Rick"s consciousness soon returned back into his body on the eighth floor of the City Central Library.His body was lying limp on the floor. As soon as his consciousness returned, a flood of notifications started ringing through his head.
[Quest Completed!
Congratulations on conquering the City Central Library!
Quest reward: Ownership of the Territory]
[ Congratulation!
You have acquired the "Signet"]
[ Congratulation!
You have acquired the Lemegeton.]
[Congratulation on being the first to clear a dungeon
Reward: 2 Blessed Stones]
[ Congratulation on being the first to acquire a legendary Artifact
Reward: 15 Blessed Stones]
[Skill- Negotiator has been learnt]
As a flood of "victory wishes" floods into his mind, Rick felt no happiness about it. The only thing that came out of the entire trip was a blade hanging over his head.
He left the notification be. He had bigger priorities to take care of immediately.
Rick opened his eyes and looked around. On his hand was the grimoire Lemegeton and on his finger was the Signet. He then noticed the four Kings. The once haughty and proud kings were now kneeling.
Rick picked himself from the ground and glanced over the four Kings. From what Sol had told him, these Kings would consider Rick to be their Overlord, at least for the time being. But if he is not able to prove his mantle before the pa.s.sing of a year, they would turn against him and he would be dead.
"Rise!" Rick gestured at the four Kings.
"Have mercy on us, Master" The metal-bodied First King spoke with his head bowed. "We were just being cautious."
"We were just following your commands to protect your artifacts, Master," the goat-limbed Fourth continued.
"We had no idea that you had take-", the Grey-skinned Second spoke but was immediately interrupted.
"Enough of your excuses!" Rick bellowed, "I will let this slide because you insolence was based on your desire to uphold your Master"s dignity."
"Yes, Master. We had no idea you had even returned. And we are awed by the strength you have displayed. Your strength has only grown more magnificent. While you were taking possession of your artifacts, we realized your invincible might. None of the demons in the lower realms below even sensed you pa.s.s by them."
"Well, this is a helpful explanation they have come up with," Rick thanked his lucky stars.
He had been breaking his head on how he would explain his arrival on the Eighth floor of the Library without going through the fi demons in the lower floors.
"That was actually a part of my plan." Rick gave a mysterious smile. "You see I am not your Mater, but rather his handpicked successor. To quell any thoughts of a rebellion, I decided to make a small display of my strength."
The four Kings looked at each other in shock. They were not sure if even their old Master would be able to pa.s.s through the demon horde without being sensed. The four kings felt like this young successor was a greater demon himself!
The Kings thought he was Sol. But since the Kings were anyway awed by his strength, he decided that he might as well take the chance and proclaim himself as Sol"s successor and avoid future confusions!
"I am leaving this place for now. Or do I need your permissions to do that?" Rick burrowed his eyebrows as he asked.
"We would not dare to stand in Young Master"s path." the Kings replied.
"Hmm! Good. You all are to stay here but you are not to leave the premises." Rick ordered. Thinking for a second he added, "And do not let anyone who doesn"t know my name enter."
"Yes Young Master, but we don"t know your name." The mist covered Third purred.
"It"s Rick. Rick Hanique." He replied realising his mistake.
Rick walked past the central throne towards the majestic double-doors behind. These double doors definitely did not exist before. He pushed the door open and the next moment Rick found himself at the gates of the City Central Library.
The sky was clear, just like when it was when he had first entered the library in the morning.
Rick checked the time on his watch. It was eleven in the morning, barely two hours had pa.s.sed since he had entered the library!
*Ding
*Ding
Rick received two new notifications.
[The proficiency of the Skill- Negotiator has increased]
[You have exited the City Central Library Dungeon
You have acquired one City Central Library Entrance Portal]
Rick was exhausted by the day"s event and planned to check everything out later. He swiftly reached for his cycle locked at the gate and peddled down the street.
"I will have to return to this h.e.l.l-hole again." Rick glanced back.
---
Rick"s parents died when he was six years old. Since then he and his sister lived together in a house just two blocks from the Library.
As he cycled his way back home, he noticed that there were a lot of abandoned cars on the streets. The reality of it all suddenly dawned on Rick. It was only now that Rick realized that the world the way he knew it no longer existed. Ever since the Heaven"s Dictate, he had been stuck at the Library with no idea as to what was going on outside.
Rick made haste and peddled faster. A few moments later he reached the driveway of his home. He swiftly got off the cycle and rushed in.
"Hey sis, are you there? Where are you?" Rick shouted, looking around.
"Hey, you are back early!" Samira, Rick"s sister replied from the dining table.
Rick took a sigh of relief, Samira was the only family he had left.
"Was the voice in the sky telling the truth? I have no idea what"s going on, I just got out of the library," Rick decided to just go with a white-lie and not freak Samira out.
"Well, have you heard the news?" Samira gestured at the television at the living room.
Seeing Rick nod no, she continued,
"The animals, plants, h.e.l.l the whole Earth seem to have undergone a mutation. Animals from zoos escaped by breaking open the cages and there are plants which have turned carnivore. On top of that even new plants have been reported to have been sprouting all over. And on top of that, there are numerous dungeons which have appeared all throughout the world.
Although the government still shouting that everyone maintain calm, they are losing their grasp on power fast. There are human Hero"s with some cool skills appearing everywhere. One guy even learnt a skill which lets him fly, or at least hovers if not fly. And last but not the least there are some who are claiming the Heaven"s Dictate to be a hoax and a government secret."
"What! Are they crazy? Why would anyone spread panic like this?" Rick asked.
"Well, I don"t know that. But people who believe it to be true are doing worse things. These human sc.u.ms have decided that the world is anyone coming to an end, so the best use of their new-found powers in the chaos would be to settle their previous disagreements." Samira chuckled.
Rick had no idea what to say. The entire episode had been befuddled. There were demons appearing in libraries and Earth would be invaded within a year"s time and all these people were doing was kill each other?
"Why don"t you go freshen up. We can sit and have lunch later," Samira suggested, noticing Rick"s shock.
"Ya. I will just freshen up!" he ran up to his room.
---
Rick reached his room and immediately locked the door behind. He did not want his sister to worry about his troubles. He sat down on the chair and placed the grimoire Lemegeton on the study table.
Rick checked the grimoire. It was light as a pen in spite of its voluminous size and even fit into his pocket! Moreover, it was as if the book ad he was connected. It felt as if the Lemegeton was a part of him.
"Let me go through the notifications first.", Rick determined
With his right hand, he touched his temple
[RICK HANIQUE
Strength: 12
Stamina: 9
Perception: 2]
[Skills-
Tranquil Heart, Stealth Walk, Negotiator]
[Bound Equipment-
Signet, Lemegeton]
A bunch of information appeared, and he checked out Perception first-
[Perception- One of the five basic stat among humans. Allows the host to observe and a.n.a.lyze subjects in depth and make a clear judgment on it.]
"I must have unlocked it after a.n.a.lysing the strength of the Kings in the dungeon today," Rick thought.
[Perception] in simpler terms would him to sense his opponent and his strength. He made a mental note to check out its limits.
Next he checked out the [Negotiator] skill he had earned.
[Skill- Negotiator (Apprentice)
Proficiency- 2%
The host can negotiate out of tough situations by bargaining a good deal for himself.]
And finally, Rick picked up the biggest catch he had gained, the two artifacts.
[Signet- Legendary Artifact
A ring of unknown origin allowing the wielder has the ability to command the demon world]
[Lemegeton- Legendary Artifact
A grimoire of unknown origin and unidentified use.]
Rick was surprised reading this! Even a G.o.d"s Evolution System did not know the use of the Lemegeton!
He suppressed his desire to open the grimoire to check what made it so extraordinary. Instead, he chose to chose to go through the rest of the notifications, diligently.
The next notification was,
[Territory Ownership-
Grants ownership over a property. The owner of a territory can use the territory and develop it for their own use.
Territories Owned- City Central Library]
[Blessed Stone-
Currency established by G.o.d for rewarding the deserved. It can be used to request G.o.d for a reward of equal value as to the number of stones.]
Rick did not understand what to do with these two, the [Territory Ownership] and the [Blessed Stones] he had. Not knowing what to do, he decided to just leave them be for the time being.
After going through all the notifications, Rick finally opened the first page of the Lemegeton.
The page was blank, it had nothing written on it. Rick reached the edge of the page to flip it to the next page when suddenly beautifully written letters started appearing on the page,
[To the Owner,
Please standby...]