April 15, S.E. 3988
The park was big and had nice shade, it was set up simply but nicely. Stone paths wound gently past rows of low bushes, with benches here and there. The trees weren't super thick, but they gave enough shade to keep the morning sun off. The grass was trimmed short and even, its green really stood out against the dry air outside the city. People walked around slowly, some sat down to rest, others talked quietly. It felt calm and safe, unlike anywhere else.
There was a mom, a dad, and their kid. They seemed happy and loving, but then the child started crying.
The kid's crying echoed through the park. He had an ice cream cone, but only one scoop was left on it—the other had dropped to the ground.
The boy, about five years old, sobbed.
"Dad, what should I do? I want to eat it, but one fell."
The father looked at him kindly. The mother got worried and went to comfort the kid, but the dad stopped her.
"If you want it, then try. You made a mistake this time, so remember it. Learn from it so you know for next time."
The mother turned to the father, obviously not happy, but he didn't budge. He wanted to teach his son something. If he always gave his son whatever he wanted, the boy would get used to getting everything handed to him. In the future, he would never escape that loop of 'familiarity'. He'd never learn to handle things himself. It was better for him to get used to something more helpful instead.
Even though it hurt him to see his son cry, he knew it was part of what had to happen.
…
Elric slowly opened his eyes, feeling really tired.
His body still felt tired, but definitely better than yesterday. The dry feeling from the desert was a bit better. His body, which had felt like it was scraped raw by sand, was still a bit stiff, but the pain was much less. It was easier to breathe, even though he still felt tired. All in all, he felt better than the day before.
He looked at the clock on the table. He had no idea why it was even there, but it was working fine. It said 7 a.m. Usually, he'd be up at 6 and in bed by 10 p.m., but he'd been out exploring the city until midnight last night.
Hmm… something feels off today. Not sure what. Probably nothing. The clock should be right. I feel like I woke up normally, but it says seven. Maybe my body's just sluggish from being worn out.
He did his usual morning things. Once dressed and ready, he stood in front of the mirror.
"Another day to keep pushing."
His mom had taught him to do that after he started first grade and kids picked on him for being shy. Since then, he'd said that one sentence to himself in the mirror every single day. Well, not always—with everything that had gone on, he hadn't had time for it. Just staying alive was more important. Plus, he wasn't even sure there were mirrors where he'd been.
After he finished everything, he checked the clock again. It was about 8 a.m. Usually, he'd be done by 7, but today he'd woken up an hour late, which almost never happened.
He must still be tired.
Elric walked out of his room. He was on the second floor, room 5. Sila was in room 6. That seemed too much like a coincidence—even suspicious. That guy didn't seem awake yet, but Elric wouldn't have cared even if he was.
He went downstairs and ate the breakfast they offered: hard bread and a weird-looking fried egg. When he asked about it, he found out it was from a long-necked chicken, a one-crystal beast, it pretty harmless and often eaten.
At 8:30, he headed to where he wanted to go to the library. If he had time, he'd check out the guilds, and once he got some money, he'd look at the market.
The morning felt very different from the night, though it had its own kind of charm. Personally, he liked the city better at night.
It took him about 40 minutes to get library. It was quite a trek, but he had walked slowly.
The library was right in front of him, it big, but not overly fancy. It was built with light-colored stone and nicely carved wood. The wide building was several stories tall, with windows that were neatly lined up and let the morning light in. There weren't a lot of decorations, just a simple sign and wide steps leading to the door. It just felt solid, calm, and dependable.
Inside, the library was huge and well-organized, and as you'd expect for a place of learning, it was quiet. Really tall shelves stretched far away, packed with books of all sizes and colors, all neatly put into categories. The walkways were wide, with wooden reading tables spread around, each with simple, practical chairs. Sunlight came in through high windows, making tiny dust specks float in the air. The whole place just made you want to be quiet, like knowledge itself needed respect.
Elric went up to the front desk.
The counter was a shiny dark-wood desk, with papers and handbooks neatly stacked behind it. All the staff wore the same uniform—light shirts with dark aprons or coats—giving the place a formal, consistent vibe.
"Can I help you?" a receptionist in her early twenties asked.
"I want to read about something called Lexecon… the Tree of Life… stuff like that" Elric said, sounding eager.
She showed him to the right section. He would have gotten lost without her—librarian was probably a better word for her.
"That one. Written 200 years ago. The latest update is by Mr.Albert, one of the best 'The Written'. "
After that, she went back to her spot. Elric picked up the thick book.
There weren't many people inside—probably because it was still early. The clock showed around 9:30. He sat down and started reading.
Basic Compendium for Beginners
The writing was interesting, well-done, and easy to understand....maybe.
In two hours, he had read half of the Lexecon section. At 11:30, he went to eat, having already changed his cerulean stones into smaller currency.
He ordered something simple—soft bread and a dish heavy on vegetables, since he'd eaten a lot of meat the day before.
Around 12:30, he went back to the library. More people had arrived, though not many—most probably didn't enjoy reading.
By the time he was halfway through the book, it was already 5 p.m. He went to eat again, making sure to avoid his previous restaurant, and Sila.
Luckily, the new place was cheap. It was far from where he was staying but close to the library, it pretty convenient.
At 5:30, he started reading again and kept going until about 9 p.m., when he went back to his room. He had almost finished the book, and by the end of the day, he had read the whole thing.
Unfortunately, even though it had a lot of information, it was kind of messy.
First, mana. Everyone had it, no matter how much, but humans couldn't use it directly. You needed something to channel and change it—that part was hard to get.
The Tree of Life held a person's power. Its shape showed a lot of things, like how much mana someone had. Around it was Lexecon.
Lexecon was complicated. Even with the explanations, he still had a lot of questions. What he knew for sure was that it had to be put on the Tree of Life, where there was a life grid—everyone's was different. His was 10×10=100 spots.
Lexecon, also called 'Abstract of Virtue', or 'idea of goodness' was something humans borrowed to fight demons. It came with a 'price', and each one had conditions you had to meet.
The cockroach he got earlier was one example. Lexecon came in many forms, so that wasn't surprising. Each one took up different slots on the life grid.
His took three vertical slots, though he didn't know its rank, conditions, or path.
He thought the book was really detailed and well-written at first, but it turned out to be mostly filler. It had a lot of lead-up and went off on too many side topics, hardly ever getting to what mattered.
On the very last page, he spotted an ad for a paid course.
Of course. It was clearly just a trap – giving out unclear information to try and get people to buy their course.
He decided to just ignore it and search for other options, but there weren't any.
It looked like some group was stopping this kind of knowledge from spreading around. They probably really believed the demon's saying: Only the last survivor may leave. After all, if everyone knew, it would just mean more rivals.
That explained why the book was still around – they couldn't suppress it because of how powerful the author was.
He had dinner around 7 p.m., and then he checked his idea by talking to other people. Most of them thought that only a select few could actually use power.
But the book said something different – that everyone had mana. That mean anyone could use Lexecon and the Tree of Life. People had simply been given the wrong idea.
By 8 p.m., he was back. He thought over everything, took his bath, and stuck to his familiar routine.
He tried lifting his left hand, just like he'd seen others do, but nothing happened. Eventually, he just lay down.
Even so, he wasn't going to give up on trying to use Lexecon.
He had, after all, risked his life to get that cockroach. If he couldn't use it now, he'd be absolutely furious.