Chapter 99 - - 99: The Book of Hidden Knowledge

Chapter 99: Chapter - 99: The Book of Hidden Knowledge

The other two have already begun moving as well.

Neither Kajol nor Hina is going to stand around and let me reach the item without trying to stop me.

Kajol began using Sky Steps too. Her position gave her an initial advantage because she had spawned considerably higher than me, even though her movement speed is noticeably lower.

Hina is even closer to the highest platform but unfortunately for her, her movement speed is not particularly impressive, even with Light Reinforcement strengthening her body. She jumped from one platform to another, trying to maintain her momentum.

I increased my speed when I noticed something else. A red bird is rapidly approaching from the side.

It was Kajol’s Flamespirit Eagle. The massive red bird had apparently already noticed me or maybe Kajol gave it the order to interrupt me.

Aeris noticed it too as she immediately let out a furious cry and changed direction to face the eagle. Cyan light began shining around her wings.

Aeris immediately began maneuvering around the larger bird, using her superior agility to avoid taking a direct hit. The Flamespirit Eagle, however, is clearly stronger in terms of raw power.

"Aeris, be careful." I warned her while continuing toward the highest platform. Unfortunately I do not have the time to help her.

Kajol is already approaching from another direction, and Hina is closing the remaining distance as well. If I stopped now, one of them might reach the item before me.

I increased my speed again by using the fifth of the eight levels of Sky Steps. The amount of wind mana required increased immediately, but the acceleration is worth it. The floating platforms blurred around me as I moved past them one after another.

I could hear Kajol shouting from somewhere the side "Why are you two so adamant now?! Just go and flirt around with your lovers!" Her frustration was obvious.

So obvious, in fact, that the composed attitude she normally maintained has completely disappeared.

Hina responded while continuing to jump across the platforms "It is not about being adamant!" She landed on another platform and immediately jumped again "Your explanation was too vague to trust."

I heard the exchange but did not bother responding.

There is no point. I can’t trust Kajol’s explanation, and she does not trust my intentions either. The situation has reached the point where words were no longer useful. The only thing that matters is getting the item first.

*If I get this loot, I will not have to rely on uncertainties anymore.*

I continued climbing.

The highest platform is becoming clearer. The faint object I had noticed earlier is now large enough to distinguish properly.

It is a book but it is far from an ordinary book. It has the appearance of a classic grimoire, the kind of ancient magical book that looked as though it has been created specifically to preserve knowledge rather than simply tell a story.

The cover is thick and dark brown, almost black in the dim light, with a slightly worn texture that suggested a tremendous age despite the absence of any visible damage. The corners were reinforced with dull metallic plates, while narrow strips of dark metal ran along the edges of the cover.

A strange circular emblem is engraved in the center with several smaller magical symbols surrounding it, forming multiple rings that seemed to have been carved directly into the leather.

The spine is thick and reinforced, with faint silver lines running vertically across it. The pages visible along the edges were not the bright white of ordinary paper. They were an aged ivory color, with faint golden markings occasionally visible between them. A thin metallic clasp rested against the front cover, although it was not actually locked.

The entire book gave off an old, almost scholarly presence. It does not radiate overwhelming magical power like a legendary weapon.

Instead, its presence is strangely restrained, almost concealed. As though the book itself is deliberately hiding what is contained within it.

I know exactly what it is. The most valuable hidden loot in the game. The item that could fundamentally change how I understand magic in this world.

The ’Book of Hidden Knowledge’.

Suddenly I felt a sudden heat coming from my left, the direction from which Kajol was approaching, and even without turning my head toward her, I could tell from the concentration of mana around her that she was preparing a powerful spell.

The next moment confirmed my prediction, as I caught a glimpse of intense fire energy converging toward Kajol’s magic staff before shooting upward from its tip, where it immediately began combining with the wind element naturally present throughout the chamber.

*Her Magic Core ability.*

Of course, since we have been in the same class for more than a year, I already know what spell she is preparing, and knowing that gives me enough information to prepare my own counter before her attack is even completed.

Wind and water mana from the surrounding chamber rapidly converged toward me, responding to my control as I activated my Magic Core skill and began forming a storm around my body, with rotating currents of wind and moisture rapidly gathering into a dense defensive structure.

Kajol’s magic, after rising into the air and combining with the surrounding wind element, began taking shape.

A giant red moth made entirely of fire appeared above her, its enormous wings spreading across the air as flames continuously flowed across its body.

Then the burning creature suddenly folded its wings together. The next instant—

**BOOM!**

The entire shape of the fiery moth is destroyed from within, transforming into numerous fireballs that immediately began falling toward me.

Each meteor was roughly the size of a human head, and their surfaces burned with intense red-orange flames as they accelerated through the air.

*Firemoth Meteor.*

I recognized the skill immediately.

At the same time, the storm surrounding my body finally completed its formation, expanding outward until it became a dome-shaped barrier composed of rapidly rotating currents of wind and water.

*Storm Curtain.*

I am completely confident in my defense, so I did not slow down to dodge the incoming fire meteors. In fact, I barely even looked at them.

There was no reason to.

Fire is inherently weak against water, and more importantly, I am confident that both my mana reserves and the strength of my magic exceeded Kajol’s.

The result proved my assumption correct.

The first fire meteor struck the surface of the Storm Curtain.

Instead of penetrating the dome, the meteor produced nothing more than a moderate impact before the rapidly rotating currents deflected it sideways, causing its flames to disperse as it is pushed away.

The remaining fire meteors did not even get the opportunity to reach me as I accelerated toward the highest platform.

Hina was already moving in the same direction, but her speed was nowhere near mine, allowing me to rapidly close the distance between us.

I passed her without slowing down and she clearly noticed that she is losing the race and immediately raised her magic staff.

Numerous golden arrows made entirely from light appeared around her before shooting toward me.

"Rain of Arrows!"

I did not bother changing my direction.

The arrows collided with the outer layer of my Storm Curtain and suffered the same fate as Kajol’s fire meteors, being deflected away by the rapidly rotating currents before they could reach my body.

I continued moving towards the highest platform and it did not take me more than a few seconds to reach the platform.

The moment my feet touched its surface, I immediately dispelled the Storm Curtain. I do not want to risk the rotating currents of the spell accidentally damaging the item.

I barely had time to take another step before I sensed another attack approaching. Kajol has not given up.

An intense concentration of fire mana gathered around her staff, and the next moment an arm-thick beam of fire is released directly toward me.

I did not stop moving. Instead, I immediately cast a defensive spell.

"Ozone Barrier." The two layered barriers appeared beside me.

The outer layer consisted of concentrated O?, while the inner layer is formed from dense hydrogen, creating the two-layered structure I had prepared specifically for dealing with powerful fire and light based attacks.

Kajol’s beam struck the barrier, the impact produced a burst of flames across its surface, but the attack failed to penetrate the two layers.

And that was all the time I needed to safely reach the book.

The faint light surrounding the Grimoire reacted the moment I extended my hand toward it. My fingers touched the light and the book immediately opened by itself.

I froze for a brief moment as several large letters appeared above the opened pages, glowing with pure white light following along with an emotionless voice that echoed through the chamber.

"Do you want to acquire the hidden knowledge?"

There was no reason to back away now so I answered without any hesitation "Yes."

The moment I gave my answer, the Grimoire suddenly transformed into a mass of brilliant white light. The light left its original position and immediately moved toward me.

Before I could react, it surrounded my entire body and I felt my surroundings disappear and mty vision changed again.

I felt as though I am entering another world, yet at the same time, I remained completely aware that I am still standing in the dungeon.

The sensation was difficult to describe.

There was no physical movement, yet my perception is being transported somewhere else.

The space around me no longer resembled the stone chamber. Instead, my vision was filled with strange shapes, lines, symbols, and layers of information that appeared and disappeared across my field of view.

It looked strangely similar to the loading screens of virtual reality games from my previous world. That resemblance was almost impossible to ignore.

Then the same emotionless voice appeared again "Scanning the body and checking the compatibility."

The strange symbols continued moving across my vision "Target is compatible."

A brief pause followed.

"Registering the target as the host."

More light gathered in front of me and then several words formed directly within my vision, written entirely from what appeared to be pure light.

"This is the legacy of the greatest mage of this millennium, the Great Master Zendor."

I stared at the words for a moment.

*This Master Zedor was definitely from modern Earth.*

There was simply no other explanation for all these added aesthetics.

The strange interface, the emotionless system-like voice, the scanning process, the terminology, and even the way the information is being presented all felt far too familiar to me. It is almost as though someone from my previous world had deliberately designed this entire process.

Then a strange, game-like melody suddenly began playing directly in my ears.

I remained silent. The music only made my suspicion stronger.

*What exactly was Zendor thinking when he made this thing?*

Then another message appeared. This time, I immediately recognized the text I have been waiting for.

"Welcome the new host to the ’Book of Hidden Knowledge’ AKA-"

’The System Grimoire’.