuan Muze was about to ask how to get to the Institute of Science and Technology, Agreed seemed to have read his mind and put his arm around his shoulder, advising, "Don't be in such a hurry, my friend! If you only focus on chasing after things, you'll miss a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. Since we're already here, why don't you come with me to explore the art and culture of this planet?"

Xuanyuan Muze didn't refuse, or rather, he couldn't refuse. So, led by Agreed, he returned to the art gallery. Agreed explained that the art gallery consisted of four towns, each five kilometers apart, divided into four sections: 'Performance Art,' 'Music and Dance,' 'Drama Performances,' and 'Calligraphy, Painting, and Literature.' He arrived at the noisiest section, the music section. At night, the music and dance area featured pop and rock music and dance performances, making it very noisy for some. However, during the day, the style changed to classical music and instrumental performances—a quieter experience. This was the rule of the music and dance area: quiet during the day, exciting at night. So, if you like a particular style of music, you need to do your research beforehand, or you might easily miss something!

And so, half-heartedly, Xuan Yuan Muze accompanied Agreed to feast his eyes on the music and dance area. Xuan Yuan Muze couldn't understand why he would become inexplicably excited by the enthusiastic atmosphere of the scene, even when he encountered music genres that he used to dislike.

Xuanyuan Muze didn't sleep a wink that night, keeping Agreed company with his crazy antics. The two drank a lot of alcohol, and in the end, completely drunk, they were sent to the sobering-up room along with other drunkards. The sobering-up room was an area set up to prevent drunkards from causing trouble. Security detection robots would find all the drunk tourists and bring them here. Although the drunkards often caused some funny and absurd situations, the undead servants in the sobering-up room who were responsible for cleaning and taking care of them were mostly able to take good care of them.

The next morning, Xuan Yuan Muze woke up with a splitting headache on the cot arranged in the sobering-up room. Beside him, Agrede was already waiting for him with a bowl of steaming hot soup. Agrede handed the soup to Xuan Yuan Muze and said, "Drink this. This is a unique 'sobering soup' recipe. It's quite effective. After you drink it, let's continue our tour. We've only walked less than a quarter of this art gallery."

Xuanyuan Muze took the hangover soup and drank it while remarking, "The art style here is quite similar to that of my hometown. However, what surprises me most is how harmoniously and perfectly various art forms coexist here. In my hometown, people often get into conflicts with others because of what they love. The harmonious coexistence of art here is truly a rare miracle."

Agreed disagreed, saying, "Art shouldn't be categorized, and beauty shouldn't be defined. If you're only focused on arguing, you'll miss out on the precious opportunity to appreciate what you truly love. Art is a subjective thing, and everyone has different aesthetic senses and perspectives on it. If we have to categorize these things as high or low, noble or base, then isn't the 'equality' we talk about in morality just a complete joke and a hoax?"

That makes sense, after all, at our core, we all seem to crave… being 'high and mighty'.

Agreed's words silenced Xuan Yuan Muze, who simply drank the hangover soup down his throat. After finishing the soup, Agreed pulled Xuan Yuan Muze back to the music and dance area, where relatively quiet and lively classical and folk music was being played.

This time, without Agreed's guidance, Xuanyuan Muze spontaneously moved towards those places to appreciate the music and elegant dances. These relatively quiet music and dances, which focused more on artistic conception, were like a massage that touched the soul, making Xuanyuan Muze's chaotic mind feel indescribably comfortable and gradually restore its clarity.

Xuan Yuan Muze spent the entire following day in the music and dance area. Even he himself had to admit that he was unconsciously influenced by the art and culture there.

In the evening, Xuanyuan Muze and Agreed reluctantly went to the theater performance area, but he secretly resolved to come back again when he had time to properly appreciate the music culture of this other world.

Soon, Xuanyuan Muze will discover an astonishing fact: what he is seeing now is merely the tip of the iceberg of the cultural core of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races.