World Occult Usage Guide

From the pastor's recollections, Lin An discovered that when Count Van Hofwegen used his magic, a large red dragon surrounded him.

There were also some swaying shadows, probably demons without a physical form.

This further confirmed Lin An's belief in the Countess's mysterious prototype—"The Grimoire of Honorius Thebes".

As time went on, her power grew stronger, and she now summons and controls countless demons.

Furthermore, through Zai's narration, Lin An understood why he had awakened the legendary rating, and his past questions about the illusion were also largely answered.

Zai was indeed an ordinary carpenter until a warlord kidnapped his son, and he went to find him.

This warlord may be a subordinate of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, or like the Tigerfish Tribe, have intricate connections with them, or perhaps he is simply driven by personal ethnic hatred to lead his army to attack the church in the illusion.

The young soldiers, immersed in the killing, indirectly turned themselves into heinous "sinners".

As the "war" drew to a close, the Countess arrived. She seemed to use some kind of magic, or perhaps she had someone set a fire, or maybe it was a symbol of dropping a "missile." In any case, she razed the entire village to the ground and destroyed all evidence.

A few hours after the tragedy, Zai, who was chasing after his son, arrived at the church and unexpectedly met the priest, the only survivor, who handed him a certain "relic".

At the same time, he cast a strange spell, handing over a "conceptual entity" containing knowledge to Zai.

Lin An estimated that this incident occurred shortly after the orbits of the "Comers" star system overlapped. The radiation levels of the mysterious individuals were low, not much different from those of ordinary people, and therefore they could not stop the warlord.

The concept given by the priest provided Zai with an opportunity to enter the world of "Comers," planting a "seed" within him that allowed him to hear the voices of his ancestors' ghosts, just like Meyer's awakening of [Simby].

However, Zai did not need to dive into the water; the constant murmurs of the ghosts surrounded him day and night.

The wisdom from his ancestors taught Zai a great deal about mythology and science, but it also pushed him to the brink of mental collapse, making him increasingly irrational.

Therefore, he sometimes resembled a learned and wise man, and at other times a complete madman.

The mystery of Zai's origins has been solved, but it has also raised more questions for Lin An.

Who is Pastor Stanislas Vabracombe?

Awakening to the mystery so early, and being so familiar with the way to control the "Comerth" energy, could he be a member of the Bantu "family"?

Are there any "Commes" families in the Bantu? What is their current situation?

What is the orb of knowledge that the priest gave to Zai?
Is the Red Poppy Merchant Guild's pursuit of Zai solely aimed at obtaining this strange and unusual collection of knowledge?
Lin An was eager for an answer and was just about to ask Zai when the latter spoke in a calm voice.

"The story ends here."

He reached out and groped, and wherever his palms touched, the illusion shattered, as if the wounds were being healed. The blood-red dawn was completely withdrawn, and the cool moonlight reappeared in the sky.

"No one has been charged with legal action, no investigation team has uncovered the truth, and no one has been relieved of the burden of this history. The remains of the victims are everywhere, in septic tanks, in water storage tanks, in toilets, reminding people of the many tragedies that have occurred in the past."

Zai spoke slowly in a tone Lin An had never heard before. His blind eyes, which could not see anything, shone with a strange light, as if they had grown a mouth from a different time and space, and the dead were talking to Lin An.

“Are you…Pastor Stanislas Vabracombe?” Lin An asked tentatively.

“No, I am Zai… but many ghosts dwell within me, wandering from the ancient Bantu Empire to the present day, omnipresent.” Zai’s smile was chilling. “Some of them are the ghosts of King Leopold.”

"That ball of light—"

Before Lin An could finish speaking, Zai made a "shh" gesture.

"I don't know, and the wise being within me doesn't want to tell you yet."

"What does he want in exchange?" Lin An looked around, the wind whispering softly, as if carrying secrets. "Revenge? Justice? Judgment?"

"Peace."

"It is indeed an ultimate goal."

“New violent conflicts will awaken pent-up resentment, manipulate history as victims, and ignore the trauma of other ethnic groups, especially when the government is full of former military leaders.”

"Then they should step down."

“Prosecute these leaders, and they will start another war.”

Zai's figure suddenly rose higher, and a vast army of spirits began to walk through the forest. At first, there were two invisible giants, followed by an army riding elephants, as well as prophets, saints, herbalists, bards...

"Outsider, are you fully aware of your place now?" A thunderous voice boomed from all directions.

Lin An pondered for a moment and said, "Pardoning war crimes cannot bring peace. Throughout history, yesterday's criminals will only become tomorrow's habitual offenders."

"Crash-!"

Hearing his fearless words, the illusory ghosts trembled. They turned around and pounced on Lin An one after another, passing through his body and disappearing into the dark sky on the other side.

The last two giants in the group, a man and a woman, and Zai with lifeless eyes.

“Hey, sir.” Lin An patted him on the shoulder. “Time is of the essence, I need your help.”

Zai, who was slapped, was startled and suddenly came to his senses.

All the absurdity vanished, and the rainforest returned to normal as night fell. The damp evening breeze rustled the banana trees, making a loud, sweeping sound, while monkeys chirped in the distance.

The possessed person turned their head and grinned at Lin An with a grotesque, toothy grin.

“Your thoughts coincide with mine, and your actions prove that you are not lying,” Zai said. “For peace in the new era, this is destined to be a thorny path.”

"It doesn't matter, these thorns are just right to make a crown of God for me."

...The yellow butterfly and Lin An returned to the spotted lion tribe together, and it was noon the next day.

Upon discovering Lin An's disappearance, everyone was anxious, but unlike their previous frantic state, they learned to trust and wait.

They believed Lin An wouldn't abandon them, and they awaited his safe return.

Unbeknownst to them, the lion tribe and Lin An had developed a mutual understanding.

When Lin An returned, Apu rushed to greet him, explaining that a small accident had occurred while he was away from the tribe.

Sure enough, she began her report with a barrage of sharp remarks.

A few hours ago, the Karu mermaid Susumi stumbled into the spotted lion tribe. The patrolling guards went up to ask her what was wrong, but she collapsed to the ground and fell into a coma, unconscious.

This person is the renowned ancestral spirit of the tigerfish, and the lion tribe dares not neglect him.

Lin An understood Susumi's behavior; she probably didn't want to return to her tribe. He asked Apu to settle her and Mezomeye together, and they would make further plans after she woke up.

Kevin's appearance forced the termination of Lin An's first gathering of ancestral spirits, leaving two Pygmy ancestral spirits stranded.

As the night passed, instead of returning to their respective tribes, they chose to stay.

The reason given was that "the mutton stew is so delicious, we want to eat it here every day."

What kind of culinary diplomacy is this?

The simplest way to win people's hearts is through their stomachs, right?

The Pygmy ancestral spirits wanted to stay a little longer, but their tribe was too far from the spotted lions, so the two ancestral spirits had to bid farewell to the spotted lions and embark on their journey home.

Before leaving, they said goodbye to Lin An, who kept his promise and answered a question the pygmy boy had about "Comers" as a reward.

Lin An's information was like a revelation to the Pygmy ancestral spirit, and he became increasingly reluctant to leave.

As evening approached, Lin An introduced Zai to the Lion Clan.

"This is Teacher Huang."

"Damn it, calling me 'Grandpa' is one thing, but what kind of bastard is Teacher Huang?!" Zai roared in anger. "Forest ranger, don't push your luck!"

"Alright, since we're going to work for peace in the new era, I'll call you Teacher He."

"..."

"Hello, Teacher Huang."

The lion tribesmen gazed curiously at the fluttering butterfly, unaware that this person was none other than the renowned founder of the Ancestral Spirit Totem, the wanderer of Kinsasha, the "Shadow Man" Zai.

Zai's task was simple: use the "Dreamer's" illusionary simulation to replace the "Bottle Man's" special training space and quickly increase the radiation level of the Lion Clan in a short period of time.

This is the fastest way to achieve the required fusion level with the "Lady with the Lamp".

As one of the leaders of the guild, the guild master would certainly suspect that the countess was given additional mysterious items for protection.

The "Lady with the Lamp" she wielded was more terrifying than Kevin's amulet.

Even though the Duke called Lin An an "S-class statue of the Goddess of the Lamp," his privilege was limited to having the potential of the "Goddess of the Lamp" by himself. He did not need to have it implanted into his body through a complicated ceremony, and he would not be contaminated by it.

Lin An's hidden talent has not yet been developed, and he cannot understand the language of "Comers". When he was targeted by the words chanted by the guardian angel of Aggra, he felt a chilling threat.

This is the terrifying aspect of the "Lady with the Lamp"—a purely spiritual concept.

Fortunately, the countess was only using the mysterious object containing the "Lady with the Lamp," and was not the real one.

However, with her mythical high radiation levels, unpredictable and mysterious magic, cunning and evil red dragon, and an unknown number of mysterious "Lady with the Lamp" artifacts, Count Mariette van Hofwegen is definitely an extremely troublesome enemy.

If even members of the aristocratic families who had not integrated with the "Lady with the Lamp" were in such a state, one can only imagine how the Red Poppy Merchant Guild Master who created the amulet was.

Moreover, the Flanders family is merely a small family in the Western Continent, and cannot be compared with the renowned Black Capital and Yici Leye.

To reach Adria Hughes's level, I'm still a long way from the World Tree...

Lin An snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to Zai, who was furious.

"Sir, can I entrust them to you without worry?"

"Humph!"

“Ever since we met, you’ve thought of me as a despicable outsider,” Lin An said, feigning concern. “You’ve attacked me twice and branded me with the demon’s mark. I can tolerate all of that, but please don’t drive my people mad in your quest for revenge.”

Zai was speechless for a long time before saying, "Don't worry, I won't lay a hand on the Bantu people. My blade is only aimed at those agitators who want to divide us."

"Then I'll get back to work, Teacher Huang."

"..."

Damn it, I'm getting more and more nicknames.

Zai watched Lin An disappear into his hut, then glanced at the eager-eyed lion tribesmen and cleared his throat.

"Now that the forest rangers are gone, can any of you tell me what this 'special training space' is?" (End of Chapter)