Chapter 377: Cat-girl?

Atlas remained silent for a moment as he watched the man approach him. ’Another person from a different race, he must be Trethren as Dravia said.’ He recalled seeing numerous individuals from races he had never encountered before roaming around the Conclave’s structures.

’Except for the Black Arbiter, I haven’t seen anyone who looks Human like us.’ His thoughts briefly drifted toward the Black Arbiter before he refocused on the matter at hand.

"I am Atlas Mariorett." The man smiled at his response and approached until he was standing barely an inch away from him. "Alright, let me see your token. I’ll assign your level of access to the library according to your rank." Atlas nodded and immediately took out his token, tossing it toward the man before watching him curiously.

Trethren activated the small device, and the same holographic display appeared before them. He stared at it for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, before finally breaking the silence. "I see. You must be the one the Third Pillar personally brought in." Atlas nodded once again, remaining silent even after hearing his words.

"Before I assign you access to the appropriate level of the library, you should know that the Primartia Library has four levels." Trethren paused briefly, noticing Atlas nodding in understanding. "The four levels are Entry, Advanced, Forbidden, and lastly, Primordial." Each name registered in Atlas’s mind as he listened without interrupting, giving the man his full attention.

Trethren continued, "As you hold the 98th rank, you’re permitted to access up to the Advanced Level. Only those ranked within the top fifty can access the Forbidden Level of the library." Having finished his explanation, the man flipped the token back toward Atlas, who caught it with ease.

"The area where you’re currently standing is the Entry Level. Since you’re completely new to the Conclave, you should start here." Atlas glanced at the device once before tossing it into his separate space. "I will, but I have one question."

"Ask away."

"Am I allowed to use my abilities here? If I can, then I could easily find the books I want to read." Trethren remained silent for a moment before answering. "You’re allowed to do that, but only for searching. Any ability that could damage the library is strictly prohibited." Atlas nodded and let out a slight sigh of relief. ’That’s good. Otherwise, I would have needed far too much time.’

’First things first, I should find a book about the Primartia Galaxy itself. I need to learn about the races, regions, worlds, factions, and anything else that might be mentioned. Any information will be useful.’ Seeing Atlas standing still as he considered something, Trethren smiled faintly. ’An anomaly is an anomaly, alright. He doesn’t seem to follow the usual rules.’

With that, Trethren turned around and began walking away. "This is just a reminder, but you should know that you need to remain silent while reading, right? As long as you remember those two rules, everything should be fine." Atlas watched the man’s back gradually disappear into the distance and nodded to himself, acknowledging the instructions.

Atlas then turned toward the massive area filled with books arranged on floating shelves. Without wasting any more time, he altered the logic of the search within reality itself, locating the book he wanted in an instant. A faint glow appeared within his senses, coming from a distant part of the library.

’There!’ he thought before teleporting directly to that location. The moment he arrived, his hand was already reaching toward a book placed high up on a particular floating shelf. However, just as he was about to pull it out, another hand landed on the very same book, making him frown as he turned to look at the person who had reached it alongside him.

Beside him floated a female figure with cat-like ears and a tail. Her appearance made Atlas frown even more as he examined her. ’Hmm? Doesn’t she look like a cat?’ Before he could think much further about it, the girl, who wore a pair of glasses, pulled the book from the shelf and spoke. "Nya, it’s mine now. I was the first to touch it, Nya."

Atlas paused for a moment, his attention shifting from the book to the peculiar way she spoke. ’Huh? She even talks like a cat?’ His mind filled with questions about her, and he completely forgot that he had come here to obtain the book. Just as the girl began turning away, Atlas snapped his fingers and spoke.

"Just because you’re the first one to touch the book doesn’t mean you’re the one who gets to take it." In an instant, the book teleported directly into Atlas’s hand, leaving the cat-girl completely stunned.

"Nya?" She turned toward him, confusion written across her face as she tried to understand what had just happened. Atlas was about to turn away himself when the girl suddenly jumped onto his head, positioning her hands and feet in just the right places to maintain her balance.

"I don’t know what you did, and it seems I can’t win in a fight against you either, so how about we read it together?" Atlas froze for a moment, more surprised by her sudden movement than by her suggestion.

’I... wasn’t able to sense her movements? She’s at the same Emperor rank as me, though.’ He frowned slightly, only to notice her tail swaying back and forth as she looked down at him from atop his head.

"No, I’ll read it alone. You can take it once I’m finished." With that, Atlas snapped his fingers again, teleporting the cat-girl back to the spot where she had been floating before. He turned away from her and thought, ’I should gather all the books I want to read first, then go through them one by one.’

Just as he was about to use the same method again, however, the cat-girl suddenly teleported in front of him.

Atlas looked at her, only to find her wearing an expression that made her seem like a child about to burst into tears. "Nya, nya~~! Don’t do that, nya~! L-let’s read together, nyaaa!!"

’Huh? What’s with her?’