"Mm..."
A faint murmur echoed through the silent space.
Kaiser felt as though he had returned to the womb, his entire being immersed in warm water, enveloped in a sense of tranquility and comfort.
Just as he was about to surrender himself to this blissful sensation and drift into a deep, dreamless slumber, a sudden thought—no, an intent—descended upon him.
[A suitable individual has been selected and successfully integrated into the Library.]
[You have become the Librarian of the Library.]
It was an intent of absolute purity.
Like a voice resonating directly within his mind, it emerged without warning, yanking Kaiser out of his unconscious state.
"Splash!"
As he instinctively sat up, the sound of water sloshing rippled around him.
Only then did Kaiser realize—he really was submerged in water.
Yet, oddly enough, though he was sitting in the water, his clothes remained completely dry. His hair and body, too, were untouched by moisture, as if the water itself refused to cling to him.
"What... What is this?"
He stared blankly, utterly bewildered.
The sound of water continued to echo, crisp and clear in his ears, forcing him to momentarily set aside his confusion and take in his surroundings.
And what he saw left him utterly captivated.
A vast, circular space unfolded before his eyes.
The chamber spanned at least several hundred meters in diameter, with a height just as impressive. Yet, despite its enormity, it did not feel empty. Instead, it exuded a sense of perfect harmony.
This was largely due to the countless bookshelves arranged in a meticulous, deliberate fashion throughout the space.
Some bookshelves stood firmly on the ground, while others extended upward, stacked along the cylindrical walls. Each shelf was neatly packed with books, emanating an aura of mystery, tranquility, and boundless knowledge.
Deep crimson carpets covered the floor, while corridors stretched along the walls and into the open air. The ceiling was absent, revealing a breathtaking starry sky beyond—a vast expanse where twinkling stars shimmered, casting a dreamlike glow upon the library.
At the very heart of this magnificent space stood Kaiser, within a slightly sunken area encircled by wooden railings.
This central space had been designed as a leisure zone, complete with a large fountain, a pavilion, and even a soft grass lawn. A vine-woven hammock swayed gently, reminiscent of something straight out of a fairy tale.
Kaiser himself was submerged in the crystal-clear water of the fountain. Water continuously spouted from the center, cascading over him, yet still, he remained inexplicably dry—as if everything around him were merely an illusion.
"Where... am I?"
Mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the scene for what felt like an eternity, Kaiser finally snapped back to reality and voiced the question that had been lingering in his mind.
And then—
"Hum—"
The intent from before descended upon him once more.
Kaiser felt himself enveloped in an unseen force, his eyes shutting involuntarily.
Minutes passed.
When he opened them again, the confusion was gone.
In its place was understanding.
"The Fantasy Library... So this is where I've arrived?"
A realm forged from humanity's collective dreams of other worlds—its curiosity, longing, admiration, regrets, and wistfulness, all condensed into an existence beyond reality.
It did not belong to any one place, yet it connected reality and imagination.
Every book within these shelves was an entire world born from someone's imagination.
Every page was a fragment of a life envisioned by another.
The Fantasy Library gathered these lives and dreams, preserving them in written form, transforming ephemeral fantasies into tangible realities, crafting an infinite array of worlds and dimensions.
However, there was a problem.
"If fantasy is to become real, it requires someone to live through it."
"The lives created by others' imaginations are ultimately hollow. Without real people to experience them, they will remain mere fantasies—forever intangible, never truly existing."
"And so, from the moment the Fantasy Library took form, it was destined to require an Librarian—someone to step into these imagined lives and traverse these imagined worlds."
And thus, Kaiser had been chosen.
He was now the first Librarian of the Fantasy Library.
"…Does this count as me finding my true profession?"
Before coming here, Kaiser had simply been a bookstore clerk.
His life had been anything but ideal. His parents divorced when he was young, leaving his grandparents to raise him with great effort. When he finally entered university and gained independence, his grandparents passed away peacefully, having fulfilled their duty.
His parents had long since built new families of their own. No matter which side he went to, he never truly belonged—always the unwanted one, the outsider.
So he chose to support himself through part-time work, earning a degree that was neither outstanding nor useless, and became one of countless fresh graduates who stepped into the world, only to find themselves unemployed.
Eventually, he took a job at a bookstore. It was the first time in a long while that he felt a semblance of stability.
Kaiser remembered that just last night, he had been organizing the store's newly arrived books. By the time he finished, it was late, so he had simply curled up in the storeroom and fallen asleep.
Who would have thought that upon waking, he would find himself here, chosen as the Librarian of the Fantasy Library?
"Well… so be it."
Stepping out of the fountain, still as dry as before, Kaiser gazed up at the open sky, his eyes reflecting the starlight above.
"If reality is unsatisfactory, then I'll leave it behind."
"From today onward, I am the Librarian of the Fantasy Library."
"Traveling through countless fantasy worlds, living through real experiences… Sounds like it could be interesting."
Years of fending for himself had granted Kaiser a decent level of adaptability and acceptance.
And so, he quickly adjusted to his new reality, already contemplating his next steps.
"Hum—"
At that moment, the unseen force descended for the third time.
Now that he had absorbed a portion of the Library's knowledge, Kaiser understood—this force was, in fact, the will of the Fantasy Library itself.
The Fantasy Library possessed no consciousness, no emotions. It functioned purely as a system, descending only when its Librarian required guidance, imparting knowledge as needed.
It did not "speak" in the conventional sense, nor did it transmit words or images. Instead, its essence flowed into Kaiser, translating itself into a form his mind could comprehend.
And now, once more—
[You have become the Librarian of the Fantasy Library.]
[As the Librarian, you are entitled to a gift from the Library—a power that best aligns with your very being.]
[Upon completing a life experience, the Library will reward you based on the depth of that experience and the degree of reality within the world you traverse, in accordance with the power granted to you.]
[Initiating the gift…]
In an instant, the entire Fantasy Library began to change.
Soft luminescence radiated from the ground, countless books on the shelves glowing in various intensities. Even the vast celestial expanse above sparkled brilliantly, stars blazing with renewed splendor.
Bathed in this radiance, Kaiser felt something within him expand.
A moment later, that expansion burst forth from his body—manifesting as a single page that floated into the air.
"This is…?"
Kaiser stared at it, dumbfounded.
The page hovered before him, absorbing the luminous energy of the Library, then suddenly ignited.
As it burned away, intricate golden patterns formed in the air.
The gilded lines intertwined, connecting, converging—until they constructed a complex, enigmatic geometric symbol.
The symbol then shot toward Kaiser, merging into his very being.
And in that instant—
He instinctively knew.
He understood exactly what power he had just received.
---
Author's Note: Picking this up again, will try not to drop it But everything depends on your guys support!
We'll catch up to chapter 30 by tomorrow, so make sure you start giving powerstones!