Different types of Essence granted Awakened different advantages.
Linsey's Life Source Material could strengthen his Constitution and extend his lifespan.
Merchants could externalize their Essence into objects, creating tools with miraculous effects. At the same time, by drawing the Essence out of their own bodies, they could conceal their identities as Awakened.
Basic Essence was the most broadly useful and had none of the various negative effects.
The Essence of the Willpower System likewise had its own unique qualities.
After Linsey's Will Source Material Advancement, it had not directly enhanced any of his physical attributes. However, his Will attribute had risen to 11, and his perception had also improved to a certain extent.
Linsey now focused intently on his surroundings.
He could vaguely see colors that ordinary people could not, while his hearing and sense of smell had also become sharper.
And now, a very strange problem lay before Linsey.
He had heard a sound coming from the cabin's front room, yet before that, he had not sensed any door opening or anyone climbing in through a window.
"Who is it? Who's there?"
Linsey raised an eyebrow slightly, set down the notebook in his hand, and walked toward the front room.
But he had only reached the study at the very center of the house.
When a heavy, hurried set of footsteps appeared beneath the corridor leading to the front room, accompanied by Finn's bloodless face.
"Teacher Finn?!"
Linsey froze.
Before he could react at all, Finn roared and charged at him.
"Roar!"
Living Corpse! The dangerous encounter from three years ago made Linsey recognize it in an instant.
His eyes went wide with fury, shock and anger surging through him.
His physical abilities, far beyond those of an ordinary human, allowed Linsey to clearly see every detail of Finn's corpse's movements.
His teacher's Living Corpse lunged at him.
Its left foot was forward and its right foot behind, its body leaning forward, both hands raised as though to strangle his neck.
Linsey clenched one hand into a fist, sidestepped, and threw a straight punch in an instant.
But just as his fist reached Finn's head, the Living Corpse's body was knocked backward—and Linsey's gaze sank into darkness.
Even if it was a Living Corpse.
It was still Finn's body.
"Damn it!"
Linsey cursed.
His extended right hand changed from a fist to a palm and clamped down on Finn's shoulder.
At the same time, he lunged forward, sweeping his left leg diagonally at Finn's corpse's legs.
Thud! The Living Corpse was immediately thrown to the ground by Linsey.
Then Linsey turned again, using the zombie's lunging force to twist it onto the ground. His right hand, originally gripping the corpse's shoulder, slid down to its wrist, pinning the Living Corpse firmly to the floor with a joint lock.
"Roar!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Pinned beneath Linsey, the Living Corpse struggled desperately.
It was indeed quite strong. Even the stone-brick floor inside the house creaked from its struggles.
But the one restraining it was Linsey.
The current Linsey was far stronger than the child he had been three years ago.
Moreover, Finn's Living Corpse had not been frozen stiff in snow and ice. In truth, subduing it was even easier.
Linsey's only problem was how to deal with the Living Corpse.
Because his own Essence had already fused with the techniques of a Game Player, even after learning the knowledge of the School of Death, he would not develop the corresponding ability to handle Living Corpses.
Unless he could bring himself to chop Finn's body into pieces.
Otherwise, he could only find a way to restrain it and bring it all the way to Red Moon for proper handling.
Of the two options, Linsey naturally chose the latter.
Not merely out of respect for his teacher.
With his current abilities, restraining a moving corpse was not difficult at all.
"Hah..."
Having made up his mind, Linsey took a deep breath.
It felt as though someone had shoved a wooden stopper into his heart.
His teacher's remains had come alive while he was keeping vigil over them. No one could feel good in such a situation.
But the most important thing now was to deal with reality as quickly as possible.
Linsey then pressed his lips tightly together, pulled both of the Living Corpse's hands behind its back, pressed them together, and locked them firmly with his left hand.
He then hoisted the entire corpse upward, using his right hand to grab its thigh.
It did not take much effort.
Like a weightlifter raising a barbell, he lifted the still-struggling Living Corpse over his head and carried it outside in a position that made it completely unable to hurt anyone.
"..."
"Linsey, what happened over there?"
"What is that thing roaring?"
Linsey had only just stepped out of the cabin.
Neighbors' voices immediately rang out around him.
The town was very quiet at night, and the Living Corpse's roars were enough to wake people from their sleep.
The other townspeople had not yet come outside.
But they were all getting dressed and getting up, preparing to see what was happening outside.
"Everyone, stay inside. You don't need to come out."
"It's just a little trouble over here. I can handle it myself!"
Linsey did not want Finn's situation to alarm the ordinary townspeople.
After reassuring them, he immediately quickened his pace, carrying the Living Corpse as he rushed straight into the wilderness outside town.
Not wanting to frighten any ordinary person, he deliberately took a wide detour around the town before running toward the church.
At Linsey's speed, the journey did not take much time.
It was already deep into the night.
Under the moonlight, Graveyard Church stood alone beyond the town.
Carrying the corpse made it inconvenient for Linsey to open the gate, so he simply sprinted forward, vaulted over the church's low wall, and landed steadily in the courtyard.
"Nun! Something's wrong with Teacher Finn's body!"
Linsey immediately called out.
A few breaths later, a light came on in Red Moon's room.
Then Red Moon pushed open her door. She saw Linsey standing in the courtyard, as well as Finn's body above his head, still struggling without pause.
"A Living Corpse?"
Red Moon's expression turned grave. She had already realized what the problem was.
The instant her words fell, a flash of red light streaked through the church courtyard.
The School of Death specialized in dealing with such matters, and Red Moon's ability naturally took effect at once.
Almost the next second, Linsey felt the corpse in his hands lose all signs of movement and become that elderly man resting in eternal sleep once more.
"Nun, thank you for your trouble."
Linsey hurriedly laid Finn's body on the ground and began checking its wrists and ankles, confirming whether his earlier actions had damaged the body's integrity.
At the same time, Red Moon walked to Linsey's side and asked solemnly, "Linsey, what happened over there tonight?"
Linsey quickly explained, "I was in Teacher Finn's house the entire night. There was no movement, no warning at all. Teacher Finn... he suddenly changed."
"That isn't normal." Red Moon made her judgment with certainty. "Before Finn died, he injected all his Essence into that branch. His body would be extremely difficult to animate—not just for ordinary people, but even among Awakened."
Hearing this, Linsey's examination of the body stopped abruptly.
Without raising his head, he asked Red Moon, "Then under these circumstances, what could make a corpse animate?"
Red Moon immediately answered, "It could only be the deliberate influence of external Essence."
"..."
"Nun, I'm going out for a while. Please watch over Teacher Finn's body. I'll return as quickly as I can."