15 Minsk Street, Cherwood Borough.
After a satisfying meal, Klein sat in an armchair in the living room, with a fireplace burning with charcoal beside him.
In the warm, early summer-like environment, he wore a white shirt, a black vest, and thin trousers, unfolded the newspaper with both hands, and turned to the page with the most small advertisements.
"A new type of transportation urgently needs investment. Details to be discussed in person..." Klein muttered to himself twice, then reached for a pencil on the small, dark red round table beside him and circled the message.
If no clients come to his door in the next day or two, he plans to go and see if the so-called new types of transportation have any investment value.
Such things cannot be predicted in Divination because there is insufficient information.
"I hope it's a product similar to a bicycle..." Klein had just murmured to himself when layers of illusory prayers suddenly echoed in his ears.
Who? "Miss Justice "? "Mr. The Hanged Man "? "Student the Sun "? Or one of the employees at Bank of Backlund who copied my password? A thought flashed through Klein's mind. He put down the newspaper, went back to his bedroom, and locked the door.
He took four steps backward, entering above the Gray Fog, and saw clear light radiating from the edge of the ancient, mottled bronze table, beside the Fool's chair.
Klein, already quite experienced, sat down calmly, radiating Spirituality, and touched the ripples of light in response to the prayer.
The scene before him suddenly changed, revealing a blurry sofa with a petite woman dressed as a trainee knight curled up on it.
He hadn't copied down the password... He was looking at a piece of paper... Klein suddenly realized what was going on and understood the reason:
"She should be one of the two Beyonder that Miss ' Justice ' mentioned I needed to examine..."
After hesitating for more than ten seconds, Klein did not give a real response, intending to take this step later in the night and then examine her character and ability based on her reaction, attitude and handling methods.
Of course, he would never force anyone to Tarot Club.
" The Fool That Doesn't Belong to This Era..." Hugh paused for a few seconds after reciting that Ancient Hermes, then his back snapped back and he sat up abruptly.
This might very well be the name of some Hidden Existence! She realized this with horror.
Her knowledge of occultism and the various rumors she had heard all told her:
Once you recite the full name of a Hidden Existence, it often means that you have attracted their attention!
The consequences of such stares are unlikely to be pleasant, and may even be disastrous!
Many of those Concealment beings are incarnations of evil gods Devil!
And I was reciting Ancient Hermes... How foolish of me, why did I bother to discern and recite it so earnestly... Xiu looked around in fear, terrified that an indescribable Monster would suddenly appear in the quiet house.
The sofa, coffee table, cabinets, dining table, chairs, oil paintings, and other items came into view one by one, unchanged.
After remaining vigilant for several seconds, Hugh relaxed slightly and reassured himself:
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I only recited the name of the Venerable One; I didn't follow up with any other prayer or incantation."
"This is an incomplete ritual; it shouldn't attract attention."
"Moreover, there's a strong possibility that the name was translated by the paper's owner based on Emperor Roselle's special symbols, and it may not be accurate."
"But, but I heard that if evil gods Devil become interested, they will respond even if the ritual is incomplete... I'm so stupid, so stupid..." As he thought about it, Hugh's face fell again, feeling that he had made a serious Error.
After waiting a few more minutes and seeing no clear response, Hugh puffed out his cheeks and slowly exhaled.
She tucked the papers back into the book, "The History of the Nobles of the Kingdom of Loen," and entered the bathroom with a slightly heavy heart. She turned on the tap, intending to use the cold water to clear her head.
Splash!
The almost transparent water flowed down, and Xiu bent over, stretched out his palms, and scooped up a little.
Just as she was about to splash cold water on her face, she suddenly caught a glimpse of long, slightly wavy brown hair in the bathroom mirror.
She herself had shoulder-length, messy blond hair.
Suddenly, every hair on Xiu's body stood on end.
She pushed off with her feet, braced herself with her hands, and sprang backward, turning her body halfway before delivering a sharp elbow strike.
Snap!
She leaned against a warm body, causing the other person to let out a familiar scream and fall to the ground.
Hugh stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend, who was clutching his stomach, writhing in pain, and with tears welling up in his eyes.
Her lips twitched involuntarily as she said:
Fors, when did you get back?
Fors didn't answer immediately. After a moment, she slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, and complained:
"I just got back, Hugh! Are you crazy? You didn't even look properly before you hit me! And you hit me so hard!"
"Where did you come in from?" Hugh asked awkwardly.
"It came in through the bathroom window. What, is there a problem? As an ' Apprentice,' not carrying a key is normal behavior," Fors replied matter-of-factly.
Hugh immediately straightened his back and shifted all the blame back:
"Then why didn't you use the door? You really scared me!"
Fors blinked and said:
"That would mean going halfway around, which is too much trouble. I'm used to walking in a straight line."
She paused, then asked doubtfully, "But Hugh, isn't your reaction a bit too extreme?"
Hugh hesitated for three seconds between losing face and losing his life, then answered honestly:
"Because, because I made a Error, a fatal Error."
"What Error?" Fors asked, rubbing her stomach, looking both bewildered and concerned.
Xiu hurriedly recounted how he had discovered an old piece of paper hidden in the book cover, and how he had accidentally deciphered and silently recited Ancient Hermes incantations that seemed to Hidden Existence.
"Where's your brain? You should be alright, right? The ritual wasn't complete, and who knows if it's real or fake..." Fors looked around and inexplicably felt a chill.
She followed Hugh back to the living room and saw the yellowed paper, with Roselle's special symbols and the Ancient Hermes on it.
After a quick glance, Fors, a professional researcher of occultism, nodded slightly and said:
"They're not the evil gods, Devil, or Hidden Existence I know of, so it's not a big problem."
"And so far nothing has happened, which means there shouldn't be any problems."
Seeing that Xiu had relaxed, she thought of the pain in her stomach and added "maliciously":
"Of course, if something really happens, we won't be able to save ourselves, given our capabilities."
Hugh's face turned pale instantly, and he blurted out:
" Fors, let's sleep together tonight... never mind, I'll just sleep alone..."
Fors raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Alright, there's really no need to worry. Think about it, I hear strange babbling every Full Moon, but I've never shown any signs of madness or losing control."
"Hmm... Let's examine the other three books. If they have the same paper and incantations, then it's very likely a prank by Viscount Glaint."
The two quickly pulled out books such as " Heraldry " and carefully examined them, but found nothing additional.
Hugh looked at Fors, Fors looked at Hugh; the atmosphere became heavy again.
"Or, how about we sneak into the Mass room of Saint Samuel Cathedral and sleep there tonight?" Hugh suddenly suggested.
This is the headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, in the Backlund diocese.
"Why not Saint Hilan Cathedral? I don't believe the Evernight Goddess will protect me..." Fors replied subconsciously.
That was the headquarters of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, in the St. George Borough Backlund, adjacent to many large factories to the southeast.
The two women, with differing beliefs, fell silent again. After a while, Fors sighed:
"And that would make us a target of the Nighthawks, or the Machinery Hivemind, which might be the purpose of that Hidden Existence."
"Okay, go to sleep. We'll know the answer tomorrow morning. If nothing happens by then, it means there really is no problem."
At midnight, the not-quite-full red moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the sky over Backlund was mostly devoid of bright stars.
Klein instinctively woke up, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and entered the Gray Fog.
He settled into the high-backed chair reserved for the Fool, preparing to respond to Miss Justice's companion and initiate the "investigation process."
Just then, a new idea suddenly came to him:
Perhaps we could try to pull someone into the Gray Fog under these circumstances!
The young lady should be asleep. Even if my attempt succeeds, she'll most likely think it was just a fairly vivid dream afterwards... Hmm... If it succeeds, I'll stop it immediately so she can't see her surroundings clearly...
After pondering it over for a while, Klein reached out and pointed at the rippling circle of light to establish a connection.
Suddenly, he felt his Spirituality surging out wildly, causing the entire mysterious space above the Gray Fog to tremble slightly.
Just when Klein thought his Spirituality would be completely drained, everything calmed down, and a blurry, Distortion figure appeared on the edge of the bronze table.
Xiu opened his eyes, still heavy with sleep, and saw an endless Gray Fog, an old high-backed chair, and a dark shadow looking down at him.
Klein was overjoyed and immediately cut off the contact as planned.
The hazy, petite figure vanished, but within the gray mist, a cluster of deep red, illusory stars appeared.
As Klein watched this scene, he confirmed one thing: as long as someone chanted his name, he could pull that person into the Gray Fog, and the crimson stars were a sign that a stable connection had been established.
"But there are certain limitations. With my current strength, I can only establish one more connection at most... Hmm... Based on my experience just now, my current Spirituality level can only pull in Beyonder one Sequence higher than me, and that's not even certain. It's just a preliminary judgment. I can definitely pull in those at the same Sequence as me or lower..." Klein thought with satisfaction.
He didn't need to respond further; his previous attempt had been sufficient.
Suddenly, Hugh sat up from his sleep.
She had been worried about the potential dangers of reciting the revered name, and shortly after falling asleep, she dreamt of a mysterious space and Gray Fog figure looking down at her from above.
The dream was so vivid, so vivid, that it frightened Hugh.
She glanced at Fors, who was fast asleep beside her, and thought tremblingly:
"Is it a nightmare caused by fear, or is it due to the watchful eye of Hidden Existence, or is it being possessed by an evil spirit?"
"Hmm... There's a gathering of Beyonder tomorrow night. Besides buying the formula, I also need to find someone skilled in exorcism to Purification it."