Man of Archives

Chapter 35

Waking up was extremely unpleasant. My head pounded, and my mouth tasted like a mix of cat excrement and gritty sand on my teeth. Rolling over and pushing through the pain, I stared at several empty bottles scattered on the floor, with one still half full. How much did I drink yesterday? And how am I not dead from consuming that much alcohol?

"Ugh," I groaned as I got up, battling the consequences of such heavy drinking, before promptly throwing up.

For another hour, I pulled myself together, soaking in warm water that I conjured myself, trying to wash away the lingering discomfort. But what can I say? The alcohol had helped me forget about what happened the day before. Now, I no longer felt the overwhelming urge to bash my own head in.

I gave myself two more days of rest, but this time without alcohol—only fresh water and the remaining food I had packed before leaving England.

The secluded cave provided the peace and solitude I so desperately needed. During the first few days of my break, I spent hours meditating, attempting to bring my mind back to order. The realization that a huge number of people had died because of me had completely unraveled me. Sure, I couldn't control every factor that led to the massacre, but still... I had to organize my thoughts and figure out what to do next.

Since I'd found and settled into a decent cave, I figured I could use this time to analyze all the books and at least some of the shelves before heading to Eagle's Nest. Besides that, I had other matters to attend to—like the fruit I received from Zeus and the Philosopher's Stone. All of that required time.

The first thing I needed to investigate was the magical surge and its cause. As soon as I entered a meditative state, focusing on that question, I sensed the arrival of another book in my Archive. It felt as though someone had placed it there. I immediately set about analyzing it, and the results were both encouraging and terrifying.

It turns out that the surge is part of the Death form, which I can access using Animagus magic. This aspect of the form is called the "Veil of Death." If used with intent, this ability can plunge the entire planet into death, wiping out all life. It became available to me because I had reached a high level of magical power.

This was true because I could now feel that I could use wandless magic. I'm not very familiar with how it works yet, but I can manage basic spells like "Lumos" and "Nox."

Another interesting detail in the book was the information on how to control this "Veil of Death." The control method was developed by someone with the legendary and familiar name of Zeref. In my past world, he was a legendary dark wizard, and the fact that he could use this ability intrigued me. However, the book mentioned that he had acquired it in a completely different way.

The information I gained clarified many things but also raised even more questions for which I had no answers. Still, even the knowledge I had obtained was valuable.

The entire next month followed the same routine as my time in France. I analyzed the books I had gathered and practiced spells to restore my control. This was crucial because my powers had grown again, and I didn't want anyone thinking I was merely powerful but lacked skill. In short: control, control, and more control. And I made progress.

The pace was intense, allowing me to advance by leaps and bounds, but it was clear that I wouldn't be able to analyze all the books in just one month. So, I stayed in the cave for another month, continuing to train and study, but even then, I hadn't gotten through everything.

Two months passed, and I still hadn't made it through half of the books I'd stored in my Archive. To take a break, I decided to finally go outside, walk through the mountains, and begin researching the fruit and the Philosopher's Stone.