The cursed book pt 2

When I exited the dungeon, I could feel that Hylia was outside waiting for me. She surprisingly had not entered the dungeon since we had arrived. When I questioned her about it, she said there was no point. She had no need for gold or coins now, and all they did at the church was train. That and pray. Every morning when the sun rose, they were to be at mass.

The goddess was rather strict with them, but she was the goddess of war. A strict sense of discipline was something that should be expected. She was gracious enough to take me to the bath. I think it was because I did not smell the greatest after my workout and then the subsequent battles; but she was not as rude as to say it out loud. That did not mean I could not see her wrinkle her nose as she approached me, or that I did not notice she stood a little further away as we walked.

It was times like these that I missed our simple life back in Slagstone. Things had been easy and carefree. At least they had been before the psychopath bug god decided he needed to declare war on the light anyways.

Something as simple as a bath was hard for me to obtain here. Without Hylia accompanying me I would have to result in sponge baths. If only there was a skill or talent out there that would keep my clean. As the thought crossed my mind, I instinctively checked the shop. To my surprise there actually was a skill that did just that.

[Body Cleanliness]

The body is a temple, and every temple deserves to be clean. This skill will clean the sweat and grime from your body, leaving it as clean as if you had just taken a bath. cost 5 mp. 1000 coins.

I purchased the skill without a second thought. 1000 coins was a rather low price to keep myself clean, and it would spare me the embarrassment of smelling like stinky gym clothes in the future.

I did not immediately use the skill, after all a smile could not replace the relaxation of an actual bath. The only thing that would be better was if it ended in a relaxing massage. I looked over at Hylia's small figured and could not help but feel a sense of guilt. She already went through so much for me, it would be rude if I were to ask more.

I knew her training would be even more rough than my own, after all the goddess was not an easy mistress. When we entered the bath, I made sure to rub down her muscles. I could feel her tense muscles relaxing as I gently rubbed her. I sighed as I thought how this would have ended in a happy ending only a couple of months ago.

The sense of disappointment was fleeting though, I was rather happy to be spending any amount of time with her. We ended up spending a total of 30 minutes in the bath, and after words I treated her to a decent meal at a nearby restaurant. The meal cost me a total of 2 silver. It was an outrageous price, considering that the same meal would have only cost us half a silver back in Slagstone. Unfortunately, that is how everything was in this city.

It was dark by the time we returned to the shack. We stayed up and talked for an hour, but Hylia kept yawning towards the end. Reluctantly we went to bed. I fell straight to sleep this time, holding Hylia close. I dreamt of my mother again. Her haunting eyes as she was locked up in the breeding room.

I woke up in a panic. The sun was already out, and I was alone. Sighing I fixed myself some breakfast before starting my morning workout. When I had finished, I gained a point in vitality. I quickly cleaned myself off with the skill. It got rid of the smell and sweat, but the fatigue remained. You cannot expect too much from a skill that only cost 1000 coins.

I used my free time before heading to the dungeon to look at the book that was costing me so much. The book did not have a title, nor did it have an author. There was no summary. The words were all handwritten. But the words inside were all profound. It reminded me of the great philosophers from earth. Each word leading to a question. Each answer only leading to more difficult questions.

I Lost track of time as I read the book. The profoundness of the words was unsettling. At some point I finally pulled my way from the contents of the book. I looked in utter shock as I realized I had only read a single paragraph. A single paragraph in an entire day of reading. When I looked outside, I could see that it was already late afternoon.

I could feel through our bond that Hylia was slowly approaching me. But the biggest shock was the notification I received from the system. My intelligence had raised by an entire 4 points, and my wisdom had raised by 1. I had read but a single paragraph in a book that had thousands of pages, and I had gained 5 stat points.

The implications of the cursed book were insane. It was truly worth being a mythical book. The price of 1,000 coins a day did not seem as presumptuous as it had before.

When Hylia finally made it to our small shack she found me sitting alone on the floor laughing like a maniac. The look she gave me showed that she was really worried about my sanity. When I had calmed down, I told her of what had happened. She gave me an incredulous look but decided to check out her own tickets.

Her luck was arguably better than my own. She did not get a mythical ranked item, but at the same time she did not receive a single pie to the face. One of the things she did get was a pie. But this pie was a rare magical item that would raise all her physical stats by 10 points.

She received one other item of note.

[Goggles of Translucent sight]

A set of goggles that allows you to see through all nonliving matter.

I was extremely jealous of the goggles. She immediately put them on as she stared at me. I could feel my face turning red as I saw a smirk appear on her face. This little Brat!