As soon as Old Neil finished speaking, the illusory eyes in the darkness behind him quickly disappeared. Even Klein, who had activated his Spirit Vision, could no longer find any trace of their existence.
"This is a manifestation of ritual magic," Old Neil explained with a chuckle.
A bit magical... Is Spirit Vision an enhanced version of Yin-Yang Eyes? Klein, like a child with a new toy, looked away with interest and scanned every corner of the room, trying to see the difference between the current alchemy lab and the way it was before.
The darkness outlined the contours of the objects — the long table, test tubes, balance scale, cups, cabinets — all unchanged from before Klein had activated his Spirit Vision, none of them emitting any radiance.
Inanimate objects have no spirituality? Klein muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the silver box on the table.
Suddenly, he saw lights inside it — blue as the sky, dazzling as stars, or red as fire!
"Materials from supernatural species still have some life, uh, activity? Even if the original creature is dead?" Klein carefully worded his question, full of curiosity as he consulted Old Neil.
"An accurate description is that their spirituality remains. This is one of the keys to successfully concocting potions, and also one of the reasons for Beyonders losing control. Dunn should have told you," Old Neil explained honestly.
He seemed to remember something and suddenly laughed:
"I remember that the recipe for 'Corpse Collector' includes dried adult spotted frogs. To take that potion requires a great deal of courage."
Klein imagined it, felt a bit nauseous, and didn't echo Old Neil. He turned his gaze to the surrounding darkness that lacked sufficient light, but there he found none of the nearly invisible spirits or ghosts he had expected.
"Doesn't the spirit world exist everywhere?" he asked in confusion.
Old Neil snorted:
"Kid, repeat after me:"
"This is the headquarters of the Nighthawks team, this is the underground of the Church of the Goddess of Night, there are quite a few Beyonders here!"
"Do you think we would let spirits and souls loiter here? Besides, the spirit world and spirits are two different concepts."
Klein was momentarily embarrassed. He turned his head, pretending to gaze at the faint gaslight at the entrance of the hidden door:
"I understand."
As he spoke, his brow suddenly started twitching uncontrollably, as if in a spasm.
What's happening? Klein was about to turn and ask, but he suddenly saw, near the inner side of the hidden door, at the edge of the bright yellow light, a nearly transparent figure standing still. It had a human shape, its aura perfectly blending with the dim environment, making it hard to distinguish.
Hiss!
Klein's brow twitched sharply, his vision blurred. When he focused again, there was no "formless" figure anywhere!
Strange... He turned around and said:
"Mr. Neil, my brow is twitching and it hurts a bit."
"Haha, that's perfectly normal. You've just become a Beyonder, and Spirit Vision places a heavy burden on your 'spirit body' and constantly consumes it. Externally, it manifests as brow twitching, headaches, hypersensitivity, minor hallucinations, and so on. Also, in Spirit Vision, you easily feel uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments and are easily affected by others' emotions. These are all points to take note of; you must adapt and eliminate them through repeated practice. In addition, use it in moderation and stop promptly," Old Neil replied with a smile.
Why do I feel you're taking pleasure in this? Klein hurriedly asked:
"Then how do I exit Spirit Vision?"
He had wanted to mention the "formless" figure he'd just seen, but after hearing that "minor hallucinations" were among the symptoms, he dismissed the thought.
Combined with the twitching and pain in his brow, Old Neil's answer was entirely predictable!
"Just like before, imagine objects, focus your attention, then shift into a meditative state, close your eyes, control your spirituality, repeatedly tell it to stop, and then open your eyes. You'll find that Spirit Vision has ended."
Old Neil described it leisurely, then added at the end, "Of course, this is the most tedious and clumsy method. Through practice, we can use repeated self-suggestion in meditation to affect our spirituality and leave behind a simple 'switch action'. For example, I tap my brow twice to easily activate Spirit Vision, and tap twice more to end it. The specific setup depends on your own habits and preferences."
"I understand." Klein thought for a moment and decided to imitate Old Neil, using the action of tapping his brow twice as the "switch" for Spirit Vision.
"One tap" could easily be confused with an instinctive head-tap, "three taps" might waste precious time in a crisis, and actions like snapping fingers were too unique and noticeable.
He focused his attention, visualized the gathering balls of light, and re-entered a meditative state.
Under Old Neil's guidance, through repeated suggestions and practice, he finally "set" his "switch action".
Clenching his fist, he tapped the knuckle of his index finger against his brow twice. Suddenly, Klein saw an aura of varying thickness and color before his eyes.
He tapped twice more, and everything returned to how it was, without a trace of strangeness.
"Finally mastered it..." he sighed with relief.
It was only then that he realized how exhausted he was, as if he could fall asleep at any moment. His head felt empty and painful, as if he had stayed up for three straight nights.
Old Neil smiled and said:
"We aren't 'Sleepless Ones'. After every excessive practice or overuse of Spirit Vision, we need sleep to recover. You can go home now, rest well, and in the afternoon, stroll along the road from Welch's residence to Iron Cross Street. Try to find clues about the Antigonus family's notes as soon as possible. Tomorrow, we will continue teaching you about occult knowledge. Of course, don't forget to read those historical documents."
"Alright." Klein enthusiastically agreed with Old Neil's plan.
Taking his cane, he left the alchemy lab and watched the hidden door close. As Old Neil returned to the armory, Klein rubbed his brow and temples, then, holding the railing, climbed the stairs step by step.