Bai Xiaodu took a few deep breaths.
The precious knowledge he had yearned for but couldn't obtain was casually spoken of in a game.
But... now was not the time for sentimentality.
Increasing his own strength was the most important thing. During his free time over the past two days, he hadn't been idle either, constantly practicing 【Gust】.
He was getting more and more proficient, but he still couldn't quite grasp the trick.
He also had a faint inkling of the reason—he lacked real combat training.
This was the perfect opportunity.
Looking at the countdown timer above his head, Bai Xiaodu closed his eyes and prepared to join the map.
Just as it was about to hit zero, Lingxin suddenly spoke up to warn him, her words rushing out.
“The original form of the 【Ashes Library】 is a 【Knowledge】 Secret Realm that has already been fully explored. If you get the Prisoner identity, you need to try to break out of prison yourself and cooperate with your teammates. If you get the Infiltrator identity, you need to quickly learn the secret language in a short amount of time and proficiently chant praises to the Dragon God to avoid being suspected by the Godfather.”
“It's actually quite difficult. Their secret language has too many complex, tedious characters, and the syllables are incredibly hard to mimic.”
Bai Xiaodu's expression shifted.
“Secret language? What secret language?”
Looking at Bai Xiaodu's blank face with her wine-red eyes, Lingxin got a bad feeling.
“The incantation characters, the foundation of ancient spells. Can you write and recite seventy-two incantation characters from memory?”
“The Mage Emperor's spell runes are only commonly used among humans. Moreover, many ancient mana-powered devices still in use today are designed and operated based on incantation characters. I recall they teach this in middle school and high school courses.”
Bai Xiaodu felt awkward.
The school really did teach it, but he had already been out in society for a year or two. He had absolutely no use for it in his daily life, and he had long since forgotten those incantation characters.
I'm basically illiterate!
Seeing this, Lingxin covered her face, completely unprepared for this situation.
Even so, Lingxin tried to comfort him.
“It's fine, Xiaobai. If you're a Prisoner, there's no need to learn this. You just have to get ready to fight.”
“It's a fifty-fifty chance. There's no way our luck is that bad.”
As she finished speaking, the timer hit zero.
The encroaching darkness warped the pleasant scenery of the plaza.
...
When he woke up again, a dark purple hood shrouded the side of his face.
Bai Xiaodu shook his head, finding the harsh white light of the hall a bit hard to get used to.
This was a rather spacious and massive library.
Endless bookshelves stretched out into intersecting aisles, filled with countless neatly arranged books of various colors. For the first time, Bai Xiaodu truly understood the phrase "a sea of books."
Hiss, just looking at them made his head spin. A wave of sleepiness inexplicably welled up from the depths of his heart.
A few scattered people were walking nearby, their expressions flat and numb, speaking in hushed whispers.
Strangely enough, the skin exposed beneath their hoods was extremely rough, and one could even faintly make out the shape of scales.
He was sitting in a chair, holding an unknown book covered in dense, crawling characters.
【Game Start】
【Your identity is...】
【Infiltrator!】
【Hide your identity, rescue your companion, slay the evil dragon!】
【Current Node Quest: Read and chant the Dragon God's hymn proficiently, gain the supervisor's approval, and avoid being detected.】
Oh no, this was bad. Really bad.
Scrambling to open the book in his hands, Bai Xiaodu squinted, struggling to read the text inside.
“Ah... Ah-bo-chee-deh-eh-fo-geh?”
He tried his hardest but only recognized a few words, and he wasn't even sure if he had gotten the pronunciation right.
This was a hymn. If his pronunciation wasn't perfect, he would be exposed on the spot.
A drop of cold sweat slowly rolled down Bai Xiaodu's forehead.
Just then, the chat box flashed.
【Lingxin: Xiaobai, the situation is a bit bad right now. But don't worry, I'll report my location first. I'm currently imprisoned at the very top of the library. The boss of this stage is a dragon beast of the gold dragon species. According to the lore, he's slowly increasing his strength through prayers and hymns. He'll probably release me tonight for a formal duel. If you can find a way to quickly reach the top of the tower and use the supervisor's key to let me out early, I'm highly confident I can win. But if your infiltration fails, it'll be hard to say. After all, my current strength is capped at Rank 0.9, and it's a bit difficult to solo a fully buffed dragon beast. Oh, and don't say anything weird. The NPCs on this map have some intelligence. If you act strangely, they'll catch on very quickly.】
The voice message paused briefly, then another popped up.
【Lingxin: Although it's hard... you can send me the characters, and I'll try to teach you how to read them.】
Running his fingers through his short hair, Bai Xiaodu stared at the book in his hands.
The text on it looked like squirming maggots of lines, combined in completely unknown, indescribable ways.
He couldn't understand a single thing.
He couldn't even find the corresponding characters to type them out. Even trying to copy them would take ages just to write a single sentence.
How could these characters even form a sentence?
【Xiaobai: Hard to say. But... is the key to your cell on the supervisor?】
【Lingxin: Yes. He's quite high level and very skilled in spellcasting. He also has a skill that forces both sides to disarm. If you fight him head-on without any gear, you'll likely suffer a major disadvantage.】
【Xiaobai: Got it.】
【Lingxin: Sigh... It's okay, Xiaobai. That incantation is exceptionally hard to read in the first place, so it's normal for the Infiltrator role to be tough. But if we lose this round, we'll have to wait to play again. This map was originally a Secret Realm, so this is just a test with play limits. We'll probably have to wait a few days. Don't be sad...】
【Xiaobai: It doesn't matter.】
Bai Xiaodu quickly typed out the words and pressed Enter.
【Xiaobai: I am coming for you.】
...
The system indicated that Lingxin's Affection had increased to 38.
After saying this, Bai Xiaodu took the initiative to cut off the communication.
It wasn't because he wanted to act cool and leave a lingering impression, but because someone was approaching.
A slender, gaunt monk clad in a black robe stood in the middle of the empty hall, holding a book.
His voice was deep, but it seemed to have been amplified by some kind of spell, allowing Bai Xiaodu to hear him clearly even from a great distance.
“Prepare yourselves. In one hour, follow me to the second floor of the library to chant the all-knowing wisdom of the Dragon God in unison. Those who are complete and standard in their recitation will be rewarded by the Godfather. If your performance is exceptional, you may even be promoted to the upper levels and granted an audience with the Master of the Ashes Library, our great Lord Oter the Gold Dragon, to chant before him in person. If you still show no progress as usual...”
The voice grew lower, carrying a hint of menace.
“If you cannot even show the most basic respect and loyalty to Lord Dragon God, what use is keeping you? You will all be taken to the meat grinder to become feed for the beasts!”
Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaodu silently opened the settings window.
Last time, in pursuit of complete realism, he had cranked up the sensory and pain settings to the maximum, making it identical to reality.
He tried to adjust it.
It wouldn't budge.
【Please exit the current game and try again.】
?
Now, failure was absolutely not an option.
Hearing this, the black-robed monks around him visibly grew tense.
It was just like when a teacher announced an exam for the next class.
Soon, the people in the aisles hurried to their seats, and a low, collective chanting began to echo through the empty hall.
Flipping through the book in his hands randomly once more, Bai Xiaodu really couldn't take it anymore. He simply tossed it aside and slumped onto the table to sleep.
The chanting around him acted like white noise. He had only intended to rest, but it actually made him feel sleepy.
He had to prop up his head to keep himself from sleeping through the entire game.
In a half-asleep state, his mouth fell open, and drool soon hung from the corner of his lips.
Seeing this, the monks next to him, without exception, wore expressions of disdain.
They shook their heads and quickly went back to reading their own books.
An hour was very short. Bai Xiaodu felt as if he had only closed his eyes for a moment before someone patted his shoulder and forced him up.
It was indeed the monk from earlier who had addressed the hall. His slender, gaunt figure stood straight in front of him.
“You, hurry up and get over there.”
His face couldn't be seen clearly beneath the black robe.
But his anger was palpable in his tone.
“What a slacker. You had better be able to chant the entire hymn, or else I will execute your punishment myself!”
Rate on N.U.
