Chương 188: Chapter 174-Chosen Vacation... Again

.. Again Maybe I didn't die. It could have been a prophetic vision. Am I a Prophet? I think I've heard about them before. They see the future and… what usually happens to them? Gods, I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue. Anyway, this also might just be a hallucination brought on by the coconut I drank. It could have been a bad one. In fact, I could be hallucinating right now. Hopper smacks his neck.

"We should be getting close to where everybody else is. I'd say 10 minutes. We're actually making good time. I'm surprised you're so used to this landscape."

"Spend a whole month trudging through this, and you'll get good at it too."

"You've been in a place like this before? I thought you were a city kid."

"Well-" A sudden hint of danger comes from above. Ah, yeah, the Giant Python. If I remember correctly, it already ate by the time we got here. Creepy thing. Rather not see it. Hopper suddenly kicks me in the chest, sending me flying back. The open maw of the snake slams straight into the ground, missing me by seconds.

"Watch out! This thing looks hungry," He says as he draws his bow. Hungry? My gaze trails up the body of the snake to find the absence of a bulge. What in the fuck? If that was just a dream, then why is the snake here? If that wasn't a dream, then why hasn't it eaten? Ah, I can't deal with these thoughts right now. Drawing Stabby, I rush at the Giant Python. Its tail whips across the ground, clearing the nearby shrubbery. With my awesome self, I leap over it. Hopper fires an arrow into the eye of the Giant Python.

It hisses in anger and then leaps straight at him. Stabby in hand, I [Throw] him straight at its open jaw. Hopper slides right under the snake as Stabby slices through the mouth muscles, leaving it with a fully unhinged jaw. Ironic. The eye of the Giant Python narrows as it stares me down. A small chill runs down my spine. It leaps. I bring up The Chosen Blade. Hopper lets loose an arrow that pins it to the ground. I cut off its head. Giant Python LvL. 9 has been Defeated.

"You okay, CJ?"

"Yeah. Just fine," I [Lie] as I stare at the dead body. Something is wrong. Obviously. Maybe it has- A thunderous roar shakes the trees, sending a whole flock of birds flying away. I remember that roar.

"That must be the lord of the island that the brochure talked about. Let's get moving before we attract any more attention," he says, leading us towards where I know Daisy Hall is. That roar was supposed to happen when we met the snake. The snake was supposed to have eaten already. Were we too early? As the treeline gives way to the beach, Professor Stargazer comes up in a hurry.

"Thank Zeita, you're okay, Chosen One?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. Professor, does a mana wave mess with memories?" Professor Stargazer gives me an odd look.

"I'm surprised that you knew it was a mana wave. I've never heard of it interfering with memory, although it is common for it to cause some discomfort. Are you having any memory problems?" she asks, looking me over.

"No. Let's just head over to Daisy Hall. I'm tired," I say as I walk towards the floating building.

"He actually read the brochure. I'm surprised," Hopper says.

"And he knew about mana waves. Maybe he does listen during class," Professor Stargazer says. Jumping up the steps, I open the door, surprising Penelope.

"Well, look who decided to finally show up," Penelope says with her arms crossed.

"We need to talk," I say as I pull her into a nearby room. Looking around at the room, I recognize it as mine. A bed, a dresser, and the soothing dim light from the crystals on the wall. Okay, how do I start this? Should I tell her that I had a dream or that I died or… Gods, how do you even start a conversation like this without sounding insane? Am I insane?

"Charlatan… What do you need to talk about?" She asks, her voice smaller than usual.

"Listen, Penelope, I don't know how to say this, but-""Wait!" I suddenly stop as red dyes her Half-Elf ears. She takes a deep breath before fixing her already perfect hair. What is she doing?

"You may continue."

"... I need to tell you something, but you have to promise me it doesn't leave this room. Can you do that?" Penelope gives a small nod.

"I think I'm having… a really bad sense of deja vu."

"What?"

"I woke up on the beach, and I think I had a really vivid nightmare, but it didn't feel like a nightmare. It felt real. Hopper and I just walked through the forest and were attacked by a Giant Python. The thing is, I know that thing was there before. I knew that a mana wave was the reason for the teleportation mishap before the Professor even told me," I say as I try my best not to sound crazy. Penelope gives me a long blink before letting out a sigh.

"Tell me that again because it sounds like you're saying you had a prophetic vision."

"That is what I'm saying, but it didn't feel like a vision. Not like I've ever had a vision." Penelope looks me up and down.

"You're being serious. How much did you see?"

"The next month."

"A whole month. That can't be a vision. Visions are small snippets of the future given to Prophets. The longest recorded vision was thirty minutes, and that almost killed the Prophet who got it," she says as she grabs my face, seemingly looking for something. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Killed? How can a vision kill somebody?"

"Seeing into the future is extremely dangerous and taxing on the soul. To put it in a way you can understand, you're using a piece of your soul to connect to your future self. The longer the vision, the more of your soul you use. If the vision is too long, you may end up killing yourself. Are you sure you weren't poisoned?" Penelope asks as she checks my eyes.

"I'm sure. The [System] would have told me. Penelope, there's something else I haven't told you. That vision, or whatever you want to call it. It ends with me dying."

"How and who?" she asks without a hint of doubt.

"You believe me? I mean, I sound crazy."

"I know you well enough to know when you're lying and… I trust you. At least enough for you not to joke about something like this." Warmth spreads through my chest as Penelope gently pulls her hands away from my face.

"At the end of the month. On Hopper's birthday. My head was sliced clean off, and I don't even know who did it."

"Somebody managed to sneak up on you? I've never seen that happen."

"It's happened before. Prideborn didn't register for whatever reason, but that wasn't the case this time. I could sense this one, but I wasn't fast enough to even react," I say with a hint of fear. A knock echoes through the room right as Penelope was going to say something.

"I'm about to go over the rules. Would you care to join us?" Professor Stargazer says.

"Let's talk more tonight. Nothing bad happens today, right?"

"No. It's a normal night." With a nod, Penelope opens the door and heads out. If Penelope doesn't think you're crazy, then you're not crazy. Following her, I enter what feels like a mead hall.

"Welcome back, CJ!" Garus says as he eats his steak.

"Thanks, Garus. Congrats on getting your [Attribute-Skill]." Sitting down, I realize how hungry I am. Talon looks over at me and slams a large slice of ham onto my plate and slathers it in gravy.

"You look down. Meat will always turn that frown upside down," he says, giving me a hearty smack on the back. Penelope sits next to me and grabs a slice of ham from my plate.

"Can't have you taking all the meat now, can we?" With a clap, Professor Stargazer grabs the room's attention.

"Now that we're all together, it's time to go over the ground rules for…" Her words fade as I remember this exact scene from last time. This is going almost exactly like last time. Which means that if I keep this up, I will die. Ah shit! This means I have to go and grab The Holy Gem of Howard again. That's annoying. Well, at least there really isn't any danger until the end of the month. I'm sure things will be fine. In fact, with my knowledge of the future, I'm certain that they will be better than fine.

They'll be great.

"Now, did everyone remember to bring the supplies I told you about?" Professor Stargazer asks. The whole class nods as they start to pull out chalk, notebooks, and the rest of their supplies. Mindlessly, I go to pull mine out, only to remember that I didn't bring any. Penelope nudges me as she slides over a notebook and a box of chalk.

"Forgot, didn't you? You're lucky I brought an extra set in case I lost mine," she says with a slightly annoyed smile, brushing a drill away from her face. Damn it. Even the second time she manages to catch me off guard. Why does she have to be so…

"Thanks," I say as I mindlessly scratch my horn.

"For somebody who has seen the future, you sure are easily flustered. Tell me. Did you already admit defeat?" she asks with a cocky smile.

"Oh, please, Penelope. It'll take more than a lifetime for you to get me to admit defeat," I whisper.

"We'll see." Placing my bag on the bed, I look around. Even got the same room as last time. Before Penelope gets here, I need to think this through. Why is this happening? What even is this? Penelope said it's not a vision, and I'm inclined to believe her. Whatever it is has to have a cause. Could it be some sort of [Skills]? Hells, it could be a curse. Wait! Could it have something to do with The Holy Gem of Howzits? That would make some sense. I doubt something that powerful would be so easy to nab.

Not to mention it was Abrigon who wanted me to get it. That asshole is the type to leave out important details like that. A knock echoes throughout the room. Must be Penelope. As I go to open the door, I find… not Penelope. Veronica gives me a small bow. Oh, right. She did stop by on the first night to give me an extra set of towels. I had forgotten.

"Hello, Chosen One. I apologize for disturbing you, but I thought you might need an extra set of towels," she says politely.

"Of course. No problem. Thank you," I say as I grab the towels. She holds onto the towels as I grab them.

"Are you feeling sick?"

"Uhm. No?" I say.

"Apologies, I wanted to check. Have a nice day," she says, letting go.

"That was weird," Penelope says as Veronica walks away.

"I think she likes me," I joke.

"I'm sure she does, Charlatan." Penelope pushes into my room and plops down on the bed. Closing the door, I give Penelope a smile.

"What?"

"I've never seen you in your pajamas. Very you," I say with a shit-eating grin. Penelope looks down at her apple-patterned pajamas.

"I like apples. Have a problem with that?"

"None at all. I just find it very cute." Her Half-Elf ears are dyed red as she shakes her head in disapproval.

"Enough stalling. This predicament of yours is obviously the effect of a [Skill] or curse."

"I was thinking the same thing. It would have to be a powerful curse to affect me, though. I think it might have something to do with The Holy Gem of Hector that I found."

"The Holy Gem of Hector?" she asks in confusion.

"Oh, right. We haven't talked about this yet. You know The Holy Gem of Helen. The Saintess that helped The Chosen that Remained in sealing The Hope Devourer," I say in confusion.

"Do you mean The Holy Jewel of Heilig?"

"That sounds wrong, but sure. I think it might have something to do with this." Penelope gives me a frustrated sigh before plopping down on the bed.

"Saintess Heilig was the most powerful Holy magic user to ever grace this world. I wouldn't be surprised if her necklace could cause whatever this is. So, where is it?"

"Uh. Okay, we might have a problem. I don't really remember."

"What do you mean?"

"It was so long ago, and I found it by accident after a Giant Boar dragged me through the island." Penelope gives me a disappointed look.

"Great. At least we have a month to search the entire island."

"Don't forget we also have to stop whoever is planning on killing me."

"That too. Let's deal with it tomorrow," she says as she gets up and heads for the door.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Penelope stands at the door unmoving. Without looking back, she asks, "Did I… never mind." She leaves in a hurry before I can even say anything. What was that about? Things are already changing. Who knows what tomorrow might bring. Well, at least I know how to chant. Without much worry, I plop down on my bed and pass out.