***
"Whoa!"
Rouya couldn't help but exclaim as she gazed at the vast, neatly arranged collection of books lining in the shelves. She never imagined a small village would hold such an extensive library.
"Most of us here love to travel. These books were gathered along our journeys—they're like records of all the places we've visited," Siere explained.
Rouya recalled then that Siere's parents and siblings were on travel, and likely many other villagers were too.
"Why do you enjoy traveling so much? Are you searching for a new place to settle down?" she asked.
"Not at all. It's simply our village tradition and custom to travel now and then; there's no deeper reason. It broadens our horizon to journey from one place to another, but honestly, nowhere compares to the peace and quiet of End Village."
Rouya thought to herself: Of course. Home is always unique. Everywhere else just feels secondary, and people often find small faults in other places just to make their own home seem all the better.
"Over here, this shelf holds records of landmasses and geographical features across the continent," Siere explained. "They were written by previous generations, so some information might be outdated. Be sure to check the publication dates."
"Thank you."
"No problem. Just call out if you need anything—I'll be right behind the counter."
"That actually reminds me—what are you doing here at the library?"
"I'm writing a book about my journey outside."
"Huh?"
"I only got back from my journey the day before yesterday."
"I see. Go ahead and get to work then."
With that, Siere headed behind the counter to start writing his travelogue, while Rouya turned her attention back to searching for the books she needed.
The first thing that caught her attention was the book written by Serrum, the Chief of the village. Rouya looked at the date but have no idea of the game world timeframe. At the thought that the Chief was still around, this should be one of the latest book.
Without giving much thoughts, she opened the book. The book title was The Continent of Gardenia and written inside is a brief history of the continent.
The Continent of Gardenia is divided into five distinct regions. The most prosperous of all is the Northern Plain Hemisphere, home to powerful kingdoms, renowned academies, sacred temples, and countless other organizations. It boasts the largest habitable land area compared to the other regions and is also known as the New World.
Its counterpart is the Western Treasure Land, often called the Old World. This was once the heart of a flourishing ancient civilization. While it holds vast riches left behind by the ancients, most of their cities and ruins are now buried deep beneath the sand. Today, the region is dominated by sprawling deserts and filled with perils at every turn.
Then there is the Eastern Wilderness Expanse, a territory where powerful beasts and monsters roam freely, making it nearly impossible for humans to settle permanently. Instead, it serves as a dangerous training ground; any cities found there are merely temporary shelters for adventurers and warriors seeking to hone their skills.
At the center lies the Chaotic Central Region, the most lawless place on the continent. It matches the prosperity of the Northern Plain Hemisphere, yet it is also a haven for criminal and underworld organizations. Its level of danger rivals that of the Western Treasure Land, and it is considered the second-best training ground, surpassed only by the Eastern Wilderness Expanse.
Finally, the Southern Barren Land sits at the very edge of the continent and is the most desolate of the five regions. True to its name, it holds neither valuable treasures nor powerful beasts. What it does have in abundance are villages and towns—it is essentially a vast countryside where agriculture is the main livelihood, making it the poorest region overall.
Rouya's attention was caught by the mention of one of the largest rainforests located here: the Never-Ending Forest, also known as the Silent Meadow Rainforest by the villagers. Situated at the absolute boundary of the continent, legend says it was once used as a massive burial ground. It's giving the place an eerie and mysterious atmosphere that linger on the air and never seems to fade.
They were now in the Southern Barren Land—poorest of the five regions. Rouya couldn't help but think she had terrible luck; even her respawn point turned out to be this desolate place.
She let out a long sigh as she scanned the books lining the shelves. She knew she had to go through all the necessary information, but there were simply too many. Could she really memorize everything in time? Even with her high IQ, she wasn't capable of reading at top speed and retaining every detail after just one pass.
"Blues, can you record everything written in these books?" Rouya asked. Her companion seemed distracted, flipping through volumes on geography as if lost in thought.
"I can," Blues replied slowly. "Master, with my appraisal scanner, I can memorize every single book here. Once I've gathered all this information, I can be your very own personal encyclopaedia." She spoke earnestly, her voice laced with a hint of excitement.
"Okay, so while I'm busy improving my level, you stay here and go through all these books," Rouya said, looking pretty pleased with the plan.
"Got it," Blues answered, then muttered under her breath, "If I study all this stuff, maybe I won't feel so useless down the line—even if I'm still lacking in pointing out the direction."
Oh... it seems like having no sense of direction really hits Blues's sore spot despite not showing it outright. Even Rouya have a strange expression as she look at Blues. Blues after all is a product of the game system. She's supposedly a perfect pixie guide.
***