Chapter 30: That’s Not How You Use the Akashic Records (1)

Mary led me to a building nestled between the mansion and the annex.

“This is the Squaret Library, the pride of the Squaret Duchy.”

Even without her explanation, I could already tell.

That familiar scent of paper wafted so strongly from behind the closed door that it seemed to pierce my lungs.

As I lightly touched the door, it slowly opened with an exceptionally smooth sound.

The place I entered was filled with a nostalgia so intense it almost overwhelmed me.

It was as if someone had shrunk and relocated the very essence of the Delphi Academy Library—hundreds of thousands of books filled three floors, both above and below.

The sight reminded me of a boy lost in a dense forest made entirely of books.

Occasionally, sunlight would stream through the narrow windows like pillars, stretching across the desks, while fine motes of dust floated gently in the space between those rays.

Wow, this is heaven.

I haven’t seen a place like this since leaving the Akashic Record.

“If I’ve guided you this far, that should be enough. Go ahead. I’m going to collect my thoughts here and then head to my room.”

“I will escort you.”

“It’s all right. I’m just not sure how long I’ll be here, that’s all.”

At my words, Mary gave a slight nod and slowly withdrew.

Now, which book should I look at first?

I wandered around here and there, and before I knew it, I’d made my way all the way up to the third floor…

Hmm, none of this is quite what I was hoping for.

How odd.

There are so many books, yet none seem to catch my interest.

For example, rare old tomes you’d hardly find elsewhere, or first editions by famous authors.

As I wandered between the bookshelves, lost in thought, I suddenly discovered a small staircase that seemed to connect to a fourth floor.

It was cleverly hidden between the shelves, like a secret passage.

Few signs of anyone passing through.

A thick layer of dust on the steps was evidence enough.

Somehow… I can smell treasure beyond these stairs!

I slowly ascended, and the moment I reached the fourth floor, I couldn’t help but gasp.

“Wow…”

I hadn’t seen a place like this since leaving the Akashic Record.

A true treasury of knowledge.

From massive leather-bound volumes to visibly aged tomes, and countless bundles of parchment yet to be bound as books.

Just seeing the titles made my heart race—this was a storeroom of books so extraordinary it left me breathless.

I’ve found it. So this is where it was hidden.

“Guest?”

Suddenly, a voice called out, and I turned my head.

In a dim space where the light barely reached, amidst piles of books on the floor, a petite woman with blue hair, barely even 155 centimeters tall, looked up at me.

She must have been deeply engrossed in reading, with a massive illustrated volume—almost as big as her torso—resting on her knees, and a small candle quietly burning in front of her.

“How curious. I’ve never met a guest up here before. Was my magic not working?”

Perhaps the darkness of the shelves is to blame.

Her skin, almost bleached white, seemed so transparent it was as though she had never suffered a single hardship under the sun.

Still, for a book of that size…

“Empire Historical Overview Atlas.”

That occupational habit of mine reared its head again.

I can’t help but try to guess what a book is just from its cover.

Suddenly, the woman’s face brightened.

“Wow, you know the Empire Historical Overview Atlas! This is an incredible book.”

“I saw it once before at the Academy.”

“Delphi Academy, I presume? Then you’re my junior.”

“How did you know?”

“I also saw this book in the Delphi Academy Library. Somehow, today, this book asked me to read it.”

Her eyes curved into a gentler smile.

She slowly rose from her seat and approached me.

She was so slight that I could sense her fragile body even beneath her loose, robe-like clothes, like a wizard’s garment.

But to call me her junior…

It’s already been six years since I graduated from the Academy…

And yet, she seems only a year or two older than me, or maybe even the same age.

If she’s that much of a senior and loves the library, there’s no way I wouldn’t know her.

Wait…

Or perhaps, there’s no way she wouldn’t know me.

“When did you graduate?”

“Graduate? About fifteen years ago, I think.”

What? Is she, like the others in the Helpion Duchy, some kind of reclusive sage who’s attained enlightenment?

That face is in her mid-thirties?

Unbelievable.

Wait a second.

What if she really looks like she’s in her twenties, not mid-thirties?

She said she graduated fifteen years ago, but what if she was much younger than the typical Delphi Academy graduate at the time?

A fifteen-year-old graduate…

With all that information, only one person comes to mind.

“Giselle Amepalos.”

“Oh my… You know me?”

Of course I do.

Anyone who’s graduated from Delphi Academy would know her.

The peerless genius born of the Academy—Giselle Amepalos.

When she entered the Academy at age ten, she scored a perfect mark on the entrance exam and stunned the professors with her extraordinary answers.

She finished the first-year curriculum in three months, the second year in six, the third in five… skipping grades and completing the entire program in just two years.

She postponed graduation for another two years, claiming it would be a waste not to finish reading all the books in the library.

During those two years, she wrote two books in the library—books that changed the very landscape of world military studies.

Especially the one that proved the power of alchemy in warfare, shifting the paradigm from mages and Knights.

That book threatened the Empire itself, which boasted powerful Swordmasters and Archmages of the 7th Circle.

It made them fear that ‘Science’ might one day threaten their very lives.

It’s said the Delphi Royal Family sent the Royal Knights to protect her at her graduation, fearing for her safety.

Thanks to such a legendary reputation, she has remained an Academy legend even after her graduation fifteen years ago.

Even those hailed as geniuses across the continent have never broken her record of completing six years of study in just two.

After that, I heard she’d been hired by the Crown, but to think she’s tucked away in a place like this rather than the Royal Family…

“You’re still famous among us juniors, you know.”

“Ahaha, famous, huh.”

She gave a dry, embarrassed laugh.

“Laward Gordem. I’m your junior by ten years, so please speak comfortably.”

“Is that so? Then, I will, Laward.”

I exchanged a light handshake with my senior.

The hand I grasped was so thin and weak it left an impression of frailty.

“How long have you been in the Duchy?”

“I arrived just today.”

“Impressive. You must really love books. I’ve never seen anyone come straight to the library on their first day at the ducal residence. Actually, I’ve hardly seen anyone here at all.”

I felt a little embarrassed and simply smiled.

But it’s true—I really do love books.

It’s the only way I can organize my thoughts and calm my heart when I’m stressed.

“You’ve come to the right place. There are some truly rare tomes here.”

“It seems so. That Empire Historical Overview Atlas you’re reading is already quite rare.”

“Heh, but it’s not one of a kind. There’s one at Delphi Academy, and a few scattered throughout the Empire. I wouldn’t call that rare.”

“Which means…”

“There are books here like the Spirit Realm Research Report or the Barbarian Customs Chronicle, for instance.”

Wow.

Just hearing those names left my jaw hanging open.

Aren’t those legendary tomes, said to have been lost to history?

The lineage of spirit arts was severed three hundred years ago, when the World Tree’s essence began to fade.

Yet here is the Spirit Realm Research Report—something I thought existed only in the Akashic Record.

And the Barbarian Customs Chronicle is already 250 years old.

“Incredible.”

“But there’s something even more amazing. Come, hurry.”

“Is it all right to show such precious books so freely, even rarer than those two?”

“Why not?”

She laughed softly.

“The Duke is not a man who hoards knowledge.”

I followed my senior deeper into the stacks, where the light grew ever dimmer, and in that place, for the first time in a long while, I heard a familiar voice.

‘So you’ve finally come this far.’

This voice—the very one that led me to the Akashic Record the first time!

Before I could even collect my thoughts—

As if the curtain of a play had suddenly fallen and risen, my vision went pitch-black for a moment, then was filled with blinding white light.

When I looked up, endless shelves stacked to the sky with books stared down at me.

Shelves so infinite, they seemed like the very pillars of the World Tree, or the legs of a giant.

And at the very top of those shelves,

Instead of clouds, sun, moon, or stars, an endless black cosmos stretched out.

I lowered my gaze again.

There was a small table, a piece of stationery, and a small red quill pen beside it.

The quill itself was not made of ordinary feather.

Strange red mana swirled around it.

Is this the Akashic Record?

Yet, it feels so different from the scenery I saw at Delphi Academy.

There, the design was like the topmost floor of the Library, with a bed, a fountain, and a small table—what to call it…

A study designed as a lifestyle garden by a wealthy noble?

That’s how it felt, but here, it truly looks like a hidden sanctuary containing all the knowledge in the world.

As I gazed around for a while,

Without a sound, the pen slowly rose into the air.

As if held by invisible hands, it dipped several times into the ink, then began to write slowly across the paper in the center of the table.

Just like writing a letter to someone.

Let’s get closer.

[So you’ve finally made a proper connection.]

Connection? What does that mean?

I moved closer to better understand the words.

[Welcome to the true Akashic Record.]

“Truly?”

Though the room was empty, I couldn’t help but murmur to myself.

[Yes, truly.]

And the pen replied.

Apparently, this pen can hear and answer my voice.

[Welcome, Laward. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.]

“Even if you welcome me… Where am I? How did I get here?”

[This is the Tower of Wisdom, a part of the Akashic Record.]

A part of the Akashic Record?

Hearing that, I realized the Akashic Record wasn’t just a single entity.

“The place I entered at Delphi Academy—what about that?”

[That was the Hall of Opening. It’s where visitors to the Akashic Record are examined to see if they are ready to accept wisdom and knowledge.]

“Examined?”

[The Akashic Record is a place where the knowledge of the past, present, and future flows. Reaching it is a matter of necessity.]

Reading those words, I thought of Duke Helpion.

He once said his awakening felt like being swept up in a vast tide of fate.

[But your body was too weak to accept such knowledge. So I changed it.]

“Secret Body Utilization Compendium?”

I blurted out the title that suddenly came to mind.

Now that I think about it, it all seems so strange.

Even if I grew bored of spending so long in the Akashic Record and desired strength,

Why did I suddenly start reading that book and diligently follow its training, even though I’d never cared for exercise before?

[Exactly. Because you read that book and built up your body, you were able to come to the Tower of Wisdom.]

A sense of frustration welled up inside me.

There was something heavy on my mind, a question I’d long wanted to ask but hadn’t been able to voice.

I forced myself to bring it out.

“Why me?”

About ten years ago,

Since the first time I entered the Akashic Record, I’d been burning with this question.

For the first time, the pen paused atop the flowing script.

“Why was I able to connect to the Akashic Record? Why was I the one to enter the Helpion Duchy? Why have I come to the Squaret Duchy now?”

[I can’t tell you yet. There’s almost no space left for today’s message.]

Space? Is it referring to the remaining area on the paper?

The writing had already filled about eighty percent of the page.

[Keep gaining strength. Search for knowledge at the crossroads of past and future. Then you’ll return here again. As your strength grows, so too will the time, the depth, and the secrets we can share.]

“How am I supposed to gain strength?”

I hurriedly asked.

Just then, the scenery around me began to ripple, as if I’d sunk beneath the water.

The bookshelves that seemed to hold up the world started to sink into the floor.

Gradually, like a mirage, everything faded into the air.

Then, I blinked once.

And when I opened my eyes, I was once again staring at Senior Giselle in the Squaret Library.

“This is the book I wanted to show you.”

“Uh, yes?”

“The book I promised to show you.”

Oh, right.

Just before entering the Akashic Record, Giselle was leading me to show me a book.

Which means…

“Senior, did something just happen?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“…No, never mind.”

It seems I just slipped between this world and another for a moment.

And while I was in that space, not a moment seemed to pass in the outside world.

Is this… the real Akashic Record?