'This place is…'

Looking around at the dark space I was standing in, I was instantly reminded of the mysterious room that acted at the Tower of Trial's actual entrance. However, this time, there was no glassboard or a line of instruction anywhere…

The 'socket' that looked like a small hole looked almost identical to the one that had my tag slotted in it, which in turn sucked the tome I held in hand at that moment or at least that's what it looked like then...

However, this time I was sure that the same occurrence had taken place when Blade put the tome in front of this 'socket', with the only difference this time being that there was no tag in it...

What followed wasn't as strange as it was only the opening of a trap-like door under our legs which somehow caused me to enter this place with no sign of Blade being around.

The situation was awfully strange as something that was supposed to only happen inside of the tower's virtual mental vision happened outside of it, but I didn't lose my calm as I quickly thought of various scenarios that might be the reason for this, but my line of caught was quickly cut as I heard Blade's voice calling out.

"Let him in."

[ Acknowledged the unknown visitor as a guest. ]

[ Cancelling the waiting lobby's vision for the guest… ]

The voice that followed was undoubtedly the voice that spoke during the tower challenge as the darkness started to fade before I found myself in a big library-like room with Blade still standing in the same position he was in when we went through that ground door.

'That darkness is supposed to be a waiting lobby…?'

Thinking about how tasteless the designer could be to make it that way, most would probably rain zero-star reviews upon him if this tower was a game back in reality…

'Unless it's a horror game, I guess…'

"I should have probably told you about this, but I forgot how bad the experience can be for new visitors. Luckily, the tower operator is still alright…"

Remembering how I had already started to concentrate my 'Telekinetic Force' to forcefully break out from the darkness as I considered the chance that this was some sort of a trap, I scratched my head and put on a wry smile…

"Sorry about that…"

"Don't be, that was my fault anyway. I would have probably done the same, though not as fast…"

My self-preserving ideology was to take into consideration the possibility of anyone being an enemy, especially in a world where demons existed, with some of them hiding under human skin, so I ended up acting a bit too fast…

"Anyway, considering the knowledge you already have and what you were going to do a few seconds ago, I guess you already know the nature of the spaces that the tower challenge takes place in. However, this place is one of the floors that are part of the tower's actual body, the top floor to be exact."

Giving myself a second to take a look at the place, it was very obvious now the Roc's nest wasn't our destination, but one of the steps we had to take to reach it.

While the height of the room's walls could be considered very tall, the shelves that were evenly distributed into the somewhat narrow room were short, the amount of books inside of them didn't seem to be that great, but that only acted as a way to show that these books were probably more precious…

"Other than the generalized manuals that are given out in each division, we keep most of the other 'Elemental Control' manuals here. Though I have to say that our sect's heritage in this field is unlike that of our 'Elemental Weapon Techniques' one, most of it is just from ruin excavations and outsourced auctions, you would have better luck in the Cult of Elements' vault."

"It's not like I have that much of a choice, getting this chance is already good enough. I did suggest bartering a certain resource that I have with the Cult Master for even a high-tier 'Elemental Control' manual, yet her only reply was a counteroffer, you probably know what it is…"

I slightly shuddered as I remembered that crazy woman who now looked as if she was a youthful young woman in her twenties as she winked at me suggestively.

"I guess she didn't give up on having you as her personal apprentice, but well… if I were to be honest, even I would be interested in having you as mine considering your peculiar mentality…"

The Cult Master, also known as Elle, certainly still wanted to take me as her 'personal apprentice', even going as far as trying to 'seduce' me into it, and it all seemed to do with how advanced my current mentality was, which was apparently a very important talent, at least according to Wind who mentioned that it's required for future advancement once one has hit the peak of the normal paths…

Of course, I naturally disregarded her counteroffer with a swift apology, not to mention that I had no plans to linger for long within the domain, I had no interest in this weird sort of 'compensated dating', besides the point that no matter how attractive the current Cult Master looked, I already knew she was at least a 100 year old granny.

"Nonetheless, I already know my limits, so no need to worry about it. You can look around these books and choose one to keep as a gift from the Elemental Blade Sect and then you can leave if you want to."

Blade's actions made it apparent that he wanted to give something back in return for the help I provided regarding the invasion of the demons so that our relationship as collaborators can stay on the same level. Unlike what half of the 'kings' would usually do, which is take and take without giving back, he chose to do things the other way around…

'Better make the most of it then…'

Since Blade was showing his hospitality, I didn't stop myself from reaching out to the closest book to me as I started checking its content. My right hand seemed to slightly twitch for some reason, but it seemed as if it didn't after I stopped to check it, so I could only get back to checking the manual in my hand...