Chapter 6

Dunton had never imagined that this codex could display text and converse with him. He was so shocked that he instinctively raised his head to observe the other people in the carriage, fearing they might notice.

"Stay calm!" Dunton forcibly suppressed all his mental activities, forcing himself to think about other things to shift his attention.

Only by doing so could he maintain a calm demeanor; otherwise, he would have shouted out in excitement.

Even so, he still alarmed the sensitive Robinson.

"What's wrong?" Robinson opened his eyes, glanced at Dunton and the codex in his hand.

"It seems I got bitten by a bug!" Dunton resisted the urge to put away the codex, scratching his neck as if nothing had happened.

An intelligent item, at the very least, would be a perfect-grade magical equipment. If auctioned, it would start at a minimum of one million gold coins.

Even if Dunton were a fool, he knew the value of the codex in his hands.

This was a precious magical item that could turn a poor person into a millionaire overnight. If the strangers in the carriage found out, who could guarantee they wouldn't be tempted by greed?

Dunton had to be cautious. Losing the codex was a minor issue, but being killed and dumped in the wilderness would be a major tragedy.

"Go to sleep, rest up, and don't delay tomorrow's important matters!" Robinson warned, then closed his eyes.

Fortunately, it was already late at night, and the people in the carriage were drowsy, all sleeping. They had no leisure to stare at him; otherwise, at such close range, he would have been exposed.

"Okay!" Dunton nodded, intending to put away the codex, but he couldn't resist and wanted to find out more.

It was like knowing you had won a huge lottery; if you didn't confirm it, you would be restless.

"Do you actually have intelligence?"

Dunton dipped his pen in ink, hesitated for a moment, and wrote the question.

The codex didn't respond, but all the characters Dunton had just written, along with the answers on the page, disappeared.

"Silent? Then I'll scribble all over you!" Dunton's wrist trembled, and a line of beautiful characters appeared on the page.

"Nonsense, I am an ancient codex, the greatest encyclopedia. How could I not have intelligence!"

It was as if an invisible quill was dancing, and elegant characters appeared on the page. The red ink left behind was like a fiery red flame, seemingly about to ignite.

Although it was just a line of text, the noble and proud aura still overflowed from the page, rushing towards him!

"What kind of font is this? It's so beautiful!" Dunton praised sincerely, "Each character is a work of art, a legacy of civilization."

"Your appreciation is not bad. This is the Netherial Flame Script, but it's nothing special. I know many styles, including calligraphy from the Eastern Continent."

As if to show off, each character in the latter part of the sentence was a style Dunton had never seen before, but they all shared one feature: they were extravagantly beautiful.

"Are you an aesthete?" Dunton's face was expressionless, but a tidal wave of shock surged in his heart.

The Netherial magical civilization had been lost in the river of history over 100,000 years ago, during the Dawn Era. Not only were the remains of the ancient country rare, but even the surviving documents were few and far between, all preserved in the Imperial Library of the Golden Rose Dynasty. Even a typical duke would not have the chance to see them.

They were too precious; even a drop of ink would be an irreparable loss.

"Hmph!" The codex used a single word to express its disdain for Dunton, "Commoner, you are too impolite!"

"Then how should I address you?" Dunton couldn't help but laugh; this book was really interesting.

"You can call me Lord Codex or Lord Homa. Oh, I said no more writing!!!" Homa scolded Dunton, adding a series of ellipses at the end to express strong dissatisfaction.

"How do we communicate then?"

Dunton pressed, and Homa fell silent.

"Does writing on the codex harm you?" Dunton wrote this, sighed, and prepared to end the conversation. He wasn't the type to force someone, or in this case, a book.

"No, it just gets dirty!"

Pfft, Dunton almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

"Is that a reason? Are you lying to me? Those characters clearly disappeared!"

The codex was speechless. After a few minutes, it finally showed a message.

"Fine, you caught me. I just find it troublesome and don't want to talk!"

Dunton's lips twitched; the codex's personality was truly unpredictable.

"Alright, I won't bother you!" Dunton wrote this, preparing to close the codex. His mind began to think about what benefits it could bring him.

What a joke, from the implications in the codex's words, it was at least from the Netherial era. Not squeezing it for some benefits would be a waste. Of course, Dunton wouldn't use any tricks; a fair exchange would suffice.

"Wait, commoner, from your tone, do you dislike me? Hmph, as a noble, I cannot lose my dignity!" This time, Homa wrote faster, "As an apology, I will gift you a meditation method!"

"Thank you, but no need!" Although he wanted it, Dunton decided to refuse, unsure if the codex was joking or playing with him. "You haven't done anything wrong, so there's no need to apologize!"

"No, you, a commoner, are so magnanimous. Doesn't that make me seem petty?" Homa was angry.

"Alright, you can give it to me!"

Dunton was very curious about the meditation method from the Netherial civilization that the codex would offer. It must be incredibly powerful!

"Not now!"

"Are you playing with me?" Dunton almost spat blood on the page, his face slightly dark.

"Commoner, watch your tone. Lord Homa always keeps his word!" The codex felt disrespected.

"Really?"

"Absolutely, hey, what's with all the question marks? Don't you believe me?" Homa was angry.

"Nobles shouldn't lie!" Dunton deliberately provoked the codex, making up nonsense.

"Fine, I only broke my word once, yes, just once!" Homa seemed worried that Dunton wouldn't believe him, so he added an exclamation mark that filled the entire page to emphasize his point.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter to me!" Dunton used a retreat to advance, trying to understand Homa's character.

"Commoner, the vortex meditation method you are using is good, and you have excellent potential. As long as you have enough mana, you can soon condense your soul seed."

"That's the meditation method my sister taught me, it's very precious!" Dunton's sister had outstanding potential, one in a million, and was sought after by many mentors after just half a year of schooling.

The vortex meditation method was a gift from her current mentor, who felt embarrassed if she didn't give her apprentice something good.

"Tch, naive commoner, the Saint Angel meditation method I will give you can only be used after you reach the soul stage, but it will increase your mana absorption efficiency exponentially."

"Sounds powerful!" Dunton was amazed; it seemed Homa had some resources.

"Hmph, of course. How could anything I, Lord Homa, give be trash? You'll know its value once you learn it." Homa was incredibly proud.

"Thank you in advance!" Dunton suddenly thought of another question, "What is the identity of the traveling merchant?"

"A commoner!" The codex's answer was true to Homa's style.

Dunton nodded, not suspicious.

The life of a traveling merchant was to buy unique items from one place and sell them in another, capitalizing on the novelty. While they occasionally made a fortune from antiques, they also made mistakes.

"I'm going to sleep. Writing all this is tiring!" Homa wanted to end the conversation.

"Wait, can you help me extend my meditation time?" Dunton almost forgot the most crucial question.

"Of course!"

Homa's matter-of-fact response made Dunton incredibly excited. He knew what this effect meant.

"Why didn't anyone discover this magical effect before?"

"Because those fools couldn't appreciate the charm of the Flame Script. By the way, your handwriting is terrible!" The codex had been in a deep sleep, so all its magical effects were sealed. Dunton's soul fluctuations during meditation had awakened it.

"Sorry!" Dunton blushed, determined to practice his calligraphy. Being ridiculed by a book was embarrassing.

Actually, Dunton's handwriting was quite good, far better than most people's, but compared to the erudite Homa, it was terrible.

"I'm going to sleep!"

The codex displayed three large characters and closed itself without Dunton's intervention.

Dunton looked at the massive codex, placed his palm on it, and gently stroked it. The black stains seemed to become more beautiful.

"Unremarkable!" Dunton shook his head. The appearance of the codex was truly awful; if dropped on the road, no one would pick it up.

Dunton didn't know that this wasn't the codex's original form.

Homa actually sensed Dunton's love for books, a genuine passion for reading, and the potential to become a poet, which is why he responded. Otherwise, even if Dunton had torn the pages, the codex wouldn't have paid attention.

Lord Homa exuded a literary aura and never interacted with coarse people!

Dunton looked out the window at the moon, suppressing the urge to meditate immediately. If Robinson and the others saw him meditating for a long time, they would surely ask questions, and a careless response could lead to trouble.

Taking a deep breath, Dunton calmed down, put the codex in his backpack, and leaned against the carriage to rest. He wasn't the type to lose himself in excitement; he knew when to do what.

When the first rays of sunlight entered the carriage, everyone was woken up. In the harsh cawing of crows, they knew they had arrived at the Crow Ridge Cemetery!

Durin jumped off the carriage, stretching his limbs, which were sore from the bumpy ride.

"Is this the Crow Ridge infested by ghouls?"

Dunton looked around, seeing a land turned to black soil, mixed with decayed bones and corpses. Fat maggots wriggled, making him shudder.

"Smells awful!" Tony pinched his nose; even though they hadn't entered the Crow Ridge, the nauseating smell was already overwhelming.

Will couldn't hold back, his face turning pale as he bent over and vomited.

"Thirty minutes for breakfast, then let's get to work!" Robinson took out a map, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "Gold, here I come!"