MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin
Chapter 91 [Bonus ] CH 87:PRICE OF KNOWLEDGE(1)

Adam sighed slightly as he observed the slovenly woman in front of him. One could even say that she was radiating happiness while she was talking about Anime culture.

It was a pretty different sight from the somewhat languid and tired face she had shown to him every time they had met each other previously.

'In the first place, is there even enough anime or manga or novels to read for so long?'

He was able to assimilate a great number of books just by having his new skills. And they were not even higher-ranked skills. He doubted a Celestial, or at least what he thought to be a Celestial would have difficulty reading much faster than him.

Furthermore, mangas were not a particularly old form of entertainment, when all things considered, and anime was an even more recent innovation. [1]

As if guessing his questions she answered him in a cheerful tone, "I watched anime from the future."

'Damn…'

He had truly created the ultimate Otaku. One who could never be stopped by mere cliffhangers.

The one who could see all ends.

Adam smiled as he thought about it all, "I'm happy that you found something to enjoy your time with."

At the end of the day, there was nothing wrong with enjoying whatever new hobbies one had.

"Enjoying, huh? Indeed, I can say that I am enjoying this hobby of mine quite a bit."

She gave a rueful smile, one mixed with a myriad of emotions.

"You will understand this in the future. But when you reach our age, time seems to come to a crawl or accelerate so fast that it becomes meaningless. Years pass in the blink of an eye. Centuries are barely enough for a nap and sleep lasts for thousands of years with no signs of ending."

She shook her head, "In order to enjoy this new hobby, I had to slow down my computing ability as much as possible and even have to give myself a human body. I guess I am thankful for how humans never stop to enjoy themselves and having fun in their lives."

She gave a wistful smile at that thought, "I guess, in a certain way, Mortality is humanity's greatest curse but at the same time greatest gift.

"Time for you is still very meaningful. I am happy you accepted to waste some of your time with me by hearing my ramblings. So, without further ado, let's go back to important matters, shall we?"

She shook her head and waved her hands. Light shone and covered her body with an incandescent glow. When the light vanished a few moments after, the slovenly woman and the prime otaku Adam had seen in her were no more.

She was wearing a regal white dress, her fair skin seemed to shine under the light of the Library and her long silver hair was so beautiful that it never stopped leaving Adam mesmerized. Looking at her eyes, one would have the feeling that they were falling into a sea of light and wisdom.

"I am the Librarian of the Nexus. Once again, I welcome you to this wonderful place."

Adam looked at her with curious eyes. How so beautiful and regal. At the same time, how so very distant. The way she looked when in full otaku mode was quite a disappointing sight but he had to admit that it made him feel closer to her even if by a little. She looked more personal and human in her Otaku appearance. Now, however, she was back to her distant, unapproachable self.

Akasha gave a gentle smile as she observed him more closely, "You had a startling growth, it seems."

In her current form, she was able to observe the flow of energy coming from Adam and while it was negligible when compared to divine beings, this would be an unfair comparison for someone who had awakened to their powers only recently.

"I did, huh…"

"You also opened The Crown. Impressive."

She showed quite a bit of a surprise at this achievement of his. After all, she could see that he had obtained that power alone without using any Karma or external means.

This would drastically lower the price for the subsequent Chakra that needed to be opened by him. Who knows? He might be able to get another enlightenment and open another major Chakra by himself too.

Finally… "Hmm?"

Her eyes twinkled in doubt and bewilderment when she focused on the domain around Adam.

"A Divine Kingdom?"

She then tilted her head. A small frown etched between her eyes.

'No. This is different. Huh?'

This time she was truly and completely astonished by Adam's powers. It wasn't as if she was all-knowing. But still…

She mused by herself in silence but Adam did not miss her earlier words,

"What do you mean by Divine Kingdom?"

The woman looked up, before shaking her head, "Well, it isn't some deep knowledge so I guess I can tell you about this, at least."

"Adam… What do you think gods are?"

She beckoned to him with her hand and began to walk through the shelves until they reached a section about Theology but then shook her head with a sigh.

She had forgotten for a second that this was the Bronze level. There would be no books on the truth about gods in this place.

"Gods are in short energy given form and mixed with one or a few concepts that hold existence."

She laughed slightly, "Be it the primordial gods, who can live off the energy of the universe itself, or second-generation gods, who need the power of faith and worship to sustain themselves, they are all one and the same and true to this definition. They all have this one thing. That one place where they can bring out their full powers— The Divine Kingdom."

[1]: The first manga sketches were made in 1814. The first true manga appeared in 1902 and the first anime was made around 1910+. My source is Wikipedia here so don't quote me on this.