Chapter 21: The Grimoire
What Luo Jian never realized was that the moment he escaped from the chamber, the freezing seawater surged into the hold of the ship. The Stalker calmly closed his eyes in the icy waters, bracing himself for the inevitable suffocation that would soon end his life, silently awaiting his rebirth.
Luo Jian was roused by the chilly, slippery sensation coming from his wrist. He dazedly opened his eyes and sluggishly lifted his hand. He saw a small black snake with white stripes coiling around his arm, squirming around every now and then and rattling its tail. It was, frankly, unpleasant waking up to this snake slithering all over him.
He instinctively recoiled in fright, and he immediately wanted to fling the snake off his wrist, but just when he tugged on the snake’s tail, Luo Jian gave up on doing so. This snake nearly saved his life. In fact, it pulled Luo Jian away from death’s doorstep, and Luo Jian was extremely grateful for that.
Moreover, when Luo Jian stared at it, he couldn’t help but think of the Stalker for some reason. He remembered his earnest expression as he wrapped the little snake around his wrist, his beautiful eyes full of gentleness.
Luo Jian suddenly felt a strange pang in his heart. He rose from his bed and found he was still wearing the same clothes he had fallen asleep with. The military knife was inserted properly into its sheath, as if it had never been touched at all.
But there was an additional item located near his pillow. Luo Jian furrowed his brows and reached for the notebook that was placed at the edge of his pillow. It was the same notebook he had found on the ghost ship. The convict’s English notes were all smudged and faded, and the notebook was coa.r.s.e. Luo Jian remembered that he’d put the journal inside his pocket, but he never expected he’d actually be able to take it out of the chamber.
The boss had stated that all sorts of items from the chamber couldn’t be brought into the real world; but the only exceptions to this were special items. Of course, you couldn’t actually distinguish between a special item and an ordinary one, and n.o.body would actually tell you which items could be taken out of the chamber or which items could not. At those times, you needed to rely on your luck and intuition.
Special items, obviously, had special effects, but what those unique abilities were could only be discovered by yourself. These particular items could also be traded with other players; the items that you didn’t need could be exchanged for those that you did. This was the chambers’ exclusive barter system.
Luo Jian opened the notebook. As before, he couldn’t make sense of this messy English handwriting. Luo Jian helplessly shook his head, tossed the journal on the desk, got up from his bed, and went to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of water. Then, he caught sight of new note on the refrigerator, the graceful cursive writings flowed naturally on the piece of paper:
【Dear Mr. Luo Jian,】
【Congratulations, once again, on your successful return to reality. Your strength and wisdom have proven your worth, and you already have the qualifications to be referred to as a ‘senior’. Now, go forth and claim your reward! Your prize is in your closet.】
【P.S. Do pay attention to the time. Don’t forget that the appointed day is ten days later.】
【Regards, I wish you the best of luck!】
Luo Jian set the note aside, walked back into the bedroom, and opened his closet. He swept his eyes across the numerous clothes that were arranged inside, then sneered, “After getting the weapon, I get an outfit?”
There was an extra set of clothes that shouldn’t have appeared in his wardrobe, and it was breath-taking. It was a suit that looked somewhat similar to the Stalker’s sleek black combat uniform, except the colors on his were deep blue and black. It included a hooded robe, trousers, and even thick boots and tactical gloves. The b.u.t.tons on the waistband just so happened to be the perfect match to Luo Jian’s weapon. It was easy to fasten his sheath on it, and there were plenty of pockets, more than enough to carry several items.
Luo Jian pulled on the cloth. It felt very strong and it could most likely keep him warm. It didn’t seem like it’d be torn easily, or rather…perhaps this outfit was also similar to the players, where the cloth would automatically repair itself even if it were damaged once the player left the chamber and returned to the real world?
Luo Jian was still mulling over his new equipment, when his cell phone on the table rang. He took a look at the caller ID and saw that it was Feng Yu Lan, then he sighed in relief. When he had escaped from the chamber, he clearly remembered that he was dragging Ah Lan along with him as he swam, but even then, Luo Jian felt ill at ease. But the phone call at this moment proved that nothing had happened to Feng Yu Lan. The heavy anxiety that burdened his heart suddenly dissipated.
“Ah Lan, what’s up, is everything okay? Where are you?” Luo Jian looked outside at the sky. It was early morning and the day was bright.
“I’m still in the hospital.” Feng Yu Lan cried pitifully on the other end of the phone. He began pouring his grievances to Luo Jian, “When I returned, I found that the wound on my waist came back! It hurts!”
Luo Jian grinned silently, “You just lie down, darling. I’ll go over to the hospital a little later and see you. I’m buying breakfast on the way, what do you want to eat?”
“Ah Jian, have we really returned?” Feng Yu Lan was still unsure on whether he’d truly came back to reality, so he repeatedly questioned Luo Jian.
“Stupid, ah, doesn’t the wound hurt? Isn’t that enough proof that you’ve returned?”
Feng Yu Lan took a deep breath on the other end and replied, “Then I’ll hang up. The nurse is checking the rooms. You have to visit me!”
“Ah! Wait!” Luo Jian’s exclaimed, preventing Feng Yu Lan from hanging up, and added, “Look around at conspicuous areas. Is there a note? Newcomers usually receive a weapon as their prize from their first chamber experience. Look for it.”
After ending the phone call with Feng Yu Lan, Luo Jian relaxed his body and reclined on the bed. He finally climbed back up and tried on his new outfit. The clothes fit his body well; they were tailored just for him, and he didn’t feel uncomfortable wearing these clothes. Dressed in his new uniform, Luo Jian strutted around his room a few times. He also took a few handsome selfies. Soon after, he changed back into his usual attire, he specifically picked out a long-sleeved shirt to cover the small snake curled around his arm, and then he happily left his house.
At another end, Feng Yu Lan also found a printed card on his hospital bed:
【Dear Mr. Feng Yu Lan,】
【The thrilling novice trial has come to an end. You have gained a precious companion, and you will also receive the reward you deserve. Your prize is inside the cabinet near your bed. You can choose to take it or you can even choose to give it up, but doing so may affect your chances of survival. Please consider your options very carefully.】
【P.S. The next appointed date is ten days from tonight. Please stay healthy and sleep well.】
【Regards, I wish you the best of luck!】
After Feng Yu Lan finished reading the note, he bent over to search through his bedside cabinet. His movements awakened the other patient; the snoring uncle mumbled a few words, turned over, then fell back asleep. This gave Feng Yu Lan a great fright. He had just escaped from the chamber, but he still hadn’t broken free from his instinctive wariness. Even the slight sound of the gra.s.s and leaves swaying in the breeze made Feng Yu Lan jittery.
Trembling, Feng Yu Lan cautiously opened the drawer of his bedside cabinet, and he soon discovered there was one item that shouldn’t have been there in the first place…it turned out to be a book!
How could it be a book? Didn’t Jian say it was a weapon? Feng Yu Lan was baffled. He picked up the object and turned it over in his hand. The book was extremely thick, like two Chinese dictionaries1 stacked on top of each other; and it wasn’t just thick, but it was wide as well. It was practically a large encyclopedia! Logically speaking, a huge book such as this should be very heavy, but when Feng Yu Lan weighed it in his hands, he was surprised. The book was abnormally light, as if he wasn’t holding anything in his hand; it wasn’t any heavier than a feather.
The book was wrapped in thick leather; there were no designs or fonts on the faded-blue cover. Feng Yu Lan flipped to the first page, but much to his annoyance, he found that the contents in this book were unreadable!
In actuality, it wasn’t necessarily incomprehensible, but Feng Yu Lan had no idea how to describe it. The text was written in a language that Feng Yu Lan had never learnt before. He could somewhat understand the characters that he read, but only each individual word was understandable to him. When the words were combined, he couldn’t understand anything. It was like he was reading indecipherable hieroglyphics2; it filled Feng Yu Lan’s heart with awe and veneration, but his mouth would endlessly spit out curses.
“Of everything out there, my weapon’s a book?”
This reminded Feng Yu Lan of the time when he used the logbook to send the monster flying. Maybe because of that, the chamber decided the weapon that suited him best was a book? But what could he even do with a book? Continue to send monsters flying like before? This was an utter joke3!
Feng Yu Lan was really depressed. He flipped through the pages again and again. The handwritten characters in this book were messy, illegible, and densely scrawled over the place. Feng Yu Lan had been flipping through the pages the entire time, and, from beginning to end, this was the only type of handwriting that appeared. He finally turned to the very last page when, at last, he spotted something different.
At the very end of the last page, there were two sentences written in plain Chinese:
【I solemnly dedicate this tome to you, Mr. Feng Yu Lan, who is the purest successor of the grimoire.】
【In order to seal the contract, you must spill your blood.】
“What’s this mean?” Feng Yu Lan repeatedly looked at those two sentences, but they still left him confused. What’s a grimoire successor? And what did it mean when it said he needed to spill his blood in order to seal the contract? Was this that so-called mixing blood4?
Wait? Mixing blood?
Feng Yu Lan realized something. He took the fruit knife from the bedside cabinet near him and created a tiny incision on his index finger; a bead of dark blood appeared. Feng Yu Lan smeared the blood from his sore finger on the page. In all honesty, he had originally wanted to use the blood from the injury at his waist. After all, it was already available; he didn’t need to cut himself with the knife. But the wound was bandaged with gauze, so if he unwrapped it, the nurse would eventually find out, and there was no doubt that he’d be mercilessly scolded.
Therefore, in order to avoid being reproached by the nurse, Feng Yu Lan reluctantly had to p.r.i.c.k his finger. The blood was marked on the page, and he watched as the page absorbed the drop like a sponge. And yet, he still didn’t see any changes in the book. As before, the contents inside were still messy and nonsensical; they were ancient Greek to him. He still couldn’t make any sense of what he was reading.
“You’re kidding me5!” Feng Yu Lan flicked his middle finger, directing a vulgar gesture of contempt at the magic tome.
Just when he finished gesturing, something incredibly bizarre happened. The book suddenly tore away from Feng Yu Lan’s hands and floated in the air a couple of centimeters above Feng Yu Lan’s palms. The pages were magically turning by themselves! Feng Yu Lan saw that the indecipherable characters in this book seemed to have come to life; as if they had their own minds, they wouldn’t stop shifting across the pages! In the end, the characters were combined one by one, and a sentence soon formed on the page. It was neither Chinese nor English. In fact, it wasn’t a language that Feng Yu Lan had learnt before. Nevertheless, he automatically understood this sentence when he saw it:
【I’m not kidding you!6 】
Feng Yu Lan looked at this single phrase, and the expression on his face suddenly froze.