World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 16 The Edge of the Party

"Invitation card."

Two security guards in black checked the qualifications of each person entering the venue, stopped a group of young people who had no hands, and threatened them to leave with electric batons.

Those who weren't qualified stood on tiptoe, gazing longingly at the villa's open gate.

Music wafted from every window, and the scent of alcohol and green grass filled the air, like a sweet temptation, drawing people willingly into a dazzling world of bliss.

Doris Esther Wood, a member of the Wood family, whose businesses span across the Eagle Nation.

Not to mention the University of Ann Arbor, but extending to Dietrich, Michigan, and even the entire United States and the Upper East Side, the Wood Group is a prestigious and well-known institution.

This young lady, who was in the same year as Lin An, had already effortlessly become the social queen of the university.

Her fame, influence, and the power of her halo to brainwash people were so great that even a newly enrolled international student like Ruan Ruyun couldn't escape her charm and considered it an honor to attend her parties, let alone young people who had grown up receiving education in the United States.

The security guards confirmed Lin An's invitation and made way for him.

Under the envious gazes of the crowd, he entered the Wood family's villa in Dietrich.

The cherry-red carpet was covered with more ballet shoes than Lin An had ever seen. The opulent decor exuded the extravagance of the wealthy district. Everyone was drinking, as if it were their last day on Titan.

Unlike the high-society atmosphere of the West, no one here dresses formally, and no one cares about social etiquette.

The lights were dim, multicolored, and constantly rotating. The DJ was playing highly rhythmic electronic music, and the drumbeats were so loud they made my eardrums throb.

A woman hooked her arm around Lin An's shoulder, swirling her wine glass, the golden bubbles of liquid crackling and popping.

"Hey handsome, wanna see my chest?"

The woman wore loose jeans, her red and black plaid shirt was buttoned up haphazardly, and her hair was a mess like weeds.

"Not interested? Go find someone else."

"Huh? You son of a bitch, I must have been blind."

Whatever she said, Lin An knew that alcohol and narcotics were never good—tomorrow morning, she would begin to regret it madly.

The guests swayed their hips to the meaningless rhythm of the music; the men were glib and eager to get into bed; the women were hunting for prey, speaking vaguely to those they didn't care for.

Lin An gently pushed aside the sweaty hands with his elbow, climbed the stairs in the direction of the wind, and finally reached the villa's balcony.

He took a long breath of fresh air.

It tastes like barbecue.

Below the marble railing of the balcony is an outdoor swimming pool, where many men and women in swimsuits have gathered. Electronic music, the clinking of glasses, and the constant chatter of laughter fill the air.

Artificial beams of colored light pierced the night, imbuing the planet suspended in the indigo sky with a party-like frenzy. In the distance, as far as the eye could see, lay the border of another country, where fir trees rose from the ground and the jagged, cold air was like a hazy veil.

Lin An took out his phone and opened a social media app.

Mike_Smith: Great, awesome! I'm coming to find you. Where are you?
AnL: Balcony.

Mike_Smith: The one to the north? There's an outdoor swimming pool down there?

Mike_Smith: Wait, man, I need to deal with Doris. Give me a second.

AnL: I'm staying put.

For the people of the United States, a second is similar to a "moment" for the people of China. Lin An closed his phone, yawned, and realized he had slept until evening and had only just woken up.

Since he had nothing better to do, he started studying the newly added entry "Pishtako" from yesterday.

【Fat theft】As the name suggests, it involves extracting fat from other people.

People who have fat removed may experience temporary loss of mobility, and long-term effects include decreased physical function and responsiveness, metabolic and hormonal imbalances, and more.

The only drawback is that its activation conditions are too demanding.

Through systematic analysis and testing, Lin Ande was found to be able to use his mystical magic only after making physical contact with a person for more than three seconds. Moreover, it could only steal fat from the area being touched.

Lin An is currently facing no easy enemies; no one will stand still and let him do whatever he wants to them.

The stringent conditions limit the versatility of [fat stealing].

Mystic arts of the supernatural and disaster levels seem to have limitations; the most obvious example is the dwarf demon's [Desperate Piñata].

Lin An immediately deciphered this ability through the system, but the result greatly disappointed him.

After using the Mystic Art, [Desperate Piñata] will summon a floating "Piñata" above the target's head for five minutes.

However, the suspended piñata served no purpose during this period!
Unless Lin An breaks it, the energy will spread, enveloping the surrounding area within a radius of about ten meters, causing those inside to fall into a temporary emotional depression until the negative emotions are digested by themselves.

To defeat them personally?

Otherwise, it's just a "decorative item" that consumes media?
The effect wasn't great either; for people with strong wills, "despair" doesn't last even a second.

Anyone who uses it is a fool.

Uh, it seems like the dwarf demon is the clown.

It's an E-level ghost story, so we can't expect too much from it.

As for Pishtak, it is indeed a catastrophic mystery. The "Song of the Other Side of the Mountain" consumes "Dreamer" mediums, and its effects can be traced back to the story of Pishtak.

Legend has it that Pishtako would ambush the conquerors when they were "unprepared".

It means being in a deep sleep.

The "Songs from the Other Side of the Mountain" can induce "hypnosis".

In short, you play a song and someone falls asleep.

While it might seem a bit acrobatic in one-on-one combat, its control skills are definitely useful in team battles, making it a well-rounded ability. Based on his experiences over the past few days, Lin An has reached a new conclusion regarding the key term in mysticism—"medium."

1. In the moment of awakening, the medium is attracted by the characteristics that permeate the individual's past life. It will refer to the "Commerx shadow" that the individual has encountered and that best matches their own personality, and generate a tangible mystery.

The so-called "Commerx shadow" refers to myths, folklore, and legends that circulate around the world.

After all, it's impossible to live a life without ever encountering these mystical and superstitious things.

2. After awakening to mysticism, the mystic uses a medium as the core of the radiation source to continuously attract different energies.

Maintaining habits consistent with those before awakening will attract the original medium energy, while new behaviors will attract other medium energy, which will manifest as a degree of contamination.

If the difference before and after is too great, the level of pollution will increase significantly, eventually engulfing the mysterious one.

This is not surprising; after gaining "superpowers," no one is willing to continue living a life similar to their previous one.

3. The lower the rating of the mystical spell, the less medium it consumes.

The "Strange Tales" level only consumes 1, the "Disaster" level consumes 1-2, and the "Source" level consumes at least 3.

Of course, the results were quite different.

If it's not a case of "using a cannon to kill a mosquito," then using a higher-rated mystery item offers better value for money.

4. Different mediums represent different abilities and carry different risks when used. The two data points may be proportional. Currently, the strongest and most dangerous medium is suspected to be the "Lord of Dreams".

The Strange Tales D-rank Magic Bullet Shooter, consuming only one "Dream Lord," could unleash a more direct and lethal attack than the Cataclysm D-rank Pishtak, and even instantly killed the Strange Tales-rank Dwarf Demon.

However, its dangers are difficult to estimate.

Both being "free and mysterious" individuals without any background, Haida died immediately after the pollution outbreak in 6 days, while Carmen survived on her own for a month and lived for another 5 months after attaching herself to a family.

Her level of contamination was far below the warning line; if she hadn't run into Lin An, she could have survived for a long time.

With a sudden thought, Lin An remembered something.

Last night, when I was attacked by Canaan magic, one of the solutions detected by the system was the Magic Shooter's "Stars to Me".

Canaanite magic and Hittite rituals are classified as "Original Grade B," far surpassing the Magic Shotgun, which is active in operas, novels, and popular culture, and even predating its superior source, the demon god Stoth.

How can a Class D mystery fight against a Class B source?
If the "Lord of Dreams" becomes so powerful that it ignores ratings, Lin An believes that the power system of "Comers" will eventually collapse.

There's too little information about "The Stars Are With Me," and he doesn't know its effects yet.

Sigh, another struggle with the system.

Although this "Mysterious Encyclopedia" is a mystery that Lin An awakened, the system and he are not in sync at all.

Unless asked directly, the information held by the system will not be directly transmitted to Lin An's mind.

If we compare the system to a Stand in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, then Lin An is like Koichi from Part 4. He clearly has his own power, but he has to listen to the Stand's incessant explanations.

"Brother Tongzi, try [Stars to Me]."

This sentence is the universal formula for testing mystical spells. By using phrases such as "Usage conditions not met," "Please confirm the target," and "Please confirm the scope of effect," Lin An extracted information from the system and finally determined the conditions and effects of the mystical spell.

Unexpectedly, the system was very straightforward this time.

"Consume 1 'Dream Master' medium for use?"

"No conditions or goals?"

"【Stars to Me】can be activated at any time, without any restrictions, and has already locked onto a target."

"Who is it? I haven't specified yet." Lin An had a bad feeling.

"you."

"..."

Holy crap, a suicide technique!
After thinking about the legend of the Magic Bullet Shooter, Lin An suddenly realized.

In the end, "like a bullet shot from the stars, the devil's bullet struck the girl's heart."

It turns out that "Stars to Me" represents the seventh bullet in the devil's hands, and it will probably activate automatically when Lin An uses "Shots of the Critical Eye" six times.

Even before the appointed number of times, the devil wouldn't mind tempting Lin An to use it early, so he could get his desired prey sooner.

No wonder the search results for "Stars and Me" came up!
Once I send it, the predicament will disappear, right?
What escapism!

Thankfully, he didn't try to save money and chose the option that saved media. This "Lord of Dreams" is a real rip-off.

The research on the mystical arts came to an end. Lin An took out his phone; twenty minutes had passed since Mike's last message.

He was the one who invited Lin An, but he was the one who lost contact first.

AnL: Dude, did you fall into the toilet?

Two minutes later, Mike's avatar started beeping.

Mike_Smith: No, I'm still near the pool. See that blue parasol in front of the bar? I'm down there, come find me.

AnL: What's wrong?
Mike_Smith: Sorry, I'm a bit busy. Could you please meet me here first? — Don't forget what I need your help with, Lin, I'm counting on you today.

Lin An frowned; Mike had actually apologized.

This tone doesn't sound like him at all.

After a moment's thought, Lin An took a picture of the pool and posted it on the World Tree Forum, replying without taking any further action.

AnL: I'll be there soon.

(End of this chapter)