Helix Library-A massive dome-shaped building located at the very center of the Human Kingdom. From the outside, it looked like an average-sized building. But the moment you stepped inside, it was a completely different world- filled with millions of books and ancient records.
Leon stood right at the entrance, staring up at the gate of the Helix Library.
"Hope I can find what I'm looking for in here," he muttered with a neutral look as he walked in.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes widened slightly. The place was huge-insanely huge. The ceiling wasn't even visible from the ground floor.
"Whoever built this place really knew how to fuck with spatial magic.." he said under his breath, scanning the massive circular shelves towering all around him and staircases going up and up towards the top.
"Well... it was lost with time, no one can create a building now, a soft voice replied from the side.
"Hmm...?" Leon turned to see a black-haired, nerdy-looking girl with glasses standing beside him, looking at the top.
She was hugging a green book close to her chest, wearing a red dress. Medium-sized boobs, thick ass- definitely sexy.
She immediately turned to look at Leon and smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Rita. I help out here."
"Leon," he replied, with a neutral expression.
"You from an academy or just here to read?" Rita asked, still smiling.
"Just here to read about something..." Leon replied casually.
"Need help finding something?" She asked in a very polite tone.
"Yeah. I'm looking into dungeons and stuff."
"Dungeons? That's actually an interesting topic-but all the books about that are on the third floor."
"So... I need to go up there?" Leon spoke as he pointed towards the third floor.
"Nope. You can't access the third floor unless you're affiliated with a magic academy or a two star noble at least."
She explained further, "There are seven floors in this library. Only the first one is open to everyone. The rest are for nobles and academy students.
The seventh floor is only for the chosen ones-royalty, seven-star family heads, and some Royal Archmages."
"But, I want to go to the third floor..." Leon replied with a smile.
"Well, that's a problem," she added with a chuckle. "How about monster anatomy? That's pretty intresting too-"
"How do I prove I'm from Velthorne Academy?" Leon asked, glancing toward the upper floors.
"Uh... You'd need to verify your identity at the counter over there and get an academy pass, but didn't you say-"
"Yeah, be right back," Leon said, already walking off toward the counter.
Behind the counter sat a grumpy-looking old man in his fifties, buried in a book.
"Excuse me," Leon said softly.
"Can't even read a book in peace... What do you want, kid?' the man grunted as he closed his book.
'Damn... this old man looks like a proper bitch' Leon thought as he kept a neutral face.
"I need an academy pass," he said.
"What academy?" The old man asked, rummaging under the counter.
The man froze. "O-Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Sir. I'll register you right away. Please, place your hand on this orb."
His whole demeanor flipped like a switch as he placed a glowing orb in front of Leon.
'Damn. Velthorne Academy really has clout in this kingdom. Look at this old fart switch up the moment I said the name;
Leon thought, smirking as he placed his hand on the orb.
A projection of Leon's face, name, and age lit up inside the orb. Ten seconds later, a card slid out of the square box beneath it.
"Here's your card, Sir. I sincerely apologize for earlier-I hope you'll forgive this old man," the guy said with a smile, handing it over with both hands.
"Yeah," Leon replied, taking the card and walking back.
The card had his picture, name, and age on the front. On the back, two golden-green letters: V.A.
Leon walked up to Rita and showed the card.
"Can you take me there now?" He asked with a smile.
"O-Oh! You're really from Velthorne? Please, follow me, Sir!* she said, suddenly more respectful.
"Just call me Leon."|
"As you wish, Leon," she replied with a small smile as they started walking up the stairs.
Just like the first floor had no nobles on it, the second one had no commoners on it.
It was packed with academy students and nobles- all studying in silence.
"So, any particular reason you're interested in dungeons?" Rita asked.
"Not really. I just find them fascinating," Leon replied.
After one more floor, they reached the third level.
Rita led him to a completely empty section.
"All the dungeon related books are in this shelf. Take your time-we're open 24/7. If you need anything, just wave, I'll be right there," she said with a smile before walking away.
'Guess no one cares about dungeons, huh?' Leon thought as he looked around and noticed that it was completely empty.
"Well... who gives a fuck," he muttered and walked in.
Leon scanned the shelves for the book he was looking for...
'Dungeon Rank Identification'
'Monsters Found in a Dungeon'
'Rank-A Dungeon Appearings?'
'Are Dungeons Related to Other Worlds?'
"Wait... this is the one." Leon pulled out a grey book titled Working of a Dungeon.
He dropped to the floor, leaned against the shelf, and opened the book.
'Well, I have readed through some pages and only few of the points are useful...'
• When a place becomes enriched with mana and there's no escape route, the mana seeps into the ground. Over time, this leads to the formation of a Dungeon Core. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
• Once the core forms, it starts at F-Rank.
F-Rank dungeons have a very basic design-two small rooms at start, one big final room.
• Gradually, the dungeon attracts low-level monsters due to the mana-rich environment.
The first monster to reach the core absorbs half its mana and gains a certain level of intelligence-becoming the Dungeon Boss.
• The Boss bonds with the core, gaining limited control over dungeon structure and basic trap-making abilities.
• The Boss will protect the core with its life. It may die, but it won't ever leave the core unguarded.
"If I can bond with a core... I can feed it mana and raise its rank. And since I've got infinite mana, I will have a easy time doing that."
Leon thought with a serious expression.
"I need a skill to bond with the core," he whispered, activating his skill.