After walking a little further, I found something that caught my attention: a place that my vision could not penetrate. No matter how much mana I put into my eyes, I could not penetrate the walls.
"Interesting".
I approached a large wooden door. This door was serious business. It looked like wood, but it could be something else, maybe metal or both. Once I was in front of the large wooden door, I put both of my hands on the doors and pushed them open.
"How annoying."
The fucking doors didn't budge an inch. I got the same result using 'heart of ice'.
- ACCORDING TO MY ANALYSIS, THE GATE CONTAINS MULTIPLE DEFENSIVE SPELLS AND OTHER UNKNOWN FUNCTIONS.
"Can we break it?"
- YES, ONLY IF YOU USE THE 'CUT' FEATURE ON THE DOOR.
"Well, let's see what's hiding behind this door."
Without thinking much, I used 'cut'. This time, I made sure not to blow everything into dust. I drew three perfect cuts on the large door. No sound was heard. If someone looked at the door, they wouldn't be able to notice the three perfect cuts. Afterwards, I used 'move' on a specific part of the door and a piece of the door came off. It was my size, the piece I had just torn off. Without wasting any time, I put my hand on the piece and put it into the bucket.
"I'll put you to good use, hehehehe."
I could already imagine using that piece of door. Given how hard it was, I had multiple ideas.
"So, what were we up to?"
Now that he had cut through the door, he could see what was inside.
"Oh, it was a library. What a rip-off."
Seeing that it was just a library, I was a little disappointed. After a while, I worked up the courage to enter through the small entrance I created. Once I entered the library, a curious phenomenon occurred.
"What the fuck?"
The entrance I had made closed in an instant, and at the same time, goosebumps rose on my skin. The piece of door I removed repaired itself, but what replaced the missing part was not metal or wood, it was flesh. Almost at the same time, an unfamiliar voice spoke, taking me by surprise.
"So the first thing I see is a human?"
Quickly turning around, I searched for the source of the voice. I searched the entire place. The place was massive. To my bad luck, I couldn't find the origin of the voice.
"Who are you?".
"Oh, a human speaking Elvish. What a surprise."
"Aren't you going to answer me?"
"Oh, come on, human. Calm down a bit. I haven't socialized in a while, understand me a little."
"Alright".
I was in shock. It was the first time I couldn't identify a possible threat. No matter how hard I tried to find the guy who was talking to me, I couldn't find him. This damn library was massive.
- WARNING: AN UNKNOWN ENTITY HAS PROHIBITED THE USE OF MANA IN THIS SPACE.
- ALL SKILLS HAVE BEEN SEALED.
'Shit, what did I get myself into this time?'
- CREATOR FEATURES WERE NOT AFFECTED.
- THE 'DEMONIC EYE' STOPPED WORKING.
- THE 'HEART OF ICE' STOPPED WORKING.
A cold sweat ran down my back. Without a doubt, this emotion that was invading me at this moment was fear. Now that 'heart of ice' was of no use, I could see my small hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Don't be afraid, human. Just answer a few questions and I won't hurt you."
I didn't answer him. My mouth didn't move and my body was paralyzed. Right now, my body felt like a heavy stone.
- IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO CALCULATE THE DANGER LEVEL OF THIS ENTITY.
- THE 'ANALYSIS' FEATURE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY.
- THE 'UNDERSTANDING' FEATURE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY.
- FEATURES THAT ARE ACTIVATED ARE IMMEDIATELY BLOCKED.
'Wait, you just told me my features weren't affected.'
- CORRECT, THAT WAS JUST A MOMENT AGO, BUT NOW THE FEATURES ARE BEING COMPROMISED TOO.
- THE ENTITY IS TRYING TO DISABLE 'HIDE'.
'Tsk, avoid doing that at all costs.'
- UNDERSTOOD.
I was in a bind. This thing was screwing me over and I didn't know how it did it. Calming down a bit, I asked the void.
"What do you want to know?"
My tone suddenly turned respectful.
"Oh, and that drastic change in attitude?"
"I am a respectful person by nature. I responded rudely because I was scared."
"I see, it's understandable."
"Yeah".
"Well, if you answer my questions I'll let you go, but first let me warn you, human: it's impossible to lie to me. Every lie that comes out of your mouth will take years off your life. The only reason I'm telling you this is because other races have already tried to lie to me and I don't want the first person I see in a thousand years to fall victim to my authority."
"I'll answer truthfully, but I want some answers in return."
"That seems perfect to me".
I decided to play along with the voice. I had no other choice. After the voice finished speaking, I felt it. There was a slight change in the atmosphere. The only thing that came to mind was what that thing mentioned before: an 'authority'. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that that thing was very dangerous for me.
"What's your name?".
"??????"
- HIS NAME IS LUCIEN WHITEHEART.
"You don't know your name?"
"My name is Lucien Whiteheart."
"Oh, we're off to a good start."
"Of course".
"Now, Lucien, tell me why are you hiding from me?"
And the bastard started asking tough questions.
"I've been hiding for a while now. You're not the main reason why I'm hiding."
"Why did you come into this place?"
"I was out for a walk and this door caught my eye, so out of pure curiosity I decided to go in and see."
"How did you manage to damage that door?"
"I cut it using my power."
"Oh, and what is that power?"
"If you want me to answer more questions, answer mine first."
A silence fell on the library. That silence was broken after a while.
"Well, ask your questions. It's only fair."
"What race do you belong to?"
I got straight to the point. I needed to know what I was up against.
"Demonic race".
With that answer, my neck went cold. The bastard just confirmed to me that demons exist.
"Why are you restricting my strength?"
"Well, I'm not doing it on purpose. It's more your fault than mine."
"What are you talking about?".
"You are very weak, that is why my authority restricts you."
"I see".
"Now it's my turn, human."
"Go ahead, ask."
"Do you hate the demon race?"
He asked me a somewhat strange question, although not very difficult to answer.
"That's up to you."
"What are you talking about?".
"You're the first demon I've seen. I hold no grudge against them, but that could change if our interaction ends badly."
"I see, good point."
"My turn. Why don't you show yourself?"
"I don't have a physical form to show."
The more I talked to the demon, the more worried I became. Without a physical form, how was I going to fuck him up?
"My turn. Do you love God?"
He asked me another strange question.
"I neither love nor worship any God."
"May I ask why?"
"You don't need to know about that."
My words caused a silence to fall in the library. The entity seemed to be contemplating things. Shortly after, it broke the silence.
"It is not unusual for some humans to not love their creator. In fact, there are plenty of such people out there."
"Hey, are you going to kill me?"
I threw the question that was on my mind at him. Depending on his answer, I would use everything I had to escape from here.
"Do you think it's worth killing you?"
The entity responded with a question. I was not satisfied with that.
"If you were an apostle, I would have undoubtedly turned you into dust by now."
"I'm glad I'm not an apostle."
I confirmed it to him, it was better to clear up his doubts since he said he could detect lies. It was the perfect moment.
"Kukuku, but Lucien, I know you're no stranger. Ever since you set foot in this library, I haven't been able to measure your mana or see your soul. The way you hide is terrifying, even to me. I dare say that not even a God could easily locate you. Kukuku."
Analyzing the words of this thing, I could come to a conclusion: it has no desire to kill me for now. I was sure. Thinking that perhaps this would be the only time I would meet a being of this kind, I asked in a kind tone:
"So, since you don't plan on killing me, would you be willing to teach me how to use that thing you called authority?"
"Kukukuku."
"What's so funny?"
"You can't learn that."
"???????"
"An authority is the manifestation of your innate power. You take a part of a space and make it your personal space or create a space of your own. In the past, I faced several humans capable of exercising authority, but they were few."
"So, I can't use an authority?"
"Yes you can, there are several ways. Being born with an 'innate authority' would be the easiest way, but those cases are very rare, and from what I see, it's not yours. Another way would be for you to obtain an 'inherited authority'. If you kill someone who has an inherited authority, they become your property and you can use them as if they were your own. And the last way, and the hardest of all, is to develop an 'authority of your own'. Those are the most annoying ones to face. Kukukuku. Look at me, I'm the living example. I was locked up for one of those."
"I see. Then teach me the basics. I will develop my authority."
"Kukukuku. Really?"
"Yes. In fact, if you teach me, I will be in your debt."
"You don't need to owe me anything. You've done enough for me. Kukukuku. You created a breach in that pesky dragon's authority."
"Dragon?!"
Author's Notes: Lucien, in this chapter, never answers the unknown being's question about what power he used to damage the gate, as he considers it a disadvantage to reveal his hidden cards to a being of that caliber. On the other hand, the unknown being did not insist on asking. The reason for this is simple: he realized that he would not get an answer.
The unknown being, at one point, says that 'that cannot be learned', referring to the Authority. Those powers are unique; no one in the world has managed to learn how to use an Authority by receiving explanations from other users. Those who have tried have only ended up confused.
It wouldn't be unusual for this unknown being to try to make excuses for Lucien, telling him that he can't teach him about the basics of his Authority. It wouldn't be unusual for this to happen, since this being possesses an inherited power and it is one of the most difficult to explain.
Subjects who have an 'Inherited Authority' find it difficult to give details of their power. The reason behind this is because they did not develop such a power; another entity was in charge of creating said power. The only way for them to share the basics is for the creator of the Authority to explain it to them in detail.