Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 84

Marble floors and colorful lights.

Endless shelves lined up with books.

All intertwined like a maze, but Jin-hyuk continued to walk forward.

To be precise, to the center where the information desk was located.

How long had he walked?

He had seen the end of the passage, which widened, a desk made of old wood, and a person was seated there.

“Um?”

Clack!

The old man, wearing a black suit and a monocle over one eye, stood up with slight curiosity.

Jin-hyuk knew the reason.

How did a human break through the maze and find the information desk in one attempt? Was what he was wondering?

“Surprising. It is normal for first-timers to get lost in the maze of books.”

“I came all the way here. I was just walking along the path. I am sorry, but I am quite a lucky person.”

Jin-hyuk shrugged his shoulders, and Rick didn’t ask further.

He looked interested in Jin-hyuk

“I am Rick Hennessy, who manages the library.”

Rick politely bowed his head.

‘A person at the middle manager level is bowing his head…’

That was why this man was scary.

It would have been easier for Jin-hyuk if the man had ignored him or something.

Maintaining such politeness despite being from a higher place proved that the man was intelligent. A tycoon who ran one of the largest libraries in the Tower.

In order to get what they wanted from the man, players, too, needed their own plans.

“I am Kang Jin-hyuk.”

“Player Kang Jin-hyuk. Nice to meet you. The one who came to this place earlier than others with the approval of the Tower. As a reward, you get to purchase one book there. Feel free to choose.”

Rick stretched out his hand, and a treasure trove of barrier and attack magics was displayed.

They were part of the collection here, but…

“Giving me certain books and asking me to pick from them, isn’t there a choice?”

“Haha. Right. I am just saying that you can pick anything you want. You will have to pay for it if you want to buy it. Of course, we do not accept the currency from the earth. Note that only coins or items will be taken.”

This was as expected.

However, each of the useful magic books he wanted would need a billion coins, so purchasing them was out of the question.

“I don’t have many coins, so purchasing them is difficult. I am interested in bartering. Can you recommend a suitable mage?”

Jin-hyuk took out Merlin’s Staff from his subspace inventory and placed it on the table.

Rick’s eyes trembled. It was a unique habit he had when something he liked came out.

“Umm. So how about this? A flame-based magic book that was said to have been made by the Red Dragon. It is not a bad deal for Merlin’s Staff.”

Rick quickly pulled out a book with gold runes and a red cover.

As expected, this kind of pattern appeared again.

He had suffered considerable losses in the past when he came for barter. In exchange for a useless magic book, he was robbed of all the items he had.

At that time, he made a mistake because he thought the magic spell was a huge deal.

But…

“It is odd.”

“Odd? Whatever do you mean by that?”

“From what I know, this book was written by the Imperial Court Mage, not the Red Dragon. The name had to be… was it Telemos? Wasn’t he just in the 6th circle?”

Not even an archmage.

It was a magic book written by a rank-70 court mage, and he was trying to peddle this trash?

“…!?”

Rick’s eyes shook.

His face, which had contained a little bit of doubt and interest, was now fixed with shock and vigilance.

“How do you…”

“I have a wide network. Thanks to that, I have a lot of information.”

Jin-hyuk smiled brightly and took out a coffee pot, filter paper, and coffee beans from the subspace.

These were things he bought at the coin exchange.

“I think this will take a lot of time, so would you like a drink?”

Jin-hyuk placed the coffee beans on the filter paper and poured hot water through it.

“No. Coffee isn’t that important…”

Rick shook his head as the fragrance of coffee touched his nose.

“No.”

It was coffee made with Rick’s favorite ‘Coffee Beans from the Bengenti Jungle.’

“Does Player Kang Jin-hyuk like coffee too?”

“I am not a fan of instant, so I looked around a lot for this. Obviously, the coffee inside the Tower has a better flavor. Of course, this was the best of them.”

“… hm. You have a great eye for coffee. Personally, I like this the most.”

Jin-hyuk knew.

Because he had seen Rick personally drink twelve cups of coffee in the past.

Jin-hyuk preferred caramel macchiato or chocolate frappuccino with a lot of syrup rather than bitter coffee, but the important thing now was to win the favor.

[The librarian ‘Rick Hennessy’s’ favor for you rises up.]

[Always a trader seeking profit, but as far as he is concerned, he will soften his stubbornness.]

A keen eye that saw through the authenticity of things.

They shared the same taste for food, so it was inevitable that there would be good feelings.

Above all else, he was using the skill of Communion, so this was psychological warfare.

“Can I ask you one thing, Player Kang Jin-hyuk?”

“Please feel free to ask anything.”

“Since you came here, I know you are different from the average player. However, Player Kang Jin-hyuk seems to have a unique background.”

Common sense and information that a player who had just entered the 5th floor could not have.

Since Jin-hyuk spoke casually, of course, he thought something was up.

“I wonder what your background is?”

“You saw right through me.”

… nice.

Jin-hyuk smiled.

He’d been waiting for this question.

“Actually, the Egyptian Gods have been watching me. Thanks to that, I could come here and get various information about the Tower.”

“You are talking with the Egyptian Gods?”

“Yes.”

“N-No. I didn’t know you are a player they are so invested in…”

“They seemed to care about me quite a bit, and they did much for me.”

Had Anubis heard this, he would hang himself.

No, he wouldn’t just hang. He would bite his tongue and maybe jump from the pyramid too.

Because Jin-hyuk could write a book about what had happened between them.

But for Rick, he had no information about the past.

At least at this moment, he didn’t know yet.

“Probably… I think I was a bit too harsh.”

Rick’s tone changed.

“Those who are worthy need to be treated right. As an apology, I am giving away one of the books here.”

Ho…

Look at this.

Of course, he expected the conditions would change, but this was unexpected.

Was he saying that he would give up any book regardless of price?

“Can I choose anything?”

“This is a reward given as an apology from my side. Do not worry and choose comfortably.”

“If that is the case…”

And the price didn’t matter then…

Initially, he wanted to exchange Merlin’s Staff for it, but with this, he could get it for free.

Jin-hyuk began to walk around.

Step.

His walking speed slowed as he gradually stopped at the corner. Jin-hyuk then entirely stopped in front of a bookshelf in the corner.

12F- Row 127.

Right here.

‘Why am I feeling this happy when I hated textbooks?’

Jin-hyuk picked one of the books off the shelf. It was an old tome with a black cover.

“Are you fine with that? There are surely better books than this, but it’s written in ancient ruins, and not just anyone can…”

“This commemorates when I, the Black Dragon Macedrian, turned into an ancient dragon. For thousands of years, I have been thinking about how to break the rules of the world. A book that was written by a dragon with a lot of diseases. This works.”

Jin-hyuk read the first chapter of the book written in ancient runes.

After seeing it for ten years, he was very familiar with it.

“Puahah! Look at what I did again. Indeed you are a person blessed by gods.”

Rick laughed delightedly.

Perhaps because it was the shock of Jin-hyuk understanding ancient runes, or probably because of what he called one of the most powerful creatures in the Tower.

What was certain, however, was that Jin-hyuk had the favor of the librarian.

“I will keep an eye on the player from now on. I really look forward to meeting you again.”

At the end of that sentence.

Kukuku!

The library turned into sand and began to crumble.

Now that the reward was earned, it was time to go back.

The 5th floor of the Tower of Trials.

It had only been two days since the 4th floor was attacked, but quite a few people had challenged the 5th floor.

Due to the nature of the map, which was closed on a first-come, first-served basis, challengers came in to occupy a more advantageous spot.

And the most popular was the Mine.

[C- 101 is closed]

[D -77 is closed]

[E 158 is closed]

Jin-hyuk, who looked at the rapidly blinking status windows, exclaimed a little.

“Yah. Well, the deadline is almost the same as applying for college courses.”

It was almost comparable to the liberal arts subjects like ‘Sexuality and Love’, which were completed as one.

It must have been attractive since it was recognized to be cleared easily. At least there was less risk of death compared to the other places.

But…

“You don’t know that the clearing speed is abnormally slow for the safe ones.”

Finding the ‘Royal Diamond’ buried deep in the mine is similar to finding a needle in the desert.

There were many cases of failure even after 90 days of pickaxing. Above all, nothing was left except for the body being abused for so long.

Jin-hyuk didn’t even pay attention to the popular ones.

Instead, he looked at where the players were most reluctant.

[Z – 01 psychiatric ward]

Currently on standby: 37

Remaining time: 0h: 2m: 13s

Psychiatric ward.

A building that was cursed with monsters and roaming asylum patients.

This was the battlefield to choose from on the 5th floor.

‘The deadline is almost over.’

But at the moment when Jin-hyuk was about to accept the participation.

Tring!

An unexpected message arrived from those who had never revealed their presence.