The sense of disorientation slowly disappeared the longer Elurian adapted. After breakfast, he was taken to his Master's reading room and allowed to read any book he wanted, apparently they forgot that he was supposed to be illiterate.
Elurian hesitantly took one of the books, that he could reach, from the bookshelf on the left side of the room. The book is a thick black cover with the title printed in bold.
[Aether Energy]
What a coincidence, Elurian needed knowledge of aether.
Wait -
"Huh?!" Elurian frowned, wondering why he could read the title of the book?
Did Master place language translation magic here?
He was curious if he could read the contents too, so he immediately opened the book and flipped it to the first page.
{Aether energy levels are divided into five stages. The first stage is controlling the elements which requires an understanding of the internal energy of the aether. Someone who is at this stage is called an Elementer.}
Elurian's gray eyes widened as the foreign words were strangely intelligible. That means he can read books without having to learn the language?
No, that doesn't seem right. Elurian still felt something was bothering him, especially the voice in his mind that kept babbling words he didn't understand.
He only knew that he existed for a purpose, to meet a certain someone in this world and offer himself. For that, he needed to be a worthy offering by possessing at least Elementer level strength.
Regarding the prediction about the Mutation Disaster, he only knew it briefly from his dream. Although, somehow he felt it was strange.
Elurian put his thoughts aside and turned his focus back to the book. He took a seat near the bookshelf, enjoying the nice lighting from outside the window.
His learning ability was quite impressive or so he should admit it as he managed to finish the first chapter of the book in lunch time. The peace he felt right now felt like a gentle breeze that only passed by for a moment. That's why Elurian didn't want to be lulled into peace for too long or he would forget his goal.
"Hn?" Elurian suddenly raised his head in confusion; he heard strange sounds of screaming and crying. His gray eyes trembled as he felt a chill down his spine.
"Ugh! What's this?! Why? Hah!" Elurian fell from his chair while holding his head which felt very noisy, the sound of screaming, crying, evil whispers, and terrible images suddenly occupied his mind. He tried to hold it in until finally a memory emerged and shocked him.
-Every midnight, you will feel a wave of madness until you find me...
-Until you find me...
-Find me...
Elurian's gray eyes turned violet with a jolt of consciousness. He panted while realizing something.
Appearance Apparently his attempt to avoid the curse failed, that was because there were only a few fragments of his original soul left and couldn't last long. The soul fragment could only last for six hours at most since he received the curse.
"Of course, it can't be that easy." Elurian chuckled, not disappointed with the result. Precisely that was as expected.
The curse caused assimilation with the original owner's soul fragment to be impossible. It was like the curse had separated Ahn Seohyun and Elurian into different people so that both of them could not exist at the same time.
Before the curse, Elurian, no, Ahn Seohyun, would worry that if he received assimilation, then it would be very difficult for him to regain his consciousness. However, now he could finally confirm his guess about the curse which was actually in his favor.
This forced assimilation can only last a maximum of six hours every day. Beyond that time, strange sounds will erode his mind and awaken his original consciousness as Ahn Seohyun.
"I don't know if I should thanks to that person, heheh," he quipped while feeling relieved that the assimilation didn't last too long or else his plans would have fallen apart and been replaced by the original owner's obsession.
Then, the voice of the entity he was waiting for finally spoke
[You... You planned it on purpose?! You almost scared me! I'm not trying to trick you, the body is indeed the only one that can accommodate your soul, so I have no other choice. Also, I honestly knew you wouldn't mind the curse. You like pain, right?]
Elurian laughed as he replied, "Come on, don't make me look like a masochist. I'm just enjoying having this new body that helps me feel alive."
That's right, Ahn Seohyun in his previous body couldn't feel pain. The physical pain that could make people fall into agony was not something he could experience.
It was only when his older brother developed a certain medicine in that world that Ahn Seohyun was finally able to feel the pain that made him feel like any other human.
He needed that pain to know when he could stop destroying his own body. Unfortunately, his dear older brother left before him. He couldn't accept his death especially some hidden secrets that made him decide to try a deal with the entity.
"So, I will survive 18 hours per day. That's pretty good and I can choose when to encourage that assimilation."
Elurian deliberately told the entity about the time he realized he was Ahn Seohyun, which means that if he wasn't Ahn Seohyun, the entity had to stop him from meeting the messenger.
It's like a split personality, at least it can still be controlled.... Elurian got up from his position and glanced at the book that had fallen. He narrowed his eyes while pointing at the words that looked unfamiliar.
"Why can't I read it? Does the original owner have the buff to be able to read all languages?" he asked curiously.
He could only see strange letter shapes that were like ancient alphabets, but the knowledge learned during assimilation was still stored in his brain, it's just that the ability to read didn't come with him.
The entity's voice sounded mocking him.
[He is an offering meant for the messenger, it is clear that he has the blessing of being able to read all languages. The current you is an illiterate.]
The corner of Elurian's mouth twitched. He took the book and put it back on the bookshelf. Then, feeling it was time for lunch, he walked to the exit of the room.
When he opened the door and went out, Finnian, who had been standing guard at the front, saw him.
This was strange... When I fell from the chair and groaned in pain, he should have heard it... Elurian looked at Finnian's expression which was completely devoid of worry or pretense.
He suddenly asked, "Is this reading room soundproof?"
Finnian was surprised at the question. "Yes, The reading room was also the room that Master Rex usually used to test things, so there were a lot of magical barriers and protections. You don't need to worry about being inside, no intruders will dare to enter the reading room," explained Finnian who misunderstood.
But, that's not what I want to know.... What if I'm dying inside and no one knows? Wait -
Elurian felt his heart race as a certain possibility appeared in his mind. His expression turned scared as he asked him, "Did Master place surveillance inside?"
Finnian smiled. Understanding Elurian's meaning that he was afraid of being watched if he did something wrong in the reading room, like accidentally tearing a book or something.
While patting the little silver-haired head, he soothed, "Don't worry, Master Rex won't scold you."
That means there was indeed surveillance inside, will my strange behavior be exposed? Detail like this aren't explained in the novel, is it because it's clear it's impossible for anyone to do anything carelessly inside?
Elurian felt troubled, the entity was useless, and he was caught off guard because he woke up suddenly.
If Master suspects me, I will just explain that I have a split personality. It sounded absurd, but it was better than him killing me.
Rex Violet, that he knew, would kill people who were infected with that wave of madness and were on the verge of sanity. It wasn't because he was cruel, but it was his way of freeing them from pain, giving them eternal peace.
I don't want that eternal peace!
He had to convince his Master not to kill him later.
***