Chapter 54: CH 53 – The Library’s Secret Floor (Part 2)

What a pain.

I leaned my head back and gazed up at the library's vaulted ceiling and the hanging chandelier with its many lights along its length.

And here I thought I had a bad reputation.

After having enlightened me on his current state of affairs within the Genuiver Duchy, Duncan had left the library.

His situation was… significantly worse than I could have ever imagined. Restoring him to his original position was equivalent to piecing back together a broken vase after it had shattered into a thousand pieces scattered across the floor and were eaten by a pack of rats that ran off in opposite directions.

I suddenly understood how his sister, despite all her faults, was appointed as heir instead.

But if I hope to get the Genuiver Duchy's help in the war against the Kobar Empire, I need Duncan to take over instead. I need to fix his image somehow.

With Duncan gone and Leona still sound asleep, with her unfinished plate of cake taken away by Remlend, I was left alone to my thoughts. The quiet library was oddly soothing. It didn't have any windows, so it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

My eyes shifted toward a clock on the library's second floor. It provided a clue as to what time it might be, but it didn't indicate whether it was late in the evening or sometime before lunch.

Not that I had any interest in sleep. My grandmother was going to pass away soon; even if I went to bed, I knew I'd just lay awake until someone informed me of her passing.

I sighed and stood up.

I walked across the soft carpeted floor towards one of the bookcases. My fingers ran through the book spines. Their leather and gold-embroidered covers had a sense of elegance to them.

My fingers stopped on a random dark green book and pulled it from its shelf.

'Larthsong, Last Stand of Agony' the title read. It felt heavy in my hands, and even the pages had a heft when I turned them. As for the words on the pages themselves, they were still a frustration to read.

"Hey, System, can you write out what it says on this page on your blue screen?" I whispered.

I had a theory I wanted to test out.

[ Certainly, Luca. ]

A new blue screen appeared with the exact text as in the book, but I didn't have any trouble reading the System's words.

"How come I never have trouble reading the text you provide?" I asked.

Reading for more than a short amount of time was usually both physically and mentally distressing, so I lacked any interest in books. Yet I could read the System's text just fine as if I were simply conversing with it.

[ What kind of Game would this be if there was no way for a System to communicate with its Players? The text is automatically modified and translated to the Player's preferred language and best-understood style. ]

I gazed down at the heavy book in my hands.

Can I have the System translate all books and scrolls for me?

I hated to admit it, but I knew that my lack of studying and reading capabilities had been detrimental to my success in taking over the Frey Merchant Guild. I lacked much-needed knowledge to run the guild successfully, and my role required reading a significant amount of documents to maintain the business. In the end, the result was that I was usually ignorant of the actual state of affairs of the guild until it was far too late.

[ Intelligence: +6 ]

[ Intelligence: 50 ]

"Hah!"

I gazed at the notification.

Did the System decide my Intelligence was worthy of improvement because I'd decided to utilize it to read more?

[ Congratulations! You have hit '50' in the Intelligence stat. ]

[ Error fixed. ]

[ New skill unlocked! ]

"What?" I stared at the notification. "So I'll get a skill finally?"

[ Passage Finder: Level 2 ]

[ You can notice hidden passageways around you and obtain the needed steps to unlock them. Note that this skill is limited to passageways that are deliberately concealed. Locked doors that are clearly visible will not receive the steps needed to open them. ]

"How often will I even use a skill like that?"

It wasn't like I was an adventurer going about looking for hidden treasures in ancient ruins.

[ There is no daily limit on this skill. ]

The System seemed to interpret my rhetorical question in its own way.

"How do I use it?" I asked.

My eyes moved to a blue, glowing outline that suddenly appeared around an armchair and shelf on the second floor.

[ Simply think that you wish to use it, and the skill will begin. ]

Aha. So unlike the random checker, I have to actively think about using it.

[ The section outlined in blue in your vision is what constitutes being part of the identified hidden passageway. ]

I walked up one of the winding wooden staircases to get to the second floor. My hand trailed over the wooden railing that rounded the second floor, with a view of the first floor below.

"How is an armchair part of a hidden passageway?" I asked when I got to the outlined section.

[ Step 1: Sit down on the armchair. ]

"Huh?"

[ That is the directions on how to activate the passageway to open up. To open the hidden passageway, you must follow the steps provided. ]

Weird. Couldn't it have just been done with a book or a candle stick that needed to be tugged, and a hidden door would open up? Why would I need to sit down to open a passageway?

However, I obediently sat down on the velvet armchair.

[ Step 2: Pick up the table weight on your side table and place it back, but turn it over with the image of the bee facing up. Do not get out of the armchair. ]

The blue screen changed, and another glowing blue arrow pointed towards a square green jade stone, making it obvious which paperweight the System was talking about. Not that there was any confusion, as it was the only object lying on the side table.

I picked up the paperweight with my right hand and flipped it over. The jade stone felt heavy and cool in my hand.

[ Step 3: Lean back comfortably in your seat. Make sure to keep your arms and legs within the chair. ]

I smiled.

What kind of instruction is that?

I leaned back and felt suddenly being whipped backward.

The armchair and the entire floor had rotated and pulled me straight into the bookshelf behind me. However, instead of crashing into the wooden shelf and the stacked books, the shelf swung open at the last moment and pulled me into the wall.

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As quickly as it had opened, the shelf shut back in place, leaving me staring at a blank stone wall.

My arms shook, and my teeth chattered. I realized that if I had my hands out even the slightest bit to either side, I would have had them broken off upon impact with the sides of the walls.

I need to make sure I follow the instructions carefully in the future.

I gazed around. The room I was pulled into wasn't big, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. There was plenty of light from the colorful stones embedded in the walls, giving the room a relatively bright and cheerful tone.

I stood up and walked over to a large, heavy door, the only noticeable way out of the room.

Are there any other hidden passageways from here?

The moment I thought of this, the chair and colorful wall were outlined in blue.

I suppose the hidden way in is also the secret way out. Not that I plan on leaving yet.

I turned my attention back to the heavy door. It was constructed of thick metal and was embedded with black mana stones.

Why does it need such serious protection?

I pushed it open, and to my surprise, it opened easily. There wasn't even any resistance to it.

On the other side, a large stone staircase went down and based on the curve, followed the library's round curvature. Light stones in green and yellow paved along the floor's sides, illuminating the way.

I might as well keep going.

I smiled.

I liked secret passageways and hidden paths. I had explored the Frey manor for all the ways to get around the mansion without being detected. It worked wonderfully in helping me pull off my pranks. And it saved my life when the manor was burned down.

What kind of secrets does grandma's villa contain, I wonder? I had never properly explored it.

I let the door close behind me and quickly moved down the stone steps. As I had suspected, the stairway moved around the library, but it went beyond the first floor. It continued to wind down further and further without an end in sight.

Does it ever end?

Just as my legs began to tire and I lost my breath, an opening appeared. Fifty people could comfortably fit into the space ahead. However, the room was bare, with nothing inside. All I could see was plain gray stone floors, walls, and ceiling inside, all illuminated by the same yellow and green light stones found on the staircase.

I had been walking around quietly, not wanting my fun to end by one of grandma's staff. However, I didn't hear anyone else that I needed to hide away from.

Perhaps it's so late in the night that there's no need for a patrol? Or are there other precautions in place?

I sniffed the air. There was a strange smell: a mixture of dirt, ash, and mold. However, to my surprise, the air down here was not as cool as I might have expected, given how far underground I had gone.

I gazed around the empty room. Apart from how I entered, the room had three more openings, all significantly larger than the one I had come from, all also seeming to lead up.

Those are probably other ways out of this underground space.

Then there were two large metal gates, each large enough to pull a carriage through. One to my right and the other to my left. Both were secured with black mana stones.

It doesn't matter which I pick since I have no clues about where either would lead.

I moved towards the large door to my right and pulled open one of the gate doors.

Just as I had walked a few steps forward and the door shut behind me, I realized I had picked the wrong room.

Tch. This wasn't what I had in mind.

I didn't hear anything when I was outside. The mana-embedded gates must have had noise-canceling mana stones apart from the strengthening black ones. However, now that I had disturbed the quietness of this space, voices and rustling erupted from beyond.

I moved back towards the gates and tugged at them, but the damn things refused to budge. They had locked behind me.

My fingers traced the space in the metal gates where a runic key needed to go.

Damn it. Without it, I'm stuck down here until one of the staff members comes by.

I gazed around, momentarily ignoring the noise behind me.

How can I get out of here? Are there any hidden paths out?

However, no glowing blue outline appeared.

Damn it.

I turned my gaze toward the hallway behind me. It curved, so I couldn't see anything other than the stone gray walls and floor, but I had an inkling of what lay beyond.

Well, no use staying here. I might as well see if there's a way out there, even if it is unpleasant.

I pushed my hands into my pant pockets and walked forward. Turning the corner, my eyes fell upon the locked metal cells to my right. Their inhabitants called out to me, no doubt mistaking me for a source of hope. They had never seen me, and thus their mistake was understandable. I was a mere teenager and clearly not a staff member compared to whomever they were used to seeing.

However, they were deeply mistaken. I had no knowledge of how they came to be locked up down here, nor the reason why, thus for all I knew, they deserved their fates. More importantly, I had no interest in meddling with grandma's business affairs.

Thank goodness I didn't bring Leona along, though. This is not a sight a child should see.

I had felt slightly guilty for having left her by herself in the library, but I was feeling increasingly more relieved having left her in the comfort of the library instead of dragging her down into who-knows-where this damned hallway went.

The area curved down, and noise continued to erupt from my right as I passed more cells on my way down.

I frowned.

Just how many are there down here? And why? That's quite a lot of mouths to feed.

While the inhabitants were understandably displeased at being locked up in their cells, they were clearly well taken care of. I had noted fresh unfinished food on the plates inside, and their bedsheets were crisp and clean. Even the air was warm and comforting as if some heating system had been set up.

And yet the dungeon at the palace couldn't even obtain a single set of non-moldy sheets?

I scoffed at the stark contrast.

DRUHH DRUHHHHHH

A rumble overtook the space. I planted my feet in place and slightly bent my knees, afraid that I might fall. I stared at the large opening ahead where the shaking was coming from.

What was that?

"Oh nooooo…. It's awake…" A man wailed from the cell near me. His cell was the last in line, the closest to the large opening ahead.

"What's awake?" I asked.

The man clenched his hands together in distress. His gray eyes stared at me with a slightly crazed look to them.

"The dragon. It-It's awake."