Tierney scaled the hive spire, climbing upward along the curved structures of its Gothic flying buttresses.
Ordinary people, even if they had the courage, couldn't maintain their balance in the high winds and cold rain mixed with ash. But Tierney was nearing the end of his path to ascension; he was far beyond ordinary.
The ashen rain served as the perfect cover for a "Marauder."
Terra's poisonous cloud layer felt familiar to him, just like his holand, Vostroya.
However, with the arrival of the Emperor, the founding of Paradigm City, and the imitation and reform of other hive cities, his holand had grown increasingly unfamiliar.
Tierney even heard so new recruits from the Legion Auxilia, hailing from the far northern hive of Naryanmar, say they had once seen their system's star from the upper hive, a sight unimaginable to the hive dwellers of his era.
As he mulled this over, the locator rune on the faceplate of his helt lit up.
Tierney halted. In an instant, he drew a dagger from his waist with his right hand.
After becoming the "Marauder," he tested countless weapons in the Void Hunter's training cages and ultimately found short swords and daggers to be the most intuitive.
Of course, for soone who had undergone surgical enhancents like him, a short sword was the length of a normal person's longsword, and a dagger was equivalent to a short sword.
With a flick of his wrist, the "Marauder" drove the dagger into the wall of the House Raynor's hive spire as if it were part of his own body.
Using his superhuman arm strength, he clung firmly to the spire's exterior. Activating Superior Observation, he scanned the patrol patterns and cara placents inside.
After circling the tower once, the "Marauder" mapped out a route.
Silently counting down, he waited until a patrol guard passed before climbing to a windowsill.
His large hand wedged the dagger's tip into the door crack of the balcony. With a gentle twist of the wrist, he unlatched the lock.
He opened the window, flipped inside, and landed while silently closing it behind him.
His movents were smooth and seamless. Despite his massive fra, not a sound was made.
The "Marauder" crouched low, dodging surveillance caras, and swiftly reached the location marked in his helt's visor: the House Raynor library.
This wasn't his first infiltration of their hive spire. He had previously "acquired" the spire's architectural blueprints and pinpointed the library's location.
The book he sought was most likely stored there.
Considering it was written during the long Dark Age, Terra's environnt had drastically changed since then. The book likely held little value to the Raynor family now and wouldn't be stored in Kales' personal study.
The "Marauder" reached behind with his left arm. Using an awkward but fluid motion, using the Agile Hand ability, he opened the gray zipper of his black backpack and retrieved the Raynor family's master key.
He inserted the key into a cogitator. A series of green runes lit up, and the golden door slowly opened.
Tierney withdrew the key, slipped inside the library.
The mont he entered, his spiritual sense was stirred.
Environntal awareness was only a minor aspect of Superior Observation. To the "Marauder," its greater power lay in identifying the most valuable item among many at a glance.
As the golden doors closed behind him, the "Marauder" sped past the first row of shelves. He quickly reached shelf A-3, returned his dagger to the tactical pouch at his waist, and pulled out a thread-bound book from among hundreds.
Flipping through a dozen pages, he found it was a geographic record.
Although it wasn't his target, he slipped it into his backpack anyway.
As soon as the book was stored, he felt sothing inside him lt slightly, and his footsteps grew lighter.
The "Marauder" pressed on, moving swiftly to his next target.
After examining nine books, Tierney still hadn't found the one he was after.
Could it be that the book isn't considered "high value"?
If so, that's trouble. The House Raynor has over 100,000 paper books. Flipping through each one would take far too long.
Guided by Superior Observation, the "Marauder" selected the tenth book. He opened it and saw the title: Bestiary of Monsters. He continued flipping.
On page thirty-three, his hand froze.
Unlike all the monsters before it, this page had no image.
Eight-Legged Black Wolf
He is a living shadow born from the Abyss of Eternal Night.
He is the void darkness that devours all existence.
Only the most foolish dare gaze upon his form, those fools will bleed black from their eyes and die to the whispers echoing in their ears.
Tierney's eyes lit up. The creature described matched the traits of mythological beings most closely tied to darkness.
'The intel was right. Compared to those half-imagined bestiaries, the Raynor family's version clearly holds valuable information.'
'The monster's na… its detailed information…
'Legend says the book's author, Concepción Perea, once saw a being cloaked entirely in darkness; it was all true.'
Tierney imdiately slipped the Bestiary of Monsters into his backpack, then continued weaving through the bookshelves, collecting the most valuable books.
Suddenly, his black eyes narrowed, and his Spirit Vision was triggered.
The "Marauder" quickly approached a shelf and pulled out a book written on parchnt: The Forgotten Golden Age, a compilation of 23 awe-inspiring tombs across the five continents of Terra.
He placed The Forgotten Golden Age next to the Bestiary of Monsters in his backpack.
With his pack full, the "Marauder" moved to the golden door and pressed his ear against it.
Spirit Vision could see auras through inanimate obstacles, but only depending on one's level.
The "Marauder" couldn't see through the walls, so he relied on the Lyman's Ear to listen.
He heard footsteps approach… then fade away.
Using the master key, he opened the door and retraced his path out.
Later that morning, Nareth, before heading out, received the Bestiary of Monsters. He flipped to the page on the Eight-Legged Black Wolf.
'Eight-Legged Black Wolf, the mythological form of the "Darkness" Pathway, is the Eight-Legged Demon Wolf. That's no coincidence.'
'This wolf must be the mythic creature of the Darkness pathway. But finding it won't be easy. The power of the Darkness path is secrecy, and mythic creatures already possess so of those traits. Let's hope it isn't a Sequence 2-level entity.'
Nareth stared intently at the page, studying its details.
'Wherever the wolf appears, people fall into sleep. But there's no ntion of fear, and its form is clearly described.'
'That suggests it's a Sequence 4 mythological creature.'
He confird this conclusion and turned to its appearance records.
The Eight-Legged Black Wolf walks beneath the moon. It soars toward the bright moon.
'Does that just an it appears at night, or is it connected to the moon itself?'
A Sequence 4 entity shouldn't be able to travel between Terra and Luna… but Malcador did say it had followers.
Unable to conclude further, Nareth thought for a mont and issued an order to Tierney:
"Send a team to Luna. Look not just for the Eight-Legged Black Wolf, but anything unusual."
"Those ruined dos are also glorious relics, valuable items might be hidden inside."
"While you're at it, map the terrain in detail. Sa goes for other locations."
Nareth added that this was a secondary task, but one that might prove useful in the future.
Then, he picked up The Forgotten Golden Age and discovered it was the main material for advancing from the Sequence 9 "Savant" to the Sequence 8 "Archaeologist."
Including this, he had now gathered seventeen such books from various libraries, each one a core material for the "Archaeologist" sequence.
On the 28th day since Nareth's arrival on Terra, word ca from Mars: All systems on his Gloriana-class battleship had passed final inspection.
Two days later, he wrapped up all business on Terra, boarded the Void Hunter, and departed for Mars.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu
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