NOVEL FROG CHAPTER 11 The Voynich Scripture
The fiery obstacle blazed on for what felt like an eternity, consuming everything in its path. At this point, Adam’s supply of wood and concentrated oil had diminished considerably, but the effort had been worth it. The steady stream of undead minions began to dwindle, their numbers slowly but surely decreasing. Adam’s original estimate of gaining around 140,000 Essence had been surpassed.
The reason for this was simple: the later waves of summoned enemies were of a much higher level than those that came before. As a result, the Essence yield was nearly doubled, bringing in far more than expected. These higher-level minions posed a more significant challenge, dealing more damage to the obstacle and showing more resilience to the fire. Adam, however, adapted, supplementing the flames with a relentless barrage of fire grenades and Firebolt spells to ensure the trap's effectiveness remained consistent.
Ultimately, no undead minion managed to pass through the fiery barricade.
After the final wave, Adam gained 150,000 Essence from the initial batches of minions. Then, from the last, stronger wave, he earned an additional 80,000 Essence.
A staggering total of over 230,000 Essence.
If Adam wanted to, he could easily level up from 19 to 50 in one go. To put this into perspective, in his previous life, level 50 was only reached by the top players about a week after the game's launch, following the completion of the first major questline. Yet here he was, just two days after the game’s launch, with the ability to reach that milestone before anyone else.
Minutes passed as the summons ceased, and the fire trap gradually extinguished itself. Adam stopped throwing oil and wood into the flames; the trap had served its purpose, and it was time to conserve his remaining supplies.
The hallway and the boss room were now filled with the charred remains of the undead. The necromancers could no longer resurrect their minions—their bodies were burnt beyond use, nearly cremated by the intense flames.
Now, all that stood between Adam and victory were the five necromancers.
Long before the last wave of undead had been extinguished, Adam had already devised his plan for dealing with the necromancers. His strategy revolved around the same two items he had used to decimate the undead horde: Potion of Haste and Concentrated Oil.
Potion of Haste
Description: Increases the drinker’s movement by 30%. Lasts 20 seconds.
Concentrated Oil
Description: When used as a flame source, the resulting flame is twice as intense. Not recommended for use on a regular lamp.
The necromancers, at their core, were a summoner class. With their summoned minions gone, their greatest strength had been neutralized. Adam didn’t even feel the need to level up before taking them on—his current state was more than sufficient.
He drank another Potion of Haste, feeling the familiar rush of increased speed coursing through his body, and readied a flask of Concentrated Oil in each hand. As an extra precaution, he prepared several Stun Powders, just in case he needed a few extra seconds to carry out his plan.
With the enhanced speed of Haste, Adam darted forward, sprinting across the enormous room that was nearly the size of a football stadium. His agility and high-stat physical build made crossing the distance a minor task. In no time, he was close to the first necromancer.
The necromancers immediately reacted, casting spells in a desperate attempt to stop him.
Dark Missile!
Dark Orb!
Mist of Darkness!
The spells launched toward him, but thanks to his heightened speed, they all missed, dissipating into the air behind him.
Adam wasted no time, hurling the first flask of Concentrated Oil at the closest necromancer. The flask shattered against the necromancer’s chest, and Adam smirked as the system notified him of the minor damage dealt.
[You have dealt 18 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 15.]
The other necromancers continued their barrage of spells, but Adam deftly evaded them, tossing more flasks at his targets.
Dark Missile!
Dark Orb!
[You have dealt 17 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 16.]
Dark Missile!
Corrosive Breath!
[You have dealt 16 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 17.]
The necromancers were casting offensive, debuff, and control-type spells, throwing everything they had at Adam, but their efforts were in vain. Adam's speed kept him ahead of their attacks, allowing him to douse each necromancer in oil in quick succession. In less than 15 seconds, he had drenched all five of them.
Adam could have taken them down individually, but he knew better. In his first life, players who fought the necromancers learned the hard way not to kill them individually. If one necromancer died, the others could resurrect it as a Pseudo-Lich, an even more dangerous form of undead capable of summoning a wider range of minions.
This particular lesson was one Adam remembered from a NewTube video. An independent guild had managed to kill two necromancers, only for the remaining three to summon them back as Pseudo-Liches, leading to a complete party wipe. The fight had been so devastating that the video only showed the guild fighting the three surviving necromancers—the rest of the battle was never published.
Adam was determined not to repeat that mistake.
With all five necromancers drenched in oil, Adam raised his hand and cast Firebolt.
Flames erupted as the fire engulfed each of the necromancers. Almost immediately, Adam’s system window lit up with damage notifications.
[You have dealt 69 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 15.]
[You have dealt 44 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 16.]
[You have dealt 40 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 17.]
[You have dealt 50 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 17.]
[You have dealt 45 damage to Necromancer Lvl. 18.]
The necromancers burned, their robes and flesh consumed by the fire. Their health bars rapidly depleted. Necromancers, being a summoner class, had low HP and little in the way of defenses. It wasn’t long before the first one fell.
[You have slain Necromancer Lvl. 15. You have absorbed 900 Essence.]
The others quickly followed.
[You have slain Necromancer Lvl. 16. You have absorbed 1050 Essence.]
[You have slain Necromancer Lvl. 17. You have absorbed 1210 Essence.]
[You have slain Necromancer Lvl. 18. You have absorbed 1210 Essence.]
[You have slain Necromancer Lvl. 19. You have absorbed 1400 Essence.]
The flames had done their job well. The necromancers didn’t even have time to cast another spell after being set alight. Adam grinned, feeling triumphant.
“Merry Christmas!” he said aloud, amused by his own success.
He had just soloed five bosses and hundreds of summoned enemies, something not even the top guilds could have done this efficiently.
With the necromancers defeated, it was time to check the loot.
Most of their equipment had been destroyed by the fire, but Adam could see a few items that had survived the flames. He dragged the remains of the necromancers to the center of the room and began looting in earnest.
The first necromancer, the level 15, left only a single item of note.
Ring of Mana Amplification
Description: A ring given to the members of the Dark Sun Cult.
Details: +100 MP, increases MP regen by 10%
“This is somewhat decent. A +100 MP boost is a huge help this early in the game,” Adam muttered to himself. While the ring was useful, he wasn’t particularly impressed. Given his 1:10 mana conversion, the extra 100 MP wasn’t as impactful as possible. He decided to sell it later.
Next, he looted the level 16 necromancer, who had also dropped only one item: a necklace.
Pendant of Flame Resistance
Description: A pendant crafted by a promising enchanter. Grants the wearer a level of protection from flames.
Details: Grants 15% fire resistance.
Adam raised an eyebrow. “So that’s why level 16 took less damage than the others.”
With his innate 10% fire resistance, wearing this pendant would increase his total resistance to 25%. It wasn’t immediately useful, given that few enemies in the catacombs used fire-based attacks, but Adam knew it would come in handy later in his journey through the catacombs.
Moving on, Adam looted the remains of the level 17 and level 18 necromancers simultaneously. What he found made his heart race.
Both necromancers had dropped a Page of the Voynich Scripture.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s really here!”
The Voynich Scripture, also known as the Book of Elixirs, was a legendary item. Each page contained alchemical recipes far superior to those known by modern alchemists, and its true purpose had remained hidden for nearly a year in Adam’s previous life.
Adam’s excitement was palpable. Of all the loot he had gathered—from enchanted rings to valuable Essence—nothing compared to the significance of these Voynich pages.
Page from the Voynich Scripture
Description: This is an illustrated codex, handwritten in an undeciphered script, attributed to a figure known as Voynich. Unlike other seers, Voynich possessed no knowledge of the future nor any divine insights. Instead, he was plagued by erratic visions of drawings and writings, none of which he could comprehend. Determined, he recorded every detail of these visions until they ceased. His contemporaries accused him of being a charlatan, dismissing his work as the ravings of a madman or a deceitful imposter. Eventually, Voynich was condemned for attempting to deceive his nation by claiming to be a seer. He was sentenced to death by beheading, followed by the burning of his body. The king ordered that Voynich’s writings be destroyed alongside him. However, while Voynich's body turned to ash, the pages remained unscathed.
Those involved in Voynich's execution—the king, the executioner, and anyone who had played a part in his death—perished mysteriously within the same day. It is said that over 200 people met this fate, each found with a page of Voynich’s writings on their person. In time, the country itself fell into ruin, and Voynich's Scripture became the sole surviving artifact of that forgotten realm. Today, even the nation's name has faded from memory, but the enigma of Voynich’s Scripture persists.
Details: The codex is thought to contain 240 pages. Its contents and purpose remain unknown.
The discovery of the scripture’s true purpose revolutionized the world of potion-making in Adam’s first life. Elixirs created from the Voynich pages granted permanent stat boosts, making even the best potions seem weak in comparison.
“I even got three pages of the same set! This just keeps getting better!” Adam could barely contain his excitement.
The pages he had found each bore a similar illustration—a cauldron with a figure boiling inside—indicating they were part of the same set. While Adam had a hunch about what kind of potion this set could create, he didn’t want to get his hopes up prematurely.
Still, acquiring three pages from the same set was an incredible boon. Adam just needed to hunt a few more necromancers to complete his collection.
After his euphoric discovery, the remaining loot seemed trivial by comparison, but it was still valuable. The level 17 necromancer had dropped another Ring of Mana Amplification, an upgraded version of the first ring.
Ring of Mana Amplification 2
Details: +200 MP, increases MP regen by 15%
He also found a Necklace of Vitality.
Necklace of Vitality
Details: +100 HP, increases HP regen by 10%
Both items were a welcome upgrade, and Adam equipped them immediately.
But there was still one final surprise waiting for him.
The level 19 necromancer had dropped a Necromancy Class Tome (Rare).
Necromancy Class Tome (Rare)
Description: Unlocks the Necromancer class. The user will start at a novice level.
Adam faced a simple but significant choice: use it or sell it.
In the expansive world of Pangea, players are given the freedom to master as many classes as they desire, a tantalizing prospect for those who seek versatility and power. However, this freedom comes at a steep price: the more classes one adopts, the more Essence is required to maintain and advance those abilities, not to mention the inevitable dilemma of distributing precious skill points across numerous class skill trees. The allure of acquiring new powers, though strong, often proves counterproductive, as skill points spread too thinly across unrelated classes may diminish a player's effectiveness.
For instance, a stalwart warrior could hypothetically delve into the dark arts of necromancy, just as a seasoned mage might take up the bow to master archery. Yet, such decisions often lead to inefficiency. A warrior's strength lies in melee combat and resilience, while necromancy, a complex and resource-heavy discipline, diverts their focus from their core abilities. Similarly, a mage attuned to the arcane would find that archery, though intriguing, draws vital points away from their spellcasting proficiency, weakening both pursuits.
Thus, players in Pangea would later come to the realization that the optimal path is to focus on mastering no more than two or three classes. By doing so, they can ensure their skills complement one another, creating powerful synergies rather than diluting their potential. For instance, a warrior who also trains in elemental magic can augment their physical strikes with elemental fury, or a rogue who dabbles in shadow magic can enhance their stealth and deception. Ultimately, a well-balanced set of complementary classes proves far more effective than spreading oneself thin across unrelated disciplines, a lesson learned by those who seek true mastery in Pangea.
In his previous life, necromancers had become one of the most feared classes in the game, capable of overwhelming enemies with hordes of summoned minions. The Korean professional gaming guild Hanjun had dominated international rankings thanks to their elite necromancers. Whenever a Necromancy Skill Book appeared at auction, Hanjun spared no expense in acquiring it, leading to their monopoly over the class.
Owning this skill book would make Adam the first necromancer in the game, giving him access to an immensely powerful class. Combined with his alchemy skills, he could master healing, poison, and death all at once. And with his Pyromancy, his offensive power would be unmatched.
If he pursued this path, he could rise to become one of the most formidable players in Pangea.
After weighing his options carefully, Adam made his decision.