Two Little Ashis

Wei En said goodbye to Yuan and returned home. The first thing he did after entering was turn off the Alarm.

After his Mental Level increased, he still wasn't quite used to the dazzling radiance of the Runic Array.

Once that was done, he went upstairs to the bedroom and set the things in his hands on the table, finally letting out a breath.

"Yuan was way too cautious. He said I was coveting Sister Kali's beauty..."

How did he know?

For a girl as perfect as Kali, wasn't it normal to have a few improper thoughts?

After letting his mind wander for a while, Wei En turned his attention to the suitcase. Time to see how good the Secret Investigation Bureau's benefits were.

The suitcase was not large, but it felt quite heavy in his hand.

It was sky blue overall, with the Secret Investigation Bureau's Gunfire emblem printed on its surface, very similar to the firearm Rogeret carried.

He wondered what was inside that had made Somlay Arias so proud, daring to call it "the finest standard-issue equipment"...

Hopefully, it wasn't an exaggeration.

Click.

Then, he opened the suitcase.

The first thing he saw was a set of dark green uniforms standardized by the Logistics Department, stylish yet imposing.

After seeing how Lacy and Rogeret looked in them that morning, Wei En had been envious.

He set the uniform aside and looked at the items beneath it. His eyes immediately lit up. "A firearm!"

It was exactly the same as the one Rogeret had!

The firearm was around thirty centimeters long, silver-white overall, with a golden pattern along its body engraved with the Secret Investigation Bureau's Gunfire emblem. Its grip was made of ironwood and bore the same Gunfire emblem.

He hurriedly took it out, unable to put it down as he struck several poses and savored its exquisite, distinctive feel.

"I didn't expect the Secret Investigation Bureau to be this generous."

Satisfied, Wei En placed the firearm on the table and continued examining the other things in the case.

A box of bullets, a sharp dagger, and several small glass bottles...

Wei En carefully took out the glass bottles and held them up before his eyes. Aside from their different colors, there were no obvious distinctions.

"Magic Potions? Or something else?"

For the moment, he could not tell what they were for, so he put them away and decided to ask the captain and the others at the Secret Investigation Bureau tomorrow.

But was this really the finest standard-issue equipment?

Wei En felt somewhat disappointed. In his previous life, what fully armed combatant didn't have all sorts of auxiliary weapons?

By comparison, the contents of this suitcase seemed far too shabby.

Still, they were free, so he could not ask for too much. At the very least, that firearm gave him quite a bit of security...

"I still need to improve my own strength. This equipment is ultimately just external aid."

With that thought, he opened the System Panel.

[You were scanned by Yegor Payne's spiritual perception. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[You were locked onto by Rogeret Guy's killing intent. Evaluation: A creature suffering Mental Contamination from an unknown existence, on the verge of losing control. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[You were scanned by Alais Koulibaly's spiritual perception. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[You were scanned by Andris Abra's spiritual perception... Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[You learned the name of "Forbidden Object 1-83 Demon Clown." Your fate trajectory has undergone a slight change. Current encounter progress: 1/100. Evaluation: Hey, congratulations on finding a rather heroic way to die. Special reward: Resilience Level +1.]

[You suffered Santiago Montoya's mental Intimidation and fell unconscious (5 seconds). Evaluation: He attacked you, and you're not going after him? Reward: Survival Points +3.]

[Meditated for seven hours. Reward: Mental Level +0.07.]

Wei En: "..."

He knew that going out would expose him to all kinds of dangers, but wasn't this fucking too much?

Especially the spiritual perception scans—there had been twelve of them in total.

And aside from Yegor, he had never even heard of the others.

He had no idea when their spiritual perception had scanned him either. He could only infer from the order of the notifications that it had happened within the Secret Investigation Bureau.

However, what shocked him most was that Rogeret was actually someone suffering Mental Contamination and about to lose control!

So when he had first met Rogeret Guy that morning, the man's killing intent had not been an accident. He had genuinely wanted to kill him.

Even more unexpectedly, the "Fate Scrying of Forbidden Objects" really existed!

And a casual remark from Lacy during her introduction had changed his fate trajectory.

So the question was, had she done it intentionally or unintentionally?

Finding out would be simple. He only needed to see whether she brought it up again in the future.

But Fate Scrying was not what troubled Wei En.

What troubled him was whether he should reveal Rogeret's impending loss of control to Lacy and the others.

Doing so would inevitably draw attention to him, perhaps even hostility.

It was obvious when he thought about it. Rogeret had spent the entire morning in the Secret Investigation Bureau, yet even Minister Yegor and Captain Lacy had not noticed anything unusual about him...

So how had he, a rookie Investigator who had just started working, discovered it?

By strength? The problem was that he was not strong. He could not even sense other people's spiritual scans.

By talent? A talent for sensing others' Mental Contamination... wouldn't that get him locked up and used as slave labor?

"They're giving me a huge problem right from the start..."

Wei En was not an indecisive person. Most of the time, he made decisions quickly.

But after arriving in this unfamiliar world and learning about those mysteries, he had no choice but to become even more cautious.

Whether it was those Abyssal Creatures or the extraordinary individuals harboring ill intentions toward him, any one of them could crush him to death with a single hand.

"Better safe than sorry. I'd rather do nothing than make a mistake!"

After considering it for a long time, Wei En decided not to say anything for now.

Once Rogeret showed any abnormality, even the slightest unusual behavior, he could reasonably "guess" that Rogeret was about to lose control.

Before that, though, he also needed to remember one thing—he absolutely could not be alone with Rogeret!

Having made his decision, Wei En put the matter aside. He had not forgotten the main reason he had taken leave and come home.

That was to use his current conditions to improve his strength as much as possible.

He looked over the other information on the System Panel. His Resilience Level was 14, one level higher than before he had gone out.

His Mental Level had barely changed, only 0.07 higher than yesterday. That was all Little Ashi's hard work.

His Survival Points had also risen from 21 to 38, all gains from the Secret Investigation Bureau.

Unfortunately, aside from the Ghost Meditation Method, he had no other skills that could use Survival Points.

Thinking of that, Wei En glanced at Little Ashi. Seeing it looking back at him, he asked, "You won't harm me after I upgrade the Meditation Method, will you?"

"Ba... ba..."

"Calling me Dad won't help with something like this, will it? Still, your attitude seems decent enough. I'll trust you this once!"

Without hesitation, Wei En opened the System Panel and selected the Ghost Meditation Method for an upgrade.

1/10, 2/10... until the System Panel displayed a prompt.

[Ghost Meditation Method Level 1 (10/10). Upgrade?]

"Yes!"

[Congratulations. Your skill, Ghost Meditation Method, has increased to Level 2. Effect: 0.02 Mental Level per hour.]

As soon as the notification appeared, Wei En felt the space before his eyes begin to spin.

"Again?!"

Then whispers rang out beside his ears. "Apu, Runo, Ruixi, Aus..."

There were two more syllables than before?

This time, Wei En only resisted for a moment before falling into a daze again. "One head, two heads, three..."

Who knew how long passed before Wei En awoke from his slumber. In his haze, he heard Little Ashi's voice beside his ears.

"Apu."

"Dad!!"

"Aus."

"Dad!!"

"Rui..."

What the hell?

Why were two identical voices sounding at the same time?

Wei En opened his eyes, shook his dizzy head, and looked up into the air. "Am I seeing things... Why are there two Little Ashis?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

"Fuck, there really are two Little Ashis?"

Above his head floated two identical heads—Little Ashi.

But after watching for a moment, Wei En easily distinguished which was the original Little Ashi and which had just appeared.

The original Little Ashi was shouting, "Dad!!"

The newborn Little Ashi had a calm expression. "Aus."

Wei En's head throbbed from the noise. "Shut up!"

The original Little Ashi immediately shut its mouth, but not before shooting Wei En a look. Dad, look, it's still talking. Shouldn't we beat it up?

Unexpectedly, the newborn Little Ashi glanced at it, then shut its mouth as well and meditated in silence.

The original Little Ashi: "..."

Wei En, who had been ready to use force to restore order in the rear, was also taken aback. It had gotten smarter?

Whatever. He would just treat it as a phenomenon that came with the Meditation Method.

"But I fucking finally understand why meditating for an hour raises Mental Level by 0.02."

Two heads eating—wouldn't that naturally double the effect?

Could it be that every time the Meditation Method leveled up, it would add another head?

Wei En imagined himself with a whole pile of heads above him... it would be a blessing for anyone with trypophobia!

He would not even need to fight. Just showing off that appearance would scare a whole crowd senseless.

Wei En opened the System Panel again and took a look.

[You successfully endured Origin Erosion from an unknown existence. Your Origin characteristics have mutated! Congratulations, you are traveling further and further down the path of becoming inhuman! Special reward: Origin +1, Mental Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]

"As expected... upgrading the Meditation Method does have rewards, though there are fewer than last time."

But what did it mean by, "you are traveling further and further down the path of becoming inhuman"?

Wei En looked up at the two Little Ashis. Surely it would not end with all these heads growing on his body?

That would be way too ugly!

He rubbed his aching, swollen temples. "Forget it. As long as my strength improves, there's no point thinking so much about it."

He knew far too little about Ghosts right now. Without outside help, there was no way he could find the cause of the Origin Erosion.

Wei En shook his head, dispelling those thoughts and easing his headache somewhat.

Then he pulled out his pocket watch, opened the Ghost's toolbox, and took out the 2 Gold Pounds and forty 1-Shilling Coins he had just borrowed.

Time waited for no one. He planned to carefully study the exchange list and trade for knowledge useful at his current stage.

"<Detailed Explanation of Zero-Level Spells—Basic Textbook for Junior Apprentices>, Introduction to Potion Studies, Basic Theory of Spells, Introduction to Runic Studies..."

There was too much knowledge recorded on the Parchment. Wei En could only examine them one by one and make his choices based on their descriptions.

He had no choice. The knowledge was too expensive; he had not seen anything priced below 5 Shillings.

Especially the introductory knowledge on Potions, Alchemy, and Runic Studies—each book cost as much as 1 Gold Pound.

It was practically robbery.

By comparison, the knowledge related to spells was much cheaper.

After considering his circumstances, Wei En finally selected four books of basic knowledge—

<Basic Theory of Spells and Detailed Explanation of Zero-Level Spells>, 5 Shillings.

<Introduction to Magic Potions—Basic Theory of Potions>, 1 Gold Pound.

Material Science, 5 Shillings.

Potion Formulas, 5 Shillings.

Their total value came to 1 Gold Pound and 15 Shillings.

After writing the names of this knowledge on a blank Parchment, he placed it into the Blue-White Box along with 35 Shillings in Coins.

"I hope the descriptions on the exchange list are all true..."

Wei En could not help thinking maliciously. What if the exchange list had used exaggerated wording?

Damn it, then he would suffer a huge loss!

Not long afterward, the Blue-White Box lit up with several halos of light accompanied by a hum.

Wei En hurriedly opened the box and took out everything inside—a letter and four sheets of Parchment.

"First, congratulations on taking your first step toward becoming a Great Wizard. However, since you have spent a great deal of energy studying Potions at this early stage, the management office must explain something in advance."

"For the vast majority of Junior Wizard Apprentices, the most important thing is improving their Mental Level. In other words, for most of your time, you can only and must meditate rather than waste your energy on Potions."

"Wait until you raise your Mental Level to Level 30 and advance to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice before researching and studying Potions. —Specter School Apprentice Management Office."

Wei En put down the letter, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth. He had no intention of following the Apprentice Management Office's advice.

Of course he knew he needed to increase his Mental Level, but who told him he was a genius?

However, that good mood vanished after he opened the several rolls of Parchment.

"Fuck, who told you to write all this knowledge in Gonzalez Language?!"

Wei En stared at the twisted, strange writing, on the verge of tears.

He really could not understand it.

With no other option,

he could only start by learning the most basic Gonzalez Language.

"Gonzalez... Gonzalez..."

Seeing that twisted face again, Wei En did not panic. He seized the Parchment with his mental power.

Even Little Ashi could be beaten until it called him daddy. Handling a Parchment with extraordinary traits was no problem either.

In an instant, the piercing scream stopped. The Parchment recording the Gonzalez Language had returned to being smooth and flat.

"I didn't expect it to be this easy."

Wei En looked at himself, armed to the teeth, and helplessly pursed his lips. "Without anyone to teach you, it really won't do. You'll take a lot of unnecessary detours..."

But he had no choice.

The Specter School took a completely hands-off approach toward its Intelligence Officers. There was simply no way they would spend the time and effort assigning wizards to train them.

In the eyes of the school's upper ranks, merely opening an exchange channel to them was already an exceptional gift.

After all, Intelligence Officers like them, scattered outside, were all "defective products" eliminated by the entrance test.