Coercing the relic

As Adrian retrieved the zany verbal artisan from the tome, he gazed at the beautifully crafted pen and found himself reflecting on how it had compelled him to follow its directives.

He couldn't help but think that he should have simply considered removing the mark rather than creating his own, yet somehow he felt compelled to act otherwise.

With the pen once more in his possession, Adrian contemplated his next steps. He held a page on which the pen had mentioned the existence of five significant relics within the mansion.

Adrian addressed Emilie, now free from her earlier distress, and made a proposal.

"Since you're no longer pulling your hair out, why don't you assist me in selecting some relics? I'd like to take all of them, as you never know when they might come in handy in the future, but for now, let's choose two and see how things go."

Adrian handed the page containing information about the relics to Emilie, who was eager to be a part of this decision. She relished the opportunity to make choices, especially when it came to something other than deciding which chips to munch on first.

As she opened the page, it revealed the names and power levels of the relics.

1. Relic Name: The Oculus of Clarity

2. Relic Name: The Scepter of Illusion

3. Relic Name: The Amulet of Timekeeping

4. Relic Name: The Chalice of Vitality

5. Relic Name: The Crown of Command

While Emilie perused the information, she couldn't help but be impressed. Many agencies out there didn't possess five relics in total, and yet this mansion seemed to consider some of these artifacts more significant than others. It was indeed a remarkable collection.

Emilie shared her thoughts with Adrian, considering their options. "The crown and the amulet seem similar in function, so we don't necessarily need both. We can attempt to store both, but in case the Ninefold Tome can't accommodate all the relics, we might want to prioritize,"

she explained. "The chalice doesn't seem as important, given your healing abilities with your werewolf blood. The oculus of clarity is too unclear about its powers, so I'm hesitant to take it. The scepter, on the other hand, sounds intriguing, especially if we anticipate facing multiple opponents at once."

Adrian nodded in agreement with Emilie's thorough analysis. Their thoughts were aligned, yet he couldn't help but hold onto the hope of taking all these relics with them.

Adrian turned to the enigmatic verbal artisan and inquired about the whereabouts of the mentioned relics. Retrieving the relics proved to be relatively straightforward, as each relic came with a riddle to guide them.

However, the riddles themselves were nothing short of eccentric, making the process quite intriguing.

Adrian made an attempt to request that the pen either retract the riddles or reduce their difficulty. However, the pen responded in a manner that revealed its limitations, stating that it was impossible to alter riddles once they had been inscribed. That was simply how it operated.

What Adrian perceived from the pen's response was, "You're simply too obtuse for these relics. You're unworthy, you bumbling fool. Just abandon them here, you potato head." The pen's words carried a hint of mocking superiority.

Through laborious effort, Adrian and Emilie persevered, meticulously solving the baffling riddles.

Emilie had contemplated abandoning the chamber of torment and returning home three times, but Adrian's convincing arguments persuaded her to press on. Their determination paid off, and they successfully solved all the riddles, acquiring the relics in the process.

"Let's give it a shot. I'm rather optimistic about this tome. It appears to be the most valuable relic we've come across, despite that vexatious pen's contrary claims,"

Adrian remarked with a mix of weariness and frustration, acknowledging the difficulty they had faced.

Hearing Adrian's complaints, Emilie carried the Ninefold Tome to the table and opened it, ready for Adrian to place the relics on its pages.

One by one, Adrian carefully hovered the relics above the Ninefold Tome, expecting their sudden disappearance as they were absorbed into its pages, stored within the enigmatic book's confines.

To their immense relief, all the relics were successfully absorbed into the Ninefold Tome without any issues. Witnessing this, both Emilie and Adrian couldn't help but exude a sense of joy and contentment.

It was a crucial achievement, sparing them the troubles that plagued other agencies, even if they possessed similar relics, if not identical.

"Far more smoothly than I anticipated," Adrian remarked with evident happiness in his voice.

Adrian gazed at the pen in his hand, recognizing that it was time to bring this relic with him as well. He couldn't bear to leave behind an artifact with what seemed like a sentient nature.

Adrian couldn't help but ponder, "Who knows what it might attempt in my absence?" He tentatively hovered the pen above the Ninefold Tome, yet this time he didn't observe any immediate reaction.

Emilie voiced her concern: "Do we have too many 4-core relics? Should we consider leaving one behind?"

She noticed the lack of response from the tome and wondered if the number of similar core relics might be an issue.

Emilie contemplated the situation, offering a suggestion: "Perhaps the tome needs a moment of rest after absorbing so many relics?"

However, her voice trailed off as she noticed Adrian's familiar smirk, which usually preceded his most audacious actions.

Sensing the impending mischief, Emilie wisely took a few steps back, ensuring she remained safely out of the potential crossfire.

Adrian couldn't help but entertain the thought, "Can relics be coerced into performing specific actions?" The idea of compelling the Ninefold Tome to accept the pen began to take hold in his mind.

Adrian moved closer to the Ninefold Tome and addressed it with a sense of authority, making his intentions clear.

"I know you're aware of my presence. You can't pretend to be oblivious. I'm renowned as the most brilliant detective in the West, and my ascent to greatness will be so illustrious that others will try to extinguish my light out of sheer jealousy."

"...."