NOVEL WEB Chapter 160: I had enough!
Leon's mystical eyes scanned those words once again.
Those were not the only things he had learned by these scriptures of theirs, as there was one important thing which was mentioned again and again—many times in a single book—and not one book failed to mention it.
A prophecy.
A prophecy was mentioned again and again.
A faint musty scent clung to the yellowed pages, their rough edges scratching at his fingertips each time he turned a page beneath the dim, sunless light.
The context of the prophecy... rather than the context, he read it once again.
"When the veiled darkness consumes the Era anew,"
"The buried sins of the forgotten shall stir."
"A Rise shall answer a Clash,"
"And the Ruins of the Forgotten will emerge from shadow."
"In those forsaken remnants, legends once lost shall awaken and be recalled."
"Illusions shall yield to the truths of the past."
"Only then shall the Almighty return, descending upon the world once more."
Leon had no idea what this prophecy was talking about. He had not a single clue.
A faint chill slithered down Leon's spine as he finished reading, the hairs on his arms standing on end, and a dry taste prickling at the back of his throat.
In this world, things such as magic existed—even the Gods—so this prophecy, whatever its meaning was, might well hold true in the future.
He did understand one thing: the whole prophecy referred to the descent of their god, whom they referred to as the Almighty.
He had decided to remember this prophecy in his mind. Maybe in the future, it would be useful somehow.
Prophecy was cool and all, but the Church of Almighty was known for its holy magic. In these scriptures of theirs, not once was any technical or other type of detail mentioned regarding the Holy Element other than endless praise.
It's as if they are guarding it.
He cursed his luck. There was nothing he had found about it from this church. He decided to move on to the next one, as the Holy Element had another name—the Element of Gods—mentioned in the Lin Fang autobiography. So there might be something he could find there.
Or so he hoped.
Yet another ten hours had passed.
He had read every single one of their books.
All the other books also focused mainly on getting new members—not as extreme as the Church of Almighty, which went as far as titling their first chapter You Will Burn in Hell.
These two churches also had the same prophecy, only the last part changed to mention the descent of their god.
God of Life.
And...
God of Light.
Yet these past fifteen hours had been almost a waste of time in terms of trying to find the solution to his current problem.
His shoulders ached from hours hunched over rough wooden desks, the faint creak of the chair, and the soft rasp of paper filling the silent mountains, fading into nothingness.
He felt sleepy now. He was in his real body. He had to take a rest.
Taking out a big, fully white mattress from his inventory with a whoosh, it dropped to the ground, causing a ripple on its soft surface.
A cool whisper of air followed as he shook out the blanket. The mattress dipped beneath his weight, springs creaking softly as he let himself sink into the welcoming softness. The pillow was cool against his cheek, and the faint scent of clean cotton lingered as he finally drifted off.
The sleep arrived this quickly, not because of peace.
As he didn't have much peace of mind currently—but only because of his exhaustion.
Then he woke up again. He didn't know when it was or how much time had passed, as there was no sun or moon in the sky to tell him that, or have any idea—the timeless view of sunset without the sun was present everywhere.
He took out the preserved meat and bread from inside his inventory and started eating them.
He tore into the bread, its crust yielding with a gentle crunch, and the soft, yeasty warmth filling his mouth. The meat was rich with spices, a smoky aroma curling upward as he bit in, juices still locked in as if it had just left the fire. The food warmed his hands, giving him a moment of peace.
He didn't feel bad eating this meal, knowing his spoon was put to good use, and also the bread was soft, like the time he had stored it.
He had found that his inventory's time seemed to sit still, so he had quite a bit of food inside that he could use anywhere.
The meat was almost tender and well-seasoned, slightly hot.
He enjoyed his meal.
After he was done, his expression once again turned determined, as he had to find some way to stop his Holy Energy from acting up and store it somehow—like in something similar to a mana core.
The whole day, from the time he had woken up to the time he was completely exhausted and couldn't keep himself awake...
There was only one thing he had done the whole time.
Doom-scrolling on the Cosmic Chat.
Yet he found nothing that could be of help to him.
During the day, for an hour, he had tried to gain better control of the Holy Energy inside, yet no progress at all.
He closed his eyes and focused, feeling the foreign energy swirl beneath his skin—cold and prickling, refusing to settle. The faint thrum of power pulsed in his veins, but every attempt to shape it slipped through his grasp like smoke.
The only thing he could do was just keep it stored alone in his body, spread out—until the amount exceeded, and he wouldn't even be able to do that.
And result in him becoming the world's brightest torch.
After having his dinner, he didn't know when he fell asleep again.
Today, instead of doom-scrolling the whole day, he had tried to gain more control over the element, yet not a speck of progress—as if it wasn't even meant to be done.
But he didn't give up and continued the same practice of trying to gain better control over the Holy Energy he had.
However, even when a week's worth of time had passed according to him—as he had slept and woken up seven times—there was practically zero progress.
It was as if I were applying my precious time to something that would have no effect, no matter how much time I gave.
Fucking hell. Why is this damn Holy Energy so worthless?
He even wished now that he shouldn't have gotten this power, because of it, he would have a tasteless revenge that he had prepared so much for.
Holy Energy was not something he wanted to reveal to the world—as when in the Heavenly Realm, its details were being kept secret. So he knew he wouldn't survive long if he made such an utterly foolish mistake.
Calming his nerves with long, deep breaths, he started doom-scrolling the Cosmic Shop once again, making him feel as if he had returned to his previous world.
But then he reached a breaking point.
What am I even doing? Just scrolling through endless shop pages like an idiot, hoping something will suddenly solve my problems. Feels like I'm just wasting time, like those people online who never stop looking for tips they'll never use. At this point, even my own self-pity is tired. If there were a medal for pointless scrolling, I'd probably win it by now.
He slammed the interface shut, knuckles white. Something had to change. No more scrolling.