“Hans! Just run! We’re nearing the deepest parts of the forest!”
“I know! You don’t have to say it every damn second!”
“Yeah, just keep running!”
“I should’ve killed those fuckers when I have the chance! Why did I even let them slide!”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, Eri? And you didn’t even do anything while they ran in front of us with dozens of Monsters chasing them.”
“It’s because It didn’t seem that bad that time!”
“Well, how about now? Look at where we are right now! Running away from these goddamn monsters even if I can finish them in a blink of an eye!”
“It’s your decision not to engage them while there is a chance of someone seeing us.”
“I can’t even… just keep quiet.”
“Good. Enough pointless banters.”
After quite some time spent on running, we have finally reached the deep parts of the forest.
“Now!”
“I don’t need you to tell me that!”
Immediately, the mob of monster ranging from Rank C to Rank A, literally vanished without a trace. I dematerialized all of them to the point that there would be no remains left.
“If you have done that earlier, we might’ve been able to save our time running from those.”
“I told you, right? I will not use my ability to its extent when there is a possibility that people will see us.”
“You and your weird senses. I don’t know what’s running through that brain of yours sometimes.”
“I promise you, you wouldn’t even comprehend it.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“By the way, the sun’s setting. We should camp in here for the night.”
“Yes, that’s what we need right now, rest.”
“You say so.”
To be able to shed light on the current events, let me bring you back at least 12 hours from now. The moment when we arrived at The Laotea Continent.
----------------------------------------
“This port is so big!”
“I believe that this is what the humans called as Town of Regia, the most prosperous town in the south. Also known as the Town of Exchange due to numerous deals being made in this Town, both legally and illegally.”
“So, this is, like, a Town for pretty much different kinds of Merchant?”
“Yup, pretty much like that.”
“This town is not compatible with me, I guess. I hate talking to other people, after all. It’s giving me shivers.”
Eri looked at me with curiosity, I just didn’t bother to entertain her.
“So, where are we going now? Should we go to a nearby inn for accommodations?”
“We will not stay here for too long. In fact, we will leave this town as soon as we gather all the materials we need for our journey.”
“Why the rush? We can stay here for two to three days, you know?”
“I don’t want to undergo another ‘please help our town’ situation. That’s why we will leave immediately.”
“So, because it’s inconvenient?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be bothered.”
“I see… so, what do we need to get before leaving?”
“Not that many, really. I just want to grab some books about this world to study and some of its book of recipes for me to recreate. I don’t really need raw material since I can materialize those myself.”
“That only?”
“Well, if you happen to like something, then buy it. It’s not like I’m restraining you from buying, am I?”
“Well then, I’m off. Let’s meet at the north gate after we’ve finished with our errands.”
We then went to find what we’re looking for. I went to the largest Library in Town while Eri went off elsewhere.
Upon entering the Large Library, I was overwhelmed by the volume of books inside. Somehow, the Thirst for knowledge that I discarded since I was sent here was refueled and added nitrous. I can feel my heart jumping up and down right now, well, figuratively speaking. But still, this Library makes me so excited than ever before.
I went to the librarian to ask her about the books that I’m looking for.
“Uhm. Excuse me, can I ask something?”
“Sure! What is it?”
“Can you please tell me where to find the books that is centered towards the history of this world?”
“Oh, History of Veneofel? They’re at the second floor, isle 6554. Right in the History and Humanity section. Is there anything else that you want to ask?”
“I also need a recipe book for any dishes around the world. Do you have one?”
“If that’s what you’re looking for, then you can find it at the first floor, recreations room, Isle 21.”
“Thank you very much.”
“If you need anything, then do not hesitate to go to me.”
“Sure, I’ll do it.”
“Good! Enjoy reading.”
“I will… Uhm, wait a minute, I almost forgot something.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a room for books that contains magic knowledge?”
The Librarian suddenly had a change in atmosphere around her. She neither look happy or sad. She’s smiling but you can feel the serious aura around her. The Librarian then answered relaxed.
“Yes, we do have a section of those books in here, but it cannot be accessed by just anyone. You can access it if you’re Rank A or above, or if you’re a member of the Royalties. Do you qualify for those descriptions, sir?”
She looked at me as if I cannot meet those expectations, which is true, but still, she’s looking at me in a degrading manner.
“I am afraid that I do not meet those expectations.”
“Then I’m terribly sorry about you but you can’t acce-”
“But, I have these.”
I unfastened the bag that I’m currently holding and bring out a pouch.
“Is One Hundred Gold Coins enough?”
“Wha-! One Hundred Gold Coins?!”
“Hey, Ms. Librarian, we’re in the library. Don’t just shout out of nowhere.”
“B-but it’s a hundred Gold Coins we’re talking about, you know! It’s enough to start a moderate business in the town center. Are you sure you’re willing to give that to us?”
“Yeah, definitely. If you can give me the permission to enter the room containing books about magic knowledge, that is.”
Suddenly, the aura surrounding her became much more approachable.
“I shouldn’t just give anyone permission to go there, you know. But recently, we faced something that requires immediate financial attention. Because of that, the whole library is struggling to survive. Without the money to pay its workers, some of them left to go and find another job. I shouldn’t just accept any bribe, but if it’s for the survival of the Library itself, then I might turn a blind eye and pretend that I didn’t receive any money from you.”
“So that’s what this is all about, huh… Ok, I made up my mind. I will give you One Thousand Gold Coins. Consider it as a donation from me.”
“One Thousand?!”
Tears suddenly fell from the Librarian’s eyes.
“Hey, don’t cry.”
“But… With this, forget about being just able to pass by the day, we can even upgrade our facilities and acquire more books! I appreciate your help, really.”
“Don’t mention it, Besides, I love knowledge more than anything. You can say that this is some sort of my investment for the future.”
“I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. If you ever need my help or wants to visit this library again, just look for me. The name’s Alesia Ruvia.”
“Ok, Alesia. I’ll accept your offers. So, can I go now?”
“Certainly! Here is the key to the restricted room, you can access Magic knowledge there. If you search even deeper, you can also access the Prohibited magic spells corner. But remember, I did not receive anything from you. Got it?”
“Yeah, I know. Well then, I’ll be going now.”
I then head towards the History section first. What I reached for is a book about the history of this world and the history of the Laotea Continent and its various inhabitants. Since I do not have much time to read all of the books I needed, I went ahead and replicate the book itself. It is true that I can’t materialize a book but if it is to replicate it, then there’s no problem. I used my ability to skim through the books as fast as possible, at the same time, the contents were being transferred to a recreated copy. This ability sure is convenient.
Overall, I have recreated a copy of 5 books about the history of this world and its inhabitants. After that, I went towards the recreation room to find a recipe book. I want to acquire one so that I can recreate dishes in this world using my ability. I can materialize any food that I tried before, but if I haven’t tried it before and only know how it looks, then if I try to recreate it, the result will be an appetizing meal to the eyes but a bland flavorless food if eaten. That’s why I need a recipe book to make the dishes once and have a taste of it in order to recreate it using my ability.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
After replicating two recipe books, I went ahead to find the restricted room. The Librarian said that it is located at the second floor so I went upstairs.
As expected, the room is more extravagant than I thought. It really is designed with royal in mind. There are Gold Plated Chairs and Expensive looking table. Heck, the Book looks like it was imbued with gems too. No wonder this place is aimed only for the nobles and high-ranking adventurers and officials.
I went ahead and pull a random book in a shelf. The title of the book I pulled was “Theory of Magical Composition and Execution”. As I look upon its contents, I quickly understood the subject of the Book. Looks like it was about What makes magic and efficient ways to execute it. It might be helpful for me, only if I could use some magic.
I decided to replicate some of the Books for future context. The Books that I replicate is about Fundamentals of Magic, the aforementioned book that I randomly pulled earlier, the Elements used in Magic, Magic spell books for different elements and difficulties etc. for a total of 23 books. I would’ve been caught immediately if I don’t have my magic pouch that I acquired in demon castle.
After securing the replicated books, I went towards what the Librarian said is the Prohibited Magic Spells Corner. The area looks a lot different than the other parts of the room. It looks like an Archives Corner than a Book Corner. The Books are dusty and old, just like what you would expect in a storage room than a library. The Books looks like it was untouched in a long period of time. It seems that no one wants to even open the books in here. It really lives up to its “Prohibited” title.
I reach out to one of the books and look at its contents, that’s when I understand why no one was even trying to learn the spells in the books.
The page that I read was about a spell that can release a highly poisonous gas that can kill anyone with just one breath in exchange for the caster’s life force slowly being eaten every second. There’s also an Explosion spell that can destroy an entire town but needed to gather a huge amount of mana before being able to cast. Overall, the spells in the book that I pulled are really powerful magic but the drawbacks were as huge as its power. If all the books in this corner where about lethal risk – lethal reward spells, then it really is quite understandable why no one went ahead and tried to learn the spells.
I decided to leave the corner without copying the any books in there. I tried to look around for more books that I replicate. Books that I can use for reference and, at the same time, Eri can learn.
After a few minutes have passed, I almost completely cover the whole area for my search. The only thing that I haven’t visited yet is the shelf on the corner of the room. It seems that that corner is not different to other corners. The books are all about Magic Spells, just like the other shelves. Except for the pedestal in the end of the Shelves. The pedestal seems to be holding some kind of book.
I approached the pedestal and saw a Book with Green cover. The design was simple enough. The title was written in gold. The title of the Book is “The Magic Pioneer”. It looks simple compared to some books in the room. But what makes it stand out from the rest is its contents.
The Book talks about the People who, practically, invented Magic. The Book explains thoroughly about the Origins Magic – Magic spells that was developed by the Pioneers of Magic and is the basis of all the Magic Spells in existence. According to the Book, there are 7 Origins Magic: The Spatial Origins Magic, The Time Manipulation Origins Magic, The Mind Control Origins Magic, The Elemental Origins Magic, The Reality Bending Origins Magic, The Full-Body Strengthening Origins Magic and The Existence Origins Magic. These 7 Magics are not only the Fundamentals of every magic unimaginable, but also, the Basis of the World itself. Those seven origins magic ties up with the seven forces that makes up the Whole World and Beyond: Space, Time, Reality, Elements, Strength, Thoughts and Life itself.
Although it’s been said to be lost in time, the Origins Magic is still in existence according to the book. Also, according to the Book, the 7 Origins Magic were transferred into grimoires by the Pioneers of Magic, they then hide it separately around Veneofel and told no one about its whereabouts. They did those countermeasures so that no one will be able to abuse all of its power.
Right now, I feel that there’s too much information dump happening. Before I entered this room, I have no idea about magic itself. Now, I was informed about the existence of the Pillar Spells of Magic itself. This is so much that I can handle. In order to not experience Mind melting, jokes aside, I just go ahead and replicate the book itself. The only problem is that, I can’t seem to replicate the book. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to produce even its cover. There is definitely something going on if even my ability can’t be used in this book. I tried opening it again to look for any clues on why I can’t replicate the book. As soon as I reached the final page, I noticed something. There is a writing in the last page of the book, and weirdly enough, it’s not written using this world’s language. In short, it is written in English Alphabet and in a Prophecy Form.
I read the passage out loud.
“Those who seek the power of this,
Should not be gained by sword or fist.
The mind will show you how it goes,
And how the space can be controlled”
There also seem to be a word, or something, in the bottom of the passage.
“Uhm, Spatium?”
All of the sudden, the Book omitted Bright Light and began to float midair. It was so sudden that I almost trip myself while backing out from the pedestal.
The Bright light then slowly became dull and after that, the book that formerly has green-colored cover, has been turned into Black and the writings changed from Veneofel Language to English Language. The Title is also changed. Now, the book is titled “Spatial Origins Magic Grimoire”. There is also a name in the bottom of the Front Cover, Phillip Weiss.
The Alphabets and the name combined, my suspicions became much stronger. I now believe that I’m not the first one from my world that has been summoned in this world. It appears that the writer of this book is also someone who came from Earth. And he was the one who developed the Magic that is now widely used by the inhabitants of this world. I don’t know what to feel about my discoveries. My mind is in the state of chaos right now and I can’t think of what to do with the sudden information that was dumped in me.
I decided to steal the book itself than risking it to other people’s hands. Specially when this book is a Grimoire of one of the Origins Magic. I’m not going to leave this one to fate, not when a pillar spell of magic itself is at risk in here. It might even become a spark that can start a war.
I then head towards the librarian to give her the key and leave the library to meet with Eri.
----------------------------------------
“What took you so long!”
“Sorry, sorry. It’s just… So many things happened all at once.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I will tell you everything later.”
“Ok. What now?”
“Let’s go. We can go to the Forest if we use the North gate… Before I forgot, let’s head towards the Guild Building in this Town first to register our arrival.”
We went towards the Guild building to notify the Guild that we have arrived in this town. Apparently, it was a custom in the whole continent to visit the guild building after you reached a town. In that way, they can record your arrival.
After that, we head towards the North gate to depart from the town.
After walking for quite some time, we crossed paths with a group of bandits.
“Hey, hey, hey. Stop right there.”
We continued walking.
“Hey! I said stop! You want me to kill you?”
“Uhm, we’re quite in a hurry right now so… can you please let us through?”
“That’s now how this works, kid. If you want us to let you go, then give us your belongings…”
The Leader of the Bandit then focused his sight towards Eri who is wearing a hood to hide her horns.
“And give that girl to us. If you do that, then we’ll let you pass.”
Honestly, I’m getting tired of their kind.
“*sigh* Look Sir. If you let us pass, then we will not touch you, or your mates. So, let us go, will you?”
“Hahaha! I like this guy, so brave! But, you see, this is not the right time to show your bravery. I know that you don’t want to look wimp in front of your girl but if you continue that attitude… We’ll kill you.”
“Ok, that’s it. Eri, you can do what you want.”
“Oh, you’re giving your girl to us, how kind of you.”
The Leader of the Bandit approaches Eri and attempts to grope her. What happened after is as expected.
All of a sudden, the head of the leader of bandits rolled in the floor. Eri is now holding her dual daggers and her hood is removed from her head. Her horn is clearly visible to everyone.
The Comrades of the Bandit that has been killed took a few moments before they understood what has happened. After they came to their senses, they ran away while shouting in terror.
“As if I’m gonna let any of you escape!”
I erected a wall in the path of the bandits to cut their escape. Without nowhere to run, the bandits lost all their strength and slumped at the floor. They were looking at Eri in genuine terror while Eri is walking slowly towards them. They were pleading for their lives, but Eri is apathetic towards them, and with a blink of an eye, all thirteen bandits lost their head.
“You’ve made quite a mess.”
“I can’t help it.”
“*sigh* Wait right here, I’ll clean this up.”
I used my ability to cover the corpses with dirt and grass. After that, we continued our journey.
After a few minutes, just after the encounter with the bandits, Eri and I felt the ground trembling. After a few seconds, A group of adventurers passed us while running frantically. After they passed, we looked from where they went and saw dozens of mobs of monsters running towards us.
“Those fuckers! They passed the monsters on to us! Run!”
And with that, we head back to the present.
----------------------------------------
“I’m exhausted!”
Right now, we are at the middle of the forest. Eri and I were lying in the ground and looking upwards. As soon as the threat disappeared, the exhaustion from running came to my body. I can’t help but lay down in the ground.
“What should we do now?”
“I don’t want to move yet. Let me lay down a bit more.”
“At this rate, we will be here when night comes. Everyone knows that you don’t spend a night deep in the forest, you know.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here. Besides, we are far from Regia now. It won’t help even if we decided to return.”
Eri sighed.
“If you say so.”
“Can you start a fire now? It’s beginning to get cold out here.”
“Ok.”
Eri started a fire. After a few minutes, the Sky turned dark, it is now nighttime.
I used my ability to create food. What I materialized is a simple ready-to-eat beef curry with rice. At first, Eri was hesitating to eat the food, but after her first bite, she shoved all the food in her mouth. Looks like she really loved it.
After eating, Eri asked me about what happened in the Library earlier. I explained it to her without leaving any detail behind.
“So, you’re in possession of one of the Origins Magic Grimoire?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“But you can’t use magic, right?”
“That’s why I want you to learn the Spatial Magic in the Grimoire.”
“You want to give it to me?”
“Yes. It would be a waste to me, otherwise. I rather have you learn the Magic in the Grimoire than other people. You want to get stronger, right?”
“Ok, I’ll try. Can you give me the Grimoire?”
I hand over the Grimoire to her.
“Are you really sure that you want to give this to me? I might become much stronger than you, you know?”
“Hahaha! Don’t worry, you’ll never surpass me.”
“You’re too confident. Wait for me and I’ll lake you eat your words.”
“Just get over with it.”
“Okay.”
Eri opened the book and attempt to read it.
“So? What does it say?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“It has nothing in it. All Blank!”
“What?!”
“You’re trying to mess with me? There’s nothing written here! What should I re-”
Suddenly, Eri became stiff.
“Eri? Eri? Hey! Answer me!”
No use. Eri has become completely still.
“Eri! Hey! Eri! What Happened!”
Suddenly, Her eyes turned all white and emitted a glow.
“What the Hell?!”
After the eye-glowing, Eri collapsed.
“Eri! Are you okay? Hey!”
A few moments later, Eri gained consciousness.
“Eri! Thank goodness. What happened?”
Eri appears to be still groggy from what happened
“I’m alright… What just happened?”
“You collapsed!”
“Me?... So that’s how it works, huh.”
“What are you saying?”
Eri then whispered something. After that, she disappeared in front of me.
“Wha-”
“Want to have a brawl now?”
Eri appeared at my back, pointing her finger in my side.
“You learned it! How?!”
“I don’t really know how to explain. The only thing that I remembered was the feeling of something being forced into my brain. After that, I became aware of the words to say to execute the magic.”
“That’s convenient!”
“More importantly, want to fight me now?”
“You’re becoming too cocky, Eri. Okay, I’ll accept your invite. Come on!”
“Teleport!”
Eri disappeared in front of me yet again and appeared at my back while swinging her daggers. I managed to evade her strike.
“Not Bad. But you can’t beat me with that!”
Eri tried to teleport all over while trying to strike me in my blind spot. The only problem is, I can evade all her strike. I can feel her bloodlust, that’s why I can pinpoint where she will appear. After a minute, Eri stopped.
“As expected, I can’t defeat you with that.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Then, I’ll try different method!”
Eri extend her hand towards me.
“Compress!”
Suddenly, the space between me feels like it’s slowly compressing.
“So that’s what Spatial Magic is. However-”
I forced my way out of the compressed space.
“-That won’t work on me either!”
“Wha- How come?!”
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Gravity 200%!”
I immediately felt that I was being pulled towards the ground. Eri then rushed towards me with her daggers pointed at me but I dodged it easily and caught her hands. I was then released from the increased gravity.
“What the Heck! You’re so powerful!”
“You know what? Honestly, I think you can beat me using that newly gained power of yours. But in order to do that, you need to learn to control it first. Your teleportation doesn’t work because I can sense your bloodlust, your compress magic is too weak and the Gravity increase is unstable, therefore I can still move. You can’t beat me with that unpolished magic of yours, but if you train hard enough, I believe that you can defeat me.”
Eri sighed.
“I thought I can defeat you now, what a shame. I will train hard! Look forward to the day that I will defeat you!”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Now I feel sleepy, where will we sleep?”
“Oh, About that…”
I materialized two tents that are already set up and equipped with heater since it’s cold outside.
“Here! The one in the right is for you, the one in the left is for me.”
“Good. I’ll sleep now.”
“Good night.”
Eri head towards the tent and immediately sleep, she didn’t even close the tent. I close the tent for her and head towards my tent.
Too many things happened today, and what an awesome way to end it by sleeping under the comfort of the stars, slowly drifting towards the oblivion.
----------------------------------------
The smell of the grass enveloped my nose. the sounds of birds chirping around can be further heard inside the forest. Different types of trees can be seen around. Today is a really great morning, indeed. Everything is almost perfect, if not only for the hundreds of soldiers surrounding our camp.
“You two are under arrest for trespassing inside Grandiosa, Kingdom of the Lareans! Further resistance will result to unlikely injuries or even death. I suggest that you come with us peacefully to avoid unnecessary conflicts.”
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!