Chapter 1

A man with long hair was sitting behind a square-shaped table, reading a thick book. The cover of the book was black, containing 360 pages. That was an undeniable fact because the person reading the book was none other than myself!

Slowly exhaling a deep breath, I closed the book and began to glance around. This spacious room had many tables, chairs, and rows of fully filled bookshelves. Of course, this room was full of books because it was a library. However, since it was located underground, it was very rare for anyone to bother visiting this remote place. Nevertheless, to make a living, I was forced to work here alone. Sigh....

I lay down on the table, murmuring softly, “I hope no ghost suddenly appears out of the lantern to scare me. Sigh....”

As if breaking the silence in this large room, suddenly the sound of a door opening was heard. A man with short hair that was almost completely white walked in, stroking his long beard. I truly regretted bothering to glance at him.

“Ars! You're slacking off again! You really don't intend to work seriously, do you?!” the man barked as soon as he revealed his right eye, which was glowing blue. “If it weren't for the respect I have for your late father, you would never be able to work here, Ars!”

Honestly, I didn't want to respond to this man's words, but because he showed his right pupil, which was blue with a triangular pattern, I had no choice but to straighten up and answer, “Old Man Joe, that line always comes out of your mouth every time you come, and my answer won't change from previous days either!”

“Sigh ... you ....” Old Man Joe sighed and sat facing me. His right eye no longer glowed as before. “Look around you, kid. I'm letting you take care of this place, and of course, I'm not forbidding you from absorbing all the knowledge in every book lined up on the shelves in this room.”

“All that knowledge won't be useful if I never leave this library to use it,” I replied. “Besides, those books are just old books that might not even be relevant to the world today, Old Man.”

“True,” said Old Man Joe. “You are indeed right. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't read them at all, does it?” Old Man Joe then stood up and left the library right after saying that. He seemed unconcerned with the answer I would give him.

“Haah ... I'm already fed up with all his advice, but somehow I always end up listening to him.” I then got up, intending to return the book I had just finished reading a moment ago. “But, well, he's an old man; I have to tolerate his nagging.”

However, just as I was returning the book, something black suddenly passed by the corner of the shelf. What was that? A rat? A bat? A spider? Impossible! This place is too clean for them to visit! I have to make sure.

Carrying a lantern in hand, I slowly walked toward the end of the bookshelf where something black had passed. At the end of this shelf was a corridor bordered by walls and rows of shelves like any other library. I observed for a moment, then saw the black thing again.

Its shape was unclear, like a black ball covered in smoke. The thing flew quickly as I began to chase it.

“Stop!” I chased after it, knowing that it was not a normal thing. I wondered, was it some kind of ancient magic or something? Whatever it was, I had to catch it before it caused any troublesome problems. “Don't think you can run from me! Stop!”

I kept running, chasing the strange thing, until eventually, I had no idea where I was. This place was dim, filled with smoke and thick fog that somehow didn't make me short of breath when I inhaled it. However, I didn't remember there being a place like this inside Old Man Joe's library. So, was this some kind of illusion magic or something?

I observed the area carefully, wondering what kind of strange place this was. Until finally, I saw the round thing floating not far in front of me again. “This time I will catch you for sure!”

Unfortunately, before I could catch it, the thing suddenly vanished, disappearing into the smoke and thick fog. “Damn! It's really toying with me!”

Exhaling deeply, trying to forget the black thing earlier, I slowly turned around. However, just before I turned around, I realized that I had lost something. “Where's my lantern?” I searched around but couldn't find it. “So strange ... I didn't let go of the lantern earlier, but why did it suddenly disappear? This gives me the creeps ....”

Shaking my head, trying to forget everything that had just happened, I accidentally saw the black book that I was supposed to have placed on the shelf. The book was right next to my foot. Ugh. On second thought ... this place seems haunted.

Initially, I wanted to leave the book lying there, but the title with white letters on the cover stopped my steps. “Beast and the Cursed Man? Is this an ancient novel?” I tried reading the book briefly, then murmured, “People in the past didn't have such bad imaginations after all.”

I paused for a moment, starting to read more carefully. If this book was real, could I change the system of this world so that no one would feel the pain I felt five years ago? But what proof do I have that the writings in this book aren't just someone's wild imagination? There's also a possibility that the person who wrote this was insane and had lost their mind.

Even though I didn't believe the contents of this book, it couldn't stop me from reading it. Until finally, slowly, I began to feel crazy for believing what was written in this book. “But that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it at all.” Without realizing it, Old Man Joe's words slipped out of my mouth. “Sigh ... I guess I'm starting to think like that old man.”

Despite my heart and mouth constantly grumbling, my eyes couldn't divert their focus from the book I was reading. Strange but true, I felt a sense of hope. A hope that was very likely just an illusion. I didn't care if it was pointless to read all this; one thing was certain: the content of this book gave me something addictive—a hope that was very likely just a lie.

***

It may have been six or eight hours since I started reading this fairly thick book until I finally finished. Everything written in it, unlike usual, could immediately be absorbed into my head. I could remember everything, even down to the punctuation marks. Was this a miracle, or maybe I wasn't awake and everything I was experiencing was just a dream? But I believe this is all real! I am very sure of it!

Not long after, the book I had just finished reading vanished, merging with the smoke and fog around. However, what was stored in my head did not disappear. “Where exactly am I? What kind of place is this?”

My mind couldn't process what had happened. The smoke that previously filled every corner of the room now clumped together and formed something like a black cloud. I wondered again who had created such magic. Is there really someone this powerful in the world? I felt so insignificant!

I closed my eyes for a moment, but as soon as I did, I no longer felt my body. I seemed to merge with the smoke like the book I had just read. However, there was not a single ounce of pain enveloping my body. On the contrary, warmth was what I felt.