Chapter 10: The Library

The mana heart protects all beings from the worldly rules and laws. The aura it exudes negates the aura infiltrating it, making the holder safe.

Destroying the mana heart was almost no different as a death sentence.

The giant knight kicks the green knight off the stage apathetically. He looked at the surrounding silent soldiers and asked imposingly.

"Who wants to challenge me next?"

None of the surrounding soldiers dared to challenge him as the cruel revenge left a deep scary impression in their hearts.

*Pfft!*

Seeing this, the giant knight scoffs and leaves the stage. The soldiers parted and made a way for the giant knight. They watched quietly as he left the room. Some of the soldiers, maybe those who knew him, followed him outside.

The soldiers heard a cry and looked at the despairing green knight. None of the surrounding soldiers helped him as they hadn't processed the scene yet and they were scared of getting into trouble.

The green knight was having a hard time breathing as the armor that was supposed to protect him, was suffocating him instead. The aura of the armor was pressuring him, added with the aura of gravity, he felt like he was about to die from suffocation and too much pressure.

Seeing this, Insig walked up to him and removed his armor and softly sent a burst of healing power to the knight. He only put a little magic power as too much might reverse the effect instead. The vitality magic was all encompassing to all vitality related organisms so the aura didn't pressure him but was beneficial instead.

The knight felt comfortable from the healing magic and as the pressure from the aura was gone. He looked up to see a stoic face looking at him.

Insig checks his body and nods.

"You're all okay now, except that I can't heal mana heart as they are the condensation of rules of wind magic. The healing is free of charge."

Insig narrates in a monotonous voice. Insig leaves unhurriedly. The surrounding soldiers looked at him weirdly.

As Insig exited the room, he followed the path leading to the library. He looked stoic and emotionless but this is the face he makes when he's feeling powerless or melancholic. It was like a self-defense mechanism.

'That fight.... what would happen if that were me?....'

The cruel fight reminded him of the danger, that he was in another world, that there was an upcoming war, and mostly, of how weak he was.

Insig imagined himself at the upcoming war, healing people at the frontlines. He remembered the memory before his death, he was attacked yet he was helpless. He can't help but crave power. There was a flash of determination in his eyes.

'I need power and knowledge to protect myself! I must hurry and get stronger!'

Insig 'looked' at his mana heart. He sensed the lively vitality flowing deep within, he also sensed the death aura hidden beneath.

'I must get magic techniques applicable to my death magic, and it'll be my trump card.'

As he was walking, a huge object blocked the sun, with its shadow looming over him. He looked up to see a tall silver tower made of metals with formation and runes around it. It emanates an immovable and unbreachable aura that feels like a mountain, lofty and majestic.

He saw the sign above the entrance written in an unknown alphabet. Mysteriously, he can read it though. It meant [Information Storage Tower]. He has actually arrived at the library unconsciously.

It took Insig a while to get out of trance as he takes in the whole view of the tower. The rock and metal aura of the tower and the formation around it combined harmoniously. It was like they were holding onto each other.

Insig observed the formation. It was made up of unknown rods with earth affinity mana crystals on top. Mysteriously, the aura of the mana crystals was increasing, as if they were storing energy from the ground. The places, positions and angles of the rods allow the transfer of the stored magic power into the tower and strengthen it.

Insig then looks at the runes. Runes are what stabilizes, directs, separates, or gathers energy based on its functions. They were made of magic power bent and shaped in different forms that oddly felt natural.

Insig takes a deep breath and enters the majestic tower. He saw the librarian reading a book and nodded at him as a greeting. The librarian is a rather high position, they are the ones who collect, organize, and check information. Meaning, they know a lot of top-secret information.

The librarian was wearing a blue robe and emanated a scholarly aura. He looked like a tidy middle aged man with a few white hairs peeking from within his scalp. He was like.... a falcon.

The librarian closes the book he was reading. He smiles as he looks at Seiki and asks.

"First time?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I thought so. I don't remember seeing you here. You also looked amazed by the things here because your mental aura is fluctuating."

Insig looked at the librarian, shocked.

'Mental aura? Wait! don't tell me.... I've heard rumors about it and thought it was unreal but it actually exists!'

There were the basic 5 elements of mana heart, the earth, wind, fire, water, and wood. You can almost see them everywhere. In addition to the ice, lightning, poison, vitality and such, there were also the unique and rare elements.

One of them is the mental element! It is said that they have rather high memorization, calculation and observational abilities. At a higher level, they can move objects with their thoughts alone and interfere with other peoples' thought process! It is rumored that they can read minds when they reach the Integrated state!

But it is also said that there are many kinds of mental sub-elements. Namely, the illusion element, the emotion element, and the legendary soul element!

"Hahaha, you don't have to be so shocked."

The librarian looked happy as he saw Insig's shocked face.

"Remember, the library is divided into floors. The first floor is for soldiers ranging from level 1-4. Anyway, to use the library, you must pay 10 contribution points every 2 hours. To pay up, just put your badge here at this machine."

Insig looked at the machine the librarian pointed out. It was a metal box where there's a dent inside where you can put your badge. There were other dents beside it which currently have other badges inside.

"The machine will mark your badge the moment you put it inside. It will stay here until you leave the library. The moment you get out, it will calculate the time you took to get the badge out and then deduct it on your salary. Note that failure to pay will result in punishment."

The librarian looks at him seriously when he says the last sentence. Seiki nods and agrees.

"I understand the rules."

The librarian smiles and nods at him appreciatively.

"Good, good. It's good that you understand. You can go now."

Insig went in front of the machine. He sees other badges in it. He looks at them curiously. He observed that the dent actually moves according to the shape of your badge.

Insig inserts his badge to the dent in the crystal box. The box was surprisingly soft like cake. Insig saw the inside of the box moving and adjusting to the shape of the badge.

"You may go now."

The librarian gives him permission to enter the library.

Insig looked at the front, there was a giant wooden door in front of him, about 3 meters in height.

He slightly pushed it and found out it was abnormally light. But that was not what was inside his mind right now.

In front of him, he saw a giant room, the size of a baseball field. There were organized bookshelves lined up, covering different topics. There was a stair on the back of the room leading upstairs.

There was no light source but mysteriously, it was not dark. There were other people sitting on a table talking but Seiki can't hear a sound.

He walked and observed the bookshelves. There was not a single dust on them, like they were cleaned every day. The temperature wasn't too hot or too cold, making the place comfortable. The smell of papers and leathers of books makes Seiki curious and at peace.

He went to a corner that leads to a bookshelf tackling magic techniques. He inspects the title of the books.

[How to use magic efficiently]

[Commonly used magic techniques]

[Techniques to enhance your magic]

[Defensive magic techniques]

[All elements' Weaknesses and strengths]

Insig picked a heavy and thick book about common magic techniques used in the battlefield. He was looking for something he could use in the upcoming war.

He then went to the alchemy subject and picked [Elementary Alchemy]. He also picked [Basics of Magic power], [Elementary Formations], [Plants Almanac], and [Common knowledge about Beast Taming].

He picked a nearby table and sat there. He looked at the slightly dizzying stack of books.

'This reminds me of the uselessly abundant amount of knowledge I need to learn at school.'

Insig chuckled to himself. He took a deep breath to focus his mind and opened the book about magic techniques.

*Hours later*

Insig returned the books back to where they came from. He didn't read the whole book as that would be time consuming, he instead skimmed and read the important parts.

Insig exited the library and took back his badge. Words then appeared on the cover of the machine.

[28 contribution points have been deducted from your badge. 912 contribution points left.]

Insig thought it was an illusion but he noticed that the luster of his badge had dimmed.

Insig shrugs at the thought and bows at the librarian and leaves. He looks at the dark sky drizzled with shiny stars poking from the clouds.

'It's actually night time already, I didn't notice the passing of time.'

Insig thought to himself. He then went to the [Beast Masters' Facility].

There are people in this world who use a beast to cover their shortcomings. For example, a weak healer might tame a beast for the sake of safety. They were called 'Beast Masters' as an acknowledgment for their uncomparable wisdom and intelligence about beasts and animals.

Insig bought dozens of experimental mice for 5 contribution points. They were propagating mice here for experimental purposes and also as rations for beasts or animals.

Insig went home straight to his desk. He placed the cage containing the mice. They were rather cute with their shiny small eyes and small build. Their unblemished white fur added a hint of cleanliness to their image.

'They're so cute!!!'

Insig couldn't bear to hurt them but closed his eyes, took a deep breath and gathered his willpower.

'I'm sorry, please don't hate me. I'll remember you.'

Insig looks at them pitifully and prepares his… experiment.