"Master, someone is watching," Drake suddenly said. Jake didn't stop after hearing that; he kept walking. He already knew that he had somehow become a target, but he didn't want them to think they had gotten to him.

The guard at the gate asked for identification, and he showed it.

"What about the girl?" he asked.

"Sorry, I haven't gotten her identification yet," Jake said.

"Fine, that will cost a silver coin," the guard said. Jake pulled out the coins and handed them to the man. He allowed them to get in.

He walked to the large wooden doors of the library, pushed them, and walked in. The inside was far, far better than what he expected it to be.

Clean tiled floors in patterned black and white, polished bookshelves with stacks and stacks of well-maintained books. Different artifacts standing all around at certain positions.

A stairway led to the second floor, which was open to see from the first floor. It looked like a massive balcony with more shelves; the same thing extended to the third floor. All of the middle space was used to hang a massive crystal chandelier that illuminated the majority of the entire library.

He spotted a receptionist desk right as he got in, with a young lady seated behind, her head buried in a book, her blonde hair tied back with a small string to avoid it obstructing her reading.

She didn't even look up when Jake entered, so he didn't bother going to her. He quietly walked toward the shelves. There were a lot of people around reading and making their research. The entire place was silent—only the flipping of pages and footsteps could be heard.

"Take a seat, Ophelia," he said as he browsed through the books to see if he would find what he needed.

"Is there anything in particular you want?" Suddenly a voice reached his ears, a lady's voice. He turned around to see who it was, and much to his surprise, it was the lady at the reception. He didn't even know that she had seen him at all.

"Uhm, yeah, I kind of need some refreshing of history, mostly things pertaining to the Trials and also the geography and history of this kingdom and a few others," Jake said.

"Hmm, it's rare to see someone that's trying to gather that sort of information. That being said, some of the things you'll see from those books are horrendous and stomach-churning.

Not sure if the kid would be a fan of it. There is a section on the second floor for kids her age," the lady said, her voice bordering between polite and flat.

Jake looked at Ophelia. He didn't want to leave her without some sort of protection, but randomly summoning here would be an issue.

"Drak, Crypt, keep an eye on her, focus all your attention on where she will be," he gave his instructions.

"Understood," they both replied.

"Alright, Ophelia, go with her. If you need something, just look for me and I'll find you," Jake said.

She nodded without complaint and followed the lady. Before leaving, the lady spoke, "The volumes of books you're looking for are in Aisle Four," she said and walked away.

He was currently in Aisle One, so he made his way to Aisle Four.

He ran his finger through the books until he stopped on one. The back had words that pulled his attention.

(The Truth About the First Ever Hundred Trials by Lucas Dublin)

The words on the book immediately pulled his attention. He pulled it out of the shelf and walked to a bench; he placed it on the table.

He opened the book, and on the first page was a warning:

(*Warning: The content of this book is purely speculative, as it stands on no time-tested evidence, and the contents are questionable.

Consuming the content of this book is at the reader's risk, and no propaganda should be shared after reading this book.

Signed, Astria Bureau of Literature and Information*)

"That's quite the warning. From what I know, governments only set warnings like this if the contents are very wrong or a risky truth.

But since they didn't stop people from reading the book, then it means there is someone that is pushing for it to keep being read."

He flipped the first page. There was no introduction, no chapter name. Jake immediately started reading from the first line.

"It was a warm day on the 25th of May, six months before the Trials ever began, but the day that the skies went black." Jake paused there. He realized that they actually used the same months as he did on Earth. It felt weird that it was the same, but it made things easy for him to understand.

He also didn't understand something, and that was the fact that the person who wrote it made it seem like he was there when it happened.

It didn't make sense for a book to last for over five thousand years, so he knew that this person wasn't there.

[How about you use that new ability of yours to verify the writing?] the system suggested.

It was a very good idea, so Jake thought about using the ability, and it started—and to his surprise, every word from the first paragraph was green, meaning it was true.

Knowing that he was off to a good start, he kept reading.

"From the black skies came rifts. They tore through, and hell itself came out of them—creatures of the abyss came out. Beings that we had never seen before, horrific and terrible.

That was the beginning of the end. And for six months, Terra suffered—every kingdom, empire, region, and all. In only six months, sixty percent of the population was lost."

When Jake came to the population part, it glowed red rather than green. He paused, looking at the number.

"He lied about the number that died? Why would he do that?" Jake muttered.

[Try speculating a number. If there's one thing I know, it's test what you have. Your ability might be able to find the truth where there is a lie.]

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