The bookshelves here were nearly two stories high, with wooden ladders that could slide along small tracks.

The sight brought back a flood of memories of his days studying hard in his university library.

With pen and paper in hand, he browsed the aisles, searching by the first letter of the titles.

He eventually gathered several books—Monsters of Thousand Masts City, World Geography, and The Changing World—and after a long search, finally found the reading area and settled down at a table.

Each book was as thick as a dictionary. It was going to take some serious effort to get through them.

’An Adventurer who doesn’t study will always be at the bottom.’

Giving himself a little pep talk, Colin picked up a thick volume and began to slowly leaf through it.

Thanks to the original owner’s literacy, he could understand most of it. He jotted down any unfamiliar words, and once he had a decent list, he would swallow his pride and go ask Sela in the main hall.

He stumbled through the text, but he managed to comprehend it for the most part.

For a modern man who had spent over a decade in school, the ability to sit down and read patiently was probably one of Colin’s innate Golden Fingers as a Transmigrator. Most people in this world lacked such patience.

When he started to feel hungry, Colin closed the thick book in front of him.

He had certainly learned a great deal in one morning.

The first thing he learned about was the history of this world.

It was just as Edwin had said: Demons and various other evil forces had never truly rested.

This world had actually experienced several world-ending crises, such as divine wars. And while you could count the number of such major events on two hands, the smaller conflicts that followed in their wake were ceaseless.

’This world really isn’t a peaceful place.’

Based on his recent experiences, the bad news was that Cultist activity was rare around Thousand Masts City, thanks to the high number of active Paladins and Adventurers in the area. The recent incidents were definitely an anomaly.

The good news was that Cultists were always causing trouble somewhere. The recent unrest was likely just them trying to take advantage of the winter disaster to gain a foothold, probably nothing on the level of a world-ending threat.

With these thoughts in mind, Colin gathered the thick volumes and returned them to the bookshelves one by one.

Then, with his prize—a stack of freshly copied notes—he said goodbye to Sela and left the Divine Hall.

The notes primarily contained key points from the monster bestiary and information about the various realms.

Naturally, the intelligent races of this world had studied its monsters.

The bestiary was the culmination of all that research.

It included entries on creatures Colin had already encountered, like Blights, Winter Wolves, and Jackal Wolfmen.

However, it contained far more fluff than the intelligence the Dwarf had provided, so he had to sift through it carefully to extract anything useful.

Furthermore, the bestiary only detailed common monsters within Thousand Masts City’s sphere of influence. It had almost no information on creatures from farther regions and rarely mentioned which monster parts could be used to craft Magic Equipment.

Even so, the knowledge was undeniably valuable.

Then there was the general world knowledge.

Colin had only skimmed this part, but it gave him a deeper understanding of the city-states and nations beyond Thousand Masts City. When he eventually ventured out, he wouldn’t be completely in the dark.

Of course, he paid special attention to the geography surrounding the location for the special mission. If he ultimately decided to head south, that intelligence would be crucial.

His thirteen points of Intelligence played a major role in all this.

Colin could clearly feel his mind was sharper now than it had been even in his school days. His memory and logical reasoning had improved significantly, and he didn’t tire as easily.

Lost in thought as he walked, Colin soon found himself back at the Black Heart Tavern.

Bob was eating lunch in a corner of the tavern. Kase was nowhere to be seen; he was probably still asleep.

Colin ordered some food and took a seat across from Bob.

When Bob saw him approach, he spoke up. "Kid, no news on a house in the city yet. You might have to wait a while. Those Old Guys are all planning to keep hiking the rent."

"It’s fine," Colin said. "I’m not in a huge rush."

"One more thing. Have you gotten your Thousand Masts City residency permit yet?"

"What’s that?" Colin asked.

Bob took a bite of bread. "You need one to live in the city. Can’t rent a place without it. I’ll take you to pay the fee later. It’s no big deal."

Colin thought for a moment.

’Copying books at the library isn’t urgent,’ he thought. ’I might as well get this permit sorted out. I’m going to be living in Thousand Masts City eventually anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I do it now or later.’

After they finished their meal, the two of them headed into the Inner City.

Upon entering the Inner City, Bob led Colin along the city wall until they reached a small booth built up against it.

A long line snaked from the booth’s window, filled with a large crowd of refugees and a small number of city residents waiting to be processed. A few City Guards stood nearby, armed with wooden sticks and Shields, maintaining order.

The booth was a security post, typically used by the City Guard as a station.

"This is the place?"

"The City Guard is swamped these days, so they’re making do," Bob said. "Let’s get in line. The Guard on duty today should be an acquaintance of mine, so there shouldn’t be any trouble."

Colin nodded and followed him to the back of the line.

Since he had nothing better to do, he took out his parchment and began memorizing the notes he’d copied, trying to commit the weaknesses and appearances of each common monster to memory.

After waiting in line for over an hour, Colin finally made his way to the window.

He glanced back and saw that many more people had joined the line behind them, extending it even further.

It was a clear sign of how many people were trying to move into the Inner City lately.

The City Guard clerk behind the window looked tired and impatient. He tapped the counter with his knuckles. "Name? Place of origin? Profession? Do you have relatives, friends, or a landlord in the city to act as your guarantor?"

Colin replied, "Colin. I used to live in the slums outside the city. I’m an Adventurer now."

"I’m his guarantor," Bob said, leaning against the window frame.

"Provide proof of property ownership in Thousand Masts City or a residency permit."

Bob pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and passed it through the window.

The clerk acted as if he hadn’t seen it, his eyes still fixed on the two of them.

Seeing this, Colin realized the man was probably looking for a bribe.

"Charlie, don’t be like that," Bob started. "Did you forget last time I..."

"And who are you?" the clerk in the window said, tapping the counter again. "I don’t know you. Show me your identification, now!"

"Hey, cut the act," Bob said. "Are you really trying to squeeze us for a bribe over this? Haven’t you seen all those refugees..."

"Next!" the clerk yelled to the people behind them.

The two City Guards who were maintaining order immediately stepped forward.

Just as Colin was about to reveal his identity, two other City Guards approached from a short distance away. One of them saw Colin and asked in surprise, "Mr. Colin? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

He turned and saw it was the young Guard who had gone down into the sewers with him and been knocked unconscious by the Carrion Insects.