Luca stood there looking at the church with stained glass windows featuring colorful patterns, and the arched entrance was carved with winged eyes. The pure white and colorful patterns of the windows stood out against the vast sky, waiting for the setting sun to create a romantic sunset scene.
He was a bit hesitant, afraid that he would meet the guy in the white clothes again. He wanted to hide his identity, but stopped. If he bought something, it would be too expensive. Luca hated spending money unnecessarily, and with economic difficulties, he was not a rich kid, so he could not spend money like water.
He was silent for a while, then decided to go in with his arms full of books.
The church was huge, the doors of each section were big, and everything was made of expensive wood. It seemed that the people who built the church invested a lot. But the people who worship here are mostly poor.
They all wore dirty, ragged, old clothes. It seems that they believe that the more they live in poverty, the more faith in their god. Luca watched people worship while thinking to himself, feeling that it was a bit interesting. Why do people believe? Maybe they feel comforted when they face something they don't know with belief. Or maybe they just need someone to look up to...
Entering the line of people entering the church, one by one, they met the priest performing some kind of ritual. In general, it was probably a ritual for good luck. Or maybe a baptismal ceremony?
After 20 minutes, it was Luca's turn, and then the priest started reading something like the strange language that the man in white clothes and the strange guy who threw him into the room seemed to be the Rumes in the book he was reading. He thought that the trick of attracting others would not work but suddenly a light appeared and made him feel lighter and he noticed the eye shape but this time it was on the forehead of this priest but this shape was missing some parts in general, you had to look at the whole picture once to realize that the tattoo or eye symbol on the priest's forehead was the same type as the man in white clothes on the fateful meeting.
After finishing, Luca went out and memorized every detail here from each window, each person, and the doors, especially the largest and smallest doors on the right and left corners of the church, which were very suspicious.
Luca sighed and just chuckled a little as he walked out of the church. Luca walked back to Mary's bakery and bought some bread. As he walked in the door, Luca smiled at the owner. It was a bit embarrassing, but it was a survival skill.
"Mrs. Mary… can you sell me some loaves that are cheap and almost expired, or maybe have some leftovers?"
Luca had come here late in the evening to get the cheapest bread he could get. Mary just smiled and took out a bag with some slightly stale but still edible bread.
"Your bread's total is 7 Copper Coins."
Luca sighed and gave Mrs. Mary 7 Copper Coins in the old wallet, took the bread bag gently, then bowed politely before leaving. Luca walked back to the apartment, entered the dark house without any lights or sounds, then closed the door, walked to the light switch, and turned on the light to see the way.
Luca put his shoes in the shoe cabinet, which had exactly one shoe. After he put it in, there was still space left, then he closed it before leaving the bread on the stove and walking into his room, leaving a pile of books on the study table. Then sighed to the small wardrobe and took out a simple outfit exactly like the one he was wearing now. After finishing the shower, washing clothes with the water Luca used to shower, and drying clothes, he finished the simple tasks until it was time to cook.
This reminded him of when he was in the old world because he was alone almost all the time, and with his knowledge of food in the old world, he had no difficulty with cooking; it was just that he didn't know how to use the kitchen of this era and world. And funny situations happened.
Likewise, when he accidentally dropped a pot on the floor, he made a loud noise. He tried to pick it up, but stumbled and knocked over several jars, scattering their contents all over the counter. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by a chaotic mess of spilled ingredients and kitchenware. Luca stood there, feeling both defeated.
Or he accidentally turned on the gas full blast, creating a massive flame that nearly set fire to the kitchen. Luca panicked, desperately trying to turn off the gas, but his clumsy efforts only made the situation worse. As he frantically searched for the gas shutoff valve, the room filled with smoke, making it difficult to see or breathe. So Luca ran to the window to let the smoke out. Just as Luca thought, this shabby apartment building, without even a fire alarm, was truly in terrible disrepair…
After a while of trying and cleaning the kitchen, luckily, there wasn't much, so it wasn't too serious, but the finished product was a bit unstable. As far as he remembered, the recipe was as follows:
Peel and slice potatoes - then boil them - then cut them into small equal squares. Then combine them with diced vegetables, seasonings, and meat or cheese, if desired. Toast the bread until golden brown and serve with potatoes and salad.
This is a simple and short version because Luca only had a few ingredients, so this option made it quite simple, but thanks to the challenge he made, now the bread is burned, and the salad mix has some unnecessary spices like chili powder and a bunch of other things, but it still looks okay.
Luca still tried to sit and eat with that bitter look on his face, but he could still bear it. After Luca finished eating, he went to wash the dishes and put them back in the cupboard, drank some water to wake up, then he went to his room, definitely closed the door, and looked at the bottle of blood of the god he had left on the table. Remembering that church, he sat on his bed and laughed non-stop... like an evil plan had been made.
...…
Today's special night... The stars were shining brightly in the sky as if waiting for a grand performance. An abandoned house near the city center was suddenly set on fire, lighting up the sky, waking up even those who were sleeping peacefully like newborn babies. They looked and were shocked in panic, then slowly ran around, then a group of people gathered together, no one dared to step in, then screamed for someone to put out the fire, or it would spread.
The church guards looked at the fire and pretended not to see it, but now a young person in a hooded cloak said that the people were talking about the church and the church, causing the people around to agree and pull a group of people back to the church to drag them to put out the fire, shouting for help, causing two young men in white suits like royal knights to helplessly follow.
The young person in the hood sneaked into the door of the church, looking inside, everything was still, two doors, one big and one small, and in the middle was the altar this afternoon. The young person removed the hood, yes, that was our Luca. Luca just smiled a little and walked to a corner near the small door on the left.
Well, my plan to make a fake fire is going smoothly.
Luca prepared in an abandoned house and the tools available in his own house without spending all thanks to the knowledge from the previous world.
...…
(Back to a few minutes ago…)
Luca walked into the abandoned house near his shabby apartment building. Outside, it was no different than a house. On top of that, he went at night, which was unimaginably terrifying. His heart kept pounding, his sweat was dripping, and his legs were falling off.
Entering the room, everything was made of wood, rotten and crushed into the carpet. Every step made the same creaking-creaking sound. With a long hoodie covering his body, Luca went up to the second floor and looked around. Every small sound of the wind or the rotting wood made his heart jump as if it were about to jump out.
It's okay, calm down, nothing will happen, yes, that's right, there's nothing... you'll be fine, Luca, don't have deja vu like yes, calm down, ghosts have to be moderate, yes, nothing will happen...
A teddy bear with a smiling face and a carelessly sewn mouth. The cotton was loose, and the eyes were half black marbles and half black buttons. The head was slightly crushed, and more than half of the blood tears came out from both of the teddy bear's eyes, causing Luca to scream and fall a flight of stairs. Luca had tears in his eyes, his face pale as if about to lose blood.
Stop it already! I'm freaking out, and you're still trying to scare me! The old landlord is seriously messed up... leaving this teddy bear sitting here on the couch all alone. I'm about to faint from how creepy this is!
Luca calmed down and made sure he wrapped the teddy bear in a towel and brought it close to the oil lamp.
Luca placed oil lamps near the windows. Then he tied red and orange clothes to strings. Luca held the strings and waved the clothes back and forth in front of the lamps.
As the clothes moved, the light of the lamps would be covered and revealed continuously, creating a red-orange, flickering light effect that resembled a fire. He reached for the bowl of burning wood that was smoking nearby, and to make sure it was even better, he burned the teddy bear in the oil lamp to make it catch fire and put it in the bowl to create more smoke and a more realistic effect.
When everything was done, Luca opened the window and cracked.
In the meantime, he makes some small noises until he sees the lights of the surrounding neighbors start to turn on. Some people are flashing their eyes with candles, then he can use his hand to skillfully cover and uncover the lights continuously, creating a flashing effect before he gets in front of the people and starts his act.
...…
Luca started taking the coin with the hole and blowing into it to make a sound.
Woo... ~
A soldier holding an oil lamp approached, so Luca just hid in a corner with his agility. He easily circled behind the guard as he came close to check, and then knocked him unconscious by hitting him in the back of the neck.
"One has done."
Luca carefully put the soldier down, stripped him of his clothes, put the old clothes in his bag, and hid them in the corner where he had just hidden. Luca could easily identify if this was a normal person because he used an oil lamp to light the way. If it were someone like the man in white clothes or the strange person that Luca had met the first time he came to this world, there were two cases. One was that he would start chanting a spell, and the other was that he would use his power immediately. If both were wrong, he would accept it. After all, the two situations still had a 60% chance of happening, rather than the last situation, which only had a 20% chance, and the remaining 20% was unknown.
Luca sighed; luckily, he guessed right. Luca walked to the small door and used the key to open it, but then stopped. If there was a monster or a trap inside, he would surely die. But at this point, he still opened the door with his calculations. He thought that the other side was nowhere to be seen, and as he thought, there was still no movement on the other side, so he entered. Inside, there were more things than he thought; there were many strange things, like a burning flower or a horn, and many other things.
Behind it was a door that just touched his nose and started bleeding continuously.
He tried to open it, but it was too late. Luca took out two hairpins, that's right, and began to unlock it, but the more he touched it, the more blood flowed out, but he wasn't too scared because there's no DNA test with blood in this era, well, it was just his guess but he has 70% sure of it, so he wouldn't be caught.
From his nose, the blood first dripped. It seeped into his eyes, making everything swim in a red haze. He only saw blurry things. He tried to inhale quickly, only to choke as blood slid down his throat. Desperately, he forced himself to slow down, the taste of blood coating his tongue until it filled his mouth, so much that he had to learn to breathe slowly; his heart beat faster as if it was about to explode. He could taste his own blood, but it was bland… even the taste was bland. His skin grew pale and clammy, the heat leeching away with every drop of blood pooling beneath him.
Luckily, he just broke the lock and pushed the door open at that time.
It was unusual to have a group of soldiers waiting there in a small room like that, suddenly rushing to attack, but Luca just smiled. He had already guessed it. The others were about to use their strength and chant the Rume spell, but Luca took out a small bottle and used his hand to wipe the blood flowing down his face.
He used his hand to cover his nose. At the same time, he used his right hand to pick up the bottle and used his right thumb to open the lid. A lot of smoke appeared, and he endured a little more pain to close the door. At this moment, the soldiers with their burning strength suddenly stopped and covered their noses. Luca understood that if they wanted to do something, they had to chant the Rume spell, but if they just opened their mouths, the smoke would rush in and they would faint. Luca also made sure to block the way so no one could escape.
1 and a half minutes passed…
The smell of herbs filled the room, and in the group, almost everyone wanted to faint, and Luca was not to be outdone. He kept holding his nose and remained silent, but the soldiers attacked while holding their breath.
Luca still dodged because neither side could see anything, so the attacks were a bit haphazard, but some still hit Luca, causing him to be seriously injured, making him want to vomit blood from his stomach, and there were also small bruises on Luca's bones, possibly breaking some of his spine or ribs.
Suddenly, one of them was about to scream when he saw something that seemed very shocking and shouted.
But he was the first to faint from the smoke and did not even have a chance to shout what he wanted to shout, and his body was naturally flattened and pressed down as if by force until his body exploded, and blood splattered all over everyone present.
Luca and another stand there like everyone understands what happened except Luca, who freezes, still trying to think about what happened in fear as he looks at the body being blown to pieces. His breath slows down, a shaky hand touching his own face as if checking he's real.
2 - 3 minutes passed…
In the end, Luca was the only one left standing, surrounded by corpses like the soldiers before; he went to the bottle and covered it with the cap. The soldiers were killed by something; they all exploded, some screamed, some cried, some accepted their fate, but somehow they all died while he hadn't done anything.
Luca just looked and prayed for them and went back to work. He didn't open the door yet, because of that special box, he had endured what the door had brought before, so this was nothing. He wasted no time running to the special box. He didn't know what it was, but he still grabbed it and ran out, opened the door, and closed it very quickly.
After closing the door, he still couldn't breathe because the smoke was still outside. After all, it had been released when he opened the door. Luca was able to hold his breath for so long thanks to his parents in the previous world. Although it couldn't be like that in this body now, his knowledge was still there.
Luca checked again and saw that there was less than ⅓ left in the small bottle and sighed.
If I knew this, I wouldn't have done it and would have done less. It's too costly and wasteful. Just let them faint for a bit, and they'll explode.
Luca was afraid he was going crazy since he came to this world, and there was not a single moment when he could rest normally, but it was okay, let's just consider this a nightmare. It was a waste of time for Luca to use his knowledge to mix vinegar and ammonia to create a reaction that produces ammonium acetate salt and volatile ammonia vapor.
If combined with the vapors of strong-smelling herbs and inhaled in a confined space, the mixed odor can become overwhelming, causing difficulty breathing, irritation of the nose and throat, stinging of the eyes, coughing, giddiness, nausea, and eventually fainting due to shock or the body's response to escape the irritant.
It was a perfect medicine to fight against soldiers, at least that what he thought.
Luca knew that the senses of those with powers were more sensitive than normal because on his first day in this world, he had met two, no, three people who used magic or something with the word Rume.
In the dark, they could still dodge and chase each other, not to mention the person who threw him could throw accurately from such a long distance. So the medicine must have worked. He even thinks that.
I'm so smart… I think I'm a little narcissistic, but I'm sure it's okay. I hope I don't encounter anything scary while stealing, and this is a Church. What kind of ghost is stupid enough to hide in here?
Luca just sobbed, the childish thought that perhaps the secret he was about to find and steal from the church could change his life forever. Luca looked at the door where the men and women desperately begged for forgiveness before nothing was left, but their internal organs exploded along with the bodies in pools of blood, and the skin and bones sticking out in the room behind the door that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He wanted to vomit right away, but for the future, he had to hold back.
Luca just shook his head, went to the corner where he kept his old clothes to breathe a little, then, after calming down, he put the special box aside with his old clothes. He went to the big door on the right.
The door on the right was really big, but back to the story, he came to the doorman or soldier with blood stained uniform, breathing continuously, and looked at the other two soldiers.
"Over there... a thief beat up everyone…"
Luca hugged his arms and looked at the two soldiers with a face full of blood, making them believe without hesitation. Luca also knelt and hugged the leg of the soldier with the key right at his waist. He breathed faster and then shed tears.
"I can't take it anymore, please avenge me... protect it…"
Luca took advantage of the fall to grab the key and hide it in the sleeve of his soldier's uniform. Luckily, they didn't turn on the lights, or else Luca's face would have been exposed. The other two soldiers heard 'it' and immediately ran to the small door. Luca stood up immediately after they disappeared, opened the door with the key, and went in.
Inside, there were many old scrolls displayed everywhere. Not knowing which one to choose, he couldn't carry them all, and now he couldn't read them all, so Luca took the coin and held it up to his eyes, and through that hole, a scroll caught Luca's attention.
A scroll alone in an area. Luca just started to hear footsteps again, so he just jumped up and took it quickly, and was a bit greedy, so he took the ones around and ran out, threw the key down, and went into a corner to hide there waiting. They were very tired, and they probably opened the door inside containing the special box.
"Where the hell is that guy!"
"Find him quickly, or we will die in the old man's hands!"
They split up to search, but Luca wasn't stupid and just as he thought, those two came back a few more times and a few guys with tired faces like they had just solved a fire outside also came in to help and complained to the other two while they were distracted Luca ran back to the left corner where his stuff was and took them.
He hid in the corner again at night, so he had to take advantage of it. Luca sat there breathing heavily, rubbing his temples, and opened the papers to read one by one while the others searched for him relentlessly.
There were many strange things written on the papers, but luckily, when using this body, he still understood the main language of this world; he just couldn't read ancient Rume. But he didn't have much time, so he only read the oldest paper, the one he saw first through the hole of the coin.
< Summoning Recipe X-XX L1: 2 candles covered in stardust, 100 ML of god's blood, 2 flaming flowers, and ice flowers, 1 gram of fairy dust/laughing dust, 1 god's guiding thread, and a laughing demon's mask>
Why is it so blurry below? And what is X-XX..
Luca rubbed it with his hands or did anything, but it was still blurry, so he gave up and put it back in his bag and snuck in through the small door while they were busy looking outside. Luca was in the church's material warehouse and sighed, now he didn't even know what was what anymore...
Luca went around looking for everything on the list he took 2 incense sticks from the cupboard then took a bag of stardust in a small jar then came to two flowers he stopped.. how to get it.. sigh Luca took a bucket then endured the burn and freezing when he carefully put it in as long as he didn't touch the flowers it would be fine.
Then came the fairy dust and laughing dust.. he didn't know which one to take but the laughing dust was closer but when he held it he kept laughing but he didn't care much so he put it in a small box and put it in his pocket last was the magic thread but he couldn't find it so he stopped Luca came to a mask half of which was a smiley face the other half was a sad face not sure if it was right but he picked it up anyway.
When he finished, Luca went to smash the window glass, causing the other guys to run to the window to check. He ran back to the back door, shocking them and chasing them. Then he threw the bottle out, which was the smoke bottle he used to make them stop. Luca called it 'suffocating smoke', but in fact, there was nothing left in it, just a little bit of smoke left that made them dizzy. At that moment, like a super thief, he ran away quickly and lost them. He didn't want to kill more people, so this may work.
Just got home, it was almost midnight, just entered the house, slammed the door, and lay down right there. His body was sore from running, dirty from dust, and he had bruises around and dried blood on the shirt he stole.
Some of the cuts from breaking the glass were still stuck to the soles of Luca's shoes, and the body with another person's blood still on Luca's clothes. Luca didn't have any strength left. His body looked as if he had been mercilessly tortured by him; his face was now full of cuts.
Luckily, there seemed to be very few people in this area with superpowers, or were they not there? Or was it just luck...
After sitting for about 10 minutes, Luca calmed down and then scooped all the glass pieces into the trash and went into the room. He didn't know why, but maybe because he was too tired, he forgot that he was afraid of the dark. But whatever, he took out his guard uniform, washed it, put on his old clothes, and then used detergent to wash his bloody face.
After finishing everything, he calmly went to bed and sat down to stretch. Luca had to bandage it, but the bandage was too expensive, so he just ignored it. He would get used to it, and there was no reason to buy it.
Luca walked to the desk, pulled out some papers, turned on the oil lamp, and started reading each one. He put the summons paper aside to read last.
Sheet number 1 and this sheet are a little shorter than the others:
< Each God possesses unique and powerful abilities that can be harnessed by the 'players'. To strengthen these powers, one must first establish a connection with God. This can be done through various methods. By borrowing power from the Gods, connecting with the Gods, 'players' can access and utilize the Gods' abilities and strength. This power is only available for the time being and cannot be kept permanently - By the forgotten prince >
Borrow power? Not forever? What the hell is that written in it... and it's written in ancient Rume too. If I don't use a book to find the meaning, then when will I know? Oh my god, who steals things from a church like me? That's a despicable act. But the word 'player' sounds interesting.
Luca sat with his fingers continuing to tap the wooden table continuously as he took out the remaining two scrolls and read.
Paper number 2 - 3:
2 < Information: 01-01-XXXX >
< My adventure began the day I was freed from the dark place, and I was free. The world is so mysterious. I have been everywhere; it is true that everywhere, no place is left out, but there are still some places I cannot reach. Is it because of that person? The only person who is still against ****, I both understand and do not understand why that person tries so hard. Sometimes, letting go is a smart choice. If only I knew… >
< But **** is not that difficult, perhaps for a **** like me, it is much simpler. But I wonder if that person will appear next time at ***? >
Huh..!? What kind of flyer is this? It's full of holes and only covers important information. It's so fucking annoying! And why do they keep covering up the year? It's written in short sentences. Wait, it seems like this is written in English. Huh. I don't understand why English is here… but luckily it's not in another language, or I'll be…. nevermind .. well, not time to think about that.
3 < D-25 L1 Summoning Recipe: A normal teddy bear, 2 grams of stardust, 1L of D-class monster essential oil, 10 ML of god/angel blood, pieces of nightmare glass. Dream music. >
< => How to perform the ritual: put the teddy bear in the middle and use the god/angel blood to draw a circle around the teddy bear, pour the remaining blood onto the teddy bear in the middle. Then you can start by taking a bowl containing D-class monster essential oil and apply it to the pieces of nightmare glass, rub it evenly until it disappears, and remember to wash your hands after finishing. When chanting the spell, turn on the dream music. If you accidentally fall asleep while doing it, you will fail and fall into a permanent sleep, so remember to stay awake. <= >
< Sweet Dreams,>
< Who dances within the hazy haze, >
< As I lay my head to rest. >
< Through the veils of slumber, >
< To where true purpose hides. >
-In Rume (language)-
Luca just shook his head and sighed. In his hand, he had four scrolls, two of which were about the summoning ritual, one that explained how the power worked, and the other was a piece of information written in English, but some of the information was torn off. It was really bad, and finding a way home was going to be difficult. It wasn't going to be easy, but maybe staying here would help him find the home he'd been looking for?
Luca simply took out the last page and read it this time to see more clearly:
< X-XX L1 Summoning Recipe: 2 candles covered in stardust, 100 ML of god's blood, 2 flowers of fire and ice, 1 gram of fairy dust/laughing dust, 1 thread of god's path, and the mask of the laughing devil. .>
< => How to perform the ritual: Use your blood to draw a large circle, then in the middle is a square in God's blood, then in the middle of the square is a triangle in God's blood. In total, 4 flowers are placed in the four corners of the square in the order of fire above ice below. Then take out two candles with stardust, sprinkle stardust on the candles so that it surrounds them like a shirt for the candle, then light the fire. Use fairy dust/laughing dust to sprinkle on yourself and tie your hands and feet with the thread of god's path and wear the mask of the laughing devil - Warning: Do not laugh, if you laugh, you will die, if you do not draw exactly as instructed, you will summon something else<= >
< Greatest creature of all, >
< Grant me the wisdom, >
< The threads of Fate's design. >
< From your subbornate, I pray, >
< A vision clear, for the life's display. >
-In Rume (language)-
Who wrote this? And in English, too confusing but interesting.
Luca was silent for a while. He was scared, although not as scared of spiritual things, but still scared of death; now he could only rely on the special box, hoping it had something useful.