Chapter 1: Imprisoned in the Clan Library
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Let me out!" the young man yelled as he repeatedly banged his fists on the heavy door.
But no matter how hard the young man tried, the exquisitely made door did not budge an inch, testament to the skilled craftsmanship that had given birth to it.
Then again, calling him a young man might be a bit of a stretch.
After all, Cyrus Skyhelm was still a twelve-year-old boy.
"Give it up, Cyrus." The feminine yet emotionless voice came from the other side of the door. "There is only one way that I will let you out of there, and that is if you do as I say."
Demoness!
Cyrus cursed in his heart as he finally stopped banging on the door.
He naturally understood what it was that the demoness wanted him to do, for it had already been communicated to him earlier.
Turning around, Cyrus came face to face with an endlessly huge chamber, filled with row after row of bookshelves.
Each of these bookshelves was packed to the brim, forming an ocean of books that stretched on into the horizon. From where he was, it was almost impossible to clearly see the other end of the chamber.
Even the ceiling was at least a hundred metres away, allowing bookshelves to be built into the tall walls as well. This only meant that the chamber was now able to hold even more books than it already could.
There were no windows whatsoever. Instead, countless little crystals glowed with a warm light as they hanged from the tall ceiling.
It was truly a wonder how these small light crystals were able to illuminate the entire chamber from such a height, but there was no doubt that they created the perfect warm lighting, making the environment that much more ideal for reading.
This was the main library of the Skyhelm Clan, a chamber so huge that it could almost be considered a small world on its own.
At the same time, this was also the exact location where Cyrus Skyhelm had just been imprisoned.
And in order to survive in this terrible prison, he would have no choice but to obey the demoness' unreasonable demand.
To read.
"If you want food, you need to earn it. From now on, you will be living your life in the Clan Library. With every comprehensive book review you produce, you will be served a meal. Otherwise, prepare to stay hungry all day long."
Those were the exact words that had been said to him before his imprisonment term began.
As expected of the demoness, she truly knew how to strike at his weakness!
Cyrus' philosophy in life had never changed since he was old enough to think, and that was to enjoy all the delicacies in this world!
After all, what good was living if he could not indulge in the pleasures of the palate?
Unfortunately, in this world where everyone else was obsessed with pursuing the path of magic, he seemed to be the only one in the family who understood the true meaning of life.
Even so, Cyrus did not believe that this was a problem.
He was an open-minded individual of the new generation, and sincerely believed that everyone should have the right to choose the way they led their lives!
But his family members thought otherwise yet again.
"This is discrimination, depriving me of my human rights!" Cyrus grumbled unhappily as he started walking down the seemingly endless aisle, his eyes casually scanning the countless books that he was passing by.
Well, there was no longer anything he could do at this point.
All he had to do was churn out comprehensive book reviews, wasn't it?
If the demoness thought that this would be enough to stop him, then she was thinking too lightly of him!
Time passed quickly as Cyrus delved into the world of books.
Before he knew it, hours had already gone by.
The heavy door of the library opened silently. Despite its weight, there was not the slightest creaking sound even as it was pushed open slowly.
However, the opening of the door certainly did not escape Cyrus' detection.
He immediately looked up from his desk, towards the direction of the door.
Standing right there by the door was an extremely beautiful lady who looked to be in her early twenties. Her wavy brown hair had been let down freely to her waist level, her eyes shone like jewels, and her facial features were the very epitome of perfection. Her figure had just the right amount of curves, not too much, and certainly not too little. Her porcelain-like skin had a healthy lustre to it, giving an additional boost to that radiant smile on her face... a smile that sent shivers down Cyrus' spine.
Cyrus' eyes narrowed in caution.
It was the demoness!
But unlike the previous times, Cyrus did not panic. Instead, he let out a triumphant grin.
As the demoness started walking towards him, Cyrus quickly held up the piece of paper in his hand and waved it in front of him, as though it was some sort of defensive treasure.
"Oh? Are you done with your first book review?" the demoness' smile grew wider, filled with an air of grace. "Let me take a look."
The beautiful lady stretched out her hand.
As though bound by an invisible force, the piece of paper immediately slipped away from Cyrus' grip and flew towards her.
At first glance, it was apparent that the entire piece of paper was filled with words. This made the demoness feel slightly delighted.
But as she started reading, a deep frown started to grow upon her beautiful countenance.
Even before she got to the end, the demoness gave up reading and turned towards Cyrus.
"What is this?" the demoness asked with a cold tone that had not the slightest hint of the grace from before.
"A book review!" Cyrus insisted.
The demoness had to take a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing. "An Encyclopedia of the Myriad Beasts: Book One. Just from the title of the book, it is obvious that this book should be about the different properties of wild beasts. Yet what did you write in your so-called book review?"
"I wrote about the different properties of the wild beasts!" Cyrus insisted.
"All you wrote about was the different tastes of the wild beasts! That is not the main point of the book at all!"
"Why is it not? The part on the tastes of the wild beasts is the most important thing in the book!"
Hearing those words from Cyrus, the demoness was now on the verge of exploding.
Upon noticing the slight trembling of her clenched fists, Cyrus could not help but feel his throat go dry.
But now was not the time to relent.
According to the demoness, he would receive a meal for each comprehensive book review. If he were to admit that this was his mistake, then he would be denied an entire meal!
Just the thought of that made him feel depressed.
After so many years, Cyrus could no longer remember exactly how many times the demoness had deprived him of his human rights.
Like that one time when she ordered the servants to stop serving him any snacks outside of his daily five meals.
And that one time when she forced him to weigh himself daily, and kept him from receiving his daily dose of his favourite pudding as long as he did not lose any weight.
And many other situations of the sort…
Unfortunately for him, this time was no different.
Rip-!
The book review that he had painstakingly written was ripped to pieces before being scattered onto the floor.
"I have already ordered the servants not to enter within the vicinity of the library during this period, so you'd better not hope that you will receive any food if you don't do this right!" the demoness turned around and headed for the door once more.
"But why? Why are you suddenly doing this?" Cyrus pleaded desperately. "You never forced me to study before!"
"I admit that I have been too lenient on you before this, but not anymore!" the demoness clicked her throat in irritation. "At the rate you are going, you will just become a useless prodigal person in the future! If you really like to eat so much, why don't you do that after you have become a full-fledged mage?! At that time, your lifespan will also be far longer than mortals, giving you all the time in the world to eat to your heart's content! At that time, I will no longer stop you as well, you stupid son!"
Bang-!
The heavy door of the library slammed shut behind her.
Cyrus stood there silently, staring blankly at the closed door.
Wait a minute…
What the demoness just said actually made perfect sense!
As long as he spent his time studying to become a full-fledged mage while he was young, his lifespan would increase greatly. This would in turn give him even more time to enjoy the delicacies of the world!
How could he have neglected such a simple concept?
So, this was why everyone seemed to be obsessed with pursuing the path of magic!
He turned his gaze towards the multitude of books surrounding him, and steeled his resolve.
From this day on, he shall be known as Cyrus the Studious, a true academic in this world of mages!
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