The kingdom of Kanull part 8

Holding the book in his hands, Lucke gazed at its black cover, adorned with the title. The words "My Guide on Symbolistic Magic" were neatly written on it. As he saw the title, a wave of extreme happiness washed over Lucke, filling his face with a bright smile.

Finally, he thought, a glimmer of hope to find his way back home. However, the concept of "Symbolistic Magic" intrigued Lucke, leaving him pondering its meaning. Curiously, he slowly opened the book and turned to the first page.

According to the text, many beginners start their magical journey with the symbol of fire, assuming it to be the easiest to grasp. Surprisingly, the author disagreed. After extensive research, they concluded that the symbol of creation holds the key to unlocking the true potential of magic. This symbol grants individuals the power of creational magic, enabling them to shape and manipulate the world around them.

"Interesting," Lucke remarked as he closed the book. He felt an overwhelming sense of happiness and a strong desire to continue reading. However, before he could indulge in this book any further, he needed to find a way out of the room. His attention shifted to Cleo, who was busy gathering the scattered jewelry.

Ah!!!

Suddenly, Cleo halted his movements. He had accidentally stepped on something that pierced through his slippers and pricked his feet. Curious, he picked it up and realized it was a nail, but its tip had an unusual pink hue. Without dwelling on it for too long, Cleo flung the nail across the room. He then removed his slippers and examined his feet, noticing small puncture marks and a slight trace of bleeding. Although the pain was subsiding, Cleo decided to put his slippers back on and approached Lucke.

Um, I found something Cleo said, and when Lucke checked, he noticed that Cleo had a bunch of golden jewelry in his hands. So he suggested, "Okay, let's get out of here. Maybe next time we can find more valuable items, including those golden ones we can sell."

But as soon as he uttered those words, a wave of confusion washed over Lucke. He realized that explaining how they acquired these pieces to Emma and Luna would be nearly impossible. He feared they might think he and Cleo had stolen them. However, since his main focus was escaping, he brushed off that concern and redirected his attention to finding a way out.

In Cleo's grasp, there were various pieces of jewelry like watches, necklaces, and rings. Lucke grabbed a few of them discreetly, and together they started making their way back toward the exit, hoping to discover some sort of hidden button.

Standing in front of the entrance, Cleo began pressing on various bricks, hoping that one of them would reveal the way outside. Unfortunately, after trying every brick, nothing happened.

With a sigh, Lucke looked at Cleo, unable to hide his concern about their predicament. "Damn, is this how we're going to die?" he pondered aloud, amazed at Cleo's calmness.

After a long moment of silence, Cleo turned to Lucke and suggested, "Maybe there's something inside the room that unlocks the entrance. Or maybe there's a clue that shows us how to open it."

Hearing Cleo's words, Lucke simply shrugged his shoulders and responded, "Well, I hope so. We won't last long in here, and I really doubt Ivy and Reko will find the entrance to help us escape."

Lucke and Cleo placed the jewelry down and walked back towards the wooden door, pushing it open. Lucke was still holding the magic guidebook as they reentered the room. They started searching for a way to reopen the secret passage.

They carefully moved around the room, exploring every nook and cranny. They checked underneath the wooden table and skimmed through each book on the bookshelf. However, their efforts brought no results.

"Damn, I guess this is the end," Cleo thought, feeling a rush of panic. They both hurriedly dashed back to the passage, desperately knocking on the wall and screaming.

"Help, help, help! Ivy, Reko, where are you?!?!"

With all their might, they pounded against the wall, their voices echoing. Unfortunately, no one could hear them. Exhausted and defeated, they collapsed to the ground, fully realizing that this was their final moment.

"Well, I suppose this is it," Cleo muttered, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. "I wish I had known who I truly am, or at least who my parents were, before I started living with Luna."

Upon hearing this, Lucke turned to Cleo and asked, "So you don't remember your parents either?"

Cleo chuckled softly, a tinge of melancholy in his voice. "Well, I was left at Luna's house, a close friend of my parents who kindly took me in. When I asked about their identities, Luna revealed that my father's name was Leo Nightmen and my mother's name was Nya Nightmen."

"I don't have any memories of my birth parents, and when I asked Luna why they left me with her, she explained that circumstances prevented them from raising me themselves.

"That's interesting," Lucke commented. Cleo looked at him with a confused expression and said, "Haven't I told you all this before? I'm pretty sure I have. Also, I've noticed that you've been acting strange since yesterday, after the accident. Are you alright?"

Upon hearing Cleo's concern, Lucke smiled and reassured him, "I'm fine." He couldn't reveal that he wasn't the real Lucke, but rather someone who had transmigrated. However, he realized he would have to focus on acting normal from now on."

Lucke, filled with hope and desperation, decided to open the magic book. The thought crossed his mind that perhaps he would find a powerful spell that could help him escape his current predicament. He daydreamed about being like those incredible characters in fictional worlds who effortlessly harness the power of magic. Slowly, he cautiously turned the pages, eagerly searching for anything that could provide a glimmer of hope.

Finally,

his eyes landed on the second page, and what he found there left him utterly perplexed. The page instructed him to press down on layer 3 point 2 and layer 3 point 3. What on earth does that even mean? Lucke stared at the perplexing instructions, his mind racing to make sense of it all.

Meanwhile, seated across from Lucke, Cleo noticed his confusion. The light from the lantern above cast an illuminating glow on the page, revealing his distress. Curiosity piqued, Cleo couldn't help but ask, "Can I see it?"

After receiving the book, Cleo began examining it. As Cleo leafed through the pages, his attention was drawn to a peculiar passage constructed entirely of bricks. Surprisingly, the bricks were stacked neatly in layers.

With intrigue, Cleo decided to test something. He stood up and made their way towards the brick wall, gesturing to Lucke for assistance. "I think I might need your help with this," Cleo said. Hearing his request, Lucke got up and inquired if Cleo had found something useful in the book.

"Yes, I believe so," Cleo replied. As Cleo watched, Lucke walked towards him and together they both pressed down on specific points of the third layer of bricks.

Click, Click, Click, Click.

As if responding to their actions, the bricks began to shift and separate, revealing an opening for them to escape.

"Yesss!!!!" Cleo and Lucke shouted with excitement as they swiftly collected the precious jewelry. They didn't want to waste a single moment in that strange room and risk getting trapped again, so they promptly made their way out, carrying the treasures they had discovered.

"We have to find them. It's not like they could've vanished into thin air, considering the only possible escape route is through one of these tunnels," Ivy firmly stated. She then glanced at Reko, who replied gently, "Don't worry, I'm confident we'll find them, no matter where they might be."

Right after stating that, Reko redirected his attention to the final tunnel, where Cleo and Lucke possibly went through. Just as he was about to proceed down the tunnel, the sound of approaching footsteps caught his ears.

"Hey, guys!!! We're back, I'm sorry for disappearing like that," Cleo shouted, while he and Lucke hurried down the tunnel towards Ivy and Reko. Both Ivy and Reko stood there, initially surprised but soon replacing it with pure happiness, and immediately started running towards their returning friends.

Once they reached Cleo and Lucke, they all came to a halt. Spotting the shimmering golden jewelry in their hands, Reko couldn't help but ask,

"Where the hell were you two? We searched everywhere and couldn't find you. We even checked this tunnel already. We were just about to search it again."

As Reko stared at them, eagerly awaiting an answer, Ivy chimed in.

"Yeah, where were you guys? And where did you get those?" she asked, her gaze fixed on the stunning golden jewelry held by Lucke and Cleo.

When Lucke mentioned a secret passage at the end of the tunnel where they discovered all these things, Reko and Ivy looked perplexed. There was a brief silence, and then Cleo and Lucke both placed the items they found on the ground. Cleo sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall, followed by Reko, Ivy, and Lucke.

Once they were all seated, Cleo began explaining how they stumbled upon the mysterious room and shared the entire sequence of events. Meanwhile, Lucke opened the magic guidebook to the second page and started reading while Cleo continued with his explanation.