The Codex

'I'm finally back…'

Arriving back at my apartment with a sleeping fox in my arms, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Even though only a week had past since I was last here, it had felt even longer due to the strenuous training. The mental stress I had accumulated over that period was finally seeping in as I just returned.

Although it was a little after noon, I really just wanted to lay down in my bed and sleep but I had other things to do real quick before I did.

I looked down at the fox that was contently sleeping in my grasp.

I frowned as an unpleasant odor wafted from it. Compared to what I had to deal with in my last life, the unpleasant odor emanating from it was nothing but I didn't want to deal with the smell any longer than necessary.

'I'm washing you before I let you come close to my bed.'

And with that thought, I immediately headed to the bathroom to wash the fox.

…

Only after twenty minutes or so of constant scrubbing was I able to get rid of the smell and dirt off of the fox's fur, which was a hassle in by itself as the fox stayed unconscious throughout the whole time. It was very awkward as I was fighting against the fox's drooping limbs as I attempted to wash it.

Just how exhausted was she to not wake up from being washed?

Oh yeah, in the process of washing her, I found out that the fox is a girl. I was thankful for finally confirming her gender as it was getting tiresome to refer to her as 'it' or 'the fox' in my mind, so that was a plus. Not only that, she seemed to be red-fox, or the mana beast equivalent at least, by the color of her fur.

Bringing out a fox-burrito from the bathroom, I gently placed her onto my bed so that I wouldn't wake her by chance. Though I doubted it by how she slept through a shower.

Then it was my turn.

…

"Huaaah… Hot showers after a long, stressful time are the best.

Getting out of the bathroom dressed in different but comfortable clothing with a towel used to dry my hair around my neck, I sat on my bed and was about to check my system prompt when my holowatch went off.

"Breaking News! An Explosion Occured At The Former Phantom Knight's Dojo!"

I slightly frowned at the alert. What caused the explosion? Was there someone at the dungeon who caused it? I couldn't tell nor know in my current position, so I just slid those thoughts off to the side of my mind.

Turning my attention back to the system, I got to what I had been pushing off.

-[Codex]-

The Codex, the library and records of the universe. It was one of the cosmic wonders of the universe that I wrote into my novel, alongside a couple others. Inside of it contained everything that has happened in the universe and will continue to keep track until the universe dies out.

'So, why the hell do I have access to it?'

I was extremely confused by the fact I had a prompt for the Codex.

I, a relatively normal human should not have access to what a minority in the universe have access to. How in the world did I get access to it? What does this entail for the future? Just what is—

Before my thoughts could get out-of-hand, I calmed myself down and took a deep breath. Speculating will get me nowhere.

Once I did so, I just focused on the system prompt and tried to access the Codex.

[E#*R, CO*#@C%ON #AS BE%N CO#%UP@ED]

Ah, so I got a faulty connection, of course… But that doesn't explain why I have it in the first place.

[AC#*SS T* D@T# H%S B$&N L#%T]

[FIXING ERROR…]

After what seemed like forever, the error finally was resolved.

[CREATING NEW, EMPTY DATABASE]

-[Codex]-

+ [New Entry]

-[End of Codex]-

After making sure I didn't miss anything, I sighed in frustration. Not only do I have a connection the Codex, but that the connection was apparently corrupted and lost access to the data.

No, I wasn't frustrated at the fact that I lost connection to literally the largest library in all of the universe. I knew the future so it wasn't that bad that I lost the data.

No, it was worse in my opinion. It was the fact that I HAVE a connection to the largest library of the universe, albeit a little empty right now for me.

It meant that I either have the most absurd luck to have a connection to it, or that my story isn't as simple as it appears to be. I am very inclined to believe it's the latter based on my experiences so far. Because of that, I'll need to plan my next moves even more carefully now.

For my brief time in this world, quite a few things were happening differently. The most important of all was meeting Alistar and the explosion that happened at the dojo. Something had changed, and that change is definitely going to cause a ripple effect with the events in the future.

Sure, it might be a small change in the long run, but then that change will lead to another small change which will continue on repeating until it becomes a big issue.

Once again, it was something I could try planning for but without the necessary power and knowledge, I wasn't in a position to do anything. I can only go with the flow at this point.

I turned my attention back to the Codex again. While all the data entries were lost, it seems like I could enter my own. If I remember correctly, no one could see or access it unless I allowed them to. That's when an idea hit me.

It would make a perfect journal to, let's say, keep a list of the future events? No one would be able to see them.

My current plan of action now is to write down everything I could remember about the future events and timeline of my novel in one entry, and then write down what has happened in the current world in another.

That way, I could make sure that if I forgot something about the future from the novel, I could go and read about it from the Codex entry. And with the second entry being about current events, I could note down differences to the novel and possible changes to the future as I lived on.

And that is what I did, spending the next couple of hours going back and forth in the Codex entry to make sure everything was correct. Once I did so, I moved on to the second entry, and noted down all my experiences, how I thought at the time, what I felt, and other things like that.

With my connection to the Codex being brought to light, it made me extremely wary of interferences and influences from unknown sources, so I made sure to write down my emotions and thought processes so that I had something to compare my present mindset to. It was also so that I could look back upon my growth.

As I was almost done with the entry, I filled out one more note.

[Note: "With the destruction of the dungeon made by Alistar, presumably by the demons or angels, it most likely cause a ripple in where there will be more activity from the side that attacked or. This could- no, will definitely cause some seen and unseen problems. No matter who destroyed it, it will cause investigation from all and any sides.

In response to the destruction, the Alliance will definitely investigate and even if nothing comes out of the investigation, it will be lingering in their minds, slightly affecting their actions in the future."]

Finished with the entry, I got up from the bed and stretched, popping my back and knuckles before laying down onto it again.

'I think I have everything that needs immediate attention done for now… huaaahhh, I should get some rest…'

I picked up the fox-burrito so that I could get under the blanket and sheets before placing her next to my pillow.

It wasn't too long before my consciousness drifted off and I fell asleep.

***

Near the edges, almost out of town, an enormous and grand, castle-like, building stood there, spanning across the land for hundreds of thousands of square feet.

Inside of the castle, in a room meant for foreign guests, an angry shout could be heard from it.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

"WHERE IS MY SISTER?"

A woman about 18 years old was yelling at their guide, a representative from the Alliance while some of her guards stood in the room, not caring about the yelling.

But there was something different about the woman and her guards. It wasn't what they were wearing or how they was acting, it was their physical bodies.

They had animal ears, fox ears to be exact.

The representative tried appeasing the woman.

"T-the Alliance is extremely sorry for what has happened and are doing their best to locate her. If she is in the city, she'll be found."

The woman snorted.

"Ha, if it wasn't for your shitty security, she wouldn't have been missing. It's been nearly a weak and there still has been nothing."

The representative wanted to complain.

'Isn't it your fault that your sister escaped your sight and was missing because so?'

He of course didn't say it out loud, though he wanted to.

"I've also contacted someone with a higher authority, so if you have any questions, please wait for them to arrive."

The woman scoffed. She was tired of the human's stalling antics and declared an ultimatum.

"If my sister isn't found by the start of Central Gap's opening ceremony, then the deal is off."

"W-wait a minute!"

The woman and her entourage of guards left the room without hearing what the representative had to say.

As they were walking, one of the guards stepped closer to the woman in order to speak quietly with her. His armor and attire different from the rest.

"Miss, are you really going to renounce the deal on behalf of the main clan if your sister isn't found by then?"

The woman responded without looking at the guard as they were walking.

"Yes, if they are so incompetent that they cannot protect a few guests from one of their own terrorist group, then they aren't worth making an alliance with."

The guard remained silent, unsure how to respond with her in a volatile mood.

"It is partly our fault for losing track of her, yes I agree with. But if their security cannot keep track of a single person on their own turf, then what about their enemies if they manage to infiltrate the academy?"

The guard nodded in agreement.

"Besides, we already have teams covertly looking for her. She's a smart girl, so she'll know how to hide herself. It's just a matter of figuring out her location."

'Please be safe sis, I'll find you if it's the last thing I do.'

With that resolute thought in her mind, she and her guards left the Central Gap Academy.