novelraw Chapter 342: Can You Not Leave
Chapter 342: Can You Not Leave
In the Northern Border, during the time before the Snow Fox-kin arrived in Mya, Fisher had already made quite a few preparations in advance. Roughly divided into three aspects: reading the Soul Completion Handbook, engraving magic, and communicating with the Slime-kin Kexiening.
Regarding the Soul Completion Handbook, its help to Fisher was actually obvious. Although reading it was relatively dangerous; after that previous obvious terrifying temptation, whenever Fisher read the Soul Completion Handbook, countless illusory whispers would constantly pop up beside his ear. Even if Fisher was already alert in advance, those whispers would occasionally turn into the voices of people familiar to him, similar to Raphaela, Jasmine, and Elizabeth...
Every time he heard it imitating people familiar to him to tempt him, Fisher would immediately stop reading. Evidently, the temptation of these voices upon him was extremely difficult to guard against.
In the Soul Completion Handbook, Caleb Uz's brushstrokes remained like before. These past few days, Fisher had followed him walking all the way within the Dragon Court nation in the Southern Continent. Only within his brushstrokes could Fisher clearly perceive the greatness of the Dragon Court in history. In Caleb's description, the Dragon Court established an extremely perfect centralized management system. Not only did they divide the Southern Continent into a clearly stratified administrative structure, they also established perfect household registration, medical, and educational institutions.
Within the nation of the Dragon Court, the inequality between races became extremely inconspicuous. Situations of multiple races living mixed together were common occurrences. Of course, Caleb Uz, who wanted to search for the path home, didn't find a clear path here. He was still lost, and could only continuously refine his research regarding souls under the guidance of a certain voice in his mind.
"During that period of time, with the help of that strange demon, my understanding of souls deepened day by day. I could profoundly perceive the existence of the Spirit World and see how magic levers that Spirit World. Here, if you are smart enough, I believe you have already discovered a slight problem from my previous statements, which is, exactly what kind of nature is the existence of the Spirit World?"
"Many wise men within the Dragon Court clearly know it to be a bizarre world filled with countless turbid souls. It completely overlaps with our existing Reality. But I want to tell you, the Spirit World does not solely refer to the world of souls. It is the [Deep Layer] of this world, the [Base Color] of this world. Everything you can see is built upon it, yet no man, no god dares to probe deeply into what exactly is inside it..."
"Many ancient legends circulate in the Southern Continent, never lacking the legends and stories of certain gods. I am not speaking of the Fafnir Dragon God. According to the words of the demon I met, although Fafnir had already reached the apex of Ranks, he was still not a True God that transcended Ranks, but rather the creation of a certain powerful god..."
"The gods I speak of are the God of Life Ramastia, the God of Fate Anabatos, the Gate God Dagon, and the God of Forging Ouyun. You will find that although They are all powerful beyond description with words, each wielding the fundamental Rules for the operation of this world, there has never been a single god possessing the Divine Authority to encroach upon the Spirit World... Even Dagon, who is closest to the Spirit World, merely acts as The Gate separating Reality and the Spirit World. They cannot set foot in the Spirit World; that is an absolute prohibition."
"The President's research is even deeper than mine. There is none who can match her attainments in this knowledge. She is renowned for her powerful magic. Although it sounds like there is a huge gap in level between it and the knowledge of other paths, to a certain extent, magic can also be understood as the Spirit World's Resonance towards the world. The knowledge researched by the President is entirely about the Spirit World. Then why can the commotions caused by the Spirit World make the real world emit such violent fluctuations?""Here, I propose two points of conclusion for readers to discuss and reference. They are not guaranteed to be entirely correct, because I too have not entered the Spirit World. The conditions for entering there are harsh. First, one must overcome the constraints of 'The Gate', and one must also have sufficient ability to survive within it. Few living beings in this world can achieve this. Therefore, I hope you do not enshrine the conclusions I give as truths; after all, I have also not reached The Ultimate of truth yet."
"Conclusion One: the Spirit World does not operate according to the Rules of the current world, because those gods who wield and create the world's Rules also cannot set foot in the Spirit World; that place is an absolute forbidden zone to gods. Conclusion Two: the Ultimate of truth may be hidden within the Spirit World. We who created the handbooks in the Creator's Society all clearly feel that the whispers guiding us stem from the Spirit World. Furthermore, the more you research, the more you will discover that this knowledge is incompatible with the existing world, transcending the Rules of Order established by those gods..."
"The paths of everyone in the Society ultimately point towards that Vague and Illusory Spirit World. I always believe that my hope of returning home lies precisely there. It sounds laughable; actually, with so many years having passed, I have almost forgotten the appearances of my wife and daughter, yet I always feverishly yearn to return home. It's possible the knowledge I studied has tempted me, or it's possible the companions in the Society have infected me. Regardless, I already have no road to turn back."
"I have roughly finalized the plan to head to the Spirit World to search for truth and find the path back home. As the first person in the Society to set out, when I complete this handbook, I will immediately depart and return to the Southern Continent ignited by the mythical war."
"Caleb Uz, left at the end of Chapter Four of the Soul Completion Handbook."
Fisher finished reading Chapter Four of the Soul Completion Handbook. He divided the content of one chapter to be read over five days. Even though this was so, the impact it had on him still shouldn't be underestimated. Firstly, the shape of his Soul had already turned into a shape he completely didn't recognize. In other words, entirely different from humans and the Demi-human Races he had met before. Those twisted yet robust circuits looked like a twisted creation, giving Fisher a headache just looking at it.
At night, this overly strong Soul mass and Spirit World Vision brought him no small amount of trouble. He could often see souls wandering outside; there were those of all kinds of races, retaining their appearances before death. Sometimes he would also feel countless gazes staring at him and whispering, making it difficult for him to sleep at night.
To exchange for the ability to confront Erwind head-on, Fisher had no choice but to do this. With the strength of his Soul right now, his efficiency in engraving magic even far surpassed Teacher Helson. The speed was so fast it made one's hair stand on end...
"Fisher..."
Just as Fisher silently closed the Soul Completion Handbook, a rather familiar voice suddenly transmitted by his ear. That voice was as mellow as fine wine. Just the instant one heard it, one could immediately recall that black-haired Witch who often wore a teasing, wicked smirk.
"Renee?"
Fisher didn't turn his head, because he knew the one opening her mouth to speak to him was a hallucination brought about by reading the Completion Handbook. It's just that this time, it only appeared after he finished reading. This also indicated that the Soul Completion Handbook's impact on him had already begun to spread.
"Ara, long time no see. During the time I left, there wasn't a bad child who didn't miss me, right? Did you think about me properly?"
"No."
"How heartless. I've left for so long, you know? You truly didn't miss me at all?"
Renee's affected crying tone remained the same. If he didn't guess wrong, she must definitely be pretending to cover her face and cry right now, while actually secretly looking at his current reaction through the gaps of her fingers.
"...A little bit."
Now, she should be putting down her hands with a smiling expression. She would poke his body, but the question in her mouth would still be resentful,
"Just a little bit?"
Fisher was amused by Renee's resentful tone. He paused for quite a while before speaking his true thoughts,
"...Very much."
"Hmph hmph, much better."
Unprecedentedly, listening to that familiar female voice by his ear, Fisher still didn't endure the temptation and opened his mouth, even if it was just to hear one more sentence of the other party's voice. Several months had already passed since Renee left Naris. Being without news for so long was something she had never done before. That somewhat ungraspable, illusory feeling had already occupied Fisher's heart, making him somewhat regret letting him leave Saint-Nazareth that day.
He should have been a bit more candid. He shouldn't have let her return to Kadu to search for her home. If, when they parted that day, he told her, "This place will be your home from now on," would she have not left?
"Hoh, how strange. What exactly happened to you? Are you sick? Stressed over your thesis? Or do you lack money? Honestly, when I'm not around, you don't take good care of yourself like this. You're just a big idiot! It feels like you've become less talkative. At times like this, shouldn't you tell me not to annoy you with an impatient face? Or perhaps, you've actually been charmed by my allure into being speechless?"
Hearing the other party's words that seemed like teasing yet also like concern, Fisher opened his mouth. After being silent for a very long time, he suddenly opened his mouth and spoke,
"Renee..."
"Mm-hmm, what is it?"
"...Can you not leave from now on?"
"..."
The illusory voice came to an Abrupt End. The sincere words Fisher hesitated for a long time before speaking received no response from that Witch, because at this moment, his room door was suddenly opened, revealing a foul-faced Heidelin carrying a tray of food and drinks at the doorway, as well as Eimhart standing on her shoulder constantly jabbering,
"I'm telling you, this guy truly has no taste. All day long it's either ladies or demi-humans. I'm so annoyed! I truly never thought Miss Heidelin also liked music so much... Eh? Stinky Fisher, are you engraving magic? Why are the circuits all over your body so bright?"
The interrupted Fisher suddenly felt a bit of anger rise in his heart, because just a little bit more and he seemingly could have gotten that Witch's response. But a second later, he suddenly reacted, his body going stiff. He turned his head to look at Heidelin and Eimhart standing at the doorway, yet didn't see that Witch with the wicked smirk there...
Previously, he used the excuse of engraving magic to have Eimhart look for Heidelin to deliver food to send him away. Otherwise, with Eimhart around, the moment he was about to open the Soul Completion Handbook, he would act like crazy and use his head to slam his head. He was very worried Fisher would be tempted by the knowledge inside or harm his own body, so no matter what was said, he wouldn't let him read the Soul Completion Handbook. These past few days, Fisher had always sent him away to read it secretly.
Fisher stared blankly for several seconds before answering Realizing After the Fact,
"...Mhm, I was engraving magic just now. Many thanks, Miss Heidelin, for specially delivering food for me."
Heidelin placed the food and drinks on Fisher's table and somewhat disgustedly clapped her hands, tossing that square, book-shaped Relic back to Fisher in passing,
"Spare these polite words. I truly hadn't expected the gentlemen of Naris to all be this kind of lazy bum who can't even be bothered to move their asses to eat. I finally managed to take a break and listen to some music, yet this broken book of yours runs over saying you want to eat. Do you want to see what time it is now? Next time if you miss breakfast and lunch because of engraving magic again, you can starve until dinner! ...Don't blame me for being heartless, this is Miss Valentiina's meaning."
Heidelin's originally quite furious words turned tsundere again towards the end. Especially seeing Fisher's somewhat absent-minded state, she seemingly felt embarrassed to make the words 'telling you to eat properly' sound so piercing. Thus, at the end, she stamped firmly with Miss Valentiina's mark.
Although Valentiina indeed worried about his state of not leaving his door for days and engraving magic all day, not hoping he would be so exhausted, whether there was any of Heidelin's own meaning of concern in this was unclear.
Fisher sniffed the food and drinks Heidelin brought over. That alluring fragrance instantly made the gluttonous worms in his stomach riot. He swallowed a mouth of saliva and suddenly realized something a second later. Turning his head, he asked Heidelin,
"You made this meal with your own hands?"
Heidelin hugged her arms and coldly snorted. Pouting, she said,
"Nonsense! At this hour, who else would cook for you? Are you counting on Eldest Miss Valentiina to cook for you?"
Yes, ever since that day she revealed a bit of her bottom line to him, and tentatively expressed a bit of trust towards him, she simply stopped pretending in front of Fisher. That previous appearance of a constantly quiet, smiling maid had long since departed. The current disgusted face, foul temper, plus uninterrupted verbal barrages were the true Heidelin.
"Truly an honor. I hadn't expected to still be able to eat a meal prepared personally by you."
Fisher gripped his knife and fork, his appetite surging as he took several bites of the food on the plate. Heidelin cast a glance at his wolfing down appearance. She unknowingly sighed, and then turned her head to look at the large amount of rings and other items flashing with magic light filling the room. She gasped in amazement,
"Real or fake?! You engraved this much? Are you really human? Herdor engraved for an entire night and only engraved a few! Are you a magic processing machine wrapped in human skin?!"
"See? I told you this guy's magic talent is absurd, right? Even the great Sir Book Artifact has to admit, very few people can rival this guy's attainments in magic."
Eimhart stood on Fisher's shoulder, also somewhat amazed looking at the room full of magic items. Although humans were the originators of using magic, engraving so many, are you going to war?
"These... are still not enough. Give me a few more days, there are still leftovers of the Magic Materials Valentiina gave me."
"Best to spare it. If you keep engraving, I suspect you'll truly die in this room! How long has it been since you went outside to take a look... Moreover, there's no more opportunities either. News came from the family; the Snow Fox-kin will arrive in Mya tomorrow morning! At that time, they will immediately come here. You better properly rest tonight, lest you make Eldest Miss Valentiina negotiate alone tomorrow... Don't forget, you were the one who said you would help her!"
Fisher, who was eating his food, stared blankly for a moment, and only then did he suddenly realize that time had actually passed this long. Originally, he had been researching Slime-kin these past few days, getting his Slime biology progress to nearly the second stage rewards. For the three days after that, he engraved magic every day, then it was sending Eimhart out to handle tasks for him, and then reading the Soul Completion Handbook.
He was as busy as a spinning top. Fisher let out a sigh, swallowing the food in his mouth. He truly ought to properly restore his routine. Preparations were necessary, but even now Erwind still hadn't played any cards. He also wanted to enter the Frost and Snow Parasol Tree, he shouldn't be so quiet. Therefore, Fisher suspected it was highly likely he already knew the method to enter the Frost and Snow Parasol Tree.
Then, did he want to tail him and Valentiina to enter the Frost and Snow Parasol Tree, or did he want to snatch the Sigils himself to enter? Erwind was a Fourteenth-Tier monster; that group of Giant Troll-kin might genuinely be unable to stop him...
Just as Fisher was deep in thought, Heidelin before him suddenly saw something. She hurriedly pointed at Fisher's face, making him startle slightly and touch his own face,
"What's wrong?"
"No, your nose..."
Fisher frowned. Following Heidelin's reminder, he reached out and placed his hand under his nose. When he brought his hand back, a trace of faintly glowing blood already stained it, as if proving the changes in his body.