After resting for half an hour, Zhou Mingrui, who thought of himself as Klein, finally recovered. In the meantime, he noticed that there were four black dots on the back of his right hand, forming a small square.
The four black dots faded and soon disappeared, but Klein knew that they were still hidden in his body, waiting to be awakened.
Four dots, a square. Could it be that the four corners correspond to the four portions of staple food? I don't need to prepare staple food in the future, and I can just follow the steps and chant the incantation? Klein had a vague guess.
It didn't seem like a bad idea, but it was always frightening to have something that had a mysterious origin and that he lacked understanding of.
Then, he thought of how the baffling magic on Earth could produce effects here. Then, he thought of the strange transmigration in his dreams. Then, he thought of the mysterious, hallucinatory, and unknown world of gray fog. Then, he thought of the whispers that lingered around him during the ritual that drove him crazy. Klein couldn't help but shiver in the hot weather at the end of June.
He had once heard of a saying: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown." Now, he had a deep understanding of the fear of the unknown.
Unprecedented and irresistible, he had a strong urge to come into contact with the mysterious domain, to understand more, and to overcome the unknown. He also had the thought of burying his head and pretending that nothing had happened to escape.
The sunlight outside the window was strong, covering the study table with a layer of "golden dust." Klein stared at it, feeling as if he had touched a trace of warmth and hope.
He relaxed a little, and immediately felt a surge of exhaustion wash over him.
The lack of sleep last night and the exhaustion just now made his eyelids as heavy as lead, and he couldn't stop them from drooping.
Shaking his head, Klein reached out to support himself on the edge of the table. He couldn't be bothered to clean up the rye bread placed at the four corners, and he staggered to the bunk bed. The moment he laid down, his head hit the pillow, and he fell asleep.
Gulp! Gulp!
Hunger roused Klein. He opened his eyes and felt refreshed.
"My head still hurts a little." He rubbed his temples and sat up. He felt like he could eat an entire cow right now.
As he smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes, he returned to the study table and picked up the silver vine-patterned pocket watch.
Pa!
The lid popped open, and the second hand ticked away.
"It's half past twelve. I've slept for more than three hours …" Klein gulped and put the pocket watch into his linen shirt pocket.
In the Northern Continent, a day was also divided into twenty-four hours. Each hour was sixty minutes, and each minute was sixty seconds. As for the length of each second, Klein didn't know.
At that moment, he couldn't even think of mysticism, rituals, or Gray World. The most important thing right now was food!
He could only think of a solution after he was full! Only then could he do things!
Without any hesitation, Klein took the rye bread from the four corners and flicked away the dust that had landed on it. He planned on using one of the loaves as his lunch staple.
His hometown had the custom of sharing the offerings after the sacrifice, and the four loaves of rye bread did not seem to have changed at all. With only five pence left in his pocket, he felt that it was better to be thrifty.
Of course, this also had the subtle influence of the original owner's memory fragments and habits.
Because gas was too expensive, it was painful to use it for lighting. He took out the stove and added some coal. Klein paced back and forth, waiting for the water to boil.
You'll choke if you eat that kind of rye bread dry!
"Sigh, do I have to eat black bread in the morning, black bread in the afternoon, and then eat meat in the evening? No, if it weren't for Melissa's consideration for my upcoming interview, I would only be able to eat meat twice a week …" Klein, who had nothing to do and was too hungry to think about serious issues, looked around.
At the thought of the pound of lamb, his eyes seemed to grow green as he looked at the cupboard.
"No, no, I have to wait for Melissa to eat it together." Klein shook his head violently and denied the idea of eating it now after cutting it in half.
As a single dog drifting in the big city, although he mainly ate outside food, he had honed his basic cooking skills. It wasn't delicious, but it was enough.
Turning around, Klein decided to ignore it. At this moment, he suddenly remembered that in addition to buying meat in the morning, he also bought tender peas and potatoes!
Potatoes! Klein suddenly had an idea. He turned back like a whirlwind, rushed to the cupboard, and took out two potatoes from the small amount.
He first went to the public bathroom to wash the skin of the potatoes, then put them directly into the pot and boiled them with water.
After a while, he took out the condiment box from the cupboard, opened the lid, and sprinkled a little yellow and coarse salt into the water.
After waiting patiently for a few minutes, Klein picked up the kettle and poured the soup, which was not considered soup, into a few cups and big bowls. Finally, he forked out the two potatoes and placed them on the table.
Whoosh!
He peeled a little and blew on his hand. The aroma of cooked potatoes filled the air, and it was appetizing.
Salivating crazily, Klein didn't care that he was only half-peeled and that the potatoes were still a little hot. He took a big bite.
Powder! Fragrant! Sweet aftertaste! Klein's heart was instantly filled with emotions. He wolfed down the two potatoes and even ate some of the skin.
Only then did he pick up the big bowl and drink a mouthful of the "soup." The faint taste of salt washed away the dryness in his mouth.
"I loved to eat this way when I was young …" Klein, who filled his stomach, sighed silently. He broke a piece of rye bread and soaked it in the "soup" until it softened.
Perhaps the "ritual" from before had consumed too much of his energy, but he ate two loaves, a whole pound.
After drinking the "soup" and cleaning up, Klein felt like he had completely come back to life. He experienced the joy of being human again, and he enjoyed the splendor of the sun.
He sat back at the desk and began to think about what he should do next.
"I can't escape. I have to think of a way to come into contact with mysticism and become a Beyonder as mentioned by Justice and The Hanging Man."
"I have to overcome the fear of the unknown."
"The only way now is to wait for the next" Gathering "and see if I can listen to the formula of the Spectator potion or other mystical knowledge."
"There are still four days until Monday. Before that, I have to face the problem of the original Klein. Why did he commit suicide? What happened to him …"
Unable to transmigrate back, Klein picked up the open notebook and flipped through it to see if there were any clues to see if he could fill in the missing memory fragments.
Clearly, the original Klein had the habit of taking notes, and he also had the hobby of using them as a diary.
Klein knew very well that the cabinet that served as the right leg of the desk was filled with completed notebooks.
This notebook had been used since May 10th. The first few pages were mostly about school, teachers, and knowledge.
"May 12th. Mr. Aztec mentioned that the common language of the Balam Empire in the Southern Continent also originated from ancient Feysac, which is a branch of Jotun. Why is that so? Could it be that all creatures with spirituality once used the same language? No, this must be wrong. Even in the records of The Revelation of Evernight and The Book of Storms, in an era even older than ancient times, giants weren't the only rulers of the continent. There were also elves, mutants, and dragons. Alright, these are all legends, just myths. "
…
"May 16th. Senior Associate Professor Cohen and Mr. Aztec discussed the inevitability of the Age of Steam. Mr. Aztec felt that it was a coincidence. If not for the sudden appearance of Rosell The Great, perhaps the Northern Continent would still be like the Southern Continent, still in the Age of Cold Weapons. My teacher felt that he placed too much emphasis on the role of individuals. He believed that with the development of time, even if there was no Rosell The Great, there would still be Robert the Great. In short, the Age of Steam might be late, but it would definitely arrive. I feel that their arguments are meaningless. I prefer to discover new things and restore history that is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps, I shouldn't be studying history, but archaeology. "
…
"May 29th. Welch came to me, saying that he had obtained a notebook from the Fourth Epoch. My goddess, a notebook from the Fourth Epoch! He didn't want to seek help from his archaeology classmates, but wanted Naya and me to help him decipher the contents. How could I reject such a request? Of course, it had to be arranged after my graduation thesis defense. I couldn't be distracted at this time. "
Reading up to this point, Klein's spirit was lifted. Compared to the previous historical notes and conceptual debates, the newly discovered "Fourth Epoch" notebook was more likely to lead to the original Klein's suicide.
The Fourth Epoch was the era before the current "Iron Epoch." Its history was shrouded in mystery, with many missing parts. Even the unearthed mausoleums, ancient cities, and documents were few and far between. Historians and archaeologists could only rely on the ambiguous theological classics of the seven major churches that focused on faith education to barely piece together a bit of the "original" appearance. They knew of the existence of the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, and the Telun Sostel Empire.
Klein, who was determined to break through the fog and restore history, had no interest in the "first three epochs" that were more mythical and legendary. He only cared about the Fourth Epoch, which was also known as the "Age of the Gods." One could imagine how excited he was.
"Heh, it seems that the original Klein cared so much about interviews and was worried about his future employment. Actually, there was no need for that …" Klein couldn't help but sigh.
At present, there were still very few universities. Most of the students were children of nobles or rich families. As long as commoners were to enroll, even if they were discriminated against due to their status and were excluded from the social circles of others, as long as they weren't extreme, they could still obtain a certain amount of social resources through group discussions and group activities. It was a rather precious social resource!
For example, Welch McGovern was the son of a banker from Constant City in Midseashire County of the Kingdom of Rouen. He was a forthright and lavish person. As he was often in the same group as Klein and Naya, he was used to asking for their help.
Without letting his thoughts wander, Klein continued reading the notebook.
"18th June. I graduated. Farewell, my Khoy University! "
"19th June. I saw that notebook. After comparing its structure and word roots, I discovered that it was a variant of ancient Feysac. To be more precise, over the past thousand years of history, ancient Feysac has been constantly evolving."
"20th June. We have deciphered the contents of the first page. The author is a member of a family known as' Antigonus. '"
"21st June. He mentioned the 'Dark Emperor.' This completely contradicts the era deduced from the previous contents. Could it be that Mentor's view was wrong? Is the 'Dark Emperor' actually the common title of every emperor in the Solomon Empire?"
"22nd June. This family known as' Antigonus' seems to have a prominent position in the Solomon Empire. The notebook's owner mentioned that he was conducting a secret transaction with a person known as Tudor. Tudor? The Tudor Dynasty? "
"23rd June. I forced myself not to think about the notebook. I didn't go to Welch's place. I had to prepare for the interview! This is a very important matter! "
"24th June. Naya told me that they had a new discovery. I thought I should go take a look."
"25th June. From the newly deciphered contents, the notebook's owner accepted a mission to head to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range to visit the Nation of the Evernight. My Goddess, the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range exceeds 6,000 meters. How can there be a country? What do they rely on to survive!? "
"26th June. Are these strange things real?"
At this point, the notebook ended. Zhou Mingrui had transmigrated in the early hours of the 28th June.
"That is to say, the notebook on the 27th June actually has that line … 'Everyone will die, including me' …" Klein flipped to the first page he saw and made a judgment while feeling his hair stand on end.
He felt that to solve the mystery of the original Klein's suicide, he should visit Welch's place and read the contents of the ancient notebook. However, with his rich "experience" in novels, movies, and television dramas, he felt that if he were to go, and if the matter was indeed related, he would most likely encounter unknown danger. Those who courted death despite knowing that there were ghosts in the ancient castle were the warning!
However, he had no choice. Running away would never solve the problem. It would only make things worse until the dam burst and drown him completely!
Call the police? I can't say that I committed suicide, right …
Knock!
Knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a series of rapid and forceful knocks on the door.
Klein sat up straight and listened attentively.
Knock!
Knock knock!
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