After resting for half an hour, Kevin, who now considered himself Klein, began to recover. During this time, he noticed four black spots on the back of his right hand, forming a small square.
These four black spots, which faded from dark to light, soon disappeared, but Klein knew that they still lay hidden within him, waiting to be awakened.
"Four spots, forming a square. Could it be that these represent the four corners of the main food? Will I not need to prepare main food anymore and can directly proceed with steps and spells?" Klein had a vague suspicion.
This seemed promising, but having something mysterious and unexplained on him always brought fear.
The thought that inexplicable rituals from Earth could also be effective here, along with his strange dreams of transmigration, the mysterious and enigmatic gray fog world, and the maddening whispers during the "ceremonies," made Klein shiver uncontrollably, even in the heat of late June.
He had once heard a saying: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is fear of the unknown." Now, he deeply felt the fear stemming from the unknown.
Unprecedented and uncontrollable, he felt a strong impulse to delve into the mysterious realm, learn more, and dispel the unknown, but also had thoughts of burying his head in the sand, pretending nothing had happened.
The bright sunlight outside cast a layer of "gold dust" over the desk. Klein gazed at it, as if touching a hint of warmth and hope.
He relaxed slightly and immediately felt a tidal wave of fatigue wash over him.
The sleepless night and recent exhaustion made his eyelids heavy as lead, unable to stop drooping.
Shaking his head, Klein supported himself on the edge of the desk, ignoring the black rye bread in the corners, and staggered to the bunk bed. As soon as he lay down and touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Hunger woke Klein, and he opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.
"Aside from a slight headache," he rubbed his forehead, sat up, and felt like he could eat an entire cow.
He adjusted the folds of his clothes and returned to the desk, picking up the silver-white pocket watch with vine patterns.
Snap!
The cover popped open, and the second hand ticked away.
"Half past twelve, slept for a little over three hours..." Klein swallowed, placing the watch back into his linen shirt pocket.
On the Northern Continent, a day is also divided into twenty-four hours, each hour into sixty minutes, each minute into sixty seconds. As for whether the length of each second is the same as on Earth, Klein did not know.
For him, at this moment, words like mysticism, rituals, and the gray fog world couldn't enter his mind. The most important thing right now was food, food!
He needed to eat well before he could think of other things!
Without hesitation, Klein took the four pieces of rye bread from the corners, flicked off a little dust, and planned to use one of them as his lunch.
Because there was a custom in his hometown of distributing sacrificial offerings, and these four pieces of rye bread looked unchanged, he felt that with only five pennies left in his pocket, it was better to be frugal.
Of course, this was also subtly influenced by the original owner's memories and habits.
Since gas was too expensive and painful to use for lighting, he set up the stove, added some coal, and Klein paced back and forth, waiting for the water to boil.
That rye bread could be choking if eaten dry!
"Ah, is it going to be a life of black bread for breakfast, black bread for lunch, and meat only for dinner… No, if it weren't for Melissa considering my upcoming interview, I'd only get meat twice a week…" Klein glanced around, unable to think about serious matters due to hunger.
Thinking about that pound of lamb, he even stared at the cabinet with a hint of longing.
"No, no, I should wait and eat with Melissa." Klein shook his head abruptly, rejecting the idea of cutting half and cooking it now.
As a single person wandering in a big city, though he mainly ate out, he had developed basic cooking skills. It wasn't great, but it was sufficient.
Turning away, Klein planned to ignore the food for now, but then he suddenly remembered that in addition to buying meat in the morning, he had also bought fresh peas and potatoes!
Potatoes! Klein had an idea and rushed back to the cabinet, grabbing two potatoes from the small stock.
He first went to the communal washroom to clean the potatoes thoroughly, then placed them directly into the pot with water to boil.
After a while, he took out a seasoning box from the cabinet, opened the lid, and sprinkled a bit of yellowish, coarse salt into the water.
After a few more minutes of patient waiting, Klein lifted the pot, poured the not-quite-soup liquid into a few cups and a large bowl, and finally took the two potatoes out, placing them on the table.
Hoo!
He peeled a bit of skin and blew on his hand, the aroma of the cooked potatoes wafting through the air, whetting his appetite.
Saliva was flowing freely, and Klein, ignoring that he had only peeled half and that the potatoes were still a bit hot, took a big bite.
Soft! Flavorful! With a hint of sweetness! Klein's heart was instantly filled with emotion as he wolfed down the two potatoes, even eating some of the skin.
Only then did he pick up the large bowl and enjoy a sip of the "soup," the mild salt flavor washing away the dryness from his mouth.
"I used to love eating this when I was a child..." With his stomach satisfied, Klein silently reminisced as he broke the rye bread and soaked it in the "soup" to eat.
Perhaps due to the previous "ritual" draining his energy, he ate two whole pieces, a full pound.
After drinking the "soup" and tidying up, Klein felt completely revived, experiencing the joy of being alive and basking in the sunlight.
He sat back at his desk, beginning to think about what to do next.
"I can't avoid it; I must find a way to engage with the mysterious realm and become the extraordinary being referred to by 'Justice' and 'The Hanged Man.'"
"I need to overcome the fear caused by the unknown."
"The only way right now is to wait for the next 'meeting' and see if I can overhear the 'audience' potion formula or other mysterious knowledge."
"There are four days until Monday. Before then, I need to confront the original owner's issues—why did he commit suicide? What happened to him?"
Unable to return to his previous life and walk away, Klein picked up the open notebook, intending to see if there were any clues to fill in the missing pieces of memory.
Clearly, the original owner had the habit of taking notes and used the notebook as a diary.
Klein knew that the cabinet, which served as the right leg of the desk, was filled with completed notebooks.
This one had been in use since May 10th, with the early pages mostly covering topics related to school, mentors, and knowledge:
"May 12th, Mr. Azek mentioned that the common language of the Bairang Empire in the Southern Continent also derives from Old Fasaq, which is a branch of the Giant Language. Why is that? Did all sentient beings once use the same language? No, that must be wrong. Even in the records of 'The Night's Revelation' and 'The Book of Storms,' giants were not the sole rulers of the continent in more ancient times. There were also elves, other beings, and dragons. Well, these are just legends, just mythological stories."
---
May 16: Professor Cohen and Mr. Azek discussed the inevitability of the Steam Era. Mr. Azek argued that it was a matter of chance—if not for the sudden appearance of Emperor Rossel, perhaps the Northern Continent would still be in the Cold Weapon Era, just like the Southern Continent. The mentor believed he overemphasized the role of individuals, arguing that with the development of the times, even without Emperor Rossel, there would be Emperor Robert. In short, the Steam Era might be delayed, but it would certainly come. I felt that their debate was rather pointless. I preferred discovering new things and uncovering the mist-shrouded history. Perhaps I shouldn't be studying history but archaeology instead.
May 29: Welch found me and said he had obtained a notebook from the Fourth Era. My goddess, a notebook from the Fourth Era! He didn't want to ask the archaeology students for help and instead requested me and Naya to help interpret its contents. How could I refuse such a thing? Of course, it had to be arranged after the graduation defense; I can't afford to be distracted right now.
Upon reading this, Klein felt a surge of excitement. Compared to the previous notes on history and ideological debates, the newly appeared "Fourth Era" notes were more likely to have driven the original owner to suicide.
The Fourth Era was the era before the current "Black Iron Era." Its history is shrouded in fog and full of gaps. Even the excavated tombs, ancient cities, and documents are few and far between. Historians and archaeologists can only piece together a vague "original appearance" with the help of the seven major churches' ambiguous, faith-based theological texts, knowing only about the existence of the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, and the Trensos Empire.
Determined to uncover the fog and restore history, Klein was more interested in the "Third Eras," which are more mythological and legendary, and was excited about the Fourth Era, also known as the "Era of the Gods."
"Hey, looking at this, the original owner seemed to worry too much about the interview and future employment. It really wasn't necessary…" Klein couldn't help but sigh.
At present, universities were still rare. Most students were from noble families or wealthy households. Even if commoners entered, despite facing discrimination due to their status and not being included in others' social circles, they could still gain some valuable connections through group discussions and collective activities, which was quite precious!
For example, Welch McGowan was the son of a banker from Conston City in the Kingdom of Ruin's Intersea County. He was open-hearted and generous. Since he had often worked on assignments and reports in the same group as Klein and Naya, he habitually asked for their help.
Without further wandering thoughts, Klein continued reading the notes:
June 18: Graduated. Farewell, my Hoy University!
June 19: I saw the notebook. After comparing its structure and roots, I found that it was a variant of Old Farsack language. More precisely, Old Farsack language has been subtly evolving over the past thousand years.
June 20: We deciphered the first page. The author was a member of a family called "Antigonus."
June 21: He mentioned the "Black Emperor," which contradicts the era deduced from the previous content. Could it be that the mentor's view is wrong, and the "Black Emperor" is actually a common title for every emperor of the Solomon Empire?
June 22: The family called "Antigonus" seemed to have a prominent position in the Solomon Empire. The notebook owner mentioned a secret transaction with someone named Tudor. Tudor? Tudor Dynasty?
June 23: I am controlling myself from thinking about the notebook and from visiting Welch. I need to prepare for the interview! This is very important!
June 24: Naya told me they had made new discoveries. I think I should go and have a look.
June 25: From the newly deciphered content, the notebook's owner had received a task to go to the main peak of the "Honaichis" Mountains to visit the "Night Kingdom" at the top. My goddess, the main peak of the Honaichis Mountains is over six thousand meters high. How could there be a kingdom there? How do they survive?
June 26: Are these strange things really true?
By this point, the notes ended. Kevin had crossed over in the early morning of June 28.
"This means that the note from June 27 actually exists, and it's that line... 'Everyone will die, including me'…" Klein flipped back to the page he first saw, feeling a shiver as he made the judgment.
He felt that to unravel the mystery of the original owner's suicide, he should visit Welch and examine the ancient notes' contents. But with his rich experience from novels, movies, and TV series, he sensed that if he went and if the situation was indeed related, he would most likely encounter unknown dangers—just like those who knowingly went to haunted castles and ended up being cautionary tales!
But avoiding it was not an option. Escaping never solves problems; it only makes them worse until the dam breaks and overwhelms you!
Call the police? How could he say he was contemplating suicide?
Knock!
Knock, knock!
Suddenly, there was a series of urgent and forceful knocks on the door.
Klein sat up straight and listened carefully.
Knock!
Knock, knock!
The knocking echoed through the empty, desolate hallway.