Piloq’s library was pretty simple and ordinary. There were rows of shelves holding countless books on different topics.
Every now and then Michael spotted cozy chairs and tables where he could sit down to read and study. It was a place to explore new worlds through the pages of the books that could be found everywhere – just like any other library.
Once Michael made it past the Warlock Centaur receptionist, Michael stepped into this new world – a world full of books to read, and knowledge to devour.
Michael wished he could extract the knowledge of all the books around him, but he knew that his wish was not feasible. He would destroy the books the moment Extraction extracted the Wisps of Knowledge from within the books. But that was fine. Michael was not in a hurry right now.
He walked past the rows of shelves, trying to get a rough understanding of the library’s structure. But what he got to know instead was that he was one of a few visitors, not the only one. On the first floor of the Piloq Library Michael saw only three Warlock Centaurs and one Berserker. The Berseker didn’t seem too invested in the book in front of him, and the Warlock Centaurs whispered to each other. Michael didn’t find a single book on the table in front of the Warlock Centaurs.
“Are you surprised?” Kraft Viton asked Michael through Whispering Energy.
Michael turned around, his lips tightly pressed together.
“I am more curious to know how you entered the library rather than finding out why the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs don’t love to spend their freetime reading some books. They love the arena, and are races that grew up with the desire to wage bloody wars, and not a war of philosophy,” He responded to the old man also using Whispering Energy.
Kraft didn’t say anything. He just smiled seeing how confused Michael was. Michael shook his head and turned back to the front.
After walking through Piloq’s library for a few minutes, Michael found a librarian – or so he presumed. The Librarian was a colossus with a height that easily crossed 5 meters. He was six-meter-tall, and the white coat he wore did a miserable job of covering his huge, ripped body.
Michael could clearly see the way the Berserker’s muscles twitched with every move the librarian made.
Noticing a gaze lingering on his back, the Berserker turned around. His eyes moved to Kraft Viton first, only to show a glimmer of surprise when his attention moved to Michael.
“It looks like someone was in a hurry to receive a promotion,” The six-meter-tall Berserker said, his sonorous voice resounding in the surroundings, “Were you in a hurry to enter the library?”
Something in the librarian’s voice caused Michael’s body to tense up. He instinctively changed into a defensive stance and circulated origin energy through his body. Michael was ready to manifest his Soultraits and run for his life.
He could have attempted fighting the librarian, but something deep inside Michael told him that fighting the monstrosity in front of him would be suicidal.
A bead of sweat trickled down his temple, resulting in a smile blossoming on the librarian’s face.
“It seems like your perception is quite high. That will probably help you survive a long time in the Origin Expanse,” The librarian said lightly, “I am merely a tired warrior, who finds joy in reading. There is no need to be wary of me.”
It was odd, but Michael felt that he could trust the librarian’s words. The tension all over his body dispersed at once. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his gaze flicked to his right where Kraft Viton relaxed visibly as well.
‘Even the old man was affected? That’s…surprising…’
Michael wondered how strong the librarian must have been before he decided to switch his job. The librarian didn’t even have to release his presence or circulate energy through his body to affect both him and the old man.
‘Is he Tier-5? No, that’s probably not it. I don’t know how strong the old man is, but Alice talked to him with respect. Kraft is probably also a Tier-5 powerhouse. Doesn’t that mean the librarian is either at the Peak of the 5th Tier or already a Tier-6 powerhouse?’
“The two of you are not really talkative, are you? Well…that doesn’t really matter. Quiet people are usually preferred in this little place of silence,” The librarian said lightly before adding, “What books are you guys looking for?”
Michael required a few seconds to realize that the librarian asked him a question. He shook his head lightly and looked up to meet the Berserker’s eyes. 𝗇𝑂𝒱𝗲𝓵𝚗𝖊xt.𝗇𝓔t
“I am searching for records about old Ancient Ruins that were raided successfully, and old languages that were used before the Second Epoch,” Michael replied, just to carefully add, “The older the language the better.”
The Berserker glanced toward Kraft Viton for a moment before his attention was pulled back to Michael.
“So you found an Ancient Ruin, and you don’t know its danger level. If we take into consideration that you rushed over to my library in Piloq not even half a day after your arrival in Meku, you must be quite worried,” The librarian remarked. He then fell deep in thought.
The librarian kept looking at Michael, the glimmer of curiosity in his eyes intensifying, “The Ancient Ruin you found must be quite old if the knowledge accumulated by humans is not enough for you. Before the Second Epoch you said, right? Interesting.”
“It’s a good thing that you decided to come to the library instead of rushing to enter the Ancient Ruin. Most of my kind would barge into an Ancient Ruin the moment they find one. Instead of doing the same, you want to learn more about the Ancient Ruin before you decide if you can enter it right now, or if you have to achieve a certain level of strength to enter it without dying miserably. That’s good.”
The librarian was a lot more talkative than Michael expected. Most librarians shushed everyone, who was daring enough to talk loudly. Yet, the Berserker Librarian was the loudest by far. His voice was extremely loud, and it attracted the interest of the other visitors.
It bothered Michael a little how easily the librarian could guess Michael’s plan. However, it was not as if Michael was trying to hide his interest in the old languages, and Ancient Ruins. Anyone with enough brain cells could connect the dots and come to the same result as the Librarian; Michael found an Ancient Ruin, a very old one, and was looking for answers about it.
Even if one lacked crucial information, one could easily determine that Michael’s interest in Ancient Ruins was uncommon. Alice Zenovia should have already come to the same result as the Berserker Librarian, even though she lacked information.
Fortunately, Michael didn’t really care whether someone knew about the Temple of the Forgotten or not. No other human had a territory in the Untamed Jungle, after all.
“Can you help me, or is the information I need hidden on the second or third floor? If so, what’s the fastest way to be promoted to a Champion?” Michael asked straight ahead.
The Berserker Librarian seemed different from the other Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs he had gotten to know until now. Rather than focusing on fighting and improving their combat prowess, the librarian was wise, or so Michael felt.
As long as one was interested in the history of their own race, one could learn a lot about their past mistakes, and how to avoid repeating them. The same could be said about the history of other races. Reading reports about the experiences other Awakened went through would allow Michael to prepare everything to counter them.
Other than history and detailed records, Michael had also learned from a young age that war strategies taught by strategists and scholars were essential in every territory. Michael and his territory would have ceased to exist if not for the war strategies he had learned in the past, and Michael wanted to learn a lot more.
But first of all, he hoped to procure more information about Ancient Ruin raid records, and the oldest language books stored in Piloq’s library.
“If you have notes written in the language the Ancient Ruin used at the entrance, I might be able to help you. After all, it is just like you said. The information you desire is stored on the third floor, and being promoted to a Champion will require a considerable amount of achievement points. They’re hard to acquire, and it will take you more than a year – 3 months minimum if you want to break the record for the fastest promotion – to become a Champion.” The librarian said calmly, causing Michael to scratch his head.
He didn’t really want to go as far as to reveal the text written in the origin tongue. Even Lilica said that the language used by the Temple of the Forgotten was extremely old – much older than her own race…and the Forest Elves were likely to be older than the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
“Looks like your Ancient Ruin is a lot more special than I first presumed. You wrote down what it said, but you don’t want to show me because you’re uncertain if I will exploit you once I find out that the Ancient Ruins are extremely old. That is very interesting, little boy,” The librarian said with a cheeky smile.
Michael’s lips parted for a second, only for him to close his mouth again. He pressed his lips together and stared at the librarian, who acted as if he could read his thoughts, which was something Michael hated to the core.
‘Is he trustworthy? Will he be able to help me? What is the worst that could happen after I show him the paper?’
Countless questions rang through Michael’s mind, but he couldn’t answer any of them.
On the contrary, more questions surfaced the more he thought about it.
Meanwhile, Kraft Viton stared at Michael with furrowed brows.
‘Just what is this kid?!’