Chapter 9: The Bear, The Elf, and The Deal (Part 2)
Location: The Old Barn (Training Grounds).
Time: Two Days Later. Midnight.
The barn was cold, illuminated only by a single mana-lantern Ren had hung from a rafter.
Ren sat on a hay bale, cleaning his Prisoner's Shiv. The black iron drank the light, looking more like a shadow than metal.
The door creaked open.
Caelum entered. He was wearing a dark cloak over his training leathers, trying to look inconspicuous and failing. He carried a leather satchel.
"I got them," Caelum whispered, placing the satchel on the hay. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for a thirteen-year-old to buy Intermediate spell books without raising eyebrows? I had to tell the shopkeeper it was a gift for Lyra."
Ren opened the bag.
Inside were two books.
[Dagger Arts Vol. 2: The Shadow Dance]
[Mana Theory: The Weaver's Guide]
Ren didn't waste time reading the covers. He touched the first book to his forehead.
[ Scanning... ]
[ Skill Learned: Flash Step (Rank D) ]
[ Description: A burst of movement speed that renders the user invisible for 0.5 seconds. ]
[ Cost: 30 Mana. ]
[ Cooldown: 10 Seconds. ]
He touched the second book.
[ Scanning... ]
[ Passive Skill Learned: Mana Weaving (Level 1) ]
[ Description: Allows the user to split mana streams, casting two low-tier spells simultaneously. ]
Ren closed his eyes. The knowledge settled into his brain like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Flash Step was the missing link. With it, he could close the gap against archers or mages instantly.
"Money well spent," Ren said.
"Good," Caelum crossed his arms. "Now, about this 'Guild' you mentioned. Who is the third member? Some other stable boy?"
"No," a female voice drifted from the rafters. "Someone who actually knows how to wipe their own boots."
Caelum jumped, drawing his training sword.
Kaelith dropped from the shadows, landing silently in the straw. She was wearing her forest gear, her bow slung over her shoulder. She looked at Caelum with amused contempt.
"A Noble?" Kaelith looked at Ren. "You're teaming up with a Noble? They're useless in a fight. They worry too much about breaking a nail."
"I am Caelum Arken!" Caelum bristled, his face flushing red. "Third son of Duke Valerius! Watch your tongue, Elf."
"Half-Elf," Kaelith corrected, fingering the string of her bow. "And I don't care who your daddy is. In the forest, the only rank that matters is 'Predator' or 'Prey'. And you smell like Prey."
Caelum stepped forward, raising his sword. "I challenge you—"
"Stop," Ren said.
He didn't shout. He just spoke. But the word carried the weight of the Abyssal Warhorse's aura.
Ren stood up.
"Caelum provides the funding and the political cover. Kaelith provides the market access and ranged support. I provide the strategy and the heavy hitting."
Ren looked at them both.
"We are not friends. We are a business. Caelum, you want to surpass your father. Kaelith, you want gold for your clan. I want... everything."
Ren drew his Shiv.
"Tonight, we are doing a live fire exercise. We are going back to the Dungeon."
Caelum paled. "The Dungeon? I'm only Level 8! And I have trash gear!"
"Then try not to get hit," Ren said.
Location: The Root-Cellar of Gluttony.
Depth: Floor 2 (The Meat Locker).
Time: 1:00 AM.
The air in the dungeon was freezing. The mist swirled around their knees.
"This is disgusting," Caelum whispered, stepping over a pile of rotting offal. "Why does it smell like old ham?"
"Quiet," Kaelith hissed. She had an arrow nocked. "Something is moving."
Ren took point. He had the Gauntlets on. He felt the familiar hunger rising, but he controlled it.
"Three targets," Ren whispered, using [Analytical Eye]. "Left flank. Gluttonous Slimes. Level 7."
Slimes were nasty. They were immune to cutting attacks and could dissolve armor.
"Caelum," Ren ordered. "You're the bait."
"What?!"
"Run to the center. Make noise. Draw them in. When they lunge, dodge left."
"I hate this guild," Caelum muttered, but he ran out. "HEY! OVERGROWN JELLY! COME AND GET ME!"
The three mounds of green sludge shuddered. Eyes formed on their surfaces. They surged forward, moving surprisingly fast.
"Kaelith. Fire arrows. Aim for the cores," Ren commanded.
Thwip. Thwip.
Two arrows struck the center slime. The fire enchantments sizzled against the slime's body, boiling it. It screeched.
The slimes ignored the arrows and lunged at Caelum.
Caelum waited. He remembered Ren's training. Don't look at the weapon. Look at the mass.
The slime sprang. Caelum dropped to his knees and slid underneath the arc of acid.
"Now!" Ren shouted.
Ren activated [Flash Step].
ZOOOM.
He didn't run. He vanished. He reappeared instantly behind the rightmost slime.
Since cutting didn't work, Ren used Magic.
He placed his palm on the slime's surface.
[ Mana Drain. ]
Black lightning surged.
The slime was pure magic held together by a membrane. Ren drank it. The slime shriveled, turning grey, then collapsed into a puddle of water.
[ Mana +30 ]
"One down!" Ren shouted.
Kaelith pinned the second slime to the wall with three rapid arrows.
Caelum scrambled up and, seeing the third slime distracted, swung his sword.
"Strike the core!" Ren yelled.
Caelum thrust. His sword pierced the gelatinous body and hit the solid red marble in the center.
Crack.
The core shattered. The slime dissolved.
The room fell silent.
Caelum stood panting, his sword dripping with goo. He looked at the dead slime, then at his hands.
"I... I killed it," Caelum whispered. "A Level 7 monster. I did it."
"You distracted it," Kaelith corrected, walking over to retrieve her arrows. "But you didn't die. Not bad for a soft-skin."
Ren walked over.
[ XP Gained: 150 ]
[ XP Threshold Reached. ]
The world slowed down. The sounds of the dungeon faded.
A massive golden text box appeared in Ren's vision, obliterating everything else.
[ CONGRATULATIONS! ]
[ You have reached Level 10. ]
[ Tutorial Phase Complete. ]
[ CLASS EVOLUTION AVAILABLE ]
Ren's heart hammered. This was it. The moment he moved from "Novice" to a real player.
[ Current Class: Novice Librarian ]
[ Please select a Specialization Path: ]
Option 1: The Battle Warden
Focus: Melee Combat / Physical Enhancement.
Description: A guardian who protects the Archive with blood and steel. Gains high stat growth in Strength and Vitality.
Unique Skill: Weapon Materialization (Summon weapons from books).
Option 2: The Void Scholar
Focus: Magic / Debuffs.
Description: A mage who studies the forbidden texts of the abyss. Gains high stat growth in Intelligence and Mana.
Unique Skill: Abyss Casting (Use HP instead of Mana for spells).
Option 3: The Keeper of Secrets
Focus: Utility / Stealth / Information.
Description: The silent observer who knows all truths. Gains balanced stats.
Unique Skill:[The Index] (Allows the user to "Borrow" skills from books in the Archive for a limited time).
Ren stared at the options.
Battle Warden was strong, but straightforward. He didn't want to be a tank.
Void Scholar was powerful, but casting from HP was dangerous with the Gauntlets already draining him.
Keeper of Secrets.
[The Index]. To borrow skills?
If he had a book about sword fighting, he could become a swordsman. If he had a book about cooking, he could become a master chef. It was versatility. It was infinite potential.
"I choose Option 3," Ren said to the void.
[ Selection Confirmed. ]
[ Class Evolved: Keeper of Secrets (Tier 1). ]
[ All Stats +2. ]
[ New Skill Unlocked: The Index (Level 1). ]
[ Slot Capacity: 1 Skill. ]
The golden light faded. Ren returned to the dungeon.
He felt... expanded. His mind felt sharper. He looked at Kaelith.
[ Analytical Eye (Upgraded) ]
[ Name: Kaelith ]
[ Secret: She is banished from her clan for breaking the 'Law of Silence'. She misses her sister. ]
Ren blinked. I can see secrets now?
"Ren?" Caelum asked. "You spaced out."
Ren looked at his brother.
[ Secret: He steals sweet rolls from the kitchen at midnight because they remind him of the nanny who raised him. ]
Ren suppressed a smile.
"I'm fine," Ren said. "I just got stronger."
He looked at the iron door at the end of the room. The stairs to Floor 3.
"We aren't done yet," Ren said. "We clear the next floor. I want to see what this dungeon is hiding."
"You're a demon," Caelum groaned.
"No," Ren said, testing his new grip on reality. "I'm the Librarian."
Location: Arken Estate, Ren's Bed (The Kennel Roof).
Time: Dawn.
Ren lay awake. The raid had been successful. They cleared Floor 2 completely. He was now Level 10. Caelum was Level 9. Kaelith had collected enough slime cores to buy a new bow.
But something was bothering him.
The Heart of a Void Beast in the Archive.
He closed his eyes and entered the library.
He walked to the center. The floor where he had implanted the heart was pulsing. The black veins had spread, covering almost the entire central aisle.
[ Incubation Accelerated due to Level Up. ]
[ Progress: 99%... 100% ]
CRACK.
The floor split open.
Ren stepped back, his hand instinctively going to his hip for a weapon he didn't have in this mental space.
Black goo bubbled up from the fissure. It coalesced, twisting and forming a shape.
It didn't form a beast. It didn't form a dragon.
It formed a small, humanoid figure. Roughly two feet tall. It looked like a doll made of ink, with large, glowing white eyes and a mouth stitched shut.
It floated in the air, bobbing up and down.
[ Guardian Hatched. ]
[ Name: ??? ]
[ Role: Archive Assistant / Butiler. ]
[ Ability: Can organize books, suppress mental intruders, and... eat corruption. ]
The ink-doll tilted its head. It pointed at a pile of unorganized books Ren had dumped in the corner (the ones from the Arken Library).
It snapped its fingers.
The books flew onto the shelves, sorting themselves alphabetically by subject.
Ren stared. "You're a librarian."
The doll nodded. It floated over to Ren and bowed.
"I need to name you," Ren said.
He thought about it. A creature of the Void, born from a heart, destined to keep secrets.
"Grim," Ren said.
The doll—Grim—clapped its hands silently. A name tag appeared on its chest: GRIM.
[ Guardian Bonded. ]
[ Passive Effect: Mental Resistance +20%. ]
"Welcome to the team, Grim," Ren said. "We have a lot of work to do."
Ren opened his eyes in the real world.
The sun was rising. The birds were singing.
And in the distance, a horn blew.
Ren sat up. That wasn't the dinner horn. That was the Gate Horn.
He looked toward the main road.
A massive column of soldiers was marching out of the estate. Banners of the Golden Lion snapped in the wind. Duke Valerius, clad in full plate armor that shone like a mirror, rode at the front on a white destrier.
The Expedition to the Continent of Sloth was departing.
"He's leaving," Ren whispered.
He watched the Duke ride away. He watched the elite guards follow.
The estate was now under the command of the Steward and the remaining captains. The heavy hitters were gone.
Ren stood up. He touched the Ring of the False Null.
"The King is gone," Ren smiled, a cold, terrifying expression.
"Long live the Librarian."
End of Chapter 9
Summary of Events:
The Exchange: Caelum delivers the skill books. Ren learns [Flash Step] and [Mana Weaving].
The Team: Ren forces Caelum (Noble) and Kaelith (Nomad) to work together.
Dungeon Raid: The trio clears Floor 2 of the Dungeon. Ren acts as the leader/finisher.
Level 10: Ren hits Level 10.
Evolution: Ren chooses the [Keeper of Secrets] class. Gains the unique skill [The Index] (allows borrowing skills from books). He also gains the ability to see people's "Secrets".
The Guardian: The Void Heart hatches into Grim, a small ink-doll librarian who manages the Archive.
The Departure: Duke Valerius leaves for the Continent Expedition. The Estate is vulnerable.