294 Chapter 294: Trap of King Menes (2 in 1) (Edited)

Fawkes looked at Tom thoughtfully, with a very human gleam in his eyes. Today he had learned something very important. Fawkes wasn't going to tell the elder or the others: it was something good that should be kept close to his claws. With that in mind, he squinted his eyes, appearing indifferent to the matter, while secretly listening attentively to every word of the conversation.

After receiving Tom's affirmation, Menes asked, "And the Phoenix Nirvana, should you know about that too?"

Upon hearing these words, Fawkes's eyes almost widened in astonishment: how could this young boy know the secret of the Phoenix?

"Not exactly the nirvana, after the nirvana you become an infant, but the change in me would be better described as a resurrection."

Menes nodded, "That makes sense, so you have returned from the realm of the lost?"

"Exactly."

"Try to use that power in moderation in the future." Menes advised Tom. "Every time you go to Limbo, you separate your soul from your body, making the two less compatible, and when you encounter a creature that targets the soul, like a Dementor, this deficiency is magnified, and eventually the Dementor can get close enough to separate your soul from your body."

At that moment, the cat girl named Ancaya returned with a small tray and a sycamore branch. Tom placed Fox on the branch and took the tray from Ancaya. On the tray was a small clay cup, very simple and without any patterns, containing a thick, golden liquid.

Tom took the cup and took a sip; the syrup in the cup was so sweet that it seemed more like honey mixed with wine than actual wine. The cup was small and didn't hold much wine, just a sip, but Menes, sitting in front of Tom, seemed somewhat sorrowful as he drank it.

At first, Tom didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, just that the wine was sweet, even a bit boastful, like some dessert. The first sip was amazing, the second slightly unpleasant, and the third was boring. However, after a while, Tom felt an itching sensation in some parts of his body that grew worse, and he couldn't help but scratch himself, but it was in vain.

The itching even caused him to fall to the ground, writhing in discomfort. Hermione hurried to hold him and interrogated Menes, "What did you make him drink? What have you done?"

Menes put on a "hitting the nail on the head" expression, reclining on the cushions, watching Tom writhing. "I haven't done anything to him, which is good for him. Don't worry, I won't harm him."

After about three minutes, Tom felt the itching subside, so he sat up and looked at Menes. He needed an explanation.

Menes let out a "tsk" and lazily said, "What a lovely thing, helping you get rid of a flaw in your soul, and you don't appreciate it, tsk tsk..."

"Hmm?" Tom carefully felt his body, but he didn't notice any difference before or after drinking. If he had to say, maybe his body felt a bit more comfortable? It was like taking a hot bath.

"This wine was made by one of my priests back in the day, it's good for the soul, reuniting your soul and your body. The next time you encounter a Dementor, you won't be in a mess." Menes felt the need to explain, lest the two men be ungrateful.

It was clear that Menes was proud of the wine. "This wine, if consumed over the years, can even reunite divided souls... Do you have anything as good in your time, boys of the present age?"

Tom's eyes lit up when he heard that the wine had such magical properties. "So I can..."

"No." Menes didn't wait for Tom to finish his sentence, he simply refused.

"You can only have one glass, unless you stay here forever."

It turned out that in Menes' time cycle, supplies replenished to their original reserves the next day, but once the person who consumed them left the cycle, the supplies they had consumed wouldn't replenish. This was "conservation." For Menes, it was fine to consume the meat and wine he used to treat his guests, but this divine wine, of which he didn't have much stored, was enough to make Tom feel guilty for drinking a glass.

"So that's it." When Tom understood what was happening, he stood up and gave Menes a sincere bow of gratitude.

Menes waved his hand, kindly saying it wasn't a big deal because he liked Tom.

He clapped his hands and asked the servants to bring in the feast.

"Eat as much as you want," he invited Tom and Hermione to indulge in food and drink, "I have plenty!"

After finishing the main course and the cat woman approached with dessert, Tom took the opportunity to take out the gift he had prepared for Menes.

"A little something from our time, not precious but rare, see if you like it. We'll bring it to you next time if it's okay with you." Tom had wisely left a "hook" to set the stage for his next visit.

Naturally, Menes understood the meaning behind Tom's words, but he didn't mind, as he thought it would be nice for a young person to approach him. He was more interested in what the young man had brought him.

"Take it out quickly, I can't wait," Menes urged Tom.

"It's a popular treat from where we come from, it's called chocolate." Tom took out a box of chocolates from his bag and handed it to Menes. The chocolates for the pharaoh, of course, couldn't be small or ordinary, but he chose Godiva chocolates. It's a Belgian brand, the royal brand of Belgian chocolate since 1968, and is considered the most expensive chocolate, the Rolls Royce of chocolate. It wouldn't be an insult to gift Menes such chocolate.

Tom believed that Menes had probably never tasted chocolate before. It originated from Central and South America and was first created in the 16th century. The Spanish ground cocoa beans, added water and sugar to make a beverage called "chocolate." Solid chocolate wasn't invented until 1828, and even the word "chocolate" wasn't coined until 1300 when the indigenous people made a beverage with processed beans, calling it... When the word was coined... Menes had gone thousands of years without seeing chocolate.

Menes untied the ribbon from the outside of the box to reveal the black lining inside. Inside were twelve chocolates of different shapes and sizes, some dark, some white, and some black and white, six pairs in total. He took one of the round white chocolates with a very fine black thread, put it in his mouth, and chewed. A rich and creamy flavor emerged.

Menes slowly savored the chocolate in his mouth, savoring its delicate taste. Finally, he smiled in satisfaction. "A very tasty dessert, you can bring more next time."

Tom smiled and pushed a black gift box with the Godiva logo towards Menes, who opened it to find it filled with chocolates. The box was divided into two tiers, the top one containing chocolates of various shapes and sizes, and the bottom one, neatly arranged plain chocolates.

"Thank you." There was a glimmer of joy in Menes' heart. He had been a little bothered that the box of chocolates only had twelve and that he had to wait until the next day to replenish it after eating them. Now there were enough to enjoy.

Tom took the opportunity to tell a story about Godiva, the chocolate brand.

The name "Godiva" also has a touching story behind it. It is said that in the 11th century, a warlike count imposed heavy taxes on his people, causing them to suffer. The beautiful and kind-hearted wife of the count, Lady Godiva, witnessed the people's suffering and decided to plead with the count to reduce the taxes and alleviate the burden on the people. The count became furious and thought it was shameful for his wife to plead for the commoners. But Madame Godiva replied that the count would find the best in those people. So they made a bet, which the modern people might find hard to understand, that Madame Godiva would ride naked through the streets of the city, covered only by her long hair, and if everyone stayed indoors and didn't look at Madame, the count would announce a tax reduction. The next morning, the lady rode through the city on horseback, and all the people of the count's court honestly took refuge in their homes so that the lady wouldn't be disgraced. Afterwards, the count kept his word and announced a tax reduction for the entire city. This is the famous legend of Lady Godiva.

Menes reflected on the story and finally told Tom, "Has this count gone mad? After all this fuss, his wife parades naked in his own territory, he cuts his own taxes to expand his army, and in the end, his own wife receives the support of his people... It seems like utter stupidity to me."

Tom said, "Perhaps the Count enjoys it?"

Menes replied, "That surprised me."

In addition to the chocolates, Tom brought Menes ceramic tableware, teapots, storybooks, a bunch of trinkets, and a deck of cards. Yes, when you encounter the pharaoh, you have to play cards with him.

He handed the cards to Menes and told him the story behind them. It turns out Menes was fascinated by the story of the monsters on the duel cards and the seven-millennium artifacts.

"An ancient Egyptian artifact?" But to Tom's surprise, Menes took the fictional story seriously.

"I don't think I've ever heard of such seven things during my reign, nor were they invented by my descendants..." Menes rubbed his chin, and Tom was about to say that it was just a comedic fictional story when he was taken aback by Menes' following words.

"--But I do have a few alchemical creations that function similarly to this so-called 'Millennium Artifact.'"

Tom exclaimed, "What?!"

"But they are all quite dubious," said Menes as he instructed Ancaya to bring some golden artifacts.

"Look, this is the Balance of Equity. One side holds 'desire,' and the other holds 'price.' When they are equal, a deal is made. This necklace is somewhat like the mentioned millennium jewel; it aids priests in divination. And this... the scepter can be used to manipulate and enslave people, and these can pry into the inner world of individuals..." Menes went through the alchemical artifacts in front of him, and it was clear that he didn't use them very often. Some of the instruments were quite dusty. "I always thought that prying into people's hearts was quite cheap. Isn't this just a spell away?"

Tom remained silent. Indeed, ancient artifacts like the Millennium Eye and the Millennium Key could be deciphered by Legilimens wizards, and wizards had the Imperius Curse to achieve the effect of the Millennium Scepter...

Menes set the pile of gold aside and began to look at the cards Tom had brought, one by one.

"Haha! Let me try..." He grabbed two gold nuggets, placed his hands on them, then closed his eyes and meditated for a moment. The two nuggets transformed into two Duel Disks, and the tiles on the floor of the room turned into various-sized squares.

"Come, Yodel, let's play cards!" Menes tossed a Duel Disk to Tom and put the other one on his hand. At the same time, he also selected over forty cards and placed them.

Tom took the Disk, looked at it, and almost exclaimed: a Duel Disk made by Menes could be certified as a four-star alchemical artifact!

[Pharaoh's Duel Disk (4 stars): A magical Duel Disk that can shuffle and project cards.]

[Note: The right to interpret the cards belongs to the Pharaoh.]

And thus, the two engaged in a duel.

Soon it became clear to Tom what "the Pharaoh has the right to interpret" meant.

Menes: "I activate the trap card Earth Erosion to reduce the attack power of your Obelisk!"

Tom: "Gods don't fall for traps, traps are useless against gods!"

Menes: "I'm not using it against the gods, I'm using it on the battlefield where the gods are."

Tom: "???"

...

Tom: "I hide my water monsters underwater, so you can't attack my water monsters, but I can strike you through the water!" (Tom: You're not the only one who can talk big, I can too!)

Menes: "Break your Magic Circle card, causing the tide to recede! Now I can strike you!"

Tom: "???"

...

Menes: "Have my Demonic Invocation attack your Great Moth!"

Tom: "Wait! My Great Moth has 2600 attack points, your Demonic Invocation only has 2400 attack points, how can you..."

Menes: "Have you seen the magical mist rain?"

Tom: "???"

Menes: "The mist extends the conductive range and increases the conductive effect, and the attack of the demonic invocation is to throw lightning balls, so my demonic invocation can crush your Great Moth!"

Tom: "!!!"

Tom could see that Menes didn't care much about the rules when playing, and even if he was down, he could manage by talking loudly...

However, Menes was having fun, and Tom's goal was to make him happy.