Chapter 36: Star, The Black Mountain King (2)

“You can use the library for a week, and it is open at all times. Aside from the forbidden Tier 1 and 2 Libraries, you’ll be able to use all the others, but please keep in mind that you are not allowed to take the books outside,” Executive Director Oh’s subordinate slowly explained the library regulations, then offered to find the books on Chang-Sun’s behalf if he wanted any specific one.

The subordinate appeared to be acting considerate, but because Chang-Sun knew the man was Executive Director Oh’s watchdog, he simply replied, “Thank you.”

‘Executive Director Oh and?Heoju… I’ll definitely have to be careful to avoid their surveillance,’?

Chang-Sun thought as he entered the Fierce Tiger Library.

The first thing that caught his eye was the sheer size of the library, which was completely filled with towering bookcases full of books. If the Tier 7 Library alone was this large, Chang-Sun could not even begin to imagine the size of the higher-tier ones. It was a testament to just how many Clans the White Tiger Clan had plundered and swallowed up.

“From what I’ve heard, the Clan copied the One-Horned Tribe’s Skill Archive, so taking a look around the library should be quite interesting,” Thanatos said, his eyes sparkling with interest.

Recalling what Thanatos had said, Chang-Sun took a deep breath, his eyes widening.

[The Skill Unbending Spirit’ has been activated!]

[The Skill ‘Composed Spirit’ has been activated!]

The two bonus rewards given by Minerva were not only good for finding inner peace, but also for enhancing a person’s concentration. Focusing completely on the books he had gathered, Chang-Sun began to read.

* * *

‘Hmm? I have no idea what he's doing,’?

Song Yoo-Jun, Executive Director Oh’s secretary, thought. He tilted his head as he watched Chang-Sun.

Yoo-Jun had already heard a lot about Chang-Sun—no, he had been unable to avoid hearing news about Chang-Sun, who was the center of the world’s attention at the moment.

Chang-Sun was the first genius with a ridiculous SSS+++ Magic Grade to appear in many decades. Even though he was a novice, he alone had cleared the Jamsil Gate, the Unpredictable Gate; that made him a hero whom the White Tiger Clan’s executives could not help but pay attention to.

Even Yoo-Jun’s girlfriend had asked him to get Chang-Sun’s signature after he told her that he was assigned to temporarily assist Chang-Sun. Yoo-Jun would be lying if he said he was not jealous at all. However, the only impression he had gotten while guiding Chang-Sun over the past several days was that it was hard to know what the man was thinking.

Chang-Sun was certainly very handsome; it was to the point that even Yoo-Jun, another man, found it startling. However, Chang-Sun had a cold, mostly expressionless demeanor, making him seem difficult to approach. On top of that, he was so quiet that Yoo-Jun had exchanged less than ten words with him, making it quite difficult to befriend him.

Although Yoo-Jun tried to convince himself that it was all because Chang-Sun was too focused on reading… He could not be certain that Chang-Sun was truly reading, as the other man chose books seemingly at random.

, , … Sometimes Chang-Sun read about spearmanship, and other times, he read about swordsmanship; he also studied some movement skill books. He even read books about simple breathing methods and legends about certain deities.

Chang-Sun simply walked past bookcases and read any books that caught his attention, but he only skimmed through most of them without taking a closer look. However, when one of them caught his interest, he sat down where he was and spent six hours perusing every detail.

After he finished reading that book, he chose another one that looked similar to the book he had just read. However, just as Yoo-Jun thought Chang-Sun was about to concentrate again, Chang-Sun simply stopped and returned it to the bookcase without finishing it, clicking his tongue.

‘What am I supposed to report to Executive Director Oh?’?

Yoo-Jun silently screamed.

Executive Director Oh had ordered Yoo-Jun to observe what kinds of books Chang-Sun usually read and whether he did anything suspicious, then to report in detail. The more time passed, the more trouble Yoo-Jun felt he would be in; after all, he needed some actual information in order to write a report.

If he had to name one thing that was unusual, it was that Chang-Sun had barely left the library after hearing that it was open at all times. Chang-Sun slept fewer than four hours a day while inside, making Yoo-Jun wonder whether he had literally made the library his new home.

‘Please let me go home… Shit,’?

Song Yoo-Jun thought, feeling displeased. He badly wanted to ask a colleague to substitute for him, but Executive Director Oh would rain hell on him if he did so, leaving him with no other choice.

Yoo-Jun could still relieve his fatigue with his magic, but it was torture for him to do nothing but watch Chang-Sun without doing anything else. Considering how he had not even been able to call his girlfriend, she could even end up breaking up with him soon.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

‘Ah, I’m so sad I was?swayed?by such a pretentious guy as this,’?

Song Yoo-Jun thought plaintively.

He was sure that Chang-Sun was only staying cooped up in the library to look cool to other people. No one could look cooler than a talented person who continued to train their skills. Yoo-Jun believed he was a mere victim of Chang-Sun’s scheme, and that it would never end until Chang-Sun had to leave the library for the probationary training period.

‘I’m so depressed, depressed…’?

Yoo-Jun thought gloomily as he looked at Chang-Sun.

* * *

Despite what Yoo-Jun thought, Chang-Sun was actually so focused, he felt almost as if steam had begun coming out of his head.

[You have entered the ‘Focused’ state.]

[You are so absorbed in reading that you will be able to understand and memorize most of the knowledge you learn from now on.]

...

[You have entered the ‘Absorbed’ state.]

[The speed at which you learn knowledge has increased.]

[You have become better able to read between the lines and understand difficult words.]

...

[You have fallen into the ‘Mad’ state.]

...

[Warning! You have learned too much knowledge, overloading your ‘Resource’. You are about to develop a headache.]

[Warning! You have greatly exceeded the amount of knowledge a human can learn. You are recommended to take a break.]

...

[Achievement Unlocked!]

“Book Fanatic—no, Fast-atic?”

Effect: Intelligence +10. Willpower +5. Title ‘Book Fanatic.’

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ counts the number of books you have read with a look of disgust.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ wonders what information you have learned.]

Sagittarius’ [Avatar’s Descent] was not the only thing Chang-Sun was looking for. He also wanted to find Heoju’s skill tree, the web of karma that embodied his power.

‘The skills?Heoju?allowed the Clan to have must be rooted in his myths. Although they can’t possibly hold a candle to his apostles’ Authorities… my hunt will be a whole lot easier if I can at least find some clues as to the Clan members’ Authorities,’?

Chang-Sun thought as he continued to read.

Skills and Authorities did not appear out of thin air; they were created by each deity throughout their life. As such, they were symbols that echoed the original owner’s divinity. Thus, if Chang-Sun could take a peek at Heoju’s skill tree, he would be able to find Heoju’s weakness much more easily.

Unlike ordinary Celestials, Chang-Sun had transcended from mortality through nothing but diligent self-cultivation; that meant he was well aware of how various skill trees were formed and how the skills all affected each other.

From the start, the Fierce Tiger Library had been built as a display of Heoju’s glory. Apart from that, however, it was also the White Tiger Clan’s sanctum, imparting Heoju’s teachings to the Clan’s members. For that reason, the books in the library had to contain the skills that made up Heoju’s skill tree. Consequently, Chang-Sun’s current plan was to find the pieces of Heoju’s skill tree and complete the puzzle named Heoju.

‘If I finish analyzing his skill tree, then I can not only find the White Tiger Clan and Heoju’s weakness… but also find the weaknesses of the beings behind?Heoju,’?

Chang-Sun thought as he picked up another book.

Of course, each skill would only be a minuscule part of Heoju’s entire skill tree, but Chang-Sun was confident that he would be able to ‘see’ a bigger picture in those parts.

[A bit of knowledge has been acquired.]

[Your understanding of ‘Calamity Tiger’ has deepened!]

[A fragment of knowledge has been acquired.]

[Your understanding of ‘Calamity Tiger’ has deepened!]

...

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ watches you with interest.]

Despite what was happening, the very being whose weaknesses were being exposed laughed, feeling proud of Chang-Sun without realizing what his plan was.

‘Idiot,’?

Chang-Sun thought derisively.

Of course, he did not truly think Heoju was an idiot; an idiot would never be able to reach Heoju’s current level. He needed to catch Heoju’s eye and gain his complete trust. The more he learned about Heoju, the busier he became with compiling the knowledge he had acquired.

[Based on the bits and fragments of knowledge you have acquired, a new skill is about to be formed!]

[Skill Combination is in progress. 15… 16%... 35%...]

The phrase ‘new skill’ was the most important thing to Chang-Sun at that moment. It was a sign that Chang-Sun was on the right track, enough for the system to recognize his knowledge as an entirely new skill.

The skill Chang-Sun was trying to create was very simple—a nullification skill he could use on Heoju. He was creating a ‘natural enemy’ type skill that could nullify any skill that had been created and taught by Heoju. As Chang-Sun had been on many battlefields, it was not difficult for him to create such a skill with the right basic materials.

Of course, Chang-Sun would still be at a disadvantage in a fight against a high ranker such as Sword Sky Tiger, but he could save the skill as his ace in the hole, eventually using it to turn the tables after he closed the power gap between him and the high rankers.

[Skill Combination progress: 39%.]

Although Chang-Sun had made substantial progress in Skill Combination, When he proceeded with the Skill Combination to some level, the period of temporary access to the library granted to him by Executive Director Oh eventually neared its end.

‘This must mean I can only develop the nullification skill to this extent with the information in the Tier 3 Library. What I have to do from now on is gain access to the Tier 1 and 2 Libraries and learn the rest of Heoju’s skill tree through the skills I can gain from earning achievements.’

Chang-Sun wished he could have made more progress toward creating the skill, but he did not have any lingering regrets about that objective, as he had done everything he could.

‘It isn’t here.’

However, Chang-Sun soon realized that, even though he had nearly achieved his second-priority plan successfully, he had failed to achieve his number one priority.

* * *

‘I went through the library three times, but I really can’t find [Avatar’s Descent],’?

Chang-Sun thought with a sigh upon realizing he had three hours left.

‘Is it really in the Tier 1 or 2 Library then? Well, despite how poor?Heoju?and his buffoons’ judgment is, I guess they wouldn’t have left such a book in a lower-tier library,’?

Chang-Sun thought, tilting his head.

Perhaps they had stored the skill book in a separate place after realizing it was extraordinary. After all, Thanatos had only been able to find out that one of Sagittarius’ Divine Authorities had ended up in the White Tiger Clan’s exhibition. Regardless, it was still disappointing.

‘Should I take a last look around?’?

Chang-Sun thought.

Considering how Heoju and his buffoons had failed to notice that [Avatar’s Descent] was in the library until now, there was also a distinct possibility that the Divine Authority was encrypted with such complicated passwords that taking a quick glance at the books would not be enough to find it. As such, Chang-Sun thought he could have missed something. There was no telling when he would be able to visit the Fierce Tiger Library again, so he needed to do everything he could.

‘If it’s written in a language or symbols that are hard to understand, many people would consider the book a miscellaneous item written by a pretentious author. In that case… there’s a high chance that the book is stored in the Tier 7 Library,’?

Chang-Sun thought, stroking his chin.

After coming to that conclusion, Chang-Sun began taking a closer look at several books he had disregarded, thinking it unnecessary to read through them. From old encyclopedias that looked so useless they made him wonder why on earth they were in the library, to shabby antique books that had lost most of their pages, he read everything he could find.

Chang-Sun’s eyes ached so much that he felt as if they would pop out of their sockets, their veins bulging; his brain felt as if it were on fire.

[The Skill ‘Unbending Spirit’ has reached the breaking point.]

[The Skill ‘Composed Spirit’ forces you to refocus your wandering concentration, reinforcing your willpower.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ commends you for your remarkable willpower.]

Suddenly…

‘I got it!’?

Chang-Sun thought excitedly.

…he realized he had found something magnificent.

Badump! Badump!

With adrenaline coursing through his body, Chang-Sun felt his corrosive fatigue instantly disappear. The possibility of holding a Zodiac’s Divine Authority made his heart pound greatly. Still, he made an effort to regain his composure, as he could not be certain that the book was truly Sagittarius’ [Avatar’s Descent]. However, he was sure it held an extraordinary secret.

<100 Recipes for Monster Meat>

At first glance, it was a thick cookbook that was filled with boring explanations. However, when Chang-Sun read it in reverse and in a specific pattern, it became completely different.

However…

‘What’s this?’?

Chang-Sun thought, tilting his head in confusion.

It was not [Avatar’s Descent], the skill Chang-Sun had been looking for. It was the will of a being who had been forgotten by the world for a long time.

1. The hangul for this is literally the English ‘resource’, ‘???’. No explanation was given in the raw.

2. The raw was “Book Maniac—no, Light?” This is wordplay in the original Korean. ‘Maniac’ (? 狂) has the same hanja as ‘light’ (?光).