Secret World of Occultists-Chapter 51: Living Conditions

By the time Abel was done with his training, it was already six in the evening.

After Hugh and George found out that Abel would abosrb whatever they taught to him, they doubled down on the training regimen.

Now, he was feeling sore all over his body.

"Ugh!" He groaned, moving his arms around as he walked down Highfield Street. "Fuck! Those guys are ruthless!"

Even though it was only his first time ever practicing combat training, or even strength training for that matter, they trained him for six hours straight.

Despite all the soreness in his body, however, Abel had a smile on his face.

In his past life, he couldn’t even walk. In this one, he was able to do all sorts of things. Thus, he was immensely grateful for all these little things that he got to experience.

To be able to live again was the greatest blessing of all.

He retrieved his pocket watch from his waistcoat’s pocket, flipped it open, and checked the time. "It’s already 6:30 pm."

He then looked at the sky which was still very bright and murmured, "This is going to take some time getting used to."

During summer, the sun set close to 10:00 pm at night. Newport was situated in the northeastern part of Albion and had long summer days.

As he walked towards his flat, his expression gradually turned grave and he thought to himself, Now that the spirit energy has completely settled down inside my body, I should go check out the mirror world once again!

The last time he visited the mysterious mirror world was also the first time.

It was last Friday. He thought it unwise to explore the dark area past the door. He was waiting for today when his spirit energy completely assimilated with his body.

Now, he felt more prepared.

I wonder if I’ll be able to traverse that dark place... Right, it was pitch black out there. Should I carry a lantern with me this time?

Yeah, perhaps a cane as well. Just in case...

I can’t wait to get a gun permit, he thought.

Only then would I truly feel like an agent of the Ministry!

Right at that moment, a jolly voice entered his ears. "Good evening, lad! Back from a hard day’s work, are you?"

Abel followed the direction of the sound and saw Edwin Harcourt, the owner of the grocery store situated on the groundfloor of the townhouse he had a flat in, holding a wooden crate full of fruits and looking at him with a smile.

"Ah, Mr. Harcourt!" Abel smiled at him. He walked up to him and helped him carry the other wooden crate lying on the ground. "Here, let me help. And yeah, I just got done with work half an hour ago."

"Much obliged, lad. A true gentleman, you are!" Edwin let out a hearty laugh.

After Abel helped place the crate behind the counter inside the store, he looked around curiously, wondering if there was any cooked food he could buy.

"Anything I can fetch for you today?" Edwin asked, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Hmm, sure I’ll get some fruits." Abel nodded, walking back around the counter.

"Anything specific? These apples came in fresh today."

"Ah, sure. Just mix in a bunch of different types."

Edwin mixed in some apples, pears, cherries, and finally some oranges and placed them inside a paper bag. He kept the bag on the counter and smiled, "That will be 7 pence."

"Thank you, sir." Abel took out exactly seven copper coins from his pocket and handed them to the man.

He then looked around the store and asked curiously, "You wouldn’t have a lantern up for sale, would ya?"

"...A lantern?" Edwin frowned. He turned around and gazed at one of the lanterns usually kept at the store. "I do have one, but it’s been in use for a while."

"No worries, I’ll buy it." Abel smiled. He quickly added, "Of course, that is if you’re willing to sell it."

"Well, I don’t mind." Edwin shrugged and he walked towards the back of the store. He grabbed the lantern from the shelf and set it on the counter.

"Bought it for 3 shillings a few months back. Sturdy thing—iron frame, good glass panels. Eh, just repeating what the seller told me."

He thought for a moment before adding, "How about a shilling for it?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"Deal." Abel took out a silver coin from his pockets and handed it to the man. "Alright, thank you, Mr. Harcourt. I’ll catch you later."

He entered the store empty-handed and exited with a bag full of fruits and a second-hand lantern.

Life was full of surprises.

He climbed the stairs to the third floor and briefly glanced at Flat 3B before entering his own flat. Today was the fourth day since he’d shifted to this flat, yet he still hadn’t met his third-floor neighbor.

Well, whatever! I’m not gonna knock on his door just to introduce myself, he thought to himself.

He first placed the bag full of fruits on the table in the main room then immediately entered his bedroom.

After removing all of his clothes and tossing them on the floor, he started filling the tin bathtub that he’d bought from the market over the weekend, with water from the basin atop the washstand.

Everyday he had to make two trips to the water pump in the backyard to carry water in the basin and then bring it back to his flat.

He wasn’t complaining about it, but he did feel slightly annoyed by the fact that the proper water supply and drainage system was so poorly developed in this era.

These sanitation issues led to massive disease outbreaks such as cholera and typhoid. Such diseases were fairly common in Newport, especially in areas where working-class people lived.

In fact, both of Abel’s parents were victims of typhoid fever.

Thinking about it, the youth couldn’t help but sigh to himself. He lay inside the bathtub and closed his eyes as he thought, The living conditions are so bad in those areas.

So many people die every day because of contaminated food and water.

Fuck, if I had an engineering degree or something from my past life, I wonder if I could have done something?

After washing his body, he wore a fresh pair of undergarments, followed by clean trousers and a flat cap. Lastly, he fastened his suspenders.

Then, he grabbed his cane in one hand and the lit-up lantern in the other before walking towards the mirror mounted on the wall.

"Alright, let’s see how it goes this time," he muttered under his breath.

He gently tapped the tip of the cane on the mirror. Then, he closed his eyes and activated his Hallmark.

When he opened his eyes again, he noticed the surface of the mirror had started to ripple outwards, and the cane had started to push through it!

Abel’s eyes lit up as he thought, I see!

As long as I’m in direct contact with an object, I can place it in the world beyond the reflection!

After he’d thrown the cane on the other side of the mirror, he stepped forward and carefully climbed into it, making sure that the lantern in his hand remain steady.

And just like that, he had completely vanished from the real world!