40 Mysticism Curriculum (1/2)

”An interesting trick?”

Klein asked out of extreme curiosity.

Old Neil chuckled and said, ”I'll complete my patrol of the armory, storeroom, and archives. Use the two cups on the table to make two cups of coffee. In one of the cups, put something unpleasant. As for what it is, you can decide for yourself. Use your imagination. The only request from me is to not waste too much coffee powder. Those are coffee beans grown on the Feynapotter plateau and hand ground by me!”

”Alright.” Although Klein was unsure what Old Neil was up to, he happily agreed to it.

He watched him open the iron gates to the armory with a copper key and then heard the echoing footsteps inside. Slowly, he settled the cups down and confirmed that there was still hot water in the kettle.

He removed the silver tin can's lid and using a tiny spoon with a metallic sheen, Klein scooped a spoonful of rich aromatic coffee powder into each of the two cups. Then, he poured in the hot water and stirred it.

As a transmigrator who came from an era abundant in resources, he was no stranger to coffee. However, it was only limited to instant coffee.

After finishing the task, Klein pondered for a moment and sat down. He crossed his right leg and took some of the mud which had stained the bottom of his leather boots and placed it in the left cup.

Then, he carefully stirred it again until the colors and smells of the two cups of coffee were practically indistinguishable.

A few minutes later, Old Neil walked out the armory while swinging his keys. He then closed the iron gates with a clang.

”Are you done?” His turned his slightly turbid dark red eyes over and looked at Klein across the table.

”Yes,” replied Klein with a nod.

Old Neil chuckled and removed the silver chain around his wrist and sat down.

His expression quickly turned serene. He held out his chain-holding left hand and allowed it to hang over the coffee cup to his right. The moonstone nearly touched the liquid.

Amid the relaxing calmness, the moonstone trembled suddenly. It began spinning the chain in a counterclockwise manner.

”This cup is the one with the unpleasant thing,” said Old Neil surely.

Without waiting for Klein to confirm, he put away the silver chain and picked up the other cup of coffee and took a sip.

”Do you like bitter coffee? I'm used to having a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of milk.”

Klein did not reply but instead asked with his interest piqued, ”Your divination sure is accurate. Was it because of the moonstone? That was moonstone, right?”

”This is known as pendulum dowsing in divination. It's also called spirit dowsing. It relies on your own Astral Projection's connection with the spirit world and space to communicate with spiritual intelligence through the aid of natural materials such as crystals, gems, or special metals. The good and bad of things can be divined... Let's talk about the two cups of coffee. A counterclockwise motion implies bad, while a clockwise motion is good. If it doesn't move, it's neither good or bad. You can write the statement on a piece of paper. Take note, it's a statement and not a question.” Old Neil put down the cup of coffee and explained in detail.

Klein asked as though he was thinking, ”Does that mean one should use questioning sentences?”

”Yes, you cannot use ”is so-and-so willing to be my fiancée,' but you should instead use 'so-and-so is willing to be my fiancée.' Write it on a piece of paper and place it on the desk. Then use your dominant hand to hold the pendulum chain. Take note, use your dominant hand,” said Old Neil with a chuckle. ”When doing so, keep your arm straight. Adjust the chain's length and make the moonstone hang just above the piece of paper to the point of almost touching what we wrote. Then, close your eyes and repeat the sentence seven times in your mind. Open your eyes when you are done and see if the spirit pendulum turns or not. If it doesn't, close your eyes again and repeat the process until it moves.”

Klein nodded slightly and asked, ”Counterclockwise means 'no,' and clockwise means 'yes?'”

”It can also be interpreted as success or failure,” corrected Old Neil. He taught Klein the other usages and details of spirit pendulum divination.

Klein pondered over the matter and discovered that it was a very useful divination trick. For instance, he could quickly use it in an unfamiliar environment to determine if the food he was offered was poisonous or not. He did not need any additional knowledge of field biology.

Of course, such divination methods were overly simple. The answers he could receive were limited to two or three. There was no way for deeper investigation or interpretation. For example, although something could be harmful to the body, it could become very beneficial after some processing. An example was certain foods. They were indeed damaging to the body, but nothing serious. If one was on the brink of starving, eating it would not be a huge problem. These were things that spirit dowsing could not determine.

”I will have to quickly save money to buy crystals or pure silver to create a spirit pendulum...” Klein sighed.

Old Neil looked at him in puzzlement.

”You can apply for one directly. This is standard issue for Beyonders, especially Beyonders like us who take on a support role. There's still a topaz and pure silver spirit pendulum in the armory.”

”But I'm still not a formal member of the team...” Klein's heart palpitated in excitement, but he felt a little hesitant.

Old Neil chuckled and said, ”For Beyonders, regardless of whether they are formal members or not, they have to be provided with conveniences in other areas since there's no pay rise.”

”Maybe the word 'perk' is more suitable. I'll apply with Captain later!” Klein clenched his fists secretly as he made up his mind.

How was he to know if Captain would approve his request without trying?

”Alright,” said Old Neil with a smile. ”We can officially begin our mysticism curriculum. The basics consist of symbolism. Do you know what symbolism means?”