YM778.TV Chapter 48: The Advancement of Tribal Fire
After witnessing this transformation, Bookstaver fell silent.
Once it was an authority in supernatural powers.
Now, it felt inadequate.
Finally, Bookstaver admitted reluctantly, "Alright, I admit, among numerous supernatural beings, there are indeed one or two anomalies like you—no, my goodness! Enzo, this is completely unprecedented! I\'ve never seen a priest whose totem changes with each advancement!"
Midway through its speech, Bookstaver became incoherent and mentally scrambled.
After a moment, it regained its composure and enthusiastically exclaimed, "Great master, I am certain that what you possess is truly unique!"
Enzo directly exposed, "So, Bookstaver, you don\'t know either?"
This time, Bookstaver didn\'t argue. It put on a pitiful look, attempting to prove its worth to Enzo by offering help, "Great master, I can locate the scepter of the barren mountain for you. It\'s the most powerful treasure of the Barren Mountain Tribe, aside from me. I can find it for you!"
Enzo chuckled in response, "No need, I\'ve already given it away."
"Given away?" Bookstaver was momentarily stunned, then heard Enzo continue, "You can try to sense it yourself. Maybe you\'ll see the scepter of the barren mountain in a swampy area, surrounded by mist, with many rows of bamboo huts."
Bookstaver was skeptical.
It flipped through its own pages, where a pattern appeared.
It was exactly as Enzo had described.
Now convinced, Bookstaver acknowledged the truth.
Enzo looked surprised, "You actually sensed it. Can you sense other items?"
Bookstaver became frustrated and shouted, "Great master, I\'m not here to find things!"
Enzo\'s expression turned serious, "Then what else can you do?"
What else could it do?
It seemed uncertain...
Did it have any other purpose?
Bookstaver fell into thought, starting to doubt itself.
Could it be... am I useless?
Staring at the face on the cover with a conflicted expression, Enzo decided not to push further. He feared that continuing to probe would only reinforce Bookstaver\'s growing belief in its own uselessness.
So, Enzo reassured, "Bookstaver, your greatest role is to follow me."
Hearing this, Bookstaver didn\'t detect anything amiss and excitedly replied, "Great master, you are absolutely right! My greatest role is to assist you!"
Enzo silently assessed Bookstaver—intellectually challenged.
In the Crimson Star Tribe, only the lazy and dull Betta might be on the same intellectual level as Bookstaver, although Bookstaver still seemed sharper.
Upon Enzo\'s inquiry, Bookstaver shared more information.
It said, for example, the difference after the tribal fire advance.
The tribal fire could only give simple baptisms to tribe members, enhancing their strength.
Totem Fire, on the other hand, allowed tribe members to acquire supernatural powers. They could further advance their supernatural abilities by consuming essences of supernatural beings or accumulating enough energy in other forms after being baptized by Totem Fire.
This meant totem warriors could advance again.
Just to note, this kind of advancement had a limit; the maximum level it could reach was Level 4.
The flame of the soul, however, was significantly different.
After being baptized by the flame of the soul, totem warriors could advance into soul followers. Even if their physical bodies died, their souls could still survive, though they had weaknesses such as fear of light.
And also, energy couldn\'t be replenished through eating.
Once becoming a soul follower, their supernatural abilities would greatly increase, with higher limits, making them among the strongest in the world.
As for divine fire, Bookstaver had no knowledge.
It had never encountered it.
Enzo then asked about the disaster that led to the downfall of the Barren Mountain Tribe.
Bookstaver\'s tone grew somber as it explained, "That disaster was named the Curse. In fact, not only did the Barren Mountain region suffer, but other regions also faced disasters—plague in the archipelagos, wildfire in the Blue Sea, drought in the desert... Can you imagine drinking plenty of water and still feeling thirsty, until your belly bursts? Such eerie occurrences."
Enzo\'s face darkened further.
He asked, "So, does the extinction of the Barren Mountain Tribe mean these disasters have ceased?"
Bookstaver\'s voice carried a hint of despair as it replied, "No, quite the opposite. The extinction of the Barren Mountain Tribe marked the beginning of the disasters. In his final moments, Maude created me and glimpsed the source of the disaster. Unfortunately, he did not reveal the source to others, only saying one thing—All life will spend their days in lamentation after the disaster descends."
"All life will spend their days in lamentation after the disaster descends."
Enzo repeated the phrase in his mind.
He reflected on his recent experiences and observations, finding no clear match to the ominous statement.
He then asked Bookstaver, "Are there any signs when the Curse descends?"
Bookstaver replied, "It\'s uncertain. We can only confirm it after the Curse has fallen. Great master, you need not worry; Bookstaver will assist you. Or perhaps, master, you are fortunate enough to never encounter such a disaster until your dying day."
Enzo rolled his eyes at this response.
And he gave Bookstaver a reasonable command—shut up.
Sorting through his cluttered thoughts, Enzo finally asked, "Bookstaver, how do I return now?"
Without hesitation, Bookstaver answered, "Master, just think about it—"
"I want to go back."
Enzo thought that in his mind.
The next moment, the palace around him seemed to dissolve, replaced by the familiar layout of his room. Amidst the transition, a frantic shout stood out, piercingly different. Bookstaver yelled urgently, "Great master, please take your most loyal servant with you!"
As Bookstaver finished speaking, it sensed its physical form being grabbed by someone.
This time, it didn\'t complain.
...
Inside a bamboo hut.
Enzo opened his eyes and realized he held the stone tablet of the barren mountain in his hand.
He couldn\'t help but marvel, "It\'s incredible that such strange places still exist in this world. The soul world... According to Bookstaver, I can only enter again once I reach Level.6 power."
At that moment, Bookstaver also regained consciousness.
It flew around the room, shouting excitedly, "Lord Bookstaver is finally free!"
Enzo threatened, "Bookstaver, shut up. If you keep making noise like this, I\'ll have someone tie you to a giant rock and sink you into the deep sea."
Quickly obeying, Bookstaver fell silent and pretended to be a book lying on the table.
Enzo walked to the window, calming himself from the shock and concern over the hidden history he had learned.
He decided not to worry about disasters just yet.
Those powerful tribes probably knew more about the disasters and might have found ways to mitigate them. For now, his focus was on developing his tribe.
After all, the stronger his tribe became, the stronger he would become.
Thoughts of tribe development filled Enzo\'s mind...
He gazed through the window at the camp.
Amidst the camp, there was the rain-drenched ground which had turned uneven with small puddles scattered around. Despite the muddy and dreary season, the tribe members seemed accustomed to it, focused on waiting out the rainy season to improve the pathways within the camp.
Apart from this, Enzo had plans in motion for implementing currency, establishing a marketplace.
It\'s also necessary to get paper and pen.
Using trimmed and smoothed bamboo pieces to record information isn\'t very convenient, and making them is also troublesome. Especially as the tribe develops and there are more things to handle, relying solely on bamboo pieces to record information is too slow.
The bag of coarse salt brought by Douglas could also be refined.
Since arriving in this world, he hadn\'t gone hungry, but the quality of food left much to be desired.
Additionally, there were tasks involving witchcraft potions, cultivating seeds, and organizing trials among tribe members—
Just thinking about it overwhelmed him.All of which added to Enzo\'s mounting responsibilities.
Not to mention the floating book with a face on its cover showing a humble expression, which said, "Great master, your tribe doesn\'t seem very strong. I mean, if you want to be as powerful as the Barren Mountain Tribe, you\'ll need to work twice as hard!"
Damn it!
Bringing Bookstaver out would definitely be a mistake.
Enzo chuckled in exasperation but tried to maintain composure. "Bookstaver, I appreciate your reminder, but before you speak next time, try to think about how to phrase it more diplomatically."
Bookstaver retorted, "Master, I don\'t have a brain."
Enzo felt a vein throbbing on his forehead.
But he decided not to get angry.
Despite Bookstaver\'s shortcomings, Enzo acknowledged that it could still be somewhat helpful in certain situations.
Turning his attention to more practical matters, Enzo asked, "Bookstaver, what was the currency used by the Barren Mountain Tribe?"
Bookstaver replied succinctly, "Crystals."
After listening, Enzo chose to give up.
Enzo immediately realized that using crystals as currency was impractical for the Crimson Star Tribe at its current stage of development.
It was clear that Bookstaver couldn\'t provide much assistance in this regard.
Just then, Rhode and Anse hurriedly approached, reporting, "Lord Enzo, we have captured a scout. According to Neville\'s identification, the scout is from the Plata Plain Mpondo Tribe. Should we take any action?"