Going back to his seat, Rocky opened the Book of Champions and began to absorb the contents with his photographic memory.
The book contained autobiographical life stories of three Champions of Gods, two of whom were already dead, while the third still roamed the world. The pages unfolded the tales of their lives, revealing triumphs, tragedies, and mysteries.
The first champion that the book covered was Borik, a champion of the nature God Junfred.
However, on the first page where the author of the book was giving an introduction of Borik, it seemed like Vladimir had written a note saying 'Useless', as he tried to warn any new readers that this part of the book was useless.
Curious, Rocky still glanced through it quickly as he tried to discern for himself as to whether or not Borik's tale was really useless.
As he read the book, Rocky found out that Borik's early years were marked by struggle and toil.
Born as an ugly and brutish miner in the northern iron hills, he had nothing but raw strength and a knack for brawling. He was feared among his peers but had little else.
He had never experienced intimacy with women before and was rejected by his childhood crush.
His fortunes changed, however, when Junfred, God of nature, chose him to be his Champion.
Borik awoke one day as a Climber with a golden glow emanating from his skin, the unmistakable mark of Junfred's blessing.
Word spread quickly, and Borik became a sensation overnight. Commoners flocked to see him, enchanted by his presence despite his coarse manners as he basked in the new found glory, indulging in debauchery, riches, and the affections of many who believed they would win favor with the gods through him.
He indulged himself in large orgies after every successful floor raid and narrated a few very disturbing scenes about how he broke his childhood crush that rejected him and killed her husband.
Each death weighed heavily on Elenion's mind. He blamed himself and sought solace in a mysterious phrase, "Vorithra Slyithen," which he believed was a divine prophecy warning him of betrayal.
Despite his attempts to find clarity, his grief deepened until he could no longer distinguish ally from enemy. He became withdrawn recluse, a shadow of his former self, and was ultimately struck down by an old teammate who blamed him for the death of his lover within the guild.
According to the author of the book, Elenion's last words were the cryptic phrase "Vorithra Slyithen." However, the author himself had no idea what it meant.
*************
The final section of the book covered the tale of the dragon champion Syrax, and was marked as 'IMPORTANT' by Vladimir for some reason.
Syrax, the dragon champion of Valacirca, became known as a formidable force in the realm.
Valacirca, the True Dragon God, was a primordial entity worshiped by ancient cults as the strongest creature to have ever existed in the history of the tower.
Syrax, who was a stout believer of Valacirca as a young black dragon was chosen for his unwavering loyalty and fierce nature, traits Valacirca recognized as ideal for a protector of his ancient dominion.
Syrax was granted power over the primordial flame by Valacirca, and through the years he became powerful enough to incinerate armies in an instant with his breath.
Being the only champion of the three mentioned in the book to still be alive, Syrax only answered very few questions for this book. However, the question that piqued Rocky's attention was when the author asked Syrax the secret behind his success and Syrax ominously smiled, replying "Vorithra Slyithen".
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter to celebrate reader CraftyProgamer05's birthday.
Please wish him in the comments for the same ///