A Spark of Talent

The library was the largest building in the center of the city.

Shaped like some ancient palace, it possessed a stately elegance that made the whole structure feel like a cultural treasure in its own right.

Just as I was about to enter, a notice appeared, and an invisible barrier revealed itself by catching the light.

When I pulled 100 credits from my pocket, the money vanished, and both the floating message and the barrier disappeared with it.

"A hundred credits? That's pricey. Or... is it cheap?"

There was probably some kind of magic on it.

Even so, it felt strange in a fascinating way.

As soon as I stepped inside, an enormous collection of books came into view.

There were quite a few people who seemed to be patrons, and every single one of them either had a sword at their waist or something like a magic staff slung across their back.

At a glance, there wasn't much difference in appearance between the First Settlers and the climbers, but after walking around the city a while, I had figured out the one clear distinction between them: whether they carried weapons.

The First Settlers rarely had any reason to leave the city, so aside from the guards stationed at the gates or on the walls, they didn't carry weapons around.

The climbers, on the other hand, had to be ready to leave the city at any time, hunt monsters for Shop Points, or head for higher floors, so they were armed.

Maybe it would be different on the upper floors, but with a 10th-floor inventory, the weight limit meant you had no choice but to carry your weapons yourself instead of storing them away.

If I'd been outgoing, I might've tried striking up a conversation, but that wasn't really my personality, so I just looked through the books.

There was a wide range of subjects: novels, the humanities, magic, martial arts, geography, history, philosophy, and more.

Since I'd learned Blue Wood Swordsmanship, I pulled out a swordsmanship book from the martial arts section, but rather than a martial arts manual, it was full of useless things like the proper mindset ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for wielding a sword and the definition of the sword itself.

The magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠section, which interested me next most after martial arts, was much the same. Instead of teaching how to learn magic, the books were mostly about what magic was and what kinds of magic existed.

It was a little fun, since magic was still unfamiliar to me, but it wasn't especially helpful.

Then again, maybe it'd be stranger if a place anyone could enter had a meaningful way to learn powerful abilities in the first place.

After all, every climber received one supernatural ability on the 1st floor.

Thinking that, I wandered between the shelves until I found a book titled Abilities Obtainable in the Tower, Rarity 1, Volume 1: Ga.

Next to Volume 1: Ga were up to Volume 4, and beyond those were follow-up volumes filling several whole bookshelves: Gya, Geo, Gyeo, Go, Gyo, and so on.

The foreword explained that abilities had rarities, and that in this book's classification system, the closer an ability was to Rarity 1, the more common it was, while the closer it was to 10, the rarer it became.

I wondered whether my own ability, Multidimensional Avatar, was listed here, so I pulled out Volume 1: Da to check.

Since it started with Da, I looked through the table of contents on the first pages, but there was no keyword like "multidimensional." Apparently it wasn't a Rarity 1 ability.

Well, just going by the name, no way it's only Rarity 1.

Thinking that, I looked around for books on Rarity 2, but I couldn't find any.

I decided I'd ask a librarian later if I found one, and then I pulled out Volume 1: Cheo and checked the table of contents for Blue Wood Swordsmanship.

"Cheo, Cheok, Cheon, Cheol, Cheom, Cheop... not in Volume 1. Volume 2, Cheot, Cheong. Starting from page 160... Cheongmok, Cheongmok... there it is."

"Blue Wood Cultivation?"

The similar name made it easy to find right away.

"Cheongmokbo? No, wait, more importantly, Qi cultivation? Is this seriously a wuxia novel?"

When I looked it up, Cheongmokbo turned out to be a footwork technique.

But I'd obtained Blue Wood Swordsmanship through an Ability Stone. So where was I supposed to get Blue Wood Cultivation and Cheongmokbo?

Was the Tower basically telling me to figure it out on my own if I was capable enough?

The Tower is way less user-friendly than I thought.

There wasn't any more information to find in the library.

Agent K had recommended stopping by the library if you hit a wall while climbing the Tower and needed information, not coming to the library before you even started climbing.

Well, my goal had been to learn something about my ability, so I supposed I'd achieved the bare minimum.

Still, I do want to take a look at the Rarity 2 volumes.

Thinking that, I glanced around and spotted an old man in librarian's robes reading in a secluded corner of the library.

"Excuse me."

When I approached and spoke to the Old Librarian, he looked up at me in surprise.

"...Was it you who just spoke to me?"

At the Old Librarian's question, I looked around.

It was a tucked-away gap between the shelves. No one else was there.

"Yes. There's no one else around here but you, sir."

At my answer, the Old Librarian stared at me with something like admiration.

"Hoh. It's been a very long time since I've seen someone this utterly talentless."

"...Isn't that a little rude to say when you've just met me?"

All I was going to ask was where the Rarity 2 section was, and instead I got hit with something that rude.

It was absurd.

Maybe my expression gave everything away, because the Old Librarian apologized.

"Hahaha, my apologies. I was so intrigued that you noticed me, I stared too long and ended up peering into your talent as well."

Isn't that even ruder?

"You said it was surprising that I found you. Were you hiding yourself with magic or something?"

Thinking about the magic at the library entrance, it didn't seem impossible.

"That's right. In the Tower's long history, you're only the third person to have found me. You may take pride in that."

The Old Librarian's words made me realize he was a being utterly beyond comparison with me.

"Are you... one of the beings who handles the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tower's business?"

He seemed to understand what I meant, and nodded.

"Something like that. I am not a First Settler. You may have no talent for the Tower, but you do have talent for magic."

So talent for the Tower and talent for magic are separate things?

"Very well. Since it's been such an extremely long time since someone found me, ask what you wish. As a reward, I shall answer whatever I can."

"Uh, then..."

I hesitated a moment, then asked the most fundamental question behind all the questions I had.

"What is the purpose of the Tower's existence?"

"Hah! That's quite the shameless attempt to get everything handed to you at once. You'll learn the answer as you climb."

It wasn't a proper answer, but strangely enough, the Old Librarian seemed to like me better for asking it.

"Then what are the First Settlers?"

"The same answer as before."

"And what kind of work do beings like you do?"

At my question, the Old Librarian frowned.

But it didn't feel like he was offended. It looked more like he was frowning because he was thinking.

"...That is something I cannot answer right now. It will be difficult with your talent, but reach the upper floors and come find me again. Then, at that time, I may be able to answer."

At those words, I realized he was some kind of split body or projection, like me.

Then did that old woman who expanded my inventory belong to the same sort of category as the Old Librarian?

Perhaps realizing I'd figured something out, the Old Librarian looked at me with an amused smile.

"Go on. Ask more."

"What did you mean earlier by talent for the Tower?"

"A talent for slaughter. The details, you'll understand as you climb the Tower... no, in your case, I suspect you'll understand soon enough. Do you have any Shop Points?"

At his question, I shook my head.

"No. I used them all to expand my inventory."

"I see. Then take this."

The Old Librarian tossed me a small Mana Stone.

"Exchange that for Shop Points, then purchase Magic Growth Elixir 1 from the Shop."

I did as he said, converted the Mana Stone into 1 point, and bought the elixir.

There were five elixirs total, each named after a different stat.

The moment I purchased Magic Growth Elixir 1, its price changed to 10 points.

According to the item description, Elixir 1 raised a stat by 1 if it was below 10, but had no effect once the stat was 10 or higher.

"Drink it."

I immediately uncapped the bottle and downed it in one gulp.

"Oh. Green grape flavor."

The moment the sweet taste hit, I felt something inside me squirm and begin to flow.

"Don't lose that sensation. Now look at my hand."

Following the Old Librarian's words, I focused on the flowing sensation inside my body and looked at his hand.

There was nothing in it.

No—there wasn't nothing.

There was something there.

Something like the thing flowing inside my body.

"Six?"

At my murmur, the Old Librarian grinned.

"Then what about this?"

His hand itself didn't change at all, but something else did.

"Seven? Nine, six, two, one, uh... C?"

Faint, nearly transparent numbers floated at his fingertips, changing constantly.

"Correct. Check your status window. Isn't your Magic Power around 3 or 4 now?"

It was true.

My Magic Power, which had been 1, had risen to 4.

The elixir effect was only supposed to raise Magic Power by 1, wasn't it?

When I stared in shock, the Old Librarian smiled and said,

"The status window merely displays your condition. If the elixir says it raises Magic Power by 1, that simply means it contains enough magic to reliably increase it by at least 1. Usually, when someone has almost no magic power, as in your case, they can't even sense the magic already inside their own body. But you sensed it, and I merely helped you absorb a little more of the magic contained in that elixir."

"Those numbers?"

"That was simply because one's sensitivity is at its sharpest the moment one first begins to perceive magic, so I helped you feel it more clearly. I only trapped the magic in your body so it couldn't leak back out, so you likely didn't even notice my assistance."

At the Old Librarian's explanation, I bowed my head and thanked him.

In a way, this was a lucky encounter.

"Thank you."

At my gratitude, the Old Librarian waved a hand dismissively.

"It was nothing. Though I called it help, all I did was hold the hand of a child just beginning to walk so he could stand up. It's too simple a thing to even call assistance. In the end, the child still takes his first steps through his own effort, and it was only your talent that absorbed the magic."

"You mean talent for magic, separate from the Tower."

"Exactly."

Well, at least it's a relief to know I've got some kind of talent.

"You'll learn this if you look at the community, but climbers' bodies do not age. And time does ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not flow here the same way it does in your world. Rather than following the Tower's method, you should take your time and grow by a mage's method. I think that would suit you better."

No way.

So that dumb community rumor about aging stopping was actually true?

"How long would that method take?"

"Well... perhaps a thousand years or so?"

...A thousand years?

Could you really call that talent?

"A thousand years is shorter than you think. At the very least, if you tried to grow by the Tower's method, even ten thousand years wouldn't be enough. Compared to ten thousand, a thousand is a short time."

To be continued.