"Then I'll be going now."

"Ah, ye-yes... Goodbye..."

After parting ways with Erwen, I headed straight for the library.

The calming scent of paper and ink.

The quiet atmosphere where even coughing feels like it should be held back.

Seeing various skinny people choosing books in that atmosphere makes me feel like I'm the only one out of place, but...

Snore, snore, snore!

Surprisingly, there was another barbarian in the library besides me.

Feeling happy, I approach and poke her back.

"Bjor, Bjorn, son of Yandel?!"

It was you after all.

Ainar, the second or third daughter of Frenelin.

"It's good to see you safe and sound."

"You too!"

"...I think we need to lower our voices."

Ainar also notices the stares directed at us and lowers her voice.

"Sorry, I was surprised. I didn't expect to see another tribe member here besides myself."

Same here.

"What brings you to the library?"

"You once said that I should always think and then act. As I explored the labyrinth this time, I realized that I needed knowledge to think."

Hmm, I see.

That's quite commendable.

If only she wasn't snoring with a book open in front of her face.

"It seems like something happened in the labyrinth."

"It wasn't easy from start to finish. Fighting wasn't a problem, but..."

Ainar continues with a bitter expression.

"It wasn't just the monsters that I had to be wary of."

She definitely seems a bit different from the other barbarians. They just boasted about how easily they beat up monsters.

They never said it was hard, even if they were about to die.

"So you decided to study here."

"That's right. But as expected, this doesn't suit me. Reading is too difficult. I should have studied harder when I was young."

...Ah, so that's where the problem starts?

"So I'm going to visit the sanctuary starting today and learn how to read from the elders again. Now that I'm an adult, I'll have to pay, but..."

It's still a bit surprising.

That one person can change this much with a piece of advice I gave casually.

Ainar closes the book she had open and gets up from her seat.

"Are you going right now?"

"If I don't do it when I think of it, I'll forget."

I see.

The more I learn about them, the more I think they're a sad race.

"Then I'll be off."

Just as she's heading towards the exit, Ainar turns around as if she just remembered something.

"Ah! Come to think of it, I promised to repay you for your advice if I came back alive. If you need any help, come to the Angry Bullhorn Inn. I'll help you in any way I can."

"Alright."

I hope she doesn't forget this promise within a day or two.

I think I'll need to ask for her help soon.

______________________________________________

After Ainar leaves, I wander around the library for a while, just looking around.

Well, a building the size of the National Assembly Building being an entire library is not something you see every day.

Even in the game, the library was marked as "under construction" and couldn't be entered.

Hmm, but how do I find books here?

It's not like I can just type a few keys on a keyboard and get the location like in the modern world...

I decide to ask for help instead of wasting time thinking about it.

"Ahem."

At the sound of my cough, the librarian who was dozing off at the desk slowly opens her eyes.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for books related to history..."

"Parsityev."

Before I can even finish explaining what kind of books I'm looking for, the sleepy-looking librarian mutters something.

At the same time, a faint light flows into my body.

What the, is that magic?

"Now, as you walk around, you'll be able to find the books you're looking for. You can't check them out, and be sure to put them back in their original place when you're done reading."

As the light fades, the librarian starts dozing off again after giving me those mechanical instructions.

...What the hell is with this woman?

I don't even feel like waking her up again, so I just wander around the library as instructed.

As I do so, I see books here and there that make me feel strangely drawn to them.

I quickly understand what kind of magic it is.

Evil spirits, history, labyrinths, explorers, essences, etc.

The books that I feel drawn to change depending on the keywords I think of.

'What is this convenient magic?'

With magic like this, it makes sense that there's only one librarian. In the first place, the number of library users is almost non-existent compared to its size.

I choose only the books that I feel the strongest pull towards and open them one by one.

[The Ruined World]

The first book I open, which is almost 700 pages long, describes the early history of this world.

Most of it is consistent with the game.

Thousands of years ago, a witch's curse made it impossible for life to exist on this land, and only the last fortress, Lafdonia, escaped the calamity.

To save the people who were starving due to limited resources, the royal family opened a passage to another dimension.

That became the labyrinth of today.

[Basic Understanding of Alchemy: Annotated Edition IV]

The second book describes the process of how magic stones from monsters are turned into bread, water, and steel.

I don't understand the principles at all, but...

I read the books one by one, cramming the knowledge into my head.

[The War of the Sacred Relics III]

Thanks to this, I learn more about the current relationship between barbarians and fairies, and what evil spirits are.

Evil spirits are perceived as evil beings from another dimension who take over bodies.

Hmm, come to think of it, it's not wrong, is it?

[Evil Spirits of the Abyss]

Unfortunately, this book doesn't explain why evil spirits appear.

However, it does describe in detail how the royal family and temple of Lafdonia declared evil spirits as targets for eradication and what efforts they have made.

It's a goldmine of tips for evil spirits.

According to the book, as long as I don't utter forbidden words, there's almost no chance of being suspected as an evil spirit.

For example, "Dungeon and Stone".

...I should also refrain from shouting "Sparta".

[The Evolution of Explorers]

[The Twins of the Lafdonia Royal Family]

[On Heroes]

[The Life of Bifron the Prisoner]

As I continue reading books, I finally obtain the information I was looking for.

[On the Death of the King]

This book deals with the death of Ravigion III, the first king, also known as the Immortal King.

However, I'm not interested in the various suspicions surrounding it or the changes that resulted from it.

What matters to me is the time period.

Let's see, the date is...

"150 years ago...?"

It's the moment my hypothesis is proven correct.

The date of the king's death recorded in the book is about 150 years ago.

In other words, the place I am now is 150 years in the future according to the game timeline.

No matter which race you choose, the game starts the day after Ravigion III dies.

Damn it.

I guess I'll have to live in the library for a while.

"Whew..."

I close the book and rest my tired eyes for a moment.

Even though I only read the important parts, my eyes feel like they're about to pop out after going through ten books.

But I decide to finish reading the two books I took out.

Let's push a little further. There might be some important information.

[Dimensional Instability Observation Records]

Is this the book that the blonde guy who saved me when I was crawling on three legs read?

The book contains cases and statistics similar to mine.

Just like the blonde guy said, ending up in the outermost area is something that happens once every hundred years...

"Bullshit."

As someone who's experienced it, I can say that there must have been many more cases like this.

It's just that most of them died, so we don't know.

The rest of the content is mostly statistics, so I'm flipping through the pages when I stop at the last chapter.

The author's speculation is written at the end: 'Entering the portal at the moment it closes may be related to the instability phenomenon.'

If this is true...

Then it's my fault after all.

Let's move on quickly before I get depressed.

[9th Grade Essence Compendium]

Finally, the last book.

It's like an encyclopedia of the abilities possessed by essences dropped by 9th-grade monsters, but unlike the in-game descriptions, it doesn't provide information with exact numbers.

[Goblin]

Patience (Low), Smell (Low), Poison Resistance (Low), Dexterity (Low), Vision (Low)

*Always inflicts paralysis poison when using melee weapons.

*Creates traps.

Looking at other monsters, it seems like they use "Medium" for stats 21 or higher...

There's no way to know the criteria for "High" rank.

According to the instructions written on the first page, information on 8th-grade and above essences must be purchased from the Explorer's Guild.

"Whew..."

I close the book and stretch briefly.

It's already dark outside the window.

It seems like it's almost time for the library to close, as there are almost no users left.

I put all the books I read back in their original places and return to the inn.

And after a simple meal, I collapse onto the bed.

Thus, the 3rd day in the city passes.

"27 days left..."

Every month on the 1st, at midnight, the labyrinth opens.

A month here is exactly 30 days, so that means I have to enter the labyrinth again in about 4 weeks.

"......"

What can I do in the city for the remaining time?

No, what should I do?

As I organize various things in my head, sleepiness quickly washes over me.

Let's try to find new companions tomorrow.

_______________________________________

"Mister! Mister! Wake up!"

Erwen comes knocking on my door early in the morning.

Leaving aside the fact that her voice sounds quite excited...

'Why the hell is she here?'

She wouldn't come now and say she wants to follow me instead of her sister, would she?

Honestly, I thought we were done with each other.

"What's the matter?"

"Look at this! I succeeded in the contract!"

As soon as I open the door, Erwen blurts out something out of the blue.

"Contract? Ah, you mean you ate a 'Spirit Stone'?"

A Spirit Stone is an item that allows fairies to make contracts with spirits of other attributes.

Assuming the user is lucky.

"Yes! I succeeded in making a contract with a new spirit after parting ways with you yesterday!"

"You were lucky."

In the game, the price of a Spirit Stone was about 150,000 stones.

The success rate was only 10%.

For her, it must have been a gamble where she put almost all of her assets on the line, but to succeed in that?

"Yes! It worked after I tried about ten times with the one my sister bought me!"

...Damn, is she here to tease me?

As a barbarian who only inherited this body, I feel a sense of deprivation.

When we first met, she said she had a younger sibling to take care of and I thought she was a poor girl, but now I see she's a complete gold spoon.

I bet the bow she had was also bought by her sister.

"Anyway, it seems like you made a contract with a wind spirit."

"Yes! I was lucky in many ways. Fire and wind have good compatibility!"

"Alright, alright, dismiss the summon first."

I sigh and say.

I'm a little jealous, but that's not the reason.

"Yes? But I haven't shown you properly yet..."

"Are you planning to make an even bigger mess?"

"Ah, ah! Sorry!"

Only then does the swirling wind subside.

Phew, what a mess first thing in the morning.

As I frown, Erwen, who had been so excited, starts observing my expression with an apologetic look.

"I, I'll clean up?"

I don't know why she's asking.

Was she planning to ask me to clean up?

When I nod, Erwen quickly tidies up the messy room.

Surprisingly, it takes less than 10 minutes.

She said she was confident in laundry and cleaning before, and it seems like she was telling the truth.

There's no wasted movement.

Just like a master from a martial arts novel.

"Should I clean more?"

"......"

"I'll clean more..."

"No, that's enough."

Honestly, I'm not sure if it's even possible to clean more than this.

Somehow, it feels like the inn room is cleaner now than when I first entered.

Let's give her a carrot since she did a good job.

I also have something to ask her later.

"Come to think of it, I haven't said this yet. Congratulations on making a contract with a new spirit."

"Hehe, thank you!"

"Have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet."

Since she hasn't eaten yet, we go down to the 1st floor and have breakfast while talking.

"What can you do with a wind spirit?"

"I think I can do things like slightly alter the trajectory of an arrow that's already been shot, or shoot it much faster!"

It's a rather one-dimensional way of using it compared to what I expected.

Can't she make the arrow spin to increase its penetration power, or make the sound of the arrow being shot inaudible?

If she could, our combat power would increase even further.

"Uh, I haven't thought about that... but it seems like it might be possible?"

What is with this way of speaking?

It makes me feel inexplicably annoyed.

"Anyway, it's good that you came. Let's head back up after breakfast."

"Yes? Why?"

"There's something we need to do in the room."

Erwen tilts her head.

She has a look that says she has no idea what I'm talking about...

"You didn't think you repaid all your debt with that, did you?"

"Ye, yes? I didn't?"

She's quite naive in some ways.

Click.

I lock the door to prevent anyone from entering and sit Erwen down on the bed.

"Now, use your ability."

I need to confirm if using skills is tiring, how long it takes to use them again, if there are any weaknesses in the stealth ability, and so on.

There's a mountain of things to check.

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