Facing his sister's question, Klein could only chuckle bitterly:
"Muscle soreness."
He had originally thought that taking the sequence potion and becoming an extraordinary person would somehow improve his physical condition, but the cruel reality told him that "divinationist" skills were focused on spirituality, spirit, intuition, and interpretation, and couldn't help him adapt quickly to combat training.
And the original owner had spent many years concentrating on reading and was somewhat malnourished, keeping his physical condition at a mediocre level. Today's occurrence of such a "post-traumatic symptom" could only be considered quite normal.
"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 curious tone.
Could alcohol cause muscle soreness... Sister, your question... Your question really makes me involuntarily think in a wrong way... Klein said with a dry laugh:
"No, it has nothing to do with alcohol. It was something that happened yesterday afternoon. I joined the company's combat training."
"Combat?" Melissa was even more astonished.
Klein quickly organized his words:
"Like this, I considered, I think, as a historical and cultural advisor for a security company, I can't always stay in the office, in the dock warehouse. Maybe one day in the future, I will need to go to the countryside, to the castle, to obtain the original location of the cultural relics. There will be climbing, crossing rivers, walking a lot of roads, and facing all kinds of tests from nature. This requires a sufficiently healthy body."
"So you joined the combat training to improve your physical condition?" Melissa understood her brother's meaning.
"Yes." Klein gave a positive reply.
Melissa furrowed her eyebrows and said:
"But this is not gentlemanly... You have always been demanding yourself according to the standards of a professor? A professor only needs to read literature and consider difficult problems, being refined and graceful."
"Of course, I'm not saying this is bad. I like men who can solve problems by themselves, whether with their muscles or their brains."
Klein smiled:
"No, no, no, Melissa, your definition of a professor has a certain misunderstanding. A true professor can communicate politely with others, and when communication is blocked, they can raise a cane and use physical means to persuade the other party."
"Physical means..." Melissa didn't react immediately, but soon understood what her brother meant, and for a moment, she couldn't find the words to refute.
Klein didn't say anything more. He struggled to move his legs and walked towards the bathroom.
Melissa stood there, looked for a few seconds, suddenly shook her head, and took two steps to catch up:
"Can I help you?" She gave a gesture to offer assistance.
"No, no need. I just had a bit of a performance element earlier." Klein felt insulted and suddenly straightened his back, walked normally.
Watching his brother walk steadily into the bathroom and close the door, Melissa pursed her lips and muttered softly:
"Klein is getting increasingly flamboyant... I thought his muscle soreness was really serious... "
Inside the bathroom, Klein stood behind the closed door, his face suddenly twisted.
"Pain, pain, pain... " He held his breath, tensed his body, and held still for a full seven seconds.
Until he struggled down the stairs, finished breakfast, watched Benson and Melissa leave, he finally felt the soreness no longer so unbearable.
After resting for a while, Klein took his cane, put on his hat, and walked slowly out, towards the streetcar stop. ......
During the summer vacation at Hoy University, the campus was lush with green trees, blooming with flowers and birds, peaceful and serene.
After walking along the river for a while, Klein turned onto the road leading to the History Department and found the somewhat old three-story grey stone building. He also found the office of his mentor, Cohen Quentin.
He knocked on the door and entered. To his astonishment, he saw the position of the mentor occupied by the instructor Azek.
"Good morning, Mr. Azek. My mentor is here? We agreed to meet at ten o'clock in the letter." Klein asked in confusion.
Cohen Quentin, a good friend of Cohen Quentin who often argued with him over academic issues, smiled and said:
"Coen has a meeting at Tingen University. I'm waiting for you here while he's away."
His skin was bronze, of medium build, with black hair and brown eyes. His features were gentle, and there was always an indescribable sense of age in his eyes. Under his right ear was a small spot that couldn't be noticed without careful inspection.
After explaining the reason, Azek frowned and carefully looked at Klein for a while.
"Is there anything improper about me?" Klein looked at his clothes blankly.
A tuxedo, black armor, white shirt, black tie, dark trousers, unbuttoned leather boots... It was quite normal...
Azek stretched his eyebrows and smiled, saying:
"Don't worry about it. I just noticed that you are much more energetic than before and more like a gentleman."
"Thank you for your compliment." Klein accepted it calmly and then asked, "Mr. Azek, did the mentor find the book 'Research on Ancient Ruins of Horanicus Peak' in the school library?"
"Found it. With my help," Azek said softly with a smile, then opened the drawer and took out a grey-covered book. "You are no longer a student of Hoy University. You can only read it here and cannot take it away."
"OK." Klein accepted the academic monograph with a mixture of joy and fear.
The appearance design of this book fully conforms to the current trend. The hard cover and the bottom are made of cardboard, and the pattern is a picture, forming an abstract image of Horanicus Peak.
Klein glanced at it and sat down at a position, then opened the book and read it carefully line by line.
He was so absorbed that suddenly he noticed a cup of coffee beside him, with a rich and intense aroma.
"Add sugar and milk yourself." Azek put down the small silver plate and pointed to the milk can and sugar box, saying.
"Thank you." Klein nodded gratefully.
He casually added three sugar cubes and a spoonful of milk, and continued reading without knowing what he was eating.
The book 'Research on Ancient Ruins of Horanicus Peak' was not thick. By mid-afternoon, Klein had finished reading it and grasped several points to pay attention to:
"1. The biological settlements around Horanicus Peak and its surrounding area have clearly formed a civilization, and there is an ancient kingdom."
"2. From the murals, their appearance has no difference from humans, and can be initially regarded as humans."
"3. They worship and fear the night, and thus personify a deity to believe in, calling this deity the master of the night and the mother of the sky."
"4. The strangest thing is that no burial sites of this kingdom were found in the entire area. It gives a strange illusion that their residents do not need to be buried and may not even die. This contradicts the content reflected in the murals. In the murals, the people of this kingdom believe that death is not the end and that the deceased relatives will protect themselves in the night, so they will leave the deceased relatives at home, on the bed, and beside the pillow for three days."
"Then, the murals end here, and there is no part about burial."
Klein took a sip of coffee and continued writing "Thoughts on the Book" in his notebook:
"Mother of the Sky, Mother of the Sky, a very grand title. And the master of the night clearly overlaps with the night goddess... Is this the root of the contradiction?" "Inside the ancient ruins on the summit of Horanix and its surrounding area, all the exhibits and furnishings are in perfect condition, and there are no signs of damage on the murals. Before it was discovered, it seemed that this place had not been disturbed at all..." On the table were placed dinner plates, and inside the plates were dry and rotten marks... In some rooms, there was even a half-empty bottle of almost turned into water wine...
"The people of this country? They seemed to have left their homes in a hurry, without even tidying up anything, and never returned afterwards."
"Considering the absence of burial sites, it becomes even more strange."
"Mr. Joseph, the author, also mentioned that when he first discovered these ruins, he even thought that the residents here had instantly evaporated."
Klein stopped his pen and turned his gaze to an illustration.
It was a black-and-white photo taken by John Joseph on his third trip to the summit of Horanix with a new camera.
In the photo, the palace was majestic, the walls were collapsing, and weeds were growing everywhere, with a style dominated by grandeur.
When Klein turned to this photo just now, he instantly recalled the palace he had dreamed of:
The styles were similar, except that the one he dreamed of was at the summit of the mountain, more magnificent, and there was a huge seat that did not belong to humans at the top, with countless transparent maggots huddled together and slowly moving.
It can be confirmed that my dream is related to the ancient ruins of Horanix Summit... That should be the Night Country mentioned in Antigonus' family notes... Klein gave a barely visible nod and closed the book.
At this moment, Azek sat opposite him and touched the insignificant black spot on the lower part of his right ear, saying:
"How is it? Did you have any findings?"
"There are many. Look, I have written many pages of notes." Klein pointed at the table and smiled.
"I don't understand why you suddenly became interested in this matter." Azek sighed and then said, "Klein, when I was studying at the university in Berkland, I came into contact with some divination things and had some research in this area. Well, I found that there is an imbalance in your fate." What? Divination? And I'm talking about divination? As a "diviner", Klein looked humorously at the Azkaban teacher across from him and said:
"What's not in harmony?"
Azkaban thought for a moment and said:
"Have you been encountering coincidental events frequently in the past two months?"
"Coincidental events?" Because of the kindness Mr. Azkaban had shown to him, Klein did not resist the other's question and subconsciously began to recall:
If we're talking about coincidences, the most obvious thing is that when chasing the kidnapper, they found a clue to the missing Antigonus family notes right across from the room where they were hiding.
Also, Riel Bibber didn't escape from Tingen and hurriedly found a place to digest the power bestowed by the notes, allowing the seal "2-049" to easily track his whereabouts. This also seems somewhat contrary to common sense... Although Mr. El Hassen explained well, I still feel there are some coincidences...
Well, after Selina peeked at Hainas Vanesht's secret incantation, she waited until the birthday party to try, and it happened to be discovered by me, which is also a bit of a coincidence... Otherwise, Hainas Vanesht wouldn't have died so abruptly...
Klein thought seriously for a few minutes and said:
"There are three things, not too many, not too frequently, and there are no traces of interference or guidance by others."
Azkaban nodded gently and said:
"Emperor Roselius said that anyone would encounter a single coincidence once, and two are within the normal range. Three requires thinking about what internal factors guided it."
"Can you see anything?" Klein tentatively asked.
Azkaban chuckled and shook his head in response:
"I can only see one point of incoherence, and nothing else can be found. You know, I'm not a true diviner."
So is that like not saying anything at all... Mr. Azkaban looked strange... Pretending to be a diviner in front of me... Klein let out a breath, seizing the opportunity when the other stood up, pinched the center of his brow, and opened his astral vision.
At a glance, Azkaban's aura was all reflected in his eyes, and all aspects were normal.
Unfortunately, I can only see the innermost depths of others' etheric bodies and the surface of their star bodies from above the gray fog... Klein tapped his brow, then stood up smoothly, and thought leisurely.