The Library Within
The future sight hit me like a whisper. “…Huh?”
Beyond the window, a pair of eyes stared straight at me. The pressure was overwhelming, like floating through the deep sea and suddenly locking gazes with a colossal whale. I looked into those eyes, and they looked back at me. It was an overpowering sight, the kind that left you utterly entranced, like lovers sharing an intimate moment of understanding. As I kept staring at those eyes—
“Hmm…?”
I got the strange feeling that the eyes had just smiled. Then the window opened again.
“Are you feeling alright? If any memories that don’t belong to you have surfaced, please tell me now.”
“Uh… it’s not that. I saw some kind of eyes…”
“Ah. That’s normal. It happens.”
“It happens?”
“Yes. Hallucinations and auditory illusions are common side effects of the procedure.”
So it was a hallucination? That thing just now? I was still dazed by the scene that felt neither fully real nor fake when the mage brought over a crystal orb and held it out to me.
“Now that a library has taken root inside your Mental Image, it should be safe for you to read grimoires. Physical mutation begins during sleep, so don’t forget to drink the potion before bed. If the recurring nightmares become too severe, please visit the Tower again.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Then, I’ll measure whether your Mental Image has settled properly. Please place your hand here.”
I followed the mage’s instructions and laid my hand on the crystal orb. But for some reason, the orb showed no reaction at all.
“…Hm?”
The mage who had performed my procedure seemed equally puzzled and let out a questioning sound.
“One moment. There appears to be an error… Let me measure again…”
“Ah, sure.”
The mage bustled about, inspecting the crystal orb from every angle, but it didn’t seem to have any problems.
“Why is this happening?”
Even the newly brought crystal orb refused to react to me at all. In the end, the mage held out a syringe toward me.
“I’m sorry. It looks like we’ll need to extract your Mental Image briefly for testing. Is that alright? The provided Mental Image will be disposed of immediately after the examination.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
The mage took a sample of my Mental Image and returned a short while later, his face deathly pale.
“It appears the implantation procedure has failed.”
“Excuse me?”
The answer was completely unexpected. The implantation failed?
“Could you explain in more detail? What exactly happened?”
“The transfer of the Mental Image itself was successful, but for some reason it cannot properly control your body. This is… a phenomenon I’ve never seen before…”
I see. After listening to the mage’s brief explanation, I roughly understood what had occurred.
It was simple. It worked on the same principle as when the Mother Box failed to dominate my body. The transplanted Mental Image simply hadn’t been enough to transform my flesh. And as if to prove my guess correct—
Community Updated!
— The Library function has been newly added!
A message appeared saying my ability had grown. I couldn’t check it here, but I’d have to make time later.
“So… there’s no refund?”
That was that, but I still had to get what I could. Since the magic implantation had no effect, I asked about a refund, but the mage looked troubled.
“According to regulations, that’s a little…”
“No, if there’s no effect at all, shouldn’t I get at least some of it back? It’s not a side effect—it’s completely ineffective.”
“What’s going on?”
While we were discussing the refund, a mage who appeared to be an executive of the Blue Tower appeared and asked for an explanation.
“Well… the patient is requesting a refund because the implantation had no effect…”
“A refund request? Hmm, that’s…”
In principle, it wasn’t allowed. The executive looked like he was about to say exactly that, but after seeing my face, he sighed as if he’d changed his mind.
“…A refund is impossible. However, we will provide appropriate compensation instead.”
“What kind of compensation?”
“We will provide one third-grade Blue Grimoire. How does that sound?”
“A grimoire? Oh, you mean a skill book, right?”
“…Yes. That is correct.”
The mage’s expression soured at my use of the term “skill book.” But then he seemed to remember the name written on the recommendation letter I’d brought, and his face brightened into a smile as he nodded.
Good grief, why are they so obsessed with the word “grimoire”? It’s a book that lets you learn techniques when you read it, so skill book is perfectly accurate. Even if I can’t use it myself, skill books sell for a high price, so this was an acceptable offer. Thinking that to myself, I accepted the mage’s proposal.
“Then let’s go with that.”
“Yes. Please follow me.”
Following the executive mage’s guidance, I headed to the Blue Tower’s grimoire—no, skill book—library.
“So, which skill book are you looking for? An illusion spell, I presume?”
“Hmm. I’m…”
I quietly pondered the mage’s question about what kind of magic I wanted. Illusion magic was the symbol of Blue Tower spells, but wasn’t there a better choice?
“I’d like to look around a bit before deciding. Is that alright?”
“Of course. Take all the time you need.”
Using the excuse of browsing the skill books, I bought myself some time and accessed the Community out of the mage’s sight. What I needed to check right now wasn’t information from the future sight, but exactly what this new Library function did.
“Let’s see… Library…?”
[Library Access]
I found the Library access menu. Expecting to see what kind of function it was, I checked it.
Owned Grimoires: (0/1)
“…Hm?”
Owned grimoires? This felt strangely ominous. But there was no further explanation? As I pondered that, the Mother Box spoke to me.
> Do you require an explanation of the Library, Administrator?
“…Do you know what the Library is?”
> Yes. It is the Mental Image that serves as the source of magic for mages. It has now taken root within your own Mental Image, Administrator.
“Yeah, I know that much. But how do I actually use it?”
> It requires a mage’s unique organ known as a Mana Circle.
“What? Then it’s a function I can’t use.”
If it needed a Mana Circle, that meant I couldn’t use magic. No matter how well the Library had settled into my Mental Image, if there was no way to bring it out, it was useless. I was about to sigh when—
> Proposal: The H.A.N.D device’s functions can be used to replicate the functions of a Mana Circle.
“…Huh? Really?”
> Affirmative. However, while using Mana Circle functions, the auto-combat feature and mana stone conversion feature will be disabled.
“Doesn’t matter. So I can still use it, right?”
> Yes, it is possible.
Having one more usable card was always a good thing. Now that I knew I could use magic, it seemed better to get a spell I could actually use rather than sell it. Should I go with illusion magic after all? As I was pondering that—
ㄴYeah, ice mages should take a break for real
The future sight appeared before my eyes. Summarizing its content, it seemed the Mother Box was vulnerable to attacks that raised temperature.
“In that case…?”
Wouldn’t it be good to have a countermeasure for that? And right now I was in the Blue Tower. While illusion magic was the representative spell of the Blue Tower, there was another image that immediately came to mind when thinking of “blue,” wasn’t there?
Ice. Freezing cold. There had to be at least one spell like that. Alright, decision made. Having made up my mind, I immediately returned to the librarian and requested a skill book.
“I’d like a magic related to cold energy.”
“…Cold energy, you say?”
“Yes. I need a spell that lowers temperature.”
“If that’s what you want, we have plenty. Please wait a moment.”
Maybe he was relieved he didn’t have to give me an illusion spell? The mage walked back into the library with noticeably lighter steps and brought out the skill book I wanted.
“Here. What do you think?”
“Let me see…”
As I stared at the skill book, detailed information floated up on the air screen.
[Skill Book: Cooling]
— A third-grade spell that freezes targets upon contact.
[Skill Book: Ice Arrow]
— A third-grade spell that launches sharp ice projectiles.
“Which one would you like?”
“Hmm. I’ll take the Cooling spell.”
Long-range attacks were tempting, but what I needed right now was the Cooling magic.
“Very well. Here you go.”
The mage handed me the Cooling skill book, and I carefully tucked it into my bag. Using it here would obviously raise suspicion. After leaving the Blue Tower, I was walking through an alley on my way back to my lodgings when—
“You’re Mr. Helper, right?”
“…Who are you?”
A stranger called out to me from behind. The suspicious aura made me immediately wary, and I prepared to run.
“Haha. I’m not from the Styx side, so please relax.”
“Then we have nothing to talk about.”
I glanced back and saw a man wearing a friendly smile. He looked like an ordinary flower shop owner, wearing a green apron and holding a bouquet of flowers.
But why? The moment I saw his face, my intuition sent me a warning. No—it wasn’t just intuition.
Estimated Win Rate: 0%.
Immediate retreat is strongly recommended.
The auto-combat system was also recommending escape, saying there was no chance of victory. It had never recommended running from any opponent before. What the hell was this guy? The growing sense of foreboding made me try to flee immediately, but—
“Ugh…?!”
Instead of running away from the man, I took a step toward him. What was this? Was it that man’s ability?
“Trying to run before even hearing what I have to say. That’s a little disappointing.”
“…No matter how I think about it, I don’t have anything to discuss with someone like you.”
“Haha. But I have plenty. After all, you’re the final survivor of the tryout test, aren’t you? And…”
The words that came from the man’s mouth were impossible to ignore.
“You’re the Administrator of the Mother Box, correct? I really don’t think it would hurt for you to have a conversation with us.”
“…Who the hell are you?”
Mother Box. No matter how I thought about it, this man didn’t seem connected to Estelle. As I was thinking that, the man continued.
“Ah. I haven’t introduced myself yet. Nice to meet you, Mr. Helper. I have many names, but this one seems appropriate right now. Have you ever heard the name Yambre?”
“…Hand Mode, activate!”
The moment I heard the name Yambre, my body moved on reflex. The Mother Box immediately equipped itself onto my right arm, and I swung my fist straight at the man’s face. I wasn’t even thinking about dealing damage.
My only goal was to absorb his Mental Image, cancel the supernatural ability affecting me, and escape. But—
“Ugh…?!”
My fist stopped halfway before reaching the man. He smiled as if he had expected exactly this reaction.
“Oh. Quite the violent reaction, even though I’m using the name Yambre for the first time.”
The man who smiled like that then left me with a single sentence that sent a chill down my spine.
“It seems the future sight didn’t show you this future, did it?”