Like any location that was important to all races of the world, the magic towers were built on a coast, ensuring that both terrestrial and aquatic races could access the trials with all eleven buildings being constructed with one side on land and the other in the sea, giving easy access to each of them.
The city itself was interesting too. Being built around the trials, it had become a hub of magical research in the world as buildings were constructed for the purposes of study, training, and other works that would lead to the development of magic as a whole.
Despite that and the deceptively bustling streets, the city itself had a relatively small population. Sure, there were dorms for students who’d come from afar to train there, as well as apartments and some houses for those who preferred to live close by, but the city itself was relatively small, making it easy for individuals to live in different gate cities, only coming over when they needed to for work or study.
It was as they drove through it, the cart drawing eyes from many who were curious to see it moving without an animal to pull it along, that Ben couldn’t help but turn to Thera and grin as she went to humour him, knowing exactly what had raised his mood so high after arriving.
“Yes yes, I’m happy your designs seem to be doing well out here.”
Amongst the many going through the streets, they were seeing far fewer carts like their own compared to a different means of transportation. Bikes, and lots of them as people peddled around, making it clear that that particular patent had taken off in the city, with the chances it had spread beyond that all the greater for how people would go in and out of it.
It was as they were going, Ben staring to see how each bike they passed was built to judge their quality compared to what he could do, that they made it to their first stop and went inside.
It was an embassy like the one they’d been in during their time in Allfaith, the succubi and incubi within all wearing braces on their arms like Thera was to keep their passive effects from getting to anyone who might not be able to resist them. Up at the front desk, they showed the letter they’d gotten from Pelenia only a few hours earlier to get them two rooms as they were handed keys and led to where they would be staying before dropping off their stuff to go to their main destination in the days until they were going to be throwing themselves into danger, the city’s library, home to the bulk of the world’s magical research.
After getting directions they walked the streets, Ben doing his best to ignore any shop that looked like it had anything interesting in order to get to their main destination, a building that by all accounts managed to be more impressive than the eleven towers they could see poking into the sky off in the distance.
Really it was a group of buildings, but only one really mattered as they saw three large rectangular ones on each side of the enormous pyramid in the center as they went within, seeing rows upon rows of shelves, each filled to the brim with books as signs pointed them to different areas, both denoting where information on different branches of magic where kept, but also information that was tangentially related that could help in the use of magic, such as biology and chemistry too.
Ben wanted to take it all in, having no idea how he was ever going to read as much as he wanted, even with the ridiculous speed he could currently manage as he silently bargained with himself, trying to decide just how far he could go.
I have thirty minds in my head but even if I’m not using all of them I can at least use twenty-five at a time, right? That shouldn’t make my headache worse or get me a level in anything, right? Then I could read more and it will be fine.
It was an internal debate he thought he’d be struggling with his entire time there, only being temporarily silenced as they went to the front desk, the letter from Jake’s teachers in hand with Thera speaking up.
“Excuse me, we received this from the archmage Uliel and non-affinity mage Vasta, we were told we could use it to gain access to up to the third floor.”
The librarian took it, giving it a look over and pulling out a book to compare the signatures against before handing the letter back and smiling.
“Well well, aren’t you both lucky? Neither of them gives out many recommendations so I’ll just need your cards for a moment.”
They handed them over and a new small symbol was added to each denoting the level they were allowed to go to before getting them back, as the librarian continued. “You’ll just have to show it to the guards when going upstairs, but besides that, is there anything else I can help you with while you’re here?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“It’s our first time coming by, so is there anything we should know?” Thera asked as the librarian's eyes lit up.
“Ah, wonderful. I suppose the rules are what you’d expect. Don’t be too loud, be respectful of other guests, if you don’t remember where you grabbed a book from, instead of shoving it back randomly just give it to one of us to return for you, and no food or drink on the premises, at least in this area. There is a small canteen at the back of this floor where you can get snacks and drinks, but they need to be consumed there. As well, you probably noticed the three buildings surrounding this one. Despite how large they are, they are all considered part of the first floor as well and are open to the public, though the information they contain is considered less valuable than the main building which is why they’re off to the sides, with the rightmost one being specifically focused on the matter of skills in general along with jobs. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“Mainly how long are you open for?” Ben asked, eyes being pulled in a hundred different directions as he knew he’d be wasting a lot of time there as the librarian chuckled.
“To properly cater to any race regardless of sleep cycle, the library is continuously open barring any sort of emergency or scheduled maintenance.”
“Fantastic, and one other teeny tiny bit of curiosity if you don’t mind. What do we need to do to be allowed on other floors?”
He hadn’t asked when he’d received the letter, but after seeing how big the place was he couldn’t help but want to see all it had to offer, only for the librarian to take a more apologetic tone.
“Normally to be allowed up any floor you’d need to take a test to show you’re able to use the information you already know to access it as a way of keeping things from getting to crowded, but for both the fourth and fifth floors the test is overseen by the library head specifically, and he’ll be out for the foreseeable future. If you’re able to come back in a month or two…”
“Don’t worry about it,” He told them. “I’m sure I’ll keep busy with what I’ve got. But what about the basement then?”
“Only available during special circumstances. Is there anything else I might help you with?”
Ben and Thera looked to each other, and seeing neither had anything else at the moment gave their thanks and went on their way, walking through the vast library together before deciding where to spend their time.
The first floor was arguably mostly foundational, even if it was broad in scope. There were sections devoted not only to each affinities magic and related matters, but the specialized versions that could exist of each, as well as combined magics too. That wasn’t even considering all there was on the non-affinitied options. As a branch of magic that technically had more within it than anything tied to an affinity, there was of course plenty to learn, but as a result of it being so much harder to acquire when comparatively large portions of the population ended up with an affinitied magic the day they were born through their blessed skills, he couldn’t help but wonder if there were any discoveries to be made in the thousands of books the library contained, only holding himself back as they ventured to the next floor.
On that one, things got even more interesting, especially for Thera who wanted to grow further in the direction it seemed to be taking as the books became more geared towards how different branches of magic could be used together to make a greater whole, spells she’d been experimenting with herself but had only begun scratching the surface of in her journey to grow.
Again there were different books on the non-affinity options as well, not only on how they could be combined with each of the standard ten for some truly unique results, but how they could be combined together as well, approaching what might be done by an individual like Vasta who possessed the non-affinity magic skill.
By the time they got to the third floor, they found it to be the quietest of all. There were plenty of people there reading what they could, but nowhere close to what could be found on the first or second, even with the sloping walls of the building creating a tighter space the farther one went up.
It was on this floor too that books on awakened magic started to appear, talking about what could be done with them, as well as differences in how skills that had come from the same base magic compared to each other, as well as what was known to combine to give different results.
By the end of their little exploration, Ben was all but salivating while Thera already knew where she was going first.
“I think I’ll be on the second floor for a while, how about you?”
What he wanted was to exist on each floor at the same time, the only thing stopping him being the fact that he was limited to a single body.
“Okay, I think I’m going to start at the non-affinity stuff on the first floor. If I don’t find you first, want to meet in a few hours at the canteen?”
“Sure, sounds like a plan.”
With that they parted, Ben making his way back to the more public section of things as he stared at the far too vast amount of books before him. His current reading speed left him at approximately a book every ten minutes, meaning if he went through them cover to cover he’d only get around a dozen done before meeting Thera, but even if it took a while, there was something he desperately wanted to find.
In all of this, there has to be some books on my two magic skills, right?
He’d gained them from awakening other skills so he’d gone in not even knowing they existed, having to learn purely through experimentation as a result of being forced into the last trial, but for all he could potentially use in the library to put towards his enchanting, he wanted to focus on that first, getting whatever he could as he prepared to dive in.