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Chapter 196: The Ruins of Antihum

“You should seriously think about it. If you’re a sorcerer who can’t even properly create a mana net, being a scribe in the library wouldn’t be such a bad alternative.”

Benedict’s lips twitched at Karyl\'s words, but he hurriedly moved out of their sight, fearing any further trouble.

“Immortal Council sorcerers aren’t much after all,” Mikhail remarked.

“That old man is just worthless. He hasn’t even reached the 5th Class. To be stuck at the 4th Class at his age means he lacks any talent. Magic Strategy Division? What a joke. It’s just something he made up to show off to ignorant newbies,” Karyl scoffed, knowing well that the real Immortal Council sorcerers were all in the library’s underground.

Can’t wait to see his face again, Karyl thought as he grabbed the round handle on the mouth of a skull and knocked.

Click—

As he channeled mana into the handle, a faint light glowed from the skull’s eye sockets. At the same time, eerie black smoke slowly wrapped around Karyl’s arm, eventually covering his entire body. Mikhail and Serica, who were standing behind him, were taken aback by the sight.

Clank—

The lock clicked open with a faint echo.

Creeeeeeak...

The door slowly opened with an eerie sound, reminiscent of a ghost’s wail.

“It’s dark,” Karyl remarked.

Apart from the light coming from the entrance, the interior of the Grand Library was pitch dark. A white mist latched onto the door and lingered over the ceiling, making the air feel cold against their faces.

“Flame Finger,” Karyl commanded.

Fwoosh!

Karyl waved his hand, and five flames sprouted from his fingertips. He realized it had been a while since he last conjured flames with mana rather than using Ramine’s fire.

“Ignition,” he added.

Woosh! Sizzle...

The flames then expanded explosively, hissing as they made contact with the mist. The rising heat gradually thinned it, revealing the surroundings.

“The atmosphere is completely different now,” Mikhail observed.

They had come from a fairly populated area to a dim, vast library that felt like a dungeon.

“Exactly. Sorcerers are eccentric. Some of their buildings resemble dungeons. The Ivory Tower is similar, filled with condensed mana and traps everywhere, so it’s best to be cautious."

Click-clack, click-clack...

As they walked further into the library, torches mounted on both sides of the dark hallway lit up all at once.

“Wow...”

With light, the library looked completely different. The walls, stretching up to the high ceiling, were all lined with shelves filled with countless magical tomes.

“It’s been a while since we had visitors,” an eerie, double-layered voice echoed from the darkness at the end of the hallway.

Then, the figure of a man emerged from the shadows, and upon laying eyes on him, Mikhail and Serica flinched.

Jingle, jingle...

Each step the man took was accompanied by the sound of chains clinking.

“Cough, cough, cough...”

The hunchbacked man had a grotesque, deformed face, resembling that of a ghoul.

Is that Nain Darhon?

Who looks like that?

Both of them grimaced at the unpleasant sight.

“Come up,” the man beckoned Karyl as he ascended a spiral staircase at the end of the hallway.

“Is it safe, Master?” Mikhail whispered nervously.

“Could he be the leader of the Immortal Council? He looks like a dark sorcerer,” Serica muttered.

But Karyl just chuckled at their comments.

“Him? He’s nothing special.”

“What...?”

***

“So it was you who caused the commotion at the entrance of Antihum.”

Mikhail, who had followed them up the stairs, looked at the two men, seemingly at a loss for words.

“I-I’m terribly sorry.” The hunchbacked man, who had been radiating a sinister aura just moments ago, now bowed even deeper, trembling with anxiety.

“Living in isolation from the outside world for decades, only to be disrupted by punks like you...”

“My apologies,” the hunchbacked man repeated.

In contrast, the person who spoke to him from the chair was a handsome man with long black hair cascading down to his waist.

“Being able to enter here means you’re all sorcerers... Has the world changed so much while I’ve been in seclusion? For such kids to have already reached the 4th Class...” the man mused.

If it weren’t for his voice, one would likely mistake him for a woman, given his porcelain skin and strikingly red lips that made him seem almost inhuman.

Leaning on the armrest of his chair, he propped his chin up and gazed at the group. The contrast between the hunchbacked man’s elderly appearance and the youthful look of the man in the chair was striking.

“Nain Darhon,” Karyl addressed the handsome man.

“...?!”

Mikhail’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at the man in the chair again.

No way... Is he really... Nain Darhon, the head of the Immortal Council?

Serica, on the other hand, seemed puzzled by Mikhail’s reaction. However, his surprise was only natural.

Except for Daryl Harian of the Golden Magic Society in the Lurein Principality, the other three Great Sorcerers were known to be peers—Berchi Blano of the Dawn Council, Kadin Luer, the imperial court sorcerer, and Nain Darhon of the Immortal Council.

Born in the same era, the four Great Sorcerers brought about a golden age in a time when magic was gradually waning following the Magical Era. Even though Berchi was in seclusion at the Ivory Tower and rarely seen, everyone knew of Kadin Luer, an elderly man with a head of white hair.

Thinking he was around the same age as Nain Darhon, who looked like he was in his twenties, was baffling.

“It’s not that surprising. Any sorcerer can change their appearance,” Serica snorted dismissively.

“That’s his real face,” Karyl interjected quietly.

“Huh?”

“The blood of the Darhon family is a bit special. It’s mixed with vampire blood, so they age at a slower rate. In fact, to match the ages of the other two sorcerers, he might actually be older. Who knows? He could be an ancient sorcerer from the Magical Era,” Karyl explained.

Mikhail and Serica turned to look at Nain Darhon once more, their gazes now laden with renewed scrutiny.

“Haha... You know quite a bit, Karyl MacGovern.”

It became clear that Nain Darhon already knew who Karyl was.

“Still, at least you’re better than those imbeciles at the front gate. Magic Strategy Division? What a joke. When did the Immortal Council become a club for playing house?”

Despite Karyl’s sharp words, Nain Darhon’s expression remained unchanged.

“Such trivial things are sometimes necessary to win over the ignorant. When you bestow a crown upon the talentless, they’ll serve with utmost loyalty."

“True... Seeing that old man earlier, he seemed like he’d do anything earnestly,” Karyl remarked, recalling Benedict. Though he had no connection to him in his past life, Benedict somehow continued to intrigue him.

“You should remember that too. It’s important to know how to handle people, especially for a king.”

He already knows about my situation in the empire, Karyl noted.

With a slight smirk, Nain Darhon bowed his head slightly toward Karyl.

“Well, it’s not your concern. You already handle people quite well,” Karyl responded with a nonchalant expression, clearly unimpressed.

“Haha... Don\'t think this childish play is the true face of the Immortal Council.”

Step, step, step...

Karyl walked steadily toward Nain Darhon, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the hall until they stopped.

“The true nature... Are you referring to the library’s trials? Doesn’t seem like much,” Karyl scoffed, glancing downward.

The floor appeared ordinary, but Nain Darhon\'s expression stiffened slightly.

“You’ve got good instincts. It would have been entertaining if you’d stepped on it,” Nain Darhon remarked.

There was a subtle bulge on the floor, right in front of Karyl’s foot—a trap that was barely noticeable.

“What a childish leader... No wonder the ones outside are so incompetent. A trap? Even if I’d stepped on this, I would’ve cut your head off before it triggered,” Karyl retorted.

Mikhail and Serica held their breaths as they observed the tense exchange, feeling as though sparks were ready to ignite between Karyl and Nain Darhon.

“Well, fine. You can pay for the commotion at the entrance later. Let’s talk about why you\'re here first.”

“Wait a moment,” Karyl interrupted. He suddenly looked out the large window of the library, pointing to the massive tree standing in the center of the village. Unlike the dark corridor, the room Nain Darhon occupied had a clear view of the village below.

“That tree...” Karyl muttered, his face hardening as he approached the window, disregarding the possibility of other traps.

“I see your eyes are as sharp as your instincts. That’s the World Tree. Of course, it’s not the legendary Elven World Tree, but a restoration made by the Immortal Council. What do you think?” Nain Darhon asked.

“It’s... not dead?” Karyl mumbled.

“What?” Nain Darhon looked at Karyl, confused.

“Yeah, the area around that tree was completely blackened and desolate,” Karyl murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.

He finally realized what had been bugging him since arriving here. The scene was vastly different from when he had first arrived at the library with the teleportation Magic Circle in his previous life.

So that’s what felt off.

Seeing that tree, it finally came back to him. Karyl couldn’t help chuckling at his own ineptitude.

Right. When I came to Antihum, there was no residential area.

There had only been the central structure, the Grand Library. And given its grandeur, the surrounding scenery hadn’t caught Karyl’s attention at the time, the only noticeable element being the withered World Three, black and lifeless then.

Why did it disappear?

This time around, Karyl had arrived at Antihum three months earlier than in his previous life. However, he had no memory of a powerful explosion capable of erasing a village like the one here. And yet, during his first visit, there had been no sight of a village.

“...”

Karyl let out a low sigh.

“I came here with a light heart... but it seems that won’t do.”

Karyl looked up, addressing Nain Darhon in a tone colder than his ghostly face, “What exactly are you people doing here?”