Chapter 309: 84. Crazy Exchange (Combined)
“Did the Snow Fox Tribe agree to talk with us?”
Hearing Heidi Lin’s words, Valentina’s eyes brightened slightly, but her expression remained unchanged until Heidi Lin confirmed with a nod. Then she looked at the Cangniao Tribe emblem on the table and instructed,
“It seems that we are about to obtain the fourth emblem as well. Starting tomorrow, we will head towards Miya while investigating the situation with the Snow Fox Tribe. The Snow Fox Tribe is an extremely exclusionary race, and their agreement to speak with us must come with demands from the Turan Family. Heidi Lin, make sure the family investigates further.”
“Understood.”
After Heidi Lin bowed her head in acknowledgment, she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she stood at the door with a smile, watching Fisher, who was seated in front of Valentina, as if afraid that he might have ulterior motives for Valentina. Fisher didn’t care, but Valentina, feeling her intent, was a little embarrassed.
She sighed, then looked at Fisher,
“Thank you for sharing this with me tonight. You are now an official member of our team. The key to Haldor’s workshop is still with you, so there’s no need to return it; keep it. A mage can’t function without materials. You can report to me every week, and if you need any materials, I’ll have them sent over.”
“Coincidentally, tomorrow is the day to distribute salaries to you employees. Although it’s not much, it probably won’t mean much to you, Fisher Benavides, who is worth ten million Nali. Do you have any other requests? I will try my best to accommodate them.”
Fisher rubbed his chin while looking at Valentina, and feeling Fisher’s gaze, Valentina subtly placed her hand on her ring, afraid this guy might say something strange. Hmm? Why did she suddenly develop such a prejudice against Fisher Benavides?
“Although I can’t put myself in the line of fire to exchange for that ten million Nali, I do need Miss Turan’s assistance with a few things. It’s a bit difficult to mention, but it will definitely help on this journey.”
Fisher mentioned “difficult to mention,” but his expression remained unchanged, giving no hint of that.
“Oh? Please, go ahead.”
“I heard that there are many unique subhuman races in the northern region. If Miss Valentina has the ability, please let me study them; this is very important to me.”
“Them?”
Valentina’s expression suddenly became strange. The word “them” in the Northern Region language carries a strong gender connotation, so as soon as Fisher spoke, she suddenly realized something and repeated the question incredulously.
Heidi Lin, standing behind Fisher, also appeared a bit hesitant. She hadn’t expected Fisher to be the type who liked subhuman women. But looking at Fisher’s serious expression, she suddenly felt that his research on subhumans wasn’t for that purpose. But what if?
“That’s right. I can only study female subhumans; I hope you understand.”
“I see, let me think.”
Valentina clearly shared the same feelings as Heidi Lin. Faced with Fisher’s earnestness, she didn’t know whether to doubt his motives. If his purpose was truly for academic research, then why did that book on his chest keep winking at her?
It was truly incomprehensible.
Valentina seemed hesitant, but after pausing for a second or two, she finally said,
“There are many subhuman races within Miya, like the Ice Owl Tribe and the Sheepkin. If you wish to study them, there will be many opportunities later.”
Oh, the Ice Owl Tribe and the Sheepkin?
Fisher suddenly thought of a tag sequence he remembered from the Supplement Handbook, which was “Cotton Candy.”
This tag included “Cloud Cat Breed,” “Snow Fox Tribe,” “Moon Rabbit Tribe,” “Sheepkin,” and “Ice Owl Tribe.” If he could gather the Ice Owl Tribe and the Sheepkin in Miya, along with the soon-to-be-discussed Snow Fox Tribe, would he be able to unlock the complete sequence for the first time?
“Thank you very much, Miss Valentina.”
Valentina nodded, placed the Cangniao Tribe emblem into her wheelchair’s storage pocket, pushed her wheelchair from behind Haldor’s desk, and took one last glance at the scene in Haldor’s workshop. Then she passed by the standing Fisher and came to the door, her expression calm yet touching.
“Then, let’s end here for tonight, Mr. Fisher. Please go rest well. By the way, if you need to use anything here later, please don’t move the items around recklessly. I may come back to check on them from time to time.”
“I understand.”
Valentina’s beautiful profile briefly glanced at Fisher behind her and then smilingly nodded as she left the magic workshop, heading to her room like a graceful white butterfly, leaving only a faint fragrance behind while Fisher and Heidi Lin exchanged glances.
Heidi Lin crossed her arms, watching the handsome Fisher with resentment in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She only perfunctorily said goodbye to him,
“I still have to deliver dinner to the lady; Mr. Fisher can manage on his own from here.”
“Okay.”
Fisher replied without looking back, making Heidi Lin hum softly, close the door, and leave.
In the quiet room, Emhart poked his head out again, marveling at Fisher’s earlier conduct,
“You really… tsk tsk, coming here late at night and instead of retreating, you pushed forward. Your words were not overtly comforting, yet they were full of hidden comfort, and without any hesitation, you handed over the trading chip, the Cangniao Tribe emblem to her. But aren’t you the one trying to flirt with her? Why would you mention your… ahem, strange taste for female subhumans in front of her?”
Fisher abruptly grabbed Emhart and forcefully shoved him back into his pocket, not wanting to explain anything, simply saying,
“Because I have no such intentions toward her.”
“Of course, of course, you say that every time. But until the very end, you just won’t admit it. I understand you!”
“Shut up.”
Fisher put the talkative Emhart back in his pocket, not wanting to leave the Sub-Human Supplement Handbook with him, since it would probably become very hot soon and he might get burned.
Finally, Fisher took out the ancient Soul Supplement Handbook and placed it on the table.
Yes, he was going to begin studying this handbook filled with many bizarre knowledge, in order to gain the ability to confront Erwind.
Although he vaguely felt that this action was akin to pouring oil onto fire, compared to letting the madman Erwind achieve mythical rank, he preferred to take this step first. Furthermore, it might not help against defeating Erwind at all.
But in any case, he had to give it a try.
Fisher sneered and walked to the workshop door to lock it. Then he took a deep breath and solemnly looked at the cover of the ancient handbook on the table.
According to the Mechanism’s words, these Supplement Handbooks were compiled by various individuals from different worlds summoned by the Magic Lord, and the content and narrative styles were all different. For instance, Jahl Uzz documented the taboo knowledge of souls in a diary-like summary.
Last time he read about Jahl preparing to leave the Dragon Court to search for a way back to his own world; this time Fisher directly flipped to the next chapter. The moment he opened the Supplement Handbook, his magical circuit lit up brightly, and the twisted words of the handbook gradually became clearer.
From this chapter, Jahl Uzz’s tone appeared relatively flat, lacking the excitement from when he first arrived in this world. The words were filled with deep fatigue and longing for his homeland.
“I left the Central Dragon Court and walked on this land ruled by dragon people for generations, attempting to find my way home. The more I searched for the way home, the more I felt lonely. I always dreamed of my past times at night, forgetting that I had come to another strange world and not entered a ‘Harry Potter’ book. But I did not despair; I always felt that something was guiding me in the dark, guiding me home.”
In Fisher’s ears, it was as if countless invisible mouths were reciting the content of the Supplement Handbook. His thoughts collided like electricity, the Sub-Human Supplement Handbook in his arms becoming hot again, with golden light surging, as if it were facing some existence watching Fisher from a distance.
The entire page of the book was scribbled clean, and in the middle, there seemed to be a long section of content missing. Above this page, similar handwriting annotated and explained,
“Time has passed too long, and I don’t remember many details of that confused journey, but it seems that there wasn’t much important content in it, so I will only talk about the important events.”
“In the continuous journey, I gained a deeper understanding of the ‘essence of existence,’ which is often referred to as the concept of the soul. However, along with my exploration, two people I encountered in my journey played a key role in my research: I will only talk about the first one here. She was a demon from the underground. Yes, I first learned that there were beings beneath the ground, and they were highly evolved forms of life.”
“The complexity of that demon’s soul exceeded my imagination, far beyond what humans could understand. Just seeing her was dizzying. Fortunately, my progress in studying souls was promising, allowing me to converse with her. Unlike demons recorded in Earth’s religions, she was a very kind person and was happy to share her insights and opinions about this world with me.”
“In her eyes, the essence of the world was a chaotic furnace, but everything a living being could see and accept must appear orderly. Gods and all living things are the unconscious gatekeepers of order, while people like me are the errors born of chaos.”
“Yes, she recognized that I was not from this world. She had encountered someone like me from another world long ago (Note: this person is the current chairman of the Society. If you are not from the Society but have this handbook, please definitely seek out the Society; the chairman will guide your future path). But at that time, I didn’t know the chairman of the Society; I only knew that we shared the same goal—’to go home,’ which was my main reason for later searching for her.”
Fisher furrowed his brow, not understanding why he had become accustomed to seeing the image of the demon again at this point. But the real clue lay in the fact that there was a demon who knew the chairman of the Creation Society, the Magic Lord.
Could it be Baemon?
Fisher didn’t know much about the demons; thanks to a cowardly but fierce-sounding friend among the books, his deep impression of demons was only of Eil and Baemon.
“I learned from her that there was a continent overseas, which was the homeland of humanity. Long, long ago, the continent where the Dragon Court existed was connected to that continent. After a great war, the continent was split into two fragments that floated on the sea. No wonder the dragon people here could use magic; it turned out they used to live with humans long ago.”
“Next, I asked her many questions, including whether Feima Baharon truly existed and how I could return home, but she didn’t answer me. She only humorously reminded me of one thing: ‘the soul plays a very important role in this world.'”
“She was called [Mythical Species] by the humans across the ocean. The most important characteristic of a mythical species is [soul and body as one]. Upon reaching the mythical rank, the individual’s soul would largely be separated from the spirit realm; even if separated from the body, due to the ‘unity of spirit and flesh,’ an avatar would form. Later, the soul could even exist independently of the body, transforming into the bizarre existence of [the soul being the body].”
“Her words awakened me, and I increasingly felt that my path home lay along this seemingly ethereal road of the soul. I will list the methods and paths I conceived at that time for reference; it does not represent the actual path I ultimately chose, and those reading this can think through it themselves.”
Fisher’s soul was completely immersed in the Soul Supplement Handbook before him. His thoughts were quick, and in the whispering voices that only he could hear, he gradually followed Jahl Uzz’s concept.
Low-tier humans would experience extremely slow progress and gains if they only exercised their soul, no matter how many spells they inscribe. But if the essence of the soul is like the watery substance of the spirit realm, it would disperse into usable energy that carries no direction after a person dies.
“Let me remind you again, Fisher.”
“First, splice souls: You can successively splice the souls of deceased similar beings or subhumans into yourself, but be careful; the spliced existence cannot be too much higher than your own rank, or the spliced soul will have the opposite effect, causing the ‘essence of self’ to become particularly blurred.”
“Second, soul absorption: You can utilize the unconscious soul energy that has dispersed, injecting it into your magical circuit to expand the quality and quantity of the magical circuit. The drawback is that the magical circuit of humans is not the optimal choice compared to many higher-tier subhumans; it is not efficient. Changing to other shapes of magical circuits is the optimal choice.”
Countless pieces of knowledge about the soul surged into Fisher’s mind at that moment, granting him a higher understanding of enhancing soul abilities.
“Fisher, think. If you could obtain a higher level of soul capability in Saint Nali, you would gain sharp soul perception and magical engraving abilities. You would be able to see through Anna’s body structure at a glance, preventing her from damaging that soul bell. You could effortlessly engrave more high-tier spells; Blake would be quickly defeated by you, and even Elizabeth would succumb; you could correct her uncontrollable character.”
“Even further back, if you had not waited until this late to read the items available to you, you wouldn’t think Erwind was so tricky, nor would you see the Frost Parasol Tree as such an unknown dilemma. Many issues would be easily resolved, including the conflicts among those subhuman ladies, your urgent situation, and the hidden secrets buried in history.”
Fisher fell silent, finding it hard to answer in the face of Jahl Uzz’s questions.
As he journeyed, even considering himself a “scholar,” he had often overlooked many issues. There were so many opportunities, so many questions, so many regrets. How nice it would be to easily resolve all of them.
He had so much he wanted to accomplish; he wanted to help Elizabeth, wanted Jasmine to leave the land without sadness, wanted humans and subhumans to coexist more peacefully, and wanted this world to suffer less from hardship and ignorance.
“I—”
Before Fisher could finish his sentence, Jahl Uzz interrupted him,
“There are always many regrets in life; I know that. The past cannot be pursued; I know that too. Then what about Renee? She has been missing for so long, and she is related to the Frost Parasol Tree. What should we do if we can’t find her? How will Erwind handle it, and what about the curse related to the phoenix?”
“I—”
“If she is dead, what then?”
Fisher’s breath caught, and a sharp pain transmitted from where his heart was. His body remained as still as iron, and he wanted to rebut Jahl Uzz, but suddenly, a voice filled with urgency surged into his ears,
“Fisher! Bastard! Wake up! What the hell are you doing?! Damn it, are you crazy?!”
When he heard Emhart’s familiar quacking voice, all the anxiety and guilt flooding his heart came to a halt, as he suddenly realized a problem: Jahl Uzz himself had never seen him; he had already been dead for a long time. Why was he still conversing with himself?
He abruptly looked down to see the Sub-Human Supplement Handbook pressed against his chest like a branding iron, causing it to sizzle like a grilled steak. He quickly yanked the painfully hot Sub-Human Supplement Handbook away and threw it on the ground.
He gasped and stood up suddenly, discovering that the magical circuit in his body was glowing frighteningly brightly, and its shape was becoming increasingly strange, diverging further from that of a human. Of course, it was also getting stronger.
Fisher, drenched in cold sweat, covered his head. The floating Emhart quickly flew over and, seeing his somewhat dazed gaze, quickly asked,
“Should I fetch someone else? Your state seems a bit off. Damn, you suddenly started talking, and it scared me half to death. You haven’t been cursed by some woman, have you?”
“I’m fine; it’ll pass in a bit.”
Fisher gasped, blood continuously dripping from his chest, the ringing in his ears persisted, and the questions from just now echoed repeatedly in his mind. He struggled to stand and looked at the Soul Supplement Handbook; the pages no longer contained those additional questions, only Jahl Uzz’s travelogue and narration.
He patted his somewhat dizzy head, feeling the knowledge and pathways gained from the Soul Supplement Handbook, increasingly sensing that this action was tantamount to suicide.
Yet, he continued to stare at the laid-out Soul Supplement Handbook on the table; that lingering feeling regarding Renee’s long disappearance shifted from concern to worry due to the earlier words. He suddenly became very anxious about whether something had happened to her or if she had provoked some existence that she shouldn’t have.
“That foolish woman, when she returns, I should lock her up to prevent her from running around the world without returning home.”
“Who the hell are you talking about? Why would you say such things about women? Are you really losing it tonight?”
Tonight, Fisher appeared particularly strange, making Emhart unable to stop himself from rushing over to hit his head, nearly knocking him down. Emhart stubbornly stood on Fisher’s shoulder, repeatedly bumping against him,
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!”
Fisher, getting annoyed by Emhart’s persistence, grabbed him in his hand, holding him under the light. He stared into the eye facing him for a long time, then somewhat absentmindedly set him down and rubbed his temples,
“My apologies; I’m a bit off today.”
“Now tell me, where did we first meet?”
“…The Royal Library of Nali.”
“Do you think I’m a great relic?”
“No.”
“Who is your favorite woman?”
“…Who?”
Hearing these three responses, Emhart finally relaxed, like he had input the correct password, standing on Fisher’s shoulder, earnestly saying,
“This guy, you keep causing trouble, making these last few months more exciting than the past few hundred years; if it weren’t for my patience, a different relic with a temper would have likely turned your previous girlfriend’s eye relic into something dangerous, and you’d probably be dead countless times by now.”
“Yeah, I was just a bit too anxious.”
Fisher sat on the carpet covered with a blanket, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking. He then slowly reached out and held the cooled-down Sub-Human Supplement Handbook in his hands, feeling the filled soul from the madness within him, and slowly drew out the postcard that Renee had given him.
He simply continued,
“It won’t happen again.”
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(End of chapter)
