Faced with his sister's question, Klein could only smile wryly:
Muscle soreness.
He originally thought that taking the Sequence Potion and becoming Beyonder would improve his physical abilities to some extent, but the harsh reality told him that the " Seer's" skills were all focused on Spirituality, mentality, intuition, and interpretation, and could not help him adapt to combat training quickly.
The original owner had focused on studying for many years and suffered from some malnutrition, which kept his physical condition at a below-average level. Therefore, it is quite normal for him to experience such "aftereffects" today.
"Muscle soreness? I remember you came back after dinner yesterday and didn't do anything else... Could alcohol cause muscle soreness?" Melissa asked with a keen curiosity.
"Does alcohol cause muscle soreness...? Girl, that's a question... that makes one's head spin..." Klein chuckled dryly.
"No, it has nothing to do with alcohol. It happened yesterday afternoon. I joined the company's combat training."
"Fighting?" Melissa was even more surprised.
Klein quickly organized his thoughts and said:
"That's right. I've considered that, as a history and artifacts consultant for a security company, I can't stay in the office or the dock warehouse forever. Maybe one day I'll need to go with them to the countryside, to ancient castles, to the Original sites of artifacts. Along the way, we'll climb mountains, cross rivers, walk many, many roads, and face all sorts of challenges from nature. That requires me to be in very good physical health."
"So you joined combat training to improve your physique?" Melissa understood what her brother meant.
"Yes," Klein replied affirmatively.
Melissa frowned slightly and said:
"But that's not gentlemanly... Haven't you always held yourself to the standards of a professor? A professor only needs to read literature, consider difficult problems, and be refined and courteous."
"Of course, I'm not saying that's bad. I like men who can solve problems on their own, whether they use their muscles or their brains."
Klein smiled and said:
"No, no, no, Melissa, you have a misconception about the definition of a professor. A true professor can communicate with people in a refined and gentle manner, but when communication breaks down, he can also use his cane to persuade the other person physically."
"A physical way..." Melissa didn't react at first, but quickly understood what her brother meant and couldn't find the words to refute him.
Klein didn't say anything more, and with difficulty moved his legs toward the washroom.
Melissa stood there, watched for a few seconds, then suddenly shook her head and took two steps to catch up:
Do you need my help?
She offered to help him up.
"No, no need. I was just putting on an act." Klein felt insulted, straightened his back abruptly, and started walking normally.
Watching her brother walk steadily into the bathroom and close the door, Melissa pursed her lips and muttered to herself:
" Klein is getting more and more exaggerated... I thought his muscle soreness was really that serious..."
Inside the bathroom, Klein stood behind the closed door, his face suddenly Distortion.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." He held his breath, tensed his body, and took a full seven or eight seconds to recover.
It wasn't until he struggled downstairs, finished breakfast, and watched Benson and Melissa leave that he felt the aches and pains were no longer so unbearable.
After resting for a while, Klein picked up his cane, put on his top hat, and slowly walked out to the bus stop.
During the summer vacation, Hoy University is lush with greenery, abundant with flowers and birds, and peaceful and tranquil.
After walking along the river for a while, Klein turned onto the road leading to the history department, found the somewhat old three-story gray stone building, and located his advisor Cohen Quentin's office.
He knocked on the door and entered, and was surprised to see that instructor Azik was sitting in the instructor's seat.
"Good morning, Mr. Azik. Where is my tutor? We agreed to meet at ten o'clock in our letter," Klein asked, puzzled.
Cohen Quentin's friend and his often-argued professor, Azik, laughed:
" Cohen had an urgent meeting and went to the Tingen University, so he asked me to wait for you here."
He had bronze skin, a medium build, black hair, brown eyes, and soft features. There was always an indescribable sense of vicissitude in his eyes, and a small mole that was barely noticeable unless you looked closely below his right ear.
After explaining the reason, Azik suddenly frowned and looked Klein over carefully for a few moments.
"Is there something wrong with my attire?" Klein looked at himself blankly.
A tuxedo, black vest, white shirt, black bow tie, dark trousers, and buttonless boots... that's perfectly normal...
Azik relaxed his brows and chuckled:
"Don't worry about it. I just suddenly noticed that you look much more energetic than before, and more like a gentleman."
"Thank you for your compliment," Klein accepted readily, then asked, "Mr. Azik, did the tutor find the book 'Studies on the Ancient Main Peak of Hornacis ' in the school library?"
"Found it, with my help." Azik said with a gentle smile, then opened a drawer and took out a gray-covered book. "You're no longer a student at Hoy University, so you can only read it here; you can't take it away."
"Okay." Klein accepted the academic monograph with a mixture of delight and trepidation.
The book's design perfectly aligns with current trends, featuring a hard cardboard cover and back cover with illustrative patterns that create an abstract representation of the Main Peak of Hornacis.
Klein glanced at it, found a seat, opened the book, and began to read carefully, line by line.
He was engrossed in reading when he suddenly noticed a cup of coffee beside him, its aroma rich and full-bodied.
"Add your own sugar and milk," Azik said, setting down the small silver tray and pointing to the milk jug and sugar cube box.
"Thank you." Klein nodded gratefully.
He casually added three sugar cubes and a spoonful of milk, then continued reading without tasting anything.
The book, *Studies on the Ancient Ruins of Main Peak of Hornacis, wasn't thick. Klein finished reading it around noon, grasping a few key points:
"First, the biological settlements in and around Main Peak of Hornacis clearly indicate the formation of a civilization, suggesting the existence of an ancient kingdom."
"Secondly, judging from the murals, their appearance is no different from that of humans, and they can be preliminarily considered as human."
"Third, they both revered and feared the Evernight, and thus personified a deity to worship, calling this deity the Ruler of the Night and the mother of the sky."
"Fourth, the strangest thing is that no tombs of this country have been found in the entire area, giving people a strange illusion that their inhabitants did not need to be buried, or even might not die. This contradicts the content reflected in the murals, in which the people of this country believed that death was not the end, and believed that their deceased relatives would protect them in the Evernight. Therefore, they would keep their deceased relatives in their homes, on their beds, and by their pillows for a full three days."
"After that, the murals end there, not involving any burial details."
Klein took a sip of coffee and continued writing his "reading notes" in his notebook:
"The Mother of the Sky, Heavenly Mother, such lofty titles, while the Ruler of the Night clearly overlaps with the Evernight Goddess... Is this the root of the contradiction?"
"Within the ancient ruins of Main Peak of Hornacis and the surrounding area, all the displays and furnishings are well-preserved, and the murals show no signs of damage. It seems that the place was undisturbed before its discovery... There are plates on the tables, with dried and rotten traces on them... In some rooms, there are also half-empty bottles of wine that have almost turned to water..."
"And the people of this country? They seem to have all left their homes in a hurry, without packing anything, and never returned."
"Considering the lack of burial sites makes it even stranger."
"The author, Mr. Joseph, also mentioned that when these ruins were the Original discovered, he even thought the inhabitants had vanished instantly."
Klein put down his pen and turned his gaze to an illustration.
That was a black-and-white photograph taken by John Joseph with a new camera during his third trip to the Main Peak of Hornacis.
In the photo, the palace is majestic, the walls are collapsed, and weeds grow rampant; the style is predominantly grand.
When Klein came across this photo just now, he was instantly reminded of the palace he had seen in his dream:
The two are similar in style, except that the one I dreamed of was located at the summit and was more magnificent, with a huge, inhuman chair at the very top, where countless transparent maggots huddled together, slowly wriggling.
It's confirmed that my dream is related to the ancient ruins of Main Peak of Hornacis... That should be the Nation of Evernight mentioned in the Antigonus Family Notebook... Klein nodded almost imperceptibly and closed the book.
At this moment, Azik sat down opposite him, touched the inconspicuous black mole below his right ear, and said:
"How was it? Did you find anything?"
"There are quite a few. Look, I've taken many pages of notes," Klein said with a smile, pointing to the table.
"I don't understand why you've suddenly become interested in this," Azik remarked casually, then continued, " Klein, when I was in university at Backlund, I came across some Divination practices and have done some research on it. Hmm, I've noticed something incongruous about your Fate."
What? Divination? You want to talk to me about Divination? As a " Seer," Klein looked at Instructor Azik across from him with amusement and said:
What's incongruous?
Azik thought for a moment and said:
Have you encountered many coincidences in the past two months?
"A coincidence?" Because he had received a favor from Mr. Azik, Klein did not resist the other party's question and subconsciously began to recall:
If we're talking about coincidences, the most obvious one is that during the pursuit of the kidnappers, clues to the Antigonus Family Notebook, which had been missing for several days, were discovered opposite the room where they were hiding.
Furthermore, Riel Bieber's hasty search for a place to absorb the power granted by the notebook Tingen allows the Sealed Artifact "2-049" to easily track his whereabouts, which defies common sense... Although Mr. Al Hasson's explanation is correct, I still feel there are some coincidences...
Well, Selena peeked at Hynas Vincent's secret incantation and waited until her birthday dinner to try it out, which was a bit of a coincidence that I discovered it... Otherwise Hynas Vincent wouldn't have died so suddenly...
Klein thought about it seriously for a few minutes and said:
"There were three incidents, not too many, not too frequent, and there was no trace of interference or guidance from others."
Azik nodded slightly and said:
As Emperor Roselle once said, anyone can encounter a coincidence that happens only once, twice is also within the normal range, but three times requires us to consider what underlying factors are guiding it.
"Can you see anything?" Klein asked tentatively.
Azik chuckled and shook his head in reply:
"I can only see a slight discord, nothing else. You must understand, I am not a true Seer."
That's like saying nothing at all... Mr. Azik is a bit strange... He's acting like a charlatan in front of a charlatan like me... Klein sighed, and taking advantage of the other party getting up, he pinched his brow and activated his Spirit Vision.
At a glance, Azik's aura was fully reflected in his eyes, and everything seemed normal.
Unfortunately, I can only see the depths of other people's Ether Body and the surface of their Astral Body above the Gray Fog... Klein tapped his brow, stood up, and thought leisurely.