Chapter 388: Pillar’s Proposal

Several minutes later, Atlas could once again be seen sitting inside the library. This time, he held a relatively small book compared to the massive volumes he had been reading before the duel. After the confrontation, the Seraphic Kin who had acted as the judge informed him that his rank and Conclave Credits might have increased considerably as a result of his victory.

When Atlas opened his Token device, he discovered that his rank had risen from 98th to 97th. He also noticed the credit section for the first time, and the number displayed there was so enormous that he couldn’t even count the digits at a glance.

’That must be ten million credits... But winning a duel gives me money? It’s a rather strange system of earning money.’ He thought as he continued flipping through the pages of the book, following the same method he had used with the previous ones.

As this was the last book he had gathered so far, Atlas carefully read every single word on every page before finally closing it. ’Nevertheless, it’s finally time for me to meet her.’ He exhaled slowly before snapping his fingers, causing all the books he had collected to disappear and return to their respective positions on the library shelves.

His gaze then swept across the massive hall, where countless members of the Conclave were quietly reading, searching for books, or moving between the shelves.

Just as he was looking around, he noticed the cat-girl trembling at the far end of the massive table. She was sitting there, reading one of the books she had gathered herself. The moment Atlas’s gaze landed on her, she turned her head as well, and their eyes met for a brief moment.

However, the instant she recognized him, her body trembled even more, and she hurriedly turned her head away, pretending to focus on the book in front of her.

’...She was related to that man, wasn’t she?’ Atlas wondered for a moment before dismissing the thought entirely. He stood up and glanced toward the towering bookshelves one last time. ’I’ve gathered all the knowledge I could from this place. It’s time to grow even stronger after meeting... Mother.’ With that thought, his figure instantly vanished from the Primartia Library.

Atlas immediately reappeared outside the same door through which he had entered the library. His eyes briefly shifted toward his surroundings, but before he could take another step, Oriendar’s voice suddenly resounded within his mind.

’Wandering around alone? Shouldn’t you be training the Undying Anomaly?’ Atlas frowned upon hearing those words and immediately responded through telepathy. ’Undying Anomaly? I am Atlas. Atlas Mariorett.’

His cold response reached Oriendar, who paused for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. Atlas’s expression grew even more displeased as he listened to him. ’What’s so funny?’ he asked, wondering whether Oriendar had somehow lost his mind.

After a moment, the laughter finally subsided, and Oriendar spoke again. ’Haha, sorry, sorry. Your reactions are quite funny to me.’ He paused briefly before moving toward the actual reason he had contacted Atlas. ’Anyways, I have a suggestion for you.’

Atlas arched an eyebrow, ’A suggestion?’

’How about the three Pillars train you while my projection continues training your lover?’ Atlas’s eyes widened immediately, and he remained silent for a long moment. Although he didn’t particularly care about Oriendar’s position or the titles held by the other two Pillars, he was well aware of their strength.

They were beings whose power was beyond ordinary comprehension, a fact that had been firmly ingrained in his mind ever since Dravia first told him about them and he later read about them in the library’s books.

’What’s the catch? You must want something in exchange for training me, right?’ Atlas asked, narrowing his eyes as suspicion crept into his thoughts. After all, someone of their caliber offering to personally train him was hardly an ordinary occurrence.

Even if he was considered the greatest anomaly they had encountered, he couldn’t imagine the three Pillars investing their time in him without expecting something in return.

Or at least, that was what he had expected until Oriendar answered.

’There’s no catch. As I said, we only want you to help us reach the Beyond in whatever way you can. If that requires us to train you, then so be it. We can do that.’ His straightforward response made Atlas pause once again. Just then, the voice of his second self resounded within his mind.

’Main body, accept it. This way, you can finally learn what their real goal is.’

Atlas arched an eyebrow upon hearing that. He had obviously considered the same possibility, but he still preferred to remain cautious rather than accept the offer too eagerly. ’I know. I’m trying to maintain the normal dynamic I’m used to. Otherwise, those three might suspect that I’m already suspicious of them.’

On the other side, his second self raised an eyebrow, ’How did he become so smart?’

Just then, another thought suddenly crossed his mind, ’Wait... He didn’t deactivate his Logic Alteration on the speed of his comprehension? Is that why?’ After considering it for a moment, the second self shook his head and replied with a smile. ’I see. Good to know you haven’t lost your brains.’

Atlas could only sigh upon hearing those insulting words. Even though he knew that the other person was his own second self, he still couldn’t get used to the way he spoke to him. It was rather irritating to be insulted by someone who was essentially himself.

Finally, Atlas responded to Oriendar. ’I see... Alright, I accept, then.’

Oriendar raised an eyebrow on the other side of the connection. He hadn’t expected such a cautious boy to reach a decision so quickly. Nevertheless, he didn’t question it and simply continued speaking. ’Alright. It seems you were planning to take care of something personal at the moment, so we’ll begin your training once you’re finished with that.’

Atlas narrowed his eyes once again. He couldn’t help wondering how Oriendar seemed to know what he was thinking or what he intended to do every single time, ’Is this also within his powers? He can’t read thoughts, so... that’s the only explanation.’

He recalled how Oriendar had already known his name and the identities of the people connected to him, claiming that such knowledge fell within the scope of his abilities. Perhaps this was another application of the same power. Atlas couldn’t think of any other reasonable explanation, though he decided not to dwell on it any further.

Shaking his head, Atlas vanished from his position and immediately entered one of the separate spaces he had created.