Old Days Secret Scripture

Chapter 17: Old Days Secret Scripture

Anvis frowned. He had no impression of this book at all; its author probably could not even be considered mildly famous.

How had such a book entered the family's Grand Library? Could its material possess considerable collectible value? While making mildly malicious guesses about the book's origins, Anvis quickly flipped through it.

The pages were made of a material similar to parchment, bearing the faint yellowish tint unique to old books. The text within was likewise written in pale silver High Elf script.

The first half consisted of several absurdly fantastical High Elf epic poems, while the latter half contained somewhat abstract, simple illustrations that appeared to depict landscapes the author had casually sketched.

Based on the writing style of these poems, Anvis judged that the book's creator, Hill, had likely lived around the middle to late Golden Age.

Judging from its unusual and carefree structure—text in the first half, illustrations in the latter half, and even several blank pages at the end—it was most likely nothing more than a casually written notebook.

However, Anvis noticed that on the final page of the poetic text, the writing was somewhat blurry, and the page itself was faintly blackened.

"No Mana Fluctuation, and the contents are utterly worthless."

After flipping through it once, Anvis furrowed his brow slightly. He stared at the Dark Green cover, unconsciously rubbing his chin.

Now that he was holding it, that strange sense of familiarity had become clearer, but it went no further than that.

Still unwilling to give up, he flipped through it again in reverse, taking special care to inspect the slightly blackened page, but he found nothing.

Anvis gave up studying the book's contents. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, he slowly stroked the book's surface, feeling the texture of its cover. From time to time, he tapped it lightly and listened to the sound it gave back.

Then he brought his nose close and carefully sniffed the scent lingering on the material's surface.

After hesitating for a while, he even used the tip of his tongue to taste it.

After examining it for quite some time, Anvis discovered with some surprise that the material composing the book's cover did not belong to any material he had ever known! This was an exceedingly rare situation. After all, Little Anvis in his previous life had held the title of Magister.

The rarity of a material even he did not recognize was self-evident.

Anvis fell into thought. Deep down, he vaguely understood that the next step should be to link his Spiritual Power to the book.

But the book's feeling was simply too strange. He was no longer a Player who could revive, so he had to consider the risks of doing so.

"That is what happened. So, I hope to receive your help."

In the study at Moonrise Fortress, the duke sat behind his broad Black Dragon Blood Wood desk, listening carefully to Anvis's account.

An unusual and exquisite hourglass sat at one corner of the desk. Within a transparent crystal prism floating above its base, fine silver sand speckled with Blue starlight flowed downward like water, producing a faint rustling sound.

Having learned the full story, the duke nodded approvingly. He affirmed Anvis's prudent decision to tell him everything and ask him to check whether any danger was present.

"Your choice was very correct, Anvis! When it comes to mysterious items whose effects have not been identified, no amount of caution is excessive.

You must know that the probability of pie and the probability of traps are often equal.

Remember this well: as the bloodline heir of my Olivenndi family, you must never place yourself in a dangerous situation, no matter the circumstances!"

As he spoke, the duke casually tapped the desktop. An ice-blue Miniature Magic Array flashed beneath his fingertip. A few seconds later, Butler Leonard's upright figure appeared at the doorway.

"Your Grace, what are your orders?"

"Go to the third subsection of the miscellaneous records section in the Grand Library and find a book called Hill's Poem. Bring it here. This is the authorization nameplate."

Taking out a silver metal plaque engraved with the family crest, Duke Carlot casually handed it to Leonard.

In less than half a minute, Butler Leonard returned to the study, placed the book and nameplate on the desk, then quietly withdrew from the room.

"Is this the book?"

"Yes, Father."

There was no need for a close inspection. The moment Leonard returned to the study for the second time, Anvis sensed that familiar feeling of closeness.

Without question, its source was the thick book on the desk.

The duke beckoned, and the thick Dark Green book flew automatically into his hand. By the sunlight streaming in through the ornate arched windows, he slowly flipped through it.

"Father, have you found anything?"

Anvis quietly watched the duke's movements, a trace of curiosity in his tone.

"Its material is somewhat unusual. It seems to have originated from some exceptionally ancient creature."

As he spoke, Duke Carlot sent a strand of Ninth-Order Spiritual Power into the book.

But immediately afterward, his originally relaxed expression gradually turned serious, and a grave glint flashed through his azure eyes.

The result was completely beyond his expectations. Under the probing of powerful Ninth-Order Spiritual Power, the book gave off neither the slightest Mana Fluctuation nor any abnormal feedback, as if it were entirely an ordinary handcrafted book.

"No abnormalities at all? Interesting... Anvis, do you still feel that connection to it?"

Looking at the unchanged Dark Green tome, the duke's azure eyes slowly narrowed.

"Yes, Father."

Anvis glanced at the book in the duke's hand with a hint of longing and nodded in confirmation.

"Good. Then take it and link it with your Spiritual Power. If there is a problem, I will immediately intervene and sever the connection. There is no need to worry—"

Without any visible movement from the duke, the heavy Dark Green ancient tome rose from his palm into the air and slowly drifted toward Anvis.

Anvis took a deep breath, reached out to catch it, and extended his Spiritual Power to connect with it.

In an instant, a strange change occurred.

Under Anvis's gaze, the book's surface gradually began to give off a strange, ominous dark "aura."

Pitch-black shadows flowed out from the pale silver lettering on the cover like water, gradually spreading outward.

Before long, the original pale silver title was completely swallowed up. The shadows became a shapeless mass of darkness, writhing as it occupied the center of the cover.

On the back of the book, the once pale silver, warm sun Symbol had now transformed into a pitch-black blazing sun.

The sunlight surrounding it became twisted and frenzied, like countless struggling, wildly dancing tentacles, evoking a bizarre and loathsome feeling.

As the book changed, faint, eerie whispers sounded in the depths of Anvis's mind.

The sound left his mind slightly dazed. It was absolutely not any language he knew. He even suspected that the sound could not have been produced by human vocal cords.

The surrounding environment gradually began to distort, and the light warped and blurred slightly.

The colors of various objects became intense and vivid, like an old photograph with its contrast turned all the way up.

The hourglass's once faint and orderly rustling had somehow become clear, chaotic, and frenzied. It was like some kind of jumbled, meaningless background noise from the depths of a desolate universe.

Anvis did not notice the changes in his surroundings as he turned the book back to its front cover for the second time.

At this moment, the pitch-black mass of shadow seemed to have completely digested the original pale silver words.

It twisted and shifted once more, forming two faintly writhing pitch-black words in High Elven Language where the title had originally been.

"Old Days Secret Scripture?①"

①: In the original text, these were two connected words in High Elven Language. The first word could mean: past; ancient; a long span of time. The second meant: secret; hidden truth; concealed knowledge.