Chapter 49

Long, long ago, when the world was still nothing, there was a single god.

This god was a goddess, a very beautiful goddess.

The goddess created a continent in this empty place.

But with just the continent, there was nothing else. All that existed was a rugged terrain.

So the goddess created living beings.

First, plants; then animals, the guardian beasts that protected the animals, and finally, humans.

The humans created by the goddess were very weak creatures.

Just like the animals protected by the guardian beasts, they were weak creatures.

So the goddess gave humans abilities.

The ability to fight, the ability to create things, the ability to use magic, and the ability to create culture.

She generated many abilities and bestowed them upon humans.

Humans became stronger than animals but weaker than the guardian beasts.

*The Story of Euphurius: Part One*

The book I picked up was like a tutorial at the beginning of a game.

The goddess depicted in the picture book, with its pastel illustrations, was a woman with wavy blonde hair and a gentle smile.

"The goddess who created the world and the living beings she created."

It was a commonplace story, and it was difficult for an adult to read a children's book. However, it unexpectedly provided information about the game world.

"The guardian beasts are stronger than the players."

In other words, they are either a category of monsters in the game or an important factor in events.

The official information does not include the game's world. And the video letter from the creator said, "Your own path, your own research will become your own world and game information, leading to a unique strategy."

"Damn, this game is a dirty setup. To see the prologue of the world, you first have to earn 20 SP."

"I agree with you."

"Wha!?"

I turned to the direction of the voice and saw a familiar man standing there. It was Claude, the tall, handsome producer in a black coat, who looked like a model.

Startled, I almost screamed but managed to glare back at him.

"How long have you been there?"

"Just a moment ago. I thought I saw someone I knew, and it turned out to be you."

I glared up at the man who said this as if it were nothing.

"It's strange to see a producer like you here."

"You're a producer too, right?"

"Well, I guess so. But if you talk about the standard in games, it's collecting information from the library for strategies and fragments. I just came here for the first time today."

"I started reading when my SP exceeded 20, and I'm now at level 13."

"No way, that's high!"

I was surprised by his unexpectedly high level in linguistics.

More than that, it was surprising that Claude, a producer, was interested in the game's world.

"That's unexpected. I always thought of you as someone who enjoys making costumes."

"How do you see me? Well, I understand what you mean, and linguistics is related to information gathering."

"Like materials for clothes?"

"Yes, and ideas. I want to create costumes that fit the game's world, so I learned it. I came here to find reference materials for the goddess's costume. Why are you here, Yun?"

"Looking for new item recipes. An NPC hinted that the library could help."

As I explained my reason to Claude, I picked up a new picture book.

It was the second in the series, *The Story of Euphurius: Part Two*.

"When you reach level 5 by reading picture books, it's a good idea to check the list of senses. It also includes a little about growth paths and derived senses."

"Thanks."

While responding to Claude, I looked down at the picture book in my hands. This time, the cover showed a goddess holding a seed.

The goddess thought about why humans were weak.

Why were humans, who were similar to her, weaker than the guardian beasts?

Why were the guardian beasts, who were similar to animals, stronger than humans?

The goddess realized something.

That she and humans belonged to different categories.

And that animals and guardian beasts belonged to different categories.

So the goddess planted the seeds of abilities within humans.

These seeds of abilities were the abilities of evolution and categories.

The abilities of elves, dwarves, mermils, and animas.

She made their forms beautiful, strong, and similar to guardian beasts.

They gathered and lived according to their categories.

These abilities are within humans.

These abilities are the abilities of evolution. They continue to grow in ways unknown to the goddess.

*The Story of Euphurius: Part Two*

This time, the story was about races and the abilities of evolution. The pastel illustrations in the picture book showed a woman with long ears, a man with dark skin, a beautiful woman with fish-like legs reminiscent of a mermaid, and a man with animal-like ears and a distinctive tail.

If we apply this story to the game world, it suggests that the different races do not exist outside the world but can be created through the evolution of senses from humans.

However, this is just a hypothesis. The information suggests that different races existed or still exist in this game.

"Next to the guardian beasts, it's the different races. Well, it's a typical fantasy world."

Muttering to myself, I picked up another picture book.

*The Story of Euphurius: Part Three*. Checking the series, there were four books in total.

After reading the third and fourth books, I muttered my thoughts.

"It's too obvious. The information is being hidden."

Someone who doesn't notice might just gloss over it, but I found it very jarring.

I skimmed through the third book, which followed the typical fantasy template with the appearance of a demon king and monsters.

The fourth story was about the demon king's defeat and the lingering aftermath. The goddess created new races like spirits and fairies, and the story continued to the present day.

Considering the first two books and the last two as separate stories, there was no jarring feeling. But where did the demon king come from?

And after the third book, there was no mention of guardian beasts or different races. The battle with the demon king was brief, and it only said that humans defeated him.

There were many questions just from the picture books.

The birth of the demon king and monsters.

And the process by which the weak humans defeated the demon king.

The lack of information about what happened to the guardian beasts and different races.

"There's definitely something."

The hidden story connecting the second and third books.

I connected a chat with Claude, who I thought was still in the library.

"Claude, are you free now?"

(What is it?)

"Have you read the third picture book?"

(That one? I can't say much about it)

"Huh?"

(It's as it says. I think it's some kind of event. For more details, ask the librarian at the reception)

The chat was cut off after that.

What the hell. He could have explained it better, I grumbled, but I went to the receptionist with the picture book.

"Excuse me, do you have the original of this book?"

"That picture book? I'm sorry, I don't know. The book itself is a children's adaptation and is relatively new. To find the original, you'd have to go to a larger town."

"Got it. Thanks."

From the conversation, I learned that the library didn't have the original, but it did exist. That information was enough for now.

Just by reading the picture books, my linguistics level had risen to 3.

I decided to read a couple more randomly to level up.

I started reading from the beginning of the picture book section.

Surprisingly, many of the other picture books were classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes translated into the game world's language. They seemed to be based on old, public domain publications or free e-books.

Nostalgia led me to search for and read picture books I used to have at home.

Before I knew it, it was almost closing time, and my linguistics level had risen by another 4.