What had sprouted within Aize, after absorbing the power of the Fantasy Library, was in fact a type of authority.
This authority was both a symbol and a representation of a supreme and unparalleled power.
It only took effect with regard to the concept of "armament"—any weapon, armor, or item that could affect its bearer would fall under the scope of this authority, including but not limited to weapons, armor, and tools.
When Aize came into contact with these weapons, armors, or tools, he would be able to selectively invoke the power of this authority to operate on them.
As for how to operate them—that was something Aize would have to figure out on his own.
All he knew was that what he had acquired was the ultimate authority over the concept of "armament"—a power that could even transcend the gods!
"...I feel like I've gotten something really outrageous," he murmured.
Watching as the golden patterns completely merged into his body, Aize was left with only this one thought in his mind.
Unfortunately, without a powerful piece of equipment, this ability was nothing more than an ornament.
In short, Aize was still just an ordinary person for now.
But... that situation would soon change.
Aize no longer focused on the power he had received. Instead, he turned his attention to the rows of bookshelves surrounding him.
"Are these books really transformed from entire fantasy worlds?" he wondered.
Although he had already received the basic knowledge and understanding from the Fantasy Library, Aize couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
So he walked toward a corner of the resting area, climbed a set of stairs, circled along the wall in a moderate arc, and finally stepped onto the red carpet, entering the archive section.
Without going any farther, Aize approached the nearest bookshelf and casually pulled out a book.
Before he even had a chance to open it, the will of the Library appeared silently.
[Open the book to enter the fantasy world described within it and undergo a randomly drawn life experience.]
[Please note: Until your drawn life experience reaches a predetermined point, the Administrator will be unable to return to the Library.]
"If the Administrator dies within the Fantasy World and is confirmed to be unable to revive, the Library will reclaim the Administrator's position and initiate the selection of a second Administrator."
Aize quickly stopped flipping through the book, his brow furrowing.
"So, once you die, you're really dead?"
After a moment of thought, his brow relaxed again.
"That makes sense. The purpose of the Fantasy Library is to turn worlds of fantasy into reality. Once a real person like me enters them and experiences them, that purpose gradually comes true."
"If everything becomes real, then real death is only natural."
Perhaps, before Aize entered, these worlds were merely figments of imagination.
But once he stepped into them and began to have real experiences, these worlds would turn from fiction to reality.
If that's the case...
"Then let's just get started."
Aize no longer hesitated and opened the book in his hands.
"Fwoooosh—"
The book in Aize's hands suddenly began flipping pages on its own.
As the pages turned, they unexpectedly began to detach from the book and fluttered around Aize as if they had a will of their own.
"This… this many?"
Aize was taken aback.
According to the rules of the Fantasy Library, every page of every book represented a life imagined into existence.
Just like writing a novel—some imagined protagonists were exceptional from the start, whether due to noble bloodlines, powerful backers, outrageous luck, or overwhelming strength. Others began as ordinary individuals, gradually rising and transcending over time.
When the Fantasy Library collects others' fantasies, it automatically filters out lives that are too unreasonable, choosing only those that could plausibly exist.
Even so, the quality of each life still varied.
Some began at the peak; others started with utter misfortune. The experience could be drastically different.
And so, when an Administrator enters a Fantasy World for the first time, they randomly receive one of these lives as their background. Once selected, the remaining life pages disappear. Even if they return to that Fantasy World later, they can only experience it according to the life they originally received.
After all, once a life has been lived within a Fantasy World, that world becomes a real, tangible existence.
Aize's current situation was the life-selection process for his first entry into a Fantasy World.
If he drew a good life, he'd be the protagonist of that book—of that world.
If not, well… he'd have to suffer the consequences.
And this process was immune to outside interference. Even Aize could do nothing but stand there and watch.
Time passed under these conditions, and the number of pages flying around Aize gradually dwindled.
In the end, only one page remained floating before him.
"Clang!"
At the same time, the cover of the book in Aize's hands began to glow.
In the midst of the radiant light, the cover of the book seemed to be inscribed by an invisible pen, as if written upon by an unseen hand. A title appeared—"The Asterisk War".
"This world... seriously?"
Astonishment once again surfaced on Aize's face.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, the pages of the life book floating in front of Aize turned into a beam of light and flew directly into his mind.
At the same time, the book in Aize's hand slipped from his grasp and unfolded once more before him.
Its pages had not decreased, yet they were now completely blank.
Because... its author had yet to step in.
Staring at the completely blank book, Aize felt as though an invisible force was drawing him in. He stepped forward and reached out to touch it.
In the very next moment, Aize silently vanished from where he stood, leaving only the book behind, still floating midair, gently rising and falling…
————
At this moment, Aize felt something truly strange.
He could feel that he was no longer touching the ground, yet there was no sensation of floating.
Everything within his field of vision was bathed in white, with no trace of any other color.
The surrounding space was constantly shifting, like a film transitioning scenes at a thousand times slower speed, gradually replacing the mysterious library from moments ago with entirely new imagery.
When the whiteness finally receded and the wavering of space came to a halt—when he once again felt his feet touch solid ground—Aize was stunned to find himself inside a classroom.
It was a multi-functional classroom. There weren't many desks, and each was spaced apart from the others. About twenty to thirty students sat at them, all dressed in school uniforms, giving Aize a strong sense of déjà vu—like he had returned to high school.
At the front of the classroom stood a teacher on the podium. Behind the teacher was a projection-like screen displaying a scene of disaster.
"This is the Rain of Falling Stars, an unprecedented and world-altering event," the teacher spoke in a flat, monotonous voice, lacking any rise or fall in emotion.
"It struck the surface of the Earth in the twentieth century and caused a catastrophe unlike any before."
"For three whole days and nights, meteor showers rained down across the globe, leading to the destruction of numerous cities."
"In this disaster, the power of former nations sharply declined. The global structure was completely reshaped. If it weren't for the emergence of a new economic body known as the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, the world might never have returned to normal."
The teacher's lecture was dry and uninspiring, putting most of the students in the classroom into a half-asleep stupor.
"It was also because of the Rain of Falling Stars that humanity discovered an unknown element among the meteorites—called 'Mana Essence.' This not only fueled scientific and technological progress, but also gave rise to a new generation of humans with special abilities—the Genestella."
"Yes, that would be all of you sitting here today."
Despite the speech, most of the students in the room still appeared drowsy, showing little to no interest.
Only Aize, seated near the corner, took a deep breath as he listened to the teacher's words.
Slowly, he lowered his head and looked at the hand he had unconsciously clenched.
There, like stardust dancing, a soft starlight began to shine.
Feeling the stark difference in his body, sensing the power called "Stellar Energy" now flowing through him, Aize understood—
He had truly become one of the new humans the teacher spoke of.
In other words—a Genestella.