Chapter 379 - 313: The Evil Book’s Suggestion

Chapter 379: Chapter 313: The Evil Book’s Suggestion

"So, I’d like to know what you can do for me?" Shire gazed down at the Evil Book spread open on the table, his eyes glancing at the dagger resting on a corner of the desk.

"I can offer you a path to reinforcing your body, as well as the method for cultivating a primordial life symbiote. Should you desire it, you can follow the method I present to you and achieve immortality." Words began to appear on the book’s pages. The script was exceptionally neat; Shire almost felt as if a respectful scribe were sitting inside the book, writing them out.

"How do I achieve immortality?" he asked after a few seconds of thought.

"You can follow my instructions to cultivate several special types of Mushroom. Then, you connect the mycelium to yourself and root it in the ground. After that, you need only entrust your consciousness to the mycelial network. As long as the mycelium grows vast enough, you will never die."

"I bet you told that unlucky Druid Vissans this same method." Shire’s eyes narrowed as he slowly began to reach for the dagger.

"No, True God, it’s different. What I tell mortals are merely castrated versions," the book’s words appeared rapidly, as if it could sense the anger in Shire’s tone. "I never told them how to withdraw their consciousness from the mycelial network. If they do as I said, they will simply become part of the mycelium forever, no longer possessing a human body."

"And you’ll tell me?" Shire tilted his head. ’This Evil Book is still incredibly dangerous,’ he thought.

"I will, my lord. Not only will I tell you how to detach your consciousness from the network, but I will also tell you how to cultivate a Mushroom body. With it, you can move across the continent and avoid countless dangers. Once you find a safe place to settle, you can continue to cultivate your mycelium, thereby achieving the most secure form of immortality."

"But wouldn’t that just make me a mushroom-man?" Shire paused his hand, which was reaching for the dagger.

"Mushroom-men are excellent. You can survive just by decomposing plants and animals. You’d have no sense of pain, no blood, and no internal organs. It’s very safe."

"But that would mean giving up so many pleasures," Shire said with a touch of regret, stroking his chin. "I wouldn’t be able to savor delicious food, be with the people I like, or live among other humans. I could only hide in the sunless dark, deep underground."

"Well..." The Evil Book hesitated, the words coming to a halt.

Seeing it pause, Shire felt he had seen right through it. ’Ah, so you’ve shown your hand.’ He immediately reached out and snatched the sharp dagger.

"Wait, wait, True God! There are other ways!" The Evil Book hastily scrawled, its words practically begging.

"Talk," Shire said, gripping the dagger and staring at the page, ready to stab through the book at any moment.

"You could capture some people and have the mycelium invade their brains through their mouths and noses. Once their brains are filled with mycelia, their bodies will become vessels for your consciousness. You can use them to experience the full range of human sensations."

"Fungus growing inside their brains?" Shire frowned. The method reminded him of things he had read about, like "zombie ants" or Cordyceps.

He had to admit, it did sound like a viable solution. A disgusting one, but a solution nonetheless.

"Aren’t there any other ways?" Shire rested the dagger on the page, and the sharp edge seemed to make the book’s words appear even faster.

"Yes, yes, there is! You could take Control of a small town, spreading your mycelial network beneath it. Then, at night, you could use the mycelium to infiltrate their minds. This time, you’d only need to implant a new memory. When they wake up in the morning and see your Mushroom body, they won’t be alarmed. They might even become exceptionally respectful toward you."

"Control the minds of an entire town?" Shire sighed, raising the dagger as if to stab it through the book. "I knew you were bad news."

"No, True God, please quell your anger!" Words instantly filled the page, appearing far faster than ever before.

"I’m just a goblin, not some True God," Shire scoffed, his hand halting mid-air.

But the words that followed made him slowly lower the dagger. "I have looked upon your soul. In it, I saw only an incomparably powerful Divinity. Regardless of your outward appearance, your soul is the soul of a True God."

"My soul?" Shire pursed his lips. Sofia had said something similar, mentioning that she’d seen a pair of eyes filled with Divinity. "You can see souls?"

"Yes. Many sentient Magic Items can directly perceive the souls of their users. Their souls manifest to us ’Spiritual Artifacts’ as different colors." The book paused before words continued to appear. "Most of the people I’ve encountered displayed colors representing greed. The two I was in contact with before this had normal colors, just tinged with a bit of stupidity. As for you..."

The book’s pages trembled, and it deliberately flipped to a fresh page. "Please forgive my use of the word ’perceive.’ I took the liberty of glimpsing your soul, and that is when I discovered a pure white, incomparably powerful Divinity, filling the vessel of a human soul."

"Alright, enough with the flattery." Shire moved the dagger away. The Evil Book seemed to sense it had earned a sliver of trust. Its open pages began to flutter back and forth, as if applauding in celebration.

"Still," Shire said with a helpless shrug, "my current appearance is, in fact, that of a goblin. I’m not human at the moment."