CHAPTER 48: A Book

[George's POV]

It was self-study time and everyone was just doing their own thing. I still had that book with me, so I decided to read it since I had the time. THE CONTROVERSIES OF THE LEGEND OF THE FIRST EMPEROR. I'm not sure what this is supposed to be about, but it might be a good way to pass the time.

I opened the book and looked at the opening sentence to the introduction. It read, 'This world is not as it seems'.

I closed the book, then opened it again.

This could actually be interesting.

I continued to read.

This world is not as it seems. From a young age, I have always been interested in history and engrossed myself in various records. At the time, I knew something was off, but I wasn't able to put my finger on it. By the time I got a job as a researcher in the Gosojo Kingdom, I finally realized what had bugged me all my life.

What they say and what actually what happened, is very, very different. Take for instance, the records of the Daemon Hunters' origins are very sketchy. When I checked out those documents for work, I didn't really think much about it. It was only when I met a friend who told a me a very different story than what I read.

When he told me that, he also advised me not to say anything about what he said to anyone. But, I had my pride as a researcher, so I couldn't just leave it alone. I started to snoop around and ask questions, which was a really bad idea.

It seems there are some nasty people who don't take too kindly to when someone tries to poke around. I was warned explicitly many times through letters in black envelopes with a rose crest on it.

At that point, I knew I should just stop now while they're only just warning me. So I did. I buried all my research and forgot about it. I figured this was all a phase of my life that I should put behind me.

I left it alone and quit my job as a researcher to retire. It should have stayed that way if not for one book I happened across one day. It was a journal of someone who read another journal of someone named Archis Peharon.

After I read it, it cast doubt on everything I had believed to be true. If something as basic as the Legend of the First Emperor had been fabricated, can I trust anything else that they say happened?

It was then I realized I was being too hasty. How can I just believe something I just read? I was going to dismiss it, but something told me that I should just look into it, even if it's just a little.

I've learned over the years that when a little voice in your head tells you something, you should probably listen to it. So that's what I did. I got a hold of my old contacts and started to probe around. It would have probably have gone well, if not for one very miniscule problem.

No one wanted to talk to me. Whenever I broached the topic, everyone I spoke to would shut up immediately. If I tried to contact them again, they wouldn't answer. I took it as a bad sign and decided to leave my home for a few days.

That turned out to be the best decision I had made in my life. When I came back in two days, the small one bedroom bungalow was completely gone. By completely gone, I mean razed to the ground.

I didn't stick around to try and find out what they said happened. I fled and didn't look back. Later, when my fear had lessened to some extent, I found something off about the whole thing.

Whoever is going after me must be very rich and powerful, so how did they not kill me immediately? I'm sure that I'm very easy to kill, I'm not even in the First Tier. Was this just a final warning?

That's what I thought was going on, so I moved into a new residence, albeit carefully. I didn't want to die anytime soon, so I stopped looking into it.

At this point, I was sure that there I could not trust anything I was told. It was safe to assume that the Legend was fabricated, based on the response I had been receiving.

I tried to put everything I had done behind me and stop trying to get myself killed, and that worked for a while, until I coughed up blood one day. I was scared, and rightfully so, so I went to see a recovery mage who I knew.

When I went there, I was told I had a terminal illness that couldn't be cured. But when she told me that, there was a conflicted look on her face that was almost indiscernible. She passed a small note to me that said, 'don't look surprised, they're watching'.

I was surprised and shocked at what she was doing but I kept my face distraught, like someone who was told he didn't have long to live. During the consultation, she kept passing me notes using herb lists that could prolong my life as a cover.

When I left , my mind was in shambles because of what she told me. It turns out, they want to get rid of me. Who 'they' are she doesn't know, but she was approached and told what to tell me when I visited.

At the time I was very angry. But after a couple of days spent wallowing in sadness, I knew what I had to do. If they want to kill me to stop me from finding out the truth, I will do exactly that, if just to spite them before I die.

I don't have long left now, but I've put all I found out in this book. Hopefully someone will read it and continue the search for the truth.

I closed the book. Self-study time was over, and it was time for training. I followed the rest out the room and started the training for the day, but my mind wasn't there for the duration of the day.

I was very confused by what I had just read and trying to make sense of it.

Was that fiction or non-fiction? I wanted to dismiss it as a conspiracy theory, but I really couldn't.

When we finished training the first thing I did was to grab that book and continue reading. I didn't know it at the time, but I had been sucked into it without any idea.