Chapter 550: 28. Life Completion Manual (Part 1)
“Drip, drip.”
In the cold and damp shipyard, drops of water sporadically fell from the ceiling, sounding a consistent “tick-tock” as they hit the ground, breaking apart.
Before the dock, Fisher lifted an unconscious demon attendant with one hand and casually tossed her onto the ship they had prepared earlier. He then turned around and pulled up the iron chains that sealed the dock, revealing a sea that reflected the sun in the sky.
He returned and gently pushed the ship, sending it slowly out into the sea, allowing it to drift away.
The two of them were merely messengers sent by the demons; the matter itself had nothing to do with them. Whether to kill or not did not matter. Fisher simply did not want to give the starving souls from the Life Completion Manual a chance for knowledge and chose to let them go.
He then walked towards the entrance of the shipyard, searching for Sir Book Emhart, who was knocked unconscious by Hela earlier.
Fortunately, even if this guy was badly injured, he would still groan one or two times. Following his quacking voice, Fisher soon found Sir Book, who was also unconscious, in front of a sealed window.
“Wake up. Wake up.”
Fisher reached out and gently fan his tightly closed eye, but he remained unresponsive. Helpless, he pinched the spine of the book and shook it.
“Pat, pat.”
Surprisingly, this method was effective. As he shook him, Emhart groggily opened his eye and mumbled in confusion,
“Baemon?”
“She’s gone.”
“Gone?!”
Thinking of that terrifying figure, Emhart, who had just been dazed, immediately flapped his book pages and flew up. Fisher let go of his grip on the spine of the book and heard him continue to question Fisher,
“What happened just now?! What did she come for? Was she going to take you away?!”
“No, she only said some things related to earlier events.”
“Don’t believe her, not even a word! She’s definitely lying to you!”
Fisher looked at Emhart, who was floating again. After confirming he hadn’t been damaged by Hela, he put on the robe of the Blessing Tower, preparing to go back inside.
However, before he could move, Emhart had already flown in front of him, blocking his path.
“Hey! Fisher! Did you hear what I said?! Everything Baemon said is nonsense; you absolutely cannot trust her!”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Don’t you comfort me with your words while thinking, ‘Ah, my wife is worried about me,’ ‘Ah, my wife is so good to me.’ Baemon is not like those subhuman ladies you know; she is a real demon! A devil! A genuine demon! A demon beyond demons!!!”
Emhart stood on Fisher’s shoulder and urgently advised him,
“That guy definitely wants to eat you, completely clean, without even spitting out the bones!”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Damn it!”
Emhart didn’t know what Fisher was truly thinking at this moment because his face was calm, revealing no specific thoughts.
Emhart was only worried he would be deceived by that bad woman. In his eyes, Baemon and the other ladies Fisher knew were not of the same level; with a slight mistake, he could fall into the abyss.
So, what was Fisher thinking now?
Was Hela telling the truth?
Logically, everything Hela said made sense: because Ch was ostensibly backing her, she would pay special attention to him when she first crossed back to the future. Moreover, he had indeed seen Ch, and she had shown him extraordinary kindness, even seemingly unbothered when he bonded her with the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans.
Furthermore, Ch had indeed said he was very special, which might be reflected in the fact that he did not suffer any consequences despite reading more than one completion manual, or it could relate to the eerie songs he encountered when reaching the Mythical Rank, or even his ability to leap into the chaotic ocean without suffering corresponding pollution.
Perhaps it was precisely because of his uniqueness concerning chaos that Ch would say he was the key to solving the Apocalypse Prophecy, and he would come up with using chaos to address the possible Apocalypse Prophecy caused by chaos.
Hela did not want him to do this; she opposed his continued use of chaos, as it was an extremely dangerous concept. A slight mistake could lead to severe consequences like those suffered by the Trans.
Logically, this made sense, and Fisher could understand her perspective, but upon closer examination, he still felt something was amiss.
Even when Ch wanted to guide him into the chaotic Mythical Rank to further engage with chaos and even told Hela about it seeking her help, Fisher truly couldn’t fathom what made Hela, who showed no interest in the future, agree to help Ch.
From Hela having that mirror of Ch, their connection was bound to exist, but regarding the reasoning and how that consensus was reached, Fisher still felt that Hela was hiding something.
Another issue was that Fisher was 100% certain that the mark from Renee on him was not triggered by himself; it was Hela who did it to send him back to the present, and it coincidentally caused a deviation.
Fisher did not know the exact nature of Renee’s mark but thought it might have been altered because of his earlier intimidation of the Duke of Peach on the Tree Continent, which changed the mark’s power and sent him back four and a half years.
But was it really that coincidental?
His return happened to be exactly four and a half years later, coincidentally during the time demons were rampant in the Nali army and returned just beside the factory producing the Trans.
Even if Hela had the backing of Ch, how could she trigger the chaos mark left by Renee at the True God level?
Of course, there is a possibility that Ch might have already come into contact with the essence of chaos earlier to further understand the Apocalypse Prophecy and devise a solution.
After all, Hela said that Ch told her the nature of chaos and related knowledge. Perhaps it was because of this knowledge that she could awaken the mark on his waist.
But what about the Mother Goddess at that time?
The moon representing the Mother Goddess was born when he left, and would the birth of this “tombstone writer,” who ends the Apocalypse Prophecy, have any connection to Ch or Hela?
The more he thought, the more Fisher’s head hurt.
He received too little information, and he always felt an incomprehensible gap in information that felt like an abyss in front of Hela, which could not be bridged.
Perhaps the key to finding the answer lay with “Renee.” She was the Mother Goddess’s successor and also at the True God level; maybe she would know the secrets involved. However, since the Lark he used to contact her disappeared from his wallet, he had no idea where she went or how to reach her.
She might still be waiting for him to return in the Storm Sea or might have gone back to the Spirit Realm; in any case,
Even if Hela was hiding something from him, her actions and purposes were tangible.
She used some method to release the two demon kinds; her intention was Raphael.
As for why those two at the Eighteenth Rank did not immediately kill Raphael, who was only at the Fourteenth Rank, Fisher believed the reason could be “timing.”
As Hela said, she was waiting for the right moment when the “Apocalypse Prophecy” formally began; at that time, she would kill this “key” and take him away.
No matter when the Apocalypse Prophecy comes, Fisher could not allow Raphael to die; this was what he absolutely had to do.
Moreover, Fisher was also curious about who that “loose end” Hela mentioned referred to.
This was the first time he felt such resentment from her, and it seemed that his current situation related to this loose end; he, of course, would be curious. However, searching for her would have to wait until this matter was resolved.
But since the overall goal was clear,
After soothing the anxious Emhart, who was particularly agitated every time he encountered Baemon, especially this time facing her more frightened than usual, Fisher did not want to argue with him and let him rest and calm down.
Emerging from the doubts around Hela, Fisher’s peripheral vision caught sight of the remnants of flesh and blood left by the two demon attendants who had already left the shipyard, which reminded him.
“Ag?”
Looking at this familiar power, Fisher suddenly changed his mind.
Tonight, he would perhaps read the Life Completion Manual from Erwind first.
He always felt that something must have occurred between Erwind and the demons; perhaps he could find the key to dealing with demons from it.
Fisher donned the robe of the Blessing Tower and stepped outside, quickly disappearing at the end of the path outside the shipyard.
The sky gradually darkened. Just as Raphael had said earlier, facing the advancing Green Dragon Court and Nali Human Allied Forces, the entire Red Dragon Court began to operate at high speed.
Back at the Blessing Tower, Fisher did not see Raphael or Jasmine; instead, he was greeted by the pitiful dragon lady Mill, who also brought news about Raphael and Jasmine.
“Lord Raphael is checking the military supplies in the camp and is said to conduct training and inspections tomorrow morning. Lady Jasmine is checking the food and distributing responsibilities after the war. In short, Fisher, you will have to make do tonight. Lord Raphael asked me to take care of you for now.”
“Okay, thank you. Please inform them that the demon issue has been resolved, and by the way…”
At this moment, Fisher asked Mill to inform Raphael about the two demon attendants and the silver party they had acquired through Ag’s blessing, to properly handle the aftermath.
Not seeing Raphael and Jasmine did not disappoint Fisher; it was not because he had just returned from “hanging out” with Hela but mainly because he needed to read the completion manual. During this process, anything might happen, and it was best to avoid disturbances.
Fisher had a simple dinner before taking the disoriented Emhart, who was still rambling about how “dangerous Baemon is,” back to his room.
“I thought about it all afternoon; do you think it’s possible that Baemon is coming for the forbidden knowledge on you?”
Fisher glanced at him and replied along his train of thought,
“You don’t need to worry about this.”
“What? Why?”
“Because she doesn’t want me to read these things, and my direction is the opposite of her suggestion. I need to read this knowledge tonight; the process will be dangerous, as you know. I need you to keep an eye on me and prevent anyone from bothering me. Can I count on you, Emhart?”
Emhart opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment before flying up and saying to Fisher,
“Alright, I don’t know why, but I feel assured whenever you’re going against Baemon. After all, I am the great Emhart! I’ll keep an eye on the vicinity; you, just be careful.”
“Okay.”
Emhart flew up and stood on the windowsill, which vented to the outside night scene of the Dragon Court, looking serious as if on guard, occasionally glancing at Fisher and then outside, afraid someone might disturb him.
Fisher took a deep breath and pulled out the two completion manuals from his arms—no need to say, in Emhart’s eyes, Fisher taking out the completion manuals was like taking air.
Fisher first glanced at the Soul Completion Manual he was very familiar with and then focused intently on the other ancient volume.
This manual he took from Erwind, he had never read it before and had never thought to do so, but now, he had no choice but to open it and explore.
By the adjacent oil lamp, he slowly opened the cover of the Life Completion Manual.
What greeted him was a line of cursive script in a font Fisher had never seen before, but through the completion manual, he understood its meaning,
“Dedicated to my wife with a final stroke”
“Lance Albert”
Just having opened this “Life Completion Manual,” Fisher immediately noticed it had a different format than the Soul Completion Manual.
He remembered that the previously read Soul Completion Manual recounted various events from the perspective of Jahl Uzz after his arrival in this world, resembling a diary collection without any specific format, using casual language and content. Besides the soul’s content, it also included many irrelevant stories from the Ancient Feimabaha Dragon Court period, allowing Fisher to closely connect with the middle-aged man named “Jahl Uzz.”
But this “Life Completion Manual” was entirely different.
After flipping through the cover written in cursive, there was a table of contents, and unbelievably, this Life Completion Manual, which appeared to be the same thickness as the Soul Completion Manual, contained only four chapters. Moreover, Fisher was most surprised to find that the format of the Life Completion Manual was “poetry collection.”
In other words, this initial life lord named “Lance Albert” recorded all the forbidden knowledge in four long poems.
Besides that, there was a postscript, but Fisher did not foolishly flip to the last page.
The “poetry collection” in front of him wasn’t just any extra reading borrowed from the Nali Royal Library but a collection of knowledge that could be termed “a disaster.”
Starting with the table of contents, he could see the titles of the four poems: the first one was called “The Climber,” the second “The Left Hand,” the third “The Daughter,” and the fourth “The Treasure.”
Fisher did not know the specific content of these poems, only flipping the pages, quickly entering the content of the first long poem.
Surprisingly, the content of this poem was not as lengthy as Fisher had imagined; it only had around 700 to 800 words, and like many poems, it contained repeated content. What truly occupied the content was the densely packed but exceptionally neat handwritings appearing next to each word and line.
Those words Fisher recognized; there was no need for the completion manual to help him translate. It was Shivali script, seemingly left by a previous owner of the Life Completion Manual analyzing and interpreting the verses.
The poem’s content spanned only three or four pages, but these analyses made up over a hundred pages. No wonder the Life Completion Manual appeared as thick as Jahl Uzz’s travelogue from the outside.
The content of the first poem was too lengthy; Fisher skimmed through it and discovered it recorded a fascinating story.
It was about a seasoned climber attempting to ascend every mountain in the world. Day in and day out climbing, he finally completed this feat one day. However, upon achieving this goal, he was not satisfied but seemed to think he had chosen the wrong target and felt regret.
Confused, he traveled far to find a renowned sage to consult about this issue.
The sage, hearing his question, looked him up and down, then shook his head and said,
“The reason you are unsatisfied is that there is still a mountain in this world that you have not climbed to the top of.”
“There’s still such a mountain? That’s simply unheard of! I’ve traversed every inch of this world; not even the mountains hidden deep in the ocean have escaped my eyes. Are you telling me there’s a mountain I haven’t climbed? Please tell me its location.”
“But climbing this mountain is extremely dangerous.”
“I have to do it.”
“Alright, please go back and sleep. After a good night’s rest, you will know the location of that mountain.”
So, the climber reluctantly returned home, lay in bed, and awaited the night.
Soon, night fell, and he fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, he encountered a towering mountain he had never anticipated. The mountain seemed to reach the heavens with its ridges and peaks, an indescribable grandeur filled his vision.
Upon seeing this mountain, the climber confirmed that this was the mountain he devoted his life to climbing.
He must climb this mountain!!
Excited, the climber began to ascend the mountain in his dream.
The first mountain was no different from the one he was climbing, only more perilous and magnificent. It had five prominent, seemingly dirty peaks and six profound ravines surging down from high above. There were four majestic cliffs shaped by nature and a silver waterfall cascading like a ribbon dropped from the cosmos.
The process was grueling, but relying on his rich experience, he finally reached the summit of this mountain. Gasping for breath, he looked back, only to find two mountains towering behind, each higher than the last, leading to an unknown destination.
The climber, unwilling to give in, wanted to continue his ascent. Just then, a human face sprouted from a boulder nearby, suddenly speaking,
“Sir! Sir! I live here as a stone. It’s been ages since anyone came up here. A person like you is a rarity; I’m almost starting to forget I’m a stone.”
“I must keep climbing; goodbye.”
“You’re going to keep climbing?”
“Yes.”
“Take my advice; this is already the limit of what humanity can climb. The mountains ahead are taller and more dangerous; relying solely on yourself is impossible. Humans should just reside at the base of this mountain; why climb higher?”
“No, I must continue to ascend.”
“Alright, then I wish you good luck. I’ve heard the highest mountain is home to angels and God; if possible, please say hello to them for me.”
“Okay.”
With that, the climber continued his ascent.
On the second peak, thunder and lightning roared. As he climbed higher and deeper, the rumbling thunder began to strike his bones, pulverizing his fragile frame to the point where he could no longer stand, forcing him to kneel as he climbed. At first, he felt very uncomfortable, but he soon found his rhythm and continued ascending.
Before long, heavy rain began to pour from the sky. The raindrops, upon touching him, eroded and dissolved his recognizable form and flesh, flowing away with the water on the ground. He lost everything—skin, organs, even the memories that defined his existence—yet he still climbed with all his might.
Until he passed through razor-sharp cliffs and scorched jungles, he finally arrived before the third peak.
In front of the third peak stood a massive sealed door, guarded by an angel under God’s throne. Upon seeing the climber approaching, the angel asked,
“What are you?”
“I am a climber.”
“I mean, what species are you? I can’t recognize you.”
“I am human.”
“Remarkably rare, a human coming from the base of the mountain?”
“From the base.”
“Where do you wish to go?”
“To the summit.”
“Okay, but if you want me to let you pass, I need you to offer me a treasure.”
“What kind of treasure?”
“It must be brighter than the gems in a king’s crown, exist longer than the sun and moon, and be immeasurable compared to the oceans and the earth, but more precious than any other treasure that exists.”
“I don’t understand what you mean, angel.”
“What I seek is the treasure.”
“…”
Since that climber sought advice from the sage, this story quickly spread. The next morning, many curious folks came to visit him to see if he had found the last mountain.
But oddly enough, they only found the climber lying silently in bed, no longer making a sound.
His visage was grotesque, his body weary and emaciated, as if he had just experienced an unprecedented arduous climb. From the final outcome, it appeared he had failed.
No one knew where the rumored last mountain was; besides the climber’s lifeless body, people rummaged through his room and bed.
Yet, they found nothing.
“Fisher! Fisher!”
In that small room, Fisher, staring intently at that poem, felt as if eyes began to sprout all over him. From those continually trembling bloody eyeballs, blood began to gush forth, and soon it was not just those eyes, but Fisher’s every orifice.
Emhart anxiously flew over, watching him stare at the empty surface of the table—he couldn’t see the completion manual Fisher was currently reading and had no idea what he had just seen. All he knew was that Fisher’s appearance looked terrifying.
“Gurgle, gurgle.”
At this moment, unexpectedly, it was not Fisher’s soul within him that was transforming; rather, it was his previously docile body that began to stir.
Perhaps it wasn’t merely stirring?
Emhart couldn’t tell, but at this moment, he felt that Fisher’s body appeared exceptionally fatigued, and those gruesome external transformations were merely signs of this fatigue.
It was as if he was painfully climbing, consuming his physical energy.
But what was more glaringly apparent was that his hands and feet began to dissolve, mixed with his eyeballs, as if they were about to completely melt onto the table and floor.
“No, Fisher!”
Emhart looked on in distress as he watched Fisher gradually dissolve. Panicking, he darted back and forth, murmuring,
“Quick, think of a way, great Sir Book! Are you really going to just watch ‘Fisher’ turn into ‘Fisher paste?!’”
(End of Chapter)
