Author: chapter after this is the last chapter I'll post before going back into hibernation.
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Curb your expectations.
I don't do good deeds for just anyone. Don't expect me to act out of kindness.
I'm not a saint. Lady, I don't know you. Keymaster, I don't know you and I don't even think I like you.
"I'm sorry for your loss, lady, but I'm not your guy."
Six million books. I could have soloed the entire thing if the task is to destroy six million books. Replacing them is another matter entirely. It's like being asked to fill an ocean with a teaspoon.
I just can't imagine six million stories from beginning to end. Not even half-assedly.
It's not even me who has to do it—it's this crazy sonuvabitch calling me his apprentice.
"I'm not helping. Not about to go and spend the next million years cooped up here." I stated plainly.
The woman glared at the Keymaster, though she remained mostly expressionless.
"You haven't told or explained anything to him. Sincerely, what is wrong with you?"
The Keymaster replied. "What's wrong with wanting to mess with someone?"
"Ugh."
The woman turned to me, exasperation in her voice. "Wanderer, the process is not what it seems. I do not want you to write the books yourselves but to facilitate their creation. To do that, you only need to do one thing."
Skeptical, I shot back, "And what is this one thing that can supposedly create six million replacements for your book collection? Honestly, I find it hard to believe."
The woman paused for a long time.
"The process yields greater results if you do not know. All I can ask now is for your trust."
Her words were soft, almost hesitant.
Not what I wanted to hear.
"Trust? You expect me to trust you? I just met you and the Keymaster, like, within the last 20 minutes. The only reason I'm even standing here listening is that I've got nothing better to do. Asking me for anything more than that is already…" I wanted to say delusional. Or insane. "…real optimistic."
"I can't explain it well, but once you do it, you will understand."
Now, I was even more doubtful. It sounds like she's just making excuses.
I've had a long day and was just about done interacting with anyone.
"…"
There was a crack.
Not anywhere in the library, but on her expressionless face. A hint of emotion, though I couldn't describe what.
The woman clutched the book to her chest tighter.
"I…" she started, then stopped. Her throat moved as she swallowed something back.
"I've tried," she added. "Alone. Sifting through the pieces. Reading whatever was left. Hoping the stories would come back to me in a dream." Her gaze sank to the floor. "I know I don't look it, but I remember every title. Or… I did. At least, I think I did. And when I try now, I grasp nothing. They're gone."
She tried to say more, but nothing came.
Then, she looked up. The shift in her voice was unmistakable.
"I don't know how else to ask. I've tried being logical. I've tried being calm. But none of it matters if you walk away."
"Please," she whispered quietly. "This place, these books… they are all I have."
"…"
Hearing those words, I felt bad for her.
Six million books is still a ridiculous number to think about.
I can tell this woman really treasures the books. Her deadpan look at the Keymaster and me was almost disdainful, but the books lit a spark in her mannerisms.
Her aura drifting towards the books was the biggest tell. I've never seen that before. It's almost like they're an integral part of her.
I can't imagine what it would be like to suddenly lose six million of the things you love.
"I can't help you."
Hearing my words, the woman shook slightly.
Too bad I wasn't stupidly optimistic.
Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, it's no use appealing to my conscience. Six million books are still six million books.
That's not a distraction anymore. It's a full-on job that demands overtime, a damn life sentence made 100,000 times longer.
"…but," I added, "if there's something else you can think of that isn't as large as making six million books, I can probably do something about it. If it's within my capacity, I'll let you know. I can give it a try."
"…"
"Just laying it out there. I can create and destroy a lot of things. You mentioned furniture was also destroyed. I can help with that."
"…destroy."
The woman murmured that word, and she fell into contemplation. She mouthed destroy while glancing at the Keymaster. Uhh, maybe I should have said something else.
"Es, give it a break. This task falls on me alone to complete. Buuut, there is no shame in trying to rope him in. I definitely tried." So the woman's name is Es.
The Keymaster still looked punchable. There's not a single remorseful bone in him at all. Didn't he just burn a bunch of books literally minutes ago?
"You should be feeling ashamed right now, but the fact that you aren't is telling," I said. This is his fault, to begin with.
"Oh, come on, I told you this fiasco is not entirely my fault. Besides, everything we've been through in our little time together was all done in the name of good fun."
Yeah, your good fun, at the expense of others.
"Shall I convince you again?" he confidently said.
I groaned. "There is no 'again.' You never convinced me the first time. Hell, you never needed to try!" Seriously, someone check this man's head.
The Keymaster sauntered over to Es's side, tapping her shoulder with a sigh.
"My, my… ignoring a helpless damsel in need? Whatever happened to the spirit of the new generation?"
His voice dripped with mock disappointment.
Es slapped his hand away without hesitation and stepped back, scowling in her own little way.
Unfazed, the Keymaster merely propped himself against a nearby bookshelf, folding his arms in lazy amusement.
"Well done, Thomas. You've only gone and made her angrier."
She's clearly mad at you…
At this point, I realized how much of an idiot I was being. The Keymaster has been screwing with me, no surprise about that. But the fact is that he will never stop his antics. He will always be messing with people.
Not just me, but Es as well. Perhaps I treated the possessed talking wall too harshly—that thing probably had to deal with this shit and got sick of it.
"I am free of any guilt here, you shitty arsonist. Unlike you, I'm innocent. You even burned more books, knowing you needed to replace them."
"It was necessary."
"I'm taking my leave. Everything you say is full of crap."
"Wait."
The Keymaster suddenly appeared behind me and tried to grab my shoulder. I didn't see how he moved so quickly, but I smacked his hand away at the last second.
Unbothered, he let his arm fall into his coat pocket.
"…I know what you seek, Thomas," he said with a low voice. "I have met so many people, each with their own desires. Yours is hardly unique."
He tilted his head slightly, a knowing glint in his eyes.
"I didn't bring you here on a whim. Es can give you whatever entertainment you want to drown yourself in… and in doing so, you'll be helping her. Well, you will ultimately be helping me, but that is beside the point. Understood?"
My patience snapped.
"You're beginning to piss me off."
"Oh?"
The Keymaster raised an eyebrow.
Everything he said rubbed me the wrong way. It doesn't help the he still finds amusement when he's been acting like a proper shithead.
"You know what? You're the biggest motherfucking scumbag I've ever met."
"That foul mouth sure is uncontrollable! Temper, Thomas. Don't be rash. I am simply fooling around!"
I should have anticipated something like this. I never liked the Keymaster, but I couldn't put my finger on why.
Pompous asshole.
It's so obvious now. From the start, he's been looking down on us both. He doesn't care about anyone else.
That kind of selfishness reminds me of Schtrom.
"I ought to teach you manners."
My hand twitched, and the metal gauntlet curled into a fist.
"Ah, threats. We've reached the threats stage. Excellent. I may have promised that I wouldn't harm you, but that will no longer apply if you do not comply…"
The Keymaster didn't even flinch. Damn him, I'll wipe the smug look off your face.
The still magic power in our bodies grew restless.
"Wait, don't fight here!" said Es.
Of course, I hadn't forgotten. I needed to drag this asshole out of this library first. Otherwise, I would be just like him.
The Keymaster is a magician. My proximity to him and knowledge of his magic have given me a fair understanding of his capabilities.
He has no exploitable weaknesses. His clothing is woven with numerous enchantments, rendering both magic and physical force ineffective, even on the areas that aren't covered by his clothes.
Haki warns me about his fighting prowess, but I'd need to see whether he prefers to fight up close, afar, or both before making countermeasures.
And then, there's the abilities of the Keymaster that don't rely on magic that I frankly know nothing about. I need to make him use them so that I can learn them.
I reached a conclusion.
I need to make him take me seriously from the start.
"Yo, Keymaster. Want to see a magic trick?"
I created a key in my hand. The Keymaster's entire body went rigid the moment he saw it.
"You…" With bulging eyes, he watched as I twisted the key behind me, creating a Level Door.
My newfound understanding of the Keymaster's magic boiled down to this: A Gate and a Level Door aren't too different.
A Gate forcefully bends space. A Level Door, however, hijacks the natural-occurring paths between Levels.
The space in this world is utterly chaotic, so the magic targets the one thing that remains constant.
The fact that I can see the paths between Levels makes this magic even easier to use. Thank you for giving me the ability, distortion entity from day one.
I pointed behind me. "I'm going to drag your ass into this door, and there's nothing you can do about it."
The Keymaster soon regained his composure. He chuckled as he regained his relaxed demeanor. "Haha… What door?"
My Level Door collapsed in the next second. I frowned. He was much better than I thought.
"It seems that in the little time we've been together, you have been studying my techniques. However, it is still my magic."
I saw the magic power in his body turn volatile, and I released my own.
The air ignited as our opposing mana clashed.
An immense pressure descended over the library like a guillotine.
"Stop—!" Es's voice cracked through the air. Her composure was gone.
"Es, dear, be quiet."
The Keymaster doubled down, and the magic power he was releasing multiplied. I matched his output.
A massive area of the library was engulfed in magical power.
"Your control over your power is outstanding." The Keymaster's magic power continued to swell, and so did mine. "I was hoping to break another few ten thousand books. How dare you ruin my fun?"
He caught on. Showing off my magic power control by suppressing him was nothing but a flex. Whenever he pushed, I pushed just as hard, negating him.
Despite the high concentration of magic power, the books, the shelves, and Es were safe, and that's because I actively offset the magic pressure. The necessary level of control to do this was ridiculous, even for me.
Before I went to Level 39, anyway.
The Keymaster's magic was formidable, but I've gotten stronger myself. Once he realizes that magic is useless, he'll need to reveal more of his hand.
"Don't worry, I'm just getting started." I raised my arm. "Ruining your fun, that is."
He conjured a key, different from the Level Keys. Knowledge appeared in my head, and I used it to create a key of my own.
"You flatter me with your imitation, copycat..."
We held similar keys brimming with magic power, ready to explode. It was the largest amount of magic power I have ever used against a person, demonized or not.
All I knew was that he deserved at least this much.
We moved at the same time.
"I SAID STOP!!!"
Es's voice rang in my ears. Frankly, she was the least of my worries.
We propelled the keys at each other's throats and met in the middle.
Our magic clashed, but there was no grand explosion.
One was like a neverending eruption, the other a ravenous vortex, ever-consuming.
It was perfectly even. Neither I nor the son of a bitch generated the slightest disturbance in the air despite the destructive nature of our magic.
"There's nothing you can do, Keymaster. You can try to go crazy and break whatever the fuck you want in here, but it won't work. Your magic can't do shit."
Hot and cold. Hard and soft. Repel and attract.
I became his polar and equal opposite.
But instead of showing surprise, defeat, or denial, the Keymaster inexplicably smiled.
"Thomas, you naive boy. That was the wrong move to make."
His eyes weren't looking at me.
Behind me?
In the reflection of his pupils, I saw Es behind me holding an open book, the pages blank and turned toward us like a mirror.
The sound of his voice remained ever haughty.
"I win."
Then, everything disappeared.
The Keymaster vanished. Es vanished. The library was gone.
And I was falling.
"What?!"
No floors, no walls. My surroundings blurred, then grew dark, and I lost all sense of orientation.
The rushing wind was deafening.
*Clang!*
I managed to grab onto a ledge with my right arm, stopping my descent.
"Ugh!"
My gaze fell below me. A dark abyss glared back. With a grunt, I attempted to pull myself up.
"Damn this… this feeling…"
My arms began shaking. My eyes felt heavy. I was losing strength.
The overwhelming need to sleep overtook me.
The weight of my armor made it hard to keep holding on to the ledge. Worse than that, my magic was slipping away. Cut off. Like someone had just snatched a piece of me.
It was terrifying.
Then my mind slipped. My fingers followed.
And I fell—deeper, and deeper—into sleep that didn't feel like sleep at all.
*******
The corridor stretched without any visible end, a stream of letters stringing into words and words linking into lines of thought.
The walls spoke to me, or were they just my echoes that returned from the very end of this passage? I couldn't tell if I was walking through a library, a mind, or the echo of something that had once been important.
I remember this place. I only ever remember when I'm here.
A nightmare. My nightmare.
So I began to wander forward, onward, without purpose.
There was nothing for me here.
"Wanderer? There you are."
I heard a voice. My feet stopped.
"Who's there?"
But before I could catch a glimpse behind me, I woke up.
...
...
...
...
...
...
Slimy. Wet. Cold. Ticklish.
I jerked awake.
Slimy. Wet. Cold. Ticklish.
Wait, slimy? Wet? Cold? Ticklish? Why does my foot feel like that?
The answer was right in front of me. A horse was chewing on my shoe.
"Woah!"
I stood up, backing away from the beast. The layer of hay on the ground felt prickly against my sole.
"The fuck…"
I was in a barn stall, a random horse was chewing on my shoe, and I had many questions.
Memories of what had transpired in the Backrooms rolled in, and I felt the need to break something.
"That son of a—BITCH! Ow! Damn!"
I acted on impulse and punched a wooden pillar. It wasn't even thick, only as dense as the length of my forearm, but it felt like I punched enchanted gear! I should have wrecked this shit!
"Ow, ow…"
My knuckles were starting to swell. I summoned magic power to heal it.
Well, tried to.
No magic power appeared.
"…that's not good. What did the Keymaster do?! That stupid motherfucking—JERK!"
I punched the same pillar with my other hand. I didn't even mean to punch it this time!
I braced for the pain.
"…"
It never came.
Thank the Lord I covered my hand in haki. Shit, thank the Lord I still have haki.
For certainty's sake, I inspected my hand. No injuries. It's good that I unconsciously coated it in haki that time, fucking hell.
I haven't felt this much pain since, well, ever! I definitely didn't want to experience it again within 5 seconds of each other.
"Where the fuck am I…?" I don't like how often I've been asking myself this question.
I took my shirt off and wrapped it tightly around my hand. I'm not even gonna go into where my fucking armor went. I can't access my spatial storage.
"Give me that," I spoke with a bit of haki.
The horse stopped chewing momentarily before dropping my shoe near my foot. It was full of slobber in and out, and I have standards. "…On second thoughts, you can keep it. Here, you might as well have the other one."
I tossed my other shoe. The horse happily continued chewing on my shoes like they were squeaky toys. With a sigh, I walked past it, vaulting over the stall door.
The barn was large and populated with farm animals within fenced spaces. The smell of mud and fertilizer brought tears to my eyes, so I covered my nose.
I hurried out of the barn. More wooden fences surrounded me, and more animals. I was on a farm, as far as I know.
What Level am I on?
I turned to my distortion ability, but even that was unresponsive.
"Boy! What in God's name do you think you're doing on my land?!"
Apart from the barn, there was a house a hundred meters away. On the porch, a balding man waved his hand angrily.
Probably the owner.
"Get out of my property! You tryna steal my sheep, sheep-stealer?!"
Uhh, I should say something. "No! This is all just a big misunderstanding. I didn't even see any sheep back in there!"
There really was no sheep in the barn. It was just cows and pigs and horses.
"Then you're here for my eggs, egg-stealer! You filthy rascal!!!"
"What? No! There weren't chickens there either! Stop accusing me!"
"…damn thief! I'll gut you where you stand if you don't high-tail it out of here!"
With a sigh, a burst of Conqueror's haki rendered him unconscious.
I jumped over the farm's fences, following a brief dirt path to the man's porch.
Deciding to investigate, I tried the house's front door and found it unlocked. There was no need for stealth. Apart from pests, I sensed no other person in the house.
"Damn, I was right."
One of the first things I scanned the interior for was the lighting. The house had oil lamps and gas bulbs instead of standard LEDs. The interior was dark with little sunlight entering through the roof and windows. A rusted stove sat near the center, surrounded by a crude, homemade table, three chairs, and shelves lined with dusty jars and old tinware.
There were no electronics. It was as if I were in the past. What sort of Level did I get sent to, and how do I get back?
Mulling it over was useless. I didn't have a PhD in backroom venturing, and it was frustrating.
Hell, frustration couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling.
I had no idea where I was, how to get back, why I lost my two most versatile powers, and what the fuck my next move should be.
"FUCK!"
I screamed, and the skies overhead quickly turned cloudy. The sun disappeared behind thick clouds, and heavy rain began to fall.
"I'm gonna give that fucker brain damage when I see him again! This is so fucking stupid! I swear to God, I'll rip you a new one, you hear me?!"
My voice summoned a thunderstorm. I kept cursing until the windows shattered and the flying glass shards grazed my skin.
Damn!
That brought me back. It took a lot out of me to rein myself in.
I'm so damn stupid.
Eventually, the weather and I calmed down—not really. The downpour and heavy winds halted, but my sour mood kept the dark clouds looming.
I still wanted to break some Geneva Conventions with the Keymaster playing the lead role, but I couldn't do that right now, no matter how much I wanted to.
There's no point throwing a tantrum. I'm an old ass man, for crying out loud. I'm mentally over 50. It must be the teenage hormones fucking with me.
"Ahraan Govey." (Remove Wound—Improvised Shout)
My injuries healed instantly. I cracked my knuckles. Really, I've been so stupid.
I spent twenty years learning to use the Thu'um, and somehow, it's like those years never happened. My greatest weapon, underused, all because magic was far more versatile.
I've been arrogant. Oh, but using my shouts is overkill! I don't want to go overboard, or else I'll feel bad.
Idiot.
Who cares? Why do I care? I'm too pissed to care. Nobody gives a fuck, so why should I? I could have shouted a quick Disarm at the Keymaster and called it a fucking day.
I inhaled and exhaled. Calm down. All I need to do is escape this Level. That won't be too hard.
I'm definitely still not in a terrible mood.
"Yo, wake up."
I splashed the man awake with a dose of Conqueror's haki. While he was fast asleep, I dragged him from the porch to the comfortable grass. My back hurts…
The man's eyes blinked open. He crawled back in surprise when he woke up to my face staring him down. I didn't have a mirror, but if I did, I was probably scowling like never before.
"Boy, what did you—"
Before he could finish, I unleashed another burst of haki, shutting him up. Dropping to one knee, I locked eyes with him, unblinking.
"You're going to tell me everything I want to know."
It wasn't a question. I want answers. I will get them.
"Y-Yes! Just don't hurt me!" he managed to say with incredible difficulty. To my displeasure, a dark stain spread from his crotch. Facepalming, I admonished myself. I should really calm down.
After a little interrogation (and a change of pants), I learned that the guy was a hermit, living in the middle of nowhere like some kind of off-grid lunatic. His farm was self-sustaining, well-hidden, and barricaded, meaning he had everything he needed to keep hiding from the world and nothing that could help me. Perfect.
Fine. Whatever. If the guy's managed to survive out here, that probably means the Level isn't too much of a death trap. Silver linings and whatnot.
"So you don't know how to get out of this Level? Seriously?" My voice came out snappier than I wanted.
The hermit shook his head hard. "No! Ain't have the faintest idea what you're talking about!"
"How about entities?"
"What about them?! There are critters everywhere!"
"That's not what I meant. Hounds, Facelings, Smilers—What. Entities. Are. Here?"
The hermit didn't answer. I could see the gears turning, barely grinding in his head.
"Hounds? You mean like, dogs? There are dogs about."
"…Good enough." I sighed. This was going nowhere.
"…oh!" The hermit exclaimed, keeping his stutter. "Err, I don't know what it is y-you're looking for, but there's a city not too far away. I think! Th-they ought to know a thing or two!"
"A city… tell me more."
"Yes, a city! Folks there know more than me! Maybe!"
It must be a settlement similar to the UBSS. Hopefully.
"How do I reach this city you mentioned?"
To answer, he simply raised his hand and pointed behind me. "You just have to... climb that..."
I turned around. "What the hell is that?"
A long, towering wall separated the sky and the earth.