Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Library (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I finally entered the library of my dreams.
"That was really close."
I wanted to give all the credit for this to Mina.
GOAT of the year.
Just the great Mina.
"S-st-op..."
Mina, embarrassed by the praise, couldn't easily meet his eyes.
'...Earlier when I fell on Bihyeong, I wasn't too heavy, was I?'
But the reality was,
'Bihyeong's chest... was so broad.'
She simply couldn't look at his face because she kept recalling the feel of his embrace from when she'd tumbled into it.
Of course, Bihyeong—oblivious to all this—was too busy smiling at the library's atmosphere.
"Sss... haa. This is it."
The musty scent unique to ancient tomes.
The smooth polish of oiled floors.
And the profound silence born of emptiness.
Everything was the perfect timing and backdrop that Bihyeong had craved.
"Let's go, Mina."
Bihyeong took the lead, guiding Mina along.
Passing the entrance area and heading to the second floor, expanded through sorcery.
His stride looked so confident and familiar, and since Mina knew Bihyeong had a Bloodline Ability for gathering intel, she followed without complaint.
As they reached the second floor, a chilling gloom settled in—one absent from the entrance below.
This was the place.
'Where the forbidden books, hidden by barriers, are kept.'
Bihyeong glanced around and half-pulled out one book.
'As long as I don't fully open it, the barrier won't take damage.'
Proof: the library yokai had functioned normally despite this.
Perfect crime discovered by the veterans!
Bihyeong eyed the title of the book he'd pulled.
'Legend of the Heavenly Prodigy Cultivator—looks like a plain xianxia novel on the surface.'
But in truth, it was a forbidden tome sealed by the yokai's barrier.
Bihyeong pulled out a few more books in the same manner.
'Xianxia first, then Daoist scriptures, followed by alchemy manuals.'
Even thinking about it now, the one who found this wasn't your average degenerate.
Hundreds of books in the library alone,
and they checked every one, then set this up?
It was sheer heavenly luck piercing impossible odds.
Or a connection to the devs.
'Whatever it is, I'll make good use of it.'
Thank you, world of veterans!
Thanks to the time you buried in the dirt, I'm surviving another day!
'Here, grab the books for drawing and coloring practice, the yokai encyclopedia, and the one where the protagonist doesn't hide his power...'
And... some lewd manga for reasons unknown.
The moment Bihyeong reached for a doujinshi,
"Kyaa... mmph!"
Mina nearly screamed but clamped her hand over her mouth, forcing an awkward smile.
Oh, right. Mina was here.
I'd been so focused I forgot for a second.
"Mina, this isn't what I was planning to look at..."
Mina beamed and nodded at Bihyeong's excuse.
"It's fine. I understand."
Understand what, Mina dear?
It's really not...
'...Sigh.'
Bihyeong let out a deep sigh and plopped down right there.
His phone showed 11:55 still.
Mina sat beside him and turned to look.
"Not doing more?"
"Nah. Just wait now."
"For what?"
"Midnight."
12:00.
Or midnight proper.
There's that old superstition.
From midnight to 3 a.m., ghosts are at their strongest.
That ghost story was a law that applied in this world too.
"From midnight to 3 a.m., yokai power peaks."
The hour when human fear crests.
Neon signs and streetlights chase away the dawn now, but long ago it was just darkness and silence.
That terror etched into blood, birthing the firm belief that ghosts come at night.
And that belief became the ghost story—the yokai itself.
"But they weaken at sunrise."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You'll learn this later, but most yokai of this type follow the pattern."
"...But won't it be dangerous when the yokai gets stronger?"
Mina's face paled noticeably.
Fear of yokai.
He was somewhat prepared for that, but what truly terrified her was something else.
'What if... I become a burden to Bihyeong?'
Bihyeong already had the skill to take down a yokai during the entrance exam.
If her own shortcomings held him back...
As such thoughts swirled in Mina's head,
"It could be dangerous."
Bihyeong's voice echoed softly.
It surely would be.
But,
"Remember what I said earlier? Stronger at midnight, weaker at dawn."
Knowing the 'counter' makes yokai far less threatening.
"Why impose that weakness at dawn themselves? Simple. Those bindings solidify their power further."
Yet those same bindings became the yokai's vulnerability.
A faint smile tugged at Bihyeong's lips.
That warm smile etched vividly into Mina's vision.
"If we combine our strength, we can clear it. So don't worry too much."
Veteran-discovered hidden piece.
After it went public, Bihyeong had cleared it dozens of times.
Barring some wild butterfly effect, there was no reason he couldn't handle it.
'...Being a Half-Demon has already spawned countless variables.'
Topping the entrance rankings, meeting the Goblin in weapon selection.
Couldn't assume everything would go perfectly to plan this time either.
'But this time, I'm accounting for that too.'
The moment Bihyeong's eyes flashed coldly,
Ding—.
Ding—.
A bell tolled—one that definitely hadn't existed in the library.
"...Midnight."
A chilling mist began seeping into the library.
Ding— doong— doooong—.
The tolls stretched long, as if someone gripped and pulled the rope.
Midnight had arrived. My time.
A melody proclaiming as much from the yokai.
And at the same instant.
Rattle.
Thud!
The library bookshelves began to move.
Mina stared wide-eyed at the sight.
"What... they look alive."
Bihyeong affirmed it.
"They are."
The library lives.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The library yokai.
A yokai that moves only at midnight, the collective of all forbidden book yokai.
Thus, it has no fixed form.
It transforms endlessly based on the contents of the 'forbidden books' pulled out.
Which means his status as a Half-Demon might not apply here.
"It's coming."
The transformation began.
Shhh!
The half-pulled forbidden books flipped open on their own, letters leaping from the pages to dance wildly in the air.
As if luring them closer.
"...Bihyeong."
Before he knew it, Bihyeong felt a small grip in his hand.
Mina was clutching it tightly.
But Bihyeong calmly reassured her, face unchanged.
"It's okay. We'll know when we go."
With those words, their world flipped.
Sword-like peaks stabbed sharp, clouds impaled and spewing rain like blood.
Through it, Bihyeong and Mina beheld the transformed world.
"This place is..."
"A xianxia world."
A realm of immortals—and aspiring cultivators striving to become them.
"The scenery from the first novel I pulled. More precisely, a domain the yokai created based on it."
And now,
"We need to find a Cultivation Method in that space."
Why are they forbidden books?
Because they devour people.
They entice with countless tales, binding your steps.
But yokai aren't absolute.
"Yokai domains always favor the yokai—but not exclusively."
They demand an equivalent price.
Like how the subway yokai retreats on a proper station platform.
"To mesmerize humans, they need bait. So yokai have no choice but to create it."
Not to mention xianxia.
A world of immortals.
Such a world, forged by the collective forbidden books.
"So what 'reward' would keep feet planted in that world?"
"...Ah!"
"A Cultivation Method."
A Cultivation Method to become an immortal.
The ones obtained here guarantee at least Hierarchy Rank 7.
Master and temper them properly, and you reach what qualifies as high rank.
"So what's your goal here, Bihyeong?"
Bihyeong smiled at Mina's question.
"The best reward in this world—or rather, what this yokai offers."
A Cultivation Method guaranteeing up to Rank 9, one of Solo Biography's finest.
He'd claim exactly that.
"Shall we move? Staying put too long is risky."
"...The yokai's domain, right?"
"Yeah. Every cultivator in this world is a yokai."
Of course, it couldn't fully replicate a power-inflated xianxia world,
so cultivator strength would differ somewhat from the originals.
But Bihyeong knew.
Even those cultivators could wield mid-rank exorcist-level power.
"Run."
Bihyeong and Mina bolted from the massive tree sheltering them from rain.
Across fields, over nameless mountains, they escaped the storm clouds.
"Mina, see that cave in the mountain?"
Bihyeong pointed to one spot.
"We'll make that our base camp."
"Not hunting for Cultivation Methods right away?"
"No telling how long it'll take. Better secure a rest spot first."
"...If it takes days, what about outside?"
"It's fine. Time probably flows slower here."
He'd heard from the admin staff before: time slows in yokai domains.
'In the last test, my day equated to just three minutes. Hoping the same applies here.'
Too much time passing could scare Mina.
'Gotta hustle. Find it as fast as possible.'
Mina's clasped hand trembled faintly.
Bihyeong squeezed it reassuringly.
But he didn't know.
'W-we're camping together for days? What if I can't wash... d-doesn't smell, right!?'
That her shakes weren't from the yokai.
"A-anyway, Bihyeong, why make that cave our base?"
Mina diverted the topic to hide her pounding heart, fiercer than usual.
Bihyeong nodded.
"Yeah. Cultivators can't enter there."
"Why?"
"Heard it's where a dragon ascended. They can't approach."
He'd rummaged for hidden stuff once, but nothing special.
Just a cavern baseball-field sized.
"We'll hole up there to buy time. Even beyond our goal, for extra gains."
"Extra gains?"
"Something like that."
He didn't elaborate yet.
No sense scaring Mina more.
Mina nodded firmly, trusting despite the vague explanation.
Thus, they headed for the cave.
Passing the mountain base, reaching mid-slope.
That's when it hit.
Rumble!
Lightning cracked artificially from cleared skies.
"...Bihyeong?"
Before Mina's question, Bihyeong scooped her up piggyback-style and bolted.
"Cultivators."
"You said they couldn't come near here!"
"Plans changed!"
Damn this butterfly effect!
'What's the problem this time!'
Bihyeong sprinted max speed, ears tuned behind.
Half-Demon senses caught the noisy voices clearly.
"Yokai spotted! Don't let it escape!"
"Yes, sir!"
The cultivators shouted that.
'No, Half-Demon—you again!?'
Since becoming Half-Demon, the butterfly effects had come alive.
Am I the butterfly,
or is the butterfly me?
No dream stranger than this.
'Damn it!'
He gnashed teeth and kicked off.
'Still fine. I planned for this too.'
Duck into the cave, stall.
Then 'hunt' the cultivators.
'Humanoid ones are yokai. Killing boosts skill proficiency and my own Hierarchy Rank.'
That was the extra gain he hadn't told Mina.
'You're all dead!'
Rumble!
He barely dodged the hurled lightning.
'...Not now. Just a bit longer.'
Don't they know you wait for the transformation in these stories?!