An April evening, eight o'clock.
Tokyo, Nerima Ward.
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
"Hey, you can see me, right?"
A hoarse voice rang out incessantly, like a fly buzzing by his ear. Lin tried his best to remain calm.
Inside, apart from irritation, there was only a constantly building rage.
As for fear and panic?
He'd felt them before, but now they were completely gone.
In his field of vision at this moment,
a humanoid figure over two meters tall, wreathed in black miasma, was chattering away in front of him.
Its body was leaned forward, hunched over.
It had thick limbs and long arms.
Its five fingers were shaped like pitch-black claws, about twenty centimeters long.
Four eyes, gleaming with a bloody light, stared intently at Lin.
Its mouth was full of sharp, white fangs.
It paid no mind to the several passersby, as if its eyes were only for Lin.
Lin's face was expressionless.
He acted as if he didn't see it.
Carrying a bag of groceries from the convenience store in his left hand, he walked toward his home with steady steps.
His body passed straight through the other being.
It was as if the two existed on different layers, unable to interfere with each other.
"Can you see me?"
The shadow monster followed beside Lin, like a reincarnated broken record, muttering nonstop.
A few minutes later, on a deserted street.
*Clang~~~*
It was as if an ancient bell had chimed softly in his ear.
The world came to a standstill at this moment.
Except for Lin, everything around him, the entire world included, had been put on pause.
"What is this?!"
Lin stopped in his tracks, a look of astonishment in his eyes.
A colorful stream of light appeared before him.
It then transformed into a book.
The cover was exquisite, with gold trim and beautiful patterns at its four corners.
Within it, dynamic scenes of mountains, rivers, the sun, and the moon flickered in and out of view, and within these changes seemed to be all the things of the world.
[Codex of All Things]
Relevant information surfaced in his mind.
Lin gradually understood everything.
This was indeed his golden finger, two and a half years late.
Ten days ago, he had a dream.
He dreamt of a book, and in that book were fantastical beings like gods, youkai, dragons, and angels.
He had this dream for seven consecutive days.
Two and a half days ago, he felt the world change.
But rather than the world changing, it was more like he himself had changed.
His eyes had become able to glimpse a more real side of the world.
For instance, this monster before him.
Besides this one, he had encountered five others in the past two days.
He was stuck with it, like stepping on chewing gum.
And the other monsters had all been torn to shreds by this one.
Lin focused his attention on the Codex of All Things.
The Codex opened automatically.
A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Because the first entry in the Codex was none other than himself.
The function of the Codex of All Things could be summarized in twelve words.
Collect Entries, Illuminate Entries, Obtain Rewards.
As long as he visually observed something of value, the Codex of All Things would record a corresponding entry.
He never expected that he himself would also be recorded by the Codex.
He checked the entry's information.
His entry had now met the conditions and was automatically illuminated.
Nickname: Lin
Level: Transparent (Special)
Description: Master of the Codex
Acquired: The Authorities of the Seven Kings
...
"The Authorities of the Seven Kings!"
Lin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
He had some impression of the Kings.
They came from the world of *K*.
In that world, it was the exclusive title for the seven individuals who stood at the apex of all ability users, far surpassing any others.
Each and every King was a being who could be called a humanoid nuclear weapon.
Perhaps their destructive power didn't quite match up.
But the Sanctuary deployed by a King possessed a defense strong enough to withstand the blast of an atomic bomb head-on without a scratch.
Glancing at the shadow monster that had been following him for two and a half days, Lin had no time to think about anything else.
The urgent priority was to integrate the abilities.
"Codex, integrate."
With a thought, his vision blurred.
Lin found himself 'transported' to a vast, dazzling, deep-space cosmos, as if he had transmigrated again.
Beneath his feet was a massive stone slate.
It was covered in runic script, the markings looking as if they were naturally formed.
This was the source of the Kings' power, the Dresden Slate.
Seven streams of light of different colors flew upward from the slate.
Lin looked up.
He saw the seven streams of light transform into seven greatswords of different forms.
The Sword of Damocles.
The symbol of a King's identity.
The Swords of Damocles shed their light, which fell upon Lin.
First Kingship: Silver's Immutability.
Second Kingship: Gold's Fate.
Third Kingship: Red's Violence.
Fourth Kingship: Blue's Order.
Fifth Kingship: Green's Change.
Sixth Kingship: Gray's Protection.
Seventh Kingship: Colorless's Chaos.
The seven great Authorities awakened within his body.
Lin felt an immense power.
A long time passed in what felt like a single moment.
The next instant, back in the real world.
Lin, who had closed his eyes at some point, opened them.
A seven-colored glimmer flitted across his azure eyes.
"Right now, I seem to be terrifyingly strong!"
Lin clenched his right fist, feeling the surging power within him.
He glanced at the Codex.
The second page had recorded the shadow monster before him.
It was currently in an un-illuminated state.
Lin put away the Codex of All Things.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Codex's time-stopping power hadn't dissipated yet, a faint silvery-white light emanated from his body.
The Sanctuary power of the Silver King, capable of manipulating gravity.
His body floated to a certain height.
Raising his right hand, a crimson flame appeared.
This was the power of the Red King.
It manifested in the form of fire.
With his hand enchanted by flames, he brought it down.
Lin channeled his accumulated rage into firepower, viciously slapping the shadow monster across its large face.
With a crisp *smack*.
The crimson flames rapidly spread from the monster's crooked face, engulfing its entire body in the blink of an eye.
Then, everything returned to normal.
It didn't even have time to scream.
The shadow monster that had tormented Lin for two and a half days was incinerated by the flames, vanishing into a wisp of black smoke.
As the shadow monster disappeared,
the crimson flames also dissipated.
Greatly relieved, Lin couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Because of the shadow monster, he had been on edge for the past two days.
He hadn't even dared to sleep at night.
Fortunately, though his golden finger was late, it had arrived. He could finally rest easy.
He looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Lin didn't linger and headed toward his home.
Nothing happened on the way.
He didn't encounter any more beings similar to the shadow monster.
Near Shakujii Park.
Lin returned to his residence.
A three-story detached house with a courtyard, occupying three hundred and sixty square meters, it could be considered quite a 'large estate'.
The first-floor living room.
Looking relaxed, Lin plopped down on the sofa and summoned the Codex of All Things with a thought.
The second entry was already illuminated.
Nickname: Clawed Fiend
Level: Green
Description: Intermediate Fiend
Acquired: Medium Amount of Energy x10
...
"Intermediate Fiend..."
Looking at the Clawed Fiend's entry, Lin narrowed his eyes slightly.
It really was a fiend.
Just as he had guessed.
If he wasn't mistaken, the Clawed Fiend should be from the world of *Mieruko-chan*, which he knew.
He couldn't be entirely sure before.
This was because he had yet to encounter any familiar characters like Yotsuya Miko or Yurikawa Hana.
Having transmigrated two and a half years ago, he now had a certain degree of understanding of the world he was in.
This was a grand crossover world.
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