章 34: Objects
It was well into the night, and considering it was Saturday, it was normal for the city's nightlife to be in full swing. Whether young or old, one could see both, resting from either classes, jobs, or even both at the same time.
With their days usually filled with responsabilities, it was only on weekends that most people could take a break from their routine.
However, that could not be said for everyone.
While a good percentage of people in the city were enjoying their free time, there were certain groups of people who preferred to continue to maintain the same routine as on their weekdays.
"...Then, with his grace and wisdom, we will be guided to that truth which has been hidden from us..."
In a good sized locale that formerly served as a warehouse, a considerable number of people were gathered, exceeding by a good amount the hundred, filling almost the entire space of the locale.
This venue was not really special, but thanks to these people, it had been changed from its original warehouse look to become a meeting room of sorts.
With rows upon rows of folding chairs, and a rustic but sturdy podium, they had managed to change the warehouse almost completely.
This was proof that while they were not as numerous, the people gathered here were willing to strive to improve conditions for the group to which they belonged.
"Hidden by those who of old, despising the grace of that one, jealous of the grace of that one, turned him away from us."
The man at the podium was preaching for the people gathered here, speaking in a tone of voice that while calm, contained real emotions.
His attire consisted of a white robe with red lines that concealed the figure of his body, while his face was completely uncovered, revealing a middle-aged white man, with a simple face but a gaze filled with a strange wisdom.
In contrast, the people they were preaching for were the opposite, with only their faces being covered but their attire being those they wore on a day-to-day basis.
"They took him away from us!" the man shouted.
""They took him away from us..."" Repeated the other people in unison.
This was but part of their regular meetings they had, with the believers listening to the preacher's words and participating in the prayer.
Just as every day, this routine was faithfully practiced by the believers, who despite the monotony, continued to attend without fail.
One could say that they were driven by faith, truly believing in the causes that had brought them here in the first place, willing to follow this path for a long time to come.
This kind of motivation was a difficult thing to achieve even for an individual with exceptional charisma, often taking years to achieve a similar kind of result.
But in this case, barely half a year had passed since the founding of this group, indicating that whoever had formed it was not only someone exceptional, but that he knew what he was doing.
Although more than his words, more than his dedication, what had allowed him to come so far were certain objects in his possession.
Open on top of his podium was a leather book with signs of burning, on which the beliefs of this group were based, but which only the preacher had read in its entirety.
The book described events that happened in a forgotten time, with protagonists whose names had long since ceased to exist, and while no records of this could be found in any other source, anyone, upon hearing these facts, instinctively knew it to be true.
And in this case, it was that truth that appealed to people.
However, to make them stay, just the truth wasn't enough, to make the hooks of truth consolidate into chains, he had to show facts, and that's where his second possession came into play.
Swoosh!
A rush of wind blew through the interior of the warehouse, chilling those present on contact, but also causing them to lean back in their chairs or even stand up to watch the preacher.
"You have pushed him away, but we, following your infinite plan of wisdom, will draw him close again!" Said the preacher as the necklace he wore gave off a red glow.
"!"
Immediately, an aura of fervor spread in the warehouse, coming from none other than the preacher, who now looked like a completely different person.
"From that world, we will be the ones to bring him back."
---
At the same time, in Noah's room, the young man was in his bed, resting after having spent the entire day working out and adding new information in his notebook.
Normally he would do a review, but because he didn't really add much, he would wait until he had more content before doing so.
Instead, he was thinking about what course of action he should take with his new base in the mirror world.
Although when he was in the mirror world he only thought about the benefits he would receive, now is when he had to take everything into account.
'The house is huge inside, I could do it fast but I don't even know what's inside, so it might get dangerous really fast...' He thought.
The target he had chosen for his base was large, so much so that for a single person like him, it was more space than he needed.
And what was more, was that he had to check every nook and cranny of the complex, and not to look for secrets or weapons as he first thought, but to find out if there were any mirror world inhabitants inside.
In the case of the latter, what he would do would be to see what kind of monster it was, and if it was unknown to him or presented strange abilities, then he could do nothing but retreat.
As for confronting it, he would do so if necessary and most importantly, possible, but it was not something he wished to do so soon.
After all, every single confrontation he had had with the mirror world's inhabitants had ended with him badly injured and even half dead.
He needed to become stronger to avoid this kind of outcome and was working out how to help with that very thing, but it was a process that was undoubtedly going to take time.
As for the system, although he had gained more information about himself, he still didn't have a concise way he could use it to become stronger, continuing to rely only on its graces.
"...Hm."
However, at that moment, the young man had an idea, for which he quickly got up from his bed and went to his closet.
Inside it, hidden among clothes, were two cardboard boxes, containing nothing but his finds from his neighbor's house in the mirror world.
Because he couldn't just keep the things anywhere in case his mother found them, he decided to store them in a slightly more secluded place.
Noah then grabbed the box and pulled it out of the closet, placing it in the floor space between his bed and desk.
After that, Noah pulled out two of his t-shirts and wrapped his hands with one of them while he placed the other on the floor, acting as a mat.
The next moment, he began to take out the objects from inside the box.
First were the wooden candles, then a glass jar with scorched pieces of wood and finally, very carefully, Noah pulled out the rope from the hanging that now looked normal.
These were the objects he had gained from his last visit to the mirror world, objects with seemingly normal appearances but which had developed strange properties thanks to an unknown ritual.
Although the drop of blood was missing, it did not belong to him, but to the woman of roses, so Noah did not touch it even though it was stored in another glass vial in his box.
As to why he now had glass jars, it was because the woman had advised him that it was better to use these if he wanted to preserve the purity of these objects.
The reason why the young man had taken out these objects at the time he thought of how to increase his strength was simple to understand.
Since doing it on his own was going to be something that would take time, for the time being the only thing left for him to do was to borrow strength.
In this case, the strength would have to come from these objects, whose properties had been described by none other than the system itself.
Using yet another of the invisible lines on his arm, the last one, Noah discovered that one of these reacted to the objects he was holding.
All he had to do now to read the information from these objects was to hold them with his right arm and have Noah touch the twentieth line.
__________________________
Longevity Candles: After being exposed to large amounts of miasma, the candles mutated into exceptional materials. They can act as replacements or enhancers for ritual circles.
__________________________
Confirming the information about the candles with that of the woman of roses gave him, Noah considered this item as something he could not use to attack directly, but used in the right way, it would undoubtedly be very helpful.
Next was the jar of ashes from the broken chair, filled almost to the brim.
While this item had arrived in the form of charred pieces of wood, after the recommendation of the woman of roses, Noah had crushed them to the point of turning them to ash.
Holding the jar and pressing the line in his arm, another window of information appeared on his arm.
__________________________
Withered Ashes: Once an artifact that summoned a darkness that consumed the invader's mind, now in its ashen state it continues to bring physical decay to whatever it touches.
__________________________
The use he could make of this item was one that Noah might consider a trump card, for in its current state, the ashes were no different than poison.
While he would have liked to have been able to use the darkness of the chair, he hadn't lost out either, as it was as if the mental damage it could do before had been reversed to physical damage.
And even though Noah had a mentality of trying things out on his own, he was going to take the system and the woman's word for it this time, as he really didn't want to poison himself just to prove it was true.
Finally, the last remaining item was the rope of the hanged man, something Noah considered the most dangerous item he had found so far and that which would increase his strength directly.
__________________________
The Hanged's Rope: Made to ensure the suffering and imprisonment of its creator at all costs, it continues to fulfill its function even after his death.
__________________________
Although the system had been ambiguous with its words, it had given Noah the initial clues for him to begin experimenting.
Among its properties was its resilience and ability to burn on contact, which when combined with its property of clinging to whatever it touched, made it an object of great danger.
The only thing spared from these effects were inorganic objects, as even he himself almost fell prey to the rope when he first grabbed it.
So, with such an object at his disposal, Noah thought it would be foolish to keep it in storage instead of using it.
As for how to use it, there were several, but the young man had thought of one that would allow him the ability to change the way he used the rope whenever he wanted in addition to increasing his offensive capabilities at all times.
"Now, where did I put the bandages..." Noah said, getting up from the floor and heading towards the bathroom.
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