Chapter 303
Chapter 303
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 303
>Chapter Title: The New Curator of Mansang
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Kang Seol had suddenly been singled out by the curator—no, the former curator—and inherited his position.
He looked at the curator in bewilderment.
A bizarre whirring sound...
Clank...
The curator's damaged body trembled as he tried to stand.
"He's awake!"
"Damn it! Santio! Get ready!"
"W-Wait! But..."
The curator gazed down at Kang Seol from an awkward stance and met his eyes.
Everyone was flustered, fumbling uncertainly in the awkward situation...
When the curator's eyes shot out beams of light, like some kind of projector.
Straight toward Kang Seol's eyes.
Sizzle...
"Shouldn't we block it?"
"Wait... it doesn't seem hostile."
Bron agreed.
"It just looks like... he's showing us something?"
"Th-Then we'll have to wait and see..."
Kang Seol, unaware of their conversation, received the light beaming from the curator.
'This is...'
Someone's memory.
From the perspective, it seemed to be the curator's memory.
Though calling it a memory was a bit off, since the curator was a mechanical device—it was more like a record.
A human figure appeared in his view.
- You will be the curator of Mansang from now on.
'All things?'
- Everything, truly. Mansang will survive any moment and protect all things of value.
Kang Seol made a few inferences as he watched the man in the record.
'Mansang was made by humans? Then why is there no record of that?'
If humans had created such a magnificent invention, wouldn't they have spread word of their achievement far and wide? Why was nothing known about it?
- If we fail... no, even if we do...
The man smiled faintly.
It was the kind of smile that defined sorrow.
- Fulfill your duty, Mansang. Observe and record everything.
Creak...
Kang Seol looked around to find everything as dark as night.
In the pitch-black space, there was only the curator and himself.
This pitiful mechanical device, apparently still having something left in it, lifted Kang Seol up.
Like an adult picking up a child, it hoisted him onto its shoulder.
Whirr...
"...Ah!"
The world unfolded around the curator.
A very small world.
A world of printed letters.
Printed letters from across the world were gathering.
These were records meant to inform others of someone's experiences and thoughts, piling up neatly.
Even right now, in this moment.
Kang Seol saw Pandea.
Countless people embroiled in war.
Places where Transients and natives despised each other and sparked conflicts.
Humanity that had gone ahead first.
'...This.'
Moments that couldn't even be fully captured by the word fantastical. The viewers were feeling it too.
- What... what am I seeing right now?
- Goosebumps;; My whole body's covered.
- Insane. This is insane...
- Isn't this the direction media should head?
- Subscription fees are worth it now ㄷㄷ
Everything looked tiny.
Dust motes squabbling over dust for the sake of dust.
In truth, a human's feelings toward ants weren't all that special. Most dismissed them as insignificant or ignored them entirely. But were all the things they pursued truly insignificant?
'...What am I even thinking right now.'
Having become the curator of the Mansang Library, he was indulging in empty fantasies as if he were a god.
Kang Seol looked down at the curator.
Creak...
Named Mansang, but merely a manager. A cold machine.
Due to enduring for so long, it had exhausted nearly all its authority, and now it couldn't do much. The fact that it needed someone's help just to return to its original form said it all.
Yet even if its exterior was worn, its duty and order had not rusted.
From its position as the god ruling the Mansang Library, it fought to uphold its duty. Its connection to its creators had long been severed.
Creak...
Creeeak...
From the curator, now conveying something to Kang Seol with its broken body, came traces of regret—though it shouldn't have been possible.
It had been utterly defeated by Azlan and the Nightcrows, rendering it incapable of doing anything itself, so it passed the curator position to Kang Seol. But it didn't seem relieved.
The curator still wanted to be the curator.
It wanted to fulfill its duty.
It simply couldn't return to its original form on its own, so it needed to borrow another's hand.
And the right person for that was Kang Seol.
'But why me?'
There were two grand archmages, Jone and Santio, right here. Bron didn't count since he came from a book.
Kang Seol stroked the curator's body in the pitch-black space.
Creeak...
Like it had finished its task, the curator quietly bowed its head with eyes full of lingering regret.
The light it emitted had faded, and now the curator remained still in that state.
* * *
A few days later.
Using the power of Mansang that Kang Seol had inherited, they returned to the 8th floor, then scattered to do their own things.
Crossing floors was just a tiny fraction of the curator's power.
In any case, Jone and Santio had also gained something through their efforts.
The two grand archmages hadn't found the frozen truth, but they had discovered other books that would aid their realms.
"Urgh... It's a shame, but this isn't bad at all."
"The fact that we gained anything is what's important. After going through several crises, my mana quality and quantity have both improved dramatically. At this rate, I'll probably surpass my previous realm soon."
"Really? Hm hm... I need to get back quick and reflect on this journey."
"If you examine it carefully again, your realm is sure to rise greatly."
"Yeah. Good stuff. But... something's bothering me."
Jone looked up at the spire, the highest point in the fortress.
Kang Seol was there right now.
"He must be troubled, huh?"
"Of course. He suddenly got his hands on Mansang."
"You heard it too, right? He said he has zilch for authority? Just a title, and he'd be trapped in Mansang forever."
"That can be fixed by stepping down from the position, so that's fine... but..."
"It's probably about that issue, right?"
"...Seems like it."
"...Before he makes some dumb decision, we should go see him. Come with me."
"Me too?"
"Of course! Why do you think that kid's hesitating on his choice? Huh? A young guy with no lacks!"
"That's probably because..."
"It's experience. Heh heh, time to share some of this grand archmage's wisdom."
Jone with a lecherous grin and Santio sighing as he followed. Their destination was the spire where Kang Seol had holed up since returning to the 8th floor.
"So, like, if I bring it up first, then you... Huh?"
"...Perfect timing. He's out."
As they climbed the spire, they saw Kang Seol. He leaned against the ramparts, gazing wistfully at the edge of the snow mountains.
"Hrm, hrm... Posing like that. Hey! You! What're you thinking so deeply about!"
"He really looks like a god."
Kang Seol turned his gaze to Jone and Santio.
A faint smile.
"...Don't tease me."
He looked at them and asked.
"Did you come to say goodbye?"
"Uh... kinda... not. We're not leaving right away... We'll probably go once you make your decision."
"I see."
"We have to give the Scales some answer later, at least what we know."
One fact Kang Seol learned upon ascending to Mansang.
No matter where Mansang currently was, users would exit through the entrance they first used.
Meaning he couldn't predict when he'd see Jone and Santio again once they left Mansang.
Kang Seol would return to the Return Realm, and the grand archmages to the Present Realm.
The crossroads was here, the Mansang Library, so their farewell would be too.
Jone scratched his goatee slyly—no, openly—and said.
"Uh... You troubled?"
Santio gaped and scolded Jone.
"Jone, normal people don't ask so directly like that."
"Sh-Shut it! You!"
Jone pointed at Kang Seol and said.
"Answer me, little Scale. Is it that hard for you to decide?"
Kang Seol looked at Jone and asked.
"Even if it's life created by chance, life is life, so having to decide their fates..."
Kang Seol's dilemma was precisely the matter of how to handle the Glacierborn.
They were beings born from printed letters.
In their original world, they had already vanished. Reviving them wasn't a simple issue.
"Man, you're slow... Acting all godlike and your head's gone funny? You really think you're a god?"
"...Then do you think it's something a human should do, deciding others' lives?"
"Stop! Both of you..."
Jone yelled.
"Idiot! How many have you killed so far!"
"...Pardon?"
"How many have you killed in your life!"
"..."
"More than those snowball-rolling bastards down there, right?"
"Not sure, but..."
More lives than the number of Glacierborn filling the fortress—Kang Seol had probably taken that many in battles so far.
"See? You're looking down on humans!"
"What?"
"You know why the guys you met died?"
"That's... each had different reasons..."
"Different my ass! There's a common reason!"
"..."
Jone's eyes didn't waver.
"They met you. All those unlucky bastards who crossed paths with you and croaked."
"..."
"Even humans have times when they decide everything for someone. Through trivial ties, trivial contacts, others' lives get decided. Got it? Gods aren't special. Just different mindset. Deciding lives? Humans can do it plenty. Understand?"
"...I see."
Kang Seol looked at Jone like he'd been hit hard.
"See, I was a bastard born between a coachman and a noblewoman."
"..."
"Nearly got stoned to death at birth. Never saw my coachman dad. Drowned in a pond or something... Born under the world's curse, you could say."
"Jone, I didn't know."
"Huh? Didn't I tell you, Santio?"
"Yes. I thought you were street-born."
"You bastard! Bastard or not, nobles are nobles!"
"Ah, I see."
Jone kept talking.
"Anyway, think about it. Me, born under such a curse, now a fine adult saving the world, right?"
A bit odd phrasing, hard to grasp. Santio pointed it out.
"Jone, get to the point..."
"You don't know how it'll turn out!"
"Huh?"
Jone shouted at Kang Seol.
"Everything's weirdly tangled, doesn't go as planned. So do what you want. Someone else'll handle the aftermath anyway."
"..."
"That's humans for you. History proves it. No matter what, this bizarre race muddles through. Even screw-ups get cleaned up by hordes of sentimental fools."
"Jone."
"If trouble comes, me and this blockhead'll come help. So make your decision."
"First time our minds align. Good, I'll help too, so decide without worry."
Kang Seol nodded and said.
"Thanks. My thoughts are sorted now."
"Really? My advice was useful?"
"More than enough. Thanks to you, I've made up my mind."
"So when can we leave this damn library?"
To that question, Kang Seol answered.
"Today."
"...What?"
"I'm gathering the Glacierborn now."
The fate of the Glacierborn and the Mansang Library would be decided right now.