Chapter 21

Ymir examined the student card returned to him by the guard, realizing that this St. John's Knights Library was indeed unique. As he descended the stairs carved with strange symbols, Ymir noticed that among the bookshelves on these floors, there were some oddly dressed people from time to time.

These people seemed to be stuck in the previous century, either wearing formal church attire or peculiar hooded cloaks.

These odd individuals, who didn't look like Columbia University students, cherished every minute they spent in the library and rarely interacted or argued with each other.

Each person was fully engrossed in reading the books in their hands, and occasionally, a few serious individuals would close their eyes and mutter to themselves, as if trying to memorize the knowledge in the books by rote.

Ymir, somewhat curious, asked the guard leading him, "Who are they? What are they doing?"

The guard humbly nodded to Ymir and said, "As you can see, they are reciting the spells from the books."

Ymir was taken aback, "Spells?"

The guard proudly introduced, "Yes, the St. John's Knights Library is the largest magical library in the world." He paused, "Perhaps, only the private collection of the Supreme Magician, Doctor Strange, can rival this, but his collection is not as comprehensive."

The name "Doctor Strange" sounded unfamiliar to Ymir. He was unsure whether the guard meant "doctor" or "doctorate," as these terms were often confused.

However, he silently noted the name in his mind: "Supreme Magician? Ah, another mysterious figure, how interesting."

In his previous life, Ymir had only briefly watched the "Avengers" series of movies. Besides Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Spider-Man, he could hardly remember any other characters.

The guard, perhaps feeling he had said enough, looked at Ymir and said, "Mr. Ymir, you are now a member of the St. John's Knights. I'm sure Father Terence will soon teach you these things."

Ymir looked at the eighteen-story building of the library, filled with countless ancient books and classics. He felt a chill run down his spine. Pointing to the people who were memorizing, he asked, "Can't the books here be borrowed? Do they have to be memorized?"

The guard glanced at the odd individuals reading between the bookshelves and chuckled, "Of course, all the books in the library are protected by the St. John's Knights. Without their permission, not only can the books not be borrowed, but no notes can be taken out either."

Ymir understood. The guard was clear: without the St. John's Knights' permission, it was impossible to take the books out. Conversely, if he could get the permission of the knights, everything would be fine.

The guard led Ymir to the reading hall on the lowest floor and said, "Mr. Ymir, the St. John's Knights Library is built underground. As a formal member of the knights, you can read freely on all eighteen floors. However, as a guardian, I must remind you that before you learn the magical powers that surpass ordinary humans, there are many books you should not touch too early."

Ymir nodded, understanding the guard's words. It was like in the novels from his previous life. Books recording powerful magic had their own protective power, and reading them without sufficient strength could harm oneself.

However, Ymir clenched his fist. He was gradually mastering his怨念阴力 (negative energy), so was he still considered an ordinary human?

He kept his voice low while talking to the guard, not disrupting the library's quiet atmosphere. As the guard returned to his post, the library, though not empty, remained silent except for the occasional rustling of pages.

It seemed to be a wonderful reading environment, but he wondered what books were in the collection...

Those who could come to the library to read had all made outstanding contributions to the church, but even so, their time in the library was extremely limited. Once the borrowing time was over, they had to be politely "escorted" out by the guard.

Unlike them, Ymir was a formal member of the St. John's Knights, meaning he could stay in the library indefinitely without being constrained by the limited reading time.

The guard probably assumed Ymir already knew the rules, so he didn't elaborate. This left Ymir without a clear understanding of the St. John's Knights Library's status.

He casually pulled a thick book from the nearest shelf, which seemed to be made of leather. The text engraved on it was very peculiar, neither Chinese nor Latin, but it evoked a sense of meaning.

Just by looking at the strange characters on the cover, he naturally understood the meaning of the four words: "Lament of the Wraiths."

The books in the library were not like the web novels he read in his previous life; each one recorded the world's deepest secrets. "Lament of the Wraiths" was no exception. Just for the emergence of this book, the church fought hundreds of battles with demons in hell during the Middle Ages.

After countless heroic sacrifices, this book, which could make even Satan in hell tremble, was finally collected here.

Because he didn't understand, Ymir took this holy book as a way to pass the time. He even had the leisure to wonder, "I am now a wraith. I wonder if, in this world of superheroes, people become ghosts after death? Speaking of which, wraiths can also be considered a type of evil spirit, right?"

As he daydreamed, he gently caressed the cover of "Lament of the Wraiths."

Ymir's predecessor was a high-achieving student at Columbia University's Divinity School, so he could recognize that the engraving on the cover of "Lament of the Wraiths" was the holy emblem of Saint Benedict. The emblem was composed of a vertical row of letters "C.S.S.M.L" and a horizontal row of letters "N.D.S.M.D," forming a cross.

---

(End of the page)