Book Restoration System: Savior Of The Forsaken Legends [BL]

Auri sat at the corner of the bed long after Darius had left. He stared at the floor as the weight of the blond man's words pressed at the forefront of his mind like a persistent trivia question that demands an answer.

Choose a side sooner or later.

"As if it was that easy," Auri grumbled, rubbing his temples. "It's not like I came here to join a war or something."

Shaking the subject out of his mind, Auri tried to declutter his thoughts and focus on the real task at hand.

Now that he was out of the mountain and had entered a human settlement, he had to prioritize getting a temporary place to stay and secure a job so he wouldn't have to worry about his basic necessities. But in order to do that, he needed to learn the rules and culture of Ruhad Fortress first. As for the job, he had to make use of his restoration skills somehow.

Speaking of his skills, Auri remembered getting a new one when he was being pushed underwater by the wild boar. He couldn't recall the name of the skill, but he knew it allowed him to get a glimpse of the wild boar's memories. He saw how the boar was hunted by people, which would explain its hostility and reason why it attacked him. 

Auri looked around the clinic to find his belongings and spotted his belt hanging on a chair, though he couldn't find where his original clothes were. His clothes had been changed into a simple tunic and pants, which meant Darius undressed him while he was out in the cold due to his fever—much to his embarrassment.

Upon inspection, the small pouches containing some of his handy tools were still attached to it, thankfully, but he didn't know if the manual he kept tuck in his belt survived the water. It was magically printed by the system, so he could only hope that it was water-resistant, at least.

Well, he could always just request from the system to give him a new one.

"System, I need a new copy of the manual," Auri said. "I think I lost the first one you gave me."

A series of high-pitched whirs with intermittent clicks echoed inside his head. It sounded more like a photocopy machine now than a printer. Then, a new booklet appeared in front of him.

"You sure have lots of creative sound effects," Auri mused as he flipped through the booklet. "Now, let's see what type of skill you've given me after I almost got drowned by a wild pig. Seriously, I'm going to die before I could even restore a book in this world."

Auri scanned the growing list of riddles and spotted the new skill under [Memory Tracing]. "So I've got [Realm Chronicles] for places, [Matter Recollections] for objects, and [Life Memoirs] for living things?"

These skills would surely come in handy, though he still couldn't fully grasp how these skills would relate to book restoration. But since he was in a fantasy world, he'll just leave it to the system's creative interpretation. He just needed to keep an open mind.

Reading ahead, Auri found a new sub-skill he had never seen before under [Archivist's Trace]. "Memory... Archive? What is this? You know system, it would be more helpful right now if you could give me a skill that will help me heal my wounds. Even if it's a passive skill, I will take it."

As if to respond to his monologue, the parchment interface appeared in front of him.

[The condition to unlock ??? is still yet to be achieved.]

[Restoration level required to perform ???: Intermediate.]

"What?" Auri stared at the message with renewed excitement mixed with slight annoyance. "Damn you, system. Why are you hiding this information from me? Even if you censor it like that, I know this skill is about performing some kind of self-healing!"

And what's with the skill level restriction? Does this mean he had to level up his restoration skills before he could unlock a skill that would be essential to keep himself from being unalived in this world?

"This system is driving me insane." Auri sighed. "Fine! You want me to restore books, I'll do it! Just don't make my life miserable."

"Uhm... Hello?"

Auri yelped at the new voice and almost jumped on his bad leg.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

Auri stared at the young woman standing by the door with a tray of food in her hands. "O-Oh, it's okay. I was just too absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice you."

The woman was dressed in flowing fabrics suited for the desert's dry climate. Her gown-like attire that reached her ankle had intricate embroidery, tracing the neckline and the cuffs. She had a finely woven headscarf that reminded him of women living in the middle east.

"I-Is that my food?"

"Yes, it is." She sauntered into the room and placed the tray on a small table. "You look like you haven't eaten in days, so I made sure to put in an extra portion of meat but not too much spices—wouldn't want to upset your stomach since you're still recovering."

"T-Thank you," Auri stuttered, overwhelmed by her generous hospitality. "You didn't really have to do this, but thanks."

She shook her head. "Darius entrusted you to us, so we must ensure that you are properly cared for."

"Darius, huh." Auri smiled. "He seems more popular than I thought."

"Oh, gosh!" She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "I forgot I shouldn't mention him and pretend he was never here. Please don't mention it to my father. He's going to scold me."

"Your father? Is it that old man called..." Auri tried to recall how Darius address the old man. "Abu, was it?"

"Yes, that's right. You can call me Maryam. I'm also Safiyah's younger sister."

Auri nodded with a smile. "I'm Auri. Thank you for the food, Maryam."

Turning onto the table, his stomach grumbled by the sight of the soup with meat and vegetables, but before he could even take a bite, a man burst into the door with urgency in his voice.

"The inquisitors from the Holy Empire are here."