My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 18: Introduction to Occultism

Hearing this expected question, Steel smiled and said:
"They were reluctant at first, but I told them that your increased strength would help track down the cultists, and that you had proven your reliability during the previous mission exploring the Titanic wreckage. After much persuasion, they finally agreed."

Yule could tell that the real situation was probably not as easy as Gangtie said - how could the Anti-Suppression Bureau trust a newcomer so easily?
The other party must have made considerable efforts to enable him to successfully come into contact with mysticism.

He bowed and said in a deep voice:
"Thank you."

Originally, he had some resentment towards the Anti-Suppression Bureau, and he was not very fond of steel, but the other party proved its reliability through actions.

Steel waved his hand: "No big deal. Besides, there's something else here."

He took out a translucent cloak covered with scale powder from his bag and threw it to Jules.

"The reason why that sneaky cultist escaped our attention earlier was because he was wearing this thing."

Jules gently caught the cloak, which was thinner than a plastic bag, for fear of tearing it.

Moth Cloak

[Quality: First-class rare item]

[Effect: After wearing it, you can mobilize the chaotic power from the Moth Code to cover your whereabouts.]

[Introduction: Thin as a cicada's wing, transparent as glass, leaving behind memories of the past.]

He gently stroked the cloak, which looked like it was shedding skin, and was a little surprised:
"Is it for me?"

Steel suddenly became mysterious and made a silencing gesture with his fingers.

"Don't tell anyone else. I gave this to you secretly, otherwise it will be confiscated."

"If anyone asks about it in the future, just say it was a lucky find. No one in the bureau is interested in tracking you down."

Only then did Jules realize what a great gift this was.

He put away the [Moth Cloak] and said solemnly:

"Is there anything you would like to ask of me?"

The other party was so nice to him that it even made him feel a little uneasy.

Just like the New Year pigs will be well fed before being slaughtered - he doesn't want to be thrown away as a pawn by the Anti-Suppression Bureau.

Steel just shook his head and said:
"It's my compensation. In fact, if I hadn't been so nosy in the beginning, maybe you wouldn't have been used as bait."

He sighed helplessly, "I just mentioned it casually at the time, but the people above took it seriously. That's why they recruited you into the Anti-Suppression Bureau and used you as bait."

Yule blinked, feeling a bit amused and helpless.

"It's okay. Without your help, I wouldn't be able to enter the Anti-Suppression Bureau."

Steel hummed, obviously not wanting to talk more about this topic that made him feel guilty. He took out his wallet, took out a check and handed it to Jules.

"Here's your salary for the next three months, an advance for you. It's one hundred and fifty pounds in total, fifty pounds a month. Keep it."

When he heard it was money, Jules' eyes lit up:
“So generous?”

He's actually willing to advance your salary!

Steel just shook his head:
"What's so generous about that? Our job is a life-or-death job. We only make fifty pounds a month. We're just giving alms to beggars!"

You can tell that he is extremely resentful.

However, the attack did not last long. Steel then took out a small booklet, handed it to Jules, and warned:

"This is the secret document of the Silent Bookstore, sealed by a ritual. If anyone else sees it, it will self-destruct."

His face was extremely serious, just like when he asked Jules to sign the contract that he could not disclose the secrets.

Jules understood and nodded:

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Steel was silent for a moment, then said:
"Also, when you explore the occult, be careful of temptation. I can't explain the specifics, but remember, knowledge brings power, but it's also the deadliest poison." "It's getting late, and I should leave."

Jules smiled:
"Then I won't give it away."

When Tietie walked to the door, he suddenly stopped, rummaged in his pocket, and threw out a business card.

"If you need anything, please contact me at the address on the business card. Also, if possible, once everything settles, you'd better find a job. Having a social status is better than having none at all."

After saying that, he closed the door.

Jules picked up the business card, looked at the content on it, and smiled slightly.

It records Steel's real name and address, which means that the other party feels that he can be trusted.

"He's a friend worth making."

……

Late at night, Jules was flipping through the newly acquired book "Introduction to Occultism".

This secret document, which came from what Gangtie called the "Silent Bookstore", indeed contained things that were quite unbelievable to ordinary people.

In the secret biography, the author mentioned that in current esoteric research, there is a tendency to refine the elements that constitute the world into nine major principles.

Lamp, Cast, Blade, Winter, Heart, Cup, Moth, Secret History, and Revelation are the nine principles that constitute the world and are the cornerstone of occult research.

The above also describes the characteristics corresponding to each criterion in brief language.

For example, steel and the [Holy Emblem of Forging] he had given himself previously correspond to the Principle of Forging, which represents destruction and change. Its typical symbol is flame, and the sequence name is "Blacksmith."

The sequence related to the distorted appetite is what Steel mentioned earlier as the "Feaster," corresponding to the cup principle of indulging desires.

He also saw the "Moth Code" related to the Moth Cloak. In a nutshell, anything abnormal, strange, and irrational is a moth.

Jules did not pay much attention to other principles, as they were too far away for him now.

He quickly turned to the Secret History page, trying to find information related to the sequence.

According to the characteristics and description of the "Traveler" promotion ceremony, it is 100% related to the secret history principles!

However, when Jules turned to that page, he was stunned.

The scholar who wrote this book was obviously very well versed in occult science, but even that scholar seemed to have little knowledge of secret history, and what he wrote were only fragmentary words.

Among them, the most important one is this one:
"The Secret History has no power. More precisely, the Secret History belonging to this history has no power in the waking world of this history. The reason why most of the Secret History's extraordinary sequence has been lost over a long period of time is because its advancement requires the ritualist to be in a place where the Secret History can unleash its power. Therefore, those with extraordinary powers are extremely rare."

The waking world is the name for reality in mysticism.

Jules stroked the words written in ink, his eyes gradually becoming solemn.

According to the book, "Travelers" are quite rare, and the conditions for promotion are extremely harsh.

Although some methods of promoting travelers were recorded later, he was still a little worried about whether promoting travelers would arouse suspicion from the Defense and Suppression Bureau.

How could an ordinary person like me complete the traveler's ritual? This would likely attract investigation, especially since I was in the vortex.

As for the harsh promotion conditions, it was not a problem for him - according to the description above, the Sixth History Fragment was the best location for the ceremony!

"Come to think of it, I still haven't encountered the second fragment of the Sixth History... Maybe I need to take the initiative to go out more often?" he thought to himself.

He didn't believe that there was only one piece of this thing, or in other words, could he have more contact with Holmes?

Maybe one day, a few more fragments of the Sixth History will be revealed from Holmes.

After closing the Introduction to Occultism, Jules put it away carefully and fell asleep.

Tomorrow, I'll go ask Steel. If he can be promoted to Traveler, he'll stop by the antique shop for a stroll - judging by the time, it should be open.

(End of this chapter)