The rest of the class was just students taking turns to blast the Knoll with spells while it gave out murderous glares. By the time the class ended, the sun had dipped over the horizon.
Students returned to their dormitory, but I headed for the library; seeing a knoll only piqued my curiosity.
I needed to know anything and everything regarding the Knolls.
The halls of the library were silent like a graveyard, which made me doubt people coming here. Entering the library, I was met with towering shelves and a faint scent of old paper.
I approached the front desk, where the librarian, a stern woman with glasses perched on the edge of her nose, glanced up from an old time she was reading.
"Can I help you?" she asked, she was tone cold but not unkind so I assumed this was just her personality
Why the hell is everyone in this academy gloomy?
I expected the magic academy to be glamorous, colorful, and exciting.
"Yes," I said, nodding. "I'm looking for books on the Knoll. Anything you have."
The librarian raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the request. It seemed not many people made such a request.
"The last person who made this request went on to slaughter tens of Knolls. He became the brightest student the academy had ever created. Let me check." The lady's countenance changed from annoyed to polite.
I wasn't sure why but I had come to notice these people seemed to like students interested in Knolls and history. But shouldn't this be the basic requirement of a mage?
{The more you know about the Knolls the better you understand how hopeless the situation is. Ignorance is bliss.} Lin responded and I frowned. But he was right.
When everyone already says it's impossible to beat this monster alone, why would I read about it to learn more about how this creature can kill me?
Of course, I'm a fearless harbinger of death but others weren't like me. Regardless of who stands before me, I am certain I won't lose.
Only death is absolute, and I am death, therefore, I am the only absolute in this world.
"The last person who made this request. Who is he?" I asked while the lady browsed through the catalogs.
"Prince Tyron Emberfall, eldest brother of King Emberfall and the original heir to the throne…" she said with dreamy eyes as if the man stood before her.
"What happened to him?" I asked and her smile was replaced with sadness as she lowered her face.
"Tyron championed the Kingdom of Loth expansion plan. He hoped to be the first man to help humanity regain lost territories. He experienced a few successes, which gained him empire-wide fame. The world knew he was special…"
But then she froze, her limbs quaking.
"But eventually he failed." I chipped in with narrowed eyebrows and the librarian nodded.
"These things think better than us. They strategize just as well as we do. One mistake on the battlefield can be fatal. Even someone as special as Tyrone was no exception." The librarian sighed heavily.
She stopped talking and focused on the catalog, returning to the eerie silence I met on arrival.
"We have a few books on the Knolls. Most are in the historical section, but there's one newer publication in the anthropology aisle. Follow me." She said and gestured for me to follow.
I trailed behind her as she led him through the maze of shelves.
The library was vast, its rows of books stretching endlessly in every direction. Finally, we stopped in a dimly lit corner, where the air smelled faintly of dust and aged parchment.
"Here we are," She said, pulling out two books. The first was an old, leather-bound tome with faded gold lettering on the spine:
'The Knolls: Myths and Realities.'
The second was a newer, sleeker volume titled;
'The Knoll: Unraveling the Enigma.'
"These were the same books I gave Prince Tyron." she said, handing them to me. "The older one is more… speculative, but it's a fascinating read. But the newer one is based on recent research thanks to information obtained from the dozens of Knoll corpses Tyron sent to the empire."
"Thank you," I said, to which she responded with a nod and walked away.
Without hesitation, I found a quiet corner to settle in. He opened the older book first, its pages crackling softly as he turned them—considering how dusty they were, it was clear no one had touched these books in ages.
The introduction was written in a flowery, almost poetic style, describing the Knolls as a species shrouded in mystery, who are believed to come from a world where the laws of nature seemed to bend and twist.
Even though no one had been to this mysterious world they claimed the land was covered in perpetual darkness that births creatures that were best described as monsters.
These are the monsters that accompany the Knolls.
I facepalmed. No one has visited the mysterious world the Knolls come from yet they speak of it with so much conviction one can be swayed by their confidence.
'No wonder she gave me a heads up about this book." I chuckled and kept flipping through the pages
Apart from speculations on the cultivation style of the Knolls and the badly drawn illustrations of the monsters they control, there was little to no important information in this book.
"Basically, Tyron went in blind and still achieved so much," I muttered with a hint of respect in my voice.
After seeing a Knoll today, I had more respect for people who have encountered these 'things'.
The second book was juicy, just as the librarian promised. Here, I came to understand that just like our beasts and cultivators, the Knolls only followed a structured power ladder.
Beastborn Initiate
Wildfang Adept
Primal Warden
Elder Beastlord
Fangborn Tyrant.
While our cultivation ladder had six stages while theirs had five yet it is said that a Beastborn Initiate Knolls can defeat an earth realm master easily. Defeating such a beast would require an earth realm master leading a team of mortal realm mages and a small army of heavily armed soldiers of, let's say, a hundred men.
And this is under the impression that the Knoll is alone and can't summon his monster horde.
Now I understand why people don't read these things. It's depressing reading things like this.
Enough has been said on the Knolls, the monsters they brought along as no joke. The illustrations in the older book were trash, but the newer one was much clearer, and to be honest, I sat with a frown for tens of minutes while going through the images.
Honestly, I can't even describe them because their forms made no sense. Some had over 14 limbs, others had 30 eyes, and others were round and inflated with dark spots. Their forms made no sense, like mistakes that should never have existed.
These monsters couldn't use magic or mana, they couldn't even cultivate. They were like the Ironback boars I fought back at home but much more dangerous because they came from a world of freaks where terrifying beings like the Knoll exist.
"Monsters."
Finally, those words made sense to me. That was the only term that could be used to describe these creatures. I leaned back on the chair and exhaled loudly.
Now I knew more, I had more questions than I did before.
Where did the Knolls come from?
Why did they come, and how did their arrival affect the church of the Four Pillars, which led to the banishment of five-star elements?
There was so much I needed to know but so little time to read them. It was already night time and I barely had the chance to read two books. If I take a few books back home, I'll only be able to finish two more before I need to sleep.
Four books a day would mean I would be able to finish a hundred and twenty-four books before the month runs out, and we have to go on an expedition outside the walls, and there are thousands of books here.
{Slow down their bookworm. You don't have to read everything, you just need to know the important details.} Lin yelled but I shrugged his words off and returned to the librarian.
It was already 10 pm and she only stayed this late because of me. I picked up two books: Fallen Pillars: Fall of the Old Gods and Dark Ages: Abandoned by the Heavens.
I bid the old lady farewell and left. It took my carriage back to my new home. I could hear the sound of cutleries and spotted Leo, chatting and laughing with Lucy. This royal swine was trying to take his shot at the peasant girl, but I didn't blame him; if I didn't have the death magic, I would have been infatuated by her beauty and forced to play the same stupid game when I should be reading and training.
Does it matter if she likes me after a month of hard work only to be killed the very moment I step outside the kingdom walls?
Fuck them them both.
Walking up the stairs, two maids bowed with smiles that I found irritating.
"Your bath is ready, young master Blackwood." The first said.
"Shall I have your meal brought up to your room like last time?" The second asked.
I simply shook my head and walked past them. "I'll eat tomorrow, don't bother."
The only thing that could feel my belly now was knowledge—answers to questions that plagued my mind. Entering my room, I shut the doors with a bang, locked the doors, and stripped.
I entered the bathroom with my books because reading in a warm bath had become a habit I picked up from Blackwood Thicket. It was much more relaxing than sitting on a chair for hours.
'Dark Ages: Abandoned by the Heavens' had a captivating title, so I decided to give it a read first. My instincts are good, the book didn't disappoint.
Contrary to the title, the book was much more focused on life before the Dark Ages—Age of the Four Pillars.
The four pillars were regarded as the four original cultivators of this planet. They were the first beings to awaken magic and taste the power of this world. It is said their powers manifested in the form of the four forbidden elements: Death, Life, Nature,, and Destruction.
Death magic was originally awakened by the ancestral black dragon, which ruled over the forest, while life magic was awakened by a human. Nature magic appeared amongst the elves and destruction magic was inherited by a dwarf.
These four were called the fathers and pillars of magic, as all elements used today were derived from their power. As predicted, they achieved the peak of cultivation and ascended into Godhood, becoming the first gods of this planet.
Even during wars, even during conflict, and even during the time of peace, everyone prayed to all four deities even though they originated from different races.
The church of the four pillars were erected and as a sign of protection, the elements of these deities manifested amongst one person in each race who was referred to as a guardian—one tasked with protecting all.
This continues for tens of thousands of years until the coming of the Knolls. It is said the heavens bled before their arrival, and when they arrived, they met the world's legendary guardians first. Others tried to help but they soon realized only the power of the guardians could harm these beings.
The battle was fierce and it is said these guardians held back the Knoll forces for a decade before they were finally killed and chaos erupted.
Men and boys were slaughtered, women and girls were raped and slaughtered. The power of the Knolls was felt immediately and the world was pushed back. Humans, elves, beasts, and even dwarves ran into the temples, calling on their gods to save them, but there was no response.
For the first time, the heavens were silent—the heavens had abandoned its people.
{The heavens didn't abandon their people. Before the earth fell… Before the Knolls even stepped foot on Earth, they met the Gods in battle and won!}
Buzz!
The bath was hot, but I felt a deep chill run through my body upon hearing Lin's words.