Chapter 418 418 The Unscheduled Visit

Chapter 418 Chapter 418 The Unscheduled Visit

Unabashedly, Tom's prickly ears stood like a hungry gossip- inclining his head forward- listening to their every word.

The older alchemist sighed heavily- fanning the cloud of fumes that was swirling over the open flask;

"I'm afraid you still haven't learned anything at all Nexus," he croaked; "Do you know what the alchemist's greatest advantage is?"

Nexus shrugged- "His brain? Knowledge? Power?"

"Yes- well, all of those things are good. But you missed one thing- the alchemist's lifestyle is one of peace. The greatest advantage of the path of Alchemy is that it is a path that should be free from the dangers of bloodlust, and masked assailants with glinting daggers."

Dracula cocked his head- turning his bearded face towards the younger man;

"–you've lost that advantage Nexus. You're now in the spotlight. And that has put a target on your back. . ."

Nexus sighed. nove)lb-In

Tom's neck craned forward- eyes hungering for information.

Really, the self-righteous cop in him loathed being here. His stomach churned as the arrogant scowl of his inner voice echoed in continuous chants;

Necromancers are a myth Tom!

Get your head out of your ass!

You're not a kindergartner!!

But he bit down on his lip- forcing himself to ignore every single rebuke. This was no ordinary case. Therefore, he needed to take a different route. And Dracula was that route. If anyone knew anything about this stuff- it was Drac.

After all, he was the most famous alchemist- the man whose eyes were open- the man who had seen it all!!

Homicidal corpses?

Tom's professional bells rang loud- lusting for any kind of clues at all. So, DESPERATE for any kind of answers at all, he concealed the hungry desire in his eyes, and kept quiet- watching and listening.

". . .all the more reason I need to defend myself," Nexus replied the older man; "I need something epic- like some kind of dense shield. At least for now- before I can get stronger."

Nexus possessed the power of the heavenly flames.

He had a harem of dangerous homicidal women.

Plus he had the dual cultivation system.

But all these were assault weapons.They could not defend him in sudden- unprovoked situations. The attempt on his life had revealed one thing- he needed a rapid-response defense system.

Something quick and present.

Finally, after sometime, the white bearded alchemist exhaled- and drifted away from the white clouds of vapor;

"I need to know–" he gripped his pencil over the blank sheet; "–when looking for a necromancer's corpse, what are the signs? What is peculiar to them? Is there some kind of location they would likely be?"

"You mean like a graveyard or something?"

"Exactly," his eyes flashed.

"Don't be absurd," Dracula rebuked him- looking him directly in the eye; "I heard a certain cop got suspended for digging up a grave. Does that make him a suspect?"

Tom tensed- gripping the pencil so hard, the sharpened tip broke.

"Anyway, you're looking at it all wrong," Dracula explained; "Forget about the corpse- and?focus on the Necromancer."

His eyebrows huddled together- linking together at the middle;

"How?"

"By looking out for the signs," the old man lifted up his forefinger; "One- they're usually tired. Not the typical work-day tired. But exhausted, spent, like they spent the whole night doing something they shouldn't be doing. . ."

Tom's head bent over- writing furiously in his notebook.

". . .if the sun gives life, then the darkness breeds death. . .Necromancers do their best work at night. . .without the sun. . .under the cover of darkness. . ."

The scratching sound of the pencil's tip continued to whirl across the white sheets.

". . .they take a tiny sliver of their life force. . .and temporarily infuse it in animated bodies. . .it takes a great amount of energy to do that. . .so, they're usually too be active during the day. . ."

This time, Tom's head jerked up;

"Essentially, they're night owls- people who sleep during the day, and operate fully active at night."

Dracula nodded- "That should narrow down your suspect list. . ."

"Indeed." he replied- hastily slipping his book into his satchel.

His thick neck was pulsing with excitement. He could barely keep his fingers still. The information had set a fire in his eyes- giving him the much needed breakthrough.

Giddy and shaky, Tom threaded the buckle of his bag- slinging it over his shoulders with a tight grasp. And like an arrow shot out of a bow- he lunged forward- springing on his heels. Clouds of dust rose up from beneath his heavy boots. His feet hardly touched the ground- racing towards the next thing-

'gotta check again. . .'

He muttered to himself.

'who sleeps the whole day off?'

Several names cruised through his mind- 'Madam Kay? Mike the alchemist?'

WHO???

....

Dracula watched the officer dash out of his building.

His rumpled shirt fluttered behind him. On his beige sheriff hat bobbed up and down. Dracula watched with mild interest- waiting to see if he would turn back and say goodbye.