The Nightwatchers Library was located at the very bottom level of the base.
Internal security here was much tighter than on the levels above.
Descending further, two massive doors came into view.
The doors were a somber grey, covered in complex and obscure runes, with a protruding sculpture in the shape of a lion's head at the center.
The lion's mouth was slightly open, revealing a palm-sized indentation within.
Lu Yuan placed the identity badge he had just received into the lion's mouth.
"Click."
The lion closed its mouth, followed by the dull sound of mechanical gears turning.
A moment later, the doors split neatly down the middle and slid slowly to either side.
A thick, stale scent of old parchment wafted over him.
The internal space of the library was vast, but it was not packed with bookshelves.
Black metal shelves stretched toward the ceiling, spaced far apart from each other, making the area feel exceptionally empty and lonely.
Numerous lightbulbs were scattered across the ceiling; some were lit, while others had already burned out.
The intersecting light and shadow cast a cold, eerie atmosphere over what should have been a sacred hall of knowledge.
Lu Yuan stepped inside, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous space.
Looking closely, the collections on the nearest shelves did not appear particularly old.
Most were manuscripts or photocopies, while even more were neatly arranged black iron boxes.
"Newcomer?"
A shrill, thin voice suddenly sounded above Lu Yuan's head.
Lu Yuan looked up sharply.
Sitting atop the highest bookshelf was a small creature.
It was only the size of a palm, with limbs resembling a human's, but it had a pair of wings on its back that looked like they were folded from old newspapers.
Its skin had the texture of yellowish parchment, with black markings flowing across it like ink.
At that moment, it was holding a thick book, tearing off a page and stuffing it into its mouth like a biscuit, chewing with great relish.
【Witnessed special containment object: Book Spirit】
【Characteristics: Feeds on knowledge; can also serve as an index for knowledge.】
"I am the new consultant, Lu Yuan."
Lu Yuan looked at the strange little thing without showing any surprise.
Since the Nightwatchers could fight the eerie, they naturally possessed means he was not yet aware of.
"Old Morgan sent me here to look up information."
"That blind man, Old Morgan?"
The little thing spat out a piece of chewed book cover, flapped its newspaper wings, and flew down to hover in front of Lu Yuan.
Its pitch-black, beady eyes sized him up, glinting with a sense of shrewdness.
"I am the steward here; you can call me 'Ink'," the Book Spirit said, licking its lips in a shrill voice.
"What books do you want to read? I charge a fee: one fresh ink block, or a story I've never heard before."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and did not answer.
After all, Old Morgan had not mentioned this. He assumed there wouldn't be a problem even if he didn't satisfy this Book Spirit named Ink.
"I'll bring you an ink block next time," Lu Yuan said after a moment's thought, then pulled out the form. "For now, I need to see introductory books on 【Eerie Lore】."
The Book Spirit curled its lip, seemingly dissatisfied with this act of "buying on credit," but due to the rules, it still flew toward a bookshelf in the corner.
"Over there. The moldy ones on the bottom shelf are what you want."
It pointed to the shelf and then flew back up to the high spot to continue devouring its "lunch."
Lu Yuan walked over to the bookshelf.
Several heavy, aged books were placed here.
The covers were severely worn and bore no titles, only a symbol of a twisted eye.
Lu Yuan pulled out a copy of "Primary Strange Tales" and flipped it open.
The content was very simple, mostly consisting of brief descriptions about why one should stay in the light and common monsters found in the dark.
For example, "The Habits of Scavenger Ghouls" or "Materials Loathed by Specters."
There were not even any illustrations, only a few lines of dry, textual descriptions.
Lu Yuan flipped through it quickly.
【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: +0.1...】
【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: +0.1...】
The experience gain was very slow—one could even say extremely slow!
This caused Lu Yuan to frown. At this rate, unlocking his transcendent pathway would be delayed by at least several days.
Moreover, the experience gained from such superficial knowledge would only decrease as he progressed.
Eventually, it might stop providing any experience at all.
'Can I get a book that contains more knowledge?'
Lu Yuan hesitated, but ultimately gave up on the idea.
Setting aside whether he could get one, he wouldn't be able to explain how he could remain unpolluted by the knowledge.
He was essentially ignorant regarding transcendent common sense.
Furthermore, since the Nightwatchers dared to just drop him in this library, they must have some insurance he didn't know about.
With a slight sigh, Lu Yuan pushed aside his stray thoughts and began honestly absorbing the knowledge from the books.
Just as Lu Yuan was gradually becoming engrossed, a line of grey text suddenly appeared.
【Copper has harmed the source of a scavenger ghoul's mutation, so copper can resist parts of the mutation, especially against scavenger ghouls.】
Lu Yuan looked at this prompt with some surprise.
Wasn't this exactly what he was currently reading?
Lu Yuan fell into deep thought as he looked at the mention in the book that "scavenger ghouls fear copper."
It seemed his cheat could see even deeper levels of information.
Thus, Lu Yuan began to test it.
As Lu Yuan focused his gaze on a line about "Common Types of Specters," another line of grey text emerged.
'Specters are His subjects...'
The moment the text appeared, Lu Yuan decisively looked away.
The last time a translation caused a problem was with that parchment scroll.
Fortunately, no "eerie" situation occurred this time.
At this moment, Lu Yuan confirmed that as long as he concentrated, his "translation" ability would activate.
It could parse out deeper information through these dry words.
As these notes continued to appear, the experience bar at the edge of his vision also kept ticking upward.
【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: +0.2】
However, he had to be careful; some of the information contained in the text was "toxic," requiring extreme caution while reading.
Lu Yuan's eyes flickered, and the corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.
Since he could gain experience through this method of parsing, no matter how shallow the book's content was, the effect would be the same as long as he increased the volume.
"Then I'll finish reading every book on this shelf."
Lu Yuan settled his mind and began flipping through the pages rapidly.
The only sounds in the library were the rustling of pages and the "crunch, crunch" of the Book Spirit chewing paper overhead.
Before he knew it, four hours had passed.
【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: +1.6】
【Current Progress: 7.8/10】
Lu Yuan closed the book and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Although his Sanity had not dropped, he could feel a sense of deep exhaustion.
"One month?"
Lu Yuan touched the box in his pocket containing the ghoul meat, feeling its icy chill.
"Perhaps in just three days, I'll be able to step onto that path."
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