Chapter 551: 29. Life Completion Manual (Part 2)
As Fisher read the story titled “Climber,” his consciousness seemed to collide with a dark and profound universe.
Upon careful reading, every word and phrase of this long poem seemed to contain countless deep meanings that filled his mind.
But at this moment, he was so immersed that he was unaware, his gaze drifting slightly to the side to look at the annotations left by Erwind, filled with the former Fate Lord’s insights on this long poem.
In Erwind’s view, the first poem, in fact, harbored the secret of the concept of “Rank.” If an individual wished to elevate their rank, they must climb the high mountains like that climber.
“The name of the first mountain is ‘Humanoid,’ the distance traversed by the climber actually represents an exploration and mastery of the inner body, each step taken is a re-acquaintance with oneself, until it is entirely understood, reaching the limit of life that humanity can attain.
“The name of the second mountain is ‘Transcendence,’ symbolizing forces unimaginable to ordinary people, beyond the normal laws of humanity, and also signifies a departure from human essence.
“The name of the third mountain is ‘Myth,’ those places too powerful to be witnessed, hiding secrets, are all shelved away by humanity through ‘imagination,’ even mere gazing is difficult to reach. Transcendent angels guard this place, conveying the refusal to climbers who arrive here.”
“Ordinary methods cannot pass through the gates of myth, and God rejects the humans at the foot of the mountain from reaching here; the only way to pass is to ‘bribe’ the angels. This method, which defies the rules, is very similar to the power contained in this completion manual, known as ‘Chaos.’ The only way for humanity to reach myth is by leveraging ‘Chaos,’ yet the specific concept it demands, the ‘Treasure,’ is worth pondering.”
Erwind’s annotations were cold, stripping away the danger of countless chaos within those letters bit by bit from Fisher’s sight, and he seemed to tread the well-trodden path of predecessors, stepping upon hidden answers one by one.
The meaning of the peaks is special; they represent parts of one’s own body. Thus, the mountain that the climber sought was not located somewhere in the world, but within his dreams at night.
Erwind and the original contributors of the Life Completion Manual discussed a question through the mouth of angels: if the essence of humanity is to live at the foot of the mountain, after continuously surpassing the second peak, if one ceases to have the form of a human and their structure also changes, can they still be called “human”?
As the poem continued into its latter half, with climbing risks increasing, the climber’s form underwent even more changes.
Unknowingly, the climber’s thoughts were beginning to change as well.
“The structure of a human body determines their thoughts and cognition, the structure of the subhuman body also determines their culture and connotations. A mythical being with a sufficiently high life rank perceives the world in ways different from that of lower-rank beings. As humans ascend ranks, when a human undergoes various changes to adapt to that rank, their cognitive structure inevitably changes.”
“If beings as powerful as deities, those creators hidden in unknown corners of the world, how do they view this world and us living beings?”
“Perhaps their perspective surpasses the imagination of ordinary life, but this does not hinder them in creating the rules of life’s operation in this world. Just as humans nurture ants, ants may be unable to comprehend how humans perceive them, yet that does not prevent humans from punishing them or easily providing them with nests, material, and changing the rules of their colonies…”
“Similarly, if the ascent of humans is likened to a deity, then the sufferings of the mortal realm can be easily resolved.”
Through these writings left by the other party, Fisher finally caught a glimpse of Erwind’s thoughts and reflections.
She did not intend to change the essence of humanity; she simply wanted to ascend, to transform from an ant to a human, and then, turning back, to resolve the various dilemmas that ants encounter using humanity’s great power.
This is a very idealistic notion, and from Fisher’s objective standpoint, he could not guarantee that he would succeed. Or rather, even if in the end she succeeded, advancing to an existence like that of a deity, how could she ensure that she could still empathize with the thoughts of ants and lament what they lament?
This question itself has no standard answer; there will always be counterarguments and debates. However, Erwind ultimately resorted to practice; although Fisher had to stop her in his stance, it did not hinder his respect for her ideal.
Indeed, Erwind was a genius who ended a disaster a century ago. At this moment, Fisher felt like a student guided by a great master. With Erwind’s accumulated records and thoughts, his progress was rapid, steadily keeping pace with the path she once traversed.
This long poem actually provided a method for readers of the Completion Manual to ascend life ranks, and unlike the Sub-Human Completion Handbook which straightforwardly bestows abilities, it is more unaffected by changes in rules, filled with chaos.
Although the Sub-Human Completion Handbook granted Fisher a stronger physique, his appearance remained that of a human. This species living “at the foot of the mountain” is theoretically not designed for higher ranks, so even theoretically, despite Fisher’s high rank, he had not maximized the limits represented by that rank.
It is like a beautifully luxurious carriage pulled by an old mule; no matter how splendid the appearance, it cannot run fast.
If one truly wishes to exert power matching that of life ranks, then one must change forms like Erwind and the climbing character in the poem.
His gaze continued to read on, a strong thirst for knowledge making him impatient to turn to the next poems.
The following poem, “Left Hand,” tells an interesting story of a bodybuilding genius who takes pride in his prominently attractive muscles, but due to a congenital defect, his left biceps is much smaller than his right, which concerns him greatly.
As a result, he began to exercise his left hand day after day, wanting it to become as muscular as his right side.
Until one day, the well-exercised left hand became conscious and began to question its owner’s excessive training of his body.
This bodybuilding genius and his highly developed left hand engaged in intense debates, initially on topics related to exercise, eventually branching out to history, science, and profound philosophy…
At first, the left hand was quite dull, unable to refute anything the genius said, merely following his commands to begin exercising.
But as it became more and more developed, surpassing even humans, comparing to steel, outshining the sun, the left hand’s thinking deepened, gradually leaving its master speechless, even leading him to feel that life was meaningless, until in the end, urged by the left hand, he decided to commit suicide by gunshot.
After the bodybuilding genius died, his still-alive left hand continued to yell that his method of suicide was flawed, not the optimal solution.
Thus, an absurd long poem concluded, leaving an aftertaste akin to a black hole.
The third poem, “Daughter,” also recounts a story of a mother who has high hopes for her daughter. She wants her daughter to excel, so she spares no effort in instilling knowledge in her.
With prolonged learning, her daughter indeed becomes more and more excellent, but the mother still isn’t satisfied.
She feels her daughter is not beautiful enough, her eyes not good enough, she doesn’t grow tall enough, jump far enough, or run fast enough…
She cannot fathom how she gave birth to such an unremarkable daughter, with nothing good besides a fairly intelligent brain.
Thus, she replaces her daughter’s face with her own, replaces her eyes with those of an eagle, her neck with that of a giraffe, her legs with those of a kangaroo, and her hind limbs with those of a cheetah…
And then, a perfect daughter is born.
Countless indistinct thoughts swirled in Fisher’s mind as he took in the long poem, but he had no time to decipher their specific meanings. He impatiently flipped back, eager to read the next poem, but what met his eyes wasn’t the final poem but rather a vast expanse of Erwind’s annotations and reflections.
“I have completely digested and applied all prior knowledge, having reached the end of the second mountain, but what perplexes me is that clearly, this Completion Manual is supposed to be about ‘Life,’ yet I find myself at a standstill regarding life-level matters, unable to progress further, unable to bribe the angels to finally arrive at the summit of myth.
“What exactly does the ‘Treasure’ mentioned in the verses refer to? Without the Treasure, I cannot read the entire content of the Completion Manual; without the Treasure, I cannot enter the mythical rank, nor find a method to climb the mythical peak.”
This was the introduction, seemingly capturing Erwind’s confusion and incomprehension fully.
Beneath this line of text, after a good stretch of space, she recorded another line of text,
“Perhaps beings that have already entered the mythical rank can help with my thinking dilemmas. The girl called ‘Fate Lord’ once said that the only remaining mythical beings in the world are demon species sealed by the Mother Goddess deep within the abyss. I should seek the location of the Abyss of Demons and study these demons’ essences to discover answers.”
Another stretch of blank space followed, before Erwind wrote again,
“I temporarily reside within the cradle of demons’ dreams in the Abyss. The demon attendants and little demons dwelling here pose no threat to me. During this time, I sampled the essence of a deity slumbering within the Demon Pillar twenty-seven times and studied it a hundred and thirty times. This demon’s power seems to resonate with the Completion Manual in my hand, allowing me to quickly locate her sleeping essence. I became quite curious and began research on this deity named ‘Agares.’ Through my study, I seem to have found some clues concerning the so-called ‘Treasure.’”
……
“When I decided to take the final step, choosing to abandon sampling and directly dissect Agares’ essence, the research encountered a twist. Her long-slumbering consciousness gradually awakened and discovered I was studying her and stealing part of her physical power. Even though she was sealed, her fury made the abyss unbearable for me. I had to give up, cease my research, and leave the abyss. However, she undoubtedly provided me with interesting samples and knowledge, also revealing the key to entering the mythical rank; perhaps I could infer the meaning of the Treasure from this.”
……
“Because of my actions, Agares’ consciousness within the Abyss has been completely awakened. The one who awakened from slumber seems to be in a rage, personally chasing after me by some method, or perhaps has dispatched other demon species or demon attendants to pursue me. For some reason, the speed of the pursuit is incredibly slow, allowing me to escape safely. However, I have already comprehended the meaning of ‘Treasure,’ and after returning to the Western Continent, I am preparing to begin experiments to create the ‘Treasure’ and ascend to the mythical rank.”
……
A large stretch of blank space follows, and when the next written characters appeared, the excitement that Fisher could discern had disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented disappointment.
“All designed experimental samples have failed; only the sample from Saint Nali, ‘Anna,’ is currently in a relatively stable state. But other samples were also like this in the early stage, yet in the end, they always gave birth to madness and instability, never producing a stable specimen. The success rate of ‘Anna’ is expected to be extremely low… Honestly, I have lost hope for the success of the experiments and developed unprecedented doubts about the Life Completion Manual I possess.”
“Does the Life Completion Manual contain a paradox? Even a powerful mythical being like Agares with powers similar to the Completion Manual cannot accomplish the ‘Treasure’; how can I succeed if I have not reached the mythical rank? Previously, I discovered from the Creation Society that perhaps the path to the mythical rank achieved by each Completion Manual is different, but ultimately they all can be termed as myth.”
“If the Life Completion Manual cannot assist me, then perhaps reading other Completion Manuals can help me cross the threshold of the ‘Treasure of Life’ and directly reach the mythical rank, ultimately allowing me to read the entire content of the Life Completion Manual? Even though the president of the Creation Society explicitly forbids members from reading more than one Completion Manual.”
What remains is a vast stretch of blank space; Erwind was sparing with words, akin to the original Fate Lord, one preserving forbidden knowledge in the form of poetry while the other would inscribe content only when there were significant discoveries.
Until the text below appeared again, this time, Erwind’s writing looked particularly fresh, as if the ink had yet to dry. She had just written:
“The road of the Treasure is now unfeasible. The Creation Society is on the verge of collapse after the deaths of the Soul Lord and the Death Lord. The Soul Completion Manual is now in the hands of others; I must consider whether this is my only opportunity to achieve my goal of entering the mythical rank.”
Countless knowledge that followed behind, wanting to surge into Fisher’s brain, were momentarily cast aside; he wanted to explore relentlessly to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, wanting to see clearly the path Erwind had walked over the centuries.
The records here suddenly came to a halt, and he eagerly flipped over the pages to look back, entering the section of the fourth poem, “Treasure.”
But unexpectedly, nothing was written above.
Or rather, it was not that nothing was written, but that he simply could not see it.
The desire for knowledge was interrupted by the sudden blankness, and Fisher unwittingly felt discontent, wanting to continue exploring, searching for the real reason behind the absence.
But just then, a cold hand, seemingly from hell, tightly gripped one of his shoulders, followed by Erwind’s signature voice, emotionless and indistinguishable by gender, sounding.
Calmly, she addressed Fisher, “Fisher, you have gone too far.”
“I…”
Upon hearing this, Fisher’s thoughts suddenly froze. That brain, driven forward by thirst for knowledge, halted abruptly at this moment. It was because of this brief clarity that the madness and forbidden knowledge he had read through three long poems rushed back at him all at once.
Endless knowledge and content regarding life surged into his brain like a tsunami, threatening to engulf everything within him.
Upon realizing the secrets of the Life Completion Manual, his reason was hit with unprecedented shock,
“Not good!”
……
Fisher’s halt was merely on a conscious level; at this moment, due to that chaotic forbidden knowledge, his consciousness seemed to have lost its perception of bodily conditions and, of course, had no clue what was happening in reality.
In the room, Emhart was fearfully retreating, no matter how he called out to Fisher, it was futile.
He could only helplessly watch as Fisher’s human form gradually melted away, morphing into a “viscous substance” adorned with various strange organs.
“F-Fisher, don’t do this… I-I’m scared…”
“Glub glub…”
But at this moment, Fisher seemed unable to respond to Emhart; he was just struggling, twisting, his body constantly changing between humanoid and non-humanoid forms.
“Boom!”
It was predictable that even after being tainted by chaos and undergoing bodily changes, his rank remained that of the mythical rank.
Fisher abruptly crashed through his room door, charging out in a form that was sticky but devoid of any secretion, like a smooth jelly gliding down the corridor, with hundreds of large eyes all over his body scanning every direction.
“Oh no, what if Jasmine and Raphael find out? What should I say?! Should I say this thing is your husband?! Fisher! Wait for me!”
Emhart, panicking, dashed after the “Fisher,” but luckily, he soon realized he was running towards the Blessing Tower, or rather, heading for the edge of the Dragon Court.
As long as it’s somewhere less populated!
The “Fisher-chan” of mythical rank charged outward, in the pitch-black night, like a rapidly spinning bowling ball, never touching the ground yet speeding fast, uncertain of where he was going.
Emhart’s book cover was almost smoking as he struggled to keep up, not only chasing after him but also attempting to calm him down, “Look, Fisher! There’s your favorite Sub over there!”
“Glub glub!”
Fisher kept going, racing through the night sky with a sonic boom, attracting the attention of residents below in the Dragon Court, of course, those ordinary people in the night could see nothing clearly.
“Raphael and Jasmine are still in the Dragon Court, where are you going?”
“Glub glub.”
No stopping?
“Are you going to Valentina and Captain Alagina? Don’t go there, you’re headed in the wrong direction; they are to the north!”
“Glub glub.”
This also didn’t work?
Emhart was stunned; at this moment, after hesitating for a second, he seemed to make some significant decision.
Despite his reluctance, he called out to the “Fisher” ahead, “Quickly look, your Hela is over there! It’s Baemon, look quickly!”
“.”
Still no stopping??!!
Emhart, at his wit’s end, felt tears brimming,
“Please stop, Fisher! I told you not to read it, you just wouldn’t listen, look at this now, you’ve turned into a ball! What am I going to do, boohoo!”
“Wah, hurry and stop, I totally forgot that Renee is in front!”
Exhausted, Emhart found it difficult to keep up, losing hope as he shouted in vain at Fisher’s increasingly distant figure.
Unexpectedly, right after he spoke, Fisher in front suddenly froze stiff. He continued to squirm and tremble, stopping in place, and unexpectedly, he began to drop straight down toward the ocean below.
“Crap, it really worked!”
Seeing this, Emhart immediately felt joy and hurried to follow him.
At this moment, they had flown out of the Dragon Court’s sea defense line and reached a spot about several kilometers from the coastline.
Below, sparse patches had only a few small islands, or rather, rocky outcrops appearing above the sea, and this “Fisher” was plummeting toward that place.
“Boom!”
“Fisher!”
This ball of “Fisher” covered in eyeballs crashed directly onto the reef in the ocean, creating a tremendous impact that displaced the rocks slightly, producing a loud bang. Following that, Fisher bounced back with great elasticity, accompanied by the blinking eyes all over, hopping on the ocean surface several times, finally coming to a stop at the edge of another reef.
“Glub glub.”
His entire body still bubbling, emanating an incredibly rich chaotic aura, but for some reason, Emhart felt he still possessed consciousness, quite different from the chaos seen in ideal realms.
“Fisher! Wow, I didn’t expect that my trick of saying Renee was here would actually make you stop, you really care about her. If I were Renee, to be honest, I’d be crying.”
Emhart hurriedly flew in front of him, chattering while anxiously checking his condition to confirm if he was okay.
“Wait a minute, what is this? A mark?”
While inspecting, Emhart noticed something wasn’t right; he found some recessed ∞ symbols appeared on the surface of the Fisher ball, unsure where they had come from.
As he gazed blankly, the dark overhead sky revealed a massive full moon, illuminating half of the sky and brightening the originally dim and vast ocean.
The cold moonlight spread across the surface of the sea, completely dispelling the indistinct gloom.
Emhart hesitantly looked up and unexpectedly noticed, at the edge of the reef, a silhouette of a woman in a black dress standing there, vaguely appearing as if she was manifesting from another world or the depths of the world.
Moments later, the shapeless shadow gradually took a specific form, revealing a beautiful woman with black hair, resembling an elder sister.
A faint fragrance wafted from the heavens, calming the waves and bringing tranquility to the passage of time.
Her gaze was anxious and worried, more so than Emhart’s.
“Renee? No, no, Lady Renee?! You… you’re really here?!”
Emhart stared blankly at the figure that had appeared, blinking once. Seconds later, he realized he truly hadn’t recognized wrongly; the person before him was indeed
“Step aside, let me see what’s wrong with him.”
However, Renee had no time to pay attention to Emhart. Under the watchful gaze of the cold moonlight, she hurried to Fisher’s side, examining the oddly-shaped “limited edition Fisher.”
