Chapter 58. Bibliomania (3)
Chapter 58. Bibliomania (3)
4
Find the entertaining ones.
That was what I had tasked the hunters with.
"You understand, right?"
I moved among the hunters as I spoke.
"It can't be too hard. But it also can't be too easy. An Apocalypse with an appropriate difficulty! On top of that, pick an Apocalypse that gives appropriate rewards."
Following my instructions, 250 hunters read Apocalypses.
Since each Apocalypse recorded the trajectory of a world itself, the volume of each and every one was immense. Even with all the hunters devoted to reading, it was nowhere near finished.
"Death King, something is strange."
The only exception was the Heretic Questioner, who had not a single book to read.
The back of the crazy psycho's hand still bore the word "Fairy Tale."
"What is it?"
"Apocalypses don't come to me alone. Is fairy tale perhaps a minor genre?"
"Nah, no way. There are people who've never read fantasy, and people who've never read romance, but there's no one who hasn't heard a fairy tale. It's the most mainstream of the mainstream."
"You are correct. Hmm, but why does not a single one come to me......."
The crazy psycho tilted his head.
'Because there's no such thing as a fairy tale that ends with the destruction of the world. You natural-born disaster.'
Those words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back.
And I pretended to know nothing.
"Who knows? Wait just a little longer. Surely among all these books, there can't be zero fairy tales."
"Hmm, that is certainly true. It seems I was being a bit impatient. I shall wait quietly!"
The crazy psycho trotted off and sat in a corner. I knew that the day a fairy tale book would be given to him would never come, the witch knew it, and every other hunter knew it.
"Hey, religion freak."
Let me correct that.
The Emperor of Light Novels apparently did not know.
"Yes, Heavenly Martial Sect Master? Did you call for me?"
"This looks like a fairy tale. There was one mixed in among the wuxia novels."
"Oho! Thank you!"
The Heretic Questioner accepted the Apocalypse from Viper. A radiant smile, as if ground from angels and saints, hung on his lips.
It was a little terrifying.
"Then Death King, I too shall enter into reading! Ah-ha, I am curious what kind of Apocalypse it could be!"
"Ah, yes... um, what is the title of the Apocalypse, by any chance?"
"It is titled [Me and Our Scapegoat]!"
The title was also a little terrifying.
In the end, every group received books that way. And read them.
After some time had passed, mealtime arrived.
"Ugh."
"M-my eyes feel like they're going to pop out."
Agonized groans rose from here and there.
It was so bad that everyone accepted the sandwiches and black tea given by the bookmark maids without a single complaint this time.
"Death King......."
The witch, who was in charge of the [Romance] group, was no exception.
"I, I can understand how that Constellation feels."
"Pardon?"
"These Apocalypses. They all got discontinued right at the climax scene."
The witch's face was visibly exhausted.
"The moment the female lead confesses to the male lead, a meteor falls. The moment the two hold hands and are about to kiss, aliens suddenly invade. It's all a mess! No, even if I let the meteor slide, what the hell is an alien invasion doing in a palace romance comedy?"
And on top of that, the witch said.
"They were all incredibly fun before they got discontinued in this shitty way, which makes it even more vicious. The protagonists are charming, the stories are thrilling... but only the endings are garbage! It's like a perfect course meal, but when you cut into the cutlet served as the main dish, what comes out feels like......."
"No, you don't have to tell me what comes out. Can't you see I'm eating a pork cutlet sandwich right now?"
"Ah, sorry. Death King. That's right, I was being indelicate while you were eating... no, but I still have to say it! So, what it feels like when you cut into it is!"
"This is all being broadcast live. Witch—live broadcast, okay?"
The Witch went "Urk" and shut her mouth. Really, this person had a temperament that flared up at strange moments, just like when she tried to match the one-eyed giant zombie's eyeball.
Anyway, it was the moment I, relieved, put the pork cutlet sandwich back in my mouth.
The witch, who had been glancing around, brought her lips to my ear.
"What it feels like when you cut into it is......."
In the middle of Babylon's plaza, were people holding their breath as they watched the witch whisper into my ear?
After hearing the contents of the whisper, I truly felt like my breath would stop. It was content that made me not want to look at a pork cutlet sandwich for at least a month.
Oh, God. Please save me.......
[Sparkle is exerting her best efforts to save you.]
A god who couldn't even save her own world should just sit still.......
Of course, the god of this Great Library didn't save me either. Instead, the Shut-In Librarian floated around in the air and grinned.
"It seems you all have finally come to understand my pain."
The Librarian's outward appearance was that of a child. But the smile that rose on the Constellation's face now was not childlike at all. The smile of a gourmand who had gone through life's sweet-and-salty combo so much that they had lost their sense of taste sat in its place.
"What is there to hide? The 683 Apocalypses that this librarian has permitted you. They are demonic tomes that boast especially bizarre destructive power even within my Great Library."
"Demonic tomes?"
"Indeed. They are so fun, so thrilling, that readers cannot help but love these books."
The Librarian laughed ominously.
"But only up to there! Despite being this entertaining, you all can never become happy. No, because they are entertaining, you become even more unhappy! For these demonic tomes have all met endings like dog shit!"
The witch swallowed.
"Don't tell me you deliberately picked only those works? To give us the same pain......?"
"You may regard it so."
"I can't regard it any other way......."
"Now then! You all shall fall into the hell of Serialization Cancellation. And writhe in eternal pain just like me! Hurry! Suffer quickly!"
The Librarian burst into roaring laughter.
Some hunters trembled in fear.
"Is he a demon?"
"Making us read only masterpieces that got discontinued on purpose. He's insane."
"This is a sin deserving divine punishment......!"
I learned later that they were people whose hobby had always been reading novels. I don't quite understand, but to novel lovers, the Librarian's words seemed to be extremely terrifying.
It was then.
"Ah, uh, Hunter."
"Hm?"
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
I turned my head to look, and one person from the [Fantasy] group was waving her hand. For a while I wondered who that woman was to be waving, but soon I recalled her face.
"Oh, it's the boss?"
A hunter who would later grow into the Alchemy Ministry Head.
The pharmacist who had made the elixir for me was there.
"You got an alias too, boss?"
"Uh, it just sort of happened. Even though it's an uncool alias like 'Pharmacist'... ehehe."
The pharmacist who had become the Pharmacist laughed awkwardly.
I was a little surprised.
'The Alchemy Ministry Head already got an alias?'
No matter how great a hunter she would become, the woman before my eyes had been wandering the slums until recently. An "alias." It was somewhat early for her to have achieved a feat worthy of the Tower's recognition.
Even I had only barely obtained an "alias" after repeatedly doing insane things while heavily armed with cheat skills. Was it true that a promising sprout's seed leaves are different from the start?
"Boss, you're really amazing. How did you get an alias in such a short time? My eyes never fail. I could tell at a glance that you'd succeed. Investing in you was worth it."
"Ah, no! I'm not amazing at all!"
The pharmacist waved her right hand, which was holding a sandwich.
"I mean it. I'm not just being modest... I just stayed still and got an alias."
"Pardon?"
"I-I don't know how it happened either. A few days ago, I suddenly heard [The item you crafted is contributing to saving the world], and then bam, an alias was given to me. Ugh. I'm sorry. I really have no idea......?"
'Ah.'
The pharmacist had an expression that said she didn't understand what she herself was talking about. But I was different. Hearing her words, I instantly realized the truth of the matter.
'It's because of the elixir she made for me!'
The cause was the elixir I had taken when fighting the Demon King.
When I fought the bloody battle against the Demon King, I had thoroughly felt the effects of the drug. Thanks to the elixir maximizing my senses, I had been able to observe the sword strikes the Demon King swung in slow motion.
'What. Then.......'
In other words.
'I've been carrying this person all along?'
It was like I had unintentionally given someone a bus ride.
Whether she knew it or not, the pharmacist fidgeted with her fingers.
"I-I'm really not the amazing one, Hunter is! Ah. I should call you Death King now....... Death King is the truly amazing one. Just a few days ago you were outside the rankings, and now you've shot up to 3rd place in one go! I'm so, so honored to have gotten to know someone like Death King! I really wanted to tell you that!"
"Hey. What do you mean. I just got lucky......."
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, the pharmacist laughed "ehehe" and clasped her hands behind her back.
"Death King, if you need anything, please tell me! I'll help with anything I can do!"
Wow.
What was with this woman?
Is she an angel?
-Zombie, can't you raise the bar for seeing people as angels just a little?
'Sword Emperor sir, I simply believe in people. No matter how many times I'm betrayed, I can't stop believing in people. It's not my sin that I was born with such a burning heart, now is it.'
-Your bullshit is especially burning today. In English, that's a hot dog sound.
Let's pretend I didn't hear that last piece of bullshit.
5
The fourth day since we began reading.
We finally succeeded in reading all the Apocalypses.
Every hunter declared that they had completed their reading.
"In the romance group, there are four recommended books in total."
"The SF group will recommend two."
"In the mystery group......."
Each group announced their recommended works.
Appropriate difficulty. Appropriate rewards.
Recommended works that exquisitely combined the two were listed.
"My fairy tale group will recommend this! Though it's the only one we have!"
+
[Me and Our Scapegoat]
Genre: Fairy Tale
Difficulty: A-rank
Party Limit: 2 or more
※The serialization is currently discontinued.
Introduction: Humanity in this world succeeded in creating a utopia. But maintaining that utopia required a special power source. It was the scream let out when an innocent child who had committed no crime was made to suffer. It's unfortunate, but for the perfect happiness of 17 million people, one innocent child would have to endure, wouldn't they? Thanks to meticulously developed torture techniques and life-sustaining treatment, they were able to extract about five years' worth of screams per child. How efficient!
Reason for Cancellation: 118,000 years passed since the creation of the utopia. In the end, all the innocent children were used up. The utopia that lost its power source came to a stop.
+
Hm.
That Apocalypse is one I'll have to visit someday, regardless of difficulty or rewards.
But for now, there was a different Apocalypse that caught my attention.
"The Wuxia group strongly recommends this work."
The Sword Saint spoke.
The Sword Saint was serving as the team leader for the Wuxia genre. Unlike someone whose outward appearance was that of a wuxia enthusiast but whose inner thoughts were the Emperor of Light Novels, the Sword Saint was truly well-versed in wuxia.
That old man opened up one Apocalypse and showed it.
"It is this book."
+
[Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon]
Genre: Wuxia, Fusion
Difficulty: B-rank
Party Limit: 2-4 people
※The serialization is currently discontinued.
Introduction: The murim. A world of those who revere martial arts, use martial arts, and attain martial arts! Here, the Heavenly Demon appeared and sought to unify the murim. The Demonic Cult, united around the Heavenly Demon. The forces opposing the Demonic Cult. They clashed over the fate of the world... or would have.
If only a super plague hadn't suddenly swept through.
Reason for Cancellation: An unidentified plague ran rampant through the world, and the Heavenly Demon died. The Demonic Cult was annihilated. The other forces were also destroyed. The end.
+
"The reason I recommend the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon is simple."
The Sword Saint spoke.
"In this world, there is a figure called the Heavenly Demon. A martial artist who collected every martial arts manual that existed in the jianghu. And so, a massive secret archive of martial arts... hm. In short, something like a library was built at the Demonic Cult's headquarters."
The Sword Saint made an awkward expression. It was because everyone who wasn’t in the Wuxia group reacted with "Martial arts manuals? Secret archive? What are you talking about?"
In the end, the Sword Saint gave up on wuxia terminology and used easy-to-understand words.
"You can regard martial arts manuals as books containing the secret methods of skills. If we succeed in saving this world, we will obtain a library storing the greatest skills under heaven for free. It is an opportunity for us hunters to grow even stronger."
The hunters' eyes lit up.
"Martial arts, huh."
"We can obtain new skills?"
"Well, opportunities to learn skills really are rare......."
"It's a chance to learn the ways of the jianghu!"
The atmosphere was not bad. People like the Sword Saint who valued individual martial strength reacted especially positively. Right now, our priority was getting stronger. That argument gained persuasive power.
Of course, it was good news for me too.
'This is good?'
I stroked my chin.
'If it's a murim world, there'll be tons of masters who can really fly around. If I die just once to each of those masters... whoa. Wouldn't I get at least an A-rank skill?'
-Zombie, as expected of a zombie, is your head just full of thoughts of freeloading like that?
'There's a world I want to beat the shit out of. But with my current strength, it's difficult.'
The Sword Emperor quietly shut his mouth.
Instead, another being spoke up.
[Sparkle informs you that she has detected a presence.]
The sword at my waist suddenly hummed.
'A presence? What presence?'
[Sparkle says that her sister is very close by.]
'Sister?'
Sparkle... the so-called Constellation "Goddess of Protection" had been split into five swords and sealed. The holy sword at my waist was one of them. Hadn't she said that even Sparkle herself didn't know where the remaining swords had disappeared to?
But now she felt the presence of a sister sword nearby.
'Where? Where do you feel it?'
I looked around.
The Great Library of All Thoughts. Bookshelves stretched beyond the horizon. Each bookshelf was enormous. Looking up, they were as tall as towers.
Naturally, I couldn't see anything but books.
[Sparkle recommends that you not look around in the wrong places and focus on what is in front of you.]
'In front of me? There's nothing in front of me but the Sword Saint... wait.'
An Apocalypse.
A book containing a world.
'Is it inside that?'
The holy sword made a humming sound.
[Sparkle affirms, "Yes, Hero."]
[Sparkle says she feels the presence of her sister from the book the Sword Saint is holding!]
It was the moment our next destination was decided.