Albert walked over to Tyler and spoke first. “Ha… Forgive me Lord Ty. You left so suddenly I was unable to keep up and i am unfamiliar with the layout of the castle so i am late to you side.”

Tyler wondered what this old dude was talking about for a moment before completely giving up.

“Sigh… It’s of no consequence.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Have the others settled in yet.”

“Well… my Lord, The trolls seemed to be fine living in the stables with the bulls and the kobolds are still unconscious so we left them in the carriages for now. And although the residents of the settlement appreciates your generosity. they didn’t want to impose on their new Lord and decided to set up camp at the outer ward untill they located the servants quarters.”

“I see, well that was my fault for not giving any specifics… oh well, you can pick any empty room on this floor, it’s already late so we can talk about what’s next in the morning.”

“As you wish, oh and with your permission, while they’re locating their quarters, the tribe would all like to be of use to you my Lord and would like to take care of the castle for you.”

“Huh… Mmmm… Sure, feel free to go wild “

“Thank you sir.”

Tyler ignored the old man and went forward, he entered the demon king’s Chambers and locked the door.

There was still something he desperately needed to try and he prayed to every entity he could think of hoping he gets access to it. It was the main reason he still stayed in a potentially dangerous place like this.

♦♦♦

Tyler entered the demon king’s chambers and immediately collapsed to the ground. His heart was beating rapidly while he was sweating profusely. His emotions were out of control and he had no choice but to sit down and try to calm down.

He had no idea what was going on. Was it fatigue? exhaustion or was he suddenly sick. No, he was tired, but it wasn’t physical but mental. He had needed to be on high alert from the moment he met the two girls in the forest. He tried to make the wisest decisions possible at any given time but, were they the right decisions, he had no idea.

He decided not to dwell on it as it was pointless to think about such things right now. It seemed the effect that Erin’s tranquility spell had on him had faded. He massaged his temples with both his index and fore fingers. What he needed now was not to second-guess himself, what he needed was to think of a way out of this mess.

So far what he has placed all his hopes on was the magic library, if he hadn’t found it when he did, he would have probably been dead by now so it was still his best option especially now that the ogres, beastmen and trolls were here.

The problem lies in the fact that he has no idea what triggers the magic library and he had a lot of things to figure out if he would survive this place. Then again he couldn’t just strive to survive anymore could he, he hadn’t expected the ogres to swear loyalty to him after all they were freemen and from what he had heard they would rather risk death than serve under any of the current demon nobles.

He couldn’t help but remember the kids, the looks of admiration they gave him, life is cruel. Why did they have to give him an extra baggage. He had been too dumbfounded to refuse their pledge and he didn’t even know how to face them. How in the world was he supposed to lead them when he couldn’t even lead himself out of this mess.

‘Ow… my head hurts… Let’s not think about this for now. If I can’t even return back to the library again then staying here would be pointless and I might as well just kill meself to get it over with… Wait, why am I contemplating suicide all of a sudden… Goddam demon king.’

Why he suddenly blamed the late demon king for his predicament he had no idea, but he needed to get back on topic. He didn’t know the requirements of entering the magic library so it would be wise not to do anything too drastic and approach it normally.

According to the information he had gathered thus far, the castle was protected by a massive barrier that for some unknown reason only allowed people in when he touches it. To be frank this information was quite scary and would no doubt, attract more trouble towards him.

Putting the fear aside for a moment, he focused on the more important fact of the information. Judging by the idle chatter he had heard so far, the barrier wasn’t a simple one. It possessed at least one layer of concealment spell.

That explains why he hadn’t noticed the library door when he first walked into the room. So far the door hadn’t been concealed again which meant his presence here was also having an effect on the castle. That brings him to his next issue.

Where was the library located. He had examined the layout of the entire seventh floor of the West wing and he hadn’t found a space large enough to contain such a massive structure. ‘Pocket dimension? or somewhere else… Mmm, perhaps the astral plane? No. No. Probably not.’

The library was most likely connected to the castle using spirit magic. The demon king’s mastery of spirit magic was impressive. To be able to transport such a massive building into another dimension was not an easy task, not to mention sustaining a stable connection with the library even after death.

That also includes the layered barrier outside. ‘What exactly is powering these spells? That reminds me, there was a secret door in the throne room, is the power source there? from what I gathered, it requires a ring in the library to open. Hehe… What a shrewd demon king.’ With that realisation his already calming nerve were agitated ones more.

He sat down on the sofa with killing anticipation. This room was hot, very hot and he could no longer breathe. Wait no, that wasn’t true, the room was fine and the temperature in the room hadn’t changed a bit. If anything, he was the one getting abnormally hot.

‘Mmm a bath? perhaps I need one.’ he thought to himself. ‘How long has it been now. A week, less, more. No, it should be less right. Six, I think. It’s been six days since then huh. I haven’t thought about it much… It’s strange, it’s like I’m trying to fill my head with a lot so I don’t have to face myself.’

He slowly got up, his heart beating steadily as he walked to the balcony. It was quite a cold night, but, it wasn’t the cold that bothered him. It was the strange feeling of nostalgia.

‘Was it like this? the night I found out I had been asleep for over a thousand years. I see.’

♦♦♦♦♦

Tyler falls, he was originally a university graduate with a degree in Science. Still, he found himself still working part-time at the local convenient store in his neighborhood. Even after searching for a job several times, in every single company in the city. Most times he had been flatly rejected. This would’ve been enough to drive anyone into a pit of despair.

After spending four years in school, enduring the hardship and torment that was college life, in other to get a degree and still being told you were unqualified for the job would even send some to suicide. But he wasn’t that discouraged by it. This was because, he was blessed with a younger sibling that took the pain away, his little sister.

He also had a mom, but she was a bit weak and was unable to do any strenuous activities. His father had died in an accident the same year he entered high school.

His sister was quite brilliant and was praised for her academic achievements. She was the only reason why he had any motivation to work harder. His father had left enough savings behind to put him through school and take care of the family’s daily necessities but it wasn’t enough for his sister.

Perhaps he had. felt his son would graduate to be a fine member of society and immediately be accepted into a large company, being able to take care of his mom and sister for him. Or perhaps it was just all he could save, but, Tyler had no choice but to shoulder the responsibilities of the family even though he wasn’t able to get a job in any such companies.

He took on several part-time jobs and paid for his sister’s tuition untill she graduated high school. Although she was offered a scholarship to the university of her choice, it only covered 80% of the yearly total tuition and the first year daily expenditures.

He still had to make up the difference which was no small amount, she had offered to accept the scholarship from a lesser know school, they had offered her a full scholarship with all expense paid but Tyler couldn’t let her do that. He had turned out mediocre and couldn’t let his much more talented little sister end up like him, who would.

Working day and night to pay the rest of the fees his sister went to the best university around and graduated, top of her class and he couldn’t be any prouder. She was only three years younger than him and had even skipped a grade or two graduating at the age of Eighteen.

With him graduating at the age of twenty-one, it meant they had graduated at the same time. Anyone hearing this would raise an eyebrow at the vast disparity between the two siblings, but his sister thought different. The fact that he was able to attend classes while working several part-time jobs and most time not being able to sleep and still finishing with decent results was amazing to her.

Even when everyone ignored him and rushed over to congratulate his sister on their graduating ceremony he still hadn’t cared. The single words of heartfelt gratitude he received from his adorable little sister was enough for him. She had also been scouted by many large companies and was offered a well paying job opportunity in a large city.

Tyler had felt like a father the day she left home to work at a new city. It was a pitiful sight to see and he now felt embarrassed about it. Unfortunately he really was unlucky.

On the way home from dropping his sister off at the airport, he had an accident after swerving away from a little kid who had ran into the road and slamming into a tree. It was an instant death and he hadn’t even felt it.

He woked up in a large cave in the middle of the forest completely naked. ‘Wait… wasn’t that the same thing as the last time… Why the hell am I always naked.’ since he possessed the same body as back on Earth. He had thought he was summoned here, after all the language here were all automatically translated to him and all he needed to do was learn how to read a few syllables.

As he stared at the beautiful night sky, he couldn’t help but wonder how his mom and sister were doing. ‘Why am I thinking of all this. Am i somehow preparing myself to die here?’ he sighed. ‘Come to think of it, I look exactly as i did when I transmigrated here more than 1,000 years ago.’

‘Hm… does that mean i was unconscious but i died and was reborn in the future. No, that’s not right. I remember falling down there and from what I gathered this world is the same. So… hmmm… there is still some parts that doesn’t add up. Why hasn’t anyone figured out I’m human yet, or am I really no longer human… Damn… dying might be a lot easier than this… Shit, I’m being sucidal again.’

*Knock knock knock…

_______________________

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