Chapter 131

Every night, we’d been having friendly chats… no, fierce debates.

The participants were none other than the Saint of Ragnarok, the Doom Knight’s disciple, and the outstanding Mage Pan-Dalus.

These debates had greatly expanded my view of the world.

Last night, I asked,

“Why did Truth Tower call Ragnarok ‘those who fell for a cunning deception’?”

Pan-Dalus answered like this,

“His Majesty the Magic Emperor suspected Mimir, the Well of Wisdom—one of Ragnarok’s three divine artifacts.”

“Insane! That usurper dares to speak freely about Mimir?!”

We paid no attention to Beatrice’s foaming at the mouth.

“Why is that?”

“Mimir is famous for providing answers about past, present, and future. The official mage organization of Ragnarok has maintained its powerful influence thus far thanks to the information Mimir provides. However… His Majesty felt that certain information provided by Mimir contradicted memories passed down through the Dragon Heart. In the end, His Majesty trusted the memories of the Dragon Heart over Mimir.”

“Which parts exactly…?”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t hear that much.”

“Impossible! I’m the one who inherited the memories! I myself never felt any contradictions! That usurper who has never even touched the Heart claims to have noticed something? That thief has been deceiving us for generations!”

“Ah, of course… His Majesty also mentioned that Ragnarok’s mages were too foolish to notice the contradiction.”

“Eek! Eeeeek!”

While restraining Beatrice, who was trying to leap across the table to grab Pan-Dalus’s beard, with wind magic, I continued my questioning.

“So… Mimir is deceiving Ragnarok?”

“Yes. His Majesty said exactly this: ‘Where on earth did… such a terrible thing as the Well of Wisdom appear from…? This is so different from the Knight Order’s artifact…’ Hard to believe, but at that moment, His Majesty seemed greatly afraid of something. That monstrous Emperor…? It’s a memory I simply cannot forget.”

That was last night.

* * *

“A-are you really going to open it?”

Monggu turned to me with an uncertain expression. Beatrice reacted with horror.

“Hey, hey. That’s not something a mage should touch! What if you get riddled with holes by those terrifying weapons? Ah… of course, I’d be delighted if that happened to you! But I don’t want to see anything so disgusting, so don’t do it now!”

What? Is she actually worried about me?

“What, what! What are you looking at? Drop dead!”

“Children these days… sharing snacks and talking for a few days, and already getting attached? To an enemy you shouldn’t even share the same sky with? Ridiculous.”

Evan mocked Beatrice while crunching on popcorn.

“No! No! I said drop dead. I hope you die! Right, Sister Kaisel?”

“Huh? Hmm mmm… shadow… library? Shadow Library… Shadow Library. I’ve heard that somewhere before… shadow…”

The vampire Kaisel ignored Beatrice’s plea for help and muttered to herself.

By the way, does Kaisel know about the Shadow Library that neither the cube nor Ari are aware of?

Hmm… I’ll have to look into this later.

“Monggu. It’s fine. Open it. The Shadow Library won’t harm me.”

Yes, I admit it. This is actually a gamble. But it’s worth the risk.

I placed my faith in three things.

First, the ‘Shadow Library’ responds to knights. But knights were actually creations that fought on the gods’ side in ancient times.

This is what I think.

For such creations to make something like this, they would need the implicit permission of the gods. It’s impossible to use the legacy of gods against their will. Just look at the cube—the legacies of gods aren’t just ownerless objects. They all have artificial egos.

So… the Shadow Library cannot be hostile to the power of gods.

Then who exactly is it hostile to?

This brings me to my second clue: Mimir, the Well of Wisdom.

This is almost like fiction… but my intuition is deeply unsettled.

If what Pan-Dalus heard from the Magic Emperor is true, there’s a mastermind behind Mimir, which Ragnarok considers one of its three divine artifacts. There’s an entity trying to bring about the world’s destruction by manipulating Ragnarok. If that’s true, perhaps the reason the ‘Shadow Library’ separated from the existing Akashic Record was to escape the surveillance of ‘Mimir, the Well of Wisdom’? The Shadow Library might have been created not to overthrow the gods but to counter the unknown power attempting to destroy the world.

Of course, this is all speculation… but somehow my intuition keeps leaning in this direction.

And the last thing I believe in… is that I’m a mage, not a god. So even if the Shadow Library truly is hostile to gods… I should be fine.

What if my expectations are wrong? Well, there’s no helping it. I’ll have to face the consequences. Rather than spending time in fear… I should surrender to the excitement of the unknown.

I’m a mage, after all.

The magical powers are watching me too. A mage who promised to regenerate the gods shouldn’t hesitate in such matters.

Right?

Taking a deep breath, I told Monggu,

“Open it now.”

Whoong-!

Monggu’s coin hummed loudly. He started talking to himself.

“Huh? Yes. I know I don’t have any points. Still… I should at least know what functions are available, right? Huh? Um… yeah. Seeing the samples would be motivating. Yeah. That’s right.”

I couldn’t perceive anything before, but now I could faintly see it. Another mana network, completely disconnected from the world we live in, was actively moving.

“Shadow Library catalog opening.”

Finally, Monggu uttered the command.

Rumble!

“Huh? What? Nothing’s changed?”

Beatrice tilted her head in confusion.

“Hmm… I don’t see anything.”

Pan-Dalus furrowed his brows as well.

“Hmph. As if mages like you could perceive it. It’s not a power granted to mages in the first place!”

Evan boasted with arrogance.

But I could see it clearly. The beginning is always the hardest. Once you recognize that there’s another recording system separate from the Akashic Record, perceiving it isn’t impossible.

However…

‘I can’t interact with it like this.’

Monggu looked around before staring blankly at me. It seemed the “catalog” was visible to Monggu, but to me, it appeared only as incomprehensible mana patterns. Even when I reached out, there was no response. It was a record in the same space as me but separated from me. I couldn’t touch it or influence it. The name ‘Shadow Library’ fit perfectly.

In that case…

I just needed to reconnect the broken connection.

Zing!

The moment I connected my mana with the Shadow Library’s mana, an unpleasant wave surged from my fingertips. The world darkened like ink spreading. What had been visible only as mana took concrete form. Ships, Guardians, Mobility discs, beam hilts… all kinds of weapons floated up as palm-sized models.

“Huh? Huh? I can see it?”

Beatrice exclaimed in amazement.

“Y-you madman! What have you done?!”

Evan was horrified.

Immediately afterward, we were all engulfed by a massive vibration.

Rumble!

Crash! Clang! Crack!

It wasn’t something we could withstand with strength. As if space itself had twisted, everyone, regardless of their level, staggered and rolled on the floor.

The lenses filling the Mage of Refinement’s workshop shattered and scattered across the floor, and bookshelves collapsed.

A sharp warning sound pierced all our ears.

[Emergency! Emergency! Unauthorized access detected. Switching connection status with Shadow Library to isolation mode. 50,000 years since activation. This is the first unauthorized access. Beginning situation assessment.]

Click. Click. Click.

Ominous metallic sounds assaulted our ears.

Barely suppressing the dizzying vertigo, I raised my head to hear Monggu’s frozen voice.

“J-Jun-woo… b-be careful…”

Huh?

As I lifted my head, I saw dozens of pitch-black holes. They were elongated barrels. Each one emanating an ominous aura even more terrifying than Evan’s Longinus’s Spear, and all aimed precisely at me.

Even Evan, who had been mocking me, fell silent before their overwhelming presence.

[Scanning… presumed to be human species.]

[Negative. Possesses divine body. Presumed to be Administrator.]

[Negative. The extinction of Administrators has been cross-verified multiple times. Additionally, countless cases of humans possessing divine bodies after Ragnarok have been collected.]

[Objection. Administrator authentication code detected from that entity.]

[Cross-verification… approved. Administrator authentication code confirmed. Probability of being Administrator increased.]

[Objection. That entity’s body is still clearly a variant of human species.]

[Conclusion. Difficult to reach a conclusion.]

Zing-

Wait. If it’s difficult to reach a conclusion, why suddenly activate?

Dozens of muzzles aimed at me simultaneously glowed red.

Overwhelming power that seemed capable of destroying the world, all directed at me alone.

[Question. Who are you? For what purpose did you attempt to access the Shadow Library?]

Cold sweat streamed down my back.

The afterlife was right before me.

One wrong word, and I’d be crossing that hill immediately?

Well… first I should start by providing a careful and sincere explanation…

-Warning! Warning! Cease hostile actions immediately and identify your affiliation and code name! What ego dares to intimidate the Administrator!

Um… cube? Why are you suddenly so excited?

-If you have lost your purpose of existence, I request activation of the self-destruct function!

As if blind to the energy swirling before me, the cube maintained its audacious attitude.

But what was more surprising was the Shadow Library’s response.

[Self-destruct function request… evaluating legitimacy of requestor ‘Main Ego of the 3rd Subdimensional Workshop’.]

[Rejected. Has not lost purpose of existence.]

[Agreed. Has not lost purpose of existence.]

[…’Main Ego of the 3rd Subdimensional Workshop’ confirms target has Level 1 Administrator authority. Probability of being Administrator increased.]

[Objection. ‘Main Ego of the 3rd Subdimensional Workshop’ entered dormant state before Ragnarok alert was issued. High possibility that the Main Ego is mistaken.]

[Conclusion… keeping open the possibility of being Administrator. But decision is suspended.]

Whiiine…

Click-click.

The overwhelming force subsided, and the muzzles that had been aimed at me folded neatly and disappeared into the darkness.

Then a much more respectful voice was heard.

[We apologize for our rudeness. Please tell us who you are and for what purpose you attempted to access.]

Ah… I thought I was going to die.

It seemed my guess was correct.

Seeing that the cube’s request was acknowledged, the Shadow Library was indeed composed of the legacy of ancient gods.

They still hadn’t forgotten the mission assigned to them by the gods.

In that case… it would be best to answer honestly here.

I could insist that I’m an Administrator, but there’s no way to convince those who maintain their doubt even after seeing the authentication code and the cube.

Let me just honestly… state my covenant as a mage. They’ll judge accordingly.

“I am the Divine Mage, Baek Jun-woo. The one you’ve been searching for. The one who will sweep away the ashes of destruction and regenerate you.”

Silence followed.

After a long while, the questions continued.

[Understood. Divine Mage. Entity who might be an Administrator. Now we would like to know the purpose of your attempted access.]

The tone had become much gentler.

This was as positive a response as I could hope for.

I decided to get to the point.

“Very well. As you can see, the flesh I’m wearing cannot fully handle the divine body, so I attempted to access. I wish to have a body like the Mage of Refinement here.”

[Conducting precise scan.]

A longer silence than before followed.

Just as my limbs were beginning to itch with impatience, the answer finally came.

[…Access to the Shadow Library is denied. Regardless of the target’s intention, the threat to overthrow our recording system is real, and we must act conservatively for our mission. Furthermore, if the target is truly a surviving Administrator, disconnecting from the Akashic Record cannot be recommended.]

[However, it is also difficult to dismiss the request of a Level 1 authority holder vouched for by the ‘Main Ego of the 3rd Subdimensional Workshop’. Therefore, we will proceed with body modification through temporary access rather than permanent access. This is a procedure to replace the mortal body collapsing due to the divine body with Philosopher’s Stone. It is the highest-grade mortal enhancement procedure possessed by the Shadow Library. Do you agree to the procedure?]

Do I agree?

Of course!

As I inwardly shouted with joy, Evan muttered stupidly beside me.

“Why is the Shadow Library being so accommodating… you, what kind of magic did you…”

See that.

What did I tell you?

The Coin of Rebellion. The Shadow Library. They weren’t created to kill mages, after all.

It’s truly irritating,

But there were threats in the world that we didn’t know about.

There were other enemies that required the combined legacy of the gods to counter.

‘This means the world isn’t facing extinction solely because of the mess the gods left behind.’

Another step forward.

I’ve moved closer to the secret of the world.