Chapter 404: Extraordinary Item? [Extraordinary Knowledge]?
Earlier, because I was in front of Qiu Ruxin, it wasn’t appropriate to observe it too closely, mainly because I hadn’t considered that there might be something wrong with this item.
After accepting it, I temporarily stored it in my storage equipment due to the runes.
I hadn’t even touched that pendant the whole time; I was just holding onto the string, afraid that the pendant might get contaminated with fingerprints or dirt.
At this moment, as I wanted to take it out and examine it closely, when I truly made contact with it, I felt its abnormality!
This sense of contact… was quite similar to the extraordinary item, the Heart of Ninglan, that I had encountered in Ninglan New City!
As I sensed this peculiarity, my Spirit Vision subconsciously locked onto this seemingly ordinary pendant, but the next moment, a torrent of information surged into my mind like a tsunami, washing over me in the most intense manner.
As soon as I reacted, I flung it away from my hand, my whole body quickly retreating and closing my eyes, instinctively resisting the intake of this information.
“What the hell is this?” After regaining my composure, I instinctively shook my head to clear my mind, but the influence of the information I had just received still left me quite shaken.
Even now, everything else I looked at felt a bit blurry.
This was a self-induced dual stress perception shield for both vision and Spirit Vision. After adjusting for a bit, my vision returned to normal, but when I looked at the slanted pendant on the table with my Spirit Vision, it generated a layer of what seemed like solid pixels.
“Pixels?”
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, not expecting this pendant to elicit such a response from my Spirit Vision. The last time something like this happened was with Teacher Ji’s [Extraordinary Knowledge], but after that ordeal, I thoroughly mastered Foresight Spirit Vision and could eliminate such pixels; now, it has happened again?
Could this also be a form of [Extraordinary Knowledge]?
But that was clearly an extraordinary item!
When I touched it, the unique “cost” and “effect” balance of an extraordinary item appeared in my understanding, very similar to the extraordinary item that manipulated fortune.
However, at this moment, I wasn’t very clear about what costs and effects this extraordinary item required; the only thing I knew was that the information contained within it was no less than [Extraordinary Knowledge].
So… is it possible that this is actually a form of [Extraordinary Knowledge]?
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind, and I felt it was absurd!
Didn’t they say [Extraordinary Knowledge] was rare?
Look at now; I awakened a talent, and this is the academy head’s great weakening spell. The academy head gave me a Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell; that is another one. The store manager had one as well, but unfortunately, I didn’t get it. It seemed to be a “script prop.” Teacher Ji also had one, the one I was researching with her.
And now…
I instinctively swallowed.
But all that remained was shock and numbness; could this be too much?
However, thinking about the laboratory base, there were also a large number of scholars and witches researching [Extraordinary Knowledge]. One could see how many forms of [Extraordinary Knowledge] there were just in the Witch Academy!
At this moment, I slowly returned to my seat, looking at this emerald-green pendant in my hand, the greed in my eyes briefly flashing before turning dull.
That fleeting greed was my basic human instinct, while the subsequent dullness was a feeling of helplessness concerning wealth and the awe towards something far beyond my understanding.
Even just a Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell, a fully realized great spellbook, I hadn’t gotten the hang of. How could I handle this one in front of me?
Teacher Ji’s piece of [Extraordinary Knowledge] only required a rune ritual to get me into this predicament in this world; just thinking about it was chilling.
Moreover, all of this was merely my speculation. There was no doubt that what was in front of me was an extraordinary item.
But I recalled the rumors I had heard about [Extraordinary Knowledge]. Some [Extraordinary Knowledge] exists as a type of magic, while others are inherently extraordinary items, and that extraordinary item is the vessel for this piece of [Extraordinary Knowledge].
So… is it that I have come across a piece of [Extraordinary Knowledge] that is inherently an extraordinary item, or is this a common phenomenon?
At this moment, I picked up this pendant again, holding it in my hand to toy with, but my gaze subconsciously avoided focusing on its existence.
Now there were two options in front of me: one was to ignore its extraordinary item nature and continue using alchemy to refine the reverse summoning spell’s summoning runes onto it.
The other was to attempt to use it and see what its effects truly are.
If I were indeed to try, then I had another dilemma: what were the side effects or costs of this extraordinary item? I was unclear.
Recalling the side effects of the Heart of Ninglan, which drained bl**d and flesh, that could truly turn me into a husk!
Fortunately, at that time, I had mastered the Resurrection Spell and understood a certain degree of the essence of life.
Now, I calmed down. My hesitation to try was merely out of fear that I might not be able to bear the side effects; the two options were merely reflections of my fear of the unknown.
But controlling the fear, my mind cleared up rapidly, and I soon realized one issue: this thing originally belonged to Qiu Ruxin; how could she not know about it?
Extraordinary items are not like alchemical items; their use has no specific threshold or requirement for extraordinary energy supply.
It merely requires a cost to achieve a certain specific effect; in a sense, anyone can use it as long as they can pay the corresponding price.
So… has Qiu Ruxin used it before?
I could hypothesize about it: if she had used it, could she discern what cost was paid?
Just observing its appearance, it wasn’t about draining bl**d or body parts as the cost, and Qiu Ruxin had normal intelligence and even slightly above-average physical fitness, but there was one very obvious trait: she had terrible luck.
“Is the cost of using it related to luck? Then what about the effect?” Based on my hypothesis, the conclusion abruptly cut off again.
If Qiu Ruxin’s bad luck were because of this extraordinary item, then the side effect would be ongoing, as her misfortune didn’t discriminate by time. The effect is highly likely also continuous, though this doesn’t exclude other possibilities.
But rather than making baseless guesses, I chose a more direct method: to ask Qiu Ruxin directly.
What couldn’t be resolved by simply asking the person in question?
I am no longer that naive guy who relied on brainstorming, self-inference, and isolated speculation. I’m learning to combine efficient methods with practice to explore various possibilities.
At this moment, I walked out of my room holding the pendant, and then knocked on Qiu Ruxin’s door.
“Who?” After a while, a question came from inside, the voice was not loud; it seemed the guest room had pretty good sound insulation.
“It’s me, Sister Xiao Han,” I said.
“Sister Xiao Han!” Hearing that familiar voice, the door was immediately opened a crack, and a gaze peeked through the gap. It was only when she confirmed it was really me that the door fully opened.
“Sister Xiao Han! Are you done?” Qiu Ruxin excitedly looked at me, her gaze instinctively darting back to the pendant, her pupils contracting.
“Let’s talk inside.” I didn’t respond immediately but prepared to enter first; some topics shouldn’t be overheard, and perhaps this matter was also a secret for Qiu Ruxin.
“Eh? Alright then.” Qiu Ruxin nodded obediently and let me in, as she noticed my expression wasn’t particularly relaxed.
As I entered the room, my eyes instinctively scanned the various spell arrangements in Qiu Ruxin’s room; there were no signs of disturbance. Then, with a wave of my hand, a small soundproofing spell enveloped the entire room.
“Um… Sister Xiao Han, was there something sudden that you needed to see me about?” At this moment, Qiu Ruxin broke the silence first and asked.
“Mm, there are indeed some issues I’d like to consult you on.” I nodded.
“Eh? Consulting about something is unnecessary, Sister Xiao Han can just ask directly. If I know, I’ll answer truthfully.”
“Then I’ll get straight to the point.” I nodded and moved to a place to sit down comfortably, then lifted the emerald-green pendant in my hand. “Qiu Ruxin, do you know what this is?”
“This? Isn’t this my pendant? A few days ago, I asked Sister Xiao Han to turn it into… a summoning tool to summon Sister Xiao Han…”
“Right, indeed I thought so a few days ago, but I’m sorry, I haven’t completed it yet.”
“Not completed… did you fail? It’s okay…” A flash of disappointment crossed Qiu Ruxin’s eyes, but it quickly vanished, as if she considered it a normal occurrence, and then she expressed a little concern.
“It’s not a failure; I just haven’t started trying yet. The research from a few days ago was done using other things; I would only start in earnest when I ensure it’s foolproof. In fact, just a little while ago, I succeeded and was about to refine your pendant.”
“Eh? So… why did Sister Xiao Han stop again?” Qiu Ruxin asked with a curious look.
“Qiu Ruxin, do you really not know what this is?” I held it up, the emerald stone blocking the connection between my gaze and Qiu Ruxin’s.
“This…” This time, Qiu Ruxin hesitated in her speech. “Um… is there a problem with this?”
“There is a problem, a very big problem.” I nodded.
I also clearly noticed Qiu Ruxin’s reaction; even though she didn’t say anything, I understood she seemed to know something.
“Um… is the problem really that big?” At this moment, Qiu Ruxin appeared slightly nervous, her voice small, seemingly testing the waters.
“Mm, Qiu Ruxin, you seem to know something. Could you share the story regarding this with me?” My tone remained calm, but my eyes were curiously fixed on her.
“Um… it’s a family heirloom of mine.” Finally, Qiu Ruxin bit her lip and spoke. “It is said… to have been passed down for over a hundred years.”
“A family heirloom… is your family the only remaining descendant after over a hundred years?”
“What family… it’s just something passed down through generations.”
“Is there any mention of why this needs to be passed down?” I continued to ask.
“I don’t know.” Qiu Ruxin shook her head but then spoke with a bit of a choke, “My grandpa passed it to my father, my father passed it to my brother, and finally, my brother gave it to me…”
At this moment, it seemed Qiu Ruxin sensed my confusion and spoke again, “My grandpa died before I was born. My father was killed by excavators, and my brother… was also recently destroyed along with our home by those excavators… it’s a curse, but… but I can’t get rid of it; everyone who handled it ended up not well…”
“You think it is a curse, right?”
“Yeah… it made me lose everything! Actually… when I say my bad luck is innate, it’s not; it was after I took it from my brother that… I became unfortunate…”
“I can see that…” If someone is born into misfortune, then Qiu Ruxin cannot possibly develop such a personality. At this moment, she resembled a normal girl who had temporarily adapted to bad luck.
She would complain and feel upset; for example, when she was teaching me characters, that was the longest time I had interacted with her. I watched as she became frustrated while using the computer because it was lagging, crashing, and infected with viruses; she also exhibited a complaining expression.
If someone were born into misfortune, she would at least be accustomed to such things, thereby numbed to them.
“Sister Xiao Han, you believe me, right?” At this moment, Qiu Ruxin’s eyes were already moist; after all, recalling sad pasts suddenly, who could accept that?
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to let you, Sister Xiao Han, bear this curse… I just… just wanted to live a life without misfortune… I’ve experienced normal life… I hate why I wasn’t born fortunate; at least I wouldn’t have yearned for the past days…”
“I don’t mean to blame you. You don’t need to say sorry to me, nor do you need to apologize.”
At this moment, I didn’t provide excessive consolation; after all, she wanted to rely on me to break free from the so-called “curse,” which was a fact. I looked at this pendant, momentarily dazed. “You said… you can’t get rid of it; what does that mean?”
“I don’t know… it’s just that… I can’t throw it away. I don’t know whether my grandpa, father, or brother experienced this, but I can’t get rid of it; it appears before me in various reasonable ways in a very short time. Sister Xiao Han, you’ve been… clearly just across the corridor, yet it’s been many days since you came back, I thought…”
“Is that kind of inability to rid yourself of it?” I frowned at this point, but the next moment, a golden thread answered me.
The power of fortune… that single thread of fortune within Qiu Ruxin’s body connected to her fortune seed, and the other end linked to this pendant!
Moreover… the connection was not the same as what I had earlier; it was a strongly correlated connection!
Earlier, because the information about this pendant was too extensive, I hadn’t noticed that it was also linked to her fortune.
As for the rationale behind not being able to return in the past few days, it was most likely because I wasn’t a person from this world, and fortune couldn’t exert a strong correlation influence on me, plus… this item had been placed in the storage equipment by me!
“Alright, alright… don’t cry. It’s okay.” At this moment, I stood up and approached Qiu Ruxin to comfort her. “You’ve been through a lot, Qiu Ruxin.”
“Mm… no…” Qiu Ruxin bit her lower lip, forcing herself not to cry. “Sister Xiao Han, do you know… what this is?”
“Mm, I have a rough idea of what it is. It… is something that many powerful individuals will fight over if exposed. It… is very precious.”
