Chapter 378
What is an Immortal? What is a Transcendent? How is faith formed among people?
The [Library of All Things] also held information on such questions.
Most of it aligned with what he had already heard from the ghost, but the ghost had not fully mastered the knowledge within this place.
That was because the ghost had little interest in faith or transcendence.
The ghost’s concerns lay solely with the sword and the salvation of a ruined world.
As such, some of the information the ghost had shared with him had been uncertain.
“Hmm.”
Taesan closed the book.
He had searched the library and read books that dealt with faith and transcendence.
Thanks to that, he was able to reconfirm what he already knew and fill in the gaps.
And he was also able to obtain more detailed information.
“Consideration on the Two Realms: Immortality and Transcendence.”
It was a book densely packed with complex and in-depth information.
[The term Transcendent refers to one who has obtained their own divine name and established their own domain. They are sometimes referred to as gods.]
[In contrast, Immortals are those who have not attained a divine name. They possess no domain of authority. Though they may seem freer by having ascended through power alone, in the cosmic perspective, they wield little influence.]
[It is possible for an Immortals to become a Transcendent, but most do so by acquiring faith and becoming incomplete [Transcendents]. The cases where an Immortals gains a domain and becomes a complete Transcendent are extremely rare, even in the entire universe.]
The difference between an Immortals and a Transcendent lay in whether one had a governing domain. That was consistent with what the ghost had explained.
But the rest was new information.
[By gathering people’s faith, one can also transcend the limits of mortality. However, it is unstable and limited.]
It was something Taesan had experienced himself.
He had transcended mortality through universal worship.
Depending on the quality and quantity of worship, it was indeed possible to reach the state of a Transcendent. A world one governed could also be considered a domain of sorts.
“That might have been the path the [Green Witch] sought.”
The [Green Witch] had desired to become a Transcendent.
People’s faith.
That might have been one of the methods she had hoped to pursue.
At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind.
[That’s not quite right, child.]
A soft and gentle voice.
Taesan paused for a moment, then realized who the voice belonged to.
“[Green Witch]…”
[You remember me.]
A laugh echoed softly.
Taesan turned his gaze back to the book.
“You’re able to speak?”
[A brief conversation like this is possible, dear. I had planned to simply observe, but I felt the need to correct your thoughts.]
The witch continued gently.
[What you’re thinking is not wrong. If you receive a sufficient amount of faith, you can indeed temporarily reach the state of transcendence. But, child, didn’t you experience it yourself? That such a position is incredibly unstable?]
“I did.”
When Taesan had said he was leaving, the people despaired.
And the moment that emotion erupted, it placed an intense strain on Taesan.
His [Status] had been shaken—if only for a moment.
[It’s true you can ascend to the state of a Transcendent through faith, but such a seat can’t be considered truly your own. Humans are destined to die and disappear. Faith is no different. As generations pass, belief fades, and eventually, the power is lost.]
The witch spoke quietly, her voice tinged with passion.
[What I seek is not such a fragile seat. I want a place of my own, one that no one can interfere with, that never wavers under any circumstances, that defies even time itself and shines eternally and immortally… That is the place I seek.]
“I see.”
Come to think of it, it was only natural that she, an Immortal, would understand faith well.
What she longed for was a place far higher than the unstable one created by faith.
“That’s unfortunate.”
[Not at all. For the first time, I feel a glimmer of hope.]
The witch spoke in an excited tone.
[You’re truly amazing. Even if only briefly, you reached the same state as me. And in such a short time.]
It hadn’t been long since she had met Taesan.
And yet during that time, Taesan had reached the boundary and transcended mortality. It was a growth rate that defied explanation. Many powerful beings spent their entire lives without ever crossing that boundary.
Even the emperor had been obsessed with [Divine Blood], resorting to desperate measures to cross it, because that boundary was so difficult to overcome.
[If it’s you, perhaps someday…]
Of course, that was still a distant possibility.
Since the position he had reached was attained through faith, he wasn’t a true Immortals, and the seat of a Transcendent was even further away.
But the potential was there.
[I will continue watching you. And cheering for you. Stay strong.]
With those parting words, the [Green Witch] vanished.
The ghost let out a belated breath.
[Hoo. That’s intense.]
“What’s wrong?”
[The presence of an Immortal isn’t something easily endured. You’re the weird one.]
The ghost grumbled.
It seemed he had spent his energy protecting himself from being overwhelmed by the [Green Witch’s] presence.
Taesan continued reading about gods and [Old gods].
Overall, the contents were not much different from what other [Transcendents] had told him.
Seeing Taesan calmly building knowledge, the ghost muttered in exasperation.
[Don’t you get dizzy? I couldn’t even read half of this.]
The ghost had not only lacked interest in faith and [Old gods], but had also struggled to read such texts at all.
Whenever he tried to read books about the [Old gods] and deities, he would feel mental strain, as if he were unqualified to handle the information.
But Taesan showed no such signs.
“Not really.”
He felt no mental strain.
Taesan continued reading quietly, and the ghost clicked his tongue.
Just as they were about to wrap things up, a phrase caught [Taesan’s] eye.
[A Transcendent governs a domain suited to their divine name, and no one may interfere in that domain.]
As written in the book, a Transcendent with a domain is unaffected by anything.
Even Taesan, who had turned back time to return to the past, could not escape the gaze of the gods.
But what was truly interesting came in the next line.
[However, even such gods find it nearly impossible to interfere with time and affect its flow. The time they can influence is localized and limited.]
‘So interfering with time is impossible?’
And yet, Taesan had been sent to the past by [Uroboros’s Fossil].
‘Where did she get something like that?’
Lee Taeyeon had also kept information about the fossil hidden.
Which meant Taesan had no idea how she had obtained it.
He found himself curious once more—but without divine assistance, it was virtually impossible to find the answer.
Taesan rose to his feet.
[What, you’re done already?]
“Of course not.”
He still had many questions.
But since there was no end to them, there was no need to rush in gathering knowledge.
For now, he intended to finish organizing what he knew about this floor.
He already knew quite a bit about the 78th floor.
‘The place where the goddess I love, [Levinenov], resides.’
Had [Ainzhar] found his goddess?
The odds were high, but he couldn’t be sure.
Because of where the goddess was located.
[Levinenov] was in the twenty-fourth [Secret Room].
In other words, this floor had more than twenty [Secret Rooms].
‘A floor filled with many [Secret Rooms].’
Taesan returned to where Jorge was.
Without lifting his eyes from the book, Jorge spoke.
“Did you find a book?”
“Here it is.”
Taesan handed over a book.
It was one he had casually grabbed on the way back.
Jorge glanced at it, then returned to reading.
“I’ve read it. Bring me another.”
“I see.”
Taesan moved.
But he didn’t go far.
He browsed the shelves nearby, touching various books.
Perhaps annoyed by the behavior, Jorge scowled and said:
“Just to be clear. I’ve read all the books around here. This isn’t a floor where you can pass with clever tricks, so drop the pointless schemes.”
Jorge had likely read almost every book in this library.
Still, many challengers tried to exploit the idea that the area right under someone’s nose might be overlooked and brought books from nearby.
The [Labyrinth] demanded immense capability, and some floors required unconventional thinking—but Jorge denied that possibility.
There was no point in searching nearby any longer, but Taesan continued lingering near Jorge.
Jorge clicked his tongue and lost interest.
After some time rummaging through the shelves, Taesan asked Jorge:
“There’s a lot of information here, but I haven’t found anything specific about gods or [Old gods].”
There were descriptions of stages and power, but not detailed information about the gods themselves. What exactly a [Demon God] was, what powers the [God of Choice], [Maria], wielded, or what kind of beings the [Old gods] were—none of that was written.
This was the [Library of All Things]. All the knowledge that the [God of Knowledge] possessed was supposed to be here.
So the fact that it wasn’t visible meant one of two things.
Either Taesan hadn’t found it yet—
Or it was sealed somewhere deep within.
“That’s what you’re curious about?”
Jorge frowned.
“There is a vast amount of knowledge here… but knowledge that cannot be obtained without qualification certainly exists.”
Information about gods and [Old gods] that Taesan desired fell under that category.
That was also why there were books even Jorge couldn’t access.
“If you desire it, prove you have the qualifications to obtain it. Then find it yourself. That is Metis’s will.”
If you wanted knowledge, you had to demonstrate the ability to match it.
Taesan intended to do just that.
“Found it.”
Taesan muttered as he pushed a book deep into the shelf.
Rumble!
The bookshelf shook.
With a loud sound, the shelf slowly began to move.
And as it moved, it revealed an empty space.
[Huh?]
“…What?”
Both the ghost and Jorge turned toward the sound in surprise.
Beyond the space was a passage.
[You have discovered the First [Secret Room].]
[First Discovery Bonus]
[Health +500]
[Mana +300]
[Magi +50]
[What the—there were [Secret Rooms] on this floor?]
“You didn’t know?”
[Of course not. Even with reconnaissance, nothing showed up, so I assumed they didn’t exist here…]
The ghost had no idea there were [Secret Rooms] on the 78th floor.
Which made his shock all the greater.
[How the hell…?]
“I heard something.”
Lee Taeyeon had spent a long time on the 78th floor.
During that time, she had shared all sorts of trivial, random, and frankly uninteresting stories.
Why had Taesan, who was playing on Easy Mode, known that [Levinenov] was in the twenty-fourth [Secret Room]?
The reason was simple.
While staying in the [Library of All Things], Lee Taeyeon had discovered over twenty [Secret Rooms], and she had talked about them endlessly in the community.
