The moment Kael stepped into the library, a notification materialized before him.
---
[You’ve entered the Library of Unfinished Things]
---
His eyes flicked across it briefly before dismissing it altogether.
The library stretched endlessly before him, towering shelves packed tightly together, forming what looked less like a collection of books and more like a labyrinth. Dust drifted lazily through the stale air. Every shelf sagged beneath the weight of countless manuscripts and forgotten tomes, many of them half-finished, their pages sticking out at odd angles as though abandoned midway through creation.
Kael’s grip tightened around his weapon.
Despite the silence, he refused to lower his guard.
The courtyard had contained the Grey Shamblers.
The banquet hall had been guarded by Slothbound Knights and Sloth Hounds.
There was no chance a place like this would be empty.
If anything, it was probably worse.
Following the pattern so far, Kael couldn’t help but wonder if he was about to run into some ancient cursed librarian wandering between the shelves.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when movement caught his eye.
Something shifted behind one of the bookcases.
Kael immediately turned.
At first it looked like a translucent humanoid silhouette drifting through the air. Then sheets of loose paper suddenly flew toward it from every direction. One page after another wrapped around the ethereal figure until a complete humanoid shape formed entirely from paper.
Without hesitation, Kael activated Absolute Verdict.
Information appeared before his eyes.
---
[Page Wraith]
Formed from the accumulated unrealized intent within unfinished books.
Level: 20
HP: 1,000
Abilities:
Unfinished — Page Wraiths cannot be killed in a single burst of damage. Any attack that would reduce them below 1 HP instead reduces them to 1 HP and causes them to scatter. They become intangible for 4 seconds before reforming at full health.
Weakness: Possesses zero defense against flame-based attacks.
Drowse Script — Launches a page of cursed text at a target. On hit, inflicts 2 stacks of Drowsiness.
Forget — Once per battle, can erase one random active skill from a target’s memory for 3 minutes.
---
Kael stared at the information screen.
Then stared a little longer.
"What in the bloody hell is this?"
His expression twitched.
These abilities were ridiculous.
Especially the first one.
When it came to survival, Unfinished might actually be even more absurd than Adam’s Unstoppable Force.
The only thing keeping it balanced was the glaring weakness to fire.
Still...
Kael’s eyes lingered on the skill list.
Forget.
That ability immediately caught his attention.
The thought of erasing one of an opponent’s key skills in the middle of a fight was incredibly tempting.
Against the right enemy, it could completely change the outcome of a battle.
Without further hesitation, Kael activated Sovereign Claim.
The familiar connection immediately began forming between him and the Page Wraith.
For a brief moment, everything seemed normal.
Then a crimson notification exploded across his vision.
---
[WARNING]
[WARNING]
[Your attempt to enslave an Instance Entity has drawn the attention of a Higher Being.]
[Cease your actions immediately.]
[Failure to comply may result in Erasure.]
---
Kael froze.
Every muscle in his body locked up.
A horrifying pressure descended upon him.
It felt as though something unimaginably vast had suddenly turned its attention toward him.
A gaze.
That was the only way he could describe it.
Something was looking at him.
Something powerful enough that even breathing became difficult.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
For the first time in a very long while, genuine fear gripped him.
Using every ounce of willpower he possessed, Kael immediately canceled Sovereign Claim.
The moment he did, the pressure vanished.
The gaze retreated.
The suffocating feeling disappeared as though it had never existed.
Kael stood there for several seconds, breathing heavily.
A chill crawled down his spine.
Just what kind of existence had been watching him?
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think about it.
A shrill screech suddenly echoed through the library.
The Page Wraith charged.
At the same moment, three more emerged from between nearby shelves.
Kael’s eyes widened.
Four of them.
All rushing toward him.
The moment their paper-covered bodies began moving, Kael abandoned any thoughts of fighting.
He turned and ran.
Immediately.
He didn’t possess any flame abilities.
Without exploiting their weakness, fighting them would be a nightmare.
His boots pounded against the library floor as he darted between shelves.
Behind him, the Page Wraiths surged forward in pursuit.
Their paper bodies rustled violently as they moved, producing an unsettling chorus of whispers and scraping pages.
Kael increased his speed.
His heart was still racing from the encounter with the mysterious higher being.
Today’s surprises were becoming increasingly unpleasant.
"Damn it."
He wanted to move even faster.
The problem was the library itself.
Endless rows of towering shelves filled his path.
One wrong turn at his current speed and he would smash directly into solid wood.
Not exactly an ideal outcome.
More importantly, he had no idea where he was running.
The library felt like a maze.
For all he knew, he could be sprinting deeper into danger.
Then suddenly...
Danger flared through his instincts.
Kael’s head snapped toward the source.
His expression immediately changed.
"What now?"
Standing between two enormous shelves was a massive creature unlike anything he had encountered so far.
Entire bookshelves had been fused together into a grotesque humanoid form.
Stacks of books protruded from its limbs.
Broken shelves formed its torso.
Dust-covered manuscripts hung from its body like rotting flesh.
Without hesitation, Kael activated Absolute Verdict.
---
[The Cataloguer]
What was once a castle archivist. Now a corrupted husk of what it once guarded.
Level: 50
HP: 15,000
Abilities:
Shelf Collapse — Hurls an entire bookshelf as a projectile, dealing heavy damage in a straight line.
Paper Storm — Releases a cyclone of razor-sharp pages around itself, inflicting continuous cuts and stacking bleeding effects.
Reorganize — Any target within 5 meters possessing low mental resistance will have their memory files forcibly reorganized, resulting in madness.
---
Kael felt his eye twitch.
The abilities weren’t even the problem.
Compared to the nightmare fuel known as the Page Wraiths, The Cataloguer’s abilities seemed almost reasonable.
The problem was its health.
Fifteen thousand.
Kael felt an overwhelming urge to curse
Then his gaze shifted slightly.
His eyes landed on the large door directly behind the monster.
The exit.
Of course it was.
The way forward was literally standing behind a level fifty monstrosity.
Meanwhile, four immortal paper ghosts were still chasing him from behind.
Kael slowly looked at the door.
Then at the monster.
Then at the approaching Page Wraiths.
For a brief moment, he genuinely considered lying down on the floor and accepting his fate.
This situation was absolutely terrible.