novelraw Chapter 368-1: Guidance Bookmark, Asad’s Hidden Location (1)
Chapter 368-1: Guidance Bookmark, Asad’s Hidden Location (1)
Although Lin Xun regarded the Librarian’s true body as the prime suspect, he still could not figure out what its motive was.
Why had it suddenly raised the difficulty of the trial, and why, after he cleared the trial, had it still made Flanda and Kim remain on the front line of the war.
At this moment, after the two story characters had returned from clearing the trial, Kim immediately told Lin Xun what had happened during.
As for the request put forward by Nether Prison Wailer Soren, Kim was completely baffled.
Soren had demanded that they find a collateral offspring named Asad and take Asad out of the Sacred Nest.
Information about this collateral offspring had appeared earlier in the Mask Master plot.
The subconscious born from the aura of malice had erased all traces of Asad’s existence, causing everyone to forget it.
The Mask Master had even forgotten where in the Sacred Nest Asad was.
Because Flanda existed detached from the web of consciousness, it could still remember that there was a collateral offspring named Asad.
But the Wet Nurse had many collateral offspring, and Asad was just an ordinary one among them.As the most favored direct offspring, Flanda had never paid particular attention to Asad, only remembering its name and knowing nothing more about this collateral offspring.
[…]
[Flanda shakes its head, indicating that it cannot recall any useful information about Asad.]
[It tells you that although it has not remembered any useful information, it can still analyze some clues from the request Soren made.]
[The Wet Nurse has summoned the offspring from the front line back to the Sacred Nest, yet Soren has remained at the front and refuses to return.]
[This could be explained by saying Soren had long harbored resentment against the Wet Nurse. However, although this explanation seems correct on the surface, in fact it is riddled with holes.]
[No matter how powerful Soren is, it is not a match for the Wet Nurse. Is it not afraid of the Wet Nurse bringing down punishment on it?]
[Unless it knows that the price it would pay for returning to the Sacred Nest is far more terrible than any punishment, and only staying at the front line leaves it a sliver of hope…]
[It does not dare return to the Sacred Nest, because once it goes back, the Wet Nurse, who is currently gestating new offspring, will be able to control its life and death through the web of consciousness. That fear of having all of one’s actions controlled by another is something no one wants to experience.]
[Soren has definitely already learned of the upheaval that occurred in the Sacred Nest.]
[And the reason the two of them were able to survive under Soren’s hand should be that it sensed its former younger sister had broken away from the web of consciousness and become an independent existence, able to move freely within the Sacred Nest without fearing the Wet Nurse’s control over its consciousness…]
[So Soren did not return to the Sacred Nest in person, but instead sent the two of them to accomplish some unspeakable objective on its behalf…]
[Kim suddenly sees the light and mutters that so that is how it is, it has understood.]
“What did you understand?”
Lin Xun could not help spitting out a comment.
The information they had inferred so far could explain Soren’s behavior, but its intention was still a complete mystery.
He knew that Asad had already become a half-dead malice creature, perhaps ‘malice plant’ would be a more fitting description.
Why had this seemingly unimportant collateral offspring drawn Soren’s attention, and for what reason did Soren want to take it out of the Sacred Nest.
There was definitely a secret hidden in Asad. If they could find this collateral offspring, they might be able to figure out Soren’s intentions.
However, the three of them did not know where Asad was. The Sacred Nest was simply too vast, and trying to find a single person within it was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.
When it came to location information, Flanda did at least provide a slight clue.
The residences of the offspring were assigned according to their strength or how favored they were. The closer they were to the ninth layer at the center of the Sacred Nest, the stronger the offspring or the more important their status in the Wet Nurse’s mind.
Asad was an insignificant collateral offspring, and its residence was most likely on the sixth layer of the Sacred Nest.
If its strength was comparatively high, it was not impossible that its residence had been promoted to the seventh layer of the Sacred Nest.
The three of them were currently on the seventh layer, and the best way to quickly find Asad would be to split up and search…
[The Librarian slips a hand into his robe and takes out a bookmark, which he hands to you. He tells you that this is the reward for the two story characters clearing the trial.]
[You have obtained Guidance Bookmark x1]
[Guidance Bookmark (item): The most important thing in the world is not where you are, but which direction you are heading in. Using this item, you can randomly open a hidden location within the chapter you are in and learn its exact position.]
The moment Lin Xun saw this bookmark he had never seen before, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
“So that is how it is. This is probably the reason the administrator’s true body had the two story characters continue taking part in the trial.”
He felt that he had seized on some key piece of information.
The administrator, who never interfered with the Apostles’ game flow, had suddenly intervened in the trial. It had seemed to greatly increase the trial’s difficulty and had screwed him over once, but in reality that was not the case.
Through the follow-up content of the trial, he had learned important clues about the storyline and had even obtained a clearly supportive item like the Guidance Bookmark.
The administrator true body’s meaning could not be more obvious.
Without hesitation, Lin Xun clicked to use the Guidance Bookmark. Even before using this item, he had already faintly guessed where the bookmark would lead.
[You have used Guidance Bookmark!]
[…]
[You have opened the hidden location Asad Sleeping Palace and learned its exact position!]
“So that is really it.”
[The Librarian tells you that he has already completed his mission and that it is time to say goodbye.]
[There were quite a few unexpected incidents during the trial, but the final result is still not bad…]
[The Librarian waves to bid you farewell, then chants an incantation. His body gradually fades and disappears.]
[With his departure, the layered bookshelves and books in the library vanish along with him, leaving only the three of you in the room.]
[Only the old voice continues to echo… Apostle, may your journey of salvation go more smoothly.]
[Although Flanda cannot see the administrator, it can see the bookshelves disappearing.]
[It asks whether, Oath bearer, the god you believe in has already gone.]
[You nod and tell Flanda that the god has already told you the location of Asad Sleeping Palace. That collateral offspring is not on the sixth layer of the Sacred Nest, but right here on the seventh layer where you currently are.]
[Kim, who had been squeezed at the library door and unable to get in, is overjoyed and hurriedly declares that in that case, what are you waiting for, hurry up and set out. It does not want to break the oath it swore to the Primordial Firefly.]
[You and Flanda leave the library. As you depart, the library and the wooden door vanish behind you.]
[From where the doorframe used to be, you can now see only the flesh wall of the Angel Mother Nest, with no trace left of the library…]
[…]
After the three of them left the Angel Mother Nest, Lin Xun followed the Cursed game’s prompt and headed toward the location of Asad Sleeping Palace.
Compared to the outermost layers, the seventh layer of the Sacred Nest had a much smaller area, but it still had the scale of a large city. The group traveled for quite some time before arriving at their destination.
[…]
[The building before you stands tall like the surrounding tower-shaped residences and is the most common architectural style on the seventh layer of the Sacred Nest. Nothing about it appears in the least unusual.]
[Yet the Asad Sleeping Palace you sense lies within this tower.]