Hearing the old man’s words, Klein’s expression froze for a moment.
His teacher…
truly possessed genuine knowledge after all.
He focused slightly, gathering his concentration, and observed Lucretius for a brief moment.
He saw…
traces of the Immaterium…
So that was it.
Seeing Klein’s somewhat dazed expression, Lucretius assumed Klein had failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind his words.
“I know my sudden question may seem strange.”
“But think carefully, have your emotions ever experienced unnatural fluctuations?
Have you ever had hallucinations?
Have thoughts inconsistent with your character ever appeared?”
“Answer according to the psychic nature within you, according to your intuition…”
“Yes,” Klein nodded in reply.
“I know this is hard to understand, but if you just search your memory, you should be able to–Yes?”
Lucretius paused, caught off guard by Klein’s straightforward answer.
His graying eyebrows lifted slightly as he studied his student with some surprise.
In Lucretius’s memory, though Klein was an excellent scholar, his thinking was rather rigid and conservative, lacking sharpness and flexibility.
He could memorize vast amounts of knowledge, yet struggled to comprehend deeper matters.
His learning was sufficiently rich, but he was remarkably obtuse to external affairs, and knew absolutely nothing of metaphysical things.
It was precisely for this reason that, even though Lucretius had detected Klein’s psychic talent, he had never taught those ancient “secrets” to Klein.
But now, judging by Klein’s tone, Klein seemed to have long since noticed something amiss within himself.
So perceptive?
One must understand, Lucretius himself had only begun to suspect Klein might be under the influence of some “secret” or “witchcraft” after hearing from Dita that Klein had actually attempted suicide.
That alone indicated the perpetrator’s skill was exceedingly high, otherwise Lucretius would not have failed to notice.
And yet his own somewhat dull student had managed to detect it on his own.
Daemonic possession…
The thought surfaced in Lucretius’s mind.
His expression grew slightly more serious.
If a daemon had possessed the body of his student…
Though it was merely a suspicion without evidence, and though daemonic possession was already a matter of ancient times, he still discreetly pulled open the drawer beneath the desk.
Caution was the key reason he had survived so many ancient ruins.
His fingers found the piece of Blackstone hidden inside the drawer.
The stone was something he had excavated from the mountains.
In the era of Old Night, the people of Macragge, who groveled under the Witch King’s rule, believed such stones possessed the power to banish witchcraft and suppress Warp energy.
The stone was indeed effective.
Merely gripping it caused Lucretius to feel his own “psychic nature” being suppressed, intense nausea rising in his throat.
He clenched the stone, abruptly rose to his feet, and pressed it toward Klein’s brow.
Thud!
The sound of a shin striking the wooden desk rang out as Lucretius felt his body lurching forward.
He flailed his arms, trying to grab something to steady himself, but in the end grasped only empty air. Get faster updates on g.com.
His body fell uncontrollably onto the wooden desk, sliding forward from the momentum.
Then the world spun around him, the desk seemed to revolve in a full circle, and when his vision finally steadied, Lucretius found himself already lying on the floor.
I…
fell, didn’t I…
That was the only thought left stumbling through Lucretius’s muddled mind.
“Teacher, what’s gotten into you…
you startled me.” Klein’s surprised voice sounded from beside him.
He helped Lucretius up and guided him back into the chair.
“At your age, you shouldn’t be making such sudden movements.”
Lucretius was still dazed, his thoughts in disarray, not yet grasping what had happened.
His instinct was simply to clutch that Blackstone tight…
Where was the stone?
Lucretius looked at his palm in shock and found the stone was gone…
no, he quickly realized where it had gone.
Klein was holding the Blackstone between two fingers, examining it with casual interest.
This thing…
The moment Lucretius had reached to open the drawer, Klein had already noticed his movements.
The old gentleman’s little furtive gestures could not escape the hunting instincts Klein had inherited from the forest hunter, nor could they evade the keen senses trained by Greyfax.
So when he rose, intending to press the stone against Klein’s forehead, Klein simply gave the desk in front of him a light kick, and tripped Lucretius up.
This stone…
holding it in his hand, Klein felt a faint wave of nausea.
His psychic power was being suppressed.
The veil between him and the Warp seemed to have thickened.
This stone could suppress psychic power, weaken the Warp’s influence…
could it be Blackstone?
Blackstone was a material of unknown origin, known only to be deeply connected to the Old Ones, the Necrons, and even the C’tan from the time of the War in Heaven, possibly the creation of any one of them.
Under normal circumstances, it could suppress the power of the Warp and inhibit psychic effects, though in certain conditions its polarity could be reversed, becoming an amplifier of the Warp instead.
“What…
is this?” Klein looked at Lucretius with feigned bewilderment.
Lucretius stared at Klein for a moment, as if trying to gauge the stone’s effect on him.
Seeing no reaction from Klein, Lucretius relaxed slightly and spoke.
“It is a relic from the era of the Witch King.
The people of that time believed…
it could suppress Warp energy and drive out daemons.”
“…You think I’ve been possessed by a daemon?” Klein’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke in a slightly exasperated tone.
“How can you be so superstitious?”
He took the stone, likely Blackstone, and gently pressed it to his own forehead.
No reaction manifested on Klein’s body.
Lucretius let out a small breath of relief.
“You’ve changed a little.
It worries me.” As he spoke, he extended his hand toward Klein, gesturing for him to return the stone.
“Anyone who wanted to die but didn’t will undergo some change.” Klein’s expression did not shift as he unceremoniously shoved the Blackstone into his own trouser pocket.
Lucretius opened his mouth slightly, but in the end he just waved his hand and said, “Keep it.
In his drawer, there were seven or eight more stones just like it.
“Since you’ve sensed it, I’ll be frank with you.”
Lucretius’s voice grew a bit more serious:
“You’ve read historical records from the era of the Witch King, haven’t you?”
“It’s very likely you’ve been affected by an ancient ‘witchcraft’ passed down from that era.”
“But you don’t need to worry too much.
The era of the Witch King ended long ago.
Most of the witchcraft that survives today can only influence or stimulate your mind, cause you some illness, produce some hallucinations.
At most, the most powerful can only manipulate a few wisps of flame.”
“Keep that Blackstone with you.
It can help you resist the interference of witchcraft and break malicious curses.”
Could it help him break the curse from Big E…
Klein muttered inwardly.
Even carrying this Blackstone, the Golden Throne within his will remained as clear and bright as ever, seemingly completely unaffected.
“Of course, compared to metaphysical curses, your more pressing trouble right now is still debt.”
“It’s said that in the era of the Witch King, powerful witchcraft could tear open whirlpools leading to Purgatory, summon storms among the stars, and even elevate mortal flesh to immortal spirit.
But in this present age, the threat of witchcraft is far less than a sheet of debt.”
Lucretius sighed and said,
“I heard from Dita about your debt situation.
I will also lend you some money to get through the next payment.”
“But the installments on this debt are too few.
Even if you get through this one, the next one will still be very difficult for you…”
“The money you owe is to the Temple of Simonetta…
The followers of Simonetta, goddess of beauty, I’ve always kept them at arm’s length.
I have no acquaintances in their temple.”
“Hmm…
how about this.
I have a priest friend in the Temple District.
You can go find him and ask if he has any acquaintances in the Temple of Simonetta, whether the number of installments can be changed.
Even with a little more interest, it would make the monthly burden lighter.”
As he spoke, Lucretius pulled out a piece of paper from the side, wrote something on it, and handed it to Klein.
“Take this with you.
If he can help you, he certainly will.”
The Temple District…
Actually, Klein had just been pondering whether he should pay a visit to the Temple District.
He wanted to find a suitable environment there, buy some necessary items, to help himself break through the “veil” and awaken his psychic talent.
But, thinking of his strained finances, Klein lifted his head and looked at Lucretius.
“Teacher.”
“Is there any spare money.”
“Could I borrow some now?”
“Huh?”
(Translated by yourtl.app)