Chapter 125 - Harmful Books

When the flying swords, axes, and hammers came together in a single chain, Wain was left with few options for getting out of this tricky situation. He could have used Code of Light and Darkness or Cursed Swordsman, but it was too disadvantageous.

Wain could not waste his energy and strength so carelessly. He would have wasted an awful lot of energy dealing with Primary Chronicle monsters. Wain tried to think of a plan of action, and he did.

Whooosh.

Wain's plan was extraordinary but effective. He decided to take advantage of the monsters' unusual appearance and use it as his weapon. Wain snatched one sword from the common net and armed himself with it as if it were his own.

The sword covered in purple energy tried to break free from Wain's grip, but it failed. Wain was strong enough to hold that sword and fight against other monsters with it.

"As I thought, this sword has no special abilities other than general strength and flight. Until I loosen my grip, this sword will be nothing more than a tool in my hands." Smirking, Wain said and prepared for battle.

The next moment, a multitude of weapons attacked him simultaneously. Now, however, Wain could not only defend himself but also attack. Wain decided to grab this sword for a reason.

As he blocked the attacks with the plasma sword, he kept a close eye on which weapons did the most damage. 

The hammers were the most destructive, but the reason was their shape, and great weight, as well as this weapon did not fit Wain's fighting style.

After a while, Wain realized that this sword was the strongest and sharpest, so he grabbed it.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Wain blocked each of his attacks with lightning speed. Moreover, his lunges were damaging the flying swords and axes, gradually destroying their structure.

In half a minute, he had destroyed a quarter of all weapons. After another thirty seconds, he had killed half of the unusual monsters. By two minutes had passed, Wain was completely finished with his enemies. All that was left of the weapons was debris, lying on the floor like garbage.

More than ten blue souls flew into Wain's body at the exact moment. He looked at the sword in his hand and shrugged, killing the last monster with one mighty blow. The last soul flew into his body.

[Soul of Soaring Sword (Damaged)

Chronicle: Primary

Rating: Rare]

Among all the souls Wain received, three souls were Damaged. He smiled and crushed them. He was lucky to get three Damaged Souls by killing such a comparatively small number of monsters.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Soaring Hammer level 14. Strength+3, Stamina+1]

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Soaring Axe level 14. Strength+1, Stamina+1]

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Soaring Sword level 14. Strength+1, Agility+3]

Wain gained a considerable amount of Soul Essence, but the most important thing was that his stats increased. Each such soul was a small step forward to true power. 

Stats were as important as souls or skills. A person's physical capabilities depended on them, on which, in turn, many skills depended.

However, in addition to the many reports of Soul Essence absorbed, Wain saw several other unexpected notifications.

[Your Strength and Agility have reached 80 points. It is impossible to further increase these stats by absorbing Soul Essence of Primary Chronicle monsters.]

Wain was stunned. He had never heard of such a thing, as the people in his world had not had time to become strong enough for this problem to become widely known. The dark mist that destroyed all life appeared before it did.

Before Wain crushed those souls, his Strength was 76 points, his Agility was 80, and it could no longer be upgraded. If there was no restriction, at this point, Wain's Strength should have been 81 points and Agility 83 points.

This restriction was not because it was the system's wish but because it was how the world worked. When a person absorbed Soul Essence from the soul of another being, he got a piece of power for himself, depending on what state the soul was in.

But the stronger a man became, the more concentrated energy he needed. Wain was a creature of the First Chronicle, and over time he would not get enough Soul Essence from Primary Chronicle monsters to get stronger. 

This has already happened to two stats and would happen to the others when they reach 80 points.

It could be compared to human vision. Each person's vision was slightly different, but everyone could see letters, colors, and so on, except those who had some kind of disease.

Some had worse vision, some had better. But regardless of the quality of vision, a person could not see germs on his hands, even if he tried very hard. 

The reason was that germs were too small, and the structure of the human eye was not capable of seeing such tiny creatures.

This was the limit for the human eye, after which various means such as magnifying lenses or microscopes had to be used. The situation with Soul Essence was precisely the same.

However, as always, Energy was a special stat. Wain didn't know to what values he could increase Energy by absorbing Soul Essence from the souls of Primary Chronicle creatures, but there was no limit so far.

"Hmm, so the first limit is 80 points of any stats. That's interesting." Mumbled Wain and headed toward the stairs.

He wasn't upset by this limitation. On the contrary, it seemed a logical and fair phenomenon that had a proper explanation. Moreover, he was pleased that it worked that way.

In that case, a person whose stats had reached a value of 80 points would no longer be able to get stronger by killing monsters that were dozens of times weaker than him. It would be strange and even unfair in some ways to those who weren't very strong.

Such a rule would force strong people to fight opponents equal to them in strength. Those who would not risk their lives would progress slower than others. Such people would forever fall behind those who were capable of it.

This appealed to Wain as he was the kind of man who would only attempt the most complex and dangerous tasks.

"Even though this world is chaotic after the apocalypse begins, it really isn't. The more I learn new things, the more I want to explore this world even more." Mumbled Wain as he walked down the stairs to the underground floor.

After a while, Wain reached the place where he felt the energy fluctuations. As Wain expected, it was a spacious hall with many bookcases and books scattered on the floor.

Wain concentrated on the energy fluctuations, but suddenly something interrupted him. He saw a tall creature coming up behind one of the cabinets.

Wain prepared himself for battle. He didn't expect any monster in this place, among the books. But, Wain was ready to take the fight at any moment.

The monster was quite tall, about three meters tall. It had an anthropomorphic body, a lean build, and black skin. However, one important detail made this monster unique, even among other monsters.

It had a massive yellow book instead of a head. It looked strange, but this detail was predictable, considering the environment in which this monster appeared.

"Roooooooooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!"

Suddenly the book opened, and the monster roared furiously. Inside the book lurked a hideous mouth with many teeth. Moreover, the symbols on the pages gradually began to shine brightly.

When that happened, dozens of books around the monster collapsed on Wain like projectiles.

He was surprised by such an unusual attack and ability but could easily dodge by bouncing aside.

Wain swung his arm, and the plasma sword flew towards the monster. However, when the plasma sword almost reached the monster, the symbols on the pages glowed again, and the books knocked down the plasma sword.

"First the flying swords, now the hovering books, what's next?" Mumbled Wain and rushed toward the monster.

He snapped his finger, and a plasma sword appeared in his hand. Wain launched several swift attacks and sliced the monster into several pieces.

A blue soul flew into Wain's body, and he crushed it immediately. Wain breathed a sigh of relief. But, suddenly, he saw several more of the same monsters coming his way.

"Yeah, I didn't think my first trip to the museum in this world would be so unusual," Wain muttered and, clutching his sword tightly, ran toward the monsters.

These book monsters were not strong opponents, but they possessed a unique ability like flying weapons. 

Moreover, Wain noticed that he had once again gained Rare Rating Soul. This led him to some interesting thoughts.

'Hmm, the museum originally contains things that are quite rare from a human perspective. No, in terms of mathematics. 

Armor, weapons, books, paintings, and so on. If any of these things are in a museum, it means that they are either unique or rare and limited in quantity. 

Is it possible that the environment in which monsters appear depends not only on their appearance and attribute but also on the Rating of their souls?' Wain thought as he cut the monsters apart.

A few souls flew into his body, but he didn't use them since they were all Destroyed. Wain wanted to keep them to buy something from Sven.

'Speaking of which, I can probably stop by that mysterious bartender now..' Thought Wain and concentrated on finding the spatial rift.