Chapter 15: My Lexicon

It was dark. Everything around me was dark with me feeling nothing also. How that was possible I had no clue. There was only pure and utter nothingness.

I made an effort in opening up my peepers but failed as i can't even feel my own limbs. Heck, i don't even know if I'm still alive in my current state. I wanted to panic yet even that i cannot feel.

Makes me feel like i don't even exist and yet at the same time have the consciousness to feel existence. Yeah, my head was spinning just thinking about it. Do i even have a head to spin?

But there's a loophole to this situation. Is that if i can think, then does it mean i still exist? Or maybe even have a chance of being alive. Well, I don't know about that. I don't have enough knowledge to answer such an abstract question but what i do know is that i got to get out of here.

Slight problem, i can't even feel anything. I can't even feel if i still have emotions right now. There were only thoughts occupying my head and even that, i felt was coming to an end. Putting me in a state between existence and nonexistence.

I didn't even know that was possible. Maybe im a ghost because I recently died. Wait I died?

A flash of memories suddenly appeared in my head. It flooded me with various memories as well as the memory of the moment i died. My death sucked.

I remembered the moment I thought my problems were over. Only to find myself with another opponent who only took a single stab for me to die. Granted I sustained some injuries but what the hell.

I did not want to admit but i don't have a choice not to, since the facts were in front of me. I'm dead. The empty void that is this place and was probably the afterlife.

"Your still in the book dummy."

Suddenly I heard a voice in the perpetual darkness. I thought shock would be what i was feeling but nope, nothing. The state im in was really uncomfortable honestly.

"Uncomfortable is an understatement."

Slightly forgetting that I have company, I said.

"Ah well yes it is. By the way, what did you mean by im still in the book?"

"Well technically we're still in the {Lexicon}, and you still haven't asked a better question. Try again."

The voice responded yet for some reason there was a sense of familiarity i had with it. Weird.

"There it is your getting close."

The voice replied in a playful tone. I wanted to confirm who it was but you know, no sense of sight or anything. Wait, how does he know my thoughts?

"If you ask the right question i might answer you."

Wanting to be annoyed by him yet unable to, i said.

"Alright fine, who are you?"

"Guess."

This… Taking a deep breath, i force down the supposed anger that was rising within me, and for some reason, i felt anger when i shouldn't feel anger. This guy.

"You're just insulting yourself, stop that."

He mocked as he cackled like a maniac for a little while but then he abruptly stopped. The voice became quiet for a few seconds as he said.

"Times up. Wish we could talk more but times not on our side, later Cosmo."

Puzzled, I wanted to ask what more when I felt a suction pulling at my entire existence. In the next second, I abruptly opened my eyes and was able to feel Human again.

The sun still shone in the sky, feeling the subtle comfortable heat it had. I stood up and looked in a particular direction. He was gone.

Ignoring the small problem for a bit, i scurried off to find the {Lexicon} but it was also gone. I felt my literal heart drop, looking everywhere as i even looked under a rock. Even using {Lightning Movement} in scouring the small island.

After several minutes of finding it, i came up empty. I am so screwed, Mr. Lucius will be so angry at me.

"Im not angry at you child."

Surprised i looked back and saw that Mr. Lucius was back, floating in the air in his mini form and taking sips from his drink. He turned back to his chair and signaled for me to follow.

"Why are you not angry Mr. Lucius?"

"Its quite the opposite actually, im very proud that you succeeded."

"Succeeded?"

He stopped walking in the air and looked at me with a smiling expression, saying.

"You passed the test. Congrats child."

"Wait I passed? But the {Lexicon} its gone…"

Mr. Lucius gave a sigh and looked at the air for a while, seemingly lost in thought. He mumbled something under his breath yet i could not hear it, i only heard something like 'children nowadays'.

Nevertheless, he went back to his usual expression and said.

"It's not lost, it's in your head."

"My head? Huh?"

"Oh for god's sake, Think of the damned {Lexicon}!"

He shouted. Hurrying i thought of the {Lexicon} and in an instant, it appeared on my hands. I noticed that there was something different on the {Lexicon} this time, and the difference was that on the front cover of it.

It had the Name of my [Class] and under it, it had my name engraved on it in gold. Seeing it, a sense of pride and accomplishment rose within me. A feeling of achieving something with my own sole effort.

But i felt something different with the {Lexicon}, ah wrong choice of words. 'My {Lexicon}'. A bit of happiness oozed from my being when i said it but i kept calm and focused. I closed my eyes and felt the subtle flow of energy within the book.

I felt a beacon of energy in it that i was unable to feel before absorbing the {Lexicon}, that is until now. I didn't just feel the material of the book, i also felt a sense of kinship with it. Like the {Lexicon} was part of my own soul.

What a strange feeling. Having a book a part of your Soul. How strange.

In any case, I open my eyes and unsummoned the {Lexicon}, and looked towards Mr. Lucius as I still have more questions that will hopefully, be answered.

He was looking at me with a lazy look and myself being resolute as to finding answers. The staring match continued until Mr. Lucius looked away and sighed.

"Children nowadays, back in my day…"

Mr Lucius kept babbling about something yet i ignored it as what i wanted to hear from him was something different. Like what kind of {Lexicon} i just absorbed.

Nevertheless, he droned on and on about how back then children used to respect their elders and how the children of yesteryear would slaughter a whole city in their name. That last part gave me goosebumps but i didn't pay it any heed as i thought he was joking.

Yet judging by his downtrodden look, he was not…

Well, anyways Mr. Lucius stopped babbling nonsense and answered my question after what seemed like forever.

"The {Lexicon} you have is pretty strong even by my own standards. A {Caesar} type {Lexicon} which was even rare back in my day.

"Why so?"

"Because that {Caesar Lexicon} once belonged to me."

I was surprised that i inherited my {Lexicon} from Mr. Lucius. But he still didn't tell me why it was special. I mean who was he anyways? Based on my own judgment, all he does every day was sunbathe on the beach and drink from a coconut.

Still, Mr. Lucius had a proud look on his face as if he was a big shot. But i ignored it once more as i can't be bothered dealing with his arrogance. And so i listened with keen interest as i had another question.

"Okay so, what did I just experience then? I thought I was dead."

"Simple. You Experienced Death. The trial was set by the {Lexicon}, seeing if you are worthy of it. Every {Lexicon} has some sort of trial within it. And with yours, it also tested what {Class} you are allowed to use."

A chill went down my spine when i heard that I was really dead. It was a disturbing thing to say to me yet Mr. Lucius seemed to pass it off like it wasn't a big deal. Well whatever, but there was still something that befuddled me.

"Wait, what do you mean what classes I am allowed to use?"

Mr. Lucius had a grin on the side of his face when he heard my question. I heard him mutter under his breath that it was finally here.

"Now you're asking the right questions."

He snapped his fingers and the world turned white. And in that white room was a table in the middle of it. Where I and Mr. Lucius was sitting on opposite sides of each other. I was surprised as it seemed that we were back to when we first met but i didn't have the time to care about that right now.

He was finally telling me what my class can do.

"Your {Class}, it is a bit special. So special in fact that it is the only one in the universe."

That piece of information was shocking, to say the least. Because usually {Lexicons} have multiple copies of each class. Some may have tens of thousands of copies while some may have only hundreds. yet the recurring theme with it was that there were copies of it.

But for some reason, my class only had one. I have a feeling that it might be pretty strong.

"Shocked now eh? You should be! I created this class from nothing. You see back in my day…"

Sometimes Mr. Lucius can't shut up and stop talking about his days. It was over forget about it. But I can't just say it outright, my existence would be erased from the universe. So I pretended to listen with rapt attention while i secretly thought about my class.

After a while, he stopped and took a sip from his tea. Then he continued with the main topic like nothing happened and i waited.

"Ehem where was i? Oh yes the {Class} you have."

He took another sip from his tea and continued.

"The {Class} you have right now is unique, in that it allows you to be any class you want to be."

My eyes shined with reverent expression. Excitement burst in me as i slammed the table with both my hands and i leaned forward. Smiling as if i would be having dessert later.

"So does that mean I can be an Assasin while being a mage? Oh, i also want to try Necromancy while carrying a heavy sword. Is that possible? Also also, can i mix swordsman and alchemist together with…"

"Alright Shut Up."

Mr Lucius snapped his fingers once again and my mouth stopped moving. It was glued together so tightly that i can't even breathe through my mouth.

Asphyxia was setting in as time passed and just as I was about to pass out, Mr Lucius said.

"Sigh, Breathe through your nose child. Why did I choose you again."

All of a sudden I remembered that I could breathe through my nose. Well… I guess my excitement was a little too much.

"Calm down, despite it allowing you to possess any class, there is a fatal flaw of course."