Chapter 110: Consoling Aria and Guidebook

[Notice! Mission updated: Discovery]

Enlightenment: Complete. Reward: System Overhaul.

Note: Distribution of the reward is temporarily postponed due to ongoing missions.

Ashton saw this prompt and felt quite bummed, nevertheless, this was fine for him. Considering what his mission parameters were, he thought that it was better like this.

Instead, he focused on his new goal...

Finally understanding what he wanted for himself, Ashton felt light. His immediate goals still haven't changed, he still wants to return to Last Bastion. Now though, he has a long-term goal beyond this.

And that is to become Humanity's Strongest Backer.

He will have to work very hard to prepare for everything but he knew that already and he's prepared. This is for his eventual retirement! While he still has the energy of his youth, he'll work hard so that when he's old, he can take it easy.

He shook his head and got rid of his excess excitement for now. He had felt a lot of things just now and felt emotionally drained. Actually, he wasn't sure if he had the energy to start reading the books on the first floor of the Grand Archives.

'Right, I still haven't told Aria that I've passed. She might be feeling anxious right now.'

Ashton looked reluctantly at the books before eventually turning around. He thought to himself: 'I'll deal with you all tomorrow. You all won't be going anywhere anyway. For now, I have to comfort the love of my life.'

One thing he noticed before he left was the fact that his name was already imprinted on the plate that was on the desk of his station. He can't remember when he did that so he guessed that it just automatically happened.

Since his name is already registered there, Ashton can go here anytime he pleases. There's no need to worry about it.

With this in mind, he left and closed the door behind him.

Upon stepping outside, the first thing he noticed is his connection with the library itself. He knew he wasn't imagining things, he truly felt at home here. The whole library felt like an extension of his arm.

It's like all he needed to do to know everything that was happening inside the library, was to close his eyes. He also felt he could use it much better than before. There's a certain freedom in this sensation that allows him to completely modify the library according to his wishes.

He can add more rooms, take advantage of its cloaking mechanisms better, arrange the bookshelves better, add or reduce the number of floors it currently has...and so much more. Save the Grand Archives, he could almost do anything he pleases here.

It's strangely satisfying...

Ashton went downstairs only to find an anxious Aria waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase. She looked like she hasn't slept at all with those eyebags she got. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she's been crying a bunch.

He felt his heart sinking to his stomach. He immediately hurried his steps and practically flew towards her in a flash.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt? What's going on?" Ashton fussed over her, hugging her, wiping her tears away, and cupping her face.

Aria just looked at him and suddenly bursts into tears, full-on bawling as she threw herself into him.

"I was so...worried!" Aria wailed, "It's been three days since you left! I couldn't contact you so I thought...I thought that you-waaaahhhh!!!"

"Gosh, I'm so sorry." Ashton felt horrible. Three days passed already? How the hell? "But I'm fine, here see? I'm not hurt. Not even a scratch! I didn't think it will take that long! Sorry, come here."

He picked her up and she latched on to him like a koala. He walked towards their shared room and onto the bed. There, they both lay down, bodies still pressed firmly against each other.

Ashton kept peppering her face with kisses, trying to atone for making her worry and consoling her.

He wasn't aware that due to their unique circumstance, Aria developed some form of dependence on him. With Ashton being away from her reach that long, she suffered from separation anxiety. Not even her work managed to distract her from that.

'Oh, my poor love.' Ashton thought to himself. 'She's still shaking. She probably hasn't slept as she waited for me.'

'But still, three days? How? Was there a time dilution inside the Grand Archives? There shouldn't be, right? I mean, the First Hero wouldn't have forgotten to tell me something that important!'

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He thought of this but he's also doubtful. Well, the First Hero was a remnant will so maybe his time was limited. Maybe he timed out before telling him everything he needed to know.

It could also be that he had just forgotten it too altogether. The chances are low but it's still there.

Nevertheless, Aria clung to him and refused to let him go.

He won't lie. While he does feel bad for unknowingly doing this to her, he also loved the way how she clings to him. She's adorable, following him wherever he went.

Even bathtime wasn't an exception. Hell, he'd say that she's even more clingy to him when their clothes are completely gone.

Well? What could he say? He's completely and irrevocably smitten. How can he prevent himself from doting on her when she's being this cute and adorable?

Needless to say, he ended up delaying his visit to the Grand Archives by one week instead of one day. Aria refused to let him go despite knowing everything already and he's too weak to deny her anything in that state.

It took a lot of effort for him to completely pacify her. Most of it came from reducing her into a lovable whining mess in the sheets, boneless and absolutely euphoric.

Ashton worked really hard.

In the end, Aria was back to her usual state. She's even glowing and more beautiful once she bounced back. She no longer stopped him from going but she did escort him up until to the entrance of the Grand Archives.

Ashton tried to take her with him but there was a barrier keeping her from entering. He thought of ways to let her pass but ultimately, he failed. Since there's nothing he can do, for now, he decided to postpone it.

Maybe he'll get permission to bring her in once he unlocks the 2nd or 3rd floor of the Grand Archives.

Arai made peace with this and focused on her work instead, now that she knows that her boyfriend is far from any danger, she felt much better about him being out of her reach. This also made Ashton relieved since he could now focus on the things that are in here.

Now that he has returned here, he took a deep breath and smelled the scent of ancientness surrounding him. He nodded to himself and said:

"Alright time to see what the Grand Archives has to offer."

The first thing he did was to inspect his station. He forgot to do this before due to the First Hero distracting him and him being in a hurry to leave.

Aside from the stone tablet that is now dim and his nameplate, there were a few things on his desk that he failed to notice before.

There were some unusual ornaments placed there, a vase with what looked like a fake flower, some post-its which looked out of place but made sense, a book neatly placed at the far corner of the desk, and a silver bell, the one you press which libraries and hotels have.

Ashton's attention was focused on the book. It was thin, no more than fifty pages from what he observed. It's titled: 'A Guide for the Master of the Grand Archives'.

'Oh...' Ashton pursed his lips. 'I guess this will have everything I need to know. No wonder the First Hero didn't bother saying anything.'

He sat on his chair and began flipping through the pages.

Thanks to the increased intellect his bloodline gave to him, it didn't long for him to read and memorize the contents of this book. Once he's done with it, he now knows his responsibilities as the Master of the Grand Archives.

The important parts for him were; (1) there was no time dilation here. This means that it took him three days to complete his enlightenment. He was probably in a trance for the most part.

(2) He can give special passes for people to come up here, which also includes Aria, but they could only stay for a limited period of time. At most, he could give a 24-hour Pass which can be used in batches. Once used up, there's a cooldown period of 1 week before it's refreshed.

(3) The most important part, is the fact that these books don't need any kind of maintenance. They're fine on their own and so long as one was being respectful with them, they won't get damaged.

He doesn't have to take out the book from the shelves, he just needs to touch them and their contents will immediately show up in his mind, which is convenient. The book he just read also contains the name of the books on the 1st floor of the library and naturally, Ashton already picked the ones that he's interested in...

'White Magic Combat Arts'

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