The Book Eating Magician Chapter 302:
Chapter 302 - Hall of Fame (2)
Heathcliff’s eyes narrowed at the cryptic words . “ . . . Read the mysteries of the heavens?”
“Yes . ”
It might sound strange, but the two people knew what it meant in this situation .
In the Eastern language, the phrase ‘reading the mysteries of the heavens,’ meant literally reading heavenly secrets . It was a phrase that metaphorically pointed to ‘future work’, an area that those with predictive abilities knew about but didn’t want to commit to .
According to the long memories of Abe no Seimei, one of the greatest shamans in the east, reading the mysteries of the heavens was a taboo that shouldn’t be violated .
“Sigh, you have penetrated the essence of my magic . ” However, Heathcliff didn’t respond to the request directly . He gave a long sigh and scratched his head several times .
Theodore nodded without saying anything .
The White Tower Master Heathcliff’s unique power wasn’t to control terrible storms, neither was it magic like Supercell . Instead, it was actually the ability to read the mysteries of the heavens! It was different from short-term predictions, including Alfred’s super sensitivity . The ever-changing future was fluid and was an area where mortals couldn’t intervene . Heathcliff made predictions by observing the curves .
Theodore had inferred Heathcliff’s essence by looking back at his old memories after reaching the 8th circle .
-Well, I ended up dying in the middle of nowhere .
-Don’t tell me . . . ! Didn’t you see into the future?
-Maybe, maybe not . I don’t know what happened after I died . Now, it is your turn .
Even though seeing the future was rare, it didn’t mean that death could be avoided just by seeing the future . If there was a prognosis that called for death, it was a foreknowledge that a mortal body couldn’t bear . Heathcliff’s foresight wasn’t something that could be acquired, even if Transmission was finished . The power to read the mysteries of the heavens was Heathcliff’s only Sorcery, a unique magic that had barely completed during his lifetime .
“Well, okay,” Heathcliff accepted Theodore’s demands . Then he advised, “I want to tell you one thing before that . Reading the ‘heavens’ reduces the life of a mortal . But I'm dead . Do you understand what that means?”
“ . . . I have to pay for the reading . ”
“Correct . I don’t know how much, but a huge amount of your achievement points will be consumed . If you don’t mind that, I will take a look . ”
The heavens was an area that wasn’t accessible to mortals . It contained confidential information that could only be found by transcendents of this material world and couldn’t be used without a penalty .
“Yes, it doesn’t matter . ” Yet Theodore accepted it without hesitation .
‘Surely it won’t cost 100,000 points?’
Theodore now had points to spare after stealing from Jerem’s Tartarus . Then a notification window appeared before him .
[You have chosen to use target name Heathcliff’s Reading the Mysteries of Heaven . That rating is B+ . Depending on how far and how closely you look, the consumption of achievement points will vary greatly . ]
[The minimum range for Reading the Mysteries of Heaven is one month, and the achievement points consumed is 3,000 points . ]
[It is set according to the user’s discretion . ]
‘3,000 points . ’
It wasn’t bad . This was a bigger expenditure than he’d expected, but it was at a level that he could afford easily with 150,000 points . However, he thought a month was too short . How much achievement points would be consumed if it was at least three months?
The notification window appeared again, as if to answer the question .
[The duration is 3 months, the accuracy is high, and 48,000 points will be consumed . The capacity will increase as the time zone expands, so the consumption of achievement points will increase . ]
[Error! You can’t set the accuracy as ‘high . ’ By adjusting the accuracy to the ‘normal’ level, 24,000 points will be consumed . ]
Theodore took a deep breath and swallowed hard . 48,000 points . . . and now 24,000 points for ordinary accuracy! Reading the heavens cost the same amount of achievement points as opening the soul of a great magician . Theodore felt conflicted for a brief moment .
He was worried about Jerem’s presence, but did he need to spend 24,000 points for an inaccurate prophecy?
‘No, it is worth it if there is danger in the future . ’
Furthermore, even though Heathcliff couldn’t read the future accurately . . . If Theodore wasn’t careful about threats, he might suffer more damage than when Invidia attacked . In the end, Theodore decided on the painful expense . “Then please do so, Senior . ”
Heathcliff closed his eyes . “ . . . Okay, let’s take a long look . ”
It was called looking at the future, but one’s eyes were useless when it came to predictions . No, they were more of a hindrance . This was why the ancient prophets sometimes dug out their eyes . Heathcliff soon opened his eyes .
“Ah . ” Theodore covered his mouth from the shock . It was natural that he do so, since Heathcliff’s eyes had turned completely blue and were swirling like a wave .
“ . . . Ohh . . . Oh . . . ohhh . . . ” He groaned like an ill or dying person . “ . . . Seen . . . ”
Reading the Mysteries of Heaven was used .
「The worshipper of death hides . 」
「The shadow of the false **** is lifted . 」
「 The person who devoured the remains of the light and was exiled will return . 」
「Big birds and snakes are surrounding a tree . 」
「The squirrels will help you to repay the favor . 」
It was exactly five sentences . After that, Heathcliff’s murmuring stopped, and his blue eyes returned to their original state . A magician who understood the true meaning of those eyes didn’t exist in this era .
Theodore summarized it simply, “It is vague . ”
They might be key clues, but it was impossible to understand before the situations occurred . The worshipper of death was certainly Jerem, but there were doubts about the false god, the remains of light, the big birds and snakes . The same was true for the squirrels who would repay his grace .
“Prophecies are originally like this . There are no prophets in the myths or legends who explain clearly . ”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right . ” Heathcliff shrugged and stepped back . “Well, then my role ends here?”
Was he returning to his portrait? As his form became increasingly blurred, Theodore threw out a forgotten question, “Ah, Senior! Is there a lingering regret that Senior left behind?”
“Huh? A lingering regret . . . Let’s see?” Heathcliff made a noncommittal reply while returning to his portrait . “I’ll tell you when I think about it!”
Then he was gone . The frowning Theodore was left behind, and the Hall of Fame sank into silence . Even though he was dead, Heathcliff’s free-spirited personality hadn’t changed much . Theodore regained his composure and looked at the other two portraits .
‘There are many things I want to discuss with both of them, but . . . right now, it is better to focus on the prophecy . I will call Seimei after I became a transcendent . ’
Theodore spoke into the empty space, “Gluttony, I will leave now . ”
The notification messages were Gluttony’s reply .
[At User’s request, the Hall of Fame has closed . ]
[User currently has 133,329 achievement points . ]
[Closing the Hall of Fame . ]
* * *
The next day, Theodore was analyzing Heathcliff’s prophecy when he made a surprised expression . “His Majesty called me?”
“Yes, Captain Theodore . ” The servant bowed politely as he delivered Kurt’s message . “It isn’t just you . The White Tower Master and all of the people who participated in the last battle have been called . ”
“What is the reason?”
“Well, it is . . . ”
The servant’s words were unsure, so Theodore felt like he had to listen to Kurt speak personally . Kurt had concealed the fact that Theodore had awakened from people . The fact that he was calling Theodore, the White Tower Master, and other people meant it was something big .
“Let’s go . ” Theodore put on a red robe and left his room .
“Follow me please . ” The servant took three steps in front of Theodore and led the way . This was to avoid the attention of others . Thanks to the servant, Theodore could reach the royal palace without any disturbances and entered the room where Kurt was waiting .
Then several voices rang out as Theodore entered .
“Theo!”
“ . . . You’ve woken up . I am glad to see that you are well . ”
“Not even giving me a hint, isn’t that too much?”
Sylvia, Orta, and Randolph greeted him in turn, while more and more people were attracted by the fuss . Surprisingly, there was no reaction from Veronica . However, when Theodore looked at her, she blew him a kiss . In some ways, it was the behavior of a victor .
After a few minutes of turmoil, Kurt entered and settled on the throne, causing the room to calm down . “I’m sorry about the sudden call . However, this issue isn’t something to be treated lightly, so I gathered all the parties involved . ”
There was one thing that everyone present had in common . They had been mobilized against Andras and involved in the battle against Invidia . Aside from the two guardians of Elvenheim, the seriously wounded, and the dead, everyone else was gathered here .
“Last night, an envoy arrived from the Andras Empire . ” However, Kurt wouldn’t have called them here if it was just that . “I received a letter with the official stamp of the emperor of Andras . ”
This caused a great stir . It was natural as the emperor of Andras, the monster called Invidia, had vanished without a trace in the Nadun Mountains . Now, a self-proclaimed emperor had appeared in Andras . Hadn’t Invidia died? Or had the fight for the throne ended in just a few days, with the crowning of a new emperor?
“The name of that emperor was also written in the letter,” Kurt continued .
Then in front of all the people with questions, he read out the words at the bottom of the stamped letter, “Andras’ 19th emperor, Crowd von Andras . ”