Secrets Supplicant, a Beyonder Pathway with extremely high spirituality. Compared to ordinary Beyonders, they are more likely to perceive hidden and terrifying existences. They can utilize these hidden existences, but more often, they are driven to madness by their influence.
The moment Lu Ze saw the strange eyes behind Old Neil, he suddenly recalled what Dunn had once said. He was absolutely right. It would have been even better if he had also told Lu Ze that such dangerous things existed right within the Nighthawks headquarters.
The sinister aura from the terrifying eyes surged into Lu Ze's mind. He quickly lowered his head, avoiding direct eye contact with those eyes, which made him feel a little better. His nose felt a bit itchy, and when he wiped it, he realized blood was flowing out.
The illusory sound of ocean waves faintly echoed in his mind, and the suffocating sense of pressure significantly weakened.
"Lu Ze, you're finally here. What's wrong with you?"
Klein hadn't finished his welcoming words when he noticed Lu Ze's abnormality.
"I'm fine."
Lu Ze quickly wiped away the blood, looked up, and said with a smile, "It's a bit dark in the room. I just hadn't adjusted to it and my eyes played tricks on me."
He didn't plan to reveal anything, but instead pretended as if nothing was wrong.
"You must be Luze Longdaoer, right?"
Old Neil said with a smile from behind the desk, "Dunn has already told me. From now on, just come here on time and study with Klein."
"Hello, Mr. Neil."
Lu Ze stared at his face, maintaining a smile, trying not to look at the huge eyes floating behind him. They were terrifying and bizarre eyes, without eyelashes, transparent to the point of being almost illusory, filled with coldness and indifference. It clung to Old Neil's back, swaying with his movements, almost like a new growth on his body.
What's going on?
What the heck!
Relying on his intuition, Lu Ze was certain that these huge eyes were absolutely not a benevolent existence. On the contrary, the feeling these eyes gave him was like the True Creator he had seen in his hallucinations—evil and mad.
In other words, it was very likely related to an evil god.
Another evil god? Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have joined the team. Captain, didn't you say that work is usually very relaxed, the danger level isn't high, and encountering an evil god is an extremely rare occurrence? I don't believe a word you say!
Lu Ze's smile stiffened, and cold sweat gradually broke out on his back.
Klein, sitting beside him, looked completely unfazed, as if he couldn't see these eyes at all. For a moment, Lu Ze truly envied him.
".Hey, young man, are you listening?"
The annoying thing was that this old man even initiated a conversation with him, looking like he was about to walk over.
"Of course I'm listening, Mr. Neil. It's an honor to be a student in your mysticism class."
Lu Ze slightly raised his top hat as a sign of respect.
"Please have a seat, next to Klein will be fine."
Old Neil said, pointing to the chair opposite.
Lu Ze had no choice but to sit down. At the same time, he was also quickly thinking about how he should respond.
Shouting or running away on the spot would definitely be the most foolish behavior. Not to mention whether others would believe him, if he instantly escalated the conflict and caused the person to lose control when they were fine, he would be the one to suffer.
Given this, his best option was to temporarily pretend that nothing was amiss.
So Lu Ze could only force himself to act normal and listen to Old Neil continue.
"Lu Ze, tell me your educational background."
"I haven't attended school, but basic reading and writing are not a problem."
"Oh, right, Dunn mentioned that. In that case, you probably haven't studied Hermes or Ancient Hermes Language, have you?"
Lu Ze shook his head.
Old Neil observed Lu Ze's reaction, confirmed his guess, and then explained, "Simply put, both of these languages carry mysticism and can communicate with deities. There are also Ancient Fusak, Ancient Elvish, and so on, but Hermes is the most commonly used. To learn mysticism, this language is essential. Do you understand?"
Lu Ze had only heard of these languages before, but he hadn't realized they had such uses. He avoided looking at the eyes behind Old Neil and asked seriously, "Then how should I start learning?"
"Klein knows it all; just have him teach you."
Old Neil chuckled, passing the responsibility to his colleague, "He's a top student from the History Department at Hoy University; teaching you is more than enough."
"If you don't mind."
Klein didn't seem to mind at all.
For the next period, Old Neil gave Lu Ze a series of common knowledge about mysticism, roughly explaining the areas to be studied later, including astrology, pendulums, herbs, ritual magic, and Beyonder creatures. His language was witty and humorous. If it weren't for the terrifying eyes constantly asserting their presence behind him, this would have been a very lively and interesting introductory mysticism class.
"Oh, right, there's one thing I must particularly remind you of."
Old Neil said solemnly, "Absolutely do not pray to any mysterious existences other than the Seven Deities, otherwise, it may lead to unimaginable consequences. Your Pathway makes it easy to encounter hidden existences, so you must pay close attention! Be cautious, be restrained!"
How dare you say that to me?
Lu Ze squinted at the existence behind him, thinking to himself. This thing was clearly something he had brought upon himself.
Old Neil also specifically taught Lu Ze an ability called "Spirit Vision." According to him, this is the most commonly used and fundamental ability in the mystical domain, allowing those who activate Spirit Vision to see more mysterious things, as well as certain existences that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Hearing him say that, Lu Ze immediately made an excuse to decline, only saying that he hadn't been sleeping well lately and didn't want to try. Are you kidding? I'm already getting nosebleeds without Spirit Vision; if I opened Spirit Vision, wouldn't my brain get cooked?
In this way, Lu Ze, relying on the protection of the illusory ocean in his mind and his own efforts to pretend, finally endured until the end of the class. He and Klein bid farewell to Old Neil, chatting as they left the underground, walking up the spiral staircase to the corridor on the ground floor.
"Oh, right, I still have something to discuss with the Captain."
Lu Ze said to Klein, looking very calm.
"Then I'll be going first."
Klein waved to him and left a step ahead.
Lu Ze watched him walk away, then went to Dunn's office door and knocked. After receiving Dunn's permission from inside, he pushed the door open. Dunn was still sitting behind his desk, just as he had been when Lu Ze left, but the air now carried a faint scent of burnt tobacco.
"Is there something you need?"
Dunn looked at him calmly.
Lu Ze took a deep breath.
Actually, he had considered earlier whether the Captain was trustworthy. After all, even the most senior Old Neil in the Nighthawks team was like this, so Dunn might not be without problems. But recalling previous events, Dunn had fully fulfilled his duties as a Nighthawk, and even showed a bit more humanity as an enforcer. Plus, his own eyes only saw Old Neil having issues; if Dunn were a bad person, theoretically he would also carry an evil god's mark—which he clearly did not.
So Lu Ze decided to trust Dunn.
"Captain, do you trust me?"
After making his decision, he spoke seriously.
Dunn gave him a strange look. "What do you want to say?"
"Old Neil seems to be not quite right."
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