Chapter 35: Chapter 35 — The Threshold
Chapter 35 — The Threshold
Victor stepped into the Library once again, greeted by the familiar sight of endless shelves stretching farther than his eyes could follow. The towering bookshelves disappeared into the distance beneath a ceiling that seemed impossibly high, while soft golden lights drifted through the air between the aisles. After spending so much time in the cavern outside, the Library almost felt like another world entirely. It was quiet here, untouched by monsters, hunger, or the constant fear that something might crawl out of the darkness and tear him apart.
Victor had grown accustomed to returning here.
Before he could take more than a few steps, Jack appeared between the shelves. The spirit wore the same pleasant smile as always, his hands resting casually behind his back as he approached.
"Ah, welcome back, Victor. How was your hunt today? Was it successful?"
Victor’s expression tightened slightly.
"No. No, it wasn’t successful. I thought I had it this time. I thought I’d finally figured out a way to catch it, but that thing is ridiculously fast."
Jack chuckled softly.
"I’m sorry to hear that."
Victor shook his head and glanced down one of the nearby aisles.
"There’s always next time."
Jack studied him for a moment before smiling again.
"Are you planning to continue your studies?"
"Yes. That’s what I need to do. But first, I want to look up something about the Fast Break Flower."
Jack nodded and followed Victor as they made their way toward the Knowledge Trial hall.
The familiar chamber opened before them, its walls lined from floor to ceiling with books. Thousands of volumes were arranged according to categories, with small engraved labels marking each section. Victor had spent countless hours in this room over the past two weeks, slowly working his way through the seemingly endless collection of knowledge. What had once felt overwhelming had gradually become familiar.
Victor walked toward a section marked Tier One Flowers.
His fingers moved along the spines until they stopped on a thin book. He pulled it from the shelf and carried it toward one of the study tables positioned beneath the soft light of a floating crystal.
Victor sat down and opened the book.
He flipped through several pages before finding what he was looking for.
Fast Break Flower.
Victor leaned closer.
The illustration on the page immediately caught his attention. The flower looked almost exactly like the one he had encountered in the forest. Its petals were narrow and slightly curved, resembling a strange tulip, while its stem was unusually thick and flexible. Two small extensions grew from the bottom of its stem, giving the plant the appearance of having tiny legs.
Victor stared at the illustration for a moment.
Then he looked at the description.
Fast Break Flower — Tier One Ingredient.
Primary Uses: Fast Break Pill, Blood Sprint Pill.
Characteristics: A rare mobile medicinal plant possessing exceptional movement properties.
Victor continued reading, scanning through the information about its growth conditions and medicinal properties. The flower naturally absorbed spiritual energy from its surroundings, storing that energy within its stem and petals. When refined properly, that energy could be extracted and used to temporarily enhance the movement capabilities of the person consuming the resulting pill.
Victor’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
So that’s why it moves like that.
He turned the page and studied the accompanying illustration again.
The flower’s ridiculous little legs looked almost comical.
Victor couldn’t help himself.
"Well, it’s missing a description."
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the picture.
"It also has the personality of a troll and is almost impossible to catch."
Jack glanced at the book.
"I don’t believe plants are capable of having personalities."
Victor looked at him.
"You haven’t met this one."
Jack’s smile widened slightly.
Victor shook his head and closed the book before pushing it aside.
He had learned what he needed for now.
The flower was valuable.
That was enough.
He turned toward the shelves again.
It was time to get back to work.
The next several hours passed in silence.
Victor moved from one book to another, reading carefully and committing as much information as he could to memory. His progress through the Knowledge Trial had slowed considerably as the material became more complicated, but he refused to stop. Some subjects required him to read several books before the information finally connected in his mind, while others forced him to reread entire sections because he couldn’t remember the details the first time.
Jack remained nearby but didn’t interfere.
Victor studied medicinal plants, minerals, and poisons. Every piece of knowledge seemed to add another fragment to a world that Victor still barely understood.
Time became meaningless inside the Library.
There was only the turning of pages and the quiet scratching of Victor’s fingers against the wooden table whenever he made notes in his mind.
Eventually, Victor reached the final page of another book.
He closed it.
The moment the cover touched the table, something strange happened.
A faint sensation spread through his mind.
It wasn’t pain.
It wasn’t energy.
It was something else.
A sudden clarity seemed to wash over him, as though an invisible barrier inside his mind had quietly broken apart.
Victor frowned.
What was that?
Before he could figure it out, footsteps approached from behind.
Jack stopped beside the table, wearing an unusually pleased expression.
"Congratulations, Victor."
Victor looked up.
Jack’s smile widened.
"Or should I say... young master?"
Victor blinked.
Understanding suddenly dawned on him.
"Ah!"
He stared at Jack.
"I did it?"
"You have officially reached seventy-five percent completion of the Knowledge Trial."
Victor’s face immediately brightened.
"Awesome."
Jack gave a small nod.
"I’m glad to see you finally reached it."
"Me too. That took a lot of time."
Victor leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
Seventy-five percent.
For the first time since entering the Library, the number felt significant.
He had finally reached the threshold he’d been working toward for weeks.
Jack walked toward the shelves and gestured toward another section of the chamber.
"Now that you’ve reached seventy-five percent, another area of the Library has been unlocked."
Victor immediately became interested.
"The Alchemy Room?"
Jack nodded.
"The Alchemy Room."
"You now have access to the foundations of alchemy, including basic formulas, ingredient refinement, Bloodline Flame theory, Soul Power control, and the principles behind pill creation."
Victor stood from his chair.
That was exactly what he had been waiting for.
But Jack wasn’t finished.
"You have also unlocked the second half of the Knowledge Trial."
Victor froze.
"...The second half?"
"The next section focuses primarily on magical beasts, their characteristics, their weaknesses, and the various materials that can be obtained from them for alchemical refinement."
Victor stared at him.
"More Knowledge Trial?"
Jack’s expression remained perfectly calm.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"You’re kidding me, right?"
"I would never kid you, Victor."
Jack paused.
"Especially not about something as important as Knowledge, young master."
Victor stared at him for another second before sighing.
Of course.
He should have known seventy-five percent wouldn’t be the end.
Still, he couldn’t complain.
The doors to the Alchemy Room were finally within reach.
Victor looked toward the far end of the Library.
"Well..."
He rolled his shoulders and smiled.
"Let’s get to it."
Jack turned and began walking.
Victor followed.
Together, they disappeared between the towering shelves as they approached a section of the Library Victor had never been allowed to enter before.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive set of ancient doors.
And behind them waited the knowledge of alchemy.
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