Chapter 303: Rookie

North Borough, Aulka Street.

Kapusky Reid was sitting in a reclining chair in his activity room, lost

in thought. In front of him was a fireplace burning with charcoal.

As a senior educator at a public school, he received a salary of more

than four pounds a week, which was enough for a bachelor like him to

live quite well, but the clothes he wore at home were patched up, and

the teacups on the table looked extremely simple.

Without taking off his wig, the most striking thing about Kapusky was

his high cheekbones and puffed-up chest---a deformity in which the

sternum protruded outwards.

On his knee was a book of poems in ancient Feysac, but he hadn't flipped

a single page even after some time had passed.

Kapusky's eyes were unfocused as he stared blankly when he suddenly

heard a light chuckle in his ear.

"I'm very curious as to why you didn't run and chose to remain at home.

Aren't you afraid of the police coming for you?"

The voice was low and hoarse, like a boy whose voice was cracking during

puberty.

Kapusky shuddered and almost jumped out of his reclining chair.

He abruptly turned his head to look and saw that there was a figure

sitting on the sofa a few steps away from him!

The figure wore summer wear---a linen shirt and light trousers. Its face

was hazy and indistinct.

"Wh-who are you? What are you doing here?" Kapusky asked immediately as

he gripped the armrest.

Klein, who had used his hallucination powers, leaned back, crossed his

hands, and leisurely said, "Just last night, heh, it should be earlier

this morning, I saved all of you."

"Saved us?" Kapusky relaxed a little when he realized that the intruder

didn't seem to mean any harm. "Y-you're that person in the forest? You

took care of the corpse we awakened?"

As he spoke, he moved awkwardly, showing obvious fear.

*He was able to infiltrate without me realizing it while I was awake. I

definitely wouldn't be able to resist...* Such thoughts quickly

flashed through Kapusky's mind.

"You guys are quite lucky that I happened to pass by; otherwise, there

would only be corpses left strewn on the ground in the forest---corpses

that would've been bitten to shreds." Klein laughed. "Answer my previous

question, I'm very curious why you stayed at home. Do you know what

crimes you've committed?"

From the way that he had conducted the resurrection ritual and the

reaction he had before and after the ritual, Klein had confirmed that

Kapusky was a rookie who didn't have the means to hide his true

emotions. Therefore, he intended to only use Spirit Vision and

interrogation to get to the bottom of the matter. At most, he would

verify it with divination at the end.

"I-I know, secretly buying corpses and robbing corpses from tombs. These

are all crimes that can land me in jail for more than ten years.

Moreover, I'll definitely be punished by the Church." Kapusky, who

didn't look thirty, drew a breath and said with a wry smile, "However,

as long as I didn't cause too much trouble, those children and their

parents wouldn't snitch on me because they also did the same thing. Even

if they wanted to get a lighter sentence by helping the investigation by

turning themselves in, they would still end up in jail for some time."

"Heh." Kapusky gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Some of the children have

already told their parents who I am. They've gotten gangsters to warn me

to resign within a week and stay away from school. I agreed."

Klein gently nodded his head.

"It's a good thing to change environments. Of course, don't do similar

things again. Bewitching ignorant children to commit crimes is a heinous

act."

"I won't, never again. I never imagined that it would be that dangerous.

I just saw that they had the same interests as I did which was why I

wanted to teach them and lead them to search for the secrets of

immortality. As for digging graves, many doctors did it a long time

ago." Kapusky sighed with some lingering fear.

*The color of his emotions matches his current state of mind... From the

sound of it, he doesn't seem to be a member of the Numinous

Episcopate...* Klein thought for a moment, then he bluntly

asked, "Where did you learn the Spirit Dance from?"

"Spirit Dance? Ah, I usually call it the Dance of Death." Kapusky was

taken aback at first before he came to a realization. "An old gentleman

taught it to me."

"An old gentleman?" Klein pressed.

Kapusky's mind turned adrift as he recalled his memories.

"He was a tramp. He fainted in front of my house because of a serious

illness.

"At the time, I didn't know that he was ill. I thought he had simply

fallen unconscious, so I helped him home. I gave him a heated towel and

applied some ointment for him.

"After he woke up, he told me not to send him to a hospital or clinic

and that death was not the end.

"I experienced the deaths of my parents and several relatives and was

very interested in such things. So, I chatted with him and found out

that he had profound knowledge and an admirable philosophy in this area.

He seemed to be very satisfied with my curiosity and even performed a

miracle of killing a mosquito and waking it up."

*This introduction... I've read at least ten novels with similar

openings in my previous life. They were all novels about bringing an old

grandpa, who was on the brink of death, home out of kindness, only to

have a fortuitous encounter...* Klein's mouth twitched.

"So, you left him at home?"

Kapusky nodded solemnly and said, "Yes. If it wasn't for the lack of

time, I would have even wanted to become his student.

"During those few days, he taught me a lot of knowledge and the Dance of

Death. Unfortunately, this period of time was too brief. As soon as I

built momentum, he died, leaving behind only a copper whistle."

Before he finished his sentence, Kapusky took out an exquisite copper

whistle that didn't seem old.

"This is it."

*I have one too... It's probably at the Ancestor grade

though...* Klein lampooned, and he thoughtfully asked, "How long

ago was this? What did he look like? Where did you bury him?"

"Half a year ago. His most obvious feature was his graying hair and red

spots on the side of his face. He told me to bury him in the garden out

back." Kapusky did a calculation of the dates.

*It's not Mr. Azik, but the chances are that he's a member of the

Numinous Episcopate and not someone of a low Sequence...* Klein

changed the subject and asked, "Apart from the Spirit Dance, you also

learned the resurrection ritual?"

"I've only learned half of that ritual. I used some scattered knowledge

and folklore to slowly improve it bit by bit," Kapusky answered very

honestly.

*Improved it based on folklore? Oh, that poor black cat, may the Goddess

bless you...* Klein resisted the urge to draw a crimson moon on

his chest.

"What else?" he pressed.

"Yes, and this copper whistle. I think it's the key to communicating

with the world beyond our senses." Kapusky raised it and blew at it,

sighing. "Every time I finish blowing it, I can feel the surroundings

turn cold. It's as if someone is watching me and tugging at me..."

While he was speaking, Klein, who had his Spirit Vision activated, saw

water patterns ripple out from the ground. A cold air spread out

alongside it, and the fire and light dimmed a little.

Next, a skull with three protruding, unfocused eyes emerged from the

ground. Around the skull, there were many black jointed tentacles.

A tentacle reached out, touching Kapusky's leg and tugged at his clothes

from time to time, appearing rather impatient. However, Kapusky didn't

respond at all, as though he hadn't noticed.

*Is this a messenger? The copper whistle is used to summon their

corresponding messengers... What's the meaning of you summoning it

without giving it a letter?* Klein was stunned seeing this

scene.

At that moment, Kapusky looked at him excitedly.

"Did you feel it? The surroundings turned cold! The gas lamps have

dimmed too!

"I'm not lying! Someone is watching me and tugging at me!"

The horrific-looking messenger tried to touch Kapusky, over and over

again, but in the end, it didn't receive a letter and went back

"underground" in resignation.

The corners of Klein's mouth twitched slightly as he saw this scene. He

whispered to himself in his heart, *I take back what I said about him.

He's not a rookie, he's an utter noob.*

He's not even a Beyonder!

*I had thought that he was someone who had just stepped through the door

of mysticism to learn the basics, but now, it seems like he hasn't even

found the location of the door...*

*Corpse Collectors of the Death Sequence pathway can all see ghosts and

spirit bodies directly...*

Combined with how Kapusky had acted by using the copper whistle to

command the zombie after the ritual, Klein was convinced that he wasn't

lying. He sighed silently.

Then, he thought of a question, *If I were to write a note and hand it

to that messenger, where would it be delivered?*

A true member of the Numinous Episcopate? Some senior member?

Suppressing this thought, Klein nodded and said, "It has indeed turned

cold."

After replying, he quickly changed the topic. "Have you felt anything

unusual since the old gentleman's death?"

"Eh... Not before, but in the last two weeks, I'd have the occasional

feeling that someone around me is like a corpse---the kind that can be

awoken." Kapusky asked feeling both curious and afraid, "Is it a

hallucination?"

It's in line with what Adol said. He isn't lying... Klein

stole a glance at the colors of Kapusky's aura and sincerely told him,

"I suggest that you go to a cathedral at least three times a week for

the next two months, attend mass, and listen to preachings.

"If you do not wish to do so, you can first prepare a grave for

yourself."

"Alright..." Kapusky answered, feeling disappointed.

He thought that it was a manifestation of his improvement!

Klein contemplated for a moment and said in a commanding tone, "Take me

to the old gentleman's corpse."

"Ah? Okay." Kapusky was about to refuse, but then he instantly

recognized the reality of the situation he was in.

He picked up his tools and led Klein out the back door from the kitchen,

into a withered garden, and stopped in front of a slanted tree.

Klein stood by his side and watched Kapusky skillfully dig through the

dirt, revealing the slate underneath.

Having finished with the upper layer, Kapusky used his tools to pry open

the slate.

Oof!

The slate was pressed against the soil that had been dug out just

moments ago. The not-so-deep tomb was veiled in the crimson moon's

luster that faintly penetrated through the clouds.

Kapusky subconsciously looked over when he suddenly let out a miserable

scream, retreated a few steps, and fell to the ground.

There was no rotting corpse or bones in the tomb. The bottom layer was

littered with white feathers, dyed in yellow oil!