Chapter 23: Well, shit

Kivara stared at him for a long time, her face serious and the gold in her eyes glowing softly. “I will not use it against you or tell anyone else, in as much as we do not become enemies.”

Riven nodded. He could accept that. It was not like he was planning to make her his enemy, but then again, things happen, and if it ever turned out that way, he was ready to accept what came next.

He would not be as weak as this either.

He did not say anything else as he began to climb the monster. He climbed to the top and neared the energy that hung thickly. It looked like both liquid and gas at the same time. The coldness made Riven shiver. “What am I to do with this?”

Kivara had already climbed it as well, but she was not looking at the energy. She was staring at the book that was beneath the monster’s energy, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

Riven bent to look as well. The book’s cover seemed to be made of green crystals, and imprinted on it was the image of a raven and serpent locked in a fight.

“What is this?” Riven asked.

“Maybe the reward? Catacombs oftentimes give rewards when we clear some stages, especially when it is this type where there are rules to be followed. Pick it up,” Kivara said.

Riven leaned back and crossed his hands in front of him. “You should be the one to pick it up.”

A small smile crossed her face. “Good, you are learning. But this is not really what you think. The energy is an undead one, and you see what is printed on the cover. Those animals are usually associated with death. Your Sigil line.”

Still, Riven did not move. “You are the strongest here. You pick it up.”

Kivara turned to him and made her dark blade. Riven thought she wanted to do something with the book and took several steps back, but she only bent down and began to cut part of the tattered robe of the monster. She then threw it to him. “Cover yourself first.”

Riven shuddered as he put the cloak around himself. It smelled of rot and dust. He turned to her. “Can you hurry up? Take the book so I can take in the energy.”

“It will not dispel for a while. We should talk about your path while we are at it,” Kivara said. “Taking this monster’s energy is well and good, but you do not know which path it would turn to. Since you are going to start from rank two, then you need a path before you take any unnecessary energy.

“You do not know the monster combinations you need.”

Riven was baffled. He understood what she was saying. “But I have not even formed my four stars.”

Kivara gestured. “The energy is enough to form your four stars and will probably fill it as well. At this level, the amount of energy the four stars could take is still small.”

He nodded slowly as he digested what she said. Taking this monster’s energy would forever change him and decide the path he would walk. He might change it later, but it is far easier to stick to one path.

Almost as one, the two of them looked at where the book lay, glinting gently. Riven took a deep breath and decided. “I will take it.”

And before he could change his mind, he walked towards it, reached out, and snatched the book out of the ball of energy.

Nothing happened as he jumped back and threw it to the ground.

To the side, Kivara watched him quietly without saying anything, but a sword of darkness was in her hand.

He stared at the book and then reached out his right hand to touch it again. It was smooth, except for the rough places where the image of the raven and serpent locked in battle was.

Riven studied the image. The raven was pure black, and its eyes were a deep purple. What was reflected in those eyes was not the serpent it was fighting but a human skull. Its claw gripped the serpent’s tail while the serpent’s fangs were locked on its throat.

He sighed and said out loud, “I am going to open it.”

And he did. The book opened easily to reveal a blank page of crystal leaves so soft and flexible he began flipping through it without difficulties.

Kivara also breathed a sigh of relief. “At least we can sell it. It is going to be expensive going by its look.”

Riven was disappointed. For a moment there, he thought it would be a path, and considering all the coincidences that had been happening, he would not be surprised. “Yes. It will go a long way in helping my cultivation.”

He closed the book back, and they immediately noticed an abnormality. The two of them gasped. The image on the cover had changed, and now the snake was coiled around the raven, its head atop the raven’s head. They were no longer fighting.

Its eyes were a deep green, and the two of them, the raven and the snake, were staring right at Riven with life-like clarity. He flinched back but not fast enough. The surface of the book ripped, and the snake lurched out, gaining a real body as it came out of the book.

And bit him on the neck. At the same time, the raven ruffled its feathers, and one shot out, turning real. The sharp end pierced his forehead.

All this happened faster than a blink of an eye. None of them had the time to react. By the time they even began to comprehend it, the image had returned into the book.

If not for the blood that trickled down his neck and his bleeding forehead, Riven would have thought he did not see well. He was so stunned he could not speak for a while.

But Kivara was out of her shock, and she chuckled. “At least you were not devoured or dropped dead. It happens, you know. That is what happens when you touch—”

Before she could finish speaking, Riven tilted forward and collapsed on the book.

She blinked. “Well, shit.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep