Translator: La0o9
âNegaryâ was treading across the dark night road of the Mobis Institute, the dim streetlights didnât really serve to provide much light, instead they invoked a certain sense of unknown fear.
The campus was unusually silent, but this was because it was 3 AM, and almost everyone in the academy was sleeping.
The library had closed with only a security guard sleeping inside his post. The sound of constant footsteps from âNegaryâsâ new leather shoes slowly woke him up.
Right as the security guard had just opened his eyes, âNegaryâ was already standing in front of him and flicked a small bit of powder into the corner of his mouth.
ã Relax yourself... and listen to me ãâNegaryâsâ words caused the security guard who was still in a half-asleep state to enter a startling drug-induced trance.
ã You will ignore all unusual movements around the library. After I leave, you will fall into a dream. In the dream, you will foresee terrible things happening to the Mobis Institute, then become suspicious of tonightâs events, which will lead you to look for like-minded comrades during daytime ã
After saying that, âNegaryâ continued talking towards the library. Following âNegaryâsâ leaving footsteps, the security guard slowly became awake again, his gaze looking towards âNegaryâ who was using a metal pick to open the gates of the library, but ignored that fact as if it wasnât anything important. After yawning, he fell back asleep within his security post, dreaming of unfortunate events during his sleep.
âNegaryâ put his metal pick away. During his time in the Flame world, having absorbed a large number of souls, Negary had already become a grandmaster at lock picking, and since the Mobis Instituteâs lock wasnât particularly complicated, he easily undid it.
As he entered the library, his spirit sense could clearly sense the changes within the library at night. Not at all above âNegaryâsâ expectations, the closer it got to 5AM, the more active certain connections hidden within the library became.
He then opened a small box that contained various kinds of powder and liquid, all of them having originated from the Academic City with its abundance of minerals and plant variety.
âNegaryâ mixed these powder and liquid in a certain order, which finally ended up as a bright red liquid. This serum had the ability to stabilize oneâs soul, causing the human mind to become stiff and rigid like a machine, letting them ignore most external influences.
As time slowly passed, âNegaryâ had already made one full trip around the library. It truly must be said that the books kept within the Mobis Institute were worthy of an educational facility, âNegaryâ had even managed to discover quite a bit of useful knowledge to his current human body.
As 5AM approached, Negary completed his preparations. First he lit a small block of coal, allowing the fire to die down while the coal itself glowed from within, then took out the serum he had prepared and drank it all at once.
âNegaryâsâ spirit sense was then able to recognize his surroundings becoming overlapped, a miraculous sensation appeared in âNegaryâsâ mind, almost as if he was squashed into a thin human-shaped sheet of paper. This state of entering overlapping aspects of reality with the human body gave âNegaryâ a completely different experience.
ã It seems sometimes, standing too high will make it easier to miss certain wonders ã
This was the last unrelated thought in âNegaryâsâ mind, after which the serum did its job and turned âNegaryâsâ thoughts completely rational and mechanical, incapable of any extraneous thoughts.
Once this strange overlapping state had passed, âNegaryâ appeared on a certain floor of an unknown building.
The entire building appeared to be a hollow cylinder, while there was a corridor around the outermost ring, the inside was completely empty, with the building being around 100m in diameter. Other than the very edge of the corridor, bookshelves were everywhere, each of them filled to the brim with books.
As âNegaryâ approached the railing and looked down, he found that it was essentially bottomless, with every floor below filled with bookshelves and books, and so were the floors above. From the looks of it, âNegaryâ was directly transported to a random floor of the Grand Library.
âYou may choose one book from this place, remember, only one, follow your heartâs desiresâ an ethereal voice resounded in the air, as âNegaryâ turned around, he saw a white-haired little girl in a brown dress.
She was walking barefooted on the wooden floor, using her jet black eyes to stare straight at âNegaryâ, apparently doubtful about something.
ã Your name? ãâNegaryâ questioned.
âAkasha Allenzâ the girl clasped her hands behind her back and answered âNegaryâsâ question.
ã Where in the Grand Library am I currently? ãafter the little girl Akasha answered him, âNegaryâ asked the next question.
âFloor 368 of the Grand Libraryâs book areaâ the little girl wasnât angered by âNegaryâsâ curt language and simply answered his question with her ethereal tone.
ã Why this place? ã
âThe location was chosen according to your most intense desires; this floor has the book most suitable for that. However, you must search for it on your own, once youâve chosen, there is no room for regretâ Akasha replied.
ã Got it ãâNegaryâ then directly ignored Akasha and began to search through the books on this floor.
Before entering the Grand Library, âNegaryâ had hypnotized himself, using the serum to mechanize his thought process, so when he entered the Grand Library, there was only a single thought in âNegaryâsâ mind: to look for the origin of life.
âHm, please be careful, there is a very terrible thing on this floorâ âNegaryâ didnât ask, but Akasha suddenly told him this just as he turned to leave.
âNegaryâ didnât put Akashaâs words to heart. The way he saw it, Akasha was a crucial part of this library building, most likely something similar to a computer AI who managed this library. She could be considered to be the Great Magusâ masterpiece, considering her surname was the same as the Great Magus.
If his conjectures were correct, the Great Magusâ problem most likely originated from or was related to Life Bearer, and since the Grand Libraryâs entry method was so closely related to oneâs own desires, when âNegaryâ expressed the desire to learn more about life, he would most likely be brought to the source of the abnormalities.
Entering the Grand Library carried with it a great deal of danger, especially when such desires were displayed so openly; there was a great chance of him simply being caught, then imprisoned and killed.
âNegaryâ had also prepared himself for this possibility, or rather, this was the entire reason Negary had created this incarnation of himself in the first place, as a kind of probing.
Naturally, according to the original Negaryâs calculations, there was a 12.3% chance of this âNegaryâ incarnation to be either completely safe or only become infected briefly by the abnormality.
âNegaryâ swiftly went around the entire floor, on this single floor of the Grand Library alone, there were at least over 10,000 books, which was unimaginable in this Moon Tree world with its barren access to knowledge.
It was no wonder so after so many people entered the Grand Library just once, they considered this place to be the house of truth, holding nothing but infinite respect towards it.
However, this placeâs book collection was mostly unregulated. There were plenty of Grimoires and magical tomes, but there were also books on how to tend and nurture female pigs after breeding season, as well as many 3rd-rate authors with their 4th-rate novels.
In summary, as long as it had been written down, it would be recorded here.
Soon, âNegaryâ found the target of his trip to the Grand Library, an ominous book that constantly drifted within his spirit sense.
As âNegaryâ saw this book with his own eyes, he felt like he saw a twisted existence appearing behind the book reaching their arms out to embrace him.
âNegaryâ picked this book up without hesitation.