Chapter 38 – First Page
“So which book are you looking for?”
He was a young man who stood in line because he had a book he wanted to find like a warrior, but when Allen Bout asked, he didn’t say anything and stayed still.
Lina found it a little funny that she was so embarrassed by a girl who seemingly looked like her sister or daughter, but she didn’t get it.
In the world of wizards, the words of those at a higher level are absolute, and besides, if you are a descendant of Allenbaut, the owner of this library, there is a huge difference in status outside of the circle.
Because such a person is fine, there was no way he could easily say it even if he was asked to speak.
“You speak later, then I speak first.”
Lina, who was hiding behind the hero, said so and she stepped forward.
“Elf…”
Ellen Bout’s eyebrows narrowed slightly the moment she saw Lina, as if she had heard what Lina had said to her earlier.
However, whether Allenbout said it or not, Lina did not care at all and spoke confidently.
“I’m looking for information on the Beast King Behemoth.”
“Behemoth? Ah… You mean the legendary beast that handles lightning?”
When the information to be found was confirmed, Allenbout immediately activated the search magic.
The search magic was not general, but was improved for the great library, but Suman needed special magic as it was a great library with a ridiculous amount of books.
“I found it.”
“Okay? Where should I go?”
“There are a total of 1,293 books containing information related to the Beast King Behemoth.”
“… 1,293 volumes?”
The nonsense that came out of Allen Baut’s mouth, Lina of Zhang Xiliang, could not possibly be a joke, and she looked blankly at Allen Baut.
However, that did not change the words Allenbout once uttered.
1,293 volumes.
She has a tremendous speed-reading ability for Rina, so even if she reads one book in a day, it would take her over three years.
How long would it take to find useful information out of that amount?
“Tsk… What about this… ?”
As Lina put on a worried expression while muttering, Allenbaut said.
“For your information, 1,293 books is the story when all the books containing even a little bit of information about the Behemoth are added together.”
“What?! No, you should have said that first!!”
“It can’t be helped. That’s because I’m a kid with no sense of responsibility about my job.”
“D-I’ve been listening…”
When Lina made an expression that she had eaten a shot, a satisfied Allenbaut continued.
“There are 82 books that only record information about the Behemoth.”
“82 books? There are still many…”
It wasn’t as much as the 1,293 books I mentioned earlier, but 82 books were enough to make me a feminist if it was a woman’s weight.
“There are many, but are they better than Volume 1.293… ?”
Rina said that, and when she really tried to read as many as 82 volumes, Allen Boutt said with a slightly proud expression.
“You don’t have to read them all.”
“I don’t need to read… What are you talking about?”
“It is literally. You don’t have to read them all, just read them in order of highest user rating.”
“Grade… ?”
Hearing the words for the first time in their lives, the hero and Lina looked at Allenbaut without saying a word.
“What’s your rating?”
“It’s an abbreviation for evaluation score. This system was introduced about 50 years ago. It is literally a system in which the reader scores the book.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the largest in the world, but the vast collection of books was the biggest advantage, but the advantage sometimes became a disadvantage.
As the saying goes, there are too many books, so on the contrary, it was difficult to know which books were the easiest to understand and had good information.
So, what was introduced was a rating system rated by readers.
Usually, a system that can be evaluated by anyone just by reading will have poor quality of evaluation, but where is this?
It was a great library where everyone gathered only wizards who had studied to some extent.
That’s why the quality of the evaluation didn’t drop, and some books could only be read by wizards of the High Circle, so the quality of the evaluation was higher for those books.
“I’ll bring you only 10 books in order of highest rating, so would you like to read them?”
“Huh! Hey… But I heard that it is a city of wizards, and the real library is of a different level!”
“It’s not because it’s a city of wizards, it’s because it’s this great library built by our ancestors.”
Having said that, Allen Bout tried to hide his elated heart as much as possible, but no matter how hard he tried to hide it, it was all exposed on his face.
Lina pretended not to know that feeling and asked Allenbaut.
“So where are those books?”
“Wait a minute. Crystal bowl…”
As Allenbaut cast his spell, a large blue crystal bowl made of crystal appeared right in front of Allenbaut.
“Summons. A survey report on the ecology of the Beast King Behemoth. 10 books in order of highest rating.”
Then, as the spell was cast, the books were summoned one by one and began to pile up on top of the crystal bowl.
“Wow… If you can use summoning magic, can you summon any book like that? Hero, you know how to use summoning magic, right?”
“I know how to use it, but I won’t use it because I can’t use magic here.”
“It is as you say. It is forbidden for non-librarians or administrators to use magic in the library.”
The hero and Lina seemed to know why Allenbout bothered to get a job as a librarian at this library.
There is no better environment for readers and scholars to receive the new knowledge they want with just a word.
“Are you going to read this? This tray disappears in exactly 1 minute and 12 seconds, so you better get it quickly.”
“1 min?!”
After hearing the words 1 minute, Lina grabbed the tray and ran to find her place to sit.
“Then next…”
After Lina left, Allenbaut’s eyes turned to the young man next to the hero.
“You…”
When Allenbout pointed at the young man, the young man revealed his name like a soldier dealing with his superiors.
“Ah yes! My name is Guz, the 4th circle wizard!”
“I’m not interested in things like your name, so tell me what book you are looking for.”
“Yes… What is the basic theory of intermediate elemental magic…”
“Here. Basic Theory of Intermediate Elemental Magic.”
The book Guz was looking for was the most sought-after book by wizards who had just entered the 4th Circle, and it was no different from a textbook for the 4th Circle wizards.
Although Allenbaut did not work as a librarian, he did not even need a summoning spell because the book was much sought after by wizards.
“Yep! Thank you!”
Guz, who politely received the book with both hands, immediately ran faster than Lina, who had a time limit.
“Don’t run in the library.”
But even then, when Allen Bautt scolded him, Goose stopped right away, and his arms and legs went out together in a funny way, and he slipped through the bookshelf.
“Now only you are left.”
“That’s it.”
Allenbout looked at the last remaining hero and slowly opened his mouth.
“So what book are you looking for?”
“Hmm…”
He was a warrior who came to the library to learn new magic, but he couldn’t answer the question easily.
If he were like other wizards, he would have answered right away what magic he mainly uses or what magic he lacks, but the hero’s main focus is swordsmanship.
For the hero, magic was just one of the tools that could be used like a throwing dagger.
He didn’t carry a magic book or staff to assist with magic, and he didn’t really need magic because he entrusted it to Yuria when he needed a lot of firepower.
Therefore, when a hero uses magic, it is usually only when strengthening himself or when attacking an enemy that is out of range of the sword, but even that is only what other colleagues can do these days.
‘I didn’t know there would be a problem because the division of roles was so good…’
The warrior was quite satisfied with the situation now that they depended on each other, but that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t just rely on his comrades forever.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Have I been immersed in thought for too long? Allenbaut said to the warrior who was about to open his mouth.
“If you don’t know what to learn, you can just learn the type of magic you use often.”
“That is also true. Then, first of all, body-enhancing magic, then medium and short-range magic…”
“Huh? Body strengthening? And short-distance? You use it mostly?”
“Yes. Is something strange?”
It was not uncommon for mages to use body strengthening magic to compensate for their lack of physical strength.
However, it was only an aid, not a main use.
In the first place, the wizard’s basic strategy was to unilaterally attack the enemy with powerful firepower from a long distance like an archer.
Of course, it’s best to fight like that if possible, but battles with many variables don’t always go the way you want.
There are many cases where the enemy’s skill is too high to develop close combat.
In preparation for such a case, it is basic to sign a contract with a summoned beast who is good at close range or to be with a colleague who is good at close combat.
However, when there are no companions or summons, there is no choice but to use one’s own body, so it is not strange to use physical strengthening magic.
Allen Bout wouldn’t have been particularly surprised if it hadn’t been for the rumor that he was using short-range magic.
However, if you use short-range magic rather than long-range magic, doesn’t that mean you specialize in close combat?
“Is there anyone in the party who is good at close combat?”
“No. There are two of them, including me and a friend who is a knight.”
“… Two people?”
Seeing the hero casually putting himself into it, Allenbaut recognized that the hero was not just a wizard.
“You’re not a wizard, you’re a magician. And I think swords are probably better than magic.”
“Oh… How did you know?”
To be honest, saying that the sword is better than magic was half taken, but Allenbaut boasted that he knew it from the beginning.
However, to say that he was really good at swords rather than magic, Allen Bout was increasingly unable to identify himself as a hero.
“This is basic. Then, since you will be in the 5th circle soon, I will recommend you accordingly.”
You should already know the basic magic that strengthens the body by sending mana all over the body, so you will need to teach them about higher-level magic.
“Since close combat seems to be his main specialty, magic that temporarily greatly increases physical ability or magic that increases the strength and resistance of the body… And again…”
In addition, magic that widens the angle of view or magic that amplifies the senses, including hearing, to prevent unexpected surprise attacks.
And although it was a little different from what the hero was looking for, as the books containing various magics, such as magic to weaken enemies, went up one by one, the number far exceeded 10.
“There is also magic that enlarges the body, but… It’s still too early for you to learn, so I’ve left it at this.”
“Okay…”
Allenbout said that it was only this much, but the number of books held in the hero’s hand exceeded his head, and if the person holding it was not a hero, he would fall down immediately.
“Thank you for finding the book. Then I will go study alone.”
“So…”
Allenbout left those words and went back to his seat where no one was waiting except for the book he was rereading.
Then he picked up the book again and, as always, sat at the desk where no one came and read the book he was reading.
“…”
However, the pages that had been flipped non-stop until just now had passed, and now, after almost 20 minutes, only three pages have yet to be turned.
Normally, I would have gone through dozens of pages, but for some reason, now the pages didn’t turn over at all.
“Ha…”
Allen Bout sighed and put the book he was holding back on the desk.
Then, the hero, who had been hidden by the book earlier, frowned and concentrated on the book Allenbout had handed to him earlier.
‘… It looks like it’s still on the first page.’
There’s no way I read only one page in 20 minutes, and I’m sure I’ve already read more than one book in 20 minutes.
Even Allen Bout, who is confident in his own speed reading, could not have dreamed of it, but he was a genius who reached the 4th circle in only 4 months.
“Excuse me…”
“Yes?! Oh, uh, what’s going on…”
When Allen Bout, who got a job as a librarian and had never talked to him before, spoke to him, the librarian next to him put on a nervous expression.
“That man. Does he know how many books he has read?”
“Huh? Are you talking about him? I’ve been looking at it from time to time since I sat down, and other books read only the first page and open another book.”
“… What?”
Hearing those words, Allenbout, unable to understand why the hero was acting like that, spurred his seat and stood up.
And, as the librarian said earlier, I told the hero who was about to close the book he was reading and open another one.
“You… What are you doing?”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
The hero sat down before opening the book, and he looked at Allen Bout, who was at eye level with him.
Allen Bout’s eyes showed a little bit of anger, but when he found the book at best, he wasn’t joking and he was a little angry because he wanted to know what he was doing.
“To read only the first page and open another book. What the hell are you doing…”
“Ah, that…”
To such Allen Bout, the hero scratched his head as if embarrassed and said with his face blushing.
“I can’t read it because it’s a foreign language.”
