Asqa walked on the lush and beautiful green grass. She looked around and saw the people and other beings that were here doing their respective activities.
This garden was so wide that she didn't know if it had an end or not.
She kept walking until she finally arrived in front of a large building that occupied the horizon.
That building is the Archangel's library which certainly contains a lot of invaluable knowledge and all followers of Uriel have the right to enter and read thousands of books in that library.
Asqa thought if there was a place that contained information she and Clyde needed, then that place would be this library.
She doesn't know what information she can get here. But whatever it is, Asqa intends to share it with Clyde.
It would be better if she could find knowledge about other Celestials. Especially God Loki who is now becomes Mona's master.
Asqa also thinks if she gets knowledge to increase her and Clyde's powers, that could be a good thing too.
Several of Uriel's followers were in the library and reading books. They are the minority of followers who are hungry for knowledge, not just power.
Asqa greeted some of them. They were beings strong enough to become Uriel's followers from the Selection Stage and ended up here.
This was the first time Asqa had entered this place, so she was somewhat lost among the hundreds of shelves containing thousands of books.
"Hey, are you lost?"
Luckily, someone who was aware of her predicament asked her.
He was a man who seemed to be from an Asian region. His face was pale and handsome with straight hair neatly cut.
"Oh, yeah," Asqa replied. "Could you help me?"
"Sure." The man smiled while showing rows of white teeth.
That smile should have been able to make the woman who received it melt in awe. However, that smile lost its strength in front of Asqa. Because she already has someone.
But Asqa still returned his smile. "Thanks."
"What do you want to know?" the man asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself first. My name is Hiro."
"Asqa," Asqa replied with a smile.
"Asqa." Hiro nodded his head. "That is a beautiful name."
"Thanks." Once again Asqa replied with a short thanks. "Could you show me a book about the other domains of the Celestials?"
Upon hearing Asqa's words, Hiro immediately glanced at her. His face which seemed friendly suddenly turned into one of stupefaction.
"Why do you want to know about other Celestials? Our master is a great Celestial. I don't think you need to know about other Celestials," Hiro said.
Asqa went silent. Hiro's eyes completely changed from before when she mentioned what she wanted to know.
That made Asqa wary and reluctant to continue her question.
From the glint in Hiro's eyes, Asqa guessed that this could turn into a long debate. And Asqa doesn't want to waste time with him.
"You're right. Silly me," Asqa gave an awkward smile. "Then can you show me where I can read the knowledge about the power of Archangel Uriel?"
As soon as Asqa changed the topic, Hiro's expression completely changed. He returned to being a charming man like before. It was as if he had become a different person.
"Follow me," Hiro said.
So Asqa followed him. Inside Asqa thought: 'If I haven't been able to find out about other Celestials, I can find out about Uriel's power and tell it to Clyde.'
Asqa knew that Clyde had gotten Alessio's power the moment he killed him. Alessio's power comes from the Archangel so if she can provide ways to strengthen the power that already exists within Clyde, then Clyde will gain greater power than before.
Asqa still doesn't know how Clyde got his extraordinary power. But she completely believes in him and wants to help him as much as she can.
"I heard... you just had a tragic experience, didn't you?" Hiro asked with a sad face.
"Ah, yes," Asqa answered followed by a thin smile. "My party was killed by an unknown group. Then, the artifacts we had to take with us were stolen."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. Besides, it already happened."
Hiro smiled. "You have such a positive spirit. I like that."
"I'm just trying not to get too sad. Not only did I fail to carry out the task from the Archangel, but all my party members were also slaughtered and I'm the only one who survived that accident," said Asqa.
"If I keep thinking about it, I won't be able to see tomorrow."
Hiro stared at Asqa with a look of awe that was even closer than before.
But Asqa did not consider that look as meaningful. She turned her head towards the bookshelves around them.
"Are we there yet?" Asqa asked.
"Oh!" Hiro immediately came back to his senses after looking at Asqa. "Yes. We have arrived."
After that, Hiro started to explain what kind of books were on these shelves. He explained enthusiastically and Asqa listened with equal attention. Because she wanted to provide the most useful knowledge for Clyde.
~~~
As night fell, Olaflyn served them an appetizing dinner.
He said he cooks it himself with skills he has been honing for a long time.
Clyde, Leon, Albert, Rosie, Wiley, and Lola enjoyed dinner excitedly because it turned out that the sage was also very talented at cooking. Clyde even thought that the man's ability to cook was almost as great as his ability to fight and use Mana.
After dinner, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't walk too far from his home.
Because out there there are various kinds of creatures that he mustered to guard. And Olaflyn said to them. 'Believe me, you don't want to mess with them.'
So they had nothing to do with them and just spent their time chatting in the clearing around Olaflyn's home.
As usual, Clyde decided to be alone and absently stare out at the ocean. It wasn't long before Olaflyn came up to him. The sage stood next to the seated Clyde.
"Why aren't you with your friends?" Olaflyn asked.
"They're not exactly my friend," Clyde replied.
"So what exactly is your relationship? Why would they follow you when you asked them out of the Fortress?" Olaflyn asked with curious eyes, looking at Clyde from the side.
The five of them must have known that the situation outside the Fortress was very dangerous. The ban on leaving the Fortress was not only so that they would not know that their power of system could not be used, but also because there were many threats outside.
However, Clyde was able to convince them so there must be a strong reason behind it.
"I said that they could get stronger if they came with me," Clyde replied.
Olaflyn snorted. "The good old persuasion. Power. You're smart, I rarely see anyone who is reluctant when it comes to obtaining more power."
Then Olaflyn turned again to Clyde. This time, his curious gaze became even more intense as his eyes narrowed.
"But... I sense something is different about your power of the system," Olaflyn said.
Clyde immediately looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
'Does he know about that?' thought Clyde.
"I've lived long enough using Mana so I can feel a difference in your power of system. But I don't know what it is," Olaflyn answered. "Maybe that's what makes you so strong. Don't you think so?"
Clyde turned his face away. "Maybe. I don't know."
He still didn't believe her enough to tell her the truth.
However, Olaflyn knew exactly what Clyde was thinking. In fact, the sage knows that Clyde actually has some clues about his power of the system. But Clyde didn't want to say it.
Olaflyn snorted. But didn't say anything more. 'He will suffer the consequences of that great power. Nothing is free in this universe.'
They were in silence for several minutes. The sounds of the five people enjoying the bonfire behind them formed the background of the silence.
"Do you perhaps... know anything about the Order of Mindweaver?" Clyde suddenly asked breaking the silence.
"Of course," Olaflyn answered instantly.
"Do you know where I can find them?"
"Why?" Olaflyn looked at Clyde. "You want to know why your system is different?"
Clyde sighed. 'This man seems to always knows what I'm thinking.'
"You can't find them. There is a very powerful Celestial backing them up," Olaflyn replied.
Olaflyn's words perked Clyde's ear ups. "Who are the Celestial?"
Olaflyn looked Clyde right in the eye with a searching look. "Why do you want to know?"
"Well, I was just curious." Clyde shrugged as he said in a normal tone.
It took several seconds before Olaflyn finally decided to answer that question.
"You know the God of Destruction, Shiva?" said Olaflyn.
Upon hearing that, Clyde's eyes widened instantly.
He didn't think he'd hear that name now. Based on his knowledge - which is very limited - Clyde knows that Shiva is a very powerful and dangerous God of Destruction.
~~~
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