전생검신 93권 03화

What’s that voice?

I jumped in surprise, but the strange voice continued, sounding angry.

[Who do you think you are calling the Necronomicon second-rate?]

“Uh…”

My hands were still on the grimoire, but it seemed like the knowledge absorption had stopped. I was puzzled until I realized who the voice belonged to.

‘Does the Necronomicon have a consciousness?’

I felt utterly baffled by the possibility. Sure, I heard that there were higher grimoires with consciousness like Zhuge Sa’s, but encountering something like this was nearly a first for me. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and replied.

“I’m Baek Woong.”

[…… You’re the first person I’ve never heard of! I thought you’d be some kind of Tetragrammaton since you entered the Void Record directly.]

“……”

Uwoo

Suddenly, a faintly glowing cat appeared in front of me. Unlike Master Mangnyang, it wasn’t black; it was a tricolor cat, standing there dressed like a sorcerer, as if it were a person. The Necronomicon, manifesting as a tricolor cat, spoke to me.

[Take back the second-rate comment right now! I am the supreme one, unparalleled throughout the heavens and the earth—known as the Uni-dimensional Heavenly Demon! You dare belittle me?]

Wow, this cat really has some ego…

I was taken aback by the Necronomicon’s confidence but snapped back to reality.

“Come on, you’re injecting me with poison and saying you’re not second-rate? Shouldn’t you be grateful you’re not getting worse insults thrown at you?”

[Poison?]

“Yeah! The knowledge of demons you have is all twisted compared to what Zhuge Sa taught me. Knowing this garbage will only make my memory capacity worse!”

As I yelled, the Necronomicon tilted its head.

[What nonsense is this…?]

Muttering to itself with its chin resting, the Necronomicon suddenly seemed to realize something, its tricolor cat eyes sparkling as it spoke.

[You live in a world piled with too much calamity. And then you complain that my knowledge is different? Do you even have any shame?]

“What do you mean by ‘calamity’?”

[I, the Necronomicon, possess the primordial knowledge valid across the three thousand worlds. The knowledge I have is genuine, while yours is egregiously distorted.]

“……?”

[Your world is so warped that finding its original form is challenging. Plus, with Outer Gods intervening, there’s no solution. Anyway, everything in your world is different from the time I was created.]

I replied in annoyance.

“Hey, I don’t understand any of this.”

[I thought I explained this clearly, but it seems you’re too dull to grasp it. How should I put it?]

The Necronomicon pondered for a moment before continuing.

[If I compare it to a game that’s been heavily customized, you’d have a hard time figuring out which is the original, right? But imagine the developers also threw in all their internal data into that mix, making it a crazy situation. It’s not easy to express… ]

“……?”

[No, this analogy is a stretch. Let me explain it in a way you’ll definitely understand.]

Uwoo!

The Necronomicon conjured up a square space like a blank sheet of paper to show me. Then it said:

[This white space symbolizes the time of nothingness. But when something is drawn here… ]

Swoosh

Suddenly, an uncountable number of vibrant illustrations began to cover that blank sheet. They filled up the space rapidly, and as soon as the drawing was finished, the Necronomicon continued.

[How about that? It’s completely blacked out, right?]

“Um…”

[This is how I see your world.]

Exactly. As so many illustrations piled onto the white sheet, it transformed into a completely black piece of paper in my eyes. I finally understood the Necronomicon’s analogy and muttered.

“So what you’re saying is that the world I live in is like that blackened sheet of paper overwhelmed by too many drawings?”

[Exactly. It is a chaotic world where numerous laws run rampant. That’s why your demon knowledge clashes significantly with mine.]

“That’s a ridiculous statement. I don’t think anyone’s ever said something as absurd as that. What grounds do you have for saying something so outrageous?”

I scoffed, and the Necronomicon glanced at me with its gem-like eyes.

[Grounds? Let’s just say it’s the Kabbalah magic system you’re using that’s a prime example.]

“……?”

This cat seems to know just by looking at me?!

[You seem to have about three accounts, huh? But have you ever thought it ridiculous to draw power from the World Tree when there’s no World Tree?]

“Uh… We do have a World Tree in our world…”

As I thought about the Sacred Altar Tree and responded, the Necronomicon laughed mockingly with its feline expression.

[That’s your world’s World Tree. I’m talking about the World Tree of the Tetragrammaton world that grants power. Are all World Trees the same?]

“Hmm… Is that really so strange?”

[It is strange. If you exercise such powerful demon magic in a world you can’t even reach beyond the Outer Gods, it suggests interference at the fundamental level. Is your level of demon magic so low that you can’t comprehend? That’s originally an impossible feat.]

“……”

[Even using the World Tree as a relay is a bizarre matter. For that, the Tetragrammaton would also need to be able to traverse freely to your world through the World Tree. But that too is impossible.]

“…Just because you can use the magic of the World Tree doesn’t mean I’m completely convinced by what you’re saying.”

The Necronomicon turned its head sharply with crossed arms.

[Of course, I have other grounds. But since you seem a bit thick-headed, I don’t think I could explain them all.]

“Ugh.”

[Would you like to hear more? It’d be torturous, given your low level of demon magic…]

What’s with this annoying tricolor cat? Just like Master Mangnyang, these cat forms are so bothersome!

I frowned in irritation and said, “Okay, fine. Let’s assume for a hundred times that you’re right. The important part is whether your magical knowledge applies to our world or not, right?”

[I suppose so.]

“But if it’s all completely different from start to finish, it’s obvious it won’t work in our world. That means it’s junk knowledge, and then did I not speak wrongly when I labeled you a second-rate grimoire?”

The Necronomicon retorted brusquely.

[Who says it doesn’t work?]

“Uh?”

[It all works! Your world’s demon knowledge is rebuilt from the ground up after numerous laws have been distorted, making it seem to clash with mine, but that doesn’t mean my demon magic won’t work on your world.]

“Does that even make sense? If everything’s different from the start, how could both possibly work?”

[No matter how distorted the laws are, you can’t distort the primordial grimoire! I’ll show you proof.]

Zing-zhang

With a strange electronic sound, the Necronomicon’s paw glowed with a weird light of nothingness. That chunk of light sparkled faintly before suddenly shooting into the void.

Boom!

Then, in a flash, that light exploded, revealing a hole as if the very fabric of space-time had been torn apart. I gasped as I confirmed what lay beyond that space.

“No way… is that…?”

The solar system?

[Let’s see.]

Watching the celestial bodies of the solar system lined up in the vast cosmos, the Necronomicon poked the celestial body that appeared to be Earth with its toe, and then Earth popped out like a little candy stuck to its claw. The Necronomicon carefully observed the tiny form of Earth before speaking.

[I just compared the compatibility, and every magic I know works with a 100% certainty in your world. I didn’t even need to check, but since you kept doubting me, I confirmed it for you.]

“…Just asking, but is that really Earth?”

[If I think it’s Earth, then at that moment, it becomes Earth. That’s the kind of magic it is.]

“…”

If that’s magic, then the Necronomicon is an absurdly powerful sorcerer. I’ve seen many sorcerers, but only those with high divine statuses could wield magic at the level of the Necronomicon.

But I was still skeptical, so I said to the Necronomicon:

“No, that doesn’t make sense. Everything being different from start to finish, yet your magic works there…”

The Necronomicon looked at me with the kind of expression that said it felt super annoyed.

[Boy, have you ever thought about the integrity of the universe?]

“Integrity? What’s that?”

[Like you said, it’s common for existing laws not to work well in a world where laws are distorted. When you add B to A, it can render spells and magic that used to activate useless. That’s what we mean when we say integrity is compromised.]

“Yeah, so it was compromised.”

The Necronomicon chomped on Earth like it was some candy stuck on its finger, its eyes sparkling like jewels.

[No, that’s not the case regarding my magic. Why? Because I am the origin of magic, the beginning, and the primordial itself.]

“You just said that if integrity is compromised, even solid techniques won’t activate, right? So wouldn’t that mean even the origin wouldn’t work properly?”

[The cause has switched. If it doesn’t match the origin, then it can’t be distorted at all.]

“…?”

[In other words, I, the Necronomicon, exist on the premise that the integrity of the three thousand worlds in the universe exists. I am the standard for magic across the three thousand worlds! Ha ha ha!]

I looked at the malevolent grinning tricolor cat, my expression one of utter disbelief.

‘What?!’

I finally understood what the Necronomicon was saying and was shook to my core.

‘If that’s true, then does it mean the magic from our world is fake?’

But how is that even possible? What about all the sorcerers in our world?

As I stood frozen in shock, the Necronomicon said,

[Well, it seems you’ve understood, so cancel that second-rate comment, rookie. You should appreciate the fact that I’m not belittling your world as second-rate.]

“What the heck are you? Why are you even here?”

[Heh. You’re asking why I’m here?]

The Necronomicon smugly grinned as it continued.

[Forgot!]

“……”

[……]

This cat…?

When I looked at the Necronomicon in disbelief, it cleared its throat awkwardly.

Ahem… It seemed awkward as it said,

[Well, it’s been eons since I’ve been here, so I’ve long forgotten ‘when’ or ‘how’ I got into the Void Record. All I clearly remember is one thing.]

“What is it?”

[I’m currently sealed at level 10. And someone deliberately sealed me in the Void Record!]

“Someone sealed you in the Void Record? Could it be the high-level librarian, Outer God Al Karda?”

My blunt question made the Necronomicon shake its head.

[That’s not it! In fact, Al Karda seemed to refuse sealing me in the Void Record at first. Even if he didn’t want to, someone pushed it through.]

“What…?”

[But I don’t even know who sealed me. I don’t know why I was sealed either. Strangely, that memory is just vague… ]

The Necronomicon tilted its head, its mystical eyes sparkling. It appeared it genuinely didn’t know why it was there.

‘Hmm, in that case…’

An idea struck me, and I said to the Necronomicon.

“Hey! I’ll take back the second-rate comment. Instead, how about we go outside together?”

[Ha ha ha… You want to gain my power?]

“Well, that’d be a lie if I said no… but wouldn’t it be better than being stuck here forever in the Void Record?”

[Not bad at all. But… ]

The Necronomicon regarded me with a suspicious look.

[As far as I know, you’ve only obtained access rights, but you can’t pull me out of the Void Record!]

“Ugh…”

That’s true.

Right on target, I flinched, and the Necronomicon grinned condescendingly.

[Ha ha ha. Rookie. Don’t mess around, just study the knowledge I have. Then, naturally, my seal will be lifted.]

“The seal will be lifted?”

[Indeed. Once that happens, I too can interfere with the outside world.]

“What? You can do that from the Void Record?”

When I exclaimed in surprise, the Necronomicon replied with an even more arrogant tone.

[I am the uni-dimensional heavenly demon, the supreme one unparalleled throughout the heavens and the earth! Though I don’t remember it well, at my peak, all deities feared me and held their breath!]

“……”

[I’m likely one of the most precious tomes in the Void Record!]

I really couldn’t believe it…

I eyed the Necronomicon with suspicion, but it wasn’t fazed.

[Now, I will transfer knowledge to you again, so make sure you accept it. You still lack the qualifications to become my master, so start from the basics of demon magic!]

Uuuuu!

Once the Necronomicon finished speaking, knowledge from the grimoire began flowing into me rapidly. I couldn’t help but feel the undisguised contempt in the Necronomicon’s words, igniting a sense of inferiority within me.

“Damn it… Just tell me what I need to do to become your master!”

At this rate, I couldn’t help but want to become the Necronomicon’s master out of sheer stubbornness!

In response, the Necronomicon giggled.

[Requirements? Hah ha… At least you need to reach the level where you can break my seal and pull me out into reality for me to consider it.]

The moment that sentence ended, an immense amount of knowledge surged into my head, and with a severe headache, I fainted.

*

“……”

When I awakened, I was sprawled out on the floor. The Necronomicon, with its orange ribbon, had already disappeared without a trace.

‘It felt like a dream… but perhaps it was real.’

With all this knowledge of the Necronomicon filling my mind, I could feel that everything I just experienced truly happened. I scanned through the knowledge and frowned.

‘What? It’s an overwhelming amount of knowledge, but isn’t it all still sealed?’

Does that mean I need to complete the training of the previous stage only to unlock the next stage?

It was clear that the knowledge from the Necronomicon I could access was merely the first stage. I’d likely need to train further to unlock this knowledge.

“Damn it… I will definitely train when I have time later.”

I’ll repay the debt of the Necronomicon looking down on me by becoming its master!

Muttering that, I walked towards the Grand Hall, again flowing in accordance with the knowledge from the grimoire, and arrived at the entrance. Inside, Al Karda was waiting, smoking a cigarette by the window. I asked Al Karda, who didn’t even turn to look at me.

“I have a question. What is the Necronomicon? I saw it had an orange ribbon; how important of a book is it?”

“……”

Al Karda, still not looking at me, was gazing out the window as he replied,

“I can’t answer the first question. But I can answer the second.”

“How precious is the orange ribbon?”

“It’s a ribbon used when classifying the second most important book in the Void Record.”

“……!”

“There’s only one book more valuable than that.”

Of course…

I realized the immense value of the Necronomicon, feeling a mix of joy and curiosity.

“What’s more important than the Necronomicon?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Then at least tell me the color of that book’s ribbon…”

I figured Al Karda would reject this question as well, so I didn’t expect much.

Surprisingly, Al Karda openly answered while sitting at the Go board.

“It’s black.”