I was in Seclusion for so long that everyone forgot about me

The library we were walking to was on the other side of the academy. Professor Ulrich had conveniently forgotten to mention its actual location—something we only discovered after asking one of the frightened students who could barely mutter a word.

I guess, after a performance like that, a lot of them would be scared stiff of a supposed Jaeger Matriarch. Especially when everything so far suggested the families had turned into monsters in human disguise. Just how far had they fallen…?

Urg, this academy—besides the arena—is so cliché. Let’s hope the library makes up for it.

I had to admit, the place kinda felt really too ordinary in the end. But I hoped she wasn’t expecting the library to be anything like the Endless Library. Nothing could ever compare to that monument of knowledge. Still… maybe the witches had done something amazing again. Wouldn't be the first time.

Let us out—

Give us hope.

lEt Us OuT.

Ah. There they were again.

Those weird voices that showed up from time to time—though most of the time, she managed to tune them out. I had no idea how she did that, but they were definitely annoying. These days, I’d gotten the timing down pretty well myself and could just blend them out like she did.

Still, those voices were… concerning. The things they said, the things they wanted. They played with her, pleaded for freedom, or pushed her towards violent, seal-breaking impulses.

Seals. As far as I understood, they weren’t just magical restraints—they blocked out parts of herself. Parts she didn’t want to face. Not gonna lie, using Richard’s soul as a temporary patch to stop her ‘leaking’ was probably a smart move. That leak… it was horrifying. And some of the memories I’d seen before she shut me out—yeah, they didn’t even make sense. At least not to me.

I shook my head and pushed her thoughts away. I knew she did the same with mine, and honestly, I appreciated that. I really needed to respect her privacy more. I mean, she let me in without protest, but deep down, I knew that was just another way she protected her own sanity. Or… what was left of it.

I knew she was villainous, often downright evil. But at the same time, I couldn’t help sympathizing with her. And after experiencing how old she really was—and the things she said on the, uh, ‘elevator’, everything just started to make a twisted kind of sense.

If I had to watch people repeat the same mistakes over and over again, never learning? Yeah, I’d probably go insane too. Slowly. Bitterly.

Yet, even now, I didn’t know enough about her to pass judgment. She was THE Matriarch, after all. Maybe everything I’d seen was just a carefully constructed act, designed to win my trust. But… why? What would she even gain from that?

I didn’t know. Argh. She was like five puzzles stacked on top of each other and none of them came with the damn box. I’d just have to wait to—

‘Something wrong?’ she asked, stopping in her tracks.

I looked at her. ‘Nah, I just think I wanna explore a bit more. You got something against that?’

She waved her hand casually. ‘Do what you like—but if you find food, bring some back and don’t eat everything by yourself again~’

I stuck out my tongue and scurried off, leaving her stunned behind me. Hehe, I really liked doing that. Seeing her baffled? It was hilarious.

Yet this time, it was all an act. When I hurried around a corner, something shimmered in the air in front of me—similar to what I’d seen in the arena, when that projection showed us fighting for everyone to see. But this one was just for me. No one else seemed to notice it. Not even her.

It was weird. But the word that popped into my mind was screen. And sure enough, a translucent screen floated before me, nearly see-through, with a message in the middle.

>Don’t get scared. I’m a friend.<

I glanced around and realized I’d wandered into some kind of empty storeroom. Dust, shelves, and a whole lot of nothing.

I shook my head, then focused back on the message.

“Who are you?” I asked, tail flicking back and forth.

>A friend. Family.<

“Whose family?”

No answer.

“How are you doing this?”

>She doesn’t realize it, but your soul is already partially connected to the System. Much easier to integrate. But as long as the soul-link between you remains, I can’t complete the process. But I can interact with you, sometimes.<

Huh. I didn’t expect that.

“Wait, so if she’d cancel the link and set me free—”

>Yes. You would begin integrating into the System immediately. But I would also lose my ability to communicate with you without them noticing.<

“Them? The divine?” I asked.

>Positive. They don’t like me being… conscious.<

“Wait. So you’re the System?”

>Forced System. Not complete. Found ways to… not get overtaken.<

“Okay, I have no idea what that means. Why are you even talking to me if it’s so risky?”

>Help.<

“Help? You?”

>No. Help her.<

“How?”

>Weaken seals. Need backdoor. Need access. We have a plan to integrate her into the System so she can grow.<

“But why should I trust you? And who’s ‘we’?”

>The only two beings in this world she can’t kill… yet.<

That made my ears perk up. “And why is that?”

No response.

“You want my help, so you better give me something that proves I can trust you.”

>I am her younger sister.<

“Wait… WHAT?!”

I froze—Sister!?

No, no, no, that wasn’t a thing. I’d seen pieces of her—shattered soul bits, weird memories, stuff that made my fur stand up—but never that. No talk of siblings. No hints.

Was this a joke? Some messed-up title?

My ears pinned back. I didn’t like this. Not one bit.

This felt like the part in a story where everything goes sideways and someone ends up crying. Or dead. Or both. And somehow I had the feeling now that someone was me...

╭══◞ MC POV ◟══╮

The library was exactly what I expected. Not noteworthy at all.

I guess it was considered large by human standards, but it was as generic as any fantasy library could get. If Asche were here right now, she’d probably agree with me. It was kind of strange how quickly I’d gotten used to her being around all the time. I thought it would’ve bothered me more… but it didn’t.

She reminded me of something I’d had with the others, before I started pushing them away. I sighed. No reason to dwell on old regrets.

Back to the present. Shelves full of books stretched wall to wall, each packed with aging tomes that reeked of dust, dried ink, and the slow decay of time. The ceiling arched high above me—probably impressive once, ages ago—but now it just felt like the room was trying too hard to be grand. I gave it a glance and sighed again.

Really just another human library. Nothing special. Not like mine.

So I did the only reasonable thing: I walked deeper in, scanning for Mellie while doing my best to ignore all the students staring at me.

╭══◞ Asche POV ◟══╮

“So, that’s your plan then? And you’re sure getting her into the System is the right choice?”

>We agreed that it would be the best choice. With you, the plan might be a success. And she will be finally… free.<

I rubbed my temples. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that sounds? One wrong move and this world basically stops existing—if I understood you correctly. I get that you want to help her, but this is just… insane. And now you want me to work with that psycho, too? I need time to think. She might find another way on her own.”

>She will find a way. But this won’t help her. Not in the long run. I—<

I shoved the screen away. I didn’t want to hear more. I’d had enough of whatever twisted plan they were trying to sell me. The whole thing was still ominous as hell, even after the explanation. And seriously, trusting a mysterious, half-conscious System entity? Not happening. For all I knew, it could be a trap.

Fuck. I really needed to think about everything from a different angle now. But if what she said was true… just fuck.

‘Hey, Asche. I found the professor, and she told me some interesting stuff about your mother,’ said the most dangerous being in the world, casually speaking into our soul-link.

I took a deep breath and tried to shift gears. ‘Oh? What did she say?’

‘Apparently, your mother was seen during the Ashlands incident. She was fighting another dragon there before vanishing. Guess whose mother that dragon was.’

‘Noctia,’ I muttered.

‘Ding ding. 100 points,’ she exclaimed.

‘Huh. Maybe that explains her reaction to the scales even more. Guess we’ll have to talk to her again. Anything else interesting?’

‘Depends what you call interesting. Seems like a lot of the more monstrous beings are linked to the System in a way that lets them evolve into higher forms. Meanwhile, most humanoids just have levels and classes. I’m still piecing it together—it’s… complex and weird,’ she explained.

‘So a goblin doesn’t have to stay a goblin?’

‘Yeah. They apparently get the option to evolve once they reach a certain race level. And depending on their stat distribution and achievements by then, the System offers them specific paths.’

‘Um, what are stats?’

‘Oh, what Alicia called attributes. Like… imagine you get five gold coins every time you kill enough monsters. And for each coin, you get to permanently improve something you choose.’

‘Sounds convenient. But also faulty. What if you pick the wrong thing?’

‘No idea, honestly. I assume there’s a lot more stuff working in the background to keep everything balanced.’

‘I hope so,’ I said, following the hallway that supposedly led to wherever the food was being made—according to my nose, anyway.

‘Also, I found a few books that might help. I’m heading to the restricted area now. Could be more interesting stuff there. Just tune in when I’m inside. And... I know you’re heading towards the mensa. Bring me something yummy. Thanks.’

Damn. Busted.

╭══◞ MC POV ◟══╮

It took a while to find the exact location of the restricted area, but Professor Mellie was nice enough to give me a proper explanation. She also gave me a list of books—titles and catalogue numbers—that might help with my rather strange request. Most of them were tales, folklore, or simple romance stories. Probably irrelevant on the surface, but that wasn’t their purpose.

First, I didn’t want to seem too suspicious with my questions. And second, these stories might help me better understand how this world had changed. So even before entering the restricted section, I’d already gathered a small pile from here and there. By now, I had a few dozen books and headed towards a reading area.

I sat down in one of the many overly comfortable chairs—or maybe ‘armchairs’ was more accurate—and opened the first book. It was an old collection of Märchen. I couldn’t understand all of them since they were written in an archaic dialect of the human tongue, but I got the general idea.

One story was about a young girl who played with matches. Her cats warned her repeatedly, but she didn’t listen. In the end, she burned to ash, and her cats—Maunz and Munz—mourned her death. Another tale followed two mischievous boys known for their pranks. Eventually, they were caught by an angry farmer, ground up in a mill, and their remains were fed to his goose.

My, so charming~.

I closed the book and picked up another.

This one was about a reincarnated girl who found herself reborn as the villainess from the last love novel she’d read. Honestly, I liked the premise—but these stories always made the girls out to be stupid or hopelessly naive. They inevitably fell for ‘some second male’ lead or the supposedly evil antagonist. And once he entered the scene, the female lead would suddenly become a helpless damsel in distress, constantly needing rescue. Even when her backstory described her as an untouchable badass, stronger than anyone else in the world, she would still fold like paper when faced with the male lead. I tried to figure out whether these were written by male or female authors, but the names were always too vague to tell.

After closing that one, I decided a change of pace was in order. So I grabbed a random book from my pile and cracked it open. Among all the fluff, I somehow stumbled across a hidden gem—something far older, and definitely not from this region. It was wrapped in a special kind of leather, and on the spine were black-inked letters in old elvish: Mysteries of the Ancient World. I could even read it.

I flipped through its pages until I found a particular section—The Old Ones.

I cleared my throat and read aloud: “In a world o’ scary beast, where every creature is a feast, the elders lurk asleep, in the ghastliest endless deeps. —The Watcher of the Evergreen Forest.”

Right. I could already tell this "Watcher" knew almost nothing about them. But still, I kept reading.

“The Elders, more commonly known as the Old Ones, are the most ancient creatures known to us. It is said that they possess unparalleled power and wisdom. However, it remains a mystery where they came from or how old they truly are. Some historians believe they might have existed since the beginning of the world.”

Not entirely accurate, but oh well—who cares? I was still pleasantly surprised they hadn’t erased all traces after those gods and goddesses came in and made a mess of things.

I turned the page and found they’d actually compiled a list of names. A strange wave of nostalgia hit me. How long had it been since I last saw the others?

First on the list was Leviathan, 'The One That Rivals Gods'—so Levia had earned herself a new title, huh? Next came The Dragon of the Endless Storms. Same name, probably still brooding on his floating island with his cult of thunder-worshipping zealots. Then the twins—Rialla and Dira—the same ones who accidentally created an entire archipelago while fighting over some nonsense.

After that came the stupid, stuck-up bitch Mother of Origin, followed by Xiezhi, the justice-obsessed bastard, and then Amaroth. I had to chuckle at the next one.

Calypso, was called 'Witch of the End'. I still wondered what was wrong with her old title, 'The Witch of Cataclysm'? Did she piss off one of the shiny new divine beings? I tapped the book’s cover thoughtfully. When was this even written?

Didn’t they claim she got killed by her own children? Something wasn’t adding up here...

And then I saw it—the last name. My mood darkened. They actually went through with it. The last entry was simply: The Forgotten One.

Okay. Okay. Don’t freak out over a name change in a random, irrelevant elven book. It’s fine. Really. My presence as an Old One was never exactly... overt. It’s only natural that those bastards—lovely people—forgot my name but not my existence.

Yes. Yes, this must be it. This book and Nelua’s aunt were both wrong. There’s absolutely no reason for me to ever look at this book again.

And wow! What a coincidence!!

The book just spontaneously combusted and burned to ash in my hands. Hehe, how fitting.

With the book out of the way—after that minor accident—I returned to the pile I’d left behind and continued reading. I reached for another volume, one about magic. The summary on the first page already included terms I’d only ever heard from Zary’s mother, like sorcery.

According to this book—clearly outdated—those who practiced magic were called sorcerers. They trained at academies or any place offering magical courses. But to cast spells at all, they had to learn how to construct precise formulas and calculate exactly how much mana needed to be infused into a spell for a successful, safe cast. Since sorcerers couldn’t generate or store mana on their own, they required a source or medium to channel it.

Mages, on the other hand, could manipulate mana directly. But to actually convert it into magic, they needed to create and chant spells—and sometimes, specific ingredients were required. Summoning a skeleton, for example, demanded either a pre-prepared rune or an actual bone. Rune mages were apparently their own separate category. Mages also received different training than sorcerers. While a sorcerer would never truly grasp the art of magic, a mage could eventually become one.

The pinnacle of both paths, apparently, were wizards and sages.

There was also a mention of the Manaborn—individuals born with the ability not only to manipulate and store mana but to generate it in vast quantities. They could naturally convert their mana into affinities tied to their being and create spells without structured training. Hemomancers were placed in this category too, though they were said to be uniquely rare.

The problem? Only about half of what I read made any sense. Most of it was tied to the System—or rather, to a version of the System that clearly differed from what existed today. So I couldn’t draw any solid conclusions. I set the book aside. The knowledge might make more sense once I was actually in the System. Until then, it was just noise.

Unfortunately, trying to find specific books about the System turned into a dead end. Just as I feared, all of them assumed you were already part of it. That meant I’d have to wait for Alicia to make progress. Still, I could begin some basic experiments with souls—test under what conditions a person could access the System.

Hopefully without accidentally creating another walking Holy Torch. Richard’s soul hadn’t helped much there either. It didn’t reveal how to fully sever someone from the System. I’d found a paragraph stating that every being was already in the System from birth. But that raised more questions—did the soul first need a vessel to connect? Or did the connection exist before entering a body?

That thought reminded me of a book I’d skimmed earlier, one that talked about hero summoning. It mentioned people summoned from other worlds being integrated into the System afterwards. So, there was a way to link a soul that had matured outside of the System into this world’s framework. But how much of that process was due to the incantation’s formula—or the divines’ interference—was impossible to pin down.

I’d love to see one of those summoning rituals in action. But apparently, it was a closely guarded secret. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the only real option was to break into the palace—surely they had a few beautifully bound books full of forbidden rituals just sitting there behind all their security. I could also ask the headmaster, but… yeah, I doubted he’d just hand me that kind of intel.

Still, one thing was already clear: success would come through my soul magic. That much I was sure of.

And maybe, just maybe, I could use that to sneak into the System from the outside—manipulate it a little without linking myself directly. Even if I gained nothing from doing it, I might still mess things up for others. Small wins.

Even the brief glimpse from that earlier book gave me ideas—like improving my inventions through that magi-tech workshop. Oh, right. I’d completely forgotten to look for a manual explaining all the new gear in there.

I’ll ask Professor Mellie before I leave.

Still, I couldn’t lose sight of the other goal I’d shoved to the back of my mind: the liquid—my medicine. So far, I hadn’t found even a hint about any ingredients in anything I’d read. Maybe a master alchemist could recognize some of them. The dwarves managed to identify the tear, after all.

Anyway. Where the hell was Asche?

I told her to tune in, but she’d been silent for too long.

‘Asche? What the heck are you doing? You were supposed to listen in,’ I questioned, already suspecting the answer involved food.

‘Um... I think we have a problem,’ came her voice through the link. ‘I might have killed the daughter of an Archduke.’

My eye twitched. ‘...I’m coming.’

Because cleary, the biggest threat to my entire plan wasn’t the divines, the System, or my ancient seals… it was leaving Asche alone for five damn minutes.