ALL NOVEL Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Adjacent
Though Miss Jessica was reluctant to speak up, maintaining her image, Milo naturally noticed her unusual state—after all, he was a Square Warrior capable of overwhelming Combat Path Pathfinders of the same rank through sheer physical prowess.
Was she feeling cold? The multi-talented Mr. Mi fell into contemplation with an odd look. Such physical constitution would be considered weak even among ordinary people, and he couldn't sense any Mental System fluctuations. Could she be a high-rank Pure Mysticism practitioner?
Though it seemed far-fetched for a Pure Mysticism practitioner to reach such a high rank, it appeared to be the only explanation for the current situation.
As is widely known, the Mental System and Classical Mysticism are called the two exceptional paths compatible with any secondary profession precisely because they don't add to one's base attributes. Between these two, while the Mental System lacks functionality, it at least provides genuine self-enhancement. Theoretically, it allows for the possibility of abandoning the physical body for spiritual independence in the later stages, making it viable as a primary profession.
But Classical Mysticism can't achieve this. If the essence of supernatural systems is the elevation of life forms—where Awakened Ones' advancement is like growing wings to soar with the wind, and Pathfinders' progress is like climbing a mountain step by step—then the Mental System's body-abandoning soul-enlightenment, though extreme, could at least be considered a bamboo pole one could climb to eventually reach the peak.
Using the same metaphor, Classical Mysticism would be like a castle in the air—it has height, it has intricacy, but it uniquely fails to let you ascend to it.
It truly embodies the principle of cultivating techniques without cultivating life force. While its functionality is extraordinarily powerful, it genuinely provides no attribute bonuses—without preset techniques, practitioners are no different from ordinary people.
If one were to ask why Milo knows this so well, it's simply because he's quick to learn and widely knowledgeable.
After a while, noticing the increasingly obvious movements of the person beside him, Milo could no longer bear to watch Miss Jessica's stubborn endurance. After some thought, he adjusted the area's temperature using mystic arts.
The reason he didn't use Energy System techniques was that their fluctuations were too noticeable and could easily be discovered, potentially causing trouble.
However, Milo forgot one thing: Miss Jessica was not just a Pure Mysticism practitioner, but an Astrology specialist—the most fragile type that couldn't even perform self-enhancement, yet possessed the strongest perception abilities. And she was an extremely rare high-rank mystic arts practitioner.
His supposedly secretive spellcasting, though truly silent and traceless, couldn't escape detection by an Astrology specialist with extremely enhanced perception at such close range.
The two who knew but pretended not to know followed the oblivious fellow ahead, while also gaining a preliminary understanding of Raindrop Street through the introduction.
Broadly speaking, while the numerous residents of Raindrop Street were extremely diverse in composition, they maintained an atmosphere of harmony despite differences. When encountering those with differing opinions, it wasn't much of an issue—after all, with both ends of the long street accessible, they could simply live without crossing paths.
The house numbers along the street were arranged with odd and even numbers on opposite sides. Aside from numbers one through ten being fixed as resident committee members' locations, the remaining houses held no hierarchical distinction—choice of residence depended entirely on personal preference and compatibility.
For instance, the priest who arrived at number 128 at the street's end half a year ago had somewhat unfathomable strength, certainly ranking within the top ten on the entire street.
"In that case, I might visit there sometime," Miss Jessica pondered. She wasn't concerned about strength, but it was truly rare to find a proper priest in this chaotic area.
If Pure Mysticism practitioners who don't cross-train in other systems were merely uncommon, then proper priests who don't belong to local cult systems were truly extraordinary.
These people, every single one of them, were imports who had crossed the starry void, often serving as effective channels for understanding outside information.
Continuing forward, they finally reached Milo's destination at the street's midpoint. Wolf took his leave after arrival, clearly finding staying on Raindrop Street a test of his mental fortitude.
Milo looked at the sealed alchemy workshop before him, swiped the silver metallic card across the groove left in the right doorpost, and the sealed door made an unlocking sound, creaking open slightly.
Milo pushed open the door and entered, surveying his surroundings and carefully examining the hall's condition. Though the facilities were rudimentary, they were fairly complete. The basic framework remained intact, which should make renovation convenient.
Due to long-term disuse, the house had accumulated a layer of dust, but this wasn't difficult for a supernatural being to handle. Without any visible movement from Milo, outside air rushed into the house, dispersing the stale air within.
The dust was easily lifted and carried out by the wind, swirling before settling in the neighboring garden, conveniently adding a layer of soil.
This time, Milo used a proper Energy System technique.
"That should do for now," Milo nodded, leaving the remaining work for tomorrow.
"Then I'll rest as well," Miss Jessica nodded, then turned left and swiped her black crystal card against the garden fence. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Tom."
She walked into the garden with a smile, crossed the cobblestone path to reach the house, and opened the door to number 66.
"An anonymous card?" Milo looked at the black crystal card she had taken out, his gaze falling on the silver-gray pattern of his own ID card, tilting his head before dismissing it with a smile.
Entering and closing the door, the silver-gray scarf wrapped around his neck naturally split and slid off, transforming into corresponding equipment at suitable locations within the house. The remaining scraps and half-finished products in the workshop were also salvaged and reforged by Milo.
Setting up the formation naturally consumed considerable energy, yet Milo had no intention of slowing down. Firstly, he might not stay here long, possibly packing up to join old friends any day. Secondly, though he hadn't yet reached the fourth-rank Beacon realm that could directly utilize external free energy, his own recovery speed was not to be underestimated.
After once again depleting his internal energy and feeling mental fatigue, Milo went to the bedroom at the back of the house and lay down on the desk, closing his eyes.
A certain badge worn inside his outer clothing, sensing the decline in mental activity and energy intensity, naturally activated its defensive measures, with light continuously flowing along its edges.
Meanwhile, in a laboratory within the Imperial Capital, a jewel on a certain brooch stored in a secret compartment similarly showed a slight increase in its luminosity.
The white-coated woman with silver hair tied in a ponytail looked up from the numerous pending virtual screens to stare at the wall sealing the compartment, pausing before reacting.
"...Time to rest?"
...It's just in standby state.
"Let's continue then." The woman lowered her head, no longer paying attention to these matters, and buried herself in calculating relevant data before eventually falling asleep peacefully at her desk.
End of Chapter