NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Since the reading room was empty anyway, Yeon-woo and Shar decided to speak up, each holding a book in hand. They didn’t plan to read anything, so they just picked any random book from the nearby bookshelf.
According to the illustration on the automated terminal, there was supposed to be a spot at number 277, but right next to the column, there was only a lonely return station. It’s strange to even place a spot next to the column in the first place. The real 277 is over there in the spacious area. It’s just that the automated terminal’s illustration was weird.
But the 277 spot was always reserved, even though no one was sitting there, no books were placed, and there were no signs of use.
“Wonder why that is?”
“Uh… I wonder if something is there?”
“That’s it.”
The first ghost story; what if a silver-haired woman appears out of nowhere at midnight, reserving the 277 spot every night because she wants to hide something?
Maybe the library staff knows something’s off but can’t be bothered since nobody uses it and thus don’t feel the need to take action?
What if all these secrets and ghost tales were just created out of pure laziness?
“Ah! That’s so scary.”
Yeon-woo shivered at the overwhelming, gigantic feeling of fear.
If it hadn’t been for one guy who was curious just because he heard there were ghost stories, surely that spot would have been buried for a year or even longer due to laziness…!
Anyway, standing with a book in hand where the automated terminal indicated there should be a 277 spot, Yeon-woo and Shar clearly saw a wooden door.
The wooden door firmly settled next to the stone column.
“Who would place a book on the return station while staring at the column?”
“That’s… true…”
Just as they placed the book down, catching sight of a brown door, they turned back only to find it had vanished, turning it into a ghost story.
“Let’s go in.”
Creek… Who knows how long this gate, the door to “Relin’s Archive,” had been standing here, but it finally opened today.
“But who is this silver-haired woman anyway?”
“Huh? There’s no one else besides the guardian of Relin’s Archive.”
The silver-haired woman dressed in maid attire, guarding the archive. Yeon-woo had some connections with her before regression, so he remembered her appearance better than anyone.
It was a story from a day that was no longer in the past, now swept away to the other side of time.
*
“Wow…”
The inside of the gate they entered was an exotic sight.
Bookshelves adorned with gold and brimming with books towering like buildings, filling the air with paths woven between them.
Would it feel like this if the bookshelves turned into a maze? When reaching the trio of steps, small, medium, and large meant to take the books from high places, they looked almost cute.
Of course, the books flying around in the sky didn’t look majestic or cute, but rather bizarre.
“Alright, now we must strategize how to tackle this.”
“Right! It’s definitely a frontal assault, right?”
“No way, how would I, who used to be a porter, devise a strategy to tackle this gate to grab hold of Relin’s Warehouse?”
“That’s… definitely true.”
Caressing Shar’s small head, Yeon-woo said, “It’s a secret, but I’ll only tell you, Shar.”
In the time just one year after this moment, with no mana, how did Yeon-woo manage to conquer this gate before regression?
“It’s Qu○ch.”
“…Huh?”
Perfect timing. Yeon-woo suddenly pointed at the sky. Shar’s gaze followed.
A shimmering golden book flew through the air at quite a rapid pace, quite high up.
“Before regression, that fellow was resting on the ground, and I caught it. Then, the books would just move aside. Later I heard that it was the core of managing the archive.”
“That’s… isn’t that just taking a hostage?”
“That’s how it’s called as well.”
In simple terms, it’s one or the other. Either follow it at the right moment while it’s resting, or catch it while flying. The former means needing to dodge book attacks in the chase and the latter is just plain hard. They fly incredibly high and fast.
There’s no one capable of catching it. That kind of arrogance is what that monster is flaunting.
Of course, it has the abilities to back that arrogance up.
Unlike past regression where luck and persistence allowed for the catch, the current Yeon-woo was almost a natural enemy to Relin’s Book.
Such was the existence of the Silver Dragon. With a leaping ability to soar nearly a hundred meters in a single bound, it even possessed the trait to leap again in mid-air.
“Peekaboo.”
Their eyes met with the book. Stating it like this feels odd, but Yeon-woo thought they had locked eyes.
If he reached out, he could catch it. That close a distance assured him to stretch his hand without hesitation. His fingers grazed the cover of the book, which then vanished like bubbles. When he looked up, the golden book flapped a few meters away.
Of course, he knew. This story was one he’d heard ‘directly’ before. The archive’s management module, the functions embedded in “Relin’s Book,” every small detail from character to incidental story.
In the interior of the archive, Relin’s Book could shift its location through phase transition at any time it desired. However, continuous use was impossible.
At that moment, Yeon-woo raised his voice.
“Please, Shar!!”
The burst of silver mana transformed into a foothold for Yeon-woo. Right now, he felt freer than anyone.
However, him halting would mean that the books, who had been holding back their firepower waiting for the perfect moment, would pour their attacks.
Even now, the golden archive sparkled with various colors. Lightning reflecting off of ice, fire burning brightly, winds blowing fiercely, and the smell of earth wafting through.
All the basic elements of nature manifested right there. Their target was but one.
The piercing arrows sought to bring down the silver whale dancing freely in the sky, revealing their sharp teeth.
Like the sun retracting its light, thousands of lines converged on a single point. Even Yeon-woo, who had experienced battles of life and death, felt daunted by that sight.
No matter how basic elemental magic it was, thousands converging at once was too much. Even if it was Shar, would she be able to block that with her power?
But even as Yeon-woo worried, calculations were underway in Shar’s mind.
‘In terms of efficiency… if I block it before it hits….’
Often misunderstood, the primary fighting style of a dragon does not revolve around overwhelming size or unleashing a ‘breath’ that sweeps everything away.
A magical battle against the opponent is precisely the combat style they excel in.
But why is that? Because they possess scales free from both physical and magical vulnerabilities? Or do they have dragon magic that demands no spell?
No, none of that. It’s all incorrect.
It is because they grasp the essence, have a heart that could be called a miracle, and a brain supporting all of it that they are regarded as the paragon of magic.
In an instant, a golden domain unfurled around Shar and then vanished. It wasn’t just the domain that disappeared.
Due to the inherent nature of lightning, the lightning arrows sprang out far earlier than other magics, and in that instance, every spark that touched the domain vanished along with it.
When that was dealt with, a comma of 2 seconds passed. There was a reason Shar dealt with the lightning magic in such a brute manner; the striking lightning arriving roughly a second earlier could mess with the subsequent picture.
Comma 8 seconds. The flow of mana twisted. The second to arrive was the earth’s arrow.
While magical, earth magic holds the most physical characteristics, leaving no option to evade. The effective means was to either match the physical force against it or disrupt its coherent structure.
Shar opted for the former. She specifically crafted a barrier to only block the earth arrow while letting it explode with enough power.
Bang!!
With the sound of impact, the barrier shattered along with the earth arrow. The sturdy arrow crumbled into dust and float in the air.
Comma 1 second. The wind arrows approached. Earth elements filled their pathway. The lightness hinted at sand dust being swallowed whole vanished. Only the wind elements that lost control, disrupted by the earth, remained.
Following them were the water arrows. Water arrows generally didn’t fit well with these kinds of offensive spells. Manipulating the remaining wind elements could guide their trajectory. Surrounded by dust, they absorbed moisture and thus dissipated too.
Flaming arrows bursting with heat. Greedy to boost their vigor by meeting the wind’s force found themselves losing their main advantage of firepower when they met the moisture-laden sandstorm.
Bringing an end to the series of events were the shimmering ice arrows. The flames that were already slowly dying extinguished completely due to the cold that flew in, and the lucky arrows that remained, without melting, were shattered by Shar’s clapping.
One second for flight, one second for detonation. In about two seconds, thousands of magics collided and shattered chaotically. The amount of mana used by Shar for this was merely a handful.
Yeon-woo let out a hollow laugh and flew off, grabbing hold of Relin’s Book, which reacted without any response amidst the surprising scene, hanging onto a nearby bookshelf.
“Hehe, that was a fun brain training!”
“Even if you say that like a game, it’s quite troublesome.”
Seeing Shar genuinely pleased, Yeon-woo smiled wryly.
(To be continued in the next chapter)