Chapter 26: Passing Items

Chapter 26: Passing the Item

Lyman's heart pounded wildly.

That Nashel guy, asking a question that direct!

This question definitely couldn't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no," otherwise he was dead either way!

What to do? Separate "me" from "Layman Vichard" like last time and trick the Mouth of Truth?

But would Nashel really fall for that? He seemed like a slacker, but he was tougher to handle than Aether. Aether at least played by the rules, but his gut told Lyman Nashel couldn't care less about that.

In a split second, Lyman's mind raced through a thousand possibilities, yet he kept his cool, even looking a little confused.

There was one way that might work, but Lyman wasn't a hundred percent sure.

At this point, he had to roll the dice! He bet fate was on his side!

"Uh, what exactly is a Supernatural Ability?"

Nashel raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"I've got amnesia..." Lyman said weakly.

Nashel scratched his head. "How do you forget something that basic?"

Aether walked over too, giving his partner a puzzled look.

"For regular folks, this isn't common knowledge," he said. "Some people never run into a superhuman their whole lives."

Nashel said, "But you saw that prisoner escape last time, didn't you?"

Lyman asked, "So a Supernatural Ability is just something that makes you super strong?"

"My invisible blade is a Supernatural Ability too," Nashel said, twirling a strand of his red hair absently.

Aether explained, "A Supernatural Ability is a supernatural force inside the body that lets you pull off miracles."

"Do you have one?" Lyman asked, curious.

"We're the ones asking the questions here," Aether said with a frown. "But yes, I do have one."

Lyman was impressed. "Is it because you're both High Clerics? Does God give you this power?"

Nashel laughed. "Of course not. Everyone's born with it. It's just that some people unlock it early, while others never get the chance and just live ordinary lives."

"Born with it... so do I have one?" Lyman's eyes lit up with hope.

Nashel choked, realizing he'd messed up the question. If Supernatural Abilities were something you're born with, then of course Lyman had one—it just hadn't kicked in yet.

Even if he said "yeah, I do," the Lion Statue wouldn't budge.

"Then let me ask it differently: Have you awakened your Supernatural Ability?"

Lyman shook his head with a regretful look, then locked eyes with Nashel.

"The Supernatural Ability you're talking about—I haven't awakened it."

His tone was firm and final.

The Lion Statue didn't so much as twitch.

Nashel's jaw dropped.

"Is this thing broken?" He grabbed the statue and stuck his hand in it. "I haven't awakened a Supernatural Ability—ow ow ow!"

He yanked his hand out, wincing, and shook it hard.

"Weird, what's going on? Did I get it wrong?" he muttered.

Aether dragged him toward the door. "Enough, Nashel. Stop acting like a paranoid nutjob who thinks everyone's out to get him. I told you long ago..."

Their arguing faded into the distance.

Lyman stared at the doorway for a beat, then slowly lay back down on the bed.

He clenched his fist under the sheet.

—He'd guessed right. He'd won the bet!

His trick for fooling the "Mouth of Truth" was simple: redefine what "Supernatural Ability" meant.

By asking the right questions, he got Nashel to admit it himself—that "Supernatural Ability" was something everyone was born with and awakened at some point.

That kind of ability? Lyman definitely didn't have it. Because the "Supernatural Ability" he had wasn't something he was born with—it was a reward for completing quests from the *Book of the Evil God*.

The Inquisitors could rack their brains all day and never guess there was a way to get Supernatural Abilities like that.

"That was close, almost blew it," Lyman thought. "Nashel really is harder to deal with than Aether. But after this interrogation, they should trust me a bit more, right?"

Anyway, now that he'd figured out how to fool the "Mouth of Truth," he wouldn't have to sweat future interrogations.

Lyman closed his eyes. He heard the doctor slip back in, grab the candlestick, and head upstairs. The infirmary went quiet again, except for the spider still muttering curses.

Lulled by that endless stream of shrill squeaks, Lyman drifted off to sleep.

***

The next day, the doctor examined Lyman's wounds and declared him out of danger. So, Lyman was escorted back to the black prison.

As they passed through the square, it was total chaos. Deputy Captain Edton—oh, now Acting Captain—was dividing the guards into groups and assigning them search tasks. Horses neighing, dogs barking, and people shouting all blended into a deafening racket.

The forest was probably going to be in an uproar for the next few days. Lyman decided to have the little mouse pass a message to the animals in the forest, telling them to stay far away.

Acting Captain Eton, in his great mercy, allowed Lyman to skip labor for a day. Lyman could finally take a nap during the day. Ever since he'd been doing labor reform by day and transforming into the Evil God by night, even adequate sleep had become a luxury.

Speaking of the Evil God, Lyman realized he hadn't checked on his follower in a long time.

He summoned the *Book of the Evil God* and flipped to Sylen's chapter. The moment he pressed the Apostle Card, his body felt light, his soul detached from his shell and flew across distant time and space, his perspective shifting to a bird's-eye view.

Through the clouds, he saw a sparse forest, a shallow stream, and a campfire set up in a clearing by the water. A blue-haired youth sat by the fire with his knees bent, roasting three gutted fish on a spit.

"Sylen!" Lyman called out.

The merman youth started, instinctively grabbing the sword hilt at his waist. Upon seeing that the one descending from the sky was "Xiaoqi," he visibly relaxed and let go.

"It's you!" Sylen grinned. "Long time no see! Well, actually, it's only been a few days." He scratched his head. "Does the Lord of the Abyss have any orders?"

"Oh, nothing major. The Master just asked me to check on you regularly and make sure you're safe." Lyman flew over to Sylen. "Do you know where your sister was sold?"

Sylen nodded vigorously, pulled the ledger from his backpack, and flipped to a page.

"Old Gulehan sold her to a merchant named Lambert Fergus, who lives in Fort Silvermist."

"You can read human script?" Lyman was quite astonished.

"Human Imperial language is quite similar to our merfolk script; I can understand most of it," Sylen explained. "It's said that humans also originated from the sea, which is why our two races share similar writing systems. Others say that merfolk originally had no writing system of their own and only developed their own by learning from humans."

"I see," Lyman said.

He had no idea what that meant, he thought. Linguistics wasn't his strong suit, even though he could read dwarven script.

He changed the subject: "So you're planning to head to Fort Silvermist now? Do you know where it is?"

The world map in the Book of the Evil God didn't include Fort Silvermist, but the map was limited in scope, only marking capitals and major cities of each nation. Perhaps Fort Silvermist was a small place, not significant enough to be recorded in the Book of the Evil God.

Sylen nodded and said, "When I passed through a small town earlier, I bought a map from someone. At my current travel speed, I should reach Fort Silvermist in about a week."

With that, he pulled out the map. It was a simple map drawn on sheepskin, with a few locations marked and simple lines indicating roads and rivers.

Lyman tried to compare this crude sketch map with the world map in the Book of the Evil God to pinpoint Sylen's location, but unsurprisingly, he failed. This childlike doodle of a map gave no indication of which part of the world it belonged to.

Sylen closed the ledger and then pulled out his Apostle Card.

"By the way, Xiaoqi, there's something I want to ask you." He showed the back of the card to Lyman. "Yesterday, these things suddenly appeared on this card. Do you know what they are?"

Lyman floated over to him. At the bottom of the card, two neat rows of grids drawn with white lines had appeared.

They looked... remarkably similar to the Divine Casket?

Lyman retrieved Sylen's Apostle Card, which he used as a bookmark in the Book of the Evil God, and flipped it over. Sure enough, he found the same two rows of grids in the same position.

Could it be that once he unlocked the Divine Casket function, his Apostle could also benefit from it?

Lyman didn't dare speculate recklessly; he needed to verify this carefully.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat with an air of authority and spoke in a mysterious tone, "Sylen, try putting something into these grids."

Sylen looked at the white creature in confusion, completely baffled as to how one could put a physical object into drawn grids—it was utterly absurd, absolutely impossible!

But surely a servant of the gods wouldn't be idle enough to toy with him?

The merman youth hesitated, then grabbed the fish he was roasting, moved it cautiously beside the card, and made a "placing" motion.

A flash of white light, and the roasted fish vanished, replaced by a small icon of a roasted fish in one of the grids on the Apostle Card.

"Item Name: Roasted Mandarin Fish"

"Item Description: Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, enough to satisfy hunger."

At the same time, an identical icon appeared in Lyman's Apostle Card.

"Th-This is...!" Sylen was dumbfounded, stunned by this miraculous phenomenon.

"This is called the 'Divine Casket.' You can store your belongings here for easy carrying. This is, uh, a reward from the Master for completing your mission."

In reality, it was a reward from the Book of the Evil God for Lyman's completed mission, but letting Sylen think that way was harmless enough.

It was thanks to Sylen's mission reward, "Animal Friend," that Lyman had managed to kill Captain Prew, and the reward he received, the "Divine Casket," now benefited Sylen in turn.

The Book of the Evil God truly worked both ways between him and his Apostle—the rewards each received became aids to the other, like a snowball effect, making them both stronger and stronger!

Sylen's expression was as if he had witnessed a deity descending before him, his whole being radiating brilliance.

"The Lord of the Abyss is so good to me!" he said with a slight choke in his voice. "Not only did He upgrade my Supernatural Ability, but He also bestowed such a miraculous power upon me..."

Lyman glanced down at the Apostle Card. He hadn't noticed before that Sylen's Supernatural Ability had evolved from "High-Speed Regeneration" to "Indestructible Body."

[Supernatural Ability: Indestructible Body (A-Rank). Your regenerative abilities have further improved, not only healing wounds but also regenerating severed limbs. Your heart is no longer a weak point; even if instantly destroyed, it can heal. Unless your head is severed in one blow, you possess a literal "indestructible body."]

Wow, that's strong...! Sylen, you always seem to get such an overpowered cheat ability right from the start—you're the real protagonist of this story, and I'm just the tool handing out rewards, a convenient old mentor for an otherworldly kid... Lyman thought.

Still, there was no need for excessive jealousy. Lyman's own "Animal Friend" was quite useful too. They had different paths, so there was no point in comparing. Sylen needed to fight solo, so he naturally required abilities that enhanced individual combat power. Lyman needed to develop stealthily in prison, so commanding animals was definitely safer.

Next, Lyman looked at the roasted fish in the Divine Casket on the Apostle Card.

He tried to grab it, and the next second, a steaming, fragrant roasted fish on a stick, with a look of eternal regret in its eyes, appeared in Lyman's hands back in the prison.

Lyman's expression became identical to Sylen's.

So this was the true use of the Divine Casket?! With this function, he could exchange items with his followers?!

The aroma lingered around his nose. Having survived on vegetable soup and black bread for days, Lyman's tears nearly burst forth like a fountain.

He immediately made a decision that defied all tradition—this roasted fish was not going back to Sylen!

By the stream, Sylen watched in bewilderment as the roasted fish in his Divine Casket vanished without a trace.

"Xiaoqi, this...?"

The white creature calmly waved a paw at him. "Don't worry. The Divine Casket isn't just for storing your belongings—it can also transfer items between you and the Master. In the future, whatever the Master wishes to give you will be placed directly into the Casket. That roasted fish just now, I took it. The Master is very interested in this world of yours, so I'm tasting your food on His behalf."

Sylen immediately relaxed. He had thought he'd done something wrong. The Divine Casket truly was a gift from the gods—so miraculous.

And Xiaoqi's words seemed to hint that as long as he served the Lord of the Abyss diligently and fulfilled his mission, he would receive even greater rewards?

But he was quite skeptical of Xiaoqi's last remark. Would the all-powerful Lord of the Abyss really be curious about the taste of mortal food? Could it be that Xiaoqi was just being greedy himself?

He had seen plenty of servants taking advantage of their masters' names to get things for themselves, but he hadn't expected even a Divine Servant to do such a thing...

However, Sylen didn't intend to expose him. Since Xiaoqi enjoyed mortal food, he would just feed him more in the future. Building a good relationship with the god's servant could only benefit him. If he ever made a mistake, having someone to speak up for him would be a good thing.

"Then I'll bring you some food every day from now on, uh, for the Lord of the Abyss to taste," he said.

The ecstatic expression on the little white creature told Sylen he had guessed right.

"You're a sharp one! I'll definitely put in a good word for you with the Master!"

Lyman praised the merman youth and was about to return to the prison to enjoy his meal when he suddenly remembered something else.

"By the way, that mask you got from Old Gulehan—do you still have it?"

Sylen pulled the plain white mask from his chest.

"I was just about to mention that!" he said excitedly. "This thing really lets me transform into someone else's appearance. It's how I escaped the pursuit."

So this mask was indeed a "relic" with magical power. If he had both it and "Masterful Acting," Lyman could transform into anyone and move freely around the prison island! Escaping would be a piece of cake!

He had been worrying about how to get Sylen to pass physical objects to him, but now with the Divine Casket, even that problem was solved!

Sylen stole a few glances at Xiaoqi, quickly grasping why the creature was asking about the mask.

"Uh, this thing is a trophy, it should be presented to the great Lord of the Abyss," he said, stroking the mask reluctantly before placing it into the Divine Casket.

"Very good, Sylen. The Master will not forget your devotion," Lyman said with a solemn nod. "It's time for me to head back and serve the Master too. Stay safe, and pray if anything happens."

Under Sylen's reverent gaze, Xiaoqi dissolved into countless firefly-like specks of light, vanishing into the air.

Back in his cell, Lyman let out a satisfied sigh. No more worrying about where his next meal would come from, and he'd gained a shapeshifting mask—his future was looking bright!

Although Sylen seemed to have developed some odd misconceptions about Xiaoqi, it didn't matter—what did that have to do with him, the Lord of the Abyss?

Lyman picked up the Apostle Card and read the mask's description.

"Item Name: The Actor Emperor's Masque"

[Item Description: From a legendary performer of humble origins who earned the title 'Emperor of the Theater' through his unparalleled acting skill. He died when a chandelier fell on him during his final performance. Alas, both his play and his life ended simultaneously! His unawakened Supernatural Ability merged with the mask he was wearing at the time, forming this 'relic.' It allows the wearer to shapeshift into anyone at will.]

Lyman took the mask out of the Divine Casket, pressed it to his face, and took a deep breath.

The cold metal against his skin felt sticky and unpleasant, like something damp had been draped over his head.

He pictured the Warden in his mind. When it came to who would be easiest to escape as, that fat guy was the first to come to mind.

There was no mirror in the prison, so Lyman needed someone else to confirm whether his transformation had worked.

He looked around and spotted a squirming silver-gray ball of fur under the straw pile.

"Dandelion!" he called out.

The little mouse scurried out. "Mr. Lehman, welcome back!" It stared at Lyman's face oddly. "What's that thing on your face?"

"Didn't I turn into someone else?" Lyman asked, a bit disappointed.

"...Into some freak wearing a white mask?"

Damn it, when did Dandelion get so sharp-tongued? Where did it even learn a word like that? Don't use bad words in front of the kids!

Lyman felt the cold mask on his face. Strange—he remembered Sylen transforming instantly when he put it on, so why wasn't it working for him?

He silently chanted "Become Captain Prew," "Become Deputy Captain Edton," "Become Nikola," but judging by Dandelion's reaction, all these attempts failed.

Lyman was baffled. He took off the mask and put it back into the Divine Casket.

"Why is this happening? Could this relic be bound to its owner, locked to Sylen and unusable by others?"

Just then, he noticed several lines of tiny text below the "Item Description" in the book—so small they looked like the disclaimer clauses in a capitalist's shady contract.

[Caution: Cannot take effect simultaneously with 'Reading People,' 'Masterful Acting,' 'Golden Jester,' or 'Jester Emperor.']

"What?" Lyman read the last sentence over and over.

He currently possessed "Masterful Acting," so the mask was ineffective for him? Why?

Judging by the names, these abilities all related to acting—could it be that abilities and relics of the same type couldn't stack?

Lyman still knew very little about how supernatural abilities worked in this other world (the Book of the Evil God, which didn't even have a tutorial, was entirely to blame), but wasn't there an expert next door who knew a lot about this?

And he happened to need to ask him about the true purpose of the "Blade of Revelation" anyway—might as well ask about the mask too.

He walked to the wall, bent his fingers, and knocked on the stone. Dandelion scurried to his feet, propped itself up on its hind legs, and looked up at him curiously.

"Ah, neighbor. I was just wondering how long it would take you to come find me."

Soon, Lunast's languid, sleepy voice came through the stone. "Congratulations, you got what you wanted."

"Thanks to you."

"Hmm? I thought you'd be thrilled after killing your enemy, but you don't sound too happy."

Lyman chose his words carefully. "I have something I'd like to ask you. A friend of mine..."

"That friend you mentioned, is it—"

"Friend." Lyman said, emphasizing each syllable.

"Alright, go on." Lunast was clearly chuckling.

"So, this friend of mine obtained a relic, but it won't activate because it's incompatible with his supernatural ability. Can that happen?"

"Of course it's possible," Lunast answered with certainty. "The same type of supernatural ability can't take effect twice. Abilities aren't like stacking blocks—you can't pile them up infinitely."

"But the relic and the superhuman's ability aren't exactly the same..."

"I'll assume you know a fact: supernatural abilities evolve."

Lyman thought of Sylen, whose "Rapid Regeneration" had evolved into "Indestructible Body" after completing his task. So those two abilities were essentially the same thing?

By the same logic, "Masterful Acting" and "The Masque of the Actor Emperor" were also the same ability, just at different levels—which was why the mask failed?

"I see," he said. "So when two abilities overlap, which one fails?"

Lunast replied, "Usually the relic fails, since relics are external objects, while supernatural power is your own innate ability."

Lyman looked at the mask in the Divine Casket with mixed feelings. Finally getting his hands on such a divine artifact, only to be unable to use it...

But now he knew that "Masterful Acting" could evolve into "Jester Emperor." He didn't know what triggered the evolution, but it gave him a glimmer of hope: one day, he wouldn't need any mask to transform into anyone at will!

So, he might as well return the mask to Sylen. The merman youth still needed to evade pursuit and could use the shapeshifting ability more.

Lyman closed the Book of the Evil God.

"Thanks, I understand completely now. By the way, didn't you promise that once I got the Blade of Revelation, you'd tell me its true purpose?"

"You've already gotten your hands on it?"

Lyman took the pale purple dagger out of the Divine Casket. It was light, felt unsharpened to the touch, with only the tip having any edge—something you could fiddle with as a decorative piece.

"Ah, so it is that." Lunast's voice carried a note of nostalgia. "Never thought I'd see it again in my lifetime. It brings back memories of my glorious days."

"You've seen it before?" Lyman was curious how this neighbor knew it was the Blade of Revelation, given that a stone wall separated them.

Lunast grunted twice. "Seen it? I've done more than that. It used to be... never mind. No point dwelling on that."

—Just say it already! Riddle-speaker, get out of Cape Prison!

Lyman screamed internally.

Lunast continued, "It's called the 'Blade of Revelation' because it can 'open' a hole in anything. In other words, it can 'unlock' other things—like a door lock."