The Library's Guardian
He skinned the creature with meticulous care, preserving its hide as much as possible, then examined the traces of various genetic engineering implants within its body.
He briefly considered making the thing pay a heavier price but realized he had no real taste for torture. In the end, he simply burned it to death.
Of course, he did not grant it the mercy of instant cremation. He wrapped the Yusgul in relatively weak flames, forcing it to experience at least a fraction of the agony it had inflicted on its victims.
Only after his mind felt somewhat lighter did he organize his thoughts.
‘So they were digging here as well...’
This was not Beijing but the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, in the Changchun region of Jilin Province. Unfortunately, the individual whose memories he had read held a low rank, so the details remained unclear.
Still, one fact stood out with absolute clarity.
‘There is something incredibly important and powerful buried inside the Earth.’
Though he had already reached this conclusion, the thought gnawed at him once more.
The reason he had never considered visiting the underground site in Beijing after awakening in the post-apocalyptic world was simple. If the source of that light existed in reality as well, a mere Core Formation cultivator like himself could not predict the consequences of making contact.
It was an object that hundreds of powerful ghosts—including more than ten at the Soul Formation level—had failed to overcome despite their combined assault. If even the Void Refinement ghost that had crushed Han Yujin with a single finger had lent its strength there...
‘It is something only a Body Integration expert could approach with any confidence of safety.’
Fortunately, the object did not appear to cause active problems. At least not until 2057, before the Yusgul invasion.
‘Or perhaps it already has.’
The sudden hypothesis felt disturbingly plausible.
Why had the phenomenon known as dimensional collision begun to occur on Earth? Why were people with spiritual roots awakening supernatural abilities resembling divine powers?
It could not be mere bad luck for the planet or some special destiny for humanity.
‘So this object may be the root cause of Earth’s various apocalypses.’
The urge to check it immediately upon returning to reality surged within him. It was undoubtedly an object of extraordinary significance.
Yet no matter how many times he reconsidered, the timing was still premature.
Dimensional collisions and ability awakenings were already established phenomena. Humanity had adapted as best it could.
Therefore, the wisest course was to avoid stirring up unnecessary trouble and focus on strengthening himself through his awakened powers.
Thirty-five years remained until 2057. That was more than enough time—enough that he could not immediately calculate how many times he could use his abilities.
He had no fear of running out of time before reaching Body Integration.
And once he attained that realm, the Kama-Yusgul Empire’s invasion would no longer be a concern, granting him even more time.
‘That matter can wait. The next destination is...’
The library storing knowledge of these Yusgul tattoos.
The anomaly at the research facility would reach the other Yusgul before long.
Using the information he had gained, he moved toward the library’s location with both stealth and haste.
One clear difference from the other post-apocalyptic Earth was that the Kama-Yusgul Empire had not indiscriminately devastated the planet. Nor had they turned every native into a test subject. As a result, he occasionally witnessed humans engaged in activity.
Of course, their circumstances were far from enviable. They were, without exaggeration, slaves.
According to the knowledge he had absorbed, after a long passage of time Earth’s humans would eventually undergo racial conversion and be absorbed into the Kama-Yusgul Empire. Those who refused would either be culled or “preserved” to maintain biological diversity.
Soon after, he arrived at the library.
The building was vast and majestic. Had he not read the memories beforehand, he might have been genuinely impressed.
Having already identified the general locations and types of restrictive formations, he slipped through a gap with ease and entered the interior.
He passed the lower floors containing miscellaneous texts and ascended to the third floor, where the true spellbooks appeared. Their contents were basic, yet that was precisely why they held the greatest value to Han Yujin at this moment.
In every field, the fundamentals are paramount.
The memories extracted from the research lab had belonged to a fairly skilled Core Formation practitioner who had dismissed basic knowledge in certain areas as unnecessary.
Concealing his presence, Han Yujin began rapidly scanning the books. Having reached Core Formation, his reading speed and memorization were incomparably faster than before.
The books of the Kama-Yusgul Empire were uniquely crafted entirely from metal. Thin metallic threads were woven like fabric and bound together. Each character was embroidered with precision, and some letters or diagrams even possessed slight three-dimensional relief.
Dedicated artisans existed for this craft, and numerous specialized tools had been developed. It was a form of artistic technique.
Unfortunately, selecting all of them as harvests would waste excessive karma. Even the base metal was far from ordinary.
Fortunately, his memory was exceptional enough that there was no need. The content was purely foundational and presented no particular difficulty.
After roughly an hour without incident, he had committed the contents of over a hundred volumes to memory and proceeded to the fourth floor. Considering the greater size and information density of Yusgul books compared to those of Earth civilization, the amount of knowledge he had absorbed was immense.
The instant he fully stepped onto the fourth floor, Han Yujin realized the situation had gone awry and clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Finished admiring the collection?”
Once again, fluent English reached him, as though the speaker were being considerate of his humanity.
At the fourth-floor entrance, where a librarian might have stood, a Yusgul combatant in silver armor waited with crossed legs. A matching silver spear rested casually against one shoulder.
“You knew I was here but chose not to interfere?”
“Correct. You’re the first human I’ve seen with both your level of skill and behavior. You seem quite interested in our sorcery system.”
The Yusgul chuckled, clearly amused.
“Since you’ve read the books, I assume you’re fluent in our language as well?”
This time the words came in the Kama-Yusgul imperial tongue. Thanks to his transcendent comprehension, Han Yujin understood them perfectly and nodded.
“Something like that.”
“Your pronunciation is remarkably clean. Then again, someone of your caliber would master a language in a day or two.”
After a brief silence, the opponent stated his purpose.
“Serve under me.”
It was within the range of expectations.
“I will personally oversee your evolution procedure within the Trimvia family. Your sorcery tattoos will be inscribed at the basic reaper-officer grade. Depending on your performance, you could even rise to the rank of holy bishop.”
“Why me specifically?”
“Yes, specifically you. As you can guess, you will be given difficult missions. The rewards, however, will be equally substantial. Above all...”
He smiled, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“You currently have no right to refuse. Obey or die. Choose.”
Pretending to submit and observing how events unfolded might have been interesting. In a manner similar to the murim world, remaining in the Kama-Yusgul Empire for an extended period could yield significant gains.
But it held no appeal. Perhaps if he grew bored later.
“The rewards seem rather pathetic.”
Han Yujin answered with a similar smile.
“...What did you say?”
“Isn’t it embarrassing to offer something so mediocre as a reward? Try presenting something better. Who knows—I might be tempted.”
The opponent let out a hollow laugh.
“Just a crazy bastard with nothing but pride. I’ll cut off your limbs first and continue this conversation afterward.”
In the next instant, the spear resting on the Yusgul’s shoulder moved like lightning. Even with Han Yujin’s Core Formation perception, its speed defied calculation.
An explosive roar erupted as vivid blood-red lightning bolts burst forth, forming a prison around the area. Combined with the spear’s trajectory, they attacked exclusively along lethal paths.
Monghwan Yusim substituted some of the strikes into illusions while Golden Light Brilliance and Dharma Breaking Lightning Wall deployed simultaneously to neutralize the impact. At the same time, black lines shot from the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle in his hand, targeting the enemy.
“Ha!”
At that exact moment, part of the tattoos on the Yusgul’s body emitted a strange light and space warped.
The spear blade flew in at an impossible angle, bypassing all of the wine bottle’s attacks, severing the arm that held it, and sending lightning bolts curving from the opposite side to target both legs.
‘Nascent Soul stage.’
At minimum, the opponent possessed such power. The aura had been unusually faint, preventing earlier certainty.
Six Paths of Reincarnation unfolded in radiant light, but the enemy’s armor responded with its own glow. The blood-red lightning intensified, instantly dispersing the technique’s illusions.
The spear then pierced through Golden Light Brilliance, absorbed the Dharma Breaking Lightning Wall, and thrust toward his heart at an untraceable speed and trajectory.
“Hmm...!”
Yet the very fact that it targeted the heart proved the Six Paths of Reincarnation had not been completely blocked. The deliberately amplified rage from the Beast Dao had momentarily instilled killing intent in an opponent who had originally intended only to sever his limbs.
Han Yujin’s true aim had been to provoke the enemy into damaging the library through uncontrolled fury.
But the creature was clearly a highly trained warrior. It expressed only a tightly restrained anger.
In the end, as he watched the spear withdraw from his exploded heart with a faintly flustered expression, Han Yujin delivered one last taunt.
“You fool. Does that look like a limb to you?”
“...How dare you!”
Though his heart had burst, it was not an instantly fatal wound for a Core Formation cultivator.
Continuing the fight would only bring further loss. After confirming the enemy’s increased rage, he smiled and immediately triggered an overload in his dantian.
It would be far more painful than quietly escaping with a teleportation spell, but the mood struck him. Since the opponent had refrained from damaging the library, he would do it himself.
Countless cracks spread across the once perfectly stable dantian near his solar plexus as power rampaged out of control. The opponent shouted something in alarm, but the sound never reached him.
In the next moment, all five senses severed. Even his consciousness was swept away by the rampage and vanished as though evaporating. The pain—nearly unbearable even for a Core Formation cultivator—consumed his soul.
Fortunately, the agony did not last long.
In the warm darkness, Han Yujin sighed, his attitude completely different from the mocking and taunting he had shown his enemy.
Please select your harvest.
Aside from the carefully preserved hide, there was little worth choosing. Amusingly, the self-inflicted dantian overload was considered a form of “training achievement” despite its negative nature and could be selected as a harvest. Naturally, he ignored it entirely.
The moment he decided to leave the waiting area, he awakened on his bed in reality and let out another sigh.
‘I’m still too weak...’
Although he had clearly sought out the danger himself, he also understood this was the natural consequence of always aiming higher.
The sense of invincibility he had felt upon reaching Core Formation had vanished without a trace. He had moved beyond merely controlling arrogance to the stage where he had to safeguard his own pride.
Fortunately, countless methods to grow stronger still remained. He also possessed sufficient karma to realize them.
He had completed the essential verification regarding Earth’s future.
Now it was time to visit the Ohaeng Sect ruins and pursue further growth.
‘The Five Elements True Spirit Great Stone that contains the Taiyi Five Elements Dao Scripture.’
With his current karma, acquiring it should pose no difficulty. After quickly checking his smartphone for urgent messages, he lay back down on the bed.
Squeak! Squeak!
Mu-yong seemed somewhat dissatisfied and kept begging to play, so he had to get up for a while and spend time with her first.