I'm back in my room.

(Hey, Jared), Elly starts, (why did you try to charm Lucia instead of charming her?)

(Did you really just go there?)

She doesn't sound the slightest bit apologetic, (Uh, yes, why?)

(...if I was to start a relationship I'd like it to NOT be this disgusting. It is important to me that a relationship is based on mutual attraction and not just applied mind rape.)

Finally, she apologizes, (Right, sorry.)

(And for the same reason I don't think I'd even want to get together with her - I'd never be sure whether I like her because of her or just because her skill forces me to. And that's not even getting into the mental age difference which makes things... weird...)

The voice in my head mocks me, (Yeah, true. She's a couple of years ahead of you in that regard.)

(ELLY!! Do you want to go in timeout again!?)

(Uh, no thanks.)

One thing doesn't leave my mind, (Do you have any idea what the point of the [Undead Bait] skill is? From what I've learned she is supposed to join the hero's party and then assist in taking down the demon lord. But that skill seems very counterproductive, like you want to keep hidden to plan an ambush but every undead in the country has advance warning of where you are. That doesn't add up.)

She thinks about it for a moment, (I agree. Maybe someone sabotaged the skill? Half the description is bugged out after all.)

(Not sure. I don't think the system administrator would let it stand this way. They should make backups after all - ah, who am I kidding. On the off chance that backups are made half of them are corrupt anyway. Totally not speaking from experience. So much for that angle. )

Elly takes a guess, (So just random corruption of the skill effect?)

I have to think about this option for a moment, (No, this seems too deliberate to me. The skill name and the effect match as far as we can see. Whatever the original skill and effect were if both 'randomly' change to something that still matches with each other this is too much of a coincidence. I wouldn't buy that for a second.)

She takes a guess, (True. But if it is intentional sabotage why just stop there? If you want to disable the 'Holy Maiden' holder you could just as well make it an automatic self-destruction.)

(Yeah, also a good point. This whole thing makes too little sense for what we know. Well, that assumes whoever is responsible has that much control over skill effects in the first place. It could just be an incompetent hack job.)

She asks, (Also if it was sabotage why draw attention to it by giving it such an obvious name?)

(Maybe because a skill with a mismatched effect would draw more attention?)

(Why then not disguise it as a glitched skill? Those are... widespread enough. Yeah, this doesn't make much sense either way), Elly gives up.

I can think of another dumb option, (What if it is the original name and only the effect got messed up by a glitch?)

She asks me, (Uh, and what should the original effect be?)

(No idea. But honestly, sabotage is the most likely cause. Otherwise, it is too unlikely that the effect still somewhat matches the name.)

Elly reluctantly agrees, (I think so too but no idea what this changes.)

(Hmm... beats me. But it is something to keep in mind if we ever break the demon artifact.)

Not making any progress there either... how about, (Oh, right I hit Wizard level 2 - do I qualify for an additional class by now?)

Elly holds back laughter, (No, you're still quite a ways off from 'Survivor'.)

(And any other class?)

She scolds me, (Err, you want to risk incurring Therese's wrath?)

(Why not? I doubt there are actually laws that allow her to dictate which classes I take. And if she could just drag me outside the law enforcement area to kill me without consequence she would have done so already - or ordered Chloe to. So this tells me someone would still suffer consequences when they go back.)

Elly disagrees, (I don't think this counts as proof. Maybe as a mage you are more valuable than you think?)

(...damn, outsmarted again by a hallucination. Fine, I'll abstain from misappropriating the 'class core' for now. But can you at least sate my curiosity if I had any other class options available?)

She explains, (Not without a capable trainer. Speaking of, Chloe is already registered as your trainer according to your status screen.)

I'm surprised, (What? Why? It has just been three days and I don't even have the class! She has been barely around to observe my training at all!)

(No idea why but that's just what it says here.)

Trainer (1/1): Chloe

Apprentices (0/5): none

(If she's already locked in as a trainer can I even leave later once I'm 'done' with the Survivor class? I don't see a 'Leave' type button there but it says 1/1 next to the trainer entry...)

Elly double-checks, (Don't see one either, we'll have to see once you get another Class Core and are done with leveling Survivor.)

(Yeah, seems like it.)

Once morning arrives I go to training as usual. Afterwards, Chloe approaches me, "So after the... scene yesterday I've good news and bad news for you."

I'm still a bit angry about how she treated me, "...didn't need to remind me of that."

She brushes it off, "Yeah, sorry. But you've to understand that everyone's on edge after the outbreak."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Yeah, yeah. So what is the news?"

"Good news", she hands me a card, "you're allowed to visit the library. I've... never been there, to be honest", she admits sheepishly, "so I don't really know what you need to keep in mind. Just try to not cause any trouble."

"I'll try my best. And the other news?"

She answers, "...we've no lead on who created the ghouls so it was decided that we can't let you run around any longer unsupervised. Well, that's... partially my fault, sorry. Well, since I've no time Jack was volunteered to accompany you."

I scoff, "Knowing him he'll disappear before the end of the day anyway."

Chloe agrees, "You're... not too far off. That is what got him into trouble after all. Again."

"Ok, fine. So where is he?"

She looks around before responding, "He's... supposed to pick you up once you're done at the gate."

"I think I can deal with that. Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all for now. And... sorry for overreacting yesterday", she apologizes again, this time sounding more sincere.

"Its... I, I understand. Don't sweat it", you almost KILLED ME back there!!, "see you tomorrow then."

I head towards the gate and cast Ice Rain as usual.

Your 'Ice Rain' spell has inflicted a total of 479694 damage.

Damage hasn't really increased with the level up, damage per raindrop seems the same. The damage penalty on rain spells is too big to see a change with just a single level up, should've guessed as much.

351 exp total today so far.

I walk down the tower stairs again and see Jack in the distance. I would have guessed he'd just slack off, "Hey, totally didn't expect to see you here today."

Jack sounds insulted, "Hey, I'm not that unreliable! Did Chloe tell you what's up?"

"Enough to know that you screwed up?"

He brushes it off, "Ugh, yeah, yeah. I 'swear' I'll better myself", he mutters under his breath, "Or at least not get caught again."

I mock him, "So... will you run off after five or ten minutes this time?"

Jack responds, "Fifteen, I mean NO, I'll not do that. Promise."

The clock is ticking, buddy.

I roll my eyes, "Sure, we'll see it. So what's the plan now? I wanted to hit the library."

He shrugs, "Just do whatever. I'm only supposed to keep you out of trouble. Got nothing beyond that."

"Yay, I have a private babysitter."

He explains, "Trust me, I'm not happy about this arrangement either. But what has to be done has to be done."

"Like when you 'had to' get me into the office and just dropped me off in front of it and I could've just run off?"

"Exactly like... HEY!", he's clearly not the brightest.

"Ok, whatever, so according to the map the library is... quite a ways off."

Guess he'll set a new record of sticking to a task today.

Jack looks over the map, "Oh, yeah that's far. Probably 1200 DU or is it 1300? What time is it again right now?"

Fuck DU, really.

I mutter, "Yeah, that's the first thing that has to go..."

"What?", Jack is confused but I won't grace him with a response to that.

Neither of us is proficient with maps but at least I have Elly to bail me out.

Eventually, we arrive at the library. Jack - of course - waits outside. I bet 2 gold he'll be gone by the time I'm back. Not my problem.

I'm greeted by an elderly woman who seems to be the librarian here, "I take it you're new around here, can you show me your card?", she demands, "Access to the library is restricted."

"Yes sure", I show her said card, "just got it earlier today."

She looks at it thoroughly, "Hmmm... good, seems to be in order. Is this your first time visiting a library? Need an introductory course?"

"Yes, please."

She lectures me, "Very well. As you can see we've several bookcases in this room each covering a separate topic." She points towards said bookcases.

There are no chairs or tables in sight, so maybe it is not intended to read books here without borrowing them?

The librarian continues her explanation, "Just look through them until you find the book you want to borrow then bring it to me. For each borrowed book you'll need to make a deposit of 5 gold, you'll get that back when you return the book and it isn't damaged beyond repair."

"5 gold is... quite a lot."

"That it is but books are very expensive. We're very limited in our options to restore damaged books or create new ones, so please handle them with care."

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."

I look through the available sections: mostly history, some legends, a bit of politics, some rundowns on animal and monster types. Nothing in the way of textbooks, reference books or magic guides.

I grab a dictionary, good, I can read it.

(I think I can afford to borrow 10 books at once. Or do you know any reason why I'd need a lot of money in the next few days, Elly?)

Elly answers, (No, we should be fine for now. Worst case it would take an hour to just return them, so just go for it. But why do you want that many books at once?)

(Simple. That little bit of Jeff's notes that I could use so far is quite dubious. I want to cross-review what is written in his notes with what the local books say. If they agree we can trust it to 99%. If they disagree... we at least know what we don't know. Also, I plan to extend the next dungeon visit, wait until the rest of the group is done and leaves then continue by myself. I have passive regeneration and enough blood packs but need something to pass the boring wait.)

She doesn't disagree, (Sure, works for me. But what do you expect from that? The exp gain per monster isn't really much and I doubt the dungeons will be neatly packed like the flood outside.)

(Supposedly only in dungeons do monsters drop items. And I seriously need some Class Cores. So I either get lucky and gain them directly or at least some other rare stuff that lets me eventually buy one.)

Elly reminds me, (I've not seen one for sale - do you know if they are even sold and if yes for how much?)

(No, but human greed will find a way to monetize even air so I'm pretty sure there will be at least a black market for that somewhere.)

She reminds me, (Ok, but for your dungeon plan, keep in mind that your supply of blood packs is limited. You'd shorten how long you have until you need an alternate sustainable blood source.)

(Yes, I know. I'm aware of that risk. Remind me again when I drop below 300 packs and still haven't solved that issue.)

Elly sounds giddy in anticipation, (Sure thing.)

I take the dictionary, two different books on monsters, three history books, one on contemporary politics and three more on various legends. I take them to the librarian. She's composed but you can just feel as if her jaw would've dropped, "Are you sure you can afford the 50 gold deposit?"

"Yes", I hand her the money, "there it is."

She quickly counts the coins, "Thank you for your patronage."

I store the books in my inventory. With that, I have still 61 gold left.

As I leave the library I see to my total surprise... that Jack is indeed missing again. Now, who gives me the 2 gold for the bet? Yeah, thought so.

I wait a few more minutes in case he's just taking a leak or something, (Uh, Elly, do people of this world even need to use the bathroom? I don't have to.)

Elly responds, (Well, you're a special case because you're a monster or an undead. And otherwise, I'll just assume they are the same as the people from your old world until proven otherwise.)

(Yeah, let's go with that. That way of thinking leads to way fewer headaches than doubting every single detail.)

A few more minutes pass but Jack is still nowhere to be seen, (I guess he doesn't come back, exactly as expected. Where to now...)

Since it came up earlier, I'm now curious if there's a shop that would sell a Class Core and how much they are worth. So I make my way to the marketplace and look around. I try the dungeon supply shop again but they don't sell those. It is not like I have that kind of money anyway, all the gold I have is basically from Chloe's savings and she wanted another core as well and couldn't afford one. But asking for a price can't hurt.

I check a few more shops but none carry cores. I'm told that my best bet would be asking directly at the military or dealing with the black market that operates from within the slums but I am also advised to stay away from there for 'obvious reasons'.

I was in the slums but I saw no hints of a market, illegal or otherwise, (Wait, how big are the slums? I never checked. Where's the map again...)

Elly tells me, (To me it looks... big. By my estimate, it covers about 20% of the whole fortress.)

(And that much of the fortress is 'outside' its jurisdiction? I was thinking 5%, 10% at most but this is madness.)

She asks me, (And what does that change for you?)

(...nothing. Yet. But there are too many signs hinting that the 'Lord's Mansion' needs to be taken over, the sooner the better, and I seem to be the most likely candidate and then it will be my problem.)

(I guess so. You finally give up your resistance against that idea?)

(No...), I clench my fist, (I'm not... fit to be a leader.)

Elly is curious, (Any specific reason for that?)

(Just a bad memory from my past. Some fools let me take lead once, didn't end pretty.)

(May I ask for details?)

(...ask their corpses. Even years later they never got over their drinking problems.)