After putting down the fountain pen, Klein unfastened the pendulum from his left cuff, held it in one hand, and suspended it directly above the paper, nearly touching.
"Edwina is inside the story of this book." Klein closed his eyes and silently chanted the divination statement.
After seven repetitions, he opened his eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise.
This indicated an affirmation, that "Iceberg Admiral" Edwina was indeed inside the book "Grobber's Travels"!
So it really is a world inside a book… And the state inside should be very special; without new people joining, the story cannot turn the page… Klein nodded almost imperceptibly, rewound the silver chain with the citrine pendant, picked up the adjacent crimson round-bodied pen, and wrote a new divination statement:
"The method to enter 'Grobber's Travels'."
This time, he used the "dream divination method" and saw many blurry figures in a grayish world.
Some of these figures were huge, some slender, but all shared the common feature of holding a book bound in yellow-brown parchment.
The subsequent development showed two different scenarios: some figures who had continuously carried "Grobber's Travels" disappeared silently, while others who sometimes picked up the book and sometimes put it aside suddenly vanished after either accidentally or intentionally dripping blood onto the cover!
The scene shattered. Klein opened his eyes, looked at the mottled long table in front of him, and furrowed his brow as he began to interpret:
"To enter or open 'Grobber's Travels', either long-term contact until reaching a limit, or dripping one's own blood onto the cover?
"Isn't that too simple? Perhaps… it really is that simple. In the story, the Loen soldier made his 'entrance' as an ordinary person, not even understanding mysticism, and relying on his companions' help, step by step grew into a 'Punishment Knight'… So the method of opening wouldn't be complicated; any ordinary person could do it.
"The few previous researchers, including 'Iceberg Admiral' Edwina, were all Beyonders with sufficient knowledge of mysticism, well aware that they shouldn't casually drip their blood onto something, otherwise they wouldn't even know how they died. This is just like ordinary people using an effective 'mirror divination method' – it's very easy to attract powerful, unknown, concealed existences. That's why they didn't have problems…
"Plus, most of the time Edwina kept 'Grobber's Travels' in her collection room, only occasionally touching it. So it was only recently, when she had a new research idea and touched it for a long time, that the book achieved the conditions for opening?
"Hmm, even the 'magic mirror' Aroldes only knew that this book was strange, that many of its successive owners had gone missing, and that it seemed to be related to the dragon race and the 'City of Miracles' Livist. This shows that when 'Grobber's Travels' is opened, it interferes with the surrounding environment, erasing corresponding clues. So most of its previous collectors didn't realize it had a problem and had no thought of researching it.
"The missing owners shouldn't be just those few in the story; the rest might have died from various issues, leaving no name in the travels…"
Klein withdrew his thoughts and performed another divination, hoping to obtain a method to leave "Grobber's Travels."
This time, in the grayish dream world, he saw even more violent wind and snow, and saw a huge figure standing atop an icy peak.
It was a translucent giant dragon, nearly five meters tall even standing on four legs, resembling a lizard's relative, with an ugly face, deep blue eyes, and a thick, long, powerful tail. It had two large wing membranes on its back that alone, when spread, gave the feeling of covering the sky.
Its scales were like ice crystals, flowing with a clear, faint luster, the most beautiful and dreamlike part of its entire body.
Suddenly, this dragon, as if carved from frost, raised its neck and body and let out a terrifying roar that pierced the blizzard.
At this moment, standing upright, it exceeded ten meters.
"Northern King"… that frost dragon… Klein withdrew from the dream and lightly tapped the armrest of his high-backed chair.
His interpretation of the divination revelation just now was:
The key to leaving "Grobber's Travels" lies with the "Northern King"!
Klein tentatively suspected that he needed to kill this frost dragon, enabling the protagonist Grobber's goal to be achieved, so that the story could come to a proper "end" and open a passage to exit the book.
However, it might also be possible to try forcibly breaking the barrier between the book world and the real world… Relying on his rich experience, Klein quickly conceived an attempt.
First, he picked up the "Black Emperor card" that was covered at his right hand and merged it into his spirit body.
Suddenly, a black full-body armor covered Klein's body, a heavy crown appeared on his head, and his aura became noble and majestic, making him seem unapproachable.
Next, he leveraged the power of the mysterious space above the Gray Fog to the greatest extent, causing it to flow like water and surge toward him.
Seeing this, Klein did not hesitate. He waved his hand to draw the "Sea God Scepter" from the pile of debris and infused his spirituality into it.
The blue-green gems at the top of the white bone short staff lit up one by one, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
Countless silver-white lightning bolts appeared, crackling in the magnificent palace, forming what seemed like an ocean of thunder.
Finally, with the suppression and balance of the "Black Emperor card"'s rank, Klein poured all the leveraged power into that lightning storm.
Rumble!
The thunder rolled above the Gray Fog, rushing into the distance. One after another, thick and brilliant lightning bolts fell simultaneously or sequentially, striking the book "Grobber's Travels."
A blinding light enveloped the entire palace, lasting a full twenty seconds.
When everything calmed, Klein looked again at the target and saw that the mottled long table was now in shambles, while the dark brown-covered book was completely unharmed, only slightly curled at the edges.