Chapter 83: Cain's Gift
A deathly gray world, this was my first feeling after stepping into Tristram. The entire Sky was a hazy gray, and the ground was also stained with a layer of dull gray. Broken stone walls, ruined Towers, fallen carved pillars and stone carvings, seemed to tell of its past prosperity, while the dry bones on the ground, the Blood-stained earth, and the mournful cold wind whistling past, were so heartbreaking—the fall of prosperity, the destruction of civilization, everything, everything, was accusing the sins of the Hell Clan.
The city was full of collapsed ruins and withered Tree Trunks. There wasn't a single Figure, no, perhaps that's not right. The Skeleton Archers hiding in the shadows, filled with jealousy and hatred, and vowing to destroy all living things, were very likely once members of this place.
After quickly circling the entire city, the first Quest Cain gave me was completed—Tristram had completely fallen, turned into a pile of ruins, and become a Paradise for Monsters. I hoped Cain could accept this Reality. With his Wisdom, he should have anticipated this Result long ago, but out of an old man's stubbornness, he was unwilling to give up even the last shred of hope.
Calculating the time, about half an hour had passed. Seeing that there was still plenty of time, I continued walking towards the city center, hoping not to encounter the former Paladin Cain had mentioned—Griswold, the most outstanding Blacksmith in the Rogue Encampment. After all, this wasn't a Game. With his Strength/Power, he might have already escaped back then and be living in seclusion somewhere. I prayed for this, truly not wanting this poor old man, Cain, to suffer any more blows. If he couldn't handle it and died, I would definitely have a miserable End.
But Reality is cruel. In the Plaza in the city center, that tall and sturdy Figure like a Giant Beast still came into my Gaze. His eyes were already cloudy and emitted a deathly aura. His entire Body was surrounded by a layer of black gas, a sign that he had been completely eroded and manipulated by the Power of Hell. His original Soul had long been destroyed. Even if the highest-level Angel arrived, there would be no other way than to purify him.
The completely fallen Griswold, aside from residual Strength/Power, had completely lost his other abilities. The erosion of Hell had granted him the ability to Curse. If one was careless enough to be hit by his Amplify Damage Curse and then struck by a punch, the fun would be immense. However, under the wheel battle between me and my Summoned Pets, he finally let out a cry of sorrowful release. His ferocious Appearance gradually softened, and his sturdy Body quickly withered, finally collapsing slowly like an old man finding release, with a Smile on his Corner of the mouth.
Griswold was not a Projection, so his Corpse naturally wouldn't disappear. Of course, there was no question of anything dropping. I looked at his Corpse, hesitated for a moment, and still threw it into my Inventory. Sweat... I didn't expect it, but the Inventory can actually store Corpses. This is truly too ridiculous.
However, when I accidentally saw the Stats of Griswold's Corpse, I almost spat out three liters of Blood.
Griswold's Corpse
+3 Strength
+3 Vitality
It turns out this Corpse was originally an Item similar to a Small Charm. Should I embezzle it? Forget it, it feels weird keeping it in the Inventory.
In the last few minutes, I finally stepped into the Teleportation Portal back, returning to the Stony Field. The red Great Door behind me closed shortly after.
When I returned to the Rogue Encampment and told Cain about the situation in Tristram, his Face instantly turned very pale. I hesitated for a moment, and finally, under Cain's disbelieving, even heartbroken Gaze, I took out Griswold's Corpse. Seeing his already pale Face instantly age by more than ten years, I truly felt a bit of guilt.
"My dear Wu, I am truly grateful for your Help/Assist. You have finally helped me fulfill a long-held wish."
After a long while, the tearful Cain raised his head and looked at me sincerely.
"It's nothing. Serving Lord Cain is my Honor. Please accept my condolences and move on."
I was almost crying too. Lord Cain, Grandpa Cain, please don't think of ending your Life. Otherwise, Akara and the others will surely skin me alive.
Fortunately, Cain seemed to have unfinished business and wasn't in a hurry to end his Life. He walked slowly into his House with weak steps, then busied himself inside for a while before taking out an exquisite Box.
"My dear Wu, I probably don't have anything on me that would catch your eye. The things in this Box have been with me since I was a young Scholar. Although they are not Divine Artifacts, I still hope they can be of some Help/Assist to you."
Cain gently stroked the Box, as if it were his own child, a hint of kindness showing in his sorrowful Gaze. Finally, he firmly handed it to me In Front of me.
Just the exquisite Box carved from black sandalwood was already quite valuable, and it even emitted a faint Magic Aura. OMG, could it be the legendary Divine Artifact inside? I accepted Cain's Box without any false modesty. Seeing his dejected and weary Appearance, I wisely chose to take my leave.
After saying goodbye to Cain, I couldn't wait to return to my Room in the Inn. I slammed the Great Door shut and pulled the curtains. Yes, I should also cover myself with a quilt. The Glow of a Divine Artifact is very dazzling, and it wouldn't be good if someone discovered it. Good things should be enjoyed alone first.
After everything was ready, I carefully opened this small Box. Weapon? Accessory? Set Piece of Clothes?
Uh... inside the Box was a black, soft-covered Book, a thick one. It looked like nothing out of the ordinary. Let alone a brilliant Glow, I couldn't even feel a trace of Magic Aura on the Book. However, with the Experience from Griswold's Corpse, I no longer dared to underestimate these Items that transcended the Game. I opened the Book and looked at its Stats, and sure enough, it was as I expected.
Cain's Book of Wisdom
+2 Skill Point
+10 Energy
+% Cast Speed
Although the Stats were still far from those of a Divine Artifact, I was overjoyed—I had been considering whether to allocate Attribute Points to Energy recently, and unexpectedly, I got this Stat. Cast Speed was even a Stat that Class Changers dreamed of, and it was a full %! This was enough to reduce the casting Speed of my current Molten Boulder by almost a second.
But how should I use it? Is it like a Small Charm, where it takes effect just by being in the Inventory? I tried putting the Book in my Inventory. Sure enough, my Energy immediately increased by 10 points. As for the +2 Skill Point, I opened my Skill Bar and saw that the available Skill Points had indeed increased by 2. So that's what it meant, an Item that adds Skill Points! This is a Stat only found on Unique Items!
Praise you, Cain!
However, since it condensed Cain's lifelong effort and essence, there must be something else inside. I took the Book out again, carefully opened it, and slowly flipped through it. Before long, my Face gradually became solemn.
I don't know how much time passed before I took a deep breath and rubbed my sore eyes. Looking at the Sky, it was already late at night. I had unknowingly read for over ten hours.
I carefully closed the Book and gently placed it on the Box that had the Air Isolation Magic Array set up. I closed the lid and then carefully placed it into my Inventory Space—it truly brought me too many surprises and shocks! Compared to the content inside the Book, its own Stats were nothing. This Book could truly be called a Book of Divine Artifacts.
The first half of the Book recorded the humanities, geography, and customs of Sanctuary. It could be considered an encyclopedia of Diablo, but these were not of much use to me, so I only skimmed through them. What was important was that it also contained most of Cain's life's research, including Gems, Runes, Classes, Skills, Equipment and Weapons, etc., which truly broadened my horizons. You see, I hadn't played Diablo for several years, and I had almost forgotten the content inside. But Cain's Book was like a professional Diablo website, covering everything. It even contained some strange Rune Words, which woke me up as if from a dream—as a former Diablo fan, I had even forgotten this! If I hadn't seen Cain's Book, I really wouldn't have remembered.
And in the last part of the Book, it described in detail the End War between the Demon Gods, and the process of the Sin War that plunged Sanctuary into war, much clearer and more thorough than what Akara had said, getting straight to the essence. Among them were unheard-of secrets, the mystery of Tal Rasha, and some secrets of the Angel Clan, all of which were touched upon, making me break out in Cold Sweat—it seemed that I, no, all Adventurers, and even the entire Sanctuary, had been drawn into a huge Conspiracy vortex. Presumably, those important figures also had some understanding of this. I wonder if they have any countermeasures. At this moment, I desperately hoped that the Wisdom of those Leadership figures could increase by several hundred or even a thousand points, allowing Sanctuary to escape this millennium vortex.
However, in the section about Tal Rasha, one term caught my attention. That's right, the Horadric Cube. According to Cain's speculation, the reason Tal Rasha was so Powerful, even able to contend with the Three Great Demon Gods in the End, was inseparable from this Box.