Chapter 40: Mysticism Course

Chapter Forty
Mysticism Course

“An interesting technique?”

Klein asked, deeply curious.

Old Neil chuckled.

“I am going to make a round through the weapons, materials, and archives storage. While I am doing that, use the two cups on the table to brew two cups of coffee. Put something bad in one of them. What exactly that is, you may decide for yourself. Use your imagination. The only requirement is that you must not waste too much coffee powder. I hand-ground it myself from coffee beans specially produced in the highlands!”

“All right.”

Although Klein did not quite understand what Old Neil intended to do, he still agreed readily.

Watching the old man take out a copper key and open the iron door of the armory, hearing footsteps echo long and hollow inside, Klein leisurely arranged the cups and confirmed that there was hot water in the kettle.

He removed the lid of the silver-inlaid tin can and, with a small spoon gleaming with metallic luster, shook one spoonful of fragrant coffee powder into each cup. Then he poured in hot water and stirred with practiced motions.

As a transmigrator from an age of abundant supplies, he was not unfamiliar with coffee, though his experience had been limited to instant coffee.

After finishing this, Klein considered for a moment, sat down, crossed his right leg, pinched a little mud from the sole of his leather boot, and placed it into the cup on the left.

Then he stirred carefully again, until the two cups of coffee were nearly indistinguishable in color and aroma.

Several minutes later, Old Neil emerged from the armory, swinging the ring of keys. With a clang, he shut the iron door behind him.

“Done?”

His somewhat cloudy dark-red eyes moved, turning toward Klein across the table.

“Done,” Klein answered with a nod.

Old Neil laughed once. As he sat down, he unwound the silver chain wrapped around his wrist.

His expression quickly grew calm. Holding the chain in his left hand, he stretched his arm out and let the silver chain hang vertically above the cup of coffee on his own right. The pure white crystal at the end stopped just short of touching the liquid.

In the midst of a relaxing, tranquil atmosphere, the white crystal began to sway slightly for no visible reason. It drew the silver chain into a small counterclockwise rotation.

“This is the cup containing something bad,” Old Neil said with certainty.

Without waiting for Klein to confirm, he put away the chain, picked up the other cup of coffee, and took a sip.

“Do you like bitter coffee? My habit is one spoonful of sugar and one spoonful of milk.”

Klein did not answer. Instead, with great interest, he asked, “Your divination result was very accurate. Was it because of that white crystal? It is white crystal, yes?”

“This is the dowsing method in divination. It is also called pendulum divination. It relies on the connection between one’s Astral Body, the spirit world, and the starry sky, and uses natural materials capable of communicating with spirituality—crystals, gemstones, special metals—to divine whether something is good or bad… Let us return to those two cups of coffee just now. Counterclockwise means bad. Clockwise means good. No movement means neither good nor bad. You may also write an event on paper. Note: an event, not a question.”

Old Neil set down his coffee cup and explained in detail.

Klein seemed to think it over.

“In other words, do not use an interrogative sentence?”

“Correct. You cannot write, ‘Is so-and-so willing to be my fiancée?’ You must write, ‘So-and-so is willing to be my fiancée.’ Place the paper flat on the table, then hold the pendulum chain with your non-dominant hand. Pay attention: your non-dominant hand.”

Old Neil chuckled.

“At that point, straighten your arm and adjust the length of the chain so the crystal hangs directly above the paper, almost touching the sentence you have written. Then close your eyes and silently recite that statement seven times. After that, open your eyes and see whether the pendulum is moving. If it is not, close your eyes again and repeat the previous process until it moves.”

Klein nodded slightly.

“Counterclockwise is no; clockwise is yes?”

“It can also be interpreted as unfavorable and favorable,” Old Neil corrected. Then he taught Klein other uses and details of pendulum divination.

After digesting it several times, Klein discovered that this was an extremely practical divination technique. For instance, when entering an unfamiliar environment, one could use it to quickly confirm whether food was poisonous, without having to spend extra skill points on wilderness biology.

Of course, this form of divination was too simple. The answers obtained were limited to two or three types, and it could not be used for deep investigation and interpretation. For example, certain things might be harmful in themselves, but after specific processing, become greatly beneficial. Some ingredients were indeed damaging to the human body, but the damage was not serious; if one was starving to death, eating them might not be a major problem. These were not judgments pendulum divination could make.

“I need to save money as soon as possible and buy crystal or pure silver to make a pendulum…”

Klein sighed aloud.

Old Neil looked at him in surprise.

“You can apply for one directly. That counts as standard equipment for Beyonders, especially support-type Beyonders like us. There is still one citrine pendulum and one pure silver pendulum in the armory.”

“But I am still not an official member of the team…”

Klein was moved, yet a little hesitant.

Old Neil gave a soft laugh.

“For Beyonders, official member or not, if they are not going to raise your salary, they must certainly offer you some convenience elsewhere.”

“‘Benefits’ might be a more suitable word. I will apply to the Captain later!”

Klein silently clenched his fist and made his decision.

If one did not try, how could one know whether the Captain would agree?

“Good.”

Old Neil smiled.

“We will now begin the formal mysticism course. One of its foundations is called symbolism. Do you know what a symbol is?”

Klein recalled fragments he had previously heard, as well as what he had seen in the spirit world and above the gray fog. After some consideration, he said, “Whether it is the spirit world, the illusory starry sky, or other unknown domains, all exist beyond the world perceived by our senses. They cannot be accurately described by the information our ears, noses, and eyes obtain. What we receive are unspeakable intuitive revelations and experiences, which then manifest externally as abstract signs and symbolic images. These symbols represent different things and meanings.”

“Very accurate. Worthy of a Seer.”

Old Neil nodded solemnly.

“Only by mastering the ability to interpret symbols can one truly step through the door of mysticism. Mm. The images on tarot cards, and every element within those images, are all symbols—symbols artificially established to help us understand and interpret the original revelations.”

He pulled out a sheet of paper, picked up the fountain pen beside him, and drew a short arc.

Immediately afterward, he added several vertical lines beneath the arc, then raised his head to look at Klein.

“Do you know what this symbol represents?”

Klein examined it for a long while before hesitantly saying, “Eyelashes?”

“…”

Old Neil exhaled.

“This is the symbol of the Harvest constellation. This is Thunder. This is White Frost…”

He casually drew several more symbolic signs.

As Klein memorized them, he could not help saying, “The names of these constellations are truly, truly… simple and plain. Yes. Plain.”

So rustic. So primitive…

Old Neil smiled.

“Emperor Roselle thought the same back then. He had always intended to rename the constellations into things like Virgo, Cancer, and Scorpio. Unfortunately, he still failed to resist the power of tradition. At the very least, the ancient names of these constellations and the dates they represent can guide planting and harvesting.”

“I must say Emperor Roselle was a man of ideas,” Klein said, unsure how to comment.

Mm. In life, Emperor Roselle was probably a man of culture…

Unable to understand Klein’s humor, Old Neil continued explaining various basic symbols: those of different constellations, and those of the sun, the crimson moon, the brown star, the red star, and the blue star.

While covering those, he also inserted lessons on how to draw divination astrolabes and what to pay attention to, the making of crystal balls and the materials required, and the selection of incantations. Klein felt nearly overwhelmed.

If he had not discovered that the Seer potion had slightly improved his memory, he would long ago have asked Old Neil to stop so he could digest what he had gained.

“That will be all for today’s mysticism course. Think over it yourself. If you have questions, you may come to me.”

Old Neil took out a golden pocket watch and snapped it open for a glance.

“Do not forget to read the historical materials I prepared for you. Frankly, the sight of them fills me with dread.”

“All right.”

Klein took the drafts on which Old Neil had written the symbols and first ran quickly through the mystical knowledge he had learned today, lest any obvious forgetting occur.

Old Neil sipped a newly brewed cup of coffee and said, “Memory alone is not enough. You must use it often. Only then can knowledge become instinct. Also, meditation must be practiced every day. Only through repeated practice and repeated use can you truly master the potion’s power, excavate the mysteries hidden within it, and remove its negative influences.”

At that mention, Klein thought of acting, then of the Divination Club. Probing, he said, “My potion’s ability is related to divination. Practicing alone is not enough. I must interact with many people and divine for them separately in order to master it as quickly as possible. Once I have some extra money, I plan to join the Divination Club—the one on Howes Street in the North Borough—and become a true Seer.”

This matter would certainly not remain hidden from the Nighthawks in the future. It was better to lay groundwork in advance.

“Your thinking is rather like Daly’s. She has always said she wants to be a true Spirit Medium,” Old Neil said, shaking his head with a smile. “But why wait until you have extra money? You can write an application to Dunn and have him approve the expense.”

“Organizations like the Divination Club may have cultists or members of evil organizations mixed in. As a civilian staff member of the Nighthawk team, and a standard Beyonder, your joining them and conveniently monitoring them belongs to the needs of your work! We used to patrol such places regularly, but because there were not enough people, we could not follow them for extended periods. Now it is just right to assign the matter to you.”

There is such a move?

Looking at Old Neil’s perfectly serious expression, Klein was utterly stunned.

This was openly finding a reason to reimburse a private matter!

I know absolutely nothing about this kind of thing…

As expected, I am only a keyboard expert…

“Do you wish to use your own money to do this?” Old Neil added with a smile, seeing his reaction.

Klein immediately shook his head and answered firmly, “I will write a report to the Captain later!”

Old Neil nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the cup of coffee that had not yet been poured away—the one containing something bad—and asked, “What exactly did you put in there?”

Klein smiled awkwardly.

“Only—Only a little mud from the sole of my leather boot. Its color is quite similar to your coffee powder. Quite similar.”

Old Neil froze. Then he suddenly pressed a hand to his mouth and growled in a low voice:

“Go pour it out at once!”