Vol 5: Chapter 6-2.
In the following two days, Zheng practiced using the Book of the Dead. He was fainting less and less until he could finally control the flow of blood energy. They had reached the oasis by this time and restocked their food and water then continued along the river to the next port.
"Take the boat back to Cairo from there, takes about... two days. Then we will board the s.h.i.+p leaving Cairo. Don"t worry, I don"t think that monster will chase us across water." O"Connell laughed as he explained.
O"Connell went through so much shock these two days. The Book of the Dead was merely an antique to them. Perhaps it was valuable as an ancient literature but they never thought it would had such power to summon sandstorms or quicksands or wither all the plants in an area. After Zheng got a hold of the book, he looked like a mage or wizard from legends.
Evelyn also tried to read the book but unlike when Zheng did it, nothing happened. There was no magic or anything else. She did not stop and kept at it for over an hour before she admitted she didn"t have the talent to become a wizard.
Zheng looked at the symbol on his palm in a daze. This sigil emitted a cooling sensation to reduce the heat during the channeling of blood energy through his hand to the book. It had no other effect but it appeared on his palm like a birthmark.
"Zheng? Zheng!"
A voice woke Zheng up. That was when he realized Jie, Zero and everyone else was surrounding him. It was Jie that woke him up and they were looking at him in confusion. "Sorry, my mind was wandering. What were we up to?"
Honglu twirled his hair and said. "The magics in the book are focused around the desert. Though if we are to use it to kill a few people in the city, they would not be so effective. We have also tested several single target spells like corruption. It is powerful but it takes too much energy and also twenty seconds of channeling. That"s enough time for the enemy to run away or attack. The spell also only has a range of 500 to 1000 meters. To be honest, if we can"t cast the spell with proficiency, it is worse than the Gauss sniper rifle."
"So the true value of the book isn"t on its offensive spells but rather supportive spells. Like the one that summons the dead and gives the caster invisibility. Or the one that mixes human ashes with sand to create several guards. These powers are especially important and can change the tide of battle..."
Heng joined the conversation. "Human ashes? Where can we get that?"
Everyone looked at Evelyn. She didn"t give up on the book and was eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time. Although the players were talking in Chinese, a well learned person like her could understand the language. When they looked at her after saying human ashes, her face turned pale and went into defensive mode. "What, what are you trying to do? You going to turn me into ashes?"
O"Connell and Jonathan"s expressions also changed. Zheng immediately waved his hand and laughed. "Don"t worry, how could we do that. As to human ashes, do you still remember what the Americans said in Hamunaptra?"
Evelyn and the other two people said simultaneously. "Dry up the mummy and turn it into firewood... you want to turn a mummy into ashes?"
Zheng thought it was funny that they all said it simultaneously. "Yes, yes. Evelyn you work in a museum right? It shouldn"t an issue to steal one or two mummies. If you can"t do it then ask the curator for us."
Evelyn said loudly. "How is it possible? They are historical relics. Do you know how much they are worth? Each one of them is a story..."
The greedy Jonathan quickly covered his sister"s mouth and said with a smile. "How much are you willing to pay? If you are paying with gold, I can "borrow" some mummies for you. How"s it? Let"s discuss a price."
Zheng and O"Connell shook their heads with a smile. O"Connell coughed and said. "I, ahem, we can help you get the mummies but we have some terms... We don"t need gold but you have to kill that mummy chasing us. I think it isn"t difficult for you since you have the Book of the Dead right?"
Zheng replied seriously. "We are planning to kill it anyway whether you believe it or not. But we need your help, like... we need the Book of Amun-Ra to kill it... We need you to help us find the book."
O"Connell looked at Evelyn and Jonathan. These two people kept giving him signals, one wanted him to refuse stealing the mummies, and the other wanted him to request gold. O"Connell smiled bitterly and moved over to Zheng. Then he held out his hand and said. "Ok! I accept your request. We will help you get the Book of Amun-Ra and you will be responsible with killing the mummy!"
"We will definitely do it... if we don"t die before that..."