The Legendary Library

Even without their mastermind Sword Princess, the two sorcerers quickly figured out how to use this library. After all, the very first bookcase in front of them held only a single book, and it glowed with a brilliant green light, as if crying out, "Look at me! Look at me!" *Guide to the Legendary Library* "Congratulations to every sorcerer who sets foot in this library! Your luck is unparalleled, your tale sung by tens of thousands! You are the light, you are the spark, you are the myth of tomorrow!" "This library was constructed by the 'Dramatic Poet' ....... Please remember this name, for ... is the narrator of fate, wielder of the authority of contradiction, director of countless joys and sorrows, witness to the world's partings and reunions." "Of the hundreds of millions of sorcerers in the Void Realm, none can match even half of ...!" "Yet ... is a generous sorcerer, who purposefully constructed the Legendary Library for future generations, showering glory upon every lucky soul!" "Readers in this library must abide by the following rules: 1. Aside from this guide, each person may read only one book. Scarcity breeds value, after all. 2. You may not turn back the way you came. Life offers no do-overs, after all. 3. This library consists of four floors. The quality of books on each floor surpasses that of the floor below. Rising to greater heights, after all. 4. Books may deceive you. Blind trust is worse than no trust, after all. 5. As the price for obtaining knowledge, every sorcerer must leave behind a memory of their own. You may choose which memory to leave. Equivalent exchange, after all." "While reading any book, you have a chance to obtain any reward from it, including but not limited to sorcery spirits, miracles, treasures, special abilities, and more that appear within its pages. For instance, if a god appears in the book you read, it isn't impossible for you to obtain a god!" "Although there are no requirements for the memories left behind, this library spans tens of thousands of flowing gold years. Even if you leave behind your most precious memory, it may take tens of thousands of years before any future sorcerer is fortunate enough to uncover your dusty secret. Therefore, please leave behind your most splendid memory—after all, if everyone were selfish, you too would most likely end up reading only dull memories." "Method to leave a memory: Simply press any empty space on a bookshelf." "Method to leave: Once you have finished reading a book and left behind a memory, you will automatically be teleported to the entrance." The Legendary Library! Never heard of it. Still, this guide clearly detailed how to use the library. Simply put, pick a book to read, and upon finishing it, there was a chance to obtain anything that appeared in it. Afterward, leave behind one of your own memories, and the transaction with the Legendary Library would be complete. "Why has the creator's name turned into dots? Could his name really be '......'?" Diya asked in surprise. "Either the creator felt leaving his name in the guide was unseemly and wiped it away himself, or he didn't wipe it, but someone else did him the courtesy—the Dramatic Poet's true name was completely eradicated, causing his name to disappear from the guide as well." "The power to erase a name..." Diya murmured. "Did he offend some god?" "Probably offended all of them." Yaxiu looked at the line, *'Of the hundreds of millions of sorcerers in the Void Realm, none can match even half of ...'*, feeling that while one couldn't quite say the Dramatic Poet deserved to die, he had certainly asked for it. With that level of arrogance, if I were a god, I'd find an excuse to pick a fight with you just for not wearing a hat. Still, the creator's misfortune was hardly a concern for the two younger sorcerers. They turned their gazes back to the bookshelves and exchanged a glance. "Together?" "Let's go!" Entering exploration mode, both Yaxiu and Diya grew enthusiastic. An unprecedented, hazard-free Void Realm structure like this held an attraction for sorcerers that was like fresh dung to flies—utterly irresistible. Making their way through the labyrinth, they soon grasped what the guide meant by *'Books may deceive you.'* Every single book on the shelves radiated an aura that seemed profoundly impressive: one scroll glowed with runic luminescence; a piece of parchment exuded the scent of ancient history; even a tiny USB flash drive that looked like a portable data drive flickered with circuit-board tracery. The presentation was nailed to perfection. As for the bound books, they were even more striking. One looked like the personal journal of a death lord, another like the spellbook of a master of space-time, and there was even one sporting a photoshoot of a gorgeous woman on its cover—*daring to tempt me without even wearing black stockings? Such disrespect!* However, because the guide had stated that the quality of the books improved with each floor, they weren't seduced by the books on the first floor. They swiftly navigated the first-floor labyrinth and arrived at the second floor. The variety of books on the second floor was even broader: crystal balls, hanging scrolls, cards, skin-bound tomes... Practically anything capable of recording information had been collected by the Legendary Library as a book. Now Yaxiu and Diya found advancing even tougher—not only had the allure of the books magnified, but their auras had begun faintly warping reality! For example, a book that appeared to be bound in Veela skin (discernible from its hair) gave off a pink, seductive fragrance. Merely catching a faint whiff of that sultry scent from afar caused strange thoughts to pop into their heads; neither of them dared walk straight past it. On the other side, a crystal skull shone with a faint green light, a stench of decay rushing toward them. Walking straight past that would probably be no different from taking a bath in the Flowing Gold River, giving them an early taste of elderly retirement life. And because there was no turning back in the library, they had to carefully scout a safe path to the third floor. Yet as they walked, Diya noticed that Yaxiu had stopped. "What's wrong?" "I found the book I want to read," Yaxiu said. "You go on to the third floor." "But this is only the second floor!" Diya said, puzzled. "The best books are on the fourth floor!" "Still, this is the one I want to read." Yaxiu reached out and pulled a book from the shelf beside him, demonstrating his resolve through action. Diya wanted to persuade him further, but seeing this, she had no choice but to give up and step onto the staircase to the third floor alone. Yaxiu leaned against the bookshelf and opened the book in his hands. He hadn't picked any of those grand works that looked ablaze with heavenly thunder and earthly fire, dripping with death and destruction, as if recounting the rise and fall of worlds. Instead, he had chosen an utterly plain book for a very simple reason: he heard the sound of iron striking iron coming from inside. It sounded as warmly familiar as the racket his father unfailingly made every Saturday morning at 7:30 sharp. Yaxiu wasn't a sentimental person—at least, he didn't consider himself one. Nearly a month had passed since he transmigrated to this world, but to him, the past felt as distant as a previous life—though in truth, it really had been a previous life. He had always forbidden himself from dwelling on what his transmigration meant to his family. That was a quagmire with no escape; trying to step into it would inevitably choke his nostrils with sorrow, drowning him in an abyss of futile anguish. Yet upon hearing the clatter of struck steel, a flicker of warmth and yearning rose within Yaxiu despite himself. For that alone, it was worth reading this book to honor the homesickness stirring in this foreign land. More importantly, Yaxiu didn't really care which book he read. According to the guide, whatever reward a sorcerer received after reading was entirely random. With good luck, one might receive a rare sorcery spirit; with bad luck, one might end up with a pair of nail clippers that appeared in the text. And if the author happened to be fond of bathroom humor, there was no telling what might turn up. And Yaxiu had never been optimistic about his luck.