Chapter 55: The Ultimate Fan (3)

Chapter 55: The Ultimate Fan (3)

Latecomers were at a disadvantage in any field. Many fields were bloody oceans which were dominated by very experienced frontrunners, but the latecomers had to jump into the fray and prove their value. It was difficult—making their way in a place like that was like charging an entrenched enemy. The Tower wasn’t any different.

“...Welcome, warriors who climb up the Tower!”

When the white light subsided and I opened my eyes again, it wasn’t the voice of the goddess that welcomed us, it was the voice of a child of unclear gender. The child was up in the air, looking down at us abruptly summoned Hunters.

“I’ve been anxiously waiting for you. Every day was like three years to me!”

His clothes were airy and superficially resembled a traditional eastern outfit—however, they were completely different up close. Aside from his long sleeves, nothing about his clothes was traditional. Actually, his sleeves were far from ordinary too. They were five meters long.

“But that’s okay. A life is a journey that starts and ends an encounter. In the end, the meaning of life is in reflecting on who you met. Waiting is a spice that adds deep flavor to life!”

It was said that the finishing touch of fashion was the looks of the person who wore them. Even if clothes were very special, their appeal depended on who wore them. On that note, the child with five-meter-long sleeves was certainly special.

“Once again, let me offer you my sincerest welcome to the Great Library of All Life!”

[Constellation Indoor Librarian welcomes you!]

The Constellation, the manager and representative of the twenty-first to the thirtieth floors, spread his arms wide and smiled. Unfortunately, no one cared for his greetings. The Hunters were yet to understand the situation, so they were busy looking around at their surroundings.

“Uhhh... Uhhh...”

“What? Why was I suddenly teleported?”

“Where am I?”

Several hundred people were here, all talking in panic. Most of them were people who had been chanting the countdown together in the plaza. However, there were also those who had been spending time elsewhere.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Don’t l-look at us!”

Embarrassed screams erupted from all across the library. Some Hunters had been teleported in the middle of their showers. Several people who appeared to be lovers were naked. Those who were looking around with half-opened eyes seemed to have been teleported in the middle of their sleep.

Many Hunters’ privacy was jarringly interrupted and they were thrown out into the open, leaving them alarmed and confused.

“Oops. I believe I was a little inconsiderate.” The Indoor Librarian grinned and flicked his fingers.

Big book covers flew in from somewhere. They had holes for heads, arms, and legs, and went to the naked Hunters and used themselves to dress them.

“Ah...”

“T-thank god.”

The Hunters heaved a sigh of relief. The situation was a little awkward for me too, so I was equally relieved.

“What the h-heck is this...?”

The Hunters wearing the covers made long faces because they looked like they were in Gundam suits made out of cardboard. They were the minority opinion, however. After a mess of embarrassment, the Hunters finally regained their composure and their gazes gradually made their way to the Constellation.

“...Who are you?” the Black Witch asked on the Hunters’ behalf. “And what is this place...”

“Ah, I’m just a nobody who manages a somewhat large library, Black Witch. Compared to you, I’m a lot closer to an extra, so I would prefer that you pretend I’m not here.”

The Black Witch furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. She didn’t know who the kid was, but he knew her. That didn’t feel right with her. It was only natural—I was somewhat used to these Constellations after making the Demon King of Autumn Rain and Goddess of Protection my subordinates, but the Constellations were still mysteries to other Hunters.

“...A somewhat large library,” I remarked. “Well, it doesn’t look somewhat large.”

The twenty-first stage was one giant library. In fact, giant might be an understatement. We were surrounded by bookcases. I could see more bookcases far into the distance and the floor and ceiling also seemed to be made from bookcases. This place was like a world of endless bookcases.

The master of this world looked at me, his eyes sparkling like those of an innocent child. “I see. You’re the Death King.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Ah, you don’t have to be so guarded. I’m truly harmless, everyone. I sincerely want to welcome you. To me, all of you are like the heroes from the epics.”

I knew what he meant because I had regressed over four thousand days. This place was no ordinary library. But I pretended I knew nothing and asked, “Heroes from epics?”

“It’s like this.” The Indoor Librarian flicked his fingers.

Two hardcover books were pulled from the bookcases. They circled around the Indoor Librarian. On the covers were written Chronicle of the Aegim Empire and The Story of the City of Ascension respectively.

The clouds of dust created by the rain of meteors hit us. The Hunters screamed. In the impenetrable darkness that followed, the only thing we heard was the Indoor Librarian’s voice.

“This isn’t the only book. There are a lot of them.”

I heard the sound of a book being closed. At the same time, the clouds of dust, the destroyed city, the cracked land, and the torn sky vanished. New worlds unfolded below us.

“The apocalyptic book just now was discontinued because of stones... but now it’s water!”

A tsunami that could drown the sky devoured the city. In truth, that was too massive to call it a wave; however, it was too destructive to be even a tsunami. It was more than a disaster. As the tsunami was right in front of them, the Hunters burst into screams again.

The Indoor Librarian sighed plaintively. “Ahhh. How tragic is that?”

All humans in one world died from a plague. Due to losing every drop of water, sand covered an entire world. Volcanoes erupted in another, and their smoke clouds blocked the sky. There was even a world where a zombie virus was rampant.

“All of them are humans like you. They were alive and were writing a story of their own. However, everything ended before they could pen their majestic ending. No, it was before they even met a proper ending. It all happened because of a very unfair reason.” The Indoor Librarian closed the book. “I call that discontinued serialization...”

Hundreds of books still circled him.

“But you would call that doom.”

We were now back in the giant library.

“Bl-blargh...”

“Blarghhhhhh!”

All across the library, Hunters began vomiting. They had just witnessed the fall of dozens of worlds. Although they weren’t injured physically, many Hunters were mentally driven to the breaking point.

The Indoor Librarian watched us.

“The quest I’m going to give you is simple: pick eight discontinued apocalyptic books.”

Pick eight doomed worlds.

“I want to finish reading the discontinued apocalyptic books!”

Help him continue reading the stories of the doomed worlds.

“Go into the eight apocalyptic books.”

Enter the eight worlds.

“Save the books from getting discontinued!”

Save them from their doom.

“This is the quest I give all of you.”

Those were the quests of the twenty-second to the twenty-ninth floors. As they continued to vomit, the Hunters heard the voice.

[Initiating the twenty-second floor’s quest.][1]

A window of letters showed up in front of them.

Remake the World (Book 1)

Difficulty level: Undecided

Goal: There are many worlds and many dooms. Constellation: Indoor Librarian calls this phenomenon the discontinued serialization. The worlds met discontinued serialization for an unfair reason, so the Indoor Librarian wants the stories to continue.

Pick one of the apocalyptic books in which serialization stopped! If you successfully save the world, it will be registered as the twenty-second floor.

※However, the twenty-second floor will not open if you fail the quest.

That Constellation was a bookworm and fanboy of all worlds.

“So...” I slowly opened my mouth. “...you don’t like the ending and you would like us to rewrite the books?”

“That’s right!” The Indoor Librarian smiled sheepishly. “I do so hope you’ll satiate my reading tastes!”

Our mission was to rewrite the endings of the worlds for this bookworm.

1. It seems the twenty-first floor is a lobby for the twenty-second to the thirtieth floor. ☜