Book Eater

Chapter 200: Traces from the Age of Mythology (3)

Despite being prepared, reading the Fairy’s Book didn’t go smoothly. He was familiar with the act of imprinting knowledge directly into his brain thanks to Gluttony, while the primordial characters helped with comprehension at the same time that predation increased proficiency. Overall, the process wasn’t much different.

The problem was the sheer amount of information.

Crack.

Theo’s head was throbbing. He had felt his consciousness become fuzzy several times, but he had gritted his teeth and accepted the knowledge. The thirty six characters had a total of a thousand eight hundred pages stored in them. This was a treasure written by an alchemist of the Age of Mythology, so the difficulty of the contents was a given. However, he hadn’t expected the other variable.

The more difficult the contents, the worse the headache becomes?

Gluttony realized what Theo meant and replied.

- Of course. The more difficult the knowledge, the more burden is placed on User’s brain. It’s possible that you wouldn’t be able to read even half of this book if you didn’t have Myrdal’s knowledge.

Myrdal? Ah, since the elemental techniques overlap.

- No, because that guy is?□□□□□ □□□…

Gluttony’s voice grew garbed.

- Hrmm, it still isn’t possible? It seems I can’t reveal the information at stage 4.

Does another seal need to be released?

- That’s right. I thought it would be possible after you became a master, but it seems another seal needs to be released.

The first time he met Pride, it was Gluttony’s choice which had saved him, so Theo wasn’t qualified to argue with its choice. He would be able to find out more about Myrdal once he unlocked the next seal.

Theo focused on the next character. If he counted correctly, he had fifteen characters left. It was only a moment later that Theo realized what it meant. He couldn’t help letting out an admiring sound.

“I have already read a thousand and fifty pages...”

It was common to take a few days to understand theories properly, even in familiar fields. Additionally, it was common for alchemy to use knowledge from various fields. It should have taken at least two months to read a thousand eight hundred pages, especially when one took into account how difficult Paracelsus’ book was. It might even take a year to completely parse it.

Yet Theo had read more than half of the Fairy’s Book in just two hours. This absurd efficiency came from the primordial characters. Theo once again started reading the Fairy’s Book. But he didn’t realize Gluttony was quietly watching him.

It spoke to itself.

- This greed for magic… Yes, this is a quality suitable for my user.

This was the reason Gluttony had chosen Theo as its master.

Gluttony continued to murmur to itself.

- Your brain will continue developing as you repeatedly learn difficult information. This luck that keeps on bringing adversity... Theodore Miller, you are the right user to be responsible for my last...

- I hope that you will be consistent like this until the end.

***

By the time that the moon and stars started to dim in the sky, Theo achieved the goal he desired.

[* Your understanding is very high. (99.9%)]

Theo could barely confirm the information window. Apart from the headache piercing his skull, his body was burning up. It was the price for reading Paracelsus’ Fairy’s Book overnight.

I-I feel like I’m dying...

It wasn’t physical fatigue but mental fatigue. It was a common expression in books he’d read. He didn’t have the strength to even lift a finger. However, Theo was a protagonist, so he didn’t have time to relax. He stretched out his left hand and laid it on the slab on his bed. If he didn’t have something to do right now, he would be falling asleep.

“E-Eat.”

-I understand.?

Gluttony replied calmly as it brought out its tongue.

[Fairy’s Book has been consumed. Your understanding is very high.]

[Your proficiency with elementals will increase greatly.]

[Your understanding of the four elementals will increase greatly.]

[An original book has been consumed. Checking synchro rate with object name Paracelsus... Blocked. Paracelsus has refused to sync with the user. User can’t force synchronization with the target without permission. The other side holds a divinity.]

It was impossible to force synchronization! However, it wasn’t surprising that Paracelsus was a holder of divinity. After all, what normal human being could create a creature, Mercurius, that possessed a divinity? Theo had known it would happen. He was waiting for another message.

[Object name Paracelsus is interested in User. Would you like to accept the request for conversation?]

“... I accept.”

As always, the system asked for his permission.

[After confirming the user’s intention, object name ‘Paracelsus’ will be called. Checking the communication connection... Success, object name ‘Paracelsus’ has approved the two-way communication.]

[He will temporarily be synchronized with the user’s consciousness.]

Theo was transported to a familiar void. It was the same place he’d met Abe no Seimei. This was a place where only Theo and the author were allowed. The familiar light particles gathered before him and turned into a human figure.

We have a similar physique.

The figure was around a hundred and eighty centimeters tall and well built. They didn’t bulge like Blundell’s, but Theo could make out defined muscle beneath the robe. The man had a white beard and white hair. Theo couldn’t make out what his robe was made out of, but the ornamentation was gorgeous. Magic power was clearly moving around him, but Theo couldn’t understand what it was meant to do.

This was the greatest alchemist of the ages, Paracelsus.

“Hrmm.”

His taut skin was covered in wrinkles and weathered like a tree. He was a perfect specimen of a wonderfully aged magician. Theo tried to speak but felt his mouth being blocked by an unknown pressure.

Paracelsus’ golden brown eyes were looking at him. His eyes seemed to reach into Theo’s bones and organs underneath the skin. No, it wouldn’t be hard for an alchemist from the Age of Mythology to know everything about the human body.

After a few minutes, Paracelsus shook his head and muttered, “I don’t know who you are, but you have good skills.”

“T-Thank you.”

“For your age. You should keep applying yourself.”

If Theo’s peers had heard this advice, they would be foaming at the mouth. Theodore Miller had become a master in his mid twenties. There were no more than three people who had comparable growth rates in the history of Meltor, regardless of his original talent.

Yet Theo was just good ‘for his age?’ His peers would bite their tongues and die.

However, Paracelsus’ rant had only just begun. “You aren’t qualified to receive teachings from me.”

Theo was resolute, so he tried hard to listen to Paracelsus.

“You haven’t developed your own magic, and you don’t have a great interest in alchemy despite coming to my lab. No, based on the Azoth Sword, you must’ve accompanied Paragranum. I expect you’re the owner of Gluttony. I thought they were cockily designed, but they turned out more advanced than I expected.”

“......”

“Using the Fairy’s Book means… If it isn’t for alchemy, then it must be because it is related to elementals? I can feel a connection with the elemental world... Is it an ancient elemental? The attribute is a land or forest.”

Theo was gradually growing more amazed with every word. Unlike Synchro, which allowed the other person to look at his memories and thoughts, this was a meeting space. In other words, Paracelsus had determined these things by observing Theo for several minutes.

Theo felt like he was being stripped naked in the middle of a snowy winter. He barely suppressed the tiny spasms he felt and conceded to the mysterious reasoning, “... It is as Paracelsus says.”

“Call it out.”

Theo whispered, “Mitra.”

There was no need to talk loudly or use magic. This wasn’t the material world but a spiritual world. Mitra was connected to his soul, so he could bring her here whenever he wanted. There was a flash of light and a little girl appeared on Theo’s palm.

[Huuuuong... Deo?]

The cute little girl with the flower bud on her head looked at Theo.

However, Paracelsus reacted violently, “Demeter?!”

It was another name for Dmitra, Mitra’s prototype.

“Do you know her?” Theo asked.

“How could I not?! A god of Olympus related to Hermes! The great and magnificent Mother Earth, to think I would see you again like this...”

Paracelsus was excited at first, but his voice soon grew softer as he gazed at Mitra sadly. Theo had heard she had been an ancient god in the past. As such, Paracelsus remembered and mourned her. After waiting quietly until Paracelsus calmed down, Theo asked about the bud that was sprouting on her head.

“The seed of the world tree?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That seed germinated and made a bud...”

Paracelsus soon grew calmer. It seemed he had either overcome his sorrow or his curiosity as a researcher was stronger as he observed Mitra from various angles. The fragment of Mother Earth, the seed of the world tree, and the ecology of an ancient elemental...

These three things were hard to determine, even for the best magicians. Nevertheless, Paracelsus only took a few moments to come up with an answer.

“The divinity is differentiating.”

“Differentiating?”

“The reason why she is Mother Earth is simple. She possesses the divinity of the earth. The god of the forest, the god of rocks, and so on... They are all just subordinate gods of Mother Earth. The only god beyond Mother Earth would be the god of the sea or the sky,” Paracelsus explained. He tapped the bud on Mitra’s head as he continued, “In other words, the material world is divided into three upper gods. Can this small body endure such a divinity? An ancient elemental that isn’t a complete god but just a fragment?”

“... Impossible.”

Paracelsus nodded approvingly. “Excessive power can destroy the owner. It is the same for this ancient elemental. A more powerful divinity will destroy the body of the ancient elemental and her ego. Therefore, the ancient elemental found a way to differentiate its divinity.”

In order to remain as Mitra, instead of Mother Earth Dmitra, the seed of the world tree sprouted the divinity in different directions. Theo looked at Mitra, who was gazing at him with clear and innocent eyes. She didn’t understand what Theo and Paracelsus were talking about.

Paracelsus put an end to the topic. “An ancient elemental can change their appearance in response to the contractor’s growth. Since you have reached the 7th Circle, she will break away from the divinity of the earth and grow another divinity.”

“What will happen to Mitra?” Theo asked.

Paracelsus replied, “The answer to that isn’t something you can get from me.”

Then the great alchemist, Paracelsus, declared, “When you have reached the boundary of a mortal, go once again to the world tree. At that time, there will be an answer waiting!”