Chapter 620: The Hall of Wisdom

The First Shell Layer, "Greeting Gate," is a labyrinth.

The Second Shell Layer, "Teaching Path," is a grassland.

The Third Shell Layer, "Playboard," is a casino.

The Fourth Shell Layer, "Machine Hut," is an armory.

Speaking purely in terms of realism versus un-realism, they're all completely unrealistic, but even so, those past four areas could all at least be described as "locations." They had ground, they had walls, and they had, you know, paths.

But this Fifth Shell Layer, "Wisdom," is, how should I put it... right, it's much more fitting to call it a "space" rather than a location. The basic structure of standing on the inside of an ellipse is the same as the other Shell Layers, but if I had to point out a difference, it's that instead of leading to a lower layer, there's a glowing sphere of light floating right in the dead center of the space.

Furthermore, the Fifth Layer is the smallest space among all the Shell Layers. Aside from the areas obscured by the giant ball of light in the way, you can visibly confirm almost the entirety of the room with the naked eye. If you flattened it out... it'd probably be about the size of a school gymnasium? Definitely smaller than a soccer pitch.

In a sense, this should be the most compact and cozy space inside the Leviathan, yet it feels infinitely more detached from reality than a region-scale labyrinth, a prefecture-sized grassland, a city-scale casino, or an armory so vast it could be mistaken for a metropolis.

If you let your guard down, it feels like you'd just softly float away. It's as if there's a thin curtain separating perception from physical reality... I suppose "dreamlike" is the most appropriate word to describe this condition.

"How should I say this... After the sheer scale of everything else, this place actually feels narrow. Survival, try doing a full-power dash."

"That sounds annoying, so pass. You're faster than me anyway, Sunraku."

"Hoooh? Fine, just watch... On your mark, get set—"

Dash!

"And goal."

"For a second there, I literally saw two of you."

"And even with him decelerating toward the end, it still took him about... what, two seconds?"

I am a Speed Holder, I am very fast. It's not quite at the level of Critical Speed where I can literally fly through the air just from raw acceleration, but with my current skill lineup, running this distance in two seconds is a breeze... I can't help but feel the power creep is getting a bit ridiculous even for a video game, but if I have to constantly deal with the risk of becoming a stain on the wall or getting grated across the floor, I need it to be at least this inflated or I'd be in serious trouble.

Still, sprinting at full power actually cleared my head. Naturally, this Shell Layer isn't just an empty finish line. The glowing sphere overhead is obviously suspicious, but once you start thinking the hexagonal patterns drawn on the ground in light are suspicious too, absolutely everything suddenly starts looking like a trap.

"Um, what exactly are we supposed to do...?"

She said it! Rei-shi said it!!

In response, Isana silently pointed at the floor... No, wait. One of the hexagons on the ground just rose up, forming a pillar that stopped right between waist and chest height... See, I knew it was suspicious! There really was a gimmick hidden in the floor!!

『The only action permitted here is the viewing of information. And once you have viewed fifty pieces of information, the final Amberjack Pass shall be bestowed upon you.』

"How should I put this, that sounds like the kind of content that would make the guys in 【Library】 foam at the mouth."

"I'll go let them know later."

"Sunraku-kun, you... you do have a video recording item on you, right?"

I'm fully equipped. Setting that aside, I understand the gimmick of this area now. In short, it's a library with a mandatory quota.

Once the number of "books" you've read surpasses a certain threshold, it counts as a clear. Judging by the titles we acquired earlier, this is probably treated as post-clear content.

"Even so, I ain't anywhere near as interested in the world's lore as the folks in 【Library】 are."

"I don't think you should dismiss it before you try it, Survival. We might even be able to find out what caused the destruction of the Divine Age, right?"

『Yes, for I was watching it unfold until the very end.』

"In other words, we might also uncover information about the Raid Monsters."

"Ahhh... I see. Yeah, that definitely gets my motivation going."

"? Why are you looking at me?"

If you're going to stare at someone, shouldn't it be Rei-shi? In terms of progress related to the Genesis Monsters, Rei-shi is probably light-years ahead of everyone else. After all, while I've only ever crossed paths with Genesis underlings and split ends, Rei-shi has actually made direct contact with... what was it, Nehemos? That monster on the New Continent—or rather, the monster that *is* the New Continent—and successfully triggered a flag with it.

"It ain't gonna be that straightforward though, is it?"

『Indeed. In order to view an information file, you yourselves must have already seen, heard, or possess fragments of that knowledge.』

I see. In other words, it's impossible to view information about something you have absolutely zero prior knowledge of.

And apparently, touching the hexagonal pillar that rose from the ground allows the Leviathan to scan the physical bodies of the players—the "Second-Generation Humans"—to determine what we know... Wait, what the hell is up with that dystopian function?

"Mold, why don't you take the first spear?"

"Eh... well, alright."

For some inexplicable reason, I can't shake the feeling that it would be best for me to go last, so I yielded the first slot to Mold for the time being. Looking incredibly apprehensive, Mold—who is rapidly securing his position as the ultimate decoy among our group—touched the hexagonal pillar. The moment his palm made contact, a line of light flowed down the pillar and was absorbed into the ground, as if something was being drained straight out of his hand.

"...Mold, your HP isn't dropping or anything, is it?"

"No, but I'm betting it's sucking away my EXP."

"Um, Mold... -san. You should probably check your MP too, just in case..."

"Wait, you made me go first when it's something we need to be this paranoid about!?"

I mean, look at it! It's a dystopian machine...

However, it seemed our fears of it draining our life force were unfounded. Moving in the exact opposite direction from before, lines of light ascended from the floor, converging onto the hand touching the pillar, and several windows instantly popped up around Mold.

"One, two, three... twelve, I think?"

"How much information regarding the Divine Age had Mold actually gathered again?"

"No, not that much..."

Why are you looking at me while saying that?

While I stood there half-glaring at the rest of the group as they inexplicably focused their gazes on me, Rust stepped up and touched the hexagonal pillar... producing a total of sixteen windows.

"Hm? Looks like the young lady over there has more."

"...I've investigated ruins that Mold couldn't physically enter, so that's probably the difference."

Wait, why couldn't Mold... Ah, it's just a simple issue of physical height. Seriously? There are places that filter you out based on your avatar's height? That's trash-tier design, to put it mildly. Ah, but I guess as long as you have line of sight, you could just force your way in with teleportation magic.

"...My only goal is the customization rights for the Tactical Mechs. So, I don't care how many windows I get."

Why are you looking at me while saying that?

Following that, Yashirobird spawned fifteen windows, Survival spawned twenty, and Rei-shi managed to spawn an impressive sixty-eight windows... which meant my turn had finally arrived.

"Right... yeah, I know what those looks mean. I get it."

"Heh, show us an entertaining sight, Tsuchinoko."

"I'll make sure to record it just in case, Tsuchinoko."

Who the hell are you calling a Tsuchinoko? Besides, if I really was a Tsuchinoko, I would've been hunted down ages ago. I mean, it shed its skin halfway through and turned into a giant woman, and the one who finally killed it wasn't even me, it was the Naga... Wait, no, the only player who knows the truth about that is me.

"Yosh!! Here I go!!!"

Slamming my palm aggressively onto the hexagonal pillar, I forced the Leviathan to read the personal history of the individual known as meSunraku. I was already getting a terrible premonition considering the loading time was glaringly longer than everyone else's, but no, no, it's probably just the OS lagging because it had to read six people in such a short time. Isana deepening her smile must be an action devoid of any particular meaning, and the sheer volume of light lines returning from the floor to my palm is definitely just my imagination──────

"Ugh, gross."

"It looks like his upper body just exploded into a massive swarm of windows."

"S-Sunraku... -san, um, are you alright?"

"...A system-window fairy?"

"A fairy... Pfft, ghh."

"You bastards are just saying whatever you want..."

『My, my. The total number of unlocked files is... exactly one hundred and thirty-two.』

That many!?

---

Author's Afterword

It's not that Sunraku had specifically gathered over a hundred pieces of independent information. Rather, it's a case where a single fragment of information unlocks multiple files, and there are multiple instances of that pattern overlapping. (To be honest, there are quite a few duds mixed in, like a diary completely filled with Edward-kun's complaints).

The reason for the difference in numbers between Rust and Mold—aside from the physical height limitation mentioned in the story—is that file unlocks are also tied to Tactical Mech proficiency. To be more specific, Rust, who spent countless hours grinding in the Tactical Mech Derby, ended up unlocking the files required to obtain the license for customization privileges.

To the two players returning from the Isolated Island, a red skull granting the ultimate freedom of customization is vastly more appealing than any sword boasting the maximum possible firepower.