When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 696: Chapter 85: 3 Secret Volumes!

Chapter 696: Chapter 85: 3 Secret Volumes!

Aiwass drank the hallucinogenic coffee, and the coffee shop with its forest-themed decor suddenly underwent a bizarre change.

The brown wooden walls surrounding him instantaneously roared as they expanded and grew taller, all decorations shattering into pieces with a roar, then gathering back together.

The original coffee shop now stretched into a colossal structure akin to a giant’s palace.

The wooden structure had turned into solid brick and stone, and the light dimmed.

The books that had been on the shelves before had also completely transformed into different volumes amidst the shattering and reassembling.

The light of the setting sun now seemed as dark as night…

Mysteriously, a few candles that hadn’t been there before started to burn in the room.

Perhaps it was the sudden change in perspective, or maybe it was a side effect of the coffee…

Only after the intense dizziness and the sensation of weightlessness had dissipated did Aiwass dare to stand up.

He turned to look at Hebashia.

At this moment, she was no longer the petite elf girl from before, but rather a beautiful woman over thirty, with a considerably mature demeanor.

She had splendid hair, golden and curly, with streaks of deep red like the sun.

Her pupils were no longer amber but a deep blue, spinning with a twelve-pointed star of light.

The clothes she wore had also completely changed, now a majestic purple robe.

The robe was covered with constellations connected by golden threads in geometric patterns, and in her hand, she held a long staff — the staff was surrounded by an eight-pointed star, inside of which spun a twenty-sided die.

“You go pick out a book first,” Hebashia said again, her voice reaching Aiwass’s ears as a mature and intellectual cold cadence, “As for the gift…

I need to prepare it properly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pick out the best weapon for her — anyway, a weapon suited for the Path of Adaptation is of no use to me.

Let it be a testament to our friendly cooperation.”

Having said that, she disappeared into fading remnants, just like the flipping bookshelves before.

Aiwass couldn’t even be sure if this was due to his own hallucinations or if she really had disintegrated into fragments.

Aiwass turned to look at the bookshelves.

On those massive bookshelves, scattered bits of red and purple brilliance twinkled.

Small lights shone like stars, the large ones like the sun.

However, Aiwass did not pay attention to them — because this time he was not here to find a Codex Book for himself.

His own construction was already quite complete, and it was difficult to gain enhancement through acquiring a Codex Book.

Aiwass closed his left eye and observed them only with his right eye.

After a brief dimness, those colorful shades brightened up.

He slightly adjusted and then located those books sparkling with green light, confirming their titles.

— The Remnant Scrolls of Spider Carcasses.

That seemed to be a power of the Grey Celestial Marshal, possibly a degraded version of Spider’s Silk Sensing…

— Murderous Intent Manual.

Aiwass had an impression of this one; it was a must-learn Codex Book for assassins, very powerful.

Since it was in Hebashia’s possession, it must indicate that it was now a lost art, which was good…

at least it meant that nobody else had gotten hold of it.

— Cat’s Paradox.

This mystical book detailed the “Spell of Becoming a Cat”.

A Transcendent of the Path of Adaptation could study it to obtain “Cat’s Step,” “Swiftness of the Cat,” and “Cat’s Speech,” and those who mastered it could transform themselves into a cat.

Lily might be interested, but it was hard to say.

After all, werewolves are somewhat dog-like, and cats and dogs don’t mix…

— Golden Shackles and Silver Chains Discourse.

This was a book for writers and playwrights from the Path of Beauty.

“…Found it.”

Aiwass found the book he was looking for.

It was a thin volume, an illustrated book with detailed explanations.

— Hell’s Metamorphosis: Interpretation.

This book belonged to the Path of Beauty and was a mystical book exclusive to the profession of “Painter.” It could greatly strengthen illusion skills, teaching the “Painful Illusion Technique.” This was an important supplement Aiwass was seeking for Isabel…

With this, Isabel would truly have combat capability.

It did not count as a Codex Book, so it only took up one gift position.

Aiwass first picked it up because the book was actually a pair.

As Aiwass lifted the book, a faint green glow began to brighten in his eyes.

He walked straight to that spot and took down the book.

— Puppet-Face Manual.

This was the primary purpose of Aiwass’s visit.

It didn’t look like a Codex Book at all.

It bore the title “The Evaluation and Care of Jewels” on its cover as if it were just an ordinary book.

If it were not for Aiwass’s right eye seeing it shimmering with resplendent green light, one might simply think it was a normal book.

And when Aiwass covered the Puppet-Face Manual with Hell’s Metamorphosis: Interpretation, both books changed —

They seemed to stick together.

Aiwass tore off Hell’s Metamorphosis: Interpretation with force — and with a ripping sound, its title changed to Hell’s Metamorphosis: Puppet Play.

The Puppet-Face Manual, as if a layer had been peeled off, revealed its inner structure.

This book was a size smaller than the previous disguised volume.

Its body was as white as ivory, and its surface looked like a human face, yet also like a white mask.

This book allowed advanced professionals in the Path of Beauty such as “Tragic Actors,” “Comedians,” or prodigies in the acting field to obtain the mystical skill of “Puppet Face.”

Its function was simple.

It was to craft unique masks.

If someone else wore one of your masks, they could be transformed into the likeness of Isabel and could be controlled by her consciousness to take over the body and use Isabel’s abilities.

And if you wore someone else’s mask, you could be transformed into that person and be briefly controlled by that person’s consciousness, all the while being able to use that person’s abilities temporarily.

— That was the “Double Act.”

This was the strongest ability in the acting field.

Using the masks for transformation allowed one to manipulate the other, or to choose not to control — if not controlled, it was equivalent to creating a duplicate.

And all the abilities that the duplicate could use were based on one’s level of illusion expertise.

Isabel already had “Resilient Illusion”, and now she had acquired the new term “Cunning Spell”.

Unless something unexpected happened, her ability build would definitely plunge deep into the art of illusions.

It seemed she could no longer inherit Bettina Dia Vanhua’s legacy to become the Queen Vanhua of the original timeline.

As for Yanis, her mastery of illusion techniques wasn’t deep enough.

She was a specialized Art Maestro with a focus on painting, with some understanding of other arts but not proficient in them.

Which meant that Isabel’s path from now on had to rely on herself.

—But what good artistic legacy could one find in Avalon?

Either trick a few legacies out of the Iris Flower or come to Holy Nation in search of the Codex Book.

The latter option was definitely brighter than the former—after all, once you have the Codex Book, you can still trick out some skill heritages, but with a skill heritage, you still can’t get your hands on the Codex Book.

Aiwass tidied up the two books and put them back in front of his desk, waiting for the drug effects to fade.

In the meantime, with nothing better to do…

he picked up a few purple mystical tomes and read them contentedly.

Sherlock, who was the first to drink the coffee, was the first to snap out of the hallucination.

Although he didn’t hear the conversation with Hebashia, when Sherlock regained his consciousness and looked around to find the box gone, he could roughly guess what had happened.

…

Are the books here so expensive?

Sherlock was shocked inwardly.

He had one, Lily had another, Aiwass had one in hand and two more in front.

Five books in total…

and hundreds of thousands of White Crown Coins were gone just like that.

Although the Hermes family was also a major clan, their economic situation wasn’t very good.

Or rather, all Knight Families who didn’t take bribes from the Lohar Society were short on money.

This was the cost of taking the high road.

And yet, Aiwass casually took out tens of thousands of White Crown Coins for himself…

This made the proud Sherlock struggle to accept it momentarily.

Even though they were close friends, this was simply too much.

A small manor in Avalon cost only about four to five thousand White Crown Coins—without considering the antiques and decorations within, this was already equivalent to the value of ten Hermes manors.

—Even the great artists who patronize the Iris Flower don’t cost this much!

But Sherlock knew that Aiwass would never agree to let him put the book back.

Instead, he might feel that their relationship was too estranged, which could even anger him.

…

Is there any other way to help Aiwass save some money?

Sherlock pondered seriously.

Even if Aiwass didn’t care about the money, he couldn’t possibly accept such a precious gift with a clear conscience.

Or perhaps find a way to get Aiwass some extraordinary items, mystical tomes or something…

At that moment, Aiwass also let out a breath and came back to his senses.

He looked around and first saw Sherlock: “Which one did you choose?”

Sherlock spread out the book for Aiwass to see.

—The “Fools’ Chants Manual”.@@novelbin@@

“Not bad, good eye.

It’s super suitable for you,” Aiwass praised while giving a thumbs up, “I have nothing else to say.”

He had initially picked out that book for Sherlock, which was also the most valuable one there.

Like the “Murderous Intent Manual”, it was an absolute core for the entire profession.

Without it, the gameplay would be very stiff.

The effect of “Fools’ Chants” was incredibly formidable—simply put, by activating it, you could forego the casting elements of all chantings and rituals from the Path of Wisdom at the cost of increased mana consumption and cooldowns, thus significantly reducing the casting time for nearly all spells.

For most spells, the reduction is almost to the point of being instant.

Moreover, many spells have no cooldown.

And this ability could be turned on and off at will, very flexible.

There was no need to worry about burning through mana too quickly.

Sherlock, however, raised an eyebrow.

—How do you know the effect of this lost Codex Book without me explaining to you the knowledge recorded within?

“What about Lily?”

Lily passed the book to Aiwass to inspect.

On the cover was “Egg Moon Manual”.

“…

Is there such a book for the Path of Adaptation?”

Aiwass stroked his chin, took a while to remember: “Isn’t that a Codex Book for the Path of Love?”

“If the young master needs it, I can also exchange it for something else,” Lily said without hesitation.

“No, the Codex Book is all about…

besides necessary heritage, it’s more about personal compatibility.

Although I don’t know why you would choose this one, there must be a reason.

Trust your intuition!” Aiwass said with a smile.

He then looked towards Hebashia who had returned behind the counter: “We have made our choices, Miss Hebashia.”

Upon hearing this, Hebashia came over to inspect: “The ‘Egg Moon Manual’…

it fits you quite well—duality of love and adaptation.

‘Puppet-Face Manual’?

Is that one for someone else?

Also, what about this…”

She saw the book Sherlock was holding and her eyes widened: “‘Fools’ Chants Manual’?”

“…

Is there a problem with it?” Sherlock felt uneasy.

“Oh, nothing.

I’m just surprised that your Path of Authority is at such a high level.

Being chosen by this book shows that in addition to wisdom and authority, you also have an affinity for the Path of Transcendence, child.”

—What?

Sherlock was shocked and even a bit guilty: How could I, so loyal to my country, have any affinity with those rebels from the Path of Transcendence?

It was only then that he realized what Aiwass’s thumbs up meant.

This damn Fox!

He knew he would never say flattering words!