"Sir Delvis, we are being attacked by monsters," the man spoke. He was holding a small parchment and was wearing your typical butler clothes.
In front of him, in the room behind the chair, a figure could be seen with white hair, hearing the report.
The figure gazed toward the moon. "Prepare the fighting squad. I will attain them myself."
"As you wish, my lord." The butler bowed down, leaving the office.
While the white-haired man gazed at the lonely moon, he muttered, "Has it really been twenty years already? I wonder how Alisa is doing… and what about my son?" Their faces surfaced in his mind.
The man stood up, his broad body almost covering the moonlight. His eyes glowed with golden light.
He stepped closer to the wall, his gaze settling on a sword mounted there. He gazed at his own eyes in its reflection. In the past twenty years so many things had changed to the point he couldn't even recognize himself. He had become a duke and was now the sword of the empire.
He grabbed its leather-wrapped hilt. The sword vibrated, and slowly magical runes started to light up with a dim silver color.
His face narrowed gradually as roars of monsters started to echo.
"Osris," he uttered, as if the sword was alive and responding to its companion.
"It's time to test some blood," he uttered and disappeared along with the sword.
---
[You have ordered,
2x Chicken Flavored Cup noodles (24)
1x Spicy chicken cup noodles (15)
5x Instant ramen noodles. (100)
2 Bags of potato chips (20)
Orders will be delivered tomorrow]
"That will do," Nithin uttered with a smile. As for why he was happy, both of his cute readers farmed some points, you see. They generated a whopping 730 Ink points!
Thus he decided to spend some… on food. Just thinking about the feast made him feel happy.
{A/N: The dude just likes instant noodles}
"Status"
[Name: Nithin Arvell
Level: 1 (2/10)
Ink points: 605 (?)
Traits: x1 ???, x1 ???, x1???, x1???
Plots: None
World event: None
Current Readers (2/2)
[1] Delvis <>
[2] Empty <>
He still had quite a lot of points. He gazed at the two who were still reading silently. "It will be dark soon. How long will they stay? Isn't that bad for health? Or is the story that good?"
Another half an hour went by in silence before he noticed some movement. It was Delvis.
He was looking at his surroundings calmly before his eyes focused on Leo. Nithin smiled. "Yeah, the kid came looking for you. I gave him a book to read."
Delvis heard Nithin's voice and looked up. I see, he thought, then rose with a calm, composed expression, standing before the desk.
"Umm?" He looked quite calm, Nithin thought.
"I hope Sir Delvis found the book to his liking," Nithin ventured.
"Found it… to my liking?" Delvis murmured, his grip tightening on the book as memories of endless wars flickered before his eyes.
Thirty-four years of blood and glory… just recalling them made him smile. He had seen many things: the way of life, the way of evil, the way to uphold justice. A calm, indifferent expression settled over his face.
Oh… he liked it. Seems it left some mark on him, Nithin thought.
"Yeah," Delvis muttered slowly. "It changed everything."
Then, without warning, he bowed sharply, startling Nithin. "Thank you for the opportunity. May I know your name, sir?" His voice was firm, unwavering, his gaze fixed so intently he didn't even blink.
"You gave me the will to protect those close to me at any cost. I, Delvis, here and now, swear my loyalty to you!" His voice rang out, sharp and resolute, golden light flickering in his eyes, hidden from Nithin's sight.
Nithin froze, blinking in disbelief. Swearing loyalty? To me? Over a book? Was this some kind of normal thing in this world?
[You have gained 1x (Eternal Loyalty) Trait, 50 Ink points generated]
Ow… I got points and a trait. Is he for real? Nithin thought. It seemed the book held more than just a typical fantasy story.
"Please, stand up. No need to go to such lengths… and also, have you read the board of the library?" Nithin said, maintaining his smile.
Delvis froze. Thoughts swirled through his mind before he finally spoke. "But, sir… what can I do with this knowledge? Why me?"
In his mind, he reasoned: Knowledge is power. Without knowing how to fight, I wouldn't have strength. Without understanding mana, I'd be powerless. All this… it's thanks to knowledge. But… why me? I'm just a farmer. What can I possibly do with it?
Nithin, observing silently, thought: I see… the novel really did contain some philosophical insight into the way the world works.
Delvis shuddered as he spoke again. "What can I do with all this knowledge? Please… tell me… I…"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nithin replied with a smile, though inwardly he admitted it sounded almost childish. "Knowledge is meant to be used for good, to better the world."
Delvis shuddered slightly. "I see… for the betterment of the world." He straightened, bowed once more, his determination unwavering.
"Thank you for everything, sir… though I still don't know your name."
Why bow again? Nithin thought, seeing only a simple piece of advice had inspired such solemnity. But gazing at the resolve in Delvis, he said:
"It's Nithin. The Librarian of the Fat Rat Library."
"I see… Librarian of the Fat Rat Library," Delvis muttered, imprinting the words into his soul.
He stood upright, his gaze shifting toward Leo. Nithin followed his line of sight. Ah… I should wake him. It's getting dark.
"Leo, get up…"
But Delvis spoke first. "Please, allow him, Lord Nithin. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Nithin paused, realizing the truth. The library would soon teleport, leaving them no further chance to read these books.
"Alright… it is an opportunity for him," Nithin finally said.
Delvis smiled before exiting the library. "Leo, I hope you change too, for the betterment of this cursed world."
He slowly closed his eyes, feeling the air of the world after so many years. He turned around, gazing at the board of the library. Last time he couldn't understand any of the strange language, but now he could.
Knowledge chooses its owner was written on the wooden board. He dropped to one knee at the board. "I will use this knowledge for the betterment of the world."
The passerby looked at him strangely. To them, the man was kneeling down at an empty space for some reason.
Delvis didn't mind. He continued to bow down for moments as if the moments represented the conviction he had.
He stood up, gave one last bow, and turned around toward where his home was, where his wife was. His heart quivered just at the thought of seeing them again.
His steps gradually quickened as he drew closer, but then slowed when he noticed a few figures ahead, figures who had also spotted him.
The moment their eyes met, haughty smiles spread across their faces.
"Oh, isn't that Delvis? Slacking off again… not paying your loans?" one of them sneered. He was burly, easily twice Delvis's size.
The two men flanking him snickered. "At least he has a house and a wife to give us," one added mockingly.
Instantly, Delvis froze as his vision began to gradually redden blood red, with wisps of golden escaping from his eyes.
Seeing this, all three panicked. "Boss, there's something wrong with him."
But the burly boss, realizing he was just afraid, felt anger. How could he feel fear from such a poor bastard!
"What you looking at, you fucker? Yeah, we will take your wife and sell her as loan settle… gahh…"
Instantly strong wind started to blow all of a sudden, causing them to lose balance and fall down on the ground.
"Osris."
The moment the burly man opened his eyes, he saw the blue moon shining brightly, but there was something wrong with his vision and the surroundings.
It was upside down. His vision also darkened before everything went blank.
Thud.
Thud, thud…
Three heads fell down like ragdolls, rolling and causing blood to spray from the headless bodies.
"For the betterment of the world, die," Delvis looked coldly.
Cries of the passerby echoed. "Ahhhh!"
"It's murder!"
"Delvis killed the ones from the star merchants!"
Delvis remained unfazed, stepping over. The blood parted on its own as he moved forward. He left behind horrified faces of passerby not because of the deaths and how brutal it was. It was because of the aura of the one who did it.
Delvis, a moment later, stopped in front of a small cottage. It was small and shabby, and parts of it were being fixed somehow to stop the cold, heartless wind. Despite that, he felt peace and comfort far from the huge castles he used to reside in.
His heart beat faster and faster. He would finally be able to see them. He was finally here. Taking some courage, he knocked on the wooden door.