Chapter 212: Burn After Reciting

Chapter 212: Burn After Reciting

Holding the copper knife, Danitz gestured a few times over the back of his left hand, hesitating without applying force.

He raised his head and squeezed out a smile.

“Although I’ve been injured plenty of times, pain still frightens me.”

“Get to the point,” Klein replied coldly.

Danitz laughed dryly.

“Haha. I’m just a little afraid of pain.”

The instant his voice fell, his right hand had already exerted force. He cut a gash across the back of his hand with the copper knife. His earlier words seemed only to have been a way to distract himself and ease his mood.

Blood swiftly seeped out. Danitz hurriedly put down the knife, dipped a finger of his right hand into the blood, and smeared it onto the deep-brown cover of Travels of Groselle.

After completing that step, he held his breath and waited for the change.

Suddenly, snowflakes as large as goose feathers appeared before his eyes. His ears filled with howling wind. Immediately afterward, bone-piercing cold drilled madly into his body.

Although Danitz had already prepared himself mentally, at that moment, he was still filled with shock and alarm. Instinctively, he looked around to confirm where he was.

He discovered that, at some unknown point, he had already left the Golden Dream’s captain’s cabin and was now in a frost-covered land shrouded by a blizzard. Because the environment was so harsh, he could not see far ahead, and he could not even determine whether he was on a mountain or a plain.

I really entered a strange world… Is the captain here too? Danitz raised his hand to shield his face, afraid the wind and snow would blind him.

After calming himself slightly, he remembered Gehrman Sparrow’s instructions. He hurriedly took the square-folded note from his trouser pocket and cautiously unfolded it.

During that process, he was especially afraid that some accident might occur, causing the note to tear or be blown away. That would make him lose all hope. Fortunately, none of that happened, and he saw what Gehrman Sparrow had written:

“Use Hermes, preferably ancient Hermes, to recite the following honorific name:

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era;

“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.

“Burn after reciting.”

This… Is this a hidden existence at the level of a deity? Because Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina had strictly educated him, Danitz was by no means illiterate in the field of mysticism. In fact, he had a rather solid foundation.

Looking at the note in his hand, he subconsciously inhaled sharply, taking in the biting cold wind and icy snowflakes. He instantly coughed repeatedly, his expression twisting.

He could now confirm a previous guess:

Gehrman Sparrow truly belonged to an extremely powerful and secretive organization, and that organization worshiped a deity-level existence called The Fool!

As expected, someone that powerful and that mad can’t possibly have no origin. People like that don’t just grow out of the ground at random… Danitz tugged at his collar, tightening his clothing. Looking at the note fluttering violently in the wind, his face showed obvious hesitation.

He knew very clearly how dangerous it was to recite the name of a hidden existence whose origins, good, and evil were unknown. It might invite an ending even more terrible than death!

The captain is trapped here too, and she can’t get out… Danitz pressed his fist before his mouth.

Suddenly, he flung his hand and recited The Fool’s honorific name in ancient Hermes.

…

Aboard the Golden Dream, inside the captain’s cabin.

Klein watched with his own eyes as Danitz first became illusory for no reason, then vanished. He no longer had any doubt about the method for entering Travels of Groselle.

After patiently waiting for a while, illusory, overlapping prayers suddenly sounded beside his ears, and they clearly came from a man.

Phew. Looks like Travels of Groselle cannot cut off the gray fog. The world inside the book can still connect to that mysterious space… In that case, even if I follow them inside, I won’t be without a route of retreat or a trump card… Klein did not hide his sigh of relief.

To confirm it, he once again walked four steps counterclockwise, recited the incantation, and arrived above the gray fog. There, he saw the light spot representing Danitz rippling in circles beside The Fool’s high-backed chair.

“The body and soul enter together… The world inside the book is very stable. It cannot be shattered by pulling at the spirit body… That makes sense. If it could, the previous divination would have given the corresponding revelation… The Sea God Scepter is too dangerous. Directly ‘bestowing’ it to Danitz would only make him swiftly perish…” Klein half-closed his eyes and extended his spirituality, sensing for a while and drawing many conclusions.

He did not delay. He immediately returned to the real world, picked up the copper knife, and wiped away Danitz’s blood from it with paper.

After folding the paper and placing it in his pocket, he began considering what to do next.

“It seems I’ll have to smear blood on the cover and enter directly. That way, I won’t have to worry about my body encountering accidents, and I can solve the problem quickly.

“But I still cannot be careless. I have to guard against other dangers. Mm… If someone aboard has a problem, and after I enter Travels of Groselle, they find a chance to sneak into the captain’s cabin and sacrifice the book to the True Creator, the Primordial Demoness, or the Hidden Sage, I’ll be in huge trouble. I would definitely be better off dead.

“Most of the Golden Dream’s crew seem to admire Vice Admiral Iceberg. Even Anderson’s shallow provocation worked earlier, which is enough to prove many things. Therefore, I can tell them this concerns Vice Admiral Iceberg’s life and have them supervise each other so no one can enter. That should be reliable.

“The problem is Anderson. He is the Strongest Hunter, stronger than any Beyonder aboard the ship, and he is skilled at ambush and infiltration. There is no small chance he could avoid the others’ supervision and sneak into the captain’s cabin… His background isn’t too clear either, so I can’t truly trust him.

“I have to think of a way to make him enter Travels of Groselle with me…”

While thinking, Klein flipped through the ancient book bound in yellow-brown parchment again and discovered that this time, no additional content had appeared. There was also no trace of Danitz’s existence within the story.

“In other words, one has to survive successfully and encounter the protagonist’s party before truly becoming part of the story and making more pages appear?” Klein made a preliminary judgment. Then he walked to the door again and opened it.

“Did it work?” Flower Bow Tie Jodeson and the others asked in chorus.

Klein shook his head and calmly said, “Next, there will be a lengthy ritual.

“No one may enter and disturb it. Otherwise, Edwina Edwards will either be lost forever or die immediately.”

After explaining the main matter, he looked around and said directly, “I suspect one of you may have a problem.

“From now on, supervise one another.”

Gourmet Bru Walls was about to habitually object when he suddenly saw that the captain’s cabin was empty. Danitz, who had entered earlier, was gone.

Thinking of the captain’s disappearance, he was certain that Gehrman Sparrow had truly found the root of the problem and was attempting to save her. Therefore, he nodded and said, “I will be responsible for this matter.

“And they will supervise me as well.”

Klein wasted no more words. Instead, he looked toward Anderson Hood, who was leaning against the opposite wall.

“Come in.”

Anderson curled the right corner of his mouth and clicked his tongue.

“Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was your subordinate. That attitude of yours is practically a model for Provokers.”

His mouth kept rambling, but his body straightened. With a leisurely gait, he stepped into the captain’s cabin.

After closing and locking the door, Klein turned to face Anderson and said, “Are you interested in taking part in a rare adventure?

“You might be able to achieve the title of dragon hunter.”

Based on his observations over the past few days, he believed Anderson Hood was a Hunter combining curiosity and an adventurous spirit, someone very happy to witness new things and experience excitement he had never encountered before.

Anderson stared at Gehrman Sparrow’s face, carefully studying it for several seconds. Then he smiled and said, “No interest.”

He shook his head firmly.

Then, before Klein could speak again, he chuckled and said, “I ‘smell’ danger. A conceited, mad, powerful adventurer is actually inviting me to adventure with him. What does that mean? It means the situation is extremely troublesome and extremely dangerous!”

I thought you would be interested. This is different from how you usually behave. You really can advance and retreat as needed… Mm. I’ll try intimidation. If that doesn’t work, I’ll throw him onto a deserted island, have the Golden Dream sail away, and pick him up later. As a Hunter, wilderness survival on a deserted island shouldn’t be difficult for him… Klein swiftly made a decision. His gaze deliberately turned cold as he looked at Anderson.

“I will not leave myself with hidden dangers.”

Anderson froze for one second, then quickly piled on a smile.

“Haha. I was joking earlier. I’m very interested in the title of dragon hunter.”

…You changed too quickly… If you had held out just a bit longer, you could have enjoyed the treatment of being edible after the head is removed… Klein nodded, walked back to the desk, and said to Anderson Hood, who had followed him, “Smear your blood onto this book’s cover. It doesn’t need to be much.”

“Smear it?” Anderson curiously examined Travels of Groselle a few times, then swept his gaze around the room. “Edwina’s disappearance is related to it? That failed Hunter’s disappearance earlier too? Ah, right. Blazing Danitz. I nearly forgot his name. Good thing his bounty is rather high now.”

The corner of Klein’s mouth moved slightly. He answered frankly, “Yes.”

“Interesting…” Anderson glanced at the desk, picked up the copper knife, and casually cut his hand, drawing blood.

Immediately afterward, he carefully put down the knife and smeared his blood over the deep-brown cover of Travels of Groselle.

After observing for a few seconds, Anderson was just about to pick up the copper knife and wipe away the remaining blood on it when his vision was suddenly covered by a raging blizzard.

Watching Anderson vanish like Danitz, Klein picked up another sheet of paper, wiped the blood off the copper knife, folded it, and placed it in his pocket.

He was not certain whether the three of them would appear in the same place after entering the world inside the book, so he had prepared the materials for dowsing rod person-finding in advance!

After finishing all this, Klein held the knife and gestured over the back of his own hand.

The muscles of his face twitched upward. His gaze slanted down to the side. Only after several seconds did he suddenly apply force.

His body twitched slightly, and his head turned to the side. The corners of Klein’s mouth involuntarily pulled open.

After blood flowed out, he, still holding the knife, grabbed his cane and quickly smeared the liquid onto the cover of the parchment book.

Without waiting long, Klein discovered that he had suddenly arrived inside a vast white world of ice and snow.