I approached the door, step by step. The closer I got, the slower I moved, as if the weight of anxiety was pressing down on every muscle.
Now, I stood right in front of it. The door loomed large, almost overwhelming. A strange sensation gripped me, but I reached out and grasped the doorknob only to find it wouldn't budge. Panic crept in. Had I missed something? Was my anxiety blinding me?
Then I saw it.
No, I wasn't done with this yet. A puzzle, after all, is only solved when every piece fits perfectly.
With a shaky breath, I entered the chapter count into the digital lock.
Klack.
The door swung open.
"Oh, wasn't that easy," I muttered, a tangled mix of annoyance and relief in my voice. I stepped inside even slower than when I approached the door.
In the center of the room, a flickering light caught my eye. I moved toward it.
"Hello, Dear Reader. I will bestow the gift upon you now. Good luck."
That was it? Nothing about my dad?
A surge of anger welled inside me. Sigh. I guess… thinking about meeting a man who's gone only breaks you more.
Then, without warning, a window appeared.
"What the hell?!"
It looked just like the window from The One Who Will Conquer the Tower of Worlds but it wasn't blue. It was black.
[ { ??? } "Hello, I know you're mad but it's too early to find out."]
The window turned blue.
[ { SYSTEM } "New Passive Skill Unlocked" - Library of the Past | ▶ Click to see more ]
[ {SYSTEM} "New Skill Unlocked" - Comprehension | ▶ Click to see more ]
[ {SYSTEM} "New Attribute Unlocked" - Pagewalker { RANK: ??? } | ▶ Click to see more]
[ {SYSTEM ALERT} "You can unlock more features over time." ]
What the hell? Who was that anonymous person just now…? Ah, fuck. Why is my head spinning all of a sudden? Ah, wait, what was I just thinking about? Right. The System, or?
So I have the Skills Library of the Past and Comprehension? But doesn't that mean I'll need to use them in the future? No, no way. If the Tower from the novel really appears… I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. If that thing shows up… the world's screwed. Full-on apocalypse. I need to check what these skills actually do.
First things first. I clicked on "▶ Click to see more" under the first skill.
[Passive Skill: Library of the Past]
[Description: The Library of the Past watches, remembers, and whispers truths no one was meant to know.]
[Rank: Unknown]
What kind of description is that? And rank unknown…? Never saw that in the novel. But if something doesn't even have a rank, that usually means it's broken. Right? Let's see.
"Library of the Past, do your thing!"
…
I waited.
One minute.
Two.
Nothing happened.
"…What the hell? Is it ranked unknown because it's garbage? How am I supposed to survive with something that doesn't even activate?"
Fine. Next one. Maybe Comprehension is better?
I clicked.
[Passive Skill: Comprehension]
[Description: Understand things better.]
[Rank: Worst Skill of All]
"W-worst skill of all?"
I dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks. Am I already screwed before things even start? Figures. For someone who's done nothing but read books his whole life. But wait, there's still Pagewalker. An attribute… with the ??? rank?! Wait, that could be "goated"!
I clicked "▶ Click to see more" again.
{[SYSTEM ALERT] "The current you is unworthy."}
I froze. Unworthy? So I don't even get to know what my own attribute does? What kind of joke is this? I solved that stupid puzzle, rushed over here, triggered all this crap, and now I'm getting trash skills and locked information?
But one thing kept gnawing at me. That black window. The one from before. I couldn't remember it clearly. Every time I tried, my head started spinning again. But… I'm sure of one thing: someone sent me a direct message while manipulating the System.
That shouldn't even be possible. Not in the novel. Not anywhere.
And worst of all… it all started with the riddle my dad left behind.