In early September, the weather in Tingen had already turned from cool to slightly chilly, but the afternoon sun around three or four o'clock still felt warm.
Klein passed through the Wall of Spirituality and the bay window, Levitation in mid-air outside the bedroom, looking down at the pedestrians and carriages coming and going on Daffodil Street.
Just then, a man dressed in gray-blue work clothes suddenly looked up and gazed over.
Klein was startled and tried to hide on the spot, but couldn't find a suitable cover.
After circling around and finding no other way, he tried to sneak back home, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the man's gaze had only swept across the second-floor window, constantly following the movement of a sparrow, and was ultimately disappointed to be shaken off.
Birds can occasionally be seen in the Tingen City.
Whew... I forgot, ordinary people can't see me at all... Klein breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he hadn't fully adapted to the current situation yet.
Feeling more confident, he lowered his flight altitude and Levitation above the pedestrians near the relatively wide street.
As the distance closed, Klein immediately realized that his "vision" was already roughly equivalent to Spirit Vision, and he no longer needed to activate it separately, although there were limitations on its range.
In addition to aura and emotional color, he also vaguely sensed the existence of the soul of each pedestrian, hazy, illusory and transparent.
In my current state, it seems I can directly pass through the physical body and attack the soul... Klein nodded thoughtfully.
He circled once, preparing to test his maximum speed, and then flew with all his might toward Iron Cross Street.
Not long after, he stopped and returned to the outside of the apartment where he used to live.
It should have the speed of a regular car in his past life, the kind that runs normally on the highway... It's a pity he can't freely enter and leave the Spirit World, otherwise it would be perfect... However, it is said that if you get lost in the Spirit World, the consequences will be very serious... Klein just finished his self-assessment and felt depressed, gloomy, and indescribably repressed.
He looked around and saw that the place was shrouded in darkness that normal people could not see and that sunlight could not dispel. The remaining numbness, despair, pain and other emotions were layered on top of each other, as if they were real.
"Just like what I experienced through Spirit Intuition after my last promotion to ' Seer,' the Middle Street and Lower Street of Iron Cross Street have never changed... I wonder how many years it takes to accumulate such oppression and gloom..." Klein sighed as he recalled the past, rising higher and flying to the third floor.
Here, he finally felt the sunshine and shook off his low spirits.
As Klein flew along the Lower Street, he frequently saw residents with tattered clothes, blank expressions, and malnutrition. He even encountered two cases of natural deaths, both of which were due to prolonged hunger, poor health, and sudden illness.
Countless people die here in agony every month, yet bankrupt farmers and former slaves pouring in from the Southern Continent will soon fill their places... Klein sighed silently, changed direction, and flew towards the South Borough.
That area is the industrial zone of Tingen City, where steel mills, lead white factories, ceramic factories, printing factories, metal manufacturing plants, and machinery manufacturing plants are right next to each other.
As he flew, Klein saw the towering chimney-like iron furnace, the billowing dust, and the heavy, gloomy atmosphere, which was only slightly better than that of the Lower Street.
The place is filled with emotions such as exhaustion, pain, pessimism, and numbness; workers in their thirties are a minority.
Just as Klein was about to descend and carefully observe the area, he suddenly felt weak, weak from the inside out.
"My Spirituality can no longer sustain this state..." Klein was startled. He rushed home, but then a better possibility came to mind.
I was "summoned" out, and once the "summoning" ended, I naturally returned! He calmed his mind and carefully sensed his own state and the surrounding environment, and unsurprisingly discovered that a certain place, seemingly infinitely high yet infinitely close, had a subtle connection with him.
Following this connection, Klein tightly enveloped the " Solar Flare Charm," giving it a strong intention to end the "summoning."
A tremendous and terrifying suction force came, and his transparent, almost invisible figure leaped away and disappeared from the material world.
An endless expanse of gray-white mist silently filled the air, and the illusory, still crimson stars remained silent. Klein reappeared in the majestic palace that resembled the dwelling of Giant, at the head of the ancient and mottled bronze table.
That's the whole process... And... Klein looked at his own spirit body with surprise in his eyes, only to see a warm and pure thin gold sheet wrapped inside.
" Solar Flare Charm!"
I did indeed bring real matter into the Gray Fog by "summoning" myself! He couldn't hide his smile as he took out the talisman, examining it repeatedly to confirm that it wasn't a materialized virtual product.
Klein stood up, paced back and forth confidently, and thought expectantly:
"As expected, materials and items can also enter this mysterious space!"
"As long as we can find the right way!"
"However, this method is rather complicated and requires some maneuvering to achieve the goal. Moreover, being constantly 'summoned' by members would damage the image of ' The Fool.' Only I can use it, or after learning more, I can design a spell to summon ' The Fool's retinue' but also target me..."
"... Am I just born to be a laborer? Why does the incantation have to be directed at myself? I could easily create a messenger-like but more special 'fellowship' to receive and distribute materials..."
Klein was filled with ideas, but due to his limited abilities and knowledge, he was unable to implement them for the time being.
His weakness worsened, and Klein dared not linger any longer. He enveloped himself in Spirituality, simulating the feeling of falling into the Gray Fog.
In the blink of an eye, he was back in his bedroom, where he saw the bright sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains.
He examined himself and confirmed that the " Solar Flare Charm " had not been taken out and remained on the Gray Fog.
"Let me rest for a bit, then I'll repeat the summoning ritual around dawn to bring the ' Solar Flare Charm ' back to the real world... Sigh, if only I could have maintained that state longer, I could have checked the houses with red chimneys much faster. Unfortunately, I can't right now. After flying for a while and checking a few houses, I'll probably have to return to the Gray Fog and rest for half a day. The efficiency will be just as low." Klein walked to his desk and extinguished the quietly burning candle.
After tidying up his belongings, he didn't immediately dispel the Wall of Spirituality. Instead, he sat down, took out paper and pen, and began writing a letter to Mr. Azik!
After writing the salutation "Dear Sir," Klein pondered for a few minutes before putting pen to paper:
"... I recently received intelligence that ' Admiral Hurricane ' Qilangos, one of the seven pirate generals, has infiltrated Backlund. He possesses a magical item called ' Creeping Hunger,' which grants abilities similar to ' Shepherd.' Shepherd are Sequence 5 Beyonder who devour and control different souls, gaining a corresponding ability. It is said that they can only Grazing a limited number of souls at a time, but they can replace them..."
"... Qilangos possesses many extraordinary abilities, and I don't know what he intends to do in Backlund... Intelligence suggests that this may involve a very important and magical item, enough to make Qilangos High-Sequence powerhouse, or something comparable to High-Sequence powerhouse..."
Klein used a fabricated source of information to give a rough account of what happened to Qilangos, since he believed that Mr. Azik would not seek confirmation from someone of the Nighthawks captain level.
Here, he didn't directly ask for help; instead, he casually mentioned warning the other party to be careful.
Regardless of whether Mr. Azik will help later, it's good to lay the groundwork now! That way, if that day ever comes, it won't seem abrupt! Klein slowly exhaled and began writing the main content of the letter:
"The mastermind hasn't taken any further action, and I still haven't found any relevant clues."
"I'm contacting you abruptly mainly to ask you about 'sacrificial rituals,' as I encountered something similar during a recent mission..."
With the description of the " The Sun " and Mr. Azik's answer for comparison... I should be able to try the "sacrifice ritual," and the reverse is "giving"... This would be more suitable for exchanging materials and items than the ritual of "summoning" oneself... Hmm, I hope Mr. Azik has remembered this knowledge... Klein nodded slightly, put down his pen, and did not sign his name.
There was only one bronze whistle, and he was certain that Mr. Azik wouldn't have mistaken the sender.
Therefore, Klein decided to be cautious and remain anonymous.
After folding the letter, he glanced at the ceiling height of about three meters, hesitated slightly, and picked up the brass whistle from the bed.
Perfect, let it squat down to receive the message! Klein emphasized to himself, raised his right hand, put the brass whistle to his lips, puffed out his cheeks, and blew hard.
The bronze whistle made no sound, but Klein keenly sensed that the surroundings had instantly turned cold.
He activated his Spirit Vision and saw that one after another, white bones with a hazy glow were gushing out of the desk like a fountain, rising higher and higher.
These bones quickly coalesced into a phantom, enormous Monster, its head burrowing into the Wall of Spirituality, its destination unknown.
Looking at the skeletal thighs and body before him, at the drooping arms and the outstretched right palm, Klein's lips twitched slightly as he tossed the folded letter upwards.
With a sweep of its skeletal giant hand, it firmly grasped the letter.
At that moment, Klein picked up the brass whistle again without hesitation and blew it once.
The Monster instantly disintegrated, turning into white bones that fell onto the desk and then illusoryly disappeared into it.
Having done all this, Klein dispelled the Wall of Spirituality and, in the sudden gust of wind, staggered toward the coat rack, putting the brass whistle back in its place.
Then, he rushed to the bedside and collapsed.
The moment his body touched the soft bed, he fell into a deep sleep.