A black branch, about the length of a hand, lay on the table.
The last ti his Mind Level was tested, they had used a leaf. Now, it was a branch.
Lu Li had a faint inkling about the Evil Spirit's form. "Is this a piece of the Evil Spirit used to asure one's Mind Level?" he asked.
An indescribably bleak aura emanated from the branch, and its appearance struck Lu Li as familiar.
Gades had one just like it, he recalled, but its aura had been almost completely spent, so Gades had used it as a common Anomaly.
"Yes, it's called the Heartwood," Tesla confird. "Its ritual is to absorb the words of those around it, revealing their true feelings. But the human mind is too fragile to withstand its aura; people often go mad just by speaking near it. That was the case until the first generation of Spirit Hunters—Isaac Einstein, to be precise—began to research Evil Spirits. They started using the branches and leaves of the Heartwood for tests, eventually discovering a way to limit its effect on a person's Mind Level."
Tesla had just casually revealed knowledge that Gades would have charged several thousand shillings for.
"Do Evil Spirits have physical forms?" Lu Li asked. What Tesla said was slightly different from what he had previously learned.
He recalled the Inquirer's words: "Evil Spirits don't have a physical form. In a way, they're everywhere, unlike vengeful spirits, which have bodies... Though, that's not entirely accurate. I can't explain it any better than that."
"A tree must have roots, and a river must have a source," Tesla replied with a faint smile. "However, for most Evil Spirits, their consciousness and physical forms are disconnected. Their consciousness can possess anything, anywhere, and no one knows what their true form is or where to find it. That's precisely why it's so difficult for us to completely destroy an Evil Spirit."
"That's a rather pessimistic thing to hear from a professional," Old Man Pick snorted, folding his arms across his chest.
"We have to face reality," Tesla replied, a touch of lancholy in his voice. He then turned back to Lu Li. "That's why Evil Spirits like the Heartwood, whose consciousness and body are one and the sa, are exceedingly rare. If all of them were like that, we'd have been out of a job long ago."
"So there are more and more Evil Spirits?"
Lu Li always had a knack for grasping the crucial point.
Tesla didn't answer right away. He habitually twisted the ring on his finger before speaking slowly. "Old Man Pick told
about your answers during the Mind Level test. I'm curious what led you to those conclusions. Pessimism, wariness..."
Lu Li remained silent.
"When I was your age," Tesla continued, "I was fearless, brimming with enthusiasm, afraid of nothing. I would have charged an Evil God with nothing but a stick if one appeared in front of . And yet you... you're as cautious as an old acquaintance of mine, an Investigator who recently retired. He's one of the very few in our organization to actually live long enough to do so."
Tesla watched Lu Li intently, waiting for a response.
Old Man Pick rose from his seat. With a cough, he announced, "You two carry on. I need to use the washroom. At my age, you're always making trips."
"If you're not back in five minutes, I'll send young Pick to drag you out of there," Tesla retorted, waving a dismissive hand.
Once Old Man Pick had gone, Lu Li's gaze drifted away from the other patrons in the room.
"It's based on what I've seen," he replied.
"This world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to live."
"You only just beca an exorcist. Our investigation shows you arrived in Belfast a month ago and took up the profession a few days later. Hmm... Gades was your ntor. I know of him—an exorcist with a rather poor reputation. He'll do anything for money... which, in a way, makes him a fitting teacher for these tis."
"So, as a novice, how many supernatural encounters have you had in this past month? To be frank, you seem to be a very resilient man. I find it hard to believe that a single month would be enough to make soone like you so pessimistic."
So Lu Li recounted everything that had happened since he'd arrived in this world. "The Night Calamity. Dozens of ghosts. Two vengeful spirits. Two Evil Spirits. A creature that might have been a Spirit of Defilent. A day in the Shadow Swamp. A hurricane. And two other incidents I can't discuss at the mont."
"That sounds..." Tesla seed taken aback by Lu Li's account. "...rather unfortunate."
"But perhaps what you've experienced is simply the true nature of this world? You were an ordinary person before, so it's unlikely you would have encountered such things."
"If things had always been like this, human civilization could never have developed this far," Lu Li said, shaking his head. Tesla's reasoning seed logical on the surface, but it fell apart under scrutiny. "The Night Calamity only occurred a few months ago, and the hurricane's aftermath is still fresh."
"Fine. I thought I might be able to fool you."
To Lu Li's surprise, Tesla calmly conceded the point. "In truth, our world is indeed becoming... more dangerous."
"How bad is it?"
"Not great, but not terrible either," Tesla said, remaining as calm as Lu Li despite the grim topic. He offered a wry smile. "But doesn't that make our work all the more aningful?"
His suspicions confird, Lu Li changed the subject. "Shouldn't we begin the Mind Level test?"
"It's already in progress," Tesla said, gesturing to the black branch on the table. "We're speaking in the presence of a Heartwood branch. That's all it takes."
"The Mind Level evaluation is more than just a test," Tesla explained. "The questions are designed to assess a person's character, to determine their suitability for one of the three organizations. If you were to join the Investigators, you'd be asked about your state of mind after every case. As you know, a Mind Level that drops too low can cause personality changes."
That explained why the questions during his first Mind Level test had resembled a psychological evaluation.
"And what happens if you lie?" Lu Li asked.
"Nothing. The Heartwood can tell the difference between truth and lies."
Tesla added, "I have high hopes for you. If your answers satisfy , I'm prepared to overlook certain issues with your Mind Level."
Lu Li nodded. "Then let's continue."
Tesla's mustache twitched, and the smile he'd been holding back finally spread across his face. "I've been waiting a very long ti for this mont."
Lu Li appreciated Tesla's candor, and Tesla, in turn, appreciated Lu Li's character, in which he saw a reflection of himself.
Reserved, composed, intelligent, and... just like him... a pessimist.
Pessimism could make a man cautious, even indecisive. But in certain cases, it could also be paired with composure and intelligence.
Pessimists tend to have low expectations, which ans that when disaster inevitably strikes, they are better prepared for it.
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