After hunting the missionary and discovering he had awakened a magnetic field ability, Norton decided to lay low for a while.
After all, disappearing is different from dying accidentally; it might arouse some suspicion from The Church. So he felt it was best to behave himself within the city for a period.
Originally, he thought that since the werewolves had already left, he could leave Rino City anytime, allowing him to recklessly retaliate against The Church without worry.
But last night's encounter made him abandon that idea.
The feeling last night was just too strange. Previously, whenever monsters that wanted to hunt him—be it werewolves or anything else—approached, Norton could always detect them in time using his superhuman five senses to determine the enemy's location and numbers, allowing him to prepare fully.
But last night was completely different. He couldn't sense where the enemy was at all, nor did he know what exactly was trying to hunt him.
He only felt a chill run down his spine, a creepy sensation like watching a horror movie late at night and constantly feeling someone standing behind you, which forced him to leave hastily. From beginning to end, he didn't even know what had set its sights on him.
Compared to last night's encounter, this city permeated with religious atmosphere actually felt safer.
Therefore, Norton decided he should still lay low for a few days, at the very least to try out his newly acquired ability first.
"Flutter flutter..." Coal Ball flew back to the Clock Tower with a whir of wings, then hung itself from Norton's withered, wrinkled skin using its claws.Seeing Coal Ball's much more affectionate posture than before, Norton closed his eyes and tried to activate his newly born, almost instinctual magnetic field.
This new ability was a bit peculiar. It wasn't an active ability but remained a passive one.
Norton, after sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—the five senses—had gained an additional magnetic field sense that radiated out roughly ten meters.
Norton didn't know how to describe this feeling. For now, only the terms 'magnetic field' or 'radar' seemed most appropriate.
This strange magnetic field seemed to involve his body constantly emitting tiny particles outward. These particles would then bounce back after colliding with objects, allowing him to construct a radar-like perception.
Furthermore, much like breathing, it operated on its own when he wasn't paying attention, but he could also control it manually if he wanted.
Oh, right, this is a Central European fantasy world, so this scientific term might have another name: Aura Pressure!
That's right, for now, this thing resembling both radar and a magnetic field seemed to have only this somewhat suitable name.
If His Holiness Adam were standing here now and saw Norton, he would definitely find it very familiar, and then be utterly shocked!
Hey, I know this feeling!
Because he had experienced it before, and it left an extremely deep impression on him, the kind he would never forget his entire life.
That's right, it was the same feeling he had sensed from the Divine Corpse in The Vatican—the terrifying, oppressive aura stemming from a difference in life hierarchy that made him dare not look directly, found horrifying and bizarre upon closer inspection, and that wrenched his heart just by standing before it, even without looking!
Except, with the Divine Corpse, no matter the distance, one glance made his heart uncomfortable.
Whereas Norton's current range was only about ten meters.
His Holiness Adam knew what this was, but Norton did not.
He always felt that this thing he evolved must have significant implications, so he retracted it and then released it again, released it and then retracted it again.
He also tried activating this magnetic field and walked a lap through the slums.
Back and forth, Norton tried it hundreds of times and found it rather useless.
Spreading this thing out was like a radar; it could only locate living creatures within the vicinity and their movement trajectories. Apart from that, it also seemed to carry a slight attention-drawing effect.
Anyway, when he had this activated, any person or animal within the ten-meter range would subconsciously glance in his direction, some even taking several looks, and quite a few even showed startled reactions.
One after another, they looked suspiciously and nervously at Norton's figure—a beggar tightly wrapped in rags.
Although Norton judged from the reactions of the slum dwellers that this magnetic field had a slight intimidation effect, it was completely useless to him right now. In fact, having it active was counterproductive for hiding.
Norton had always taken the stealthy route; he wasn't a berserker!
However, even if it was useless now, that didn't mean it would be useless later. After all, it was an extra skill, free for the taking; no reason not to keep it!
Norton was extremely pleased.
He retracted the extra magnetic field around his body to avoid drawing attention.
But did he get this ability from drinking the church member's blood? Or from feeding meat to the bat? He felt he needed to experiment further.
Norton squatted back down in his original spot, keeping a constant watch on The Church's every move, preparing to strike again after some time to test his experimental hypothesis.
Norton was in high spirits; he felt his luck was starting to turn.
In contrast, Priest Abraham's mood was somewhat sour.
Because he felt... something was a bit off with him.