Time was a broken concept in the S-Rank Book Dungeon. Without the sun, Akira lived by the rhythm of his own shallow breath and the steady drip-drip-drip of moisture hitting ancient parchment. He wandered for what felt like days, his school shoes wearing thin against the jagged obsidian floor. Hunger clawed at his stomach, but the bag of dry bread the King had thrown him remained untouched—a bitter reminder of a world he now hated.
Exhaustion finally claimed him. Akira slumped against a cold stone pillar, his eyes sliding shut. He didn't hear the wet, rhythmic sliding sound approaching from the shadows.
He only felt the impact.
A massive Ink-Slime slammed into his chest, throwing him against the wall with the force of a speeding car. Akira's head cracked against the stone, and he coughed up a spray of crimson blood. The world spun. The slime, a translucent blob of predatory hunger, quivered as it prepared to launch itself again.
"I... I don't want to die," Akira wheezed, his fingers scrambling for the rusted dagger. "Not like this. Not before I see their faces again."
The slime jumped. Akira lunged to the side, the monster slamming into the rock where his head had been seconds before. He scrambled to his feet and ran. He ran blindly through the dark corridors, his lungs burning. Every time the slime jumped, he ducked, hearing the thud of the beast hitting the walls behind him.
Suddenly, a stray strike from the slime's heavy body shattered a nearby wall, revealing a hidden crevice—a narrow, glowing cave. Akira dove inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the slime screeching behind him hit an invisible barrier. Blue light flared from embedded Crystals lining the cave entrance. The monster recoiled, unable to enter the sanctum. Akira collapsed, gasping for air. He had stumbled upon a Safe Zone—a rare sanctuary built for high-level delvers to rest.
For two days, Akira stayed in the light of the crystals. He finally ate the dry bread, every bite fueled by the memory of Mitsuki's sneer. He spent the hours studying the cave, eventually realizing he couldn't stay hidden forever. He needed to hunt.
Using the crystals to guide him, Akira spent the next day setting a trap. He moved the protective stones, creating a lure, and stood at the mouth of the cave. The slime was still there, waiting.
"Come on," Akira whispered, his eyes dark. "Come and finish it."
The slime lunged. Akira turned and sprinted back into the tunnel, leading the beast toward a heavy, unstable rock formation he had prepared. As the slime jumped, Akira dove under the ledge. The slime's massive weight slammed into the support, and with a deafening CRACK, the ceiling collapsed.
A massive boulder pinned the slime to the floor. The creature thrashed, its gelatinous body oozing as it tried to escape. Akira crawled out from the dust, gripping the rusted dagger with both hands.
"This is for the bag you made me carry," Akira hissed, plunging the blade into the slime's core.
He struck again and again. Strike. Strike. Strike. Until the shaking stopped. Until the slime dissolved into a pool of inert ink.
Suddenly, a golden light erupted from Akira's chest. The "Locked" status in his vision shattered like glass.
[LEVEL UP! Current Level: 2]
[Rank Detected: SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS]
[New Skills Acquired: 'Learn' and 'Read']
Akira's breath hitched. "Learn... Read..."
A shimmering, empty book materialized in the air before him. A system prompt appeared: [Would you like to activate the skill 'Learn'?]
"Yes," Akira commanded.
The book opened, and a vacuum-like force pulled the remains of the slime into the pages. The book slammed shut, then reopened.
[Would you like to activate the skill 'Read'?]
"Do it."
Akira's eyes began to glow with an intense, golden brilliance. The pages of the book began to flip at a blinding speed—a flash of white and ink. Knowledge flooded his mind, not as a memory, but as a physical sensation in his muscles and nerves.
[Sync Complete. You have acquired Slime Beast Skills:]
High-Jump: Your legs can now propel you 20 feet into the air. Water Slash: Channel mana into a pressurized blade of liquid. Slime Mucus: You can secrete a substance from your hands. (Current Setting: Hardened/Strong)
Akira looked at his hands. He flexed his fingers, and a layer of shimmering, steel-hard mucus coated his skin. He felt the power of the slime flowing through him, ready to be called at a moment's notice.
A cold, jagged smile touched his lips. He finally understood the true nature of his "Bookworm" title. He wasn't just a reader; he was a collector of souls.
"Revenge is a long book," Akira whispered, looking out into the dark depths of the S-Rank dungeon. "And I've only just finished the first page. I'm coming for you, Mitsuki. I'm coming for all of you."
He stepped out of the safe zone, no longer the prey. Now, the dungeon had a librarian, and he was ready to fill his shelves.