Ruins (2)

Ruins (2)

What are the chances of being called a ghost by a ghost in one’s lifetime?

With a pale face… no, I was already pale since I was a ghost.

I opened my mouth while looking at the terrified ghost.

“What are you?”

When I asked briefly, she stepped back and spoke to me.

“I’m… Ember, in charge of the Illusion Library. Who… who are you?”

I hesitated for a moment at the mention of the Illusion Library.

I never dreamed that this place was the Illusion Library.

‘Was the Illusion Library that was constantly mentioned from the middle part referring to the huge ruins? I had no idea.’

I thought they were definitely different places, as they were described as completely separate entities, let alone being mentioned as the same place.

When I realized that these two were the same, various thoughts flooded in.

Among those thoughts, one stood out more clearly, which was about ‘how to conquer the Illusion Library’.

‘Of course, since Rumi enters the Illusion Library in the middle part, there’s a possibility that they might give a different test than back then.’

If it was the same, it was an undeniable fact that I could start with a considerable advantage.

I introduced myself to Ember, who was looking at me anxiously.

“… Deren Lercier.”

At those words, Ember muttered my name.

“Deren, Deren?”

She stared at my face intently with an expression of incomprehension.

I found her gaze quite burdensome, but.

‘It feels like I’ll lose if I look away.’

Enduring the discomfort, I stared back at her equally, and Ember turned her gaze away first and spoke to me.

“S-sorry. I didn’t know you would come.”

A way of speaking as if knowing me.

Along with such way of speaking, information about the Phantom Library seen in the novel comes to mind.

[The Phantom Library that contains all the world’s narratives. It’s said one can obtain massive rewards by successfully completing missions given by the Phantom Library.]

Recalling this, I could solve the question I couldn’t understand until now.

Why the Heaven God cult committed such evil acts after obtaining ‘ancient magic’.

‘Seems they did that to solve the mission given by the Phantom Library.’

While nodding thinking anyone would do that if they give rewards equal to… no greater than ancient magic.

Ember cleared her throat and spoke.

“In any case… since you’ve come as a guest. First I’ll guide you around this place.”

Ember who pulled down and wore her large hat started guiding around the surroundings with hand gestures.

“Our Phantom Library purchases ‘narratives’ from guests who visit.”

Actually I already knew about this content from reading the novel but.

Since I didn’t want to draw suspicion by showing that I knew, I deliberately asked back pretending not to know.

“Narratives?”

“Yes. To express it differently, it would be right to say we purchase guests’ stories.”

Ember approached the numerous books placed on the wall and slowly continued speaking.

“By regulation I can’t tell you why we purchase narratives but… there are places that really need everyone’s experiences and memories, just know that we purchase these.”

Since that far wasn’t my part to be involved in, when I nodded.

Ember looked at me like that and spoke while pointing at luxurious display stands placed here and there.

“Now, back to the main point. When guests sell us their stories, we provide appropriate compensation that matches the story.”

She continued speaking while carefully observing my reaction.

“For your reference, the compensation can be changed to coins or equivalent items. If you want to purchase more powerful items, I recommend getting paid in coins.”

I nodded at her words and asked.

“So, how do I sell the stories?”

“You can either sell the stories you want, or complete missions we provide. These are the two ways to sell them.”

“Missions?”

“Yes. There are various missions ranging from simple farm work to assassinating the Pope or starting a war. You can choose missions that suit you and complete them!”

“… Lastly, when I sell a story, does everything I experienced during that time disappear?”

At those words, Ember waves her hand and smiles.

“No, that’s not the case. We copy the memory and take it, so your memories won’t disappear or anything. You don’t need to worry about that.”

… I guess I’ve asked pretty much everything I needed to know by now.

I thought that Ember wouldn’t be too suspicious even if I spoke more comfortably now, so I looked around at the things nearby.

‘It’s certainly full of luxurious items, just as described in the novel.’

Of course, there’s a chance they might just be decorative items that only look fancy on the outside.

Considering the description from the novel:

[There was nothing meaningless in here. According to Ember, there shouldn’t be.]

It was highly likely that they were magical artifacts with at least one special ability.

So, I was looking around to see if there was anything that could be helpful to me.

Ember closes the book she was holding and says to me.

“Is there an item that catches your eye?”

I nodded at Ember’s question and looked at the item in front of me.

*-*

[Ancient Magic Book]

– A magic book containing lost ancient spells.

*-*

“Hmm, so you want the Ancient Magic Book. Just for your information, the price of this magic book is 1 million coins, which you can obtain by achieving roughly one major accomplishment.”

Major… isn’t that too vague?

I looked at Ember, signaling her to explain further, and she opened the book again and spoke.

“The criteria for a major accomplishment are quite broad, so it’s difficult to specify, but based on past recorded achievements… well, something like instigating a war between two closely allied countries would qualify.”

Strangely specific, yet still hard to grasp.

So I silently looked at Ember and then brought up one of the questions I had while reading the novel.

“Can I sell someone else’s story?”

“What do you mean by someone else’s story?”

“For example, after killing someone, bringing their corpse and extracting all the stories from their mind, or kidnapping a person and forcibly taking their stories, things like that.”

“……”

Hearing my words, Ember looked at me with a quite shocked expression and said.

“… There’s no rule explicitly stating that it’s not allowed.”

“So it’s possible, you’re saying.”

“… I suppose in a way, yes?”

Ember seemed reluctant to outright say it was allowed, so she kept beating around the bush while acknowledging my words.

Hearing this, I came to a brief conclusion.

‘In that case, rather than selling my own stories, it would be better to capture enemies and sell their stories.’

My story would be easier and more convenient to sell.

However, no matter how I thought about it, this place called the Illusion Library seemed suspicious, so I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

Therefore, I decided to refrain from selling my story as much as possible until safety was guaranteed.

I decided to think in advance about which characters to sell to earn 1 million coins.

‘One million, huh. I wonder if I can gather it quickly.’

No matter how I thought about it, it would take at least a few years to gather alone, so while I was contemplating if there was another way.

Suddenly, a good idea crossed my mind.

“Is it possible to view the ancient magic book instead of purchasing it?”

“V-View it? It’s the first time I’ve been asked such a question… Well, there’s no rule against it, so I guess it should be possible?”

“Then what’s the price?”

“Just a moment… Let me calculate it.”

At those words, Ember pulled out a large book nearby, and soon read the text written there and spoke to me.

“It would be about 10,000 coins per hour… There’s a rule that if you damage it or try to make a copy, you’ll be forced to pay 1 million coins.”

The moment I heard that Ember didn’t know about this content, even though it was written in the regulations.

I noticed that Ember wasn’t the one who created this library and continued speaking.

“I see.”

For now, since it would take quite a long time to purchase the ancient magic book in the current state.

I decided to rent it for just one hour and learn all the magic in it, and continued speaking.

“I’ll come back soon.”

At the words that I would come back, Ember seemed to feel uneasy and nodded somewhat reluctantly.

“Ah, yes…”

Then, as if there was something to say, her lips quivered.

But soon she shook her head, hugged the book, and turned her gaze far away.

Leaving Ember like that, I decided to start by selling just a few prisoners from the family basement.

I slowly moved my feet.