N-A-A Chapter 34 Eating Books
Chapter 34 Eating Books
"Splash—"
Black and green splashes of water rippled outwards. On the surface of the murky underground river, Luo Lan emerged from the water.
Dragging his soaking wet body, Luo Lan swam back to the sewer cave where the Thunder Crocodile had once lived.
Standing in the center of the cave, Luo Lan looked around the open area and looked up at the rusty iron braziers fixed to the rock walls.
These were clearly man-made. He hadn't thought much of it before, but after turning the entire underground palace upside down, Luo Lan found the existence of this place increasingly jarring.
Unlike the Stone Bridge Cave, the food chain between the giant centipede and the crystal worm is easily discernible.
The Thunder Crocodile that once roamed the sewer cave, and the densely packed stitched corpses on each level of the underground palace, always exuded a sense of incongruity that Luo Lan found hard to understand, as if someone had deliberately stuffed them into this closed ecosystem.
Who built this underground palace?
Luo Lan's dark red, single eye scanned back and forth among the man-made carving marks on the rock face.
From several neat chisel marks on the brazier to a deep, square passageway in the ceiling.
Luo Lan had glimpsed this passage the first time he came in through the sewers, but at the time he was completely focused on the Thunder Crocodile and didn't have time to think about it in detail.
But now, after turning the entire underground palace upside down, this passage leading to the unknown has become the last place in the entire underground palace that Roland has not yet set foot in, apart from the arcane rune gate.
Let's go up and take a look.
The eight spider spears unfolded from his back and pierced into the stone wall. The [Grasp Bristles] easily clung to the rough rock surface, dragging Luo Lan up to the ceiling.
The cross-section of the square passage was excessively regular, with a side length of about three meters, which was just enough for Luo Lan's thorny bone-stitched corpse to squeeze into.
The passage was extremely dark, not a single ray of light could penetrate it. A stench of rotting corpses, far stronger and more pungent than that of a sewer, mixed with the acrid smell of some kind of bitter medicine, went straight into Luo Lan's throat.
The eight spider spears alternately pierced the stone wall, pushing upwards, six or seven meters, thirty meters... After about sixty or seventy meters, their heads touched a cold, hard metal surface.
A thick, rusty iron plate blocked the exit.
The material was similar to the rusted iron doors in the underground palace, but several times thicker, and when you knocked on it, it returned a dull, solid sound.
The eight spider spears, embedded in the stone wall of the passage, stabilized Luo Lan's suspended body. Looking up at the iron plate, Luo Lan took a deep breath:
"Open it for me!"
The moment the low growl left his lips, [Sonic Shock lv.2] unleashed its full power.
Multi-frequency diffused sound waves slammed into the surface of the iron plate at close range. The center of the iron plate was first dented, and the dent became deeper and deeper as the sound waves continued to be output.
"Bang!"
Starting from the outer edge of the dent, the iron plate bulged upwards, the rusted metal at the weld made a tearing sound, and finally, accompanied by a metallic bending sound, the entire iron plate, along with the floor it was welded to, bounced upwards, tearing open a large hole.
Luo Lan climbed out of the hole, using the Eight Spider Lances to prop herself up the edge of the hole and climb over.
The moment she landed, Luo Lan instinctively assumed a defensive stance.
But this is not a monster's lair.
What came into view was a strange sight he had never seen before in this underground palace.
Next to the hole stood an iron dissection table, on which lay several silver scalpels on an iron tray, with a few black sutures remaining on the blades.
The bloodstains on the table retained a moist, purplish-red hue—clearly the characteristic color of blood from a violently induced horrific morgue.
A magical crystal lamp overhead emitted a steady, soft blue light, filling the entire room.
Colorful bottles and jars filled the cabinets on all four walls, with glass bottles containing solutions of various colors.
Some hardcover books were scattered haphazardly on the bookshelves, on the floor, and on the counter piled with parchment scrolls...
Each book cover was stamped with text that Luo Lan couldn't understand at all.
Most strikingly, unlike the books that were randomly piled up, there was an open, antique hardcover book on the wooden table in the center of the room.
The pages of the book turned on their own without any wind, bursting forth with dazzling arcane light, constructing ever-changing three-dimensional magical patterns in mid-air on the table. Geometric shapes and magical runes nested, rotated, disassembled, and reassembled each other.
Looking at the interior filled with a strong sense of fantasy, and the magical symbols floating in the air, Luo Lan immediately had a rough guess:
[Is this... the top floor of the underground palace?]
If there's any place in the entire underground palace that Luo Lan hasn't set foot in, it's the top floor, which is sealed off by an arcane rune gate.
[Does this square passageway lead directly from the top floor to the sewers?]
Luo Lan glanced back at the breach in the passage beneath his feet. It seemed he had stumbled upon the closed arcane gate and taken a "shortcut."
Having understood, Luo Lan walked towards the hardcover book in the center of the room, which was constantly emitting arcane light.
After taking only a few steps, still ten meters away from the book, the ancient hardcover book seemed to sense the approaching person. All its arcane radiance subsided on its own, the pages quietly closed, and it lay motionless in the center of the wooden table.
Seeing this, Luo Lan slowed down, remaining vigilant against any potential magical traps.
But things went surprisingly smoothly.
Walking to the wooden table, Luo Lan tentatively and carefully pinched the corner of the hardcover book and lifted it up.
[Hmm... there are no traps.]
Unlike the Arcane Gate, where Luo Lan was burned by arcane runes upon touching it, this strange book could be freely flipped through.
There is only one question—
Luo Lan doesn't understand at all!
Originating from the soul of a corporate slave on Earth, facing this densely packed alien script, he was no different from an illiterate person.
Luo Lan had no choice but to put down the book that looked important and turn around to look at the bottles and jars covering the wall.
The solutions inside the glass bottles gleamed strangely under the crystal lamps, some resembling alchemical potions, others containing grayish-white powder.
The bottles and jars were labeled, but Luo Lan couldn't decipher the words on them either.
Unable to figure it out, Luo Lan stubbornly picked up another book that was lying at her feet.
The dense text was still crammed onto the page. After staring at it for a while, Luo Lan felt a sense of being mocked and stifled, just like when she was studying on Earth and had to grapple with an obscure foreign language.
Looking at these irritating words, a thought suddenly flashed through Luo Lan's mind.
[Since monster corpses and various metals can be [forged], what about books?]
The thought immediately crossed his mind, and his fingers began to caress the pages of the book.
[Condensation Casting - Melting Casting]
[Consumed Chaos Essence: 55]
[Current Chaotic Essence: 5500]
Purple-black particles surged from the palm of the hand, enveloping the book layer by layer, until the pages and cover gradually vanished into nothingness within the light particles.
The contents of the book were detached from the dissipated book and floated in mid-air. The words and patterns arranged into flowing ribbons of light, swirling into Luo Lan's mind.
[Already forged: A Brief History of the Development of the Secret Academy]
[Tier: Iron+]
[Knowledge: Akquad Common Language lv.0.1, Eighth Age Magic History lv.0.2]
[Akquad Common Language lv.0.1: You have a basic understanding of the common language of the various races of Akquad. However, you still cannot listen, speak, read, or write it.]
[The History of Magic in the Eighth Age lv.0.2: You have heard about some of the mainstream magical development of the Eighth Age. Although you cannot glimpse the introductory secrets of basic magic, it is enough for you to chime in a few words when a bard is boasting.]
"Wow, you can't even do that?"
Luo Lan stood there, covering her skeletal head, which was still being bombarded with information, and let out a low gasp mixed with surprise.
Feeling the "knowledge" that had suddenly appeared in her mind, Luo Lan looked at the dozen or so books scattered throughout the room with anticipation in her eyes.
[This is all free knowledge!]