Yue looked at Shin, a bewildered expression on her face, a silent question in her crimson eyes.
"Jiiii----," she murmured, her gaze unwavering, clearly waiting for an answer to the book's strange behavior.
Under her intense stare, Shin began to ponder the possible reasons why Yue couldn't flip beyond a certain number of pages.
Could the book also be a 'special case' like the knife? he wondered.
Shin decided to re-check with a simple experiment.
He flipped to an empty page, past the 2000-page limit Yue had encountered.
Sure enough, for him, the pages continued to generate. When he had Yue try to turn the page, however, it still showed nothing but the end cover.
Oddly, the moment Shin placed his hand back on the book, the next empty pages instantly appeared.
Based on this simple observation, Shin concluded: it seemed Yue could only access the pages that already had content, not the blank, unwritten ones.
To test this theory, Shin took a fresh drop of monster blood and, using it as ink, wrote a simple phrase in Japanese on a blank page: 「Hello world.」
The words immediately materialized on the page.
He then handed the book back to Yue.
Her eyes widened as she discovered she could now access this newly written page, adding one more page to her previous 2000-page limit.
Next, he tried another trick: he let Yue attempt to write on a blank page with monster blood.
But Yue's writing didn't stick; the monster blood, instead of acting as ink, just slid across the page's surface without leaving a mark.
This confirmed it: the book only allowed Shin to add content to its pages.
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it,"
Shin said to Yue, shrugging slightly.
"Hmmph, not fair,"
Yue pouted, her shoulders slumping, clearly dejected by Shin's response.
The mystery of the book's full potential remained locked to her.
After a long discussion about the peculiarities of all his tools, Shin and Yue finally concluded their impromptu session.
Yue, though not yet fully satisfied with the explanations, reluctantly agreed to Shin's request that they rest.
The day had been long, filled with intense battles and astonishing discoveries, and even their enhanced bodies—particularly Shin's, who had done a lot this day—needed proper rest.
**********
The two prepared for sleep.
Shin laid down a sheet made of monster hides and pelts on the cave floor, with a rolled piece of monster fur serving as a pillow.
He then lay down and, utterly exhausted, closed his eyes.
Yue, on the other hand, decided this was the perfect opportunity to tease Shin.
Shin, aren't you lucky, she whispered with a mischievous grin.
Sleeping next to a beautiful girl like me... She leaned in closer, continued whispering softly into his ear, trying to get his attention.
"Areh?" Yue was surprised.
There was no reaction from Shin.
Shin, too tired from the day's exertions, slept like a log.
He didn't stir, not caring whether Yue would sleep next to him or not.
Yue pouted, her shoulders drooped slightly, disappointed by Shin's complete lack of reaction. But then, a soft smile graced her lips.
She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around him, pulling his warmth against her.
She checked one last time, making sure this was reality, not another vivid, cruel dream of delusion.
With the comforting scent radiating from Shin, which reassured her that this was truly real, she finally rested comfortably after a long, long time.
Her deep sleep, free of the centuries of nightmares and false hope, was perhaps the most peaceful she had ever had.
"Hah— this girl," Shin murmured, waking up the next day.
"I ain't a hugging pillow, you know?" he added, looking at Yue, who was still sleeping peacefully, hugging him tightly.
Yue, sensing Shin's stirring, slowly opened her own eyes.
Her crimson eyes met his.
"Mmm, good morning, Shin~" Yue said, a sleepy smile on her face.
"Well, good morning, Sleeping Princess, mind moving for me? I can't get up to prepare breakfast, you see."
"No~, Five more minutes~"
Yue said, smiling mischievously and closing her eyes again.
"What are you, a student?"
Shin retorted, flicking her forehead to wake Yue up.
"Ouch!!! Uuhh~"
Yue finally woke up, rubbing her forehead where the stinging pain lingered.
"Shin is such a meanie!!" she added, finally freeing Shin from her grasp.
Shin stood up.
"Then what do you want to eat?" he asked Yue.
"Though mostly all we have is monster meat."
"Hmmm~" Yue pondered, then pointed her fingers at Shin.
"I want Shin for my breakfast~" she said with a bright smile.
Shin narrowed his eyes, seeing through her playful tone.
"To be clear, you want my blood, right?"
"Mrrmph, Shin is no fun," Yue mumbled, pouting as she was caught.
With that confirmed, Shin sighed.
He pulled out a piece of jerky, took a bite, then grabbed a bone knife.
He brought the crude blade to his arm, intending to draw blood for Yue.
"Hmmph, bad Shin," Yue said, stopping him from doing that.
"Are you telling me you will drink again from my neck? No way, you'll likely drink too much again," Shin said, recalling what happened last time.
"Hmmph, I can't help it. Your blood is just too good, Shin,"
Yue smiled, placing the blame squarely on him.
"Seriously, this girl,"
Shin muttered, his eye twitching.
Yue, meanwhile, just smiled at him with expectant eyes.
"Ha~ okay, okay. But,"
Shin sighed, relenting,
"if you overindulge too much, I will flick your forehead again."
He knew that while his recovery was fast, it likely wouldn't keep up with Yue's drinking rate.
He might be drained dry even before getting out of the Abyss.
Yue pouted at Shin, hearing what he said about her.
Though her actions contradicted her pout, she immediately went to Shin as he offered his neck to her.
"Can't you do it on my arm instead?" Shin asked.
"No, this way is more efficient." But Yue persisted; she wanted to drink from his neck.
Then, Yue drank his blood.
It was truly delectable!
Yue thought as she immersed herself in drinking Shin's blood, which had an unusual taste and a vigorous energy that permeated through her body.
This girl!!
Shin exclaimed in his thought feeling Yue's drinking became lively and intense.
"Oi, oi, stop, stop! You're drinking too much," Shin said, flicking Yue's forehead and gently separating her from his neck.
"Fufufu~" Yue, on the other hand, just teasingly smiled at Shin, playful and unapologetic.
Looking at Yue's expression, Shin sighed again.
"You won't be asking for this every day, right?" Shin asked, hoping to establish a clear boundary.
"Hmmm~, who knows~" But Yue did not confirm.
Seeing this, and factoring his recovery rate, Shin told Yue that she needed to give him at least a three-day interval before drinking again, since his body might not catch up on Yue's drinking rate.
"Mmm!" Yue nodded, then smiled at this, keeping from Shin the fact that she could actually refrain from drinking blood for a long time as long as she had magic power.
So, the three-day interval was a blessing for her, allowing her to indulge regularly without completely draining him.
"Looks like the breakfast preparation is cancelled."
Shin murmured as he just picked another jerky and chewed on it while looking at Yue's satisfied expression.
With breakfast settled, the two planned to tackle the floor boss, a large reptilian monster similar to a T-Rex.
With their preparations handled, Shin and Yue departed from the cave to face the next challenge the Abyss had for them.