New Gods of North America

As a somewhat mature Awakened, Wayne's current thoughts on Miss Ovelia are—hmph, childish.

The "awakening" of an Awakened is roughly a process of leaping from Stage 0, possibly to Stage 1, or directly to Stage 2.

The distinguishing feature lies in whether a "realization"-like process occurs.

Wayne initially knew he had "immortality," but couldn't clearly understand his Awakened ability attributes and spiritual power through spiritual intuition, which meant he had reached Stage 1 first.

According to Inesa, generally speaking, Awakened who can directly reach Stage 2 usually have "simpler" Awakened abilities, which often appear relatively "weaker" in terms of combat power at the same stage.

—The "principle" of some tools is easier to understand; normally, learning to use them at an entry-level is also faster.

This might be like a primitive man getting an iron rod; he might know to use it for hitting things with a little observation, but it might take some exploration and adaptation to know how to use a crossbow correctly.

Once both have "entered the door," the latter often performs at a higher level.

However, this is only the "general" case.

If you want to cite a counterexample, there is a ready-made Conner in the detective agency.

After awakening, he directly reached Stage 2, his Awakened ability is straightforward and easy to understand, and Conner's "armorization" level and strength are not as good as Cowardly Peter's to this day.

Yet he can still beat most agents to the ground.

But there is only one "Conner" in the detective agency; the ability to use simple Awakened abilities quickly, flexibly, and efficiently is because Conner "himself" is strong enough.

Assuming the abilities were switched, Conner might still be able to beat Cowardly Peter to a pulp, but Cowardly Peter might not even be alive now.

How good a "tool" is is one thing; "who uses it" is another.

Miss Ovelia's current state is at Stage 1.

It's roughly like someone who has just learned to ride a bicycle but isn't familiar enough, doesn't know how fast or how far they can ride, and doesn't know how to brake, turn, or avoid overturning smoothly.

Because she hasn't had a "realization" yet, she can't obtain clear cognition through direct spiritual intuition.

So she always wants to find someone to try it on.

"After using my Awakened ability to touch someone, I can 'enter' a house like a ghost.

"I can't actually touch objects, and I can't pass through walls and closed doors, but I can use my mind to rummage through things in the room. However, as soon as I leave the current room, the furnishings inside will automatically return to their original state.

"Everyone's 'house' looks different. I feel that the situation in the house may reflect their inner world to some extent, but it doesn't seem so easy to interpret."

Miss Ovelia secretly tried it on her personal maid and housekeeper, and even the family nurse who helped her check the situation was not spared.

Wayne and Inesa didn't become "guinea pigs" because Miss Ovelia's spiritual intuition told her "it's best not to do this."

The personal maid seems to have fallen in love with a bodyguard in the manor.

Miss Ovelia said that in the personal maid's inner "house," she could see a painting of her and the bodyguard holding hands in a private room, with a blue sea and a gentle breeze in the picture.

The housekeeper seems very nervous now. The doors and windows of the entire house are sealed from the inside with wooden boards, and you can also see medical kits and hunting rifles in the room.

But the nails have begun to loosen, and you can vaguely see sunlight coming in through the cracks. Miss Ovelia thinks she is probably worried about her situation.

As for the family nurse...

Miss Ovelia is considering whether to fire her. It sounds like, except for the hall, which looks neat and bright, the rest of the rooms in her inner house look gloomy and dilapidated.

In a room deep inside, there is a half-closed but unopenable door, and through the crack in the door, you can see piles of gorgeous dresses and jewelry—Miss Ovelia can recognize that many of the things inside are actually hers.

This makes Miss Ovelia a little conflicted:

"I'm not sure what this is reflecting in her mind. If it's just simple envy, that feels normal. At least there are no signs of damage on the clothes... But combined with the situation in the room, I don't think it's that simple."

Wayne and Inesa listened to Miss Ovelia's retelling, and they were both very curious about her Awakened ability.

This style of ability feels quite rare, but it's not completely incomprehensible.

Inesa rarely acted like a curious baby, constantly asking about various details.

For example, how long does it take to explore someone else's "house" once, can you try to walk out of the "house," can you enter someone else's "house" again after no longer being in direct contact, and whether the "time flow" when exploring inside is synchronized with the real world, etc.

After Miss Ovelia answered them one by one, Inesa thought of a seemingly crucial question:

"Are there any people or 'guards' in those 'houses'? For example, like the black shadows you encountered in your dream before."

Miss Ovelia shook her head.

"There don't seem to be any living things in the houses. As for 'guards'... I think those unopenable doors, locked boxes and cabinets, or some traps might be their guards."

"There are even traps?!" Wayne asked.

"Yes. The basements of the houses are basically full of traps, but because I am a 'ghost' in those houses, I am not afraid of them. But I also can't open the door to the depths of the basement."

Hmm...

Wayne suddenly had an idea:

"Since you won't get hurt in those 'houses,' are you interested in helping to check on other people's situations?

"Judging from the news brought back by Doug just now, you may be the first one to wake up among those affected by Mrs. Lalaurie's Awakened ability. The exorcism department of the church is still having a headache."

It felt like Miss Ovelia was still in the excitement period of getting a new toy but feeling "lost despite having a sword in hand."

Hearing this, she almost didn't hesitate for long, "I can try."

Inesa never stops others from saving people or courting death: "You may need to pay attention to the consumption of your Awakened power. If you feel something is wrong, stop or rest in time."

"I will be careful."

……

After returning to the academy, Wayne realized that the impact caused by Mrs. Lalaurie was even greater than he had imagined.

Originally, because of the "lucky coin," David Mills had temporarily borrowed an office in a small building in the academy for detaining, questioning, or treating relevant personnel who had been "contaminated."

Now the small building is even more lively than before. In addition to the original twenty or so "contaminated" personnel, Wayne's roommates are also temporarily placed here.

Coupled with the clergy and medical staff of the church, it's crowded, almost bursting at the seams.

The average condition of the previous batch of people was originally slightly better, but after that Mrs. Lalaurie died, the degree of "contamination" on them suddenly worsened. Some fell directly into a coma, and some fell asleep and haven't woken up yet.

Those students rescued from the dormitory fire were relatively simple, and none of them have opened their eyes to this day.

The church is mainly a bit hesitant. Mild purification methods didn't seem to work, but "heavy doses" worried that the students couldn't handle it.

After all, the students in the academy, in a sense, are considered the so-called "chosen ones," talent resources of the local area and even the entire America.

Hearing that Wayne had a way to try, David Mills had people use curtains to create a relatively closed space in front of a hospital bed.

He chose a patrolman from the academy for Wayne and the others to experiment on.

Miss Ovelia used her Awakened ability, closed her eyes, and covered her hand on the other person's forehead, and then almost instantly took half a step back and retracted her hand.

"What's wrong?" Wayne and Inesa asked.

"There are black shadows in his 'house' that I saw in my dream..."

Miss Ovelia frowned slightly, thinking about stretching her hand towards the other person's forehead again, "I'll try to see if a 'ghost' can deal with 'black shadows' in someone else's territory."