Chapter CI (101) - Ballrooms, Libraries, and Warlords

“Where are you going with those streamers? We need them on the east side to compliment the tablecloths.”

Kizu’s eye twitched as he looked down at the origami streamers in his hand. The little paper birds folded into the bottom were alive and cooing softly as Sene sped off in a different direction. The Student Council President was a whirlwind of motion as she crossed the ballroom, yelling different demands at people. Quite literally a whirlwind, as she used elemental magic to zoom across the area on a miniature tornado. She claimed to do so as a way of sucking up any dust from the floor, but Kizu suspected that she just enjoyed being able to inflict her demands on people faster. Unnecessary demands. As he had been actively walking to the east side of the ballroom when she’d yelled at him. It had been like that all morning. Sene was overzealously micromanaging every centimeter of the ball’s decoration.

At least he still had the other two Student Council members to keep him sane. Ione had summoned one of the creatures they’d encountered in the World Dungeon, the creepy invisible monsters with the jaws that hung ajar and reached the floor while its body remained attached to the ceiling. Somehow, she managed to convince Jak to crawl into the monster’s mouth and he hung suspended in the air as he hooked up more streamers to the ballroom’s ceiling.

“Have I mentioned how grateful I am that you joined the Student Council?” Kizu asked the gnome floating in the air above him. “It would just be me and Sene doing everything otherwise.”

“I summoned the thing,” Ione pointed out.

“You made it more convenient for someone else doing work. That’s not the same as doing work yourself.”

“I refute that.”

“I don’t mind,” Jak said from above. “Really, I’m happy to help.”

“You give her a crumb, she’ll eat the cake,” Kizu warned.

“You’re more likely to eat someone’s cake,” Ione said. “I’ve seen your diet.”

Jak swayed slightly as Ione’s summon relaxed its jaw, lowering him back down.

“What’s that thing called?” Kizu asked. “Did you ever find out after we left the dungeon?”

“Nope. Looked in all the bestiaries I could get my hands on. As far as I can tell, they’re rare enough that I get to name it myself. I was thinking maybe calling them Kizus, after someone I know who shares a resemblance with them.”

Kizu’s eyes narrowed.

Ione chortled at her joke. “Relax. I’m naming them Lurkers. It’s more descriptive. Actually, the discovery inspired me to start my own bestiary.”

“Really?” Jak asked, intrigued. “Have you met that many magical creatures already?”

“Eh, a few. Only like a dozen well enough to summon them. And most of them are pretty situational. Like, when am I going to use a Lurker outside of interior decorating?”

“When being chased by bloodthirsty monsters?” Kizu suggested. To be honest, it seemed like a pretty useful summon in his opinion. Being able to set up an invisible obstacle to take out anyone tracking him could be invaluable.

“That only happens when I’m with you. And if I did that, it would deny you the opportunity to grow as a person.”

Jak apparently didn’t know how to respond to that, as he took Kizu’s streamers and stepped back in the monster’s gaping maw.

“How often is this room used?” Kizu asked, changing the subject. “I never knew we even had a ballroom before Sene mentioned it.”

“Mostly for the school dance, ceremonies, and school festival. And I think some clubs use the space for their activities.”

“School festival?”

Ione shrugged. “I didn’t go last year or the year before. You can ask Sene about it though. It happens next semester after midterms.”

As if summoned by Ione’s words, Sene appeared and started telling Kizu to set up different enchanted objects on the other side of the ballroom.

“Go to the east side and roll out those disks along the sides. It needs to be an even split between spring and winter. West is winter, east is spring.”

Kizu sighed, and went back to the winter side of the ballroom. The temperature was several degrees colder, which Sene insisted on for authenticity.

The disks, as it turned out, were enchanted to create marvelous ice statues, carved and enchanted by masters of the craft. Ice wyverns and hydras stood alongside human-looking carvings. All of which moved about, as if alive. Thankfully, they couldn’t leave the radius of their disks. Kizu reached out and tapped the stubby leg sticking out of a large, round-bodied ice creature. The top hemisphere of its head swiveled on its spherical body to look down at him.

“Sorry,” Kizu quickly apologized. “I just wanted to see if you were real.”

It made no reply, just going back to sitting on its disk and staring off into the distance.

Snow began to fall from above. Startled, Kizu looked up and spotted Sene on her whirlwind above him, in the middle of creating a complex enchantment on the ceiling overhead. Large flakes lazily drifted down and coated the west side of the ballroom.

After setting up the tables for the caterers, Kizu finally managed to dismiss himself from the ballroom. If he didn’t duck out now, Sene would undoubtedly add more tasks onto his now completed list.

They were entering into the final week of the semester, which meant a week of vigorous testing and presentations. Unlike the tests used for placements, these paper tests were used to gauge students’ retention of the lessons offered. They were focused exclusively on topics discussed in class. In some ways, people cared more about these tests than the rank placement tests as the latter were exclusively confidential, only showing the placement, not the test themselves. The finals, however, could be accessed by future employers who filed a request to Shinzou Academy. Not only could they view the scores, but also the notes left by the professors on the performance tests. This meant the majority of the student body was crunching down on their studies.

The library was filled to the brim with students. Kizu passed over the doorway into the Living Library’s wing. The assistant librarian incharge, a boy with a lazy eye and spectacles too large for his small head, sneered as he passed by the front desk.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Monkey boy, I need your credentials. You’re not allowed here.”

“Excuse me?” Kizu stopped. “Kateshi’s given me permission. Do I know you?”

“Then show it, you half-wit.”

Kizu blinked at the odd hostility from the boy. He looked like a frail first-year. Had he maybe beaten him in one of the recent combat contests?

“Listen. You have my name on file. Kaga Kizu. I’ve been here nearly everyday for weeks now.”

“Your pass?”

Kizu had the permission slip in his bag, but he didn’t feel like showing it. He didn’t need to. They had him on record. They knew his face. But the boy didn’t make any move to check the massive leather tome over to his left. He just sat at the front desk with his arms folded, glaring down his nose at Kizu.

“What’s your problem?” Kizu asked.

“I’m doing my job.”

“Not very well. I just gave you my name. Look me up in the record book over there if you have doubts. It’s been magically enchanted to record my information. I’m busy.”

Kizu stepped away and the boy started crying out. Wailing about an intruder. All eyes went to Kizu. He saw more than one other student reach for a wand in surprise.

Another assistant librarian, a girl with glasses and a friendly smile, rushed over. She quickly shuffled her coworker out of the room, saying soft, soothing words to him to calm him.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized to the room after she successfully pushed him out a door. “All is fine, just a brief misunderstanding.”

A few students chuckled but most simply rolled their eyes and returned to their readings. The librarian then turned her attention to Kizu. He recognized her as one of the regulars at the front desk.

“Sorry, Kaga,” she said. “We just moved him over here. He was stationed in the Archive Library until yesterday. He spilled a bottle of invisible ink all over the table there and didn’t tell anyone. Now there are invisible ink fingerprints covering at least a hundred different volumes. Professor Krimpit demanded he be moved.”

“Not fired?” Kizu asked, curious.

“If only. Nobody ever complains about him too loudly. Not while his brother is still here.” She glanced around then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “He’s a half-troll.”

Then it made sense where Kizu had seen him before. He vaguely recalled that he was the librarian from his very first visit here when he brought Mort along. Gob Lucas’ half-brother. The one Harvey had insulted.

“Please, in the future just show him your pass,” she pleaded. “I know it’s annoying, but it’s easier for everyone.”

Kizu reluctantly agreed and she thanked him profusely. She tried to change the topic, shifting it over to the dance of all things. But Kizu didn’t want to think of that right now. He managed to excuse himself and started going off to his usual nook to study.

But then he hesitated and changed course, taking a detour over to the side. For over a month, he had his eye on a specific shelf and decided today was the day to explore it. If that other librarian was going to be checking his pass everyday now, he wanted to explore the shelf before he lost access to the Living Library next semester.

It was near the section with gate enchantment guides, but a slightly different topic within the field of spatial magic. Dimensionalism.

He tapped the spines of the books until he found one that caught his eye. Pocket Dimensions Made Easy. It sounded like a perfect place for a beginner to start. The book looked to be only a couple dozen pages long, but like everything in the Living Library, it was more than it seemed. Kizu skimmed through over a hundred pages as he studied over the next few hours.

Pocket dimensions were surprisingly a lot like enchantments. Often the two were actually combined, the enchantments enhancing the capabilities and stabilizing the spell, but not always. There were notes about spaces in the wild where space warped, creating larger or smaller spaces than rationally should exist, and a powerful spatial mage could actually create more space or less, like an elementalist creating or destroying an element. While not a pocket dimension, it was an adjacent subject and had an entire chapter dedicated to the topic. It even listed out some mathematical formulas that went way over Kizu’s head.

He also learned that many pocket dimensions, like the ring gifted to him by Allik, were designed for storage and couldn’t sustain life. Living things dropped inside usually died from a lack of oxygen after only a few minutes. They also didn’t usually have a way out from the inside. Kizu shuddered, grateful he never considered putting Mort in there.

He lost himself in the book until he eventually looked up and realized the majority of the other students had cleared out. Being the start of finals week, the library remained open at all hours, but most people still slept at night.

Since curfew was lifted for final’s week, Kizu decided to go pick up a few more wooden shelf boards for his bookshelf portal. He was so close to finishing it. So he put the book away and headed off to Kateshi’s classroom.

Kizu froze as he entered through the painting. An adult stood in the back of the classroom, examining the many half-complete projects scattered around the room. And it wasn’t Professor Kateshi.

Prince Inari, Warlord of Hon, turned to face Kizu.

“Bit past your bedtime, wouldn’t you say?” he said with a dry smile.

Kizu knew he should just turn around and leave. That would be the smart thing to do. But he was still irritated from his confrontation in the library earlier. He was tired of people trying to push him around. So, instead of being intelligent, he spoke up.

“Couldn’t sleep. Professor Kateshi told me I could come work on my project whenever.”

“I see.” His cold blue eyes bore into Kizu. “I recognize you. Why is that?”

Kizu held the gaze. His leg throbbed. “I don’t know.”

Then Inari snapped his fingers, his smile spitting into an ear to ear grin. “The kid with the leg!”

“I don’t know what-” Kizu started to say. But then the air left his lungs.

He struggled to breathe. Touching his throat, his mind flashed back to his fight with Ulric. This was the same thing. The warlord was using the same spell on him again. Calming himself, he closed his eyes and focused. It was just like swimming. So long as he didn’t panic, he knew how to hold his breath for well over a minute underwater. Then a thought occurred to him. Just like swimming. He pushed against Inari’s spell, creating an air bubble like Aoi had taught him back on Owl’s Respite. It didn’t work. It was too spread out. He opened his eyes.

Inari didn’t even watch as Kizu fell to his knees. He examined his raised fingernail, inspecting them for dirt. There was nothing somatic about his spell. Anyone who walked in wouldn’t even be able to tell. The same as before in the arena. But this time the warlord also showed no sign of letting up on the spell.

Kizu refocused. He condensed the spell into a small ball of fresh oxygen inside his mouth. Then he shoved it down into his throat. He felt it settle in his lungs.

He gasped in the air as Inari’s spell broke.

“Well done.” Inari applauded. “You’ve improved. Quite quickly. Next time you lie, I’ll try something new.”

Kizu glared at the man.

“Why are you here?”

Inari raised an eyebrow. “You counter one simple spell and think you can start making demands? Would you like another? People in agony are a bit obnoxiously loud, but I do love watching a good display. Perhaps I could practice a mute hex on you simultaneously. A double hex maybe? Those are certainly a fun challenge. Something to think on.”

Kizu opened his mouth to respond but suddenly bit down on his tongue, his mouth filling with the tang of blood. He tried to open his mouth and found he couldn’t. He thought maybe it was another spell from Inari and prepared an antimagic barrier, but then a voice from within him spoke.

Not now. Not with him.

“Silence suits you.” His eyes went over to the midterm projects at the back of the classroom. “I’ll be off now. I’m sufficiently bored by you and your peers’ toys. A disappointing display.”

He passed Kizu on his way to the exit.

“I look forward to our next meeting. I won’t forget you now and next time I promise to have something new for you.”