Feeling not too tired, Klein rubbed his temples and waved his hand, sending a small metal bottle flying over from the pile of clutter.
This contained a small tube of blood that he had painstakingly extracted from his own veins, which he had already carried above the Gray Fog, waiting for the opportunity for the spirit to enter " The Groselle's Travels " and explore the world within the book.
After unscrewing the cap, Klein didn't rush to smear the blood on the book's dark brown cover. Instead, he "summoned" all the items he had brought into this mysterious space before the Tarot Gathering from the pile of clutter and scattered them in front of him.
Considering the " Black Emperor's " striking appearance and without knowing the specifics of the world within the book, Klein decided not to carry the Card of Blasphemy. Instead, he would use the Azik Copper Whistle to reinforce his spirit body, lest he be instantly killed by some unknown force and be unable to return to the Gray Fog in time.
As the ancient and exquisite bronze whistle merged into his body, Klein's spirit appeared to swell slightly, but in reality, it became much thicker.
Two black flames then leaped from his eye sockets, as if they possessed their own life force.
Through Cogitation and adjusting his Spirituality, Klein absorbed all the coldness originating from death into his body, and the abnormality in his eyes quickly recovered.
This is like Evil Spirit disguising itself as an ordinary person to lure its prey closer.
Immediately afterwards, Klein donned the " Creeping Hunger " and concealed the Beyonder Characteristic of the " Death Knell " revolver and the " Nightmare " within his body. The latter was what he had prepared to explore the dreams of the creatures in the world of the book in order to find anomalies.
After making all the necessary preparations, he unscrewed the cap of the small metal vial, poured out a few drops of blood, and smeared it on the cover of Groselle's Travels.
After a brief wait, what he saw was initially blurry, as if it contained countless transparent things, but then it became clear: there was blue sky, white clouds, gray-brown city walls, and pedestrians coming and going.
It wasn't the icy land from before, but a city that looked perfectly normal on the surface... Klein stood by the rammed earth road, scrutinizing the inhabitants of the world in the book, and noticed that most of them wore linen shirts, brown short jackets, and dark, loose-fitting trousers, with an overall style similar to that of the Kingdom of Loen hundreds of years ago.
Looking down at his materialized tailcoat, stiff-collared shirt, and dark red bow tie, Klein silently altered them all, instantly becoming indistinguishable from those around him.
He then walked towards the city gate, preparing to enter.
Just then, a gatekeeper wearing leather armor stopped him:
"Entry tax! 1 Riddle."
Do I look like I have money? I don't even know what Riddle is... Klein muttered to himself with amusement, then used the "communication" between spirits to successfully divert the attention of the gate guards to the caravan entering the city behind them.
As a quasi- Wraith capable of possessing Manipulation others, exerting mental influence on targets is normal practice. This ability isn't particularly strong, but it's very effective against ordinary people.
Upon entering the city, Klein strolled through the streets with a relaxed demeanor despite his inner vigilance. He felt that the public sanitation here was even better than in Backlund a few years ago, and it seemed to have a well-developed sewer system, so there was no issue of upstairs residents dumping feces, urine, or garbage.
"It doesn't look like a fictional world from the book at all. Everyone has ' Spirit Body Threads '..." Klein examined the building as he walked forward, when he suddenly noticed a stone building over ten meters tall to his side. It had only two floors, and the top of the door was about four meters from the ground.
Next to the building stood a sign with a few words written in a language unlike any other, yet which Klein could understand at a glance:
" Pesot Blacksmiths' Guild "
There's also the blacksmiths' guild. This place really hasn't reached the Steam age yet... Just as Klein was remarking this, the door creaked open, and a Giant abnormally long limbs walked out!
The Giant, with his greyish-blue skin, distinctive vertical One-Eyed on his head, and carrying a large, heavy iron hammer, walked toward the other side of the street with a smirk on his face.
The people passing by were not afraid of him, as if they had seen too many of them.
They even greeted the Giant:
Good afternoon, Groselle!
Groselle... Klein, who was rather face-blind when it came to Giant' appearances, suddenly felt a sense of familiarity!
He was about to give chase when he saw the Giant turn into another street and disappear from his sight.
Klein stood still, silently watching the intersection of the two streets, a vague guess forming in his mind:
"In the world of the book, there is also a Groselle?"
"No, the travelogue ends with Groselle dying in the Land of Frost..."
"That's a different story?"
With many questions swirling in his mind, Klein didn't rush to find Groselle, but instead turned and entered a tavern on the side of the street.
Such places are often the most chaotic and complex in a city, which helps him to quickly grasp the overall situation.
The pub was dimly lit and poorly ventilated, making the air feel somewhat stuffy. At this time, there weren't many people drinking; most were at the bar, chatting happily with each other and the bartender.
Klein walked over slowly, his gaze suddenly freezing.
He saw a man sitting to the side of the bar, wearing a pointed black hat and an asymmetrical coat. He was good-looking, with flaxen hair, dark brown eyes, a high nose, and thin lips. He was none other than Viscount Mobett Zoroast of the Solomon Empire!
Seeing him reminded Klein of the image of this " Dream Stealer " Aging rapidly, collapsing to the ground, struggling to crawl toward the Elf Singer Siatas, and grasping her hand.
It all seemed so clear, like it had just happened yesterday, yet now Mobett was standing before him once again.
Klein calmed down, walked over, and sat down next to Mobett.
He didn't speak; he knew Mobett would initiate the conversation.
"Outsider, first time in Pesot? I swear, I've never seen you before." Mobett put down his glass of distilled spirits and turned to look at Klein.
"I come from the Land of Frost," Klein casually made up.
Mobett burst into laughter:
"You're joking, this is the Land of Frost, of course, that was many years ago."
"Ever since the legendary ' King of the North ' was killed by some adventurers—no, heroes—there has been no more ice and snow here. Everyone thinks it should now be called the Land of Neverwinter."
Klein fell silent and did not respond.
"Why so serious? Looks like you have your own pain too." Mobett tapped the bar counter sympathetically, took a swig of his drink, and said, "Let me tell you, a man should never get married, it'll be the start of a lifetime of suffering! You know what? When she has even the slightest emotional fluctuation, she'll beat me up—when she's happy, she'll beat me up, she'll beat me up, she'll beat me up no matter what! I've decided, from now on, I'm not coming home!"
"So she married Siatas?" Klein paused for two seconds, then looked at Mobett's face and found no bruises or swelling, which meant that the Elf Singer still knew that men had to save face.
He asked with a sigh:
"Then why did you marry her?"
Mobett paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly:
"I came here with the caravan. The first time I saw her, she was so beautiful, her singing so enchanting, yet seemingly concealing an indescribable sorrow. Ah, how much I admired her then, that's how much I fear her now! I will never go back. Hey, why do you seem a little sad? Don't be sad for me, I'm free now!"
Just then, the tavern door was flung open with a bang, and a clear, melodious female voice called out:
" Mobett, get out here!"
"I'll count to ten. If you don't come home, don't ever come back!"
"Nineteen..."
Mobett sprang to his feet and sprinted toward the door, muttering to himself as he ran:
"I know you won't have the patience; every time you finish counting to 8, you just jump straight to 2!"
Klein turned his body and saw Siatas's figure, but no longer had the idea of going over to talk to her.
The real Mobett and Siatas are dead; those who live here are merely two characters from the world of the book.
Standing up and leaving the tavern, Klein went to a nearby deserted alley, intending to first find out what the Spirit World here was like.
He quickly sketched out one layer of light sphere after another in his mind, his thoughts gradually emptied, and his body and mind became calm.
As his Spirituality expanded, many indescribable illusory figures appeared around him, but the seven clear, different-colored beams of light containing countless knowledge were not visible in the high sky.
"There are no Seven Lights... and not enough Spirit World beings... This is indeed a false Spirit World constructed by the book itself..." Klein stepped in and felt the colors before him suddenly become vivid and intense, overlapping with distinct boundaries.
He didn't rush to explore this Spirit World; instead, he withdrew and wandered around the City of Pesot, chatting with people.
It didn't take long for him to find Groselle's place.
The Giant, who ran a blacksmith shop, was leisurely lying on his large bed on the second floor, taking a nap.
Klein walked straight through the wall and arrived next to Groselle.
He stared at the Giant for a few seconds, then drew upon the Beyonder Characteristic of " Nightmare " from his spirit, using its innate abilities with considerable difficulty.
A deep, tranquil darkness quickly spread, instantly enveloping Klein and Groselle. In his spirit form, Klein directly saw an irregular, hazy sphere of light.
His Spirituality immediately spread over and touched the sphere of light.
Various fragmented scenes flashed by around him in an instant, finally settling on a forest with huge, towering, yet decaying and withered trees. On the opposite side of the forest, mountain peaks stood tall, cliffs steep, and at the top was a magnificent and splendid palace.
The palace was tall and magnificent, seemingly not made for humankind, giving one the immediate impression that it came from mythology, while the Twilight light that fell upon it seemed to be frozen in time.
Klein had seen this palace before; it was the " Giant King's Court " that appeared in the dream world of the Ruins of the Gods' Battle!
However, his perspective is completely different now; he is currently positioned behind the royal court!