Chapter 8: The Book of Death

“By now, all of you should understand that this is not a game. Whoever wishes to earn their place in Eryndea must be prepared to give their life for it,” Zorovan declared from above. “And for those who have lost faith in themselves, this is their last chance to withdraw.”

Nerez stepped forward.

“The Divine Order will see to it that they are returned to the place they came from.”

Nerez stepped back.

After observing the crowd for a few moments, Zorovan nodded to himself.

“I wish you the best of luck… whether in this life or the next.”

At the candidates’ feet, what looked like magic circles began to form. It was an image Nerez would have recognized if he had not been asleep the first time.

Soon a glow engulfed them all.

***

It did not last long, maybe only a couple of seconds. By the time the light faded, Nerez, Aren, and Vilkie were already standing in the middle of a desolate green field.

This was the chance Nerez had known would eventually present itself, one he had been waiting for so he could abandon this damned challenge.

He truly wanted nothing to do with gods ever again.

But his gaze lingered on Aren, who was reassuring Vilkie with a hand on her shoulder, and Odrian’s rolling head surfaced in his memory once more.

Abandoning the two of them would leave a bad taste in his mouth.

“Only someone who knows where they’re going can take a shortcut,” Nerez muttered to himself. “I always end up taking the long way around.”

“Is something wrong?” Aren asked.

“It’s nothing,” Nerez replied, stretching. “We should get moving. We’re too exposed out here in this field.”

“Good idea. I can see a forest in the distance. That should be a good place to regroup.”

With Aren leading the way, the three of them ran to take shelter in the shade of the trees.

***

Once they were sure there were no enemies nearby, Nerez began examining his book more closely.

“Looks like this book really only has one written page.”

[Book of Death]

“A name like that on the Godscript, and this is all? What a letdown…”

“Zorovan said that too,” Vilkie explained. “Your Eidolon grows with you. Think of it as a skill you need to develop.”

“More like a whole set of skills you need to develop,” Aren added.

Nerez looked back at the only page in the book that actually contained anything. It was covered in symbols and inscriptions he had no idea how to read, along with a drawing of a skeleton carrying a spear and shield.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Fortunately, the Godscript filled in the gaps. Beneath the item ‘Book of Death’ was a section called ‘Skills’, which made it clear what the page was about.

[Skeletal Soldier]

[Even in death, a stalwart defender and a fierce attacker. You can’t break the morale of something that doesn’t have any]

[HP: 500]

[ATK: 150]

[DEF: 200]

“So those numbers are, in other words, its health, attack, and defense…”

There were other details he would have to examine carefully later, but what caught his attention most was a line that read [Proficiency: E].

If he was understanding it correctly, it would probably rise the more he used the skill.

“Skeletal Soldier… well, it does look like a skeleton in the image. But aren’t those basically the kind of starter enemy you’d run into in an RPG? The stats do seem oddly high, though it’s not like I have anything to compare them to.”