Unearthing the Book of Weirdness
Ding!
[New Task Available]
Part 1: Book of Weirdness
Description: Within six months, locate and retrieve the Book of Weirdness, hidden somewhere beneath the ruins of Windwalker City.
Hint: This book accelerates the growth of poisonous life forms, including trees, plants, and creatures.
Reward:
Mythic Skill Legendary Skill 1,000,000 XP
Failure Penalty: None
Part 2: Gate to the Abyss
Description: Within five years, read the Book of Weirdness, master the Abyssal Gate spell, and use it to open a portal to the Abyss.
Reward:
Ultra Skill 25,000,000 XP
Failure Penalty: None
...
"What? Another demon-related task?" Edric's eyes widened in surprise.
"The Book of Weirdness... again?" His mind raced. "Wasn't it taken away by that homeless man I gave it to? Why is it back?"
Despite his confusion, the rewards were simply too tempting to ignore. Even though there was no punishment for failing the quest, the potential gains were immense.
"The first part is time-sensitive. I can't let anyone else find the book before me. I need to go there immediately and secure it." His resolve hardened.
With the Self-Consumption skill in hand, legendary-ranked knights were no longer as terrifying as they once were. He felt confident. He was stronger now.
But there was a problem.
If he left right away, the newborns would have no one to care for them. He lacked trustworthy subordinates, and without proper care, they wouldn't survive.
Reluctantly, he made his decision.
"I'll stay for a few days, handle things here, and send them to Luna and Camila before I leave."
It wasn't ideal, but it was the best course of action. The Book of Weirdness could wait—just for a little while longer.
...
A few days later, Luna, Camila, and their subordinates arrived, taking the newborns under their care. Just to be cautious, Edric cast Mass Confusion on the subordinates, muddling their memories about where so many newborns had come from.
With that settled, he waited until all the remaining pregnant clones had given birth. Once the last child was born, he handed them over to Luna and Camila's group as well.
...
Fifteen days had passed in total.
Edric temporarily halted progress on the Ancestor of a State task and set out to fulfill the Book of Weirdness task.
The reasoning was simple—he still had over 900 days left for the Ancestor of a State mission, and it was already 30% complete. There was plenty of time. But the Book of Weirdness? That was different.
If someone else found it first, he would lose his chance to complete it quickly.
Delaying for fifteen days had already been a risk. Waiting months for Ancestor of a State to progress further wasn't an option.
Right now, retrieving the Book of Weirdness was his top priority.
...
Windwalker City was utterly annihilated.
Not a trace of its former glory remained—just a wasteland of destruction.
Hundreds of thousands had perished, their bodies left to rot under the open sky. Within a week, the stench of decay spread across the ruins, turning the city into a grotesque nightmare. It was a scene straight out of hell.
In the days following the disaster, no one dared to approach. Fear lingered—what if the demon returned?
For two weeks, the city remained untouched.
Finally, Darkwind City sent a few hundred troops to at least bury the dead. If left alone, the ruins could become a breeding ground for the undead—a catastrophe that could spiral out of control.
The Conditions for Undead to Appear
The rise of undead required very specific conditions:
Mass Death with Resentment – Those who die with deep grievances or despair have a chance of rising again. Corpses Left Exposed – If left unburied for too long, their transformation becomes inevitable. Burying them removes this risk. Abundant Natural Energy – The stronger the ambient mana, the faster the undead manifest.
On Silver Flower Island, natural energy was thin, making undead exceptionally rare—almost unheard of. However, the destruction of Windwalker City created a perfect breeding ground. If ignored, it could lead to disaster.
Low-level undead were not particularly strong, but they were extremely difficult to kill. A zombie could survive even if hacked into pieces. The only true way to destroy them was to reduce them to ashes.
Worse, those who died at the hands of undead would rise as undead themselves. Left unchecked, a single zombie could wipe out entire cities.
This was why, despite the risk, the neighboring territories could not allow Windwalker City to fester.
...
After carefully burying the dead, Darkwind City turned its attention to the remnants of the Windwalker Family. The largest remaining Windwalker stronghold was Eagle's Perch.
Darkwind envoys traveled there, expecting resistance.
Instead, they were met with complete surrender.
The mayor of Eagle's Perch handed them a letter—an official surrender document, offering the entire Windwalker Family to the Darkwind Family without resistance.
Just like that, the two rival houses became one.
Under normal circumstances, the royal family wouldn't recognize such an annexation. However, since the Windwalker Family had willingly submitted, there was a high chance the king would approve it.
For years, the Darkwinds had sought to unify with the Windwalkers, but all efforts had failed. Now, thanks to a monster's rampage, they had achieved their goal.
The centuries-old resentment Darkwind citizens held toward the Windwalker Family—fueled by years of propaganda—faded overnight. The tragedy had wiped the slate clean.
With everything going smoothly, Darkwind agents traveled across the land, ensuring that every Windwalker noble swore loyalty to Marquis Rhaegor, who remained hidden in an unknown location.
Thus, after years of division, the two great families were finally reunited.
To gain popular support, the Darkwind Family immediately invested massive resources into rebuilding Windwalker City.
The location was ideal—access to fresh water, fertile farmland, and strategic trade routes. Letting it remain in ruins would be a waste.
However, reconstructing an entire city was no simple task. It would take years—not weeks or months—to restore even a fraction of what was lost.
But the first step had been taken.
And so, the ruins of Windwalker City began their slow journey toward rebirth.
...
Edric stood atop the ruins, gazing down at what was once Windwalker City.
"Should I feel bad?" he wondered.
After all, he had been the one who handed the Book of Weirdness to that homeless man.
"Hundreds of thousands died because of me… yet I don't feel anything."
He waited for guilt to surface, but there was none.
Instead, there was something else.
"Excitement?"
A twisted smile crept onto his face as he realized—he had changed. The man who once hesitated to kill a cockroach was long gone.
"Whatever. Who cares?"
With that thought, Edric descended into the ruins.
He had no spells or abilities to help him locate the book directly, but that didn't matter.
According to the system, the Book of Weirdness caused accelerated growth of poisonous lifeforms—trees, plants, animals. That was his clue.
Edric walked through the ruins, scanning his surroundings for anything green—a sprouting vine, an unusual plant, or even a poisonous creature like a snake or frog.
He doubted that in just less than a month, entire poisonous trees would have grown. The system had said "accelerated growth," but it hadn't specified how fast.
Still, a few weeks was more than enough time for small poisonous plants to take root.
And if the book was truly here…
He would find it.
...
For two days, Edric walked through the ruins, step by step, scanning his surroundings for any signs of poisonous growth.
During that time, others had begun arriving—cleaning the ruined city, clearing debris, and burying the dead.
From their uniforms, Edric could tell they belonged to the Darkwind Family.
His expression darkened.
"Damn Kaelith! I will definitely kill him later!"
The Darkwinds—his enemies. The ones responsible for forcing him to flee to Elowen Kingdom.
Hatred burned within him, but he didn't act on it. Not yet.
Right now, his priority was the Book of Weirdness.
Revenge could wait.
Keeping himself hidden, he moved through the ruins, ignoring everything else, his focus locked on his goal.
...
After four days of digging through poisonous plants and creatures, Edric finally found it!
The Book of Weirdness lay buried beneath the rubble of a destroyed restaurant.
The only reason he even discovered it was because a dense patch of poisonous flowers had grown around the area.
"That was... easy?"
Edric frowned, feeling a strange sense of disbelief.
The reward was a mythic skill, something incredibly rare and powerful. He had expected the task to be far more difficult.
"Demon and Abyss-related tasks really do pay well... and they're much easier than I thought."
His mind buzzed with anticipation. If these kinds of tasks kept appearing, he would gladly take them.
With a deep grin, he opened his system interface, his heart pounding with excitement as he read the details of his new mythic skill.