Ch 140 – Nicolas Olfen, Vessel of a God Who Thirsts for Knowledge
"Huh, you had a pretty interesting past life, Nicolas Olfen. You really were cool when you kamikazed to kill all those demigods with you. Though if I were the one to do it, I'd probably cause this entire universe to die considering I have infinite mana by my side. Oh, sorry, you must be confused, I'm Raiden Stolas, a guy who was tasked to hunt down cheaters like you, so die for me, pretty please?"
Upon opening his eyes, the previous Rank 8 Magus Nicolas Olfen, was greeted by a young boy's face whose two crimson eyes stared at him directly in the eye. They were full of innocence, yet his words directly contradicted that child-like wonder of his eyes. Just that alone caused him a slight jumpscare, but he quickly calmed down and responded calmly.
"Hey kid, you should stop joking and get out of here now. A Salamander is out loose and we need to get out of here," Nicolas Olfen grunted, and slowly pushed himself off the ground while looking around the area and saw no signs of the Salamander, which caused him to feel slightly relieved.
No Salamander means he has a higher chance to survive his precarious situation and live. Now, he only needs to gather some mana and use a basic healing spell to survive from his near-death state. And so, he supported his body with his left arm to sit on the rubble-ly ground, and closed his eyes, preparing to gather some mana.
Everything was going smoothly, his hundreds of years of experience allowed him to sense the mana in the air easily, though it was a lot thinner compared to Gaia. Nonetheless, he hurriedly grab hold of the mana in the air and poured it into his soul to unlock his magic.
But, unexpectedly, a sharp pain stemming directly from his soul suddenly appeared upon storing the small hint of mana inside it. Opening his eyes, he coughed and felt a trickle of blood pouring from his mouth.
"Oh, it actually worked," the kid beside him nonchalantly muttered upon seeing him coughed out blood. The kid silently stared at him with cold eyes, as if his dying state doesn't matter to him at all.
'What worked? Did the kid beside me the one who caused this?' Nicolas Olfen thought, before remembering clearly what just happened.
'Just when I was about to store the mana in my soul, a strange reaction suddenly happened when my soul made contact with the mana and caused a severe backlash. Is my soul incapable of storing mana right now? But how?' Nicolas Olfen calmly thought, before looking back at the kid in front of him with an amicable smile.
"Hey there, kid. Did you cause your uncle here this problem?" Nicolas Olfen questioned politely.
"Why should I answer that? Only a stupid villain would do that. But considering I'm the only suspect here, then yes, I did cause that," Raiden snickered, as if ridiculing the man in front of him.
"Why would do that? What if the Salamander comes back? Who would be able to save you-?"
"I already killed it. So, I don't need to fear for my life. In fact, you should be the one fearing for your life right now," in that same moment, a burst of crimson miasma suddenly erupted behind Raiden. It was akin to a flowing river of crimson miasma that pounced upon Nicolas Olfen.
And yet, Nicolas Olfen only chuckled and responded, "So what if you kill me? Go on, then. Your childish killing intent can't even compare to what I experienced!"
But Nicolas Olfen already felt desperate at that moment. He was only acting to try and stall some time to find a way to cure his problem, but as he looked deep into his soul, a surge of information suddenly entered his mind upon seeing a golden glow.
And so, as he instinctively called out in his mind, he spelled out a single word, 'Analyze.'
Upon uttering that word in his mind, a spark of power erupted from a different source deep within him, and his two blue eyes glowed brilliantly. As if he was directly looking at an open book, he hastily focused on the young boy in front of him and tried to unfurl his secrets.
'I'm gonna die.' That was the simple conjecture Nicolas Olfen got upon activating his strange power.
'No matter what I will do, I will die for absolute certainty. But why?! Did I spend hundreds of years just to die a fickle death?! To die to a gifted kid who holds overpowered cheats?!' Nicolas Olfen cursed in his mind, while his body trembled in fear.
"Oi, oi, oi! Who are you killing a cheater here, huh?! Fuck you, you're the cheater here, punk. Just look at you, shamelessly activating your cheat to analyze me and then calling me a cheater. Just so you know, I worked hard, and also smart, to attain this level of power. And let's not get to the topic of fucking luck, mister protagonist sir who has the cheat of Analyze that can unveil information to you for free without doing any work. You have literal hax, plot armor, and all kinds of bullshit! So, fuck you, and fuck your resentment, you're the lucky bastard here, and I'm the bastard who has to kill lucky bastards like you," Raiden ranted in fury as if he has just received the greatest insult directed at him in his entire life.
"T-Then why don't we work together! I can be-."
"Nope, too late. Orders are orders, so please die for me."
With a flash of crimson light, Raiden and Nicolas Olfen were suddenly greeted by the beautiful sight of Earth in the void of space. An invisible coating protected the two from being sucked by the harsh vacuum of space.
The Earth in front of them looked dazzling in appearance as if it was a magnificent cosmological structure full of wonder. To live in such a beautiful existence, it felt serene to Nicolas Olfen who was about to die.
"Treat this as my final gift, unlucky cheater. Enjoy this final scenery of beauty, and hope for the chance that you'll still retain your memories in your next life. Maybe a few hundred lives down the line, you'll reach the level of Demigods again."
With that final declaration, Nicolas Olfen silently closed his eyes and lightly smiled. 'Is this what they call fate? Destiny? Sigh, to die without being able to learn the secrets of the universe is truly saddening.'
But, as if something has answered his wish, Nicolas Olfen suddenly heard Raiden's voice beside him crying out in shock.
"Eh? Where are we?"
Opening his eyes to see what was going on, Nicolas Olfen was greeted by an endless line of bookshelves and books. It was as if no matter how far he sees, a bookshelf will be there to greet him. The atmosphere in the library he found himself in was also serene, calming, and soothing, an optimal atmosphere for someone who wants to study.
Not only that, but the pain throughout his body was also gone. One look and he saw his wounds and fractured bones were healed. Along with his body miraculously healing, he felt his fatigue, stress, slight hunger, and things similar to them were gone. It was like he was at his optimal state at that moment.
"Welcome to the Akashic Library, Nicolas Olfen, Raiden Stolas."
A woman's voice was heard behind the duo, and hearing that voice alone made Nicolas Olfen feel a chill crawl up his spine. It was like that voice knew who he was, and seemed to know more about him than he himself. It felt eerie as if it belonged to an all-knowing entity.
Turning around, he was greeted by a woman clad in a frilly white dress, with golden blond hair flowing that was slightly curly, ocean blue eyes dabbled with intelligence, and a frightening gaze that looks at him as if he was simply an open book to read.
"Aunt Holly?" Raiden asked, and the woman in front of them simply smiled mysteriously.
And so, she turned around and walked silently. As if by instinct, the duo felt an urge to suddenly follow her, forgoing their previous conflict, and just walked silently side by side.
The calm atmosphere of the library felt soothing to Nicolas Olfen at that moment. From experiencing his entire past life, to suddenly almost dying by the next second, and then finding himself in this strange endless library where if he were to look up, he'll see endless floors with the same endless bookshelves.
Slightly curious about the books beside them, a certain book caught his attention named 'Two Sides of the Same Coin: Life and Death.'
'Hmm, it feels heavy, yet also light. The cover also feels normal, yet it feels like I won't be able to destroy the book no matter how much I try to destroy it. Strange.' Nicolas Olfen thought, before grabbing hold of the cover and finally turning to the first page.
'WHAT?!' That thought flashed through Nicolas Olfen's mind upon reading the first line on the first page of the book. Shocking passages of text containing knowledge of life and death were presented to him in a clear and concise manner, along with the words he read seemingly getting imprinted to the very recess of his mind.
Otherworldly knowledge of how life and death function was presented to him. On how they were similar, and how the other is able to do feats the other side can also do. On how Death can heal, and how Life can kill. How one can raise the dead through life, and how one can also raise the dead through death. How Life is simply the opposite of death, and how death was the opposite of life.
It felt enlightening to Nicolas Olfen at that very moment, as if his eyes were opened to a world of endless possibilities.
'I-Is this real? If so… Then with just this, any magus back from Gaia can grow into a fearsome necromancer or healer, no, they can grow into both a monstrous necromancer and healer who has full control over life and death. Undead that has the capability to grow, living beings that has the benefits of the undead, monsters beyond my wildest imagination can be created with the knowledge from this book alone.'
Nicolas Olfen felt shocked, he felt that the book he was holding suddenly had its weight increase by a thousand-folds, an unbearable pressure pressed upon his shoulders as he couldn't believe he now knows of such knowledge. If words of this book get out on Gaia, millions would die to attain it.
'A book like this is just lying here without any protection?! W-What is this library?' He felt disbelief at this notion. Such a precious book can be picked up for free? He almost laughed aloud, before he suddenly regained his clarity and looked up, only to be greeted by a pair of dark purple eyes.
"This is the Akashic Library, Nicolas Olfen. A library that holds all of my knowledge, all of my knowledge that can be learned for free."
"Y-You're lying! Such precious knowledge is being given for free? If so, then you must be a benevolent God! And I know for a fact your eyes don't belong to such a god," Nicolas Olfen rebuked, causing a loud laugh to erupt from the purple-eyed man in front of him.
"Of course, of course. Everything has a price to it, don't they? Answer me this, are you willing to become my Vessel? A being who thirsts for knowledge, a scholar who wishes to understand the secrets of the universe, a magus who wants to know more of the arcane path. If so, then say yes."
At that moment, it felt like the entire world came to a sudden halt for Nicolas Olfen. Access to an entire library that this mysterious God holds? A library where all of his knowledge was stored and can be learned for the small price of being his Vessel? A being who wishes to understand the unknown?
As if his throat moved on its own, he opened his mouth and answered lightly.
"Yes."
And so, Nicolas Olfen, the Rank 8 Magus of Gaia, has become a Vessel. Will his existence shake the entire world of Earth? Did he join of his own accord or through the subtle manipulation of the god in front of him? Numerous questions, numerous answers for him to find out, for that's the path of a Vessel, the scholars of a God who thirsts for Knowledge.
AN: This chapter has 2124 words.
(August 29, 2022 – 278th day of writing)