Secret World of Occultists-Chapter 40: Occult Knowledge

42 Millbrook Street.

Abel sat at his study table, revising the occult knowledge that he'd learned in the last two days under Madam Whitmore's tutelage.

The oil lamp was placed on the table, serving as the only source of light in the bedroom.

Other than a simple diary and some parchments, all kinds of food items wrapped in paper were sprawled on the table.

These were the street food items that he had bought on his way home. Since he didn't know how to cook, he had been buying food from local street vendors almost every day.

If not, Aunt Peggy would drop by from time to time, giving him some food that she'd cooked for her family.

Besides, even if he did know how to cook, he figured that he wouldn't even try it. Cooking in this day and age was a big chore, and very time consuming.

Thanks to Newport's status as a bustling port city, the street food here was heavily influenced by Albion's neighboring countries.

The one thing that was found in abundance was the seafood—something that he greatly enjoyed even in his previous life.

On his way back home from Highfield Street, he stopped by at various carts on the way and bought a serving of roasted salted potatoes, meat pie with minced beef, fried fish, and gingerbread.

With one hand, he grabbed the food and ate it from time to time, and with the other, he held a pencil and wrote in his diary about all the things he had learned earlier that day.

Due to the secretive nature of his profession, he wasn't allowed to take any occultism books outside of the restricted library of The Society for Natural Philosophy.

Thus, since the past two days, he would return home and rewrite what he had learned. Of course, he would destroy the pages of the diary after he had carved the contents to his memory.

Another very fascinating thing he realized was that his memorization capabilities had vastly increased. He could only accredit this to the vast reserves of spirit energy that was gradually settling down in his body.

Abel had a mildly serious expression on his face as he continued to write down the pages of his diary.

Spirit energy is the mystical force present within all living beings, unlocked by either a near-death experience or through a meticulously designed ritual art that stimulates one's pineal gland.

Needless to say, the second method is significantly safer and allows the person to make enough preparations to enter the Spirit Crucible and undergo their First Trial of Ascension.

The pineal gland is said to be the seat of the soul. Madam Whitmore calls it the third eye. It is the only supernatural organ within the body.

It is located deep within the brain and serves as the connection between the physical and the spiritual, the body and the mind.

The pineal gland's central location and mobility makes it the ideal place for the soul to interact with the body.

Perhaps, this is why it is called the principal seat of the soul.

This organ also regulates one's sleeping cycle and spirit energy is said to be replenished when an Occultist rests.

This is another important point that establishes the solid connection between the pineal gland and spirit energy.

That begs the question: if the pineal gland plays such a vital role in unlocking the spirit energy and awakening the Hallmark, then theoretically, could anyone with a pineal gland become an Occultist?

For example... a dog or a cat?

"Hmm." He set the pencil down and diverted his attention towards the roasted potatoes. Then, he took a bite of meat pie, and the gingerbread before writing once again.

Spirit energy can be used in three primary ways - physical augmentation, sensory augmentation, and Hallmarks.

The effects of the first two are temporary, whereas the Hallmarks are permanent and spirit energy is used to fuel them.

Hallmarks can be further categorized into five - Enhancement, Elemental, Summoning, Transmutation, and Aberrant.

An Occultist awakens only one Hallmark... There cannot be another...

The youth stopped writing, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the moon through the window. He thought to himself with complicated emotions, However, I have two.

The Hallmark related to reflection belongs to the previous Abel. I had already confirmed this when I met his remnant will.

Then, there's my second Hallmark, the one where my soul is able to leave my body and even inhabit the body of another person—

Abel suddenly straightened his posture, his brows furrowing together as he thought of a possibility.

Come to think of it... This is exactly like my transmigration!

My soul left my previous body after death and then traveled through an unknown space for an unknown time before finally inhabiting this body!

Could this be the reason for my transmigration?!

He was left in stunned silence for a very long time, his expression full of disbelief.

But what are the chances of this happening? The probability is so minuscule that it can be only called a... miracle!

His gaze was involuntarily drawn to his drawer. He pulled it open and grabbed the cursed coin from inside.

Gazing at the four-leaf clover carved on its surface, he muttered in disbelief, "Could it really be..."

"Agh, fuck, I'm gonna go crazy at this rate!" He put the coin back inside the drawer, slamming it shut. He then began munching on the food.

Without sufficient data I can't just theorize randomly, he thought.

But it is very likely that my second Hallmark has something to do with my transmigration.

As for the cursed coin... I need to investigate its origins first before I can come to any conclusions.

He wiped his hands on his trousers, grabbed the pencil, and began writing again.

Inside the Spirit Crucible, one not only fully awakens their spirit energy and unlocks their Hallmark, but one also actualizes a container that holds their spirit energy.

This is called the Spirit Cistern.

Everyone's Spirit Cistern varies in appearance, but they all share the same characteristic - storing one's spirit energy.

It is a metaphysical place deep within the core of an Occultist. Mine looks like a resorvoir with several pillars rising from its depths and supporting the arched ceiling above.

I wonder what caused my Cistern to take this appearance...

Abel set the pencil down and tore the pages of the diary that he'd just written on. He walked towards the window and then struck a match, burning the papers.

As he saw the papers burn to ashes and drift away in the wind, he thought to himself, So the Spirit Cistern is where I met the remnant will of the previous Abel.

It is such a magical place. And that place looked vast and deep... Probably symbolizing my deep reserves of spirit energy.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a few shadowy figures in the nearby dark alley. But when he focused his vision, those figures were nowhere to be seen.

"Strange..." He frowned. "Am I tripping?"

After ensuring nothing remained of the pages of his diary, he closed the window. He then grabbed the lantern and food wrappings, and walked downstairs, disposing of the garbage in the backyard.

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He made sure that the door was locked—both the front and the one leading to his tiny backyard. Only then did he climb back to his bedroom on the first floor.

Blowing the fire burning in his lantern, he placed it on the table and then climbed the bed, gazing at the uneven ceiling with slightly complicated emotions.

"This is going to be my last night here... I'm definitely not gonna miss it," he murmured as his eyelids gradualy felt heavy.

"Hmm... I probably will..." Within a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.

Exactly thirty minutes later, the entrance door to his house on the ground floor slowly opened...

And three men wearing top hats and dark overcoats silently entered!