Damon smiled wryly as he scanned the books on the shelf before him.
Rows of neatly stacked tomes lined up the tall shelves, their spines marked with languages Damon struggled to read.
He had spent a lot of time in the library growing up, yet he was never allowed to enter the second floor until now.
Damon felt they were lucky to have such a caring mother. Although he and his siblings didn't live as lavishly, their education was comparable to that of aristocrats rather than the basic education provided by a primary and secondary education committee.
Though unlike actual royals, they weren't indoctrinated into the theology of the churches. They were merely taught the basics.
Mother had taken extra precautions to ensure neither he nor his siblings could enter a church or the Occult section of the library before they were deemed ready. Over the years, she had amassed a vast collection of books here to help him educate them on the knowledge about the other side of society. What lies beneath the mundane.
' I've been waiting for a chance to read something from this collection… But maybe I should start with the basics,' he sighed, feeling a hint of disappointment.
Stepping back, he turned around and began descending the stairs to the first floor.
He was rather eager, but he hadn't forgotten Tomoe's warning about the dangers of coming in contact with information.
His mother had also echoed the sentiment when giving them access to the second floor.
Reaching the first floor, he was greeted by the scent of the old paper and polished wood. He soon saw a girl with short black hair now sitting behind the oak wood table near the entrance with her head drooped. The girl looked to be in her late teens. She wore a light lavender long-sleeve blouse with a black traditional Huaren high waist skirt lined with blue floral patterns. Though her attire carried the gracefulness of the Huaren people, it was contrasted by the glaring dark circles under her eyes.
'I know her uncle manages the library, but isn't this …a bit unprofessional?' Damon drew closer as he silently grumbled and knocked on the table.
Knock! Knock!
"Miss Ye, wake up."
The black haired girl set up immediately and swiftly wiped the thin dribble of saliva on her lips. In a dazed state, she started mumbling.
"Ugh… that sealing process took way longer than they said it would. That stupid artifact just…wouldn't stop leaking blood. I can't take another mission so soon, that's too awful…. Mn…Huh? Who are you?" Her lashes fluttered as her eyes slowly focused with a startled look.
"It's Me Damon'"
"Wha…Oh... Sorry, Damon, I forgot you changed a bit after your trial. Why are you here? Did Uncle Fan send you?" She patted her chest, a faint crease forming between he brows.
"Don't worry, Miss Ye, I'm just looking for help finding some books," answered Damon simply.
"Oh...If it's just that, I'd be happy to help." Her expression relaxed as she stood up. "What kind of books are you looking for? I thought you received a copy of Fundamentals of Spectology from Uncle Fan."
Damon pondered for a moment. After the trial, he hadn't shared the name of his technique with anyone nor the name of its original user. He'd rather not take any chances before finding out who his master really is.
He looked away before responding. "I did get a copy… but before I dive into it, I wanted to find some books about the nation of Nippon."
"..." Xiuying paused for a moment before sighing."You know how to read Nihongo? It's the language of the Nipponese people." She asked as she walked towards a shelf on the left side of the room.
"I should be able to, right? Using Universal Language," Damon asked.
Shaking her head slightly, Xiuying replied. "I'm afraid that's not how it works, Universal language doesn't just allow you to understand another language completely, rather what it actually does is use our will to transmit our thoughts and emotions as intent using spiritual energy." Pointing to her ear, she continued The intent sends the translated words into your ears or vision."
It was during the age of Najat that all sentient beings were blessed with the Universal Language by the Gods; ultimately, this created a mental frequency with all things, living or inanimate. The Gods used the blessing to usher in the restructuring of the world and form strong bonds among humanity. In that sense, the love the Gods had for all life seemed self-evident, yet the blessing wasn't without flaws. Though humanity was able to develop seven individual languages after the four great nations were established, without devotion to the Gods, the strength of the frequency often varied, causing damage to the intent being transmitted and distorting the message between languages. Without proper storage, over time, the intent on inanimate objects was also likely to vanish as the spiritual energy dissipated in the air.
In a time when humanity was plunged into chaos, many scholars speculated that the age of Najat began due to the nations of the past lacking understanding and the ability to communicate without the Gods.
"Without a reference point on the language, you won't be able to grasp the intent of words from any text written by humans before the Age of Najat, but luckily for you, we do have books written in the universal language and Huaren that mention Nippon."
["I know Huaren pretty well. Uncle Fan gave me extra lessons for feeding his pet bird."] He said confidently in Huaren.
Huaren was considered the common language of the Nation of Aegis and the nation of Koinonia due to deep trade ties shared between both nations. The Language consisted of unusual grammar, with sentences being written in reverse, and the use of spoken tones to express meaning. Originally, it was spread by the Huaren people when they began forming their communities in Koinonia, and was eventually adopted by immigrants from Aegis.
["great! I recommend reading this, this, this one too…Oh! Can't forget this either."]
Soon, Damon saw Xiuying take out six books before handing them to him with excitement.
'Six huh…That's more than I expected, but hopefully at least one mentions master Tomoe.'
["Thanks for the help, Miss Ye."] Pausing for a moment, Damon remembered something. ["Um…. is the artifact you were talking about a bloody broad sword by any chance?"]He asked shyly.
["Yeah, how did you know?"] Suddenly, Xiuying gazed at him with a pensive look.
["Ah!.. I heard it from Cassie."]Damon muttered quickly, already stepping away to avoid that sharp gaze. As friendly as Xiuying could be, he knew better than to test her patience. After long missions, her temper tended to become unpredictable.
'No way I'm letting her know I brought the sword here, last time she got upset with Fin, she used him for acupuncture practice '
Trying to shake off the tension, Damon took a seat near a window and opened his Status panel.
*****
[Name: Damon Redhill]
[True Name: ?????]
[Core Node: Awakened]
[Specter Rank: Grade II
[Specter Will: Adolescent
Skills: [Spiritual Manipulation Lv6], [Mystic Sense Lv5], [Mystic Eye Lv3], [Mystic Shroud Lv4], [Hidden Inventory Lv3, [Basic Regeneration Lv3],[Thermogenesis Lv2].
[Thermogenesis]: This skill gathers and molds spiritual energy into heat energy. At the current level, this skill produces heat at a range of 600 - 1000 degrees Celsius or 1112 - 1832 Fahrenheit.
[Hidden Inventory ]: A special skill that creates an imaginary mental space to contain items. At the current level, this skill has a storage capacity comparable to a small room.
Techniques:[Hollow Cry Lv2].
Attributes : [Universal Language], [Child of Eternity], [Fated], [Blessing Of The Blade].
[Child Of Eternity]: ????
[Fated]: ????
"I guess I have made some improvements at least, maybe Vincent's right and I'm just being impatient." Closing the Stat panel, the corner of his mouth twitched as he took up a random book from Xiuying's selection.
" The tale of twin shades? sounds like a novel title." Staring at the image of two young boys on the cover of the book and its title, Damon could help but be intrigued.