Chapter 64: Pieces of a Fractured Realm
A few days passed in a steady rhythm, with Niko and his companions pushing themselves harder each day as they patrolled their territory on the mountain. They combed the rocky slopes and dense patches of trees, growing more familiar with every twist and turn of the rugged terrain. It became a training ground and a refuge, and each step deepened Niko’s understanding of its size and hidden pockets. The boundaries of his territory now felt like second nature to him—a piece of this harsh new world that was truly under his control.
Niko’s progress had been satisfying; he’d leveled up twice since they’d started this routine, each level strengthening the bond with his spirits and enhancing his own abilities. Zheng, Fumito, and Ivanic had also seen improvements, their movements becoming sharper, their coordination tighter. Their strength wasn’t just measured in individual skill but in their growing unity as a team. Together, they’d carved a path through the enemies lurking around the mountain, from lurking beasts to the remnants of the ratmen patrols.
Alongside this hands-on training, Niko took every chance he could to dig deeper into the resources hidden within the castle. The library became a quiet sanctuary amid the daily grind. Row upon row of ancient, dust-laden books lined the shelves, their faded titles hinting at a wealth of knowledge on everything from the local fauna to the brutal history of Grayrock Castle itself. Niko would spend hours flipping through texts, piecing together fragments of the castle’s past and clues about the otherworldly forces that ruled this layer.
To extend his influence even further, he began experimenting with his spirits as scouts, sending them beyond his immediate territory to explore the land surrounding the mountain. The process was far more draining than he’d anticipated, requiring his intense focus to guide the spirits over new terrain and through unseen obstacles. Each time he sent them beyond the territory’s edge, he found his focus tested as if he were stretching his mind itself across the miles.
One slip in focus could be disastrous. During one attempt, a sudden noise from the forest broke his concentration, snapping the tether between him and one of his scouting ratmen spirits, which dissipated into thin air, lost to the wilds. Losing a spirit meant losing a piece of his carefully amassed strength, and Niko took it as a lesson in caution. The further he pushed his spirits, the greater the risk.
At this moment, Niko was sitting in the library reading an old book. Ahead of him was a table with a few other books opened lying there, waiting to be resumed. Behind him there were several bookshelves with books of various colors, and a hall that extended quite a distance, showing the size of the library.
“Huh…” Niko whispered as he placed a finger on his chin, and began to think deeply.
From the countless hours Niko had spent in the castle library, poring over its timeworn volumes, a pattern had begun to emerge. These books held stories and histories that described a world completely foreign to him—a world neither like Earth nor like the strange, brutal realm into which he had been summoned. It wasn’t just one or two isolated texts, either. The more he read, the more he realized these books weren’t mere fiction. They were records—accounts of events and people from a reality entirely separate from his own.
At first, Niko dismissed it as some eccentric author’s fantastical obsession. Perhaps someone had been so devoted to a fictional world that they filled an entire library with interconnected stories, creating props and detailing characters as if they were real. But the deeper he delved, the harder it became to maintain this skeptical perspective. Every book, every chapter, every anecdote seemed to correlate perfectly with the others. The histories wove together seamlessly, the events unfolding with the kind of coherence and specificity that only reality could provide.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
One text spoke of the Feather Division of the Human Kingdom, a legendary battalion renowned for their skill and bravery, brought low by a ratman wielding a Rusted Sword. Another detailed the barbarian tribes of the wildlands, their chieftains donning masks adorned with feathers and runes, striking a tenuous alliance with the King of Grayrock Castle to defeat the ratmen hordes. The battles were vividly described, with tactics, sacrifices, and betrayals that felt far too intricate to be made up.
What truly unsettled Niko, though, was the castle itself. The books described Grayrock Castle to the smallest detail—the spiraling towers, the imposing main hall, the intricate carvings that adorned the walls. Every word matched the place he now called his home. Even the hidden passageways deep underground, which the books hinted at but never fully mapped, seemed real. If the books were correct, those secret tunnels could hold treasures, knowledge, or even more unsettling truths about the world they described.
But the question that gnawed at Niko’s mind was simple and troubling: If this castle truly belonged to a different world, what was it doing here? What force could have plucked it—and presumably the rest of the territory—from its original home and dropped it into this fragmented land?
And if the castle came from another world, what else had been brought here with it? Was this layer of existence a patchwork of stolen fragments, stitched together from countless realms? If so, what did that mean for him, his allies, and his search for his sister?
The thought sent a shiver down his spine. It raised possibilities he wasn’t sure he wanted to face—possibilities that hinted at a power far beyond anything he had yet encountered.
Niko was getting frustrated as he truly had no clue what to do with the information he had delved into the last few days.
With a sigh, Niko shook his head and closed the book on his hand. He stood up from his wooden chaid and moved towards the shelf as he planned to place the book away.
Catching his eyes, was a book that was considerably smaller than the others. It looked shabby as the leather like cover looked worn out and ready to give way. However, there was a faint glow to it.
Grabbing it, Niko attempted to open it, however, not a single page was revealed as Niko was unnable to open the small book.
“What?” Niko couldn't believe it.
[Celestial Probe]
…
[Item: Diary of the King of Grayscale]
Rank: N/A
Description: A small booklet containing some of the last events in the life of the King of Grayscale.
[Additional Information]
* Requires Level 20 to open.
“Huh? King of Grayscale? Level twenty? This could be key to finding more information about this world.” Niko was clearly aware that what he had read thus far from the library was the remnants of a forgotten world. But why this was here and how it got here was a complete mystery.
There were a lot of things he needed to achieve, and a lot of things to learn, and he was aware his journey had just begun.
Putting away the small book into his inventory, Niko suddenly raised his head as his eyes became a little focused. He quickly summoned his staff from the inventory and steadily made his way to the door.
Sending a message through his mind to the others, everyone was now aware, they were under attack.