-Brian-

I was still angry at the stupid adventure guild as I walked up to the library building. It was a massive tower that disappeared into the darkening skies. The sun was setting, and clouds blocked my view of the top. There was a balcony about what seemed to be midway up the tower. It had railings and a large telescope pointing into the sky. I stepped back into an ally and thought about my options.

The guard at the gate—Tom had said I need guild approval to get into the library. That probably meant they would kick me out if I tried to ask for a library card. I looked up again at the balcony. That would be my in! I waited just a bit longer as the sun finished setting and practiced activating the SG66 blades in my arms:

SG66-Hydraulic blades

Category

Description

Effect

Close combat weapon

Blades the width of an atom. Activated by an unknown hydraulic mechanism.

Slice them apples

The blades sliced my skin open and protruded out from my forearms. Interestingly, I did not feel any pain, and it stopped bleeding almost immediately as the upgrade package activated. I marveled at how sharp these things were. They would easily slice just about anything less than the density of a neutron star.

I waited until I didn't see any more people walking around and snuck up to the side of the tower. I jammed a blade down at an angle into the stone and pushed with my fists to leverage myself up the side of the building. The blades did not even leave a noticeable mark on the rock as the atom-sized slices were not visible to the human eye. I flung myself over the balcony's railing and then stopped in a crouch looking for any sign of detection. The adrenaline feeling finally caught up to me as I peered down at the street below. No one had seen me!

I crept up to the door and slowly turned the handle. It was open! Someone had left the door open to the library of secrets! I retracted the blades, relieved that I didn't have to cut my way in. Suddenly a screen appeared in my HUD "Sneaky Imperial Unlocked. Improve your skill by sneaking more!":

Sneaky Imperial

Category

Description

Effect

Movement

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Move silently to avoid detection

Did it really happen if no one saw?

Nice! I had just infiltrated the establishment! Time to see what sort of information I could obtain here. I decided to start at the top of the tower and work my way down. I crept up the stairs carefully and eased my weight off anything that started creaking.

At the very top of the tower was an attic. I climbed a rickety ladder and squeezed my frame through the narrow trap door. At the top was a small dusty room. Long forgotten storage chests lined one wall. Their rotting wood gave me little hope that I would find something useful inside.

I started opening the chests one after another. Decaying scrolls crumbled at my touch, the old parchments notwithstanding the test of time. Finally, I found something. The end chest had a scroll that looked undamaged. It even had a weird sparkle to it. I slowly spread it out on the ground and started to read the contents.

Librarian 777

Over my life, I have wondered about the true cost of power. The various training techniques and cultivation manuals throughout this library help one achieve more extraordinary things than those without, but something is wrong. The end of all these paths is one of the system's great labels such as "Arch-Mage," "Demon Lord," etc… But, those that reach these ascended heights are not the same afterward. They become cold, unfeeling, and have strange behaviors. Could it be that they are our betters, and such great minds as myself could not comprehend? I think not. I suspect there Is something else going on. Something the system hides from us. I will continue my exploration of the topic. One such pinnacle of the world is coming to our town soon. I will interview him. I can't keep this scroll on me, but it's good to chronicle my thoughts since I may not return.

This was interesting. I should find librarian 777 and ask him some questions later. For now, it was time to explore the rest of the library. I rolled up the scroll and stuck it back into the chest. My imperial upgrade CPU had taken a snapshot of the contents, so I could always refer back to it later.

I snuck back down the ladder and began scanning book after book as fast as possible. I literally opened a book or scroll, flipped through the pages as quickly as possible, and my imperial upgrade package scanned all the information for later analysis.

I had made it down to the library's 3'rd floor before I finally heard muffled voices coming from the floor below. I finished cataloging the books as fast as I could and then peeped my head over the stairwell. Two robed individuals had just started coming up. My position was such that I faced their backs and peered down as they walked up the stairs. Adrenaline rushed in my head as I quietly grabbed the railing and silently lowered myself behind them, dropping to the floor in a ninja-like crouch. They obliviously continued up the stairs, and I ducked around the corner before they could turn and see me.

Clearing the 3'rd floor was quick, and most of the books seemed like lower-level crafting techniques. I just skipped most sections as they were pointless for me, and the 2'nd floor was similar.

The first floor only had one secretary at the front desk. I tiptoed around the bookshelves and selectively pulled titles that might have helpful information. Many of the books on this level were introductory manuals intended to be given to apprentices. There were many exciting titles, such as "How to be a warrior," "Body of the Iron Path," "How not to die," and the like. I scanned everything that looked important and finally hit the jackpot with a starter technique for more complicated material that I had picked up on higher levels of the building: "Starting cultivation."

Now I had another opportunity to level up my sneak skill. I pulled a book from the shelving and tiptoed across the room. The secretary didn't even notice me. Once I was hidden in the shadows behind a pillar, I chucked the book in a high ark over the bookshelves. "THAWAK" It landed with a loud sound. The secretary spun around, looking in the direction of the sound. "What on earth," she muttered and started towards the fallen book. As soon as her back was to me, I sprinted on my tiptoes past her desk and then bent my body, so the desk hid me as I hurried out of her line of sight. I eased the front door open and stepped out into the night.