Chapter 11: Not the Only One

“Who is it… Oh, it’s you!” Lia said, recognizing herself in the librarian Kejan’s voice as she arrived at the library. Smiling, she opened her inventory.

“You said 50 gold, right?”

“Yes,” Lia confirmed.

Kejan replied.

Hearing Lia took out 50 gold and handed it over.

“You’re Lia, correct?” Kejan asked.

Lia nodded. “Yes, I’m Lia.”

“Lia… Here you go!” Kejan said, quickly preparing the pass and handing it to her.

“Will you use it now?” he asked.

“Yes!” Lia replied.

“I’ll hold onto the pass. You can take it back when you leave.”

“Okay!” Lia said, handing the pass back to Kejan and stepping inside.

“Wow,” Lia gasped, stopping in her tracks.

It’s beautiful.

The reason for her gasp was that the books inside the library were sparkling. Seeing them, she was certain.

There’s definitely something here!

The library held something special. No doubt about it.

At that moment:

Step.

“…?” Lia, lost in awe, turned at the sound of footsteps.

She saw the source: a man who seemed too old to be a boy but too young to be a full adult.

Who is he?

Lia hadn’t expected anyone else in the library, so she was a bit startled.

An NPC?

Could he be an NPC?

Probably not a user…

The odds of him being a user were low. A library pass cost 50 gold, and most users wouldn’t spend that much to come here. Still, just to be sure, Lia approached him.

“Excuse me…” she began.

“…?” The man, about to read a book, looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Are you a user?” Lia asked directly, wasting no time.

“Yes,” he replied, then started reading his book.

Lia, who had more questions, closed her mouth and thought.

He’s a user.

So he wasn’t an NPC.

I’m not the only one who thought about the library.

With so many players in Pangea, it wasn’t strange that others wondered about a 50-gold library.

Swish.

Lia turned her gaze to the bookshelves, smiling at the countless sparkling books, and began walking.

…Huh?

As she approached, she tilted her head.

What’s that?

She had thought all the books sparkled, but one didn’t.

Could it be…

The only non-sparkling book—could it be the library’s hidden something? Lia quickly grabbed it.

“…?” She frowned.

A guidebook?

The book she thought might be a hidden piece was just a guidebook.

“Ugh, what,” Lia muttered, disappointed, putting it back.

Looking at the sparkling books nearby, she thought.

What are these books?

She was excited to find out.

Not job change books, right?

She couldn’t rule out the possibility. Brushing off her disappointment, Lia grabbed a sparkling book with anticipation.

Rodin?

The book was titled Rodin, clearly someone’s name. She returned to a table and started reading.

It’s a travel journal.

It was a story of an adventurer betrayed, meeting a demon, taking revenge, and fulfilling the demon’s request.

After finishing, she closed the book.

Swish.

The sparkle vanished.

“…?” Lia was puzzled. Why did the sparkle disappear?

“Oh!” she exclaimed, seeing a message.

[Wisdom increases by 1.]

Her wisdom stat had increased.

Stats go up?

All she did was read, yet her wisdom rose.

Is this a place to gain stats?

Reading books clearly increased wisdom. The library was a place to boost stats.

Without a word, Lia grabbed another book and began skimming it quickly.

…Nothing?

No message appeared. And the book still sparkled.

Does reading make the sparkle disappear and give stats?

That’s what happened before: she read, the sparkle vanished, and her stat increased. Why not this time?

Wait…

A thought struck her. She reopened the book.

Do I have to read carefully, word by word?

The first time, she read meticulously, expecting something. This time, she skimmed. That was the only difference. Lia started reading carefully again.

When she closed the book:

Swish.

[Wisdom increases by 1.]

The sparkle disappeared, and the message appeared.

That’s it.

She was certain now.

You have to read carefully.

The condition for the sparkle to vanish was thorough reading.

But…

Looking at the message, Lia thought.

Is that all?

Was the library’s hidden piece just stat increases?

No special jobs?

Lia, who had hoped for a special job, felt disappointed. But it wasn’t just about jobs.

It’s too inefficient.

Stat increases were important, but the time it took to read was the issue.

If I hunted instead of reading…

Reading only gave wisdom, and only 1 point at that, not 3 or 4. Hunting in the same time would yield more stats.

If it were strength, agility, or stamina, maybe…

Wisdom wasn’t crucial for Lia, who aimed for a melee combat job. Strength, agility, or stamina mattered more.

What should I do?

Lia debated whether to stay and read for wisdom or join Jia below.

At that moment:

• Jia: Lia!

A whisper came from Jia.

• Lia: Yeah?

Lia answered, opening another book. But Jia’s next words stopped her from reading.

• Jia: Huge news!
  
• Lia: Huge news? What?
  
• Jia: You’re at the library, right?
  
• Lia: Yeah, I’m there.
  
• Jia: The books are all sparkling, aren’t they?
  

“…?” Lia was stunned.

How?

How did Jia know the books were sparkling?

Did info leak online?

Maybe information about the library was posted online. But Jia, who was logged in, couldn’t have seen it.

• Lia: How did you know?

Lia asked Jia, incredibly curious about how she knew about the library.

• Jia: While wandering around after leaving, I met an NPC promoting the library. He gave me a sparkling book. When I read it, the sparkle disappeared, and my stats increased! So I thought maybe all the books in the library are like that!

“…!” Lia was speechless at Jia’s whisper.

The books here aren’t the only ones that raise stats?

She had thought only the library’s books increased stats, which is why she hesitated—whether to stay and raise wisdom or join Jia.

No need to stay.

But there was no need to hesitate. Any book would do. It didn’t have to be from this library to raise stats.

Let’s go.

Deciding to hunt and read books slowly to raise stats, Lia stood up.

Just as she resolved her dilemma and rose:

• Jia: But getting to other libraries is no joke.

Another whisper came from Jia.

• Jia: The condition for using other libraries is 50,000 fame.

Lia, now standing, paused to think.

No way.

The hesitation didn’t last long. Even if other libraries were hard to access, spending time here felt like a waste. If she worked hard, she’d meet the fame requirement eventually and could read books then. Books weren’t going anywhere.

• Lia: I’m coming down.

Lia sent a whisper to Jia and looked at the man reading nearby. She wasn’t alone in the library.

Should I tell him?