Chapter 370: The Rift (2)

The moment it happened, a familiar message appeared, followed by something entirely new.

[Wisdom has increased by 1.]

[Inventory activating...]

"Hm?"

Messages I had never seen before flooded my vision.

[Analyzing the book's properties.]

[Photon particles are awakening.]

[Sharing Wisdom...]

[??? wants more reading.]

[???'s activation accelerates when reading books that match its taste.]

[Immersion increasing...]

[Creating Skill: Reading Lv. 15.]

[Unable to withstand the skill's level.]

[Skill downgraded.]

Ding!

[Temporarily acquired skill: Reading Lv. 5]

[Remaining time: 00:04:59]

[Time will be maintained as long as reading continues.]

Five minutes?

[00:04:56]

[00:04:53]

The translucent timer kept ticking down. There was no time to hesitate.

Whoosh.

I quickly reached into my inventory and pulled out the first book of Ashton's that my fingers touched.

Irobi's Rebuttal on the Prohibition of Suicide.

I had no idea what it would be about.

[00:04:49]

Let's just read it first.

The moment I opened the book, an unending cascade of astonishing effects appeared.

[Skill: Reading Lv. 5 is activated!]

[Comprehension enhanced.]

[Immersion increased.]

[Easier interpretation between the lines.]

[Silent reading automatically produces vocalization effects.]

[Gaze progression accelerated from phrase-level to full sentences.]

[Reading speed increased.]

[Preference compatibility: Upper-tier]

Preference compatibility?

I assumed the strange window was likely another effect of the Reading skill. From the first line, I was absorbed. Perhaps because of the high compatibility, even my unopened inventory felt as if it were somehow cooperating.

Flip.

I rapidly flipped through the pages. Despite the heavy-sounding title, the content was dense. Each sentence required thought, but my mind soaked up the author's intricate arguments like dry cotton in water.

It's at least three times faster than usual.

I didn't feel even a hint of fatigue. I kept turning the pages, determined to take in as much as I could while the skill remained active.

Flip.

When I turned the final page, a string of translucent messages followed.

[Wisdom has increased by 1.]

[Inventory activating...]

[Converting this stat based on current conditions.]

[Remaining Stat Points: 49 (New!)]

Remaining... Stat Points?

It wasn't just the abilities I absorbed through Essence Absorption. Even the Wisdom I gained from Ashton's books could now be converted into spare stat points that I could allocate however I wanted. Strength, Agility, and any other practical combat attributes could be allocated.

No, more than that... At this rate... I might actually reach the requirements for the next class far sooner than expected.

My inventory diagnosed my condition with startling precision.

[Reading Lv. 5 (Temporary)]

[Time remaining: 00:04:51]

The timer had stayed frozen at five minutes while I was reading, and it only started ticking down again once I closed the book.

I opened my inventory and picked the next book. Five minutes wasn't much time to choose, so I grabbed one with a simple cover.

A Study of Bodily Restraint, Focusing on the Doctrine of Yemera.

The book was decorated only in black and red.

Rustle.

The moment I opened it, the timer reset to five minutes, and the familiar messages appeared.

[Skill: Reading Lv. 5 activated.]

[...]

[Preference compatibility: Upper-tier]

I had no idea what the compatibility metric meant, but at least it was consistent. Once again, I absorbed the content like a sponge. Information crashed over my mind like a rising tide.

The book's subject matter was... unsettling. However, the reading skill seemed to soften the mental resistance, making it easy to focus.

What an incredible skill.

Rustle.

[Recovered skill: Doctrine of Yemera Lv. 1]

[Interpreted hidden meaning.]

[Acquired Doctrine of Yemera Lv. 2!]

[Recovered hidden function.]

[You can now instantly discern the weaknesses of creatures cursed by the goddess.]

[Wisdom has increased by 1!]

[Inventory activating...]

[Converted into Remaining Stat Points.]

[Remaining Stat Points: 50 (New!)]

"...!"

Another flood of messages filled my vision. With 50 Remaining Stat Points, this meant I was exactly halfway to meeting the qualification threshold for the Death Knight class advancement.

I glanced into my inventory. There were still at least eighty of Ashton's books left... probably more.

Good.

There was no need to even level up anymore. It might actually be possible to change classes right here in this prison. As long as I had time, it was practically guaranteed. I was now one step away from the ultimate class change, filled with all kinds of absurd perks.

Clack.

Feeling oddly pleased, I put my hands on my waist, stretched, and started reading again.

Virphon's First Treatise: On the Acceptance of Torture as a Concept

[Skill: Reading...]

[Preference Compatibility: Medium-tier.]

Thok.

[Wisdom has increased by 1.]

[Recovered: Doctrine of Virphon, Goddess of Fire Lv. 1!]

This time, the book didn't convert the gained Wisdom into Remaining Stat Points. Other books, like Glossary of Doctrinal Terms, Year 719, and How to Teach Sin were the same. The etiquette texts also behaved similarly.

"Hm..."

The unexpected bonus had thrown me off at first, and now that it was gone, I felt oddly disappointed.

Did I do something wrong?

After reading a few more volumes, I could roughly guess the reason.

So it's about taste, huh.

Only books with a preference compatibility of a medium-tier or higher seemed to convert Wisdom into Remaining Stat Points. Even so, the steady increase in Wisdom and the gradual recovery of lost skills were both satisfying.

...

[Recovered: Imperial Etiquette Lv. 3]

[Recovered: History Lv. 3]

[Recovered: Ancient Language Lv. 2]

...

When I reached the twentieth book, I deduced that it was a matter of taste.

A Psychiatric Reading of Self-Mutilation in Eighth-Century Art.

[Preference compatibility: Upper-tier]

That's pretty high.

It was the only book so far that had an upper-tier tag in front.

Flutter.

After I read it straight through and turned the final page, more messages appeared.

[Wisdom has increased by 2.]

[Inventory activating...]

[You have read a book that matches your taste.]

[Processing efficiency has increased.]

[Converting stat...]

[Remaining Stat Points: 54 (New!)]

"Wow..."

The result felt almost excessive. Under the excuse of "increased processing efficiency," my Remaining Stat Points had jumped by 4 at once. At this level, reading a single book was almost equivalent to leveling up.

Reading is the answer, but whose "taste" is this actually matching?

It has to be him.

Before Isaac vanished, he had tampered with the inventory. If a fragment of Isaac still remained inside...

A dangerous glimmer of hope flickered across my mind.

No way... If this continues, could Isaac return?

The thought trailed off, sprouting more questions.

What would he like to read?

I spent about three minutes carefully digging through my inventory for a book.

Collected Winners of the Silent Quill Literary Prize. A prize anthology... That should be fine, right?

However, I could only laugh at the result. Every time I intentionally tried to pick something that seemed like Isaac's taste, it failed. Not even a medium-tier showed up.

So that's not it...

After several attempts, I gave up and emptied my mind. Instead, the books I grabbed without thinking, the ones that made me wonder who even wrote this garbage, were the ones that matched the "preference compatibility" criteria.

Flutter.

With my mind clear of expectations, choosing became easier, and I fell more comfortably into reading. I just grabbed whatever was closest and devoured page after page. I had no idea how much time had passed.

Crackle...

The torch in the distance flickered quietly. With the lighting never changing, there was no way to tell.

Has it been a day?

Several days might have gone by. My sense of time had most likely been dragged along by the pull of the books. Before I knew it, the extra stat points I could freely allocate had reached 60.

Let's keep going. Who knows when I'll ever get a skill like this again?

I had to use it while I had it. I set the book aside in the inventory and reached for another.

The Sovereign Who Stepped Down by His Own Will: Founding Emperor Seiron's Efforts to Weaken the Throne.

A reigning emperor... weakening his own authority?

It wasn't like bizarre titles were new at this point. I held the book and slowly reread the title. Something in the air seemed to ripple, linking me to somewhere else. It felt strangely familiar.

I remembered the mass I had seen beneath the imperial palace. The churning mud had reached toward me.

What was that thing?

There was nothing around me now, but the sensation of the mud rising from the floor of the archives and clinging to my bones slowly returned. The moment I flipped to the first page, the table of contents appeared.

The table of contents...

@$@$@$@#@^

The instant I saw it, I knew that this wasn't a "language." There were lines of familiar imperial language written below, but something malignant clung to the letters like a second skin. A layer of dread, like mold, covered the text so completely I couldn't decipher a single word.

I just stood there, having turned only the first page, yet I sensed a thick fog seeping in from some unfathomable distance.

&%#%#^%##^

The pages didn't feel like paper. They felt like they were made of malice and darkness, interwoven and half-melted. It felt as though a warped dimension had been jammed between me and the book.

What is this?

I had read numerous works by Ashton, but I had never felt an ominous presence like this.

Rustle.

The next page was the same. That creeping dread seemed intent on connecting me to somewhere twisted and terrible, and my instincts screamed that if I let it happen, I'd be finished.

I need to close it.

However, I couldn't move. I tried to slam the book shut and shove it back into the inventory, but my limbs were frozen, bound by something invisible.

I kept it open... too long.

Regret came too late. I should have closed it the moment I felt something was wrong. Now I couldn't escape. It felt like countless tiny, transparent stakes had been hammered all through me. I couldn't even muster the strength to shake them off. My bones were locked, and my senses had been dulled.

Only one thing remained clear:

[00:02:34]

[00:02:33]

Through my dulled senses, only the dwindling time on the Reading Skill stood out. It was the sole reference point in a world where all coordinates had vanished.

Wooo... woooooom...

I moved the inventory. I had to stop that book from turning any further and force it back inside.

Craaack...

It felt like I was being ripped and crushed. At first, when the barrier squeezed me, my bones refused to move, but by shifting the inventory instead, my contracted senses slowly expanded again.

Boom!

I swung the inventory around me. I had to regain control. The pressure it generated snuffed the torch on the wall in an instant. The flame collapsed into white ashes that trickled down, and pure darkness surged in.

Clang! Clang!

Bars rattled violently as the inventory struck them. I couldn't maneuver it with the delicate precision Isaac had shown me, but as my proficiency rose, the space exerted more volume and force.

Shrrrk!

Chains and bars rose and clattered in response, but they weren't enough to restrain me. Fighting against the invisible stakes with brute force, I flung the book into the inventory.

Swiff.

The suffocating dread that had filled the cell vanished without a trace.

...

My mind went blank. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and my legs gave out. Only after a long while did I have the breathing room to ask myself what had just happened.

What... was that? What kind of book was that?

Just remembering that ominous sensation made me want to never open the inventory again. The Reading skill's five-minute duration had ended long ago. It might have been hours already.

I rubbed my wrist, staring up into the empty, fireless void.

A new system message appeared.

[Inventory proficiency has increased.]

It seemed that my desperate attempts to move my hands and arms, to control the pocket space under that oppressive dread, had significantly raised my proficiency.

Even so, compared to when Isaac had guided me, my operational capability was probably less than ten percent. Even being generous, twenty percent was a stretch. Just as that thought crossed my mind...

Thud!

Almost as if it had been waiting for me to stop reading and start thinking, the prison floor suddenly drifted, shifting beneath me.

Kugugugugu...

Thump!

The scorpion-like prisoner, who had released two of his restraints, pressed himself up against the bars and grinned at me. "Have you been waiting?"

He's... changed.

The thick carapace that had covered more than half his face was now completely gone. His earlier form as just a scorpion tail with limbs attached had stabilized into a more balanced shape, something between human and scorpion.

Something was definitely happening. This didn't feel like empty boasting anymore.

"Looks like things are going well," I commented.

"That's right. Very well indeed... Everything is unfolding just as I planned... End of pain... beginning of happiness, you might say..." the scorpion replied.

I looked at the creature with swelling anticipation.

Are we really about to escape, just like this?

Something felt off. I soon realized who was missing.

"What about the giant bear?"

"Right now, that floor is separated. However, according to my research, once I'm freed, he will be automatically released as well... so there's nothing to worry about."

"So the floors shift around that easily? This place really is strange. For the Demon Realm, there's not even any lava."

"That's right... This is a domain of isolation... a private territory even Demon Kings cannot meddle in... Moloch, the Lord of the Dissociation, is... heh... quite a formidable one... That's why the prison reshuffles in such a complicated way... But don't worry... I understand every last inch of it... heehee..."

It didn't sound like a lie.

I'm really this lucky, huh.

Maybe Malphas had intervened somehow.

"So, are we leaving now?" I asked.

"Well... um... the last barrier is a bit tricky..."

I couldn't see the scorpion's expression clearly, but the tone definitely carried a hint of embarrassment.

"What do you mean?"

The creature pointed with both his tail and hand toward a distant wall. "Ahem... Look behind you..."

"...?"

The light at the tip of the scorpion's tail brightened. About ten meters away from my cell, the far wall came into view.

"Based on my analysis so far... the final binding spell that holds me is behind that section of wall... With just a bit of force, the last seal should break... otherwise, it will take a long time..."

"How long?"

"I don't really know how long it might be... a year...? A day? Could be ten years... heh... I've been here so long my sense of time is a bit off..."

That was... unsettling. A day and ten years were worlds apart. My sense of time was shaky enough as it was. If it really took ten years, then by the time I got out, everything outside would be over. I had no intention of rotting away in a place like this for years.

"Wait. I think I might be able to help."