Chapter 329: Infinite Potential, So Difficult?

"This is what I wish to present to you all: a library belonging to us, the followers of the Lady of the Night. Naturally, it is but a prototype for now, a mere shell; only when we fill it with knowledge will it gradually become complete."

Wang Yu’s calm, indifferent voice emanated from the humanoid figure wreathed in black flames, reaching the ears of the believers seated around the circular table for this meeting.

Some had already begun to grasp the significance of the Midnight Library. Out of respect, they did not leave their seats, but turned their heads to scan the layered shelves, curious about the contents of the sea of books placed upon them.

Charles, being well-acquainted with Wang Yu, stood on no such ceremony. He stepped down from his seat, approached the shelves, and traced his fingers over the books, judging their contents by the titles on their spines.

He soon discovered that, just as Wang Yu had said, the library was currently nothing more than a "shell"—exceptionally empty. On the shelf where he stood, only about two-thirds of the spines bore titles; the rest were blank.

Taking down a blank book and flipping through it, Charles confirmed that the pages within were as empty as the spines.

Examining the non-blank books more closely, he found the content to be quite elementary—introductory cultivation methods for common knights, simple general histories of the continent, and the like.

However, two books titled "Firewatch" and "Holo" caught his attention. He remembered Wang Yu mentioning these to him, though he had not expected them to be recorded in this form.

Though this was only one shelf, it was easy to infer from Wang Yu’s words that this was the state of the entire library; the magnificent forest of shelves and sea of books remained, for the moment, entirely hollow.

"As you can see, the books stored in this library are still few. I must ask you all to assist in filling it."

As Wang Yu continued to speak of the library, Aivia cooperated by leaving her seat, pulling a blank book from the shelf, and displaying it to those gathered.

The girl held the blank volume to her forehead, closing her eyes in concentration. As she connected her mental energy to the book, the thoughts in her mind transmitted memories of knowledge onto this blank vessel.

Words began to manifest upon the pages and the spine: *Introduction to Alchemy Deconstruction*, Author... She left no signature. As Aivia exited her meditative state and placed the book on the circular table, it had transformed from a blank slate into a volume filled with the foundational alchemical knowledge she had summarized.

Aivia passed the book to a nearby believer. The man opened it, his eyes widening at the neatly written content. After scanning a few lines, he was immediately drawn in by the profound scholarship reflected in these basics, his fingers twitching with the urge to keep turning the pages.

He quickly remembered, however, that this was a demonstration, not a gift, and promptly passed the book to the next person.

After circulating the table, the book returned to Aivia, who stood up and, under the gaze of all, slotted it back into the nearby shelf.

Seeming to realize something, the others checked their own nearby shelves, and sure enough, they found this new book among the previously non-blank volumes.

"Just as with the magic pages, connecting your mental energy to the blank books on the shelves allows your thoughts to be recorded as text."

Wang Yu explained how to contribute to the library. Believers began to experiment; while an ordinary person might record meaningless clutter when their thoughts were chaotic, the mages and wizards, with their honed mental strength, could control the process perfectly.

Books filled with the knowledge known to the believers appeared in their hands—some containing magic or alchemy, others historical documents, or even small stories from a believer's own life.

Some hesitated, while others had already placed their books onto the shelves. Among them was Charles, who had diligently recorded knowledge regarding void creatures. The moment his book touched the shelf, a screen of light, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes.

"Will you make your knowledge public? If public, it will be open to all believers. If you choose private, then for a fee..."

Charles read the text on the screen. Though he chose to make his knowledge public without hesitation, his mind began to ponder the implications of "paid knowledge."

*Click, click, click, click...*

Just as there were those who chose to upload publicly, there were curious believers who uploaded via the paid option. As they placed their "paid knowledge" onto the shelves, a row of glass cabinets rose from within the forest of shelves, displaying the few volumes uploaded as "paid knowledge."

"When filling the library, you may choose to share your knowledge freely. Of course, if you wish to exchange it for something, that is perfectly fine. Knowledge is wealth—I think that is quite correct, is it not?"

"By providing a brief summary and opening a portion of the content for review, you may write down what you require in the display cabinet. Whether you wish to exchange knowledge for knowledge, or knowledge for physical goods, it is all acceptable."

"However, I advise you all: do not attempt to trade through deception. Once discovered, I will act on behalf of the Lady of the Night, according to the severity of the offense, and ban you from the prayer communication network and the library forever."

Wang Yu highlighted the mechanics of "paid knowledge," then, with a faint smile, outlined the punishment for those who might attempt to commit fraud.

He was not overly worried about anyone causing trouble; simply put, the cost was too high and the gain too small. Here, he possessed the ultimate administrative authority; he could ban anyone from this space at will.

On Earth, and even among the merchant guilds of this world, platforms dealing with fake goods often only issued symbolic warnings to avoid losing customers.

But Wang Yu and Aivia cared for none of that. Take it or leave it; they preferred quality over quantity. They would never coddle those who practiced deception—they would be cast out, with no hope of ever returning.

A permanent, person-to-person ban. Create an alt account? No such function. Have someone else enter for you? Please, do not assume the Lady of the Night is blind. This space was built using her power; would she not know what her followers were doing?

Influenced from the start by Wang Yu’s knowledge of Earth’s psychology, Aivia had never intended for the library to be entirely free. "Paid knowledge" was a necessity.

It cannot be denied that if everyone chose to upload their knowledge selflessly to the public library, it would be ideal.

Countless knowledge would converge here, and new insights would constantly be born from this fertile soil; one day, it would become a towering tree that none could surpass.

But is that possible? No. If everyone’s ideological level were that high, there would not be so much trouble on Earth or in this world. There will always be those who believe that sharing their knowledge brings loss, and those who wish to exchange what they know for something else.

Is that a problem? No. Wang Yu himself frankly admitted he had not transcended this frame of mind, so he simply let "paid knowledge" exist.

The Sky Mechanical City, that temple of knowledge built by the greatest alchemist, Merlin—why did it not choose to make all knowledge, save for the forbidden, public?

Old Merlin had made it very clear: things obtained for nothing are never cherished. When the fruits of one's painstaking labor are shared the next moment, the motivation to create often withers.

The existence of "paid knowledge" would only inject more fresh vitality into the Midnight Library, greatly incentivizing believers to contribute their mastery to this place, and in the process of exchanging knowledge for knowledge, satisfy each other's needs, forming a virtuous cycle.

Of course, Wang Yu and the others never denied their own self-interest. This paid knowledge, locked away from other believers, was entirely open to them. As long as knowledge existed in this library, they could call upon and consult it at will.

Many believers participating in the meeting had already realized the library's staggering future potential—a platform that could grow indefinitely, a place to acquire knowledge or convert what one possessed into real value.

Excited, they began to upload their knowledge, exploring the library's functions. Visibly, the number of public books on the shelves grew rapidly, filling one shelf after another.

The paid knowledge in the glass cabinets also began to grow at a relatively slow pace. Believers left their seats, flipping through the books uploaded by others, checking the cabinets for the knowledge they needed.

Surprise began to dawn on the believers. They quickly discovered that knowledge deemed unimportant by others might be exactly what they needed. When a platform allowed different people to complement one another, the change it brought was unimaginable.

"Truly excellent. Some books have been signed. For these authors, perhaps letting their work remain in this library, to be read by more and more people, is a pleasure in itself."

Wang Yu watched the believers, who were full of enthusiasm, searching for what they needed while constantly feeding back into the library, and sighed with emotion. Once officially opened to all believers, the library would see even faster and more far-reaching growth.

As the holder of the highest authority, the benefits Wang Yu could reap were immense. Since coming to this world, he had created many things with great potential, but the Midnight Library—born from the collaboration between the girl and the Lady of the Night, and derived from his prototype of the prayer communication network—was undoubtedly the most astonishing.

There were still many problems. While it rejected no knowledge, some meaningless books still had to be swept into corners. Knowledge uploaded by believers might contain errors that needed to be discovered and corrected in time. There were other issues, too; perhaps he would need to find a few librarians in the Night Church later to help manage it.

"The consumption required to open the library is much greater than using the prayer communication network, so there will be a time limit for entering the Midnight Library. You may only enter for half an hour a day, though this time can be accumulated, up to a maximum of one full day."

Wang Yu stated the limitations. The drain on the power of faith was far heavier than the network, and even the Lady of the Night could not keep it open indefinitely.

"The library will close in one hour and will officially open to all believers in two days. As for that data, I must ask you all to help verify and process it."

After the believers acknowledged this, Wang Yu prepared to end the meeting. Everything that needed to be said had been said; now, he only had to wait for these scholars to synthesize their conclusions after analyzing and experimenting with the data left behind by Lancer.

"Your Excellency Archbishop, having seen that data just now, may I ask you a few questions?"

Just as Wang Yu intended to remove his lens and log off, a believer who had participated in the meeting walked up to him, speaking in the form of a small shadow.

"Go ahead, speak."

Wang Yu had no objections, signaling for the other to ask whatever he wished.

"Your Excellency Archbishop, is the research you are conducting an attempt to restrict contact with magic?"

"Correct. While the description might differ slightly, that is exactly it. How did you analyze that?"

Wang Yu confirmed with Aivia that the nature of the question was consistent with "super-magic," and immediately affirmed the man's statement.

"I was once a scholar at the Sky Mechanical City. Our society was also conducting this research, and we were stuck at the stage corresponding to the data you provided for a long time, unable to make a breakthrough. Later, I left the Sky Mechanical City due to some matters. Before I left, about ten years ago, my society still hadn't completed the research."

"Archbishop, are you currently at the Sky Mechanical City? Has this research not yet achieved a breakthrough?"

Wang Yu was genuinely taken aback, marveling at the sheer variety of talents the Nightfall Church managed to harbor. It seemed that research into hyper-magic had existed within the Sky Mechanical City for a long time, yet after all these years, they had still failed to master it.

"Is it really... that difficult?"