novelraw Chapter 202: Holy Artifact
Chapter 202: Holy Artifact
"Sir Book?"
Jasmine glanced at the quaint book floating in midair. At this moment, she seemed to feel that the book without a human body slightly raised its head in midair, as if to prove its nobility and extraordinary nature.
Jasmine was considering whether this book named "Eimhart" was like what was said in novels, where a wizard used dark sorcery to seal the soul of a true Earl into this book, and then he needed a giant frog to kiss this book in order to release Sir Book's freedom anew...
Well, this was probably a story about a book prince and a frog princess.
But Fisher carefully looked at the book in front of him. The book's cover seemed to have experienced the tempering of time but didn't have the slightest wrinkle, not a speck of dust. That anthropomorphic eye blinked continuously. Unfortunately, it had no eyelashes. In this pitch-black library, it was like a scene from a horror movie.
"You are a Relic?"
Yes, Fisher determined that the book in front of him wasn't fundamentally a living creature, but a Relic crafted with extremely profound techniques.
"Ah, Relic... right, you juniors like to call these magical creations, whose manufacturing methods are unknown, by this name, as if they are gifts handed down from ancient times. Yes, the esteemed Sir Book Eimhart is a Relic, if you like calling me that."
He swayed his body in midair, and the pages stretched out again like an accordion.
"However, I still prefer the original name given to us by our esteemed creators, Enolomba... Uh, this is the language of the Holy Progeny. Translated into Naris Language, it means 'Divine Creation'; using 'Holy Artifact' is more appropriate.""Holy Artifact?"
"Exactly, a long-lost Mythic technique. But I also don't know how I was created... After all, you know, what person would know exactly how they were created? Especially when you're still a book..."
Jasmine opened her mouth but didn't point out the fact that this book had referred to itself as a "person."
And Fisher beside them had basically confirmed through the conversation that the strange book before him had no malicious intent towards their group. After this, he changed his tone and asked about Eimhart's intentions,
"If you are an extremely precious Relic, how could you appear here? In a human royal library, instead of some well-preserved ruin?"
"Well, I don't have any special hobbies; I just particularly like to record the contents of all the books in the world completely. Oh, speaking of this, I have always been pondering whether the reason I love books so much is because I naturally like them, or if it was a setting installed in me by the great Holy Progeny when they created me?"
"After awakening, I have drifted throughout the world, reading various kinds of books. Coming to this library was a matter of decades ago. As of now, I have finished reading all the books here... Oh, originally I only intended to sleep well here for a few months before leaving and heading to the next place with a collection of books. I didn't expect to encounter such a good thing tonight..."
Sir Book floated continuously in midair, slowly flying over to Fisher's side, constantly circling around him.
"I feel it, you have two extremely profound books on you! Right? Am I right?! Good heavens, it has been so long since I've smelled such fragrant books. They must certainly record many earth-shattering great secrets? About the Chaos-kin? Demon-kin? Or... about that unmentionable vocabulary word?"
As the book got closer and closer to him, that drake-like male voice grew quieter and quieter. Just as he was about to get close to his ear, Fisher grabbed him in his hand, causing that eye open on the book cover to blink at him.
"Unmentionable vocabulary word?"
"Oh, so it isn't? Then I'm even more curious! Please, I just want to read the contents of those two books and then record them down. It has been a long time since I've smelled such an enticing scent of knowledge. Even these books collected by the Godolin royal family taste like wax to me. I'm begging you, kind-hearted human, let me read the contents inside."
His drake-like voice sounded both awful and pitiful, but Fisher faintly sensed that the enticing books this book spoke of were the Completion Handbooks in his inner pocket.
The two handbooks at his chest became slightly warm. This was the first time someone other than himself had noticed the existence of the Completion Handbooks, because normally, even if those two Completion Handbooks were brought out, others couldn't see them.
Could it be that the constitution of people and Relics is quite different?
Or was it because Eimhart himself was fundamentally a book?
"Fisher doesn't have any books on him. Could your nose be blocked, or did you sleep too long and become stupid?"
Jasmine and Fisher had swum over together. From her perspective, Fisher was completely soaked from head to toe, and she hadn't seen the shape of any books. Furthermore, even if he brought them, those two handbooks would have been completely soaked, and Fisher would certainly have taken them out to dry.
"No, no! How dare you, little Whale-kin, question my thirst for books? That magnificent scent is like a delicacy sealed under Preservation Magic in an apartment room two streets away; the smell is very, very small... but, very magnificent."
That drake-like voice gave Jasmine goosebumps, especially after the word "magnificent" came out, making one feel even more uncomfortable.
Fisher glanced at the book in his hand. After thinking for a second, he suddenly spoke up,
"I do indeed have two magical books, and I can also show you their contents, but this isn't without a price."
"Oh, a transaction... exactly, you Naris people love transactions the most, and you're also good at using a small number of bullets to exchange for a vast amount of gold from the Demi-human Races of the Southern Continent. Alright, propose your requirement and let Sir Book consider it."
The book floated up again and looked at Fisher as it said this.
"Let's do a knowledge exchange. Use the contents you've comprehensively recorded to exchange for the contents of my two books."
"What?! An exchange? Truly not knowing one's insignificance. Do you know how much content is recorded inside my body, how many precious books there are? The information inside just a single page would require your impoverished brain to run at full speed for a whole year. Even if I wanted to exchange, how are you going to record them?"
Fisher smiled faintly, waving his finger, and said,
"Of course I can't record them down. So let's change the transaction method... One book in exchange for one year of time, two books for two years. During these two years, you must follow me at all times and answer every question I ask you. Once the two-year period is up, regardless of how many questions you've answered for me, I will display the contents of the two books to you so you can record them."
"Oh!!!"
The moment Eimhart heard Fisher's "charitable terms," he was so excited that his entire book flew up, spinning around in midair like a small butterfly.
"Time, ah, is such a precious thing to humanity. Two years can already be considered a long time. Fine, I can promise you, but before that, why don't we perfect the specific transaction details between us? I also need you to swear a Blood Oath."
It seemed this book knew a great deal about many things in this world, including how to constrain humans to abide by their promises.
"Okay, but a Blood Oath can only restrict me, it cannot restrict a conscious Relic like you."
"Oh, not necessarily. After all, I haven't tried whether a Blood Oath can extract my life force... But actually, you don't need to worry, because I'll be the first to pay the compensation of answering your questions, right?"
Fisher chuckled lightly and nodded, signaling for him to add supplementary terms.
"Well, you can ask me any question at any time and under any circumstance within the two years, and I must truthfully answer you everything I know. However, I don't guarantee that every question has an answer. As long as I really don't know... and sometimes I will give you a little advice based on the answer to the question..."
"Secondly, you must guarantee my safety at all times. I'll remind you first, although ordinary water immersion, burning by fire, and blade damage cannot harm me... but if you dare to use me as a shield, pillow, or the like, don't blame me for turning hostile!"
"One last thing, during the period I follow you, if you encounter any books I haven't seen before, you must record them for me. In return, I will extend our transaction time to a certain extent based on the situation, or additionally tell you a little something you haven't asked me... How about it? Do you agree or not?"
"Sounds like it just makes up for your shortcoming of not having legs."
"Hah, actually I am capable of running quite far too; it's just very troublesome for me. Of course, you can also stay put in a small house in Saint-Nazareth forever... I'm just saying, if you come across books I haven't read. And I don't want to read all books; they must be interesting. Don't show me any peach-colored romance novels from the street; show them to this little Whale-kin girl beside you instead."
Jasmine's small face blushed red, because she suddenly recalled the third-rate romance novel Milika had shown her before, which also featured lifelike line-art illustrations, telling the story of female students secretly encountering male professors who taught them at night.
Ah... this was simply too shameful...
Ignoring Jasmine, whose two ears had begun to fan again, Fisher readily agreed to Sir Book's transaction terms. Then, he stretched his hand toward Sir Book, bit his finger until it bled, and charted an [Oath] prime magic crest on the ground, which was the Blood Oath.
In truth, the structure of the Blood Oath was the simplest, but simultaneously the most ancient. This involved knowledge of human magic history, which could be elaborated on when the opportunity arose later.
However, you would know from the fact that Blood Oath magic was among the first magics used by humans that in ancient times, there was basically no trust between people. To ensure others would abide by their promises, people could only use this simple and crude method.
Besides attack magic, Blood Oath magic had been passed down continuously to the present day, and there were also many allusions related to the Blood Oath.
Fisher's hand movements didn't stop. Within a short time, a ring-shaped Blood Oath magic was charted out. The moment it took form, streaks of mist carrying a bloody smell writhed and vaporized upwards, swiftly surging into Fisher's body like illusory chains, flowing along with his blood vessels.
Actually, that faint mist had also correspondingly flowed into Eimhart's body, but Fisher didn't know if this could imprison a Relic. However, just as he said, it was him paying the compensation first, answering Fisher's questions first.
"Deal, young man! I hope we have a pleasant time getting along during this period. I feel that my temper is quite decent; I can be considered the one with the best temper among conscious Relics. Alright, alright, starting from now, Sir Book Eimhart will say everything he knows to you. If you have any questions, hurry up and ask me, make good use of the time, oh..."
Fisher first raised his brow, thinking of the differences between this Sir Book and other Relics. Thus, he opened his mouth and asked the first inconsequential question, as a bit of groundwork,
"For so many years, I've only ever seen you as a conscious Relic. Are you that special one? Or rather, are conscious Relics actually more advanced than those without consciousness?"
Sir Book puffed out his chest, though this made his entire book body tilt significantly, looking somewhat comical.
"That's natural, otherwise why would my title be so esteemed? Actually, all Holy Artifacts are tools forged by the Holy Progeny. The Holy Progeny possess unparalleled forging techniques and aesthetics. Even the vessels they used in their daily lives were exquisitely beautiful beyond description, let alone their true bodies."
"The more time spent, the more precious the materials used, and the more profound the forging techniques, the more likely it is to forge a conscious Holy Artifact like me. However, for so many years, I have only encountered one Relic similar to myself... Presumably, there are still many sleeping in unknown corners..."
Eimhart was indeed answering Fisher's questions honestly. At least from Fisher's perspective, he was not lying and had even popularized a lot of content that was not common knowledge.
Since he could mostly confirm the truthfulness of this fellow's words, Fisher also needed to get down to business next. For this guy to have stayed here for these past few decades, he definitely knew how to enter Black's Treasury. This was the question that truly addressed the pressing matter at hand.
"There is an entrance here leading to Black's Treasury, right?"
"Exactly! Captain Black Vassili, oh, a legendary figure, but now a pitiful individual bewitched by eternal life. Decades ago, he set up the entrance leading to his treasury right here. It is an entrance ring constructed from magic, leading to the extreme depths underground right below Lake Naris. Actually, he first excavated the treasury deep underground before coming here to position the entrance."
Sir Book floated to the front of the second-floor railing and saw Anna and Xi Yate there. It turned out they had always been sitting there silently listening to Fisher and the others' conversation.
"Magic? I didn't feel any traces of magic power here..."
"That's because the time hasn't arrived yet. You can only open this entrance after sunrise. The specific method is to manipulate the glass in the sky. There are eight panes in total; you need to open four of them to awaken the entrance's traces for them to appear."