SWNOVELXO Chapter 751: Who Could He Be?
After hearing this information, reminder, and entrustment, Klein maintained the cold and sharp demeanor characteristic of his Gehrman Sparrow identity on the surface, but his mind was highly focused, and his thoughts became exceptionally swift:
"Sea God" Kalvetua? I heard Danitz say that the natives of the Rorsted Archipelago have always worshipped this evil spirit, believing that this being, often appearing as a giant sea serpent, protects all the islands here, preventing them from being swallowed by earthquakes and tsunamis…
It's about to fall? Did something happen? Could it be related to the female adventurer I met downstairs earlier? Hmm, I had a hunch she wasn't simple when I saw her…
Also, Arrodes also mentioned that I have some kind of characteristic; it was through this that it found me…
Admiral Abyssal Sea in Tingen City also went mad as soon as he saw me… Is this because he saw my characteristic?
But what does it mean "don't let lust dominate your mind"? And what does it mean that there's no problem with Tracy, a demoness? I'm not Huang Tao or Liu Bo; I'm not that casual of a person!
As for the entrustment to give that book to "him"… "He" refers to Liu Bo's new identity, right? But why me? I don't even know him!
As Klein's thoughts raced, Yalolan smiled and added, "The Book of Calamity was found by one of my descendants in the elven ruins on this island. The owner of that ruin was the Elf Queen, 'Calamity' Cohinem."
"This book carries strong contamination. Don't open it casually. My descendant merely glanced at it and already began to 'lose control'… It was only when I showed her and her companion my true appearance that the 'contamination' ceased."
"But you can rest assured, I've put some seals on it. At least, as long as you don't try to understand 'its' content, there won't be any problems."
As expected, it's something caused by that pleasant-looking female adventurer… It seems her low spirits are due to glancing at the Book of Calamity?
Klein recalled the appearance of the adventurous lady he had seen in the downstairs restaurant, pondering the whole situation:
"Why would her taking that Book of Calamity from the elven ruins lead to the 'Sea God' Kalvetua's 'fall'? What's the connection between the two?
Elves… 'Sea God'… According to the ancient god legends given by Little Sun, the ancient god Elf King Soniathrym had authority over the powers now held by the Lord of Storms. This means that among the elves, there were undoubtedly Sequence 3 'Sea Kings,' and even higher Sequence 2s…
Could it be that Kalvetua accidentally discovered an elven ruin at the bottom of the sea, directly devoured a Beyonder characteristic left by a high-ranking elf, and miraculously survived instant death and loss of control to successfully gain demigod status and gradually earn the faith of the Rorsted Archipelago natives?
According to the information he had read while serving as a Nighthawk, direct consumption of Beyonder characteristics or corresponding materials for advancement was not unheard of. Before the potion system was fully established, early humans attempted similar feats to gain extraordinary power, but only the extremely lucky few survived, becoming Beyonders without turning into monsters, madmen, or dying instantly with their flesh and blood disintegrating.
Such attempts had an extremely low success rate; after the potion system was developed, no one was willing to take such a huge risk anymore.
"If that's the case, then after the Book of Calamity was taken, the elven ruin collapsed, causing an anomaly in Kalvetua's hiding place, making it impossible for the barely surviving entity to sustain itself any longer? On the verge of losing control and falling?
If that's the case, I really could go reap some benefits…
But there's still that question… Why would Madam Yalolan entrust the Book of Calamity to me? Can't she go find Liu Bo herself?
Also, this so-called Book of Calamity is very dangerous! Just one glance could lead to 'loss of control'… It's almost comparable to some demon book incidents handled by Red Gloves!
The elves of this world are indeed not the forest and sea dwellers, skilled cooks, and nature-lovers depicted in novels of my past life…
That's right, according to Little Sun's description, the eight ancient gods before the Cataclysm were all very tyrannical, cruel, and evil, and this included Elf King Soniathrym… Although this might be defamation after the 'Ancient Sun God's' victory, just thinking about the equally 'fallen' and 'mad' 'True Creator' and the 'God of Death' during the War of the Four Emperors, the difference wouldn't be too great…
If gods at the pinnacle of the Sequences are like this, the Beyonders below them would naturally be affected, likely not much better off… Hmm, after those ancient gods fell, they might gradually shed their negative influences and eventually become more normal…
As his thoughts raced, Klein didn't reach for the yellowish-brown parchment book. Instead, he unhooked the pendulum from his cuff and performed a divination:
"There is danger in picking up this book."
Yalolan did not stop him. She watched, seemingly sighing with emotion, and said, "I'll praise you again; truly a cautious young man! If my descendant had half your caution, I wouldn't have had so much to worry about… Unfortunately, perhaps due to her elven bloodline, her actions are always reckless, although that bloodline gives her a 'destiny' with many elven legacies…"
On the other side, Klein, after receiving a "negative" result, still didn't rashly pick up the Book of Calamity. Instead, he asked the question that had been on his mind in an uninflected tone:
"Why do you want me to transfer it to 'him'? How are you sure I can meet him? Given your relationship with him, wouldn't it be safer for you to deliver it personally?"
Madam Yalolan didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head, casting her gaze through the window towards the crimson sky, and then said with a touch of melancholy, "Compared to you, the chances of him coming to find me first are very small… And unless he voluntarily appears, it's difficult for me to find him…"
Why do these words sound so much like a classic "love triangle" trope?… But Liu Bo does seem very confident that other fellow transmigrators will appear; otherwise, he wouldn't have 'acquiesced' to people who could read Chinese knowing him later… From this perspective, the chances of him finding me are indeed significant, just like when he was the 'Seal of Calamity,' he went to great lengths to get close to Roselle.
However, Liu Bo not actively seeking out old "friends" probably also stems from him not having fully recovered his memories… After all, the "Seal of Calamity" said that he would only remember everything once he became Sequence 1.
Relieved, Klein no longer stalled. He knew very well that from the very beginning, he had no room to bargain in this matter. No matter how amiable the other party's attitude was, she was a high-Sequence powerhouse whose level he couldn't even discern. Her will was probably beyond refutation.
But he still habitually borrowed the tiger's prestige, asking, "I will temporarily 'sacrifice' the Book of Calamity to Mr. Fool to avoid 'contamination'… Once I find him, I will then request Mr. Fool to 'bestow' it… How does that sound to you?"
"The Fool?" Yalolan looked him up and down upon hearing this, then arched her eyebrows and nodded with a smile, "That's acceptable."
I wonder if I bluffed her… The 'mist' on this lady's face prevents me from discerning her true thoughts…
Thinking this, Klein finally reached out and took the Book of Calamity.
It felt heavy in his hand, but there were no other anomalies. Klein secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, a full-body "purification" with a "paper angel" for himself later would also be essential.
Seeing him accept the entrustment, Yalolan nodded in satisfaction. Then, she took out a golden leaf from her pocket and, with a slight upturn of her lips, said, "I can't let you help for free either… This leaf is a magical item. Just blow on it, and you can summon my 'messenger'."
"If you encounter any trouble, you can write to me, and I will help you once without charge… Of course, if it's too dangerous, I might not come, but I'll avenge you afterward or try to rescue your spirit."
"Hmm, you can also use some little-known stories to exchange for 'knowledge' from me in your daily life."
If it's too dangerous, you don't need to save my spirit; just come collect my corpse and try to ensure it's intact! Klein mocked himself. His face remained expressionless, but his heart leaped as he accepted the golden leaf.
A strong support has actively extended itself; I can't let it slip away! This counts as another life assurance for him, besides Mr. Azik.
"Alright, I have nothing else to do. I won't disturb your rest… Good night, Mr. Gehrman Sparrow." With that, her figure transformed into moonlight and vanished.
Klein held the golden leaf and the Book of Calamity and waited for a while before carefully getting out of bed in an awkward posture and heading straight to the room's washroom.
He had drunk quite a bit of beverages last night and went to bed too early, so he had been feeling uncomfortable from holding it in. He just hadn't dared to ask Madam Yalolan to go to the washroom earlier.
Don't let her constant smiles and gentle demeanor fool you; Klein's intuition told him that her mental state was deeply troubled, giving him the feeling that she could erupt at any moment… The mist on her face was probably set up to seal that very state!
"She's so eager to find Liu Bo; perhaps there's a reason related to this… Hmm, the Book of Calamity might just be a tool to find someone? Liu Bo has some connection to this book, so she thinks that as long as I hold this book, I'll definitely encounter him?"
Klein pondered, narrowing his eyes and relieving the pressure on his lower abdomen.
Everything done, he pulled up his trousers, washed his hands, and went back to sleep for a while. He only opened his eyes when it was almost dawn, sealed the room with his spirituality, and then took the golden leaf and the Book of Calamity above the gray fog.
Sitting in the "Fool's" position, Klein first held the golden leaf before his eyes and observed it, finding that its main body seemed to be a leaf from the "Brilliant Contract Tree." As a provider of materials for several Sequences of the "Sun" pathway, its leaves indeed possess "contract" power, making them suitable for creating "messenger" summoning items.
He casually put the leaf to his mouth and blew hard. Then, with a "poof," a sound like "passing gas" was heard, and naturally, no "messenger" arrived—after all, this was above the gray fog.
It seems my skill at whistling with leaves from middle school has completely rusted… I'll have to practice again! Klein casually put down the leaf, picked up the Book of Calamity, and began his "dream divination."
A moment later, he frowned because the results of the divination were fragmented, and the figure of the Elf Queen, Cohinem, the owner of the Book of Calamity, was blurry, almost unformed as a clear image.
This indicates that the connection between the Book of Calamity and Cohinem is almost severed… Could it be that the latter has completely fallen, unable to even maintain her spiritual imprint?
No, that wouldn't make the divination so difficult… This is more like someone has blocked her at the information level! Preventing more of her information from being obtained from the spirit world.
After pondering for a while, Klein had no further leads for the moment, so he set it aside and began to consider how to find Liu Bo's new "reincarnated" body.
Perhaps I don't need to do anything special; just building up Gehrman Sparrow's reputation might attract him… If he truly has "reincarnated" and has played "Bloodborne"…
A moment later, Klein had a preliminary plan in mind. As he was repeatedly deliberating it, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. He glanced at the other "crystals" of the "Burial Blade" among the miscellaneous items and couldn't help but wonder:
Yalolan judged that Liu Bo is very likely to seek me out first…
So, what if… what if Liu Bo has actually already made contact with me?
Who… could he be?