Adam looked up at the sky for a while, but he certainly couldn't see anything in the dark sky. The anomaly he did notice was that the island seemed to be illuminated by moonlight, but there was no moon in the sky, or at least he couldn't see it. So he asked the wizard:
—Is there a moon, right? How many magical books do I need to read to be able to see it?
—No idea, there's no fixed number of books to read for that— David replied while smoking —Just pay attention to the important numbers; otherwise, yes, there's a very beautiful moon in the sky.
—What are the important numbers?— Adam asked.
—There are only three relevant numbers in the library: 5, 18, and 0— David answered calmly —But 0 is represented as 69 in our religion. I would advise you not to reach 69 magical books read without disciples.
—So, are there fixed numbers or not?— Adam replied with doubts.
—Each magical book gives you a quite random amount of magic— David commented, watching as the campfire's flames grew weaker —So I couldn't give you a fixed number to see the moon.
Adam looked at the fire about to extinguish, but he didn't want to miss this unique opportunity, so he continued asking hurriedly, not wanting the attack to interrupt his golden chance to inquire about the wizard's religion:
—Then what's special about those numbers? Why aren't religions known as a way of life? I always had that question.
The ancient wizard took advantage of the little remaining fire to light one last cigarette and calmly answered, looking at the beach shore:
—If you read 5 books, you'll be able to start talking to the books. If you read 18 magical books, you gain other senses. With 69 books, you gain another life. As for the rest, you know the answer; you just didn't reflect on it: a path doesn't change the world, but a religion does. Your world changes when you advance in a religion. Your perception of the world changes.
—Another life...— Adam murmured in astonishment, looking at the campfire. The fire was about to go out, and the laurel branches became increasingly obvious as the burning wood regenerated and became freshly lit logs.
—Almost there...— the ancient wizard murmured —You can hear some movements in the water; it seems that the king of the oceans is the one who wants us dead in this story.
Adam concentrated on listening, but he couldn't hear anything at the moment. The old wizard looked at the fire about to extinguish and said:
—Remember not to disturb the king in the past, or he'll send more men to kill us in the next past. Just let them kill you in the first wave... Another clue is that it's a king; we can't fight against a king. We have to escape this island to complete the adventure...
Adam nodded, but he doubted greatly whether he would have the courage to blindly follow the advice of the ancient wizard when the advice was to die quickly. It was then, while Adam was contemplating what to do next, that some noises began to be heard from the direction of the waves.
*Scruish*...*Scruish*... Adam looked at the coast, and four humans were emerging from the water. The campfire had extinguished, and now they looked like logs ready to burn.
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The four humans moved quite erratically, and every time one of their joints moved, it made a crunching sound, creating the strange noise. It seemed as if their joints were made of rocks and creaked every time they tried to move any part of their bodies.
The four figures seemed to be quite slow, so it took them a long time to reach the beach shore. During their slow walk, Adam became increasingly nervous as the people pulled their bodies out of the water.
The bodies of the four individuals were naked and had wrinkled skin as if they had been in the water for hundreds of years. Moreover, their bodies seemed to be covered with crustaceans stuck to their skin.
The four wrinkled men carried rusty swords, which seemed so broken that Adam doubted they could really cut anything. But what drew the most attention was the erratic movements in their necks, hands, and even the fingers of the hand that wasn't holding the sword.
The sword in their hands was swung randomly, as if the bodies of the four individuals were being controlled by someone else with great difficulty, barely managing to move them forward.
—If they're that slow, escaping and killing them would be a piece of cake— Adam said, watching the four men approaching at a tortoise's pace —I doubt that even sitting down, they could manage to kill me. They can barely hold those swords.
—The key is for you to be killed now, remember what I told you...— David replied calmly. However, as he said that, some kind of black liquid came out from the soles of his shoes. Adam didn't notice this because he couldn't take his eyes off the four naked men.
The ancient wizard, seeing Adam stunned by the approaching men, continued explaining his idea:
—This isn't a magical book that is resolved just by fighting; few of them are. You have to think and solve the lesson that the book is trying to convey. Sometimes the best thing to do is to ignore the banal story told in its pages.
*Scruish*...*Scruish*... The men were just a few meters away from Adam and David. At this point, both of them could smell the stench of rotten fish coming from the four men dragging their feet towards them.
Adam covered his nose with his robes, feeling like he was about to vomit due to the terrible smell of rotten fish emanating from these four corpses. But the young hero resisted the fear of death; although the old wizard had told him that to survive the book, he had to die, there was still a part of him that refused to sit and wait for his death.
*Scruish*...*Scruish*... The four men were just a few steps away from the extinguished campfire; their close proximity made Adam's fear erupt, and he wanted to run away. But the young man restrained himself from moving, seeing that the ancient wizard next to him remained silent, smoking his last cigarette during the entire slow walk of the four corpses.
*Wush*...*Wush*... The rusted swords swung erratically through the air, sounding close to Adam. Upon hearing this, the frightened young man couldn't take it anymore and tried to stand up. However, he only now realized that he couldn't move his body; it was as if he were glued to the log he was sitting on.
In desperation, Adam looked at the trunk and realized that a black, oily liquid was constantly flowing from the old wizard's shoes. The liquid was gripping his waist, sticking his butt to the trunk. However, Adam couldn't even feel the weight of the liquid; it was as if the air had taken on color and was now grabbing him, although the liquid looked like oil.
—...— Adam tried to say something, but when he opened his mouth, the black liquid jumped from his waist to his mouth, entering his throat. Adam cried out in despair as he watched the ancient wizard look at the sky, smoking and paying him no attention, as if seeking to ignore him.
Every time he tried to utter the magic words to escape, more black liquid entered his throat. Strangely, the liquid had no taste, texture, or smell; it really seemed like black air, but it looked like oil.
*Wush*... A sword's swipe grazed the frightened Adam, causing his cheek to bleed. Feeling the pain, the young man, more terrified than ever, made one last attempt to say the magic words.
But as soon as Adam opened his mouth, the black liquid from his waist stopped sticking him to the trunk and instead catapulted him towards one of the walking corpses.
*Wumm *... Adam was thrown towards the sword of one of the corpses.
*¡Haaaaaa!*... Adam's open mouth went right onto the sword, causing the blade to go through his throat completely. Adam tasted the rusty sword and his own blood, along with an unbearable pain that made him lose consciousness.