Chapter 23: Studying

"How am I supposed to find my way through this maze?" Clark had easily walked through the organized basic shelves. The books seemed to be organized very well so that anyone could find what they were searching for, however, this was not the case for the advanced section.

Clark looked at the messy disorganized shelves that began the maze ahead of him. From what he could see, the books had been placed in no specific order. "I will stay here and search for something I can use. Good luck." Maria was glad that she didn't have the permission to enter the advanced section because she would feel completely lost. She preferred the organized shelving.

"Devi, take a look around and let me know if you find anything. Crim, stay close to the door here. I want to make sure I can find my way out." Crim was glad to curl up and rest. From what Clark could see, the hatchling state of being for a slime dragon was not just for looks. Crim was easily tired out since he had just hatched. The small battle earlier in the day had been more than enough to put Crim in this tired state.

"What one of these is second row fourth shelf? There aren't even shelves here." Clark looked at each book finding that these were in much worse shape overall.

Some dusty books looked to be written in many foreign languages. Others had torn spines that could barely be said to keep the pages together. "History of ruined magic? What could that be about?" The book that Clark casually picked up was sealed in wax. He could read the title through it but found it impossible to open.

After placing it down, Clark's attention caught on a shelf covered in a black cloth. "This seems promising." With his finger, Clark counted out four identical rows all covered in black cloth. The second row that he stood in front of was potentially what his mentor had told him to find.

The cloth suddenly fell to the ground causing Clark to fall in to a battle stance. Yet when he looked closer he could see that Devi had moved underneath it to knock it off the row. "So you found it too. Good job. Now the fourth shelf…" Clark counted it out again and looked at the row of white books.

"Volume one, the enigma of the undead." The pages were made of strange materials. They were certainly not paper but not like anything Clark had seen before. He attempted to use his analysis on them but the system didn't respond at all.

"Are these books important?" The single question was not getting a response from the system. The intelligence of the system had been updated but it was still more or less silent. There was a feeling that the system was waiting for something. For Clark to read the book. He couldn't put his finger on why, it was just a gut feeling that made no sense.

"Undead type beasts are often identified as a plague. Even human bodies can become undead beasts if left to rot without proper burial. The reason behind this relates to the light or holy type beats. The holy type beasts are said to be the purest light type beasts that specialize in purification. Undead type beasts are thought to be corrupted dark type beasts."

Clark was reading out loud so that Devi could hear properly. He knew it would also help him memorize what he was learning. "So that's how zombies and skeletons come to be. It's similar to Crim. he formed from the bone marrow absorbing dragon essence." It was good that this could relate to Crim as well as Devi to a degree. Anything that expanded what Clark knew was valuable.

"Many undead type beasts roam the deepest catacombs or dark forests. Some are even hybrid typer beasts with plant life. Often all undead type beasts grow by absorbing corrupted energy, spiritual energy, or darkness energy. They are different from most elemental type beasts." Clark and Devi already knew this. Devi had consumed a few things including energy from biting people.

"Ah, look at this. It mentions ghosts and hauntings." Clark skimmed through the first chapter before he found the beginning of a rundown on ghosts.

"Spirits are often thought to be haunting certain locations. They vary in form based on what type of energy created them. The spiritual energy type ghostly beasts are often the only ones that can bond with any form of holy or light energy. The corruption type ghostly entities are berserk beasts that can not be tamed unless using radical sacrifice of life and blood. It has long been banned to attempt such things. The darkness type ghostly entities grow from fear and specific focuses. They are extremely rare due to their slow growth, but they are powerful."

This insight in to different spirit undead type monsters was enough to make Clark think. The fact that he had Devi meant that there was a high potential for Devi to gain more types of energy. Devi could already induce fear using echoing laughter, that meant he could possibly feed on darkness energy and fear.

But what seemed to be better was if Devi was able to gain the ability to feed on holy or light energy. If Devi did this it would be a massive boon for Clark. "The holy type monsters have amazing healing or powerful skills. I bet we can find the right materials for you to become a special holy spirit. Maybe that is the spirit king evolution that the stem told us about." Devi was energetic hearing that there was more potential.

"I'm going to read this entire shelf of books." Clark made the promise to Devi as he stored them away in his spatial ring. No one said he wasn't allowed to bring the books back to his dormitory to read. That,m and he had permission to do so. "Let's see if there are technique books. I want something focused on pin point attacks."

Following Clark's goals, Devi browsed the shelves with him. The two found biology books about many of the monsters rarely seen. Some Clark wished he could memorize on the spot. If he could expand his knowledge he would be able to act without needing the system to analyze anything.

'The host has understood the key feature of the analysis function. Due to this, the user has been granted a hidden quest.

Quest- Mental Bestiary

The mental bestiary is a skill that not many people possess. It is a special studying technique used by those with research aptitudes. The unique skill helps them easily memorize information regarding beasts. This skill is known to be used by the world's top scholars and can only be learned at random. The system had specifically designed a requirement to assist the host.

Requirements- analyze one thousand spirit beasts.

Reward- Mental Bestiary skill'

"Yes!" Clark shouted in glee seeing this. It was exactly what he had hoped would happen at some point. He wanted to get another quest. It was not what he expected but one he could actively work toward in his every day life. He didn't even need to go out of his way.