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Alex arrived at the teleportation hall inside Violet City. He first went and turned in all the quests and materials he had gotten from the dungeon. He received 800 Reputation points and 35 gold coins. The rocks from the Fire Elementals were rich in minerals, so they sold for more. Once he gained the 800 Reputation points, he received a system notification.

[You have reached Citizen Status of Violet City.]

Alex had finally become a Citizen inside Violet City, and now he could access the library. The library was a large building with a grand entrance. The building was pristine white and had windows only on the first and second floors. The entrance didn't have any door; instead, it was more of a hollow area in the wall. The library itself was located near the castle and had stairs that led up to its entrance. It was guarded 24/7 by tier 3 guards, and only citizens were allowed entry into the library.

Alex looked at the grand library with a small smile, and he noticed he felt drawn to it. Maybe it's his Seekers Eyes that desire the knowledge hidden in it.

He walked up the stairs with quick steps and reached the entrance. He showed his ID to the guards, and then he was let inside. He was warned not to cause any trouble or damage anything. Alex walked inside and immediately noticed the difference in mana density. The disparity in mana was incredible, and Alex's mind was perfectly clear. When in a place with higher mana density, your mind becomes clearer, and you have better concentration. The library was filled with bookshelves and light blue podiums. These podiums were the Database of the Library and made it easier to find books or keywords. Alex walked to one of the podiums, and when he reached it, a blue screen popped up. On the podium, a blue holographic keyboard was present. The screen had a simple search box, and Alex typed the words "Seeker" inside the search box. When the screen showed zero results, he looked at it in shock. He stood there motionless, staring at the screen. That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked back, he was knocked unconscious.

The person who knocked him out was an old man in his final years. He looked at Alex with cold eyes and was deciding what to do with him. He sighed, threw Alex's body over his shoulder, and walked to the staircase that led upstairs.

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Alex woke up inside an empty room that was only lit up by a dull single light bulb. He checked the game clock and noticed he had been knocked out for 8 hours. He was bound to a chair in the middle of the room, and he seemed drugged. His vision was blurry, he had barely any strength to move his body, and he couldn't think straight. He tried to log out of the game when a message shocked him to his core.

[You are unable to log out at the moment.]

He kept trying and trying; however, he would always get the same message. He used his Sub-Skill Flaw and tried to find a way out of here. He kept looking around him for a few minutes, trying to find a way out. He found a yellow crack on the chains that bound him; however, he couldn't break it. The chair was bolted down to the ground, and the person who had taken him had taken all his personal belongings. This included his storage ring. While he tried to find another way out, a tired voice called out to him.

"Don't bother; you're stuck here with the rest of us."

"Where am I?"

"The library."

"Huh? Why was I taken? I've done nothing wrong."

"You must have stumbled upon a secret, and they couldn't risk it getting out."

"Where are you talking to me from?"

"The room to your left. We're under the Library, where the Crown keeps the people who find their secrets. They don't kill us for some reason, however, they lock us up until we die."

"There has to be a way out."

"Don't even bother; we've all tried it. However, we're all still stuck here."

Alex bit his lip, trying to get his head clear. That's when a system notification appeared in front of him. He also realized he was in deep shit.

[The Crown's Secret

Difficulty: Legendary

Intentional or not, you've stumbled upon a secret so large it could affect the entire kingdom. It could even affect the surrounding kingdoms, depending on what you uncover. Either join in protecting the secrets of the Crown or join in exposing them.

Rewards: ???

Penalty: Loss of all levels, permanent 50% attribute loss, loss of all reputation, and loss of all titles.

Time Limit: 72 days]

[Quest has been automatically accepted]

[Time dilation for User Lucifer has been increased to 1:24 inside the special area.]

A legendary quest! A quest that has a major impact! Alex knew the implications of this level of quest, and he was angry. It was too soon to be given this level of quest; he would never be able to complete it. The penalties would ruin him; he was going to fall here. He was imprisoned inside a secret facility and with no way out. He was unable to log out of the game. Even worse, the time dilation had drastically increased, bringing major side effects to the brain. While time dilation had no adverse effects, it can hurt the brain if abused. He would also have to stay inside the pod for 3 days with no food or water. He might very well die from dehydration or brain damage.

A nervous chuckle escaped Alex's mouth, and he muttered,

"Even if somehow I complete this quest, I could die. What a joke. I refuse to lie down and die like a dog. I just need to complete the quest before I die from dehydration. Simple, yeah, simple."

Alex began looking for a way out of this cell; he didn't even consider joining the people who took him. He knew where a few flaws were and could easily break them. He just needed to get out of his bindings. So he calmed down, cleared his head, and formulated a plan.

He concluded he was underground from a conversation he had with someone. He also concluded this was a prison of some sort. He felt this was highly guarded, strictly maintained, and monitored. It wouldn't surprise him if someone was monitoring him at the moment. So he did the only thing he could do at the moment: gather information.

"So you said we're here because we stumbled upon something we shouldn't have. Then what did you stumble upon?"

"I stumbled upon the Crown Prince's secret method of gaining strength. I then learned that every royal successor also gains strength this way."

"What was the method? If you don't mind sharing, that is."

"It's alright, it's good to have someone to talk to. They were using virgin women and innocent children, then sacrificing them to a Devil."

"A Devil?"

"Yeah, one of the 72."

"Do you know which one?"

"Sadly, I don't. I was about to go inform the Temple of Light when they apprehended me."

"I see, that's unfortunate."

"What about you?"

"I'm not sure, so I won't comment. I do wonder what other secrets they have contained inside this prison."

"I'm not sure either, but it would be a lot. If only we had someone looking for us or someone on the outside."

That's when it hit Alex: what if he had someone on the outside? He could enlist the help of Blossom; however, with such a large difference in time dilation, it would be hard. He could try and hope it leads to something. He called up his Friends tab and found Blossom's name, then sent a simple message.

"I will give you 20 gold coins for you to deliver something to the Church of Light. If you agree, sign this contract and tell no one."

While Alex wasn't hopeful about Blossom's help, he would give anything a chance.

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A/N

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a good rest of your day or night!

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!