Chapter 33: The Library’s Hidden Rift

Being Fully Acknowledged by an NPC.

It was the exact same type of quest as with the Elder of Herum, Belkan.

So Levant was utterly taken aback.

Because being fully acknowledged by an NPC meant filling the favor gauge to 100%.

“No, it’s not just any city, and even if Passna is a fallen kingdom, he’s still a king in name…”

Elders, Market Masters, and Kings.

At a glance, the three roles might seem to have similar duties, but the scale of power each holds is distinctly different.

Especially in the case of Market Masters, no matter how high-ranking a public official they are, they’re still commoner-class officials like Levant.

That’s why they can be met easily after just a few formalities, but kings are an entirely different matter.

Levant scratched his head in thought.

“The minimum contribution score to enter the royal palace is three thousand. And meeting the lowest-ranked noble, a baron, costs at least six thousand. Then the king…”

He wasn’t entirely sure, but it would require an enormous amount, no matter how fallen the kingdom was. A king is still a king.

Because of this, another thought came to him.

“Should I just drop it?”

It wasn’t a statement made lightly.

After brief consideration, Levant decided the cost-benefit didn’t add up no matter how he looked at it.

Because in order to get the king’s acknowledgment, he first had to meet the king, and the conditions for that meeting were extremely demanding.

“The rewards are tempting, but it’s still inefficient for the investment.”

So far, most of the rewards from growth cubes had been either new growth cubes or skill cube fragments.

But this time, the growth cube specifically stated that it would give a full ‘Skill Cube’ instead of just fragments.

Moreover, while previous cube frames had all been type 33, this time they promised a 44-type cube frame.

So, compared to other quests, the rewards were genuinely alluring.

Still, despite the tempting rewards, Levant hesitated because the quest difficulty was high, and he didn’t have much leeway.

Because Levant had to quickly establish a stable source of income before his savings ran dry.

So realistically, this quest didn’t make much financial sense.

“Right. I won’t drop it, but I’ll just put it on hold for now. I can always clear it later when I have more time.”

That was Levant’s conclusion.

He decided to put the growth quest on hold temporarily and headed toward the palace to pursue his original goal: entering the Royal Library.

When he arrived at the palace gates, he saw soldiers standing guard with slouched postures.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at the lack of discipline.”

Certainly fitting for a fallen kingdom.

As Levant stood before the soldiers, one of them asked indifferently, “Business?”

“I’ve come to use the Royal Library.”

“You too? The library’s always popular these days.”

“May I enter?”

“Hmm, you have enough qualifications to enter. But if you had some sense… you know.”

The soldier smirked and made a finger gesture, curling his index finger and thumb.

He wanted money.

So Levant simply handed it over.

It was easier to solve this quietly with a few coins than to make a fuss and waste time.

The soldier looked satisfied after receiving the money.

[The gatekeeper soldier’s favorability toward you has increased.]

“Well, would you look at that?”

Giving a bribe unexpectedly raised his favorability. This is why money-minded people are easier to deal with.

“As long as you pay, you’re good to go.”

Levant snorted inwardly just as he was about to pass through the gate.

“Wait.”

The soldier who had taken the money suddenly grabbed Levant.

Levant tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What is it?”

“Fix your outfit. No matter what, this is the royal palace. You can’t go in dressed like that.”

At the mention of his outfit, Levant glanced down at his clothes.

Aside from his greaves, shield, and the club strapped to his waist, he was wearing the ordinary cloth garments he had worn since character creation.

Levant nodded in understanding and pulled out a robe to wear.

“Is this better?”

“That’s good. You may pass.”

Even though this was a game, the Warlord world was still another reality.

So, like in the real world, there were rules and proper attire appropriate for each situation.

But buying formal clothes at this point wasn’t an option.

So he just wore a single robe that covered his entire body.

After all, for a mage, nothing was more versatile than a robe.

Only after donning the robe could Levant enter the palace.

As Levant passed through the grand gates and stepped inside the palace, a map name briefly appeared before his eyes.

[Passna Royal Palace]

A straightforward name.

As soon as he entered, Levant came face-to-face with a huge guideboard.

The guideboard showed a map of the palace’s interior.

Places that were off-limits were marked in red letters; accessible areas were in white.

Levant’s gaze drifted to the top part of the palace map.

[Main Palace]

The Main Palace was, as the name suggested, accessible only to the king and nobles.

Looking at the Main Palace’s location, Levant recalled the growth quest he had decided to postpone.

“I’ll have to go there someday.”

But not now. For now, he needed to grow stronger as fast as possible.

After checking the map, Levant headed straight for the library without hesitation.

“As expected.”

When he arrived in front of the library, there were quite a few people gathered.

They were all there to enter the secret dungeon hidden within the library.

Especially those gathered near the entrance were waiting to form parties with others.

The proof was clear.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Are you here for the Bookworm Dungeon?”

“No. I have other business.”

“Oh, I see. Good luck.”

…As soon as new face Levant appeared, people rushed over trying to recruit him for a party.

Of course, Levant refused all party invitations.

Though there was a level gap, he was already well acquainted with the Bookworm Dungeon’s攻略 methods.

Levant entered the library, leaving behind the party-seeking users.

“This is the library.”

As soon as he entered, the distinctive scent of books tickled his nose.

He admired the size of the three-story Royal Library once again.

“Even if it’s a fallen kingdom, the royal palace’s class is undeniable.”

The overwhelming emotions Levant had felt upon first entering resurfaced.

Back then, he was genuinely moved.

Because Levant had never traveled abroad, all the vast tomes he encountered in Warlord always excited him.

Levant smiled faintly and headed to the library’s third floor.

“Let’s see, the history section…”

The entrance to the Bookworm Dungeon was located in the history section on the third floor.

Pulling a certain book in the history corner would cause the shelves to part slightly, allowing entry into the dungeon.

“Found it.”

Fortunately, there was no one in front of the bookshelf.

That was good.

Sometimes players with unnecessary curiosity would ask if he was alone, which was just pointless meddling.

Levant found the book needed to enter the dungeon with a practiced gesture.

Just as he was about to pull it, a thought about his equipment flashed through his mind.

“Is my defense… insufficient?”

Actually, he had felt this worry before when fighting pests in the Sorrowful Plains.

But Levant already knew most monster attack patterns well.

So, as if immune to fear, he had jumped into the Sorrowful Plains without hesitation.

The result was zero hits taken, proof of Levant’s skill.

But the dungeon boss before him was the Bookworm Mongoose, a mage-type monster.

Meaning, magic would be a variable—a tricky opponent.

Levant’s mental calculator began ticking.

“The problem is the mongoose’s magic attacks. But now’s not the time to raise magic defense… Eh, forget it.”

Several magic defense items flashed through his mind.

But most that provided enough magic defense at his level were expensive.

So he decided to give up cleanly.

“If worst comes to worst, I’ll just die. What else could dying cost me but a level drop?”

In the past, he would have feared losing levels, but honestly, now it wasn’t so scary.

Of course, losing all remaining playtime would be a pity, but it wasn’t as frightening as level loss.

“Levels can be regained quickly. So I might as well die.”

That was Levant’s decision.

With his resolve made, Levant placed his hand back on the book.

He pulled it.

*Ku-gu-gu-gu—*

A gap large enough for a person to slip through appeared between the bookshelves.

[Would you like to enter the dungeon, ‘Library’s Rift’?]

“Yes, I will.”

[Entering dungeon.]

After accepting the prompt, Levant’s body was pulled in like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

***

Upon entering the dungeon, a dungeon mini-map appeared in one corner of his vision.

A pitch-black mini-map.

But Levant could see it clearly.

“This time, a straight shot through.”

Library’s Rift was a dungeon accessible from the library’s top floor—the third floor.

So to reach the final boss room, he had to descend in reverse order from the third floor to the first.

Meaning he would face many battles on the way down.

Of course, there were also tricks.

Levant planned to use the tricks he knew to clear the dungeon via the shortest path.

“I’m here for leveling, but I don’t need to hunt here unnecessarily.”

If solo play was the goal, the open field with fewer dangers was better than a dungeon with many restrictions.

So Levant planned to quickly kill only the boss monsters and exit.

With his goal set, Levant removed the robe draped over his body.

The flowing robe was only good for aesthetics; it just got in the way in battle.

Ready for combat, Levant stepped out of the safe zone.

Immediately, one of the dungeon’s primary monsters appeared: a ‘Bookworm.’

[Low-Rank Bookworm / Lv.47]

“Definitely high level.”

Usually, dungeons sent out their weakest monsters first as a sort of warning.

But for Levant, the low-rank bookworm was more like an appetizer, or rather,

“This is a very important ingredient for my trick.”

Levant slowly approached the creature.

The excited bookworm raised its body high, preparing to spit acidic fluid from its mouth.

*Ssss!*

The fluid sprayed like phlegm.

Levant twisted his body lightly, evading the fluid as expected.

He then examined the yellowish puddle left on the ground.

“Disgusting as always.”

It was truly repulsive; its yellowish color reminded him strongly of phlegm.

But this fluid was the key ingredient for clearing the dungeon.

After securing the fluid, Levant drew his club.

The bookworm was a large, larva-like monster without the hard exoskeleton typical of other pests in the Sorrowful Plains.

Meaning,

“It’s satisfying to hit.”

Levant closed the distance and swiftly ended the bookworm’s life with a powerful strike and Thunder Strike combo.

*Thud!*

The heavy body collapsed on the ground.

But Levant ignored the dead bookworm and approached the puddle of fluid.

He sighed once before plunging his body into the fluid.

*Splash!*

The bookworm’s fluid lost its toxicity a few seconds after being expelled.

So soaking in it like this caused no damage.

But astonishingly, once covered in the fluid, bookworms couldn’t detect the user’s presence.

That was Levant’s trick.

“Most players avoid this method because it’s dirty, but I have no choice.”

He wasn’t in a party, nor did he have anyone to impress.

Efficiency was all that mattered.

Drenched in the fluid, Levant collected the low-rank bookworm’s loot and slowly descended the stairs.

And like magic, no bookworm attacked him.

[Would you like to enter the boss room?]

Just before Levant entered the boss room.

“Yes, enter.”

[Entering boss room.]

Having fought only one bookworm, Levant safely entered the boss room.