The Ninefold Tome

Adrian's voice grumbled in annoyance. "This has ruined the pretty clothes I painstakingly found in the desert."

Emilie, recognizing his familiar grumbling, couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. She had become accustomed to Adrian's idiosyncrasies and knew that, despite the disturbance, he was likely unharmed.

Shortly after, Emilie spotted Adrian emerging from a previously locked room, his mood clearly irritated but safe. She nodded in acknowledgment.

"What are you doing out here?" Adrian inquired, a bit perplexed as he assumed Emilie would have been in the library, searching for more riddles or trying something related to their quest.

Emilie met Adrian's gaze with her usual expressionless demeanor. "What were you up to now?"

Adrian chuckled and proceeded to share his encounter with the old man. As Emilie listened to the details, she couldn't help but be surprised by how the riddles operated within the mansion.

"So, are you going to answer the riddle? It seems like something significant," Emilie inquired, eager to resolve any potential issues before their departure. She had grown weary of the dream realm and was ready to return home.

Adrian, now intrigued by the prospect of a new relic, walked towards the library where Emilie had discovered it.

Emilie followed closely behind Adrian, aware that nothing in the dream realm was ever as straightforward as it appeared.

"So, you're suggesting that solving these riddles can help us replenish our core energy. It seems like finding more riddles is indeed what we are meant to do."

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Emilie nodded and selected a book from the shelf, handing it over to Adrian. "This is the relic I obtained after solving this less-than-stellar riddle."

She pointed towards a note placed on the table, drawing Adrian's attention.

As Adrian skimmed through the riddle, he couldn't help but chuckle. It was apparent that this particular riddle amused him. Seeing his enjoyment, Emilie simply sighed and took a seat.

Adrian shifted his focus away from the riddle and examined the book, which was meant to be a relic.

Relics had the characteristic that they couldn't be permanently bound to one person, making them susceptible to theft or being taken by others.

There were various types of relics in existence, each with its own unique characteristics. Some, like Adrian's cane, were more special and required forming a contract with the core bearer before their power could be harnessed.

The book was called the Ninefold tome. It bore an air of wisdom and reverence. Its cover was crafted from aged leather, richly embossed with enigmatic symbols that seemed to shift and change under different lighting.

The pages within were made of parchment that whispered with the voices of the ancients, their edges adorned with delicate gilded borders.

Adrian channeled his aura into the book, and a flood of knowledge poured into his mind. While he wasn't as overwhelmed as Emilie, the volume of information was still substantial.

This was a relic of extraordinary versatility and power, a timeless repository of relics that allowed its owner to harness the might of multiple core levels with ease.

Its pages, like the chapters of an ancient and ever-unfolding saga, held the key to unlocking the full potential of these relics and the knowledge they contained.

The true wonder of this relic lay in its ability to store other relics. With each of its nine pages dedicated to a particular core level, it could house relics of different core equivalences. The first page accommodated 1-core relics, the second 2-core, and so on, up to the ninth page for 9-core relics.

The relic had an inherent safeguarding mechanism, preventing the relics stored within from deteriorating or losing their power. The pages of the "The Ninefold tome" acted as a sanctuary, ensuring that the relics remained as potent as the day they were stored.

When a user wished to access a stored relic, they needed only to focus on the desired page, and the relic would materialize in their hands. This feature ensured that users could swiftly retrieve and employ their stored relics in times of need.

"You did get a rather useful relic, Emilie," Adrian commented, somewhat envious. He flipped through the book's nine pages. "My luck doesn't seem to be as good. All I got was a hunched old man as company," he grumbled, a tinge of frustration in his voice.

Adrian had a good understanding of how rare and valuable relics that could store other relics were. Still, given the abundance of relics in this place, the discovery of one didn't seem as astonishing anymore.

"It does sound like a rather extraordinary relic, Emilie. If it can store a 9-core relic, it's quite a game-changer," Adrian mused. "Imagine if we could get that lantern relic in here. I'm not certain about its level, but it was certainly a powerful one."

Adrian's mind raced with possibilities for their newfound relic. Then he had an idea. He placed the book on the table, opened it, and took his own cane, removing the needle from it.

Observing Adrian's actions, Emilie quickly realized what he intended to do. She couldn't deny her curiosity about the core level of the relic he had been carrying around as if his life depended on it.

The moment the needle approached the book, it began to vibrate intensely, as though it resisted being stored. Emilie watched this unfold in surprise.

"Is this needle of yours a living relic?" she asked, puzzled by the behavior of what appeared to be a lower-core-level relic.

Adrian remained silent, his attention fixed on the unfolding scene. He, too, wanted to understand the full extent of this relic. It had been his constant companion for a significant amount of time, yet he knew very little about it.

He had never been able to access information about how living relics typically operated, nor had he been able to communicate with it.

As they both observed, the needle's vibrations gradually subsided, and the book on the table closed on its own, signaling the end of the relic's resistance.

"It seems it wasn't able to store it," Adrian remarked, a smirk appearing on his face. His thoughts and intentions remained concealed, leaving Emilie to wonder about his next move.