A crazy idea.

"Lady, are you sure that was the right choice?"

"About what?"

After Mystic left, Monica stayed with Jeevak for a while to discuss the events that had occurred.

"The book that kid brought back, although it seems ordinary to me, could well hold secrets that we don't know yet."

"I know."

"Then why did you leave it with her? Wouldn't it be best to give the book to our scientists so they can discover its origin and such?"

With these words, Jeevak was referring not only to its powers (if it has any), but also to its level of danger and usefulness.

Monica smiled, understanding his words.

"It is true that everything that comes out in the gates are precious resources.

Moreover, this is the first time that we discover a new book never discovered before.

There is a strong chance that the world is really about to change.

However, I said that before only to shake her up a little. But ironically, it is me who is now."

As she said these words, Jeevak could feel slight disturbances coming from the flow of her spiritual energy.

Being specialized in the field of extracting information and intelligence, Jeevak knew that she was not lying.

This realization only further confused his thoughts.

"Then why did you leave such a crucial thing for the clan in her hands?"

At his question, Monica lights her pipe before exhaling a puff of smoke.

"You know that we are currently being spied on from everywhere, right?"

"That's true, but our enemies are only focused on Sir Danzel's team and his troops."

"For now, yes."

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine, if I suddenly move to the clan, or even send someone as crucial as you in my place to return the book to the patriarch's hands, we will be suspected in turn."

"..."

Seeing Jeevak frown, Monica sighs. 

"Try to think for a second, this discovery may be the greatest discovery our world has ever known so far. It may even be more useful than the evolution seeds!"

-!!

"Are you serious?"

"Sigh, I don't have any proof, but I have a deep conviction. Regardless, this information should stay between the two of us.

Imagine what will happen if the spies learn that we obtained a relic never discovered before in a gate with such an enormous difficulty level, what would happen?"

Faced with so many arguments, Jeevak finally calmed down. 'That explains why she convinced the little girl that she failed the mission.' He said thoughtfully.

"However, there is one thing I don't understand. If you knew this gate was so important, why did you let Rebecca accompany us?"

"Ah, you mean that spy? Well, let's just say I didn't know yet that the dungeon could hold so influential resource. But I planned to kill her if she saw the book. She was just lucky, that's all."

--

Under Mystic's tent, Devon was witnessing a rather amusing spectacle.

Although silent and sitting next to her futon, he watched Mystic try to open the book she had brought back.

He watched her sprinkle a small amount of her blood on the cover of the book and her spiritual energy incessantly.

However, each attempt seemed to fail, making Mystic more irritated.

Somehow, Devon found it amusing.

As for Mystic,

'Tsk, it won't open. I tried all sorts of tricks with this book, but nothing worked in the end.' The only thing that couldn't be doubted was her bad mood.

Afterward, she focuses on Devon who, by now, was barely paying attention to her.

Seeing him deep in thought, she throws the book at his face.

But Devon catches it without even looking in her direction.

"Since you're so passionate about books, why don't you play with this one and leave mine alone?" She growls at Devon as if it were his fault.

"[Stop pouting about it, what's the problem if it doesn't open?]"

"What's the problem? You don't seem to understand the problem, because I have a fucking problem with this book.

I know she lied to me when she said she didn't know anything about this book. I'm going to find out what she's hiding from me and do the exact opposite of what she expects of me."

Devon looks at her for a moment before losing interest in her. 

"[...Well, that's your problem, not mine.]" 

"I almost lost everything there, including everything I've fought for so far. Sometimes, I can't stop thinking that...maybe it would have been better if I had been born into a less retarded family than this one." 

Devon's pupils flicker slightly at hearing Mystic say such things. 

'What's wrong with her all of a sudden? An emotional overload?' 

Regardless, he felt a little concerned and upset by the treatment that made her feel this way. 

"[This grimoire... it's authentic, do you even know that?]"

Devon reveals this information after a moment of observation.

Mystic sneered at his assertions.

She hasn't answered yet but sits up first before looking at him with curious eyes.

"And how do you know that?"

"[I have some kind of expertise skill.]"

"And what is it supposed to do? Help you identify objects and others, like the grimoire does?"

Although she seems more curious, she doesn't seem to take Devon's words too seriously.

"[That's it. It also allows me to see certain types of information about others. Roughly the same as what the grimoires show about its host and contracted beasts.]"

"Hahaha, very funny. If you had such a skill, my grimoire would have mentioned it."

Seeing Mystic retort eccentrically, Devon shrugs, deciding to move on.

At his nonchalance, Mystic raises her eyebrows, briefly contemplating him after a moment.

She then breaks the silence by bringing up another topic.

"You said your name was Devon, right?"

-Nod.

Devon nods without even glancing at her.

"Were you human?"

"[Indeed.]"

Mystic's breath hitched at that unexpected answer.

"How is that possible?"

"[I don't know any more than you do.]"

"..."

'A human? A human who wakes up as my guardian beast?'

"[Don't get your hopes up about it. I don't remember what I was doing or why I was here.]"

"...You mean... you lost your memory?"

"[You could say that, yes. Anyway, I don't care about that detail, so you better do the same.]"

'That's easier said than done.' Mystic mumbled, unconsciously.

Devon peeks at her for a fleeting moment, apparently aware of what she just thought.

'Over time, I'm getting better at reading her thoughts. Even if I still don't know how that skill works.

Plus, I'm getting better at expressing my thoughts. It's incomprehensible.' He mumbles to himself, his gaze blank.

'There's more important stuff. Earlier in the dungeon, the other bastard who had usurped my appearance warned me of something rather unexpected.

From what he says and his behavior, not to mention his appearance, …everything shows that he knows my story.

He will even be the most able to provide me with information on certain questions that I have not yet found the answer to.' 

Deep in thought, the black book inadvertently entered his field of vision. 

With a nimble movement of his hand, he picked it up, looking at its ordinary but jet-black cover. 

'Just before leaving the dungeon, he told me this: this grimoire is for you, use it to become strong before our next meeting. 

What did he mean by that? 

Aside from that, why does everyone else, including Mystic, seem obsessed with this thing?

Are they unable to perceive the gloomy energy that emanates from it?

Did he also know that I'd be the only one to notice the true danger of this item that has the same aura as the one that surrounded this monstrous entity?

How much does he know about me? TSS~ all this is vexing to me. I hate mystery; especially when it concerns me directly.

I feel like I'm inside some kind of fantasy heroic role-playing game. All this is clearly beyond me.'

He growls, undecided and lost in thought.

Seeing him like this, Mystic knew that it would be useless to try to talk to him anymore.

Therefore, she leaves him with his thoughts and takes the grimoire she received after defeating Miyorirath.

"[Tell me, how do you make a contract with a grimoire?]"

"Hmm? You just need to feed it with a portion of your blood and spiritual energy. But I warn you, this book you hold, is not a grimoire, but probably a skill book."

This intrigued Devon. 'So this is what she was trying to do earlier by sprinkling her blood on this book?' He looks at the black book with a solemn gaze.

"[How can you be sure?]" He then asks.

"Well, it's either that or an ordinary book. Either way, it can't be a grimoire, since grimoires are identifiable at a glance through their magical energy."

She said without paying attention to Devon's actions.

She was also concerned about Miyorirath's grimoire.

"For example, look at this one, on its cover, we see strange hieroglyphs and feel the spiritual energy emanating from it, these two signs are more than enough as proof." She added while showing off her trophy before Devon's eyes.

"[...Interesting. So, if I want a grimoire, how do I do it?]"

"A beast that wants a grimoire, hahaha... you're sure funny."

"[...]"

At his silence, Mystic frowned and began to glare at him.

"Wait, do you really think that!?"

"[Do I look like I'm joking?]"

"..."

Mystic's mocking smile fell as she saw the glint in Devon's eyes.

Then, she didn't think twice before approaching him and handing him the grimoire.

"Try it with this!"

"[Are you sure? That's like treating me like--

"Who cares anyway." She cut in Devon, guessing his next words. "And between us, I'd rather have a relationship of mutual coexistence than force you into anything; I can't do that anyway."

She had a wry smile on her lips as she said these words.

'She's not wrong, the only thing she could use to oppress me was to send me back into the grimoire.

But that's no longer possible since I can now enter and exit the pet garden as I please.

Besides, I still don't know how I got this privilege, the most likely hypothesis is the system.'

While mumbling these words, Devon retrieves the grimoire after putting down the other black book.

His first surprise was to realize that the grimoire had been downgraded to copper rank.

'Probably because it no longer has a host.' He didn't need Mystic to solve this mystery.

However, unlike last time, he had no trouble opening it.

Even though twenty-four hours had not yet passed, the portal had to have something to do with it.

Since the dimensions were different, Devon wouldn't be surprised if he was told about the time difference between these two worlds.

When he opened it, Devon noticed one thing, the information on the grimoire was neutral.

No owner, nor beasts were recorded.

Like a blank book, it only had its information, without the storage page or the pet garden.

"Since you don't have blood, you just have to put your energy into it, we'll see what happens."

-Nod.

Seeing him so motivated, Mystic put on a facade smile to hide her anxiety.

'I doubt it can work. After all, history has never mentioned a guardian beast that would have contracted a grimoire.' 

Despite this certainty, a form of uncertainty oppressed her convictions. 

Devon was not exactly a beast, although her grimoire thinks so. 

Also, she wanted to confirm some of her suspicions about him, one of them being precisely the truth behind Devon's nature as a full-fledged human entity.

'If by some miracle he succeeds, I will have no choice but to discuss his case with my elders.' 

Her eyes were on Devon as if she intended to devour him so focused was she on him.

'Besides, I have to think about defining the nature of our relationship, we can't become master-servant; whether he succeeds or not, it doesn't---

She swallows her words and focuses entirely on Devon when the latter places his bony palm on the grimoire.