Haku pressed his back against the tree, branch held out in front of him. The three direwolves circled him slowly, growls rumbling in their chests. They weren't rushing anymore, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest. The branch in his hands was shaking, and he knew the wolves could see it. Could smell his fear.
This is bad. This is really bad.
He'd seen plenty of fight scenes in anime, watched protagonists take on monsters with cool strategies and perfect timing. But actually being here, actually facing down three giant wolves that wanted to rip him apart, was completely different.
What would Rimuru do? The thought came automatically. He'd use Raphael to figure out their weakness, calculate the best move, predict their attacks.
The lead wolf crouched low, muscles tensing.
"Man, I really wish I had something like Raphael right now," Haku muttered under his breath.
The moment he said it, something changed.
His mind suddenly felt different, like a door had opened somewhere deep inside. The Akashic Library, which had been quietly sitting in the back of his consciousness, suddenly came alive. Books started moving on their own, pages flipping faster and faster until they became blurs of light.
Haku felt a pull, like the library was reaching for something. It was searching through everything he knew about Raphael, every scene from the anime, every explanation from the light novels, every detail he'd absorbed as a fan. The library took all of it and started putting it together like puzzle pieces.
Then the text appeared in his vision, glowing softly.
[Skill replication initiated]
[Target: Raphael, Lord of Wisdom]
[Synthesizing improved version...]
The wolves lunged.
Everything slowed down, and suddenly Haku could see the attack coming like it was moving through water. Not because time actually stopped, but because his mind was processing everything faster. The library finished whatever it was doing, and something new clicked into place inside his head.
[Synthesis complete: Logos, Archive Sovereign]
A calm voice spoke in his mind, clear and steady. "Three direwolf-class targets detected. Current threat assessment: high. Evasive action recommended."
Haku's body moved on instinct, stepping left just as the lead wolf's jaws snapped shut on empty air. He didn't think about it, didn't plan it. The voice had told him where to move and his body just listened.
"Opening detected. Strike the exposed flank."
He swung the branch hard and it cracked against the wolf's ribs. The beast yelped and stumbled to the side, shaking its head.
"Effective hit. Redirect to secondary targets."
The other two wolves were coming at him from different angles now, but Haku could see where they'd move before they did it. The voice in his head was reading their body language, their weight shifts, everything.
"Reposition to the tree. Limit their approach angles."
Haku backed up until the trunk was behind him. The wolves couldn't surround him anymore, which meant they had to attack from the front. That made things simpler.
The first wolf lunged. Haku sidestepped and shoved it as it passed, redirecting its momentum straight into the tree trunk. It hit with a heavy thud and dropped to the ground, dazed.
"One incapacitated. Two active. Stamina declining. End combat quickly."
"Yeah, working on it," Haku gasped.
The lead wolf was back, circling with the third one. They were being more careful now, watching him with wary eyes.
"Pack coordination detected. Simultaneous attack imminent. Target the alpha."
"That's the big one!"
"Correct. Also the most aggressive. Therefore most predictable."
The alpha charged straight at him, and just like the voice said, Haku could see exactly what it would do. He dropped low, grabbed a sharp rock from the ground, and drove it upward as the wolf jumped over him. The stone caught it in the soft part of the belly.
The beast crashed behind him and didn't get back up.
The other two wolves stopped. They looked at their dead leader, then at Haku, then turned and ran into the forest without looking back.
Haku stood there breathing hard, the bloody rock still in his hand. His whole body was shaking from adrenaline.
"What the hell just happened?" he whispered.
"Combat resolved. You sustained no major injuries. Seek safe location and assess situation."
The voice was so calm it was almost annoying. Haku dropped the rock and leaned against the tree, trying to catch his breath.
"That voice... who are you?"
"Designated skill: Logos, Archive Sovereign. I am a synthesized skill created by the Akashic Archive based on your conceptual knowledge of Raphael, Lord of Wisdom."
"Created?" Haku's mind was spinning. "You mean the library actually made you?"
"Affirmative. The Akashic Archive's function is skill replication and improvement. When you expressed desire for Raphael's capabilities, the Archive used your existing knowledge to generate an optimized version."
Haku processed that slowly. He'd thought about wanting a skill, and the library had just created one. Not copied it, but made something new based on what he knew about it.
"So you're saying any skill I know about from anime or games or whatever, the Archive can make a better version?"
"Correct, within limitations. Replication requires sufficient understanding of the skill's principles and functions. Incomplete knowledge produces incomplete results."
That was insane. That was absolutely broken. His "useless" library skill could create improved versions of any ability he'd ever heard of, as long as he knew enough about how it worked.
"What can you do exactly?" Haku asked. "What makes you different from Raphael?"
"I provide analytical processing, tactical calculation, and skill management. I also have direct integration with the Akashic Archive, allowing me to facilitate further skill synthesis. Unlike Raphael, I prioritize your decision-making authority. I suggest, you decide."
"So you're not going to take over or anything?"
"Negative. You retain full control."
That was good at least. Haku pushed himself off the tree and looked toward where he'd seen the village earlier. His body ached and he was exhausted, but he wasn't hurt. The wolves hadn't touched him.
"There's a goblin village nearby," he said. "Think they'll be friendly?"
"Insufficient data for accurate prediction. Recommend cautious approach with non-threatening behavior."
"Great. So maybe they'll help me, or maybe they'll shoot me full of arrows."
"Essentially correct."
Haku started walking through the forest toward the village, his mind still trying to wrap around everything. He'd been in this world for maybe an hour and he'd already unlocked what might be the most overpowered ability possible.
The Akashic Archive hummed quietly in his mind, and Logos was a steady presence now, like having someone watching his back. The library was still organizing things, filing away everything from the fight into neat categories.
If he could replicate any skill he knew about, then the question wasn't what he could do. It was what he couldn't do.
And right now, standing at the edge of a goblin village in a fantasy world, covered in dirt and wolf blood with a mysterious mask on his face, Haku couldn't help but grin.
"Alright then," he said quietly. "Let's see where this goes."