Nameless King

When Wain swallowed the pill, his regeneration was greatly accelerated. This pill was meant for Primary Chronicle creatures, but it was helpful for Wain. His scratches and shallow wounds would gradually heal, and he would be wonderful in an hour.

Wain didn't want to wait, so he headed for the next cloud while the healing process continued. It was the last one before Wain climbed to the very top and saw what was there.

"Eh, it's even a little sad that I have to leave here soon. I'll definitely have to learn how to fly somehow. This view, unforgettable." Mumbled Wain as he moved on to the next cloud.

On the last cloud was a massive building that looked like a reading room. Wain went inside and looked around. He expected someone to attack him since there were no monsters around the building. However, there were no enemies on this cloud.

'That's strange, but then what do I have to do to get through?' Thought Wain looking at the dozens of bookcases around.

In the center of the reading room was an altar with a massive sheet of parchment and an ink quill.

Wain approached the altar and looked closely at the parchment scroll. There were dozens of different sentences written on it, but they were all unfinished.

"I see. It looks like I need to finish each of the sentences to pass this test. However, I don't know any of the answers. This sort of thing cannot be solved by logic or random selection. Moreover, I don't know how many tries I have..." Wain muttered.

The challenges were different each time, which Wain liked. Sometimes there were battles, sometimes some logical challenges. Most of the trials were simple, but it was the preparation before the final battle.

Wain had to pass all the tests to get to the top. He had no other choice.

'The energetic vibrations from the Sorcerer's Soul come from above. Moreover, they gradually intensify. The soul and the soul pearl are definitely above the clouds.' Wain thought and began to think about how to pass this test.

He realized that the easiest way was to read every book. Wain was sure that there were clues or lines with missing words in them, but it was very long. It would take him quite a while to read each book and find the correct answers.

Of course, thanks to Mastery of Reading, Wain read very quickly, but even at that speed, he wouldn't have time to read everything in one hour or less.

'Hmm, this one is the highest of all the soaring clouds. When I pass the final test, this cloud will rise, and I will be at the very top. Nevertheless, I can try to get there on my own.' Wain thought and walked out of the reading room.

His idea was simple. He wanted to jump high enough to break through a layer of clouds without going through a long and tedious ordeal.

Whoooooosh.

The sign of Lightning appeared on Wain's chest, and he turned into a blue flash. He wanted to accelerate and use the momentum to jump as high as possible. However, Wain made a mistake.

When he decided to jump, his speed didn't affect the height of his jump much, but it significantly increased its length. Without knowing it himself, Wain jumped from one cloud to another.

'Damn, this jump was a little higher than usual, but it wasn't enough. What's more, I was lucky to have this cloud nearby.' Thought Wain and turned into a blue flash again.

A few seconds later, he was standing on the previous cloud again. Wain could not ascend to the upper clouds in this way, but only to those that floated next to him and were at the same altitude.

...

For the next ten minutes, Wain walked around the reading room and tried to plan an action. However, he failed. Wain had one idea: make a tower out of the bookcases, climb it, and jump up, but that was nonsense.

Wain took a deep breath and muttered, "I guess I have no other choice. There are only ninety-nine sentences on the parchment scroll, which is quite a lot, but it's better than a thousand. If I'm lucky, I can find all the answers in a few hours."

In any other situation, Wain wouldn't have minded reading books of fascinating stories, but not in this situation. He wanted to engage in a great battle, get the Sorcerer's Soul, and discover a third form. Moreover, he had no time to read so many books.

Wain had no other options, so he reluctantly picked up a random book and started reading. He read quickly, and after a few minutes of turning pages, it was finished. Wain walked over to the parchment sheet, but to his disappointment, he could not complete a single sentence.

"Well, perhaps this ordeal will be the most difficult of my life," Wain muttered and continued reading.

...

After a couple of hours, Wain had read about a third of all the books and answered thirty questions. In all that time, he had reread hundreds of different stories. Some were similar to each other, but some were quite different.

One book was about a hero's journey, another was about the greatest villain in some world. Monsters and dragons were mentioned somewhere, and sometimes they were even the main characters.

If Wain didn't have to read several books an hour, he would get a lot of emotion and enjoyment out of these stories. However, it turned into a routine and a real test of stamina and fortitude over time.

...

After many hours in the reading room, Wain answered ninety-eight questions. He only had to answer the last one, and he would pass the test. Also, there were only two books in the room that Wain had not yet read.

"It was difficult, but I almost made it. There was one last step left to take. Given my reading speed, I'll be up there in twenty minutes." Wain muttered and opened one of the books.

Five minutes later, Wain tossed the book aside. He was out of luck. This book didn't have the answer to the last question.

Then Wain picked up the remaining book. It was different from the others because this book was black, without titles, signs, or drawings. Moreover, in this book, some of the pages were blank.

After a few minutes, Wain read everything, but he frowned when he approached the parchment scroll. The black book had no answer to the last question.

Wain decided to reread the book, but again he saw nothing.

'Hmm, either there are more books hidden in this room, or the answer is in the blank pages. But, how can I figure out what's written on them if there's nothing on them?' Wain pondered.

Suddenly he remembered how he had recently activated an amulet, after which mechanical cubes appeared out of space. Then Wain was doing something unusual for himself. He had used Soul Essence to activate the amulet.

"Right... Maybe this book is like that amulet, I don't know what to call it, but it's like how artifacts or magical objects work." Mumbled Wain and concentrated.

The next moment, Soul Essence headed for the book, and text began to appear on the blank pages. Wain was surprised, for the content on these pages was drastically different from that of the visible part of the book.

Wain shrugged his shoulders and began to read. He had not expected it, but these pages were the most interesting of the hundreds of books he had managed to read these days.

What's more, it was a rather strange story. This story has no knights, dragons, or the Middle Ages.

It was about a story that completely changed the world. How in a cruel world, one of the races was deemed real bastards and unworthy of existence. They were called demons and the worst of all living beings.

The other races were about to begin a genocide against them, but suddenly the races found themselves in a situation where they did not know who to fight, for their enemy had suddenly disappeared.

The races tried to find them, but their ways didn't work, no matter how hard they tried.

Over time, the story was forgotten, and the details disappeared. But each of these races knew who their enemy was, whom they despised and intended to destroy long ago.

"It's a pretty brutal story, but it looks like I found the answer to the last question," Wain muttered and moved the book to the Ring of Damned. He decided to take it for himself.

Then Wain went to the parchment scroll, took a quill, and dipped it in ink. Wain wrote the missing parts of the sentence. The answer was at the end of the last blank page.

"The demons within us..." Mumbled Wain as he read what he had just written.

Whooosh.

The next moment, the scroll glowed brightly and disintegrated into thousands of tiny particles scattered in different directions.

Wain was surprised, he did not understand what was happening, but when he emerged from the reading room, he saw an incredible scene.

Hundreds of books flew up to the cloud, from which a staircase was gradually created. It was massive and majestic, was like a path to heaven.

"Even in the face of the apocalypse, this place seems magical and filled with magic." Mumbled Wain looking up at the staircase of books.

The books continued to fly to the cloud as they built the bridge.

Moreover, several of the books transformed into two paper knights when it was finished. They stood in front of the stairs, crossed their swords, and stepped aside, making way for Wain.

Wain grinned and muttered, "Now that's what I mean, the way of the king."

He looked up at the clouds above and stepped forward. Now, he would see what lurked behind it.