Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Librarian
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Early in the morning, I hurriedly prepared to head out.
Bang Soso and Haeun, who had slept in my arms all night, were already up and spending their time separately.
"Bunny, Bunny! Come here to Mommy?"
Bang Soso had given the pure white rabbit she brought back yesterday the extremely straightforward name "Bunny," and she was feeding it grass in one corner of the room while playing with it. Her face was filled with happiness.
Watching her fondly, Haeun approached me and straightened my clothes.
"Where are you going? Leaving me and Soso behind today?"
Her lips pouted slightly, but her touch was endlessly gentle.
I lightly kissed her cheek and said,
"Something came up, so I have to step out for a bit. Take good care of Soso."
"What else is new for me?"
I left the two of them behind and stepped out the door.
Today, my task was clear: improve the efficiency of the Akashic Records. To do that, I needed to record more knowledge in my mind. There was a way to build up internal energy by practicing martial arts, but that wasn't my path. The presence of internal energy would only expose my level to opponents like a shackle. Besides, starting now with my rigid bones, there was no way I could achieve great mastery anyway.
'The person who's most likely read the most books...'
One face came to mind. The Senior Physician of the Azure Dragon Squad. Considering his position as a physician and his years of experience, he seemed the perfect source of information.
I headed toward the Azure Dragon Squad's training grounds.
There, from early morning, hearty shouts accompanied intense training sessions. In a makeshift medical station set up in one corner, the Senior Physician was overseeing the other physicians treating injured squad members who were being carried in.
He spotted me and raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"Isn't today supposed to be your day off, Vice Squad Leader?"
"You're right. I came because I have something to ask."
I looked around. The training grounds were vast, but the number of squad members filling it was far fewer than expected. Even accounting for those on leave after returning from Secret Cave missions, it looked like less than half the total force.
Seeming to catch on to my curiosity, the Senior Physician spoke first. There was a faint trace of fatigue in his voice.
"Thirty peak-level experts were dispatched from the Black Tortoise Squad."
"The Black Tortoise Squad... you mean?"
"That's right. Excluding those on leave, the Azure Dragon Squad members were grouped into teams of thirty, each accompanied by three Black Tortoise Squad members, forming ten teams in total. And they were sent to ten Secret Caves."
His explanation was straightforward. The Azure Dragon Squad, lacking even a single peak-level expert, let alone a vice squad leader, didn't have the power to mediate disputes between righteous and evil sects across various regions. So, the Alliance Leader had personally dispatched the Black Tortoise Squad to bolster their strength.
Suddenly, I recalled what Squad Leader Byeok Cheonwi had told me back at the inn.
The Black Tortoise Squad had no squad leader but consisted entirely of peak-level experts or higher, making it the Murim Alliance's unofficial strongest strike force. In peacetime, they guarded the Alliance Leader and headquarters; in wartime, they handled assassinations of enemy leaders, functioning as a shadow unit. If the Azure Dragon Squad was the face of the Murim Alliance, the Black Tortoise Squad was its shadow. With three of them attached to each team heading to Secret Caves, even major disputes would be resolved in no time.
'Good for me.'
Thanks to that, I wouldn't get dragged into any more Secret Cave missions. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Still, why didn't the Azure Dragon Squad have even one peak-level expert, let alone a vice squad leader? The question lingered, but it wasn't important right now.
"Actually, I came to ask you something specific, Senior Physician."
"If you're going to ask, shouldn't there be some compensation worthy of it?"
The Senior Physician said with a gruff expression.
Come on, we're colleagues—can't you just help out without demanding payment? I grumbled inwardly but kept my mouth shut. I was the one in need here.
"Understood. Do you know the place around here with the most books?"
"You mean the library."
The Senior Physician eyed me for a moment before speaking.
"The Azure Dragon Squad's library isn't that large. Same for the White Tiger Squad and Black Tortoise Squad. There is a library dedicated to the Alliance Leader at headquarters, but it's not a place just anyone can enter."
He paused briefly and nodded toward the southern sky beyond the training grounds.
"Murim Alliance headquarters has the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise Squads positioned to the east, west, south, and north. Head to the Vermilion Bird Squad in the south. The Alliance Leader built the largest communal library in the Murim Alliance there."
"I see. Thank you."
Vermilion Bird Squad. It made sense they'd have a massive library since they handled intelligence.
"Would I need a recommendation letter or something to enter?"
"Aren't you the Vice Squad Leader of the Azure Dragon Squad?"
The Senior Physician looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, "Are you an idiot?" I was just asking to be sure. Back in the modern world, I was even called a genius. I was pretty smart back then. Anyway, as I was thinking it was a bit much, he added,
"Well, since you just took office, you probably don't have your token plaque yet, so they might not recognize you. Just tell them the Senior Physician sent you. If they're suspicious, they'll send someone over to verify."
"Thank you, Senior Physician."
I expressed my gratitude politely and promptly left the Azure Dragon Squad building. As he said, the Vermilion Bird Squad was to the south. I got my bearings and started walking.
Before long, a massive building with the Vermilion Bird flag fluttering came into view. As I approached the main gate, two guards in red uniforms embroidered with the Vermilion Bird blocked my path.
"Halt. State your identity."
"I'm Shadowless, Vice Squad Leader of the Azure Dragon Squad."
At my introduction, the two guards exchanged glances and mumbled to each other briefly before stepping aside respectfully.
"Please enter."
I suddenly felt foolish for worrying. The Vermilion Bird Squad, the Murim Alliance's premier intelligence organization, would surely have info on a newly appointed Azure Dragon Squad Vice Squad Leader.
Just past the gate, a Vermilion Bird Squad member approached as if waiting and began guiding me.
"I'll take you to the library."
I followed him deep into the building. After turning countless corners in the corridors, we finally reached a gigantic door. When the squad member opened it, I swallowed hard.
It was enormous.
Even craning my neck to look at the ceiling, I couldn't see the end. I gathered my focus to enhance my vision, and only then did the full scale come into view. An endless labyrinth of bookshelves. Just counting the floors, it was a whopping ten stories high. Each floor was packed with shelves several times taller than a person.
The musty scent of old paper assaulted my nose. It felt like the essence of human wisdom was condensed here.
I stood there, lost in the overwhelming sight. Then, I sensed a presence from one corner of the shelves.
It was a woman.
She wore the red uniform with the Vermilion Bird emblem, but she exuded an oddly gloomy aura. Hunched beside a pile of dusty books, she seemed to be sorting them. Her disheveled green hair fell to her shoulders, half-covering her face.
Sensing my gaze, she flinched and looked up.
Through the strands of hair, deer-like eyes filled with fear stared at me.
There was no need to speak and heighten her wariness.
My goal was singular.
To record all the knowledge slumbering here in the Akashic Records.
I settled in the center of the library, a wide space overlooking all ten floors. Crossing my legs and closing my eyes, the external noise faded, opening the world within me.
'Spread out.'
With a self-suggestion, my qi sense extended like delicate spiderwebs. Thin and wide, covering the entire ten-story library without gaps.
Wherever my qi sense touched, the shapes and textures of the books registered clearly. Tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of volumes.
'First selection: Filter out unnecessary desires.'
At my will, the qi sense net began identifying specific types of books. Erotic paintings blatantly depicting intercourse between men and women, lewd tales spun from filthy imaginations.
Plop, plop.
As if books were actually falling from the shelves, the number of detected books plummeted sharply. Nearly ten thousand vanished in an instant.
Human lust... truly persistent and vast.
'Second selection: Filter out neglected knowledge.'
Next, I selected untouched books that looked brand new, without a trace of human handling. There might be hidden manuals among them, but books no one touched usually had a reason: no entertainment value or worth.
Once more, countless books faded from my perception. Now, about fifteen thousand remained.
'Final selection: Target the desired knowledge.'
Finally, I kept only the types I wanted. Martial arts manuals, mental techniques, common knowledge of the world's principles, and formation arrays—the essence of complex numerical warfare.
Over half were filtered out again.
Ultimately, around seven thousand remained.
The cream of the crop.
'Akashic Records. Activate.'
Now came the main event. I concentrated my mind to the extreme and flung open the library of memory. No need to delve deep. Speed reading. Devouring every character and illustration whole in less than a second per book.
New books poured into my memory library at a maddening pace.
Viiiing—!
My head felt like an overheating furnace. Mental power visibly drained, dizziness assaulting me.
But I could endure. Thanks to kneading Bang Soso's breasts and weathering various incidents, my total mental capacity had grown considerably.
How much time passed?
Before I knew it, the last character of the last book was etched into my memory.
Success rate: about ninety percent. The remaining ten percent hadn't been fully absorbed in the first pass. Without delay, I began the second speed read, soon acquiring even that perfectly.
"Hoo..."
I exhaled deeply and slowly opened my eyes.
My mind felt drained. My whole body was limp, energy sapped, but my head was clearer and richer than ever.
Perhaps because I'd pushed past my limits—the vessel of my mental power felt a bit larger, too.
A satisfying day.
"Uh, um, ex-excuse me..."
Then, a mosquito-like voice came from right beside me.
Turning my head, the gloomy librarian from earlier was standing there, fidgeting nervously, not knowing what to do.
She looked like an ordinary person. Even with my mental power nearly depleted, I hadn't noticed her approach. Had I let my guard down too much?
"What is it?"
I tried to stand. At that exact moment.
Zing—!
Maybe from sitting in the same position too long. A sharp cramp hit my left leg. It stiffened rigidly, ignoring my will.
'Damn, a cramp!'
I hurriedly tried self-suggestion to relax the muscle, but with my mental power bottomed out, my head spun. The suggestion didn't take.
My unbalanced body toppled helplessly sideways.
"Eek!"
Reflexively swinging my arm to grab something. And my right arm, as I fell, touched... something.
Soft, squishy, endlessly plush.
Tremendous elasticity, overflowing fullness filling and surpassing my palm.
Ah.
Feels good.
The unconscious thought flashed through my mind. Looking up, the librarian woman stared down at me, barely breathing.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..."
She repeated meaningless sounds, her face flushing beet red.
Only then did I realize my hand was fully gripping her left breast.
"N-No, I'm not some pervert. It was an accident."
The woman fell silent for a moment. Alternating glances between my hand and my face with her crimson cheeks, she finally spoke in a trembling voice.
"...P-Please... remove the hand that accidentally touched me... Vice Squad Leader..."
Ah.
I pulled my hand away. It had felt so good, I'd completely forgotten to let go.
"I'm sorry. Really sorry."
As I apologized repeatedly and stood up, strangely, the cramp in my leg was gone.
The woman, still flushed, subtly covered her chest and took a step back. With wary eyes, she asked,
"What... exactly were you doing here?"
"Oh, just meditating a bit."
I brushed it off casually. Her eyes widened slightly.
As if she'd uncovered some great secret, she lowered her voice and asked cautiously,
"Could it be... you were repenting for massacring those bandits?"
"Pardon?"