Chapter 006: Giant

Du Fan gave Chenchen a strange look. He hadn’t expected her to have some understanding of gods as well. Since being reborn in this world, Du Fan no longer doubted the existence of gods. As an incompetent charlatan, he still harbored doubts about the realms of the gods. Unlike most people in this world who only worshipped them, he felt more curiosity and confusion toward them.

Du Fan wanted to ask more about the gods, but he knew that if this little fox refused to speak, there was nothing he could do. So, he had to put his doubts aside for now and sighed softly, “Alright… I really want to see… the guy who turned this place into what it is. Whether he’s a human or a dragon, if he has such good taste, I really hope he won’t disappoint me.”

With that, Du Fan made a gesture and walked over to a tall bookshelf beside them. The shelf was filled with all kinds of books—both bound in thread and on parchment—offering a dazzling array of choices. He casually pulled out one book and glanced at it, then couldn’t help but sigh slightly. “It’s actually ‘The Gate to Another World’—isn’t this the work of Isbel, the most famous holy mage in the continent over a thousand years ago? It’s said that this book explains his understanding of space magic and summoning magic, and even includes his theories about the Gate to the Heavens. It was because of this book that he was declared a heretic by the Holy Church, forcing him to take the path of necromancy. But eventually, he’s said to have died at the hands of the pope at the time. All records about him should have been erased long ago. Who would have thought such a book would still exist? Truly…”

By the end, Du Fan also sighed softly. He was well aware of the book’s value, but he didn’t feel the slightest urge to keep it for himself. After all, there were several pairs of eyes watching him. If he acted recklessly, things could get really messy later.

With that thought, Du Fan was about to throw the book to the others when Isella let out a soft snore and said, “Lord Du Fan, I think I need to remind you of one thing: it’s better not to touch the books on these shelves randomly. Although I know these books are of immeasurable value to you humans, if you disturb them and disrupt the balance of these shelves, then… we’ll all be in trouble…”

Du Fan was slightly stunned, but he quickly regained his composure. He put the book titled “Gate to Another World” back on the shelf and glanced at it casually a few more times. With each glance, he felt his mouth grow dry and his heart race. Most of these books were unique manuscripts from thousands of years ago, containing insights left by legendary archmages and holy knights. The understanding of power they contained would surely mesmerize anyone. If just one such book appeared on the continent, it could likely spark chaos.

Yet Du Fan merely smiled bitterly. Although he now had some desire to take these books with him, he was even more aware that it would be meaningless to do so. Given his current level, he would be utterly confused even if he tried to understand them. Moreover, if he was right, taking a certain number of these books might collapse the very place they were in. By then, even if he managed to take all the books, what good would that be?

The balance here was so delicate—who knew how many books would cause trouble? If unlucky, just taking one book might collapse the entire space. Du Fan would never engage in such a risky venture.

Immediately, he gave up on the idea. Fearing he couldn’t resist the temptation, he forced himself not to even glance at the books. Instead, he turned around and said, “Alright, let’s discuss what we should do now.”

Chenchen shook her head slightly. “I’m not entirely sure either. Anyway, let’s look for a way to leave.”

Tasia nodded as well. “That’s the only option for now. But if this young lady’s mount could tell us where what we’re looking for is… perhaps we could avoid a lot of trouble.”

Du Fan thought about it and realized she was right. But to be honest, he didn’t trust this newly conquered dragon very much. If this green dragon played a trick on them, wouldn’t their group die without even knowing why?

With these thoughts in mind, he also began to be wary of Isella.

But to everyone’s surprise, Isella shook her head and said, “You don’t need to look at me. Although I know this place is the Emerald Dream, it’s simply because of our Green Dragon clan’s innate abilities. As for anything else, I really don’t know. Though I can’t recall much, this definitely isn’t where I slept for a thousand years. Let’s leave quickly—I certainly don’t want to spend my whole life here.”
Everyone glanced at Isella in astonishment, but it wasn’t the right time to say much, so they each silently started searching separately.
A moment later, Feray let out a soft exclamation, “Lord Du Fan… I think this must be the only exit.”
Du Fan hurried over and saw a tall ladder behind a stone bookshelf. Though also made of stone, the slabs, as thin as little fingers, seemed incredibly fragile.
After observing for a while, Du Fan said gravely, “This must be the shelves used to organize books in the library. Hmph, the guy who created this space really thought of everything. Worried we wouldn’t be able to reach the top of the shelves, he even prepared this. He truly treats this place like his own study.”
Feray whispered, “Lord Du Fan… What should we do?”
Du Fan’s eyes flickered. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “Go up. Even if there’s no path above, at least we can see more. There’s a saying in the distant Eastern Continent: ‘The higher you stand, the farther you can see.’ If we don’t go up, how will we know what awaits us?”
Without looking elsewhere, Du Fan gritted his teeth and slowly climbed up the ladder. Fortunately, though it seemed fragile, it was actually fine. Once on top of the shelf, though nothing serious happened, he was still terrified.
He snorted and looked around. As far as his eyes could see, there were only shelves lined up one after another, with a short distance between each. Besides the place he had just climbed from, there was no place to stand beside any of the other shelves. If his calculations were correct, the rest of the path would likely be along those shelves.
Du Fan sneered inwardly and couldn’t help muttering, “It seems we’ve truly reached the beginning of a path!”
As Du Fan spoke to himself, the others slowly followed. Seeing what lay before them, they were also quite surprised.

Du Fan smiled gently and said, “Alright… there’s no need for everyone to be surprised… Since this place is so mysterious… let’s see what awaits us in the end.” With that, Du Fan started walking down the only path available. Walking carefully along these floating stone shelves, Du Fan felt that every step he took was full of danger. Although there was no wind in this Emerald Dream, the air was terrifyingly cold. The still air clung to his skin, making his hair stand on end, as if constantly reminding him that they were in a land at the extreme north. Stars shone in the darkness all around, and Du Fan walked slowly at the top of the shelves, giving him a sense of strolling under the moonlight. Occasionally, when he glanced casually through the gaps between two shelves, he saw the deep darkness below, which made his knees weak. Damn, who could claim they weren’t scared at a time like this? If so, they definitely weren’t human! Du Fan cursed inwardly a few times, but he didn’t dare do anything reckless and continued walking slowly along the path. The path made of shelves resembled a maze—some sections simply disappeared after being crossed, while others were extremely dangerous. Along the way, Du Fan and his group nearly fell into abysses several times. Fortunately, they had a flying green dragon with them, which helped a bit in dangerous situations; otherwise, many of them might have died in this Emerald Dream. After walking for a long time, the path of shelves continued straight ahead, with a slight upward slope. At first, it seemed impossible to see the end, but after about half an hour, they finally spotted something ahead. Du Fan, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed a huge platform above the shelf path. It was actually a circular shelf with its top flattened. From a distance, other paths could be seen leading to that stone platform, and if Du Fan was right, this place should be the end of the Emerald Dream. However, from their current angle, they couldn’t see clearly what was on it. At this point, everyone became more alert. Although there had been no danger along the way, who knew what was on that platform? Everyone stayed highly vigilant as they slowly made their way toward the platform.

Finally, they reached the top of the last bookshelf. Du Fan and Chen Chen exchanged a glance, stepped forward at the same time, and then a huge platform appeared before them.