Chapter 114: Where can I find a library

It was enough to buy proper food for weeks, maybe longer, enough to repair whatever damage the dungeon break had caused to his home or his livelihood.

Leon watched the old man carefully tuck the coin away into an inner pocket of his worn jacket, patting it once as though to make sure it hadn’t somehow disappeared the moment he looked away.

With that settled, Leon decided it was as good a time as any to ask the question that had been sitting at the back of his mind since he’d first left the field with Medusa.

"I need to find a library somewhere nearby," he said. "Do you know of one in this area?"

The old man blinked, clearly caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, but he recovered quickly, nodding as he thought it over.

"A library..." he murmured, scratching at his thin patch of grey hair. "There’s one I know of, yes. A proper one, well stocked. But it’s in the capital city."

Leon’s brow furrowed slightly. "The capital?"

"Yes," the old man said, his earlier warmth now tinged with a note of concern. "Ratdale doesn’t have anything like that ourselves, I’m afraid. Not a real library, just a few shelves of old, outdated texts at the town hall."

"If you’re looking for proper knowledge, records on history, on legendary items, anything of real substance, you’d need to travel to the capital."

He hesitated for a moment, glancing down briefly at Leon’s still slightly damp hair before continuing.

"The journey there isn’t cheap, though. Transport alone would cost a fair amount, and that’s before considering lodging once you arrive. I don’t mean to presume, sir, but forgive me for asking, are you certain you’ll be able to afford the trip?"

The concern in the old man’s voice was genuine, clearly rooted in nothing more than simple gratitude, worried on Leon’s behalf after everything he’d just done for the town.

It was a small thing, but it struck Leon as oddly touching, coming from a man who, only minutes earlier, hadn’t even wanted to accept a single coin for himself.

Leon allowed himself a faint, reassuring smile.

Whatever the actual cost of reaching the capital turned out to be, he doubted it would pose much of a problem, not with the remaining gold and silver still sitting comfortably in his pouch, and certainly not with a pair of legendary boots now fastened securely around his ankles, capable of covering a thousand meters in a single burst without so much as breaking a sweat.

"I’ll manage," he said simply, letting the quiet confidence in his voice speak for itself.

Leon studied the old man’s expression carefully, noting a flicker of genuine concern crossing his weathered face that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

The old man hesitated, wringing his hands together slightly before finally speaking.

"Before you go, sir Adam... there’s something I feel I should tell you. About the other player. The one you sent away earlier."

Leon’s brow rose slightly with interest. "The blonde one?"

"Yes," the old man said, nodding. "I recognized him, you see. It isn’t often someone of his standing passes through a town like Ratdale, so his face has stuck with me. His name is Cleo."

Leon crossed his arms, waiting for the old man to continue, sensing there was more to this than a simple introduction.

"He’s a B-rank player," the old man explained, his voice dropping slightly, as though even speaking the rank aloud carried some weight.

"But that alone doesn’t fully capture his standing. He’s a member of Bursting Jade, one of the A-rank guilds operating here in the Western Continent." ℯℯ𝘭.

"From what I understand, he holds considerable influence within the guild itself, not merely a rank-and-file member, but someone whose voice actually carries weight among its leadership."

Leon’s expression remained mostly unreadable as he absorbed the information, though internally, a faint frown tugged at the edges of his thoughts.

An A-rank guild was nothing to take lightly, regardless of which continent it operated on.

Guilds at that level typically wielded influence far beyond simple combat strength, reaching into local governance, trade networks, and in many cases, direct relationships with the ruling authorities of whatever region they called home.

However, he didn’t care much whether it was an A-rank guild or S-rank guild, since they both couldn’t stand against him.

He was the same person that just destroyed Roaring Lions, killing his father, who was an S-rank player.

"And why does that matter to me?" Leon asked, though he suspected he already knew the answer.

The old man’s frown deepened, his earlier gratitude now tinged visibly with worry.

"Bursting Jade holds notable influence within the capital city itself," he said carefully. "I don’t know the full details of their reach, I’m only a simple townsman, after all, but it’s common knowledge around here that the guild maintains a strong presence there."

"Contacts among the local authorities, connections within the capital’s own player association branch, that sort of thing."

He paused, glancing up to meet Leon’s eyes directly.

"I worry that a man like Cleo, humiliated the way he was here today, in front of an entire crowd of witnesses no less, might not simply let the matter go quietly."

"If he decides to make trouble for you once you reach the capital, sir Adam, I fear he may have more than enough resources at his disposal to make your visit there considerably more difficult than it needs to be."

Leon remained quiet for a moment, turning the information over carefully in his mind.

Honestly, he didn’t care whether Cleo belonged to an A-rank or S-rank guild.

However, he had just gotten into this country, and didn’t want to attract too much trouble to himself so early.

Learning now that Cleo actually held real influence within an A-rank guild, one with an established foothold in the exact city Leon needed to travel to, complicated things a little.

Still, weighing the risk against his actual need, Leon found himself unwilling to reconsider his plans entirely.

The library remained his best, and possibly only, lead toward understanding exactly what he’d stumbled into over the course of the day.

Between Excalibur, Aegis, and now Hermes, he was accumulating legendary items and their attached spirits far faster than his own knowledge could keep pace with.

If books existed anywhere capable of shedding light on any of it, Arthur Pendragon, Medusa, Hermes, or whatever mysterious force had torn open the sky above the guild headquarters and marked him for death, the capital’s library was clearly his best chance at finding them.

"I appreciate the warning," Leon said finally, keeping his tone level. "But I still need to go. There’s something I’m looking for there that I can’t find anywhere else."

The old man studied him for a long moment, clearly torn between respecting the decision and voicing further concern.

Eventually, he simply nodded, accepting that whatever business drove Leon toward the capital, it wasn’t something a simple warning would be enough to dissuade him from.

"Then at the very least," the old man said, straightening slightly, "be careful, sir Adam. Bursting Jade isn’t the largest guild in the region, nor the strongest, but their reach within the capital specifically shouldn’t be underestimated."

"If Cleo does decide to cause trouble, it likely won’t come as an open, direct confrontation. Men like him, backed by guilds like that, could try using their influence to cause trouble for you... rather than just fighting."

Leon considered that for a moment, filing the warning away carefully.

Political maneuvering wasn’t exactly his strong suit, not compared to straightforward combat, but it wasn’t the first time he’d had to navigate the schemes of people more comfortable operating in shadows than in the open.

If Cleo tried something subtle instead of confronting him directly, Leon supposed he’d simply have to adjust accordingly when the moment came.

"Thank you," Leon said again, meaning it this time. "I’ll keep that in mind."

The old man gave a small, tired smile, some of the earlier tension easing slightly from his shoulders now that he’d said his piece.

"It’s the least I could do, considering everything you’ve already done for us today."

Leon glanced briefly toward the small window set into the side of the old man’s home, judging the position of the sun outside.

If he wanted to make any real progress toward the capital today, he’d need to leave soon, especially with no clear idea yet of exactly how far away the city actually was, or how long the journey itself would take on foot, even with his newly enhanced speed factored in.

"One more thing," Leon said, turning back to the old man. "How far is the capital from here? And what’s it called?"

The old man blinked, seemingly having assumed Leon already knew such basic details, before quickly recovering.

"The capital is called Aldreth," he said. "As for the distance, it’s a few hours from here."