The silence of the Central Library was a world away from the carnage on the streets. It was a vast, cold mausoleum for a civilization that hadn't realized it was dead yet. For Kairo, it was the perfect fortress. After piling a small mountain of priceless scientific and engineering texts onto a cart, his work truly began. Survival wasn't just about killing monsters; it was about controlling one's environment.
He started with the grand entrance. The heavy oak doors were strong, but the glass panels beside them were a fatal weakness. With a grunt of effort, he single-handedly dragged massive, solid oak reading tables, each weighing several hundred pounds, and wedged them against the doors, creating a barricade that would stop anything short of a battering ram. He used thick reference books and shelves to block and reinforce the lower-level windows, plunging the grand hall into a gloomy twilight. He was not just blocking entry; he was creating choke points, kill zones for any uninvited guests.
His senses, sharpened by a high SEN stat and the instincts of a battle-hardened veteran, told him he wasn't alone. The silence was too deliberate. There were signs: a recently spilled cup of coffee on a table, a half-eaten sandwich abandoned on a desk, the faint scent of human fear clinging to the air. Someone was hiding. A liability, or an asset? He had to know.
Drawing his Runic Blade, its faint blue aura casting eerie shadows on the towering shelves, he moved deeper into the library. He didn't walk; he flowed, his [Aether Step] ready to be activated at a moment's notice. He bypassed the main floors, his instincts guiding him down into the sub-level archives, a labyrinth of rolling shelves and temperature-controlled rooms.
It was there, in a small, cramped records room, that he found her. Huddled in a corner, wrapped in a thick wool coat despite the mild temperature, was Martha, the elderly librarian who had questioned him just days before. Her face was pale and etched with fear, but her eyes, when they met his, held a spark of defiant composure. She didn't scream.
"You," she breathed, her voice raspy. "The boy from the archives. The one reading about disasters." A flicker of horrified understanding dawned on her face. "You knew. You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
Kairo lowered his sword but did not sheathe it. He used [Scan].
[Martha Pembrook]
Level: 1
Class: Civilian
Title: Head Librarian
Description: A non-combatant with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Central Library's layout, inventory, and hidden passages. Possesses a high degree of organizational skill.
An asset. A valuable one.
"Knowing and preparing are two different things," Kairo stated, his voice devoid of warmth. "The fact that you are alive means you are smarter than most. You hid. You were quiet. You understood the new rules."
Martha pushed herself to her feet, her composure returning as she leaned against a shelf of rare manuscripts. "The new rules? The rule of the jungle, you mean? The rule where monsters tear people apart in the streets?" Her voice trembled with indignation. "I saw you from a window. That man in the store. You moved… inhumanly. What have you become?"
"I've become a survivor," Kairo countered, stepping closer. The faint blue light from his sword illuminated the resolve in his golden eyes. "Humanity, kindness, pity… those are the luxuries of a world that could afford them. This world affords only strength and results. Your 'humanity' would have gotten you killed."
"And your 'strength' makes you no different from the monsters," she shot back, her fear being replaced by a librarian's fierce, intellectual pride.
"There is one difference," Kairo said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. "I'm still breathing. And I am offering you the chance to do the same."
Martha stared at him, her mind racing. This cold, terrifying young man was her only hope of surviving another night. "An offer? What kind of offer?"
"This library is now my base of operations," he explained, gesturing to the vast archives around them. "It is a fortress of knowledge, the most valuable resource left on Earth. You know this place better than anyone. Its secret passages, its structural weaknesses, its inventory."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "I will ensure this sanctuary remains secure. I will provide protection from the monsters and the men who are worse than monsters. In return, you will be its caretaker. You will use your knowledge to help me catalogue and retrieve the information I need. I am not asking for a friend. I am acquiring an asset. This is the arrangement."
It wasn't an offer; it was a contract, delivered with the finality of a death sentence. Martha looked at the young man before her - no longer a boy, but something ancient and predatory wearing a boy's face. She thought of the screams, the carnage, and the absolute certainty that she would die alone in the dark. She saw no other path.
"I accept," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I will be your… caretaker."
With the base secured and his new "asset" acquired, Kairo retreated to a secluded study carrel in the secured section. He needed to process. He reviewed the skills of the Aether Blade class, contemplating their future evolutions. He spent a precious hour practicing [Aether Step], mastering its nuances, learning its exact mana cost and cooldown, until the movement was as natural as breathing.
He handed Martha a list of subjects written on a piece of scrap paper. "Start with these," he commanded. "I want everything you can find on metallurgy, civil engineering, applied chemistry, and pre-antibiotic era medicine. Prioritize diagrams and practical manuals."
Martha took the list, her hand trembling slightly. It was a curriculum for rebuilding a world from scratch. The sheer, terrifying scope of his ambition was breathtaking.
As he sat there, planning his next move - a full-scale assault on the burgeoning dungeon in his warehouse to retrieve the 'Golem's Heart' - a new presence filled his mind. It was not a thought or a sound, but a vast, silent pressure that commanded his full attention. At the same time, a voice echoed, not through the air, but directly inside the consciousness of every human left alive. It was genderless, emotionless, and radiated an authority that dwarfed any worldly power.
[The 24-Hour Grace Period has concluded.]
[The Tutorial Phase is now over.]
Martha gasped, clutching her head as the voice invaded her thoughts. Kairo remained perfectly still, his expression unreadable, listening with an analytical focus.
[From this moment, the laws of the old world are permanently void. Your worth as a living being will now be measured by Level, Stats, and Skills.]
[Death is no longer the end, but a failure state. Those who fail to prove their worth will be purged.]
[This world, which you called Earth, is hereby formally designated as the First Floor of the Tower of Ascension.]
The Tower. The name sent a jolt through Kairo. In his past life, they hadn't learned that designation for almost a year. The timeline was being accelerated. The rules were changing.
Martha looked at Kairo, her face a mask of dawning horror. "The First Floor? What does that mean?"
Kairo didn't answer. He was focused on the voice's final, chilling words.
[Prove your worth, or be devoured by the floors to come. Ascend through the Tower, or be forgotten as dust. The true test begins now. Good luck, Players.]
The presence vanished. The world felt different, heavier, the new rules cemented into the fabric of reality. Kairo stood up and walked to one of the high, barricaded windows, peering through a small crack at the ruined city. The tutorial was over. The real game - a faster, more aggressive version than the one he remembered - had just begun. And he was already leagues ahead.