We Still Don't Know How Much Roselle Plagiarized

Klein fell silent for a few seconds, digesting this information.

"...So Welch and Naya were actually affected by the Beyonder characteristic contained in the Antigonus Family Notebook?"

"Possibly. No, I should say we'd better hope that was the case."

Lin Chuan nodded and explained, "Because there's another possibility: the notebook contains no Beyonder characteristic, but maintains a lasting connection to some Beyonder power, which continuously supplies it with the corresponding power."

"But if that's the case..." He fell silent for a moment, hesitating to continue.

Sure enough, Klein asked, "What would that mean?"

"An angel."

Lin Chuan calmly uttered the word.

"That could only mean the notebook came from an angel of the Antigonus Family, and its power also came from him. That's the only explanation that would make sense."

"And most importantly, that angel would have to still be alive. Otherwise, without its source of power, the notebook wouldn't work."

In fact, he knew perfectly well that the notebook contained no Beyonder characteristic, just like the sycophantic mirror called Arrodes and the City of Silver's god-level Sealed Artifact, the Gift of the Land.

The difference was that one of those latter two drew its power from the corruption of the Chaos Sea, while the other, as the name "Gift of the Land" suggested, received a gift-or rather, corruption-from the Brood Hive, which was also a Sefirah.

By comparison, the Antigonus Family Notebook was pretty underwhelming, relying only on An Banyu's residual power and a few mystical connections.

That said, Lin Chuan suspected that the notebook might also contain some of Antigonus's own Spirit Worms.

After all, one of the notebook's functions was to serve as a "gift from the ancestor," allowing descendants of the Antigonus Family to absorb its power-those on the Seer Pathway, of course.

As Lin Chuan remembered it, Ray Bieber's digestion ritual had been described as "using an ancient ritual to absorb the power contained in the notebook, much like directly consuming a higher-Sequence potion."

Considering that, after he lost control and died, he had left behind something resembling a grayish-white brain, that was probably the Beyonder characteristic transferred from the Spirit Worms in the notebook.

After Lin Chuan finished speaking, silence fell over the room again.

Klein unconsciously rubbed the cover of the Diary, the warm sensation beneath his fingertips helping him steady himself a little.

"...An angel." He repeated the word.

"In other words, that notebook might be some contingency left behind by an existence at Sequence Two or above-one who's still alive?"

"Mm..." Lin Chuan hesitated, unsure whether the news had frightened Klein.

Tsk, this won't do. Still, who has to fight an endgame boss before even leaving the starter village?

What? You're bringing up 008, the Quill of Alzuhod, Adam, the Angel of Imagination, and Amon, the Angel of Time...

Forget I said anything.

"There's no need to worry too much. It's only a theory, after all," Lin Chuan said, deciding to offer some reassurance in case he really had gone too far.

"So what if he really is an angel? He couldn't beat me in a brawl, you know?"

"?"

Klein looked up again. "I'm not worried."

"Then you..."

"Melissa will be back soon. I was wondering whether I should make some lamb stew with tender peas myself. What she makes is... honestly a little too plain."

Klein smiled, looking relaxed. "If it really is an angel-level existence, worrying about it isn't my job. The churches all have the protection of true gods. Surely they must have angels serving under them?"

"Besides, aren't I alive and well? If it really were that powerful, would I have the chance to sit here eating rye bread? If things really get to that point-"

He gave Lin Chuan a thumbs-up and teased, "I'll be counting on the great immortal Lin to bail me out."

Lin Chuan laughed and cursed at him, feeling somewhat relieved. That's Klein for you. He may be poor and cowardly, but I know he's a good boy.

...That formula really works, but did I apply it correctly or not?

He silently made that quip to himself, but at this hour, Melissa really was due home.

Rather than hide again or go to the trouble of explaining to Melissa why some ghostlike fellow was so familiar with her brother, he would be better off taking care of his own business.

He was still a spirit body. Without finding a body to inhabit, how could he show up fashionably late after Klein had finished his rye bread, carrying dumplings, soup dumplings, sweet-and-sour ribs, and more, then enthusiastically invite him to dig in?

But before leaving, he still had to make sure he explained the basics that needed explaining.

Following the thread of their conversation, Lin Chuan continued:

"There are a few other things you need to watch out for when distinguishing Beyonder items."

Klein nodded slightly to show he was listening.

"Beyonder items containing characteristics also fall into two categories. One is made by professional Artisans. The other forms when a characteristic isn't properly stored and naturally merges with an object."

"With the former, Beyonder Items made by Artisans generally have fewer side effects, and the abilities they provide can be selected or even strengthened."

"The latter is harder to say. Their side effects are often unknown and extremely dangerous, making them completely unusable."

"The churches frequently seek out and seal away such Beyonder items, assigning them numbers. Those are called 'Sealed Artifacts.'"

"Sealed Artifacts?" Klein looked puzzled. "Numbered Sealed Artifacts... Why does that sound a bit like SCP?"

At those words, Lin Chuan's expression instantly turned solemn.

He raised a hand, extended his middle finger, and resolutely pointed it at the ceiling, as though offering his greetings to some unseen existence:

"It must have been Roselle."

Klein: "..."

"Don't look at me like that. I'm serious. Whenever something in this world makes you think, 'Why does this setting feel so familiar?' chances are you can trace it back to that transmigrator predecessor of ours."

Lin Chuan lowered his hand. "I confirmed it myself. That guy was a transmigrator too."

"How did you confirm it? Did you look into his life?"

Klein immediately perked up. It would be wonderful if he could learn about that predecessor's life through Lin Chuan.

"No." Lin Chuan shook his head, then slowly spoke in a tone that mingled tragic solemnity with barely suppressed disbelief:

"I'll tell you one thing, and you'll understand."

"Back in the day, that guy serialized a book in an Intis newspaper called The Throne of the Son of Steam. Then he abandoned it halfway through."

"Why?" Klein asked instinctively. Surely it wasn't because he had become emperor and was too busy?

"I'm not too sure."

Lin Chuan answered expressionlessly, "Maybe it's because he transmigrated too early. I hadn't finished serializing Throne of Magical Arcana yet, so he couldn't copy the whole thing."