Ch 4: Mysterious space

Valerius felt immensely curious about the glow in his mind. All his attention was drawn towards it like a moth to fire or bees to honey, and as he focused on it, something like the invisible string of fate tugged at his soul.

Right at this moment, darkness took over Valerius's field of vision.

He didn't know how long it took for his vision to clear up, but when it did, Valerius found himself standing within a vast, ethereal space that stretched endlessly in every direction with no perceivable end in sight.

The surreal, otherworldly nature of this place sent goosebumps crawling across his skin.

In awe and confusion, he murmured to himself, "Where is this?"

His gaze roamed the mysterious place in his mind, taking in his surroundings.

To his immediate right, there was a rather quaint shack, while directly in front of him was an altar. Atop the altar was a thick but plain black book, exuding an aura of mystery.

Except for these few things, there was nothing that stood out in the mysterious space.

Valerius's gaze turned to the object on his right.

The shack's entrance was sealed shut with sturdy iron chains, and there was nothing in this space that he could use to break these chains, at least he didn't see any.

Talking about himself, he was too weak to do anything about it.

Knowing that with his slender arms breaking into the shack would be impossible, he didn't waste time inspecting it further.

Instead, he approached the altar to examine the book placed on it more closely.

Words were inscribed on its cover.

The two words were "Quest Book."

"Quest Book? Could it be…?"

Being an avid web novel reader, Valerius was no stranger to the recurring themes and tropes common to the fantasy genre.

The transmigrators in the stories he'd read would chance upon unique advantages right after transmigrating over. Some find an object housing the remnant soul of a wise expert that helps them conditionally or unconditionally, others are blessed with systems that make them invincible in whatever they set out to do if they put in enough effort, and so on.

Therefore, he thought this book might be his very own fortuitous advantage that would help him survive and grow strong in this world.

'Let's see what it does.'

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Valerius decided to inspect the book thoroughly.

He flipped it open, full of anticipation.

However, his enthusiasm waned as the first page turned out to be utterly blank with no words in sight.

He didn't let the disappointment get to him and flipped through the entire book, only to discover it was devoid of content.

'Is this a joke?'

Valerius felt embarrassed as he got overly excited over nothing. This was no golden finger. It was just a plain old book that looked mysterious.

However, just when he was about to close the book in resignation and place it back on the altar, a sudden, unexpected voice sounded directly in his ears, clear as day.

"You've been in contact with the Quest Book for more than ten seconds. The Quest Book has now bound itself to your soul. Please return to its first page to receive your first quest."

The voice rang directly in his mind as if an extraterrestrial was communicating with him.

He didn't know who or what had spoken to him.

Nonetheless, he followed the instructions given by the monotone voice with sweaty palms, hoping that it would grant him the assistance and strength he needed to survive in the future.

With a mix of curiosity and apprehension, he flipped back to the book's first page. And there, as if magically appearing from thin air, words had begun to form.

[Quest Name: Deceiving the Deceivers

In a world where you've no friends, your task, should you choose to accept it, is to refrain from digesting the medicine that would be presented by the head butler of the House of Khaleji. Success will grant you a "status screen" and unlock the treasury of the mysterious space. Failure or refusal to accept this quest will result in the Quest Book severing its bond with you.]

Valerius decided then and there that it was indeed his fortuitous encounter. It should be something similar to systems that allocate missions to its host and completing those missions would net him rewards.

Basically, by completing missions, he could grow stronger.

And if it was anything as overpowered as the systems of the novels he'd read, it might allow him to defy logic and grow well beyond the limits of his current body!

Valerius licked his dry lips in anticipation.

'I need to take this quest. But how do I accept it?'

The book seem to have read his mind as a sentence began to form in it.

[If you choose to accept the quest, just say, "I accept."]

Without hesitation, Valerius voiced, "I accept."

The monotone voice once again rang in his ears.

[The First Quest issued by the Quest Book has been assigned to you. Complete it to obtain the mentioned rewards. Fail it, and it will result in a temporary termination of your connection with the Quest Book!]