Spirit channeling a living person is fundamentally different from channeling a dead one. Even when a living person's mind is in a chaotic state, they still retain basic logical faculties...
Upon entering the target's Body of Heart and Mind, all their memories would surge around Klein's spiritual form like flowing water, constantly in motion.
At this point, one must carefully search for the specific memories needed, otherwise it could cause confusion in the target's logic and memories, potentially turning them into a madman or an idiot.
With spirit channeling the dead, the process isn't so troublesome. The deceased's memories lie before you like stagnant water, and there's no need to worry about causing harm to someone already dead.
Klein used divination to extract the memories he needed, a method that wouldn't harm the attendant:
"Memories about Mr. Gale."
"Memories about Mr. Gale..."
After silently reciting this seven times, the surging tide of memories receded, leaving only a portion of memories appearing before him.
To his surprise, this attendant had relatively few memories about Mr. Gale.
Among these memories were scenes from the early days of the Rosewood Pavilion when the gangs came to cause trouble. Mr. Gale would intervene, politely seeing them out, only for news to come the next day that the gang leader had died.
There were also memories of well-connected customers causing disturbances, only to be sternly expelled by Mr. Gale while he protected the safety of the dancers.
But since about a year and a half ago, as the dance hall's business became more established, Mr. Gale rarely appeared at the venue. The daily operations were basically managed by Lady Mandy.
However, the attendants would still occasionally hear rumors about Mr. Gale... for instance, how some people planning to cause trouble at the Rosewood Pavilion were dealt with by Mr. Gale before they could act.
There were even rumors that Mr. Gale was actually a count who had established the Rosewood Pavilion out of sympathy for the plight of streetwalkers, and now that the hall required little management, he had returned to his castle to enjoy life.
The only potentially useful memory was that Mr. Gale frequently appeared in a room on the dance hall's third floor, a room directly opposite the third-floor reception desk that no one else was permitted to enter.
After reviewing these memories one by one, Klein developed a clearer understanding of Mr. Gale in his mind: a man of considerable capability who maintained control over the dance hall even during his absences.
Klein then began another divination:
"The living conditions of the dancers at Rosewood Pavilion."
"The living conditions of the dancers at Rosewood Pavilion..."
Many more memories surged forward. Klein selected several to examine: some showed dancers entertaining guests, others showed dancers returning to their dormitories in groups.
Unexpectedly, this attendant had even witnessed a dancer's wedding to the dance hall's chef. The ceremony had been held in the dance hall itself, where Lady Mandy sternly warned the chef not to look down on the dancer because of her past.
After marriage, the dancer used her savings to open a dessert shop while the chef continued working at the dance hall. Just last month, their daughter had been born.
After reviewing several more memories, Klein withdrew from the spirit channeling state. At this point, he no longer doubted Mr. Gale's motives for establishing the Rosewood Pavilion.
Klein then moved the attendant back to the street where he had been walking, arranging him to appear as if he had fallen. When the attendant woke up, he would believe he had knocked himself out briefly after hitting his head in a fall.
Once again concealing himself in the shadows of the street, Klein planned to investigate that third-floor room tonight.
As usual, he performed a divination about his upcoming actions:
"The upcoming exploration mission is safe."
"The upcoming exploration mission is safe..."
After silently reciting this seven times, he flipped the coin in his hand, letting it land in his palm.
It came up as tails!
'So it's not safe...'
Klein then took out his yellow crystal pendulum for another divination:
"There is danger in the upcoming exploration."
"There is danger in the upcoming exploration..."
After silently reciting this seven times, the pendulum began rotating clockwise at a moderate speed! Indicating there was definite danger!
Klein speculated that Mr. Gale had likely set up some mystical traps in that room. Therefore, he followed his instincts and canceled the planned exploration mission...
....
On Sunday afternoon, Simon came to pick up Odis for the fighting competition...
On their way to the match, Odis saw several shabbily dressed beggars on the streets through the carriage window. Suddenly he remarked, "There are still so many people in Backlund without homes."
Simon didn't quite understand his meaning and didn't dare respond.
Odis had suddenly recalled scenes from the simulated battlefield, and could only sigh inwardly: 'This is Backlund...'
The longer he lived here, the more he felt that while the city certainly had its glamorous side, it wasn't as wonderful as people made it out to be.
Arriving at Unit 155 King's Avenue, Odis once again met the middle-aged man dressed as a butler.
Following the same procedure as last time, the man first explained the rules: although no weapons could be brought into the arena, fighters could use props found inside to attack opponents.
The difference this time was the addition of a body search. Odis handed his cane and gun holster to Simon and calmly submitted to the search.
Apart from his somewhat thick knight's attire, the attendants found no weapons on him.
After sitting quietly for over ten minutes as before, the match began...
Odis entered the arena through the iron gate, where the street flanked by buildings without roofs once again appeared before him.
Although it was daytime, the lights inside were still on, making it impossible to see the spectator stands clearly.
However, Odis's spiritual senses told him there were many spectators present.
On the way here, Simon had mentioned that on Sundays, there were three rounds of matches: one in the afternoon, one at 7 PM, and a final one at 9 PM.
The afternoon match was no-holds-barred combat, the evening one was either no-holds-barred or with cold weapons, while Simon didn't know what kind of match the 9 PM one would be.
At this moment, Odis saw his opponent. It was a man around thirty years old. He appeared quite thin, and was also dressed in dark knight's attire.
After the match began, neither man rushed to attack immediately, instead slowly advancing toward each other step by step.
Odis realized this opponent would be more challenging than his last one... not just because of his higher Sequence level, but also due to his evident confidence and composed demeanor.
When they were about seven or eight meters apart, Odis's opponent, Eden, suddenly smiled and said, "You carry yourself quite well, not like a newcomer at all."
Odis didn't respond, instead launching a sudden attack.
Eden abruptly raised his hand, and Odis felt his feet slip out from under him as he instantly lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
Completely caught off guard, the fall left him grimacing in pain, temporarily unable to get up.
The spectators immediately broke into applause. This was Eden's signature move. Though they'd seen it many times before, it still seemed miraculous, and no one understood how he did it.
The arena's explanation was: "It's a type of magical technique."
Seizing the opportunity, Eden quickly closed in while saying, "You're too impatient," simultaneously delivering a vicious kick aimed at Odis's face.
Just then, Odis suddenly seemed free of pain. Dodging Eden's kick, he swept his leg out to strike Eden's other leg.
The impact immediately sent Eden tumbling to the ground.
A collective gasp rose from the spectator stands... everyone realized Eden had fallen into a trap...