In an effort to create a literal pool of knowledge, one Skyrim player takes it upon themselves to collect as many in-game books as possible.
It's no secret that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the most lore-extensive open-world games out there. It seems like players are still discovering new bits of story, new locations, and new quests even 11 years after its initial release.
Though Skyrim has one of the most impressive levels of world-building among RPGs, most players won't encounter even half of what's in the game. Much of the lore lies buried within hundreds upon hundreds of tomes, all spread out across the map.
One Skyrim player, however, is set on collecting as many books as possible - all to create a literal pool of knowledge in Whiterun.
SKYRIM PLAYER'S MISSION TO COLLECT BOOKS
In a post shared to Reddit, u/PanzerkampfIV shared their mission to fill one of Whiterun's pools with books. Tossing in lore books, spell books, and other leather-bound tomes, they quickly amassed an impressive collection.
They said that the idea originally stemmed from the frustration of not having anywhere to store their books. Though purchasable homes like Whiterun's Breezehome may have been a better solution, the "pool of knowledge" is certainly far more creative and hilarious.
Day 1 of Progress
Day 7 of Progress
PanzerkampfIV's true objective is to continuously add books until the surface of the pool is no longer visible. Raiding locations like Dragonsreach, the College of Winterhold, the Thalmor Embassy, and more, their "pool of knowledge" overall contains a few hundred books. A few comments joked that PanzerkampfIV was creating their own Apocrypha, referencing the realm of Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge.
In total, Skyrim has 337 unique books scattered across its world. They contain niche details about obscure characters that fill out the world's history, should any ambitious player dare to read them. However, the truly staggering number incorporates all of the game's journals, diaries, scrolls, letters, and spellbooks. In truth, there are 820 items in Skyrim that the game considers "literature."
Surprisingly, despite several days of collecting, none of the books have despawned. In fact, they continue to bob and float in the water, leading to some expected glitches. Lag began nearly immediately on Day 2, dropping the frames to 15-20 FPS. It seems it is really only by some miracle of Hermaeus Mora that the game hasn't crashed.
Have you read any of Skyrim's many books? Let us know below!