CHAPTER 54: LIBRARY [1]

’It’s... a bit larger than Ash’s manor.’

After walking for some time, Dante and Elizabeth arrived before the supposed library.

The problem was, he could barely see the top of the library. It wasn’t a simple building, but a huge onyx-black tower.

The tower was surrounded by guards, and the people were entering and leaving it endlessly.

"For the last time, are you sure you want to come with me?" Dante looked at Elizabeth and asked: "You know that I’m going to learn what you consider the basics, which means you won’t gain anything from staying with me."

Elizabeth shrugged: "And I won’t gain anything from staying alone either. If I return now, I’ll just lay on the bed with no purpose at all."

As Dante tried to enter the library, he was stopped and had to pay a kind of weekly subscription to enter the library, which cost him 5 silver coins.

’I... I’m getting poorer every day. I have to start working soon.’

As he finally entered the library, his eyes widened in awe.

All he saw was rows and rows of bookshelves wherever he looked. There were stairs leading upward, a lot of seats for reading, and many people reading and searching for books.

’I have to memorize all I can from these books... somehow.’

This process might take so long, but Dante didn’t care. He immediately went to the geography section, got a few books, and found himself a table to read.

Elizabeth sat behind him, resting her head on the table as she listened to Dante reading the book.

Geography was his first choice for obvious reasons. He had to know about the world he lived in now and everything about it.

In case he had to leave Ashton Kingdom suddenly, he’d need to know what the other kingdoms are.

As Dante flipped page after page, he summarised everything in his mind.

’This continent is called Terra. It’s divided into five regions: Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, Central. It’s surrounded by a great ocean filled with beasts, and no one knows what exists beyond it.’

With the help of his high Mind stat, Dante was able to absorb all the knowledge rapidly. The kingdoms, the paths, the death zones, the environment of the regions, and many other things.

’Unfortunately, many places aren’t explored. The people in this world aren’t advanced enough to explore everything, even in their own kingdoms despite their magic.’

For example, the forest that Fafnir was thrown into was a part of Asthon Kingdom. Yet, he didn’t see any humans other than Beatrice, and he even found the mysterious body swap ritual and the unexplored ancient ruins.

If even a weak person like Fafnir was able to find them, then how couldn’t the other high-ranked beings? The only reason they weren’t found by anyone else was simply because there was no one to find them.

That wasn’t a country where every piece of land was used, but a large kingdom where an entire forest was just a small unexplored area that not many people cared about.

’And the death zones are the most unexplored and vague areas in the map.’

The death zones were, as their name suggested, dangerous zones where people were more likely to die.

Whether it was the harsh environment or the terrifying monsters, everything there was far more dangerous even for the high-ranked beings.

’It’s stated that even a Rank 4 should be cautious there. I don’t think I’ll ever enter a death zone... but I’ll still read about them later... just in case.’

Who knows when his luck would suddenly throw him into a death zone? It was never a bad thing to be cautious.

The hours passed by as Dante filled his mind with different information. Elizabeth grew bored and fell asleep, but Dante just put a blanket on her and continued reading.

’Tsk, I warned her.’

Eventually, he moved to history books as a change.

With a potential war at the doorstep, he felt some urgency to understand the other kingdoms.

He didn’t want to participate in that war in any way, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get affected by it.

’What if there were weapons similar to nuclear weapons? What if the high-ranked beings themselves were as strong as a nuclear weapon?’

If that was the case, then simply ignoring the war would only endanger him. If Ashton Kingdom decided to participate, then a sudden attack might wipe him out of existence.

’And the regression marks definitely aren’t absolute. If Fafnir got them from the Time Aspect, then another individual with the Time Aspect might counter it. I can’t just assume that it’s going to save me if the worst happens.’

Considering all that, he had to find the best possible place to live by knowing their history with each other.

He needed a place that was safe for all races, had a neutral relationship with the others, and possessed high power to prevent any possible attacks.

As Dante opened the first book, he started with Ashton Kingdom. He was now living in it, so it was the most important kingdom to know about.

He started reading it with intense interest, but as he continued, he unconsciously cursed his luck inwardly.

’I should have expected that from the strange emblem... damn it!’

Everything started with a fight between a human named Ashton and the king of dragons himself, Azrael.

According to the book, Ashton killed Azrael despite not having a bloodline and was then acknowledged by the World Runes. After the humans knew about his legendary feat, they built together Ashton Kingdom above the dragon’s remains.

That caused enmity between the dragon race and Ashton Kingdom that lasted until today. There were a few small wars between them. However, all these wars ended without winners.

’That’s why Beatrice wasn’t scared of killing a dragon and selling their corpse. She didn’t think she’d have to face any consequences as her entire kingdom was an enemy with dragons.’

As these thoughts passed by his mind, he suddenly came into another realization.

’Was Fafnir thrown into this kingdom intentionally?’

Dante’s mind drifted to Fafnir’s memories. One of the dragons who sent Fafnir into the forest was from those who wanted to execute him.

Even though the dragons agreed to spare Fafnir’s life, some of them still wanted to decrease his chance of survival.

Dante sighed, not understanding anything about the dragons’ decision: ’Just kill him or spare him. Why are they making everything complicated?’

After reading all that he needed about Ashton Kingdom, he left to search for books about another topic.

Out of curiosity, he wanted to read about the dragons themselves.