COI C31
"Why am I getting in these mess?"
Kiege, complaining inside the hidden library as she manages to pass through the parts of the archives. Damp and dark shrouded her surroundings with her light equipment. Her special burning scroll lamp, Ocesl, where an octagonal cylinder attached with 8 magic scrolls in each side. She uses one of the 8 to use light scroll, with only one of the frames casting and it is enough for her. Kiege is talking to herself from her pass misfortunes.
"Since the ores quest from Isekai City, the inflation of ores grew higher as gald payments coming from them, while other city states usually paid sylvs"
A strong thud of frustration coming out from her, causing the room echoes the noise. The archives reacted from itself with a loud shout, telling her to be quiet. The shout was not recognizable and the language she heard from as it is not familiar to her. Still in the bad mood, she continues to look around the archives for any hidden secrets that would help her to improve her sets of skills and equipment. Having her new item, Ocesl, after coming back from Isekai City. The blueprint was found in this place after, now pursuing even more secrets doors. Kiege finished searching the other parts of the room for weeks and continue on to the next one in slow pace.
Her lamp starting to fade out where she checks on it and saw only a piece of it being burnt, not fully used up and it shouldn't stop from working. She uses her mask to blow the smokes off where the mana should be. The breath she parted starts to quickly pulled in from the distant where she notices from one of the bookshelves, then there is a glimpse of light.
"Another secret passage? Is there someone there?"
She opens the secret passage as she saw strange rays of white lights with no sunlight coming into the archives. However, this is also the one that consumes her lamp's light.
In a short time wandering inside the secret parts of the archive, she starts noticing that the light didn't even touch her.
"Is something new here!? Huh!"
After a few short calls, and there was no one to respond to her. Then she hears a door opens, and she tries again
"Hey!"
Nothing, but then she hears a woman's voice.
"Archivist, are you sure it is safe? I have a bad feeling about this"
"Closer? . . . Fright*"
"Hey Archivist, one of the books started to jumble some words around"
"It's like an I-phone . . ."
Kiege hears only the woman's voice calling out Archivist, then she saw her by the white light. Then it happened.
The white lights directly going after at Tabitha as Kiege's lamp recovers and Archivist can see Kiege.
"Kiege!? What are you doing here and what about these strange lights?"
"Archivist!? You should've been with the girl"
"I ask first"
"Then you should check on her"
Archivist turns around and sees Tabitha fell asleep for some reason where the white light touches her. Then the white light touches him too. The light exposed him but has nothing changed and Kiege remained untouched. He turns to Tabitha where her powers are block and hidden by herself leaving him to sense of her well-being. Tabitha begins to wake up with no responds at all.
Archivist comes closer to her while Kiege is touching the light. No responds from Tabitha, and Kiege starts to feel the light. A sudden occurrence flows into the archives where she sees Archivist in the middle of a hassle. Kiege sees Archivist is now holding Tabitha's hand where she is about to cast a spell. A burst of magic coming out from her while Archivist tries to get hold of her.
"Tabitha! Tabitha!"
Archivist pushed back from Tabitha's magic. He felt to the first time to get hit by an Isekai and it was pain he never thought existed. Then the story continues.
Archivist flew or thrown to the dream state Tabitha with no obligation to where to land but her as his cushion. Tabitha casts a spell with nothing but destructive spells. A stream of ice coming his way where he grabs it and part of his body begins to froze. Archivist lands on the ground by the new added weight of the ice. He slides towards her. Tabitha made an ice ramp for him to roll over where she hid something within. Archivist was not fooled by her spells and with the white light phasing it through the clear thickness of it. A glance inside of it are spikes.
Clever trick, yet Archivist uses his free hand to break the ice that frozen his body. Sliding into the ice, it breaks and opens up the spikes. Archivist sweeps his legs to the spikes to the other direction and slams one of them at the side. Tabtiha erupts on the ground and continue her attacks. Archivist keeps sweeping himself up to stand, his landing on the ground dispels her spell with just a stomp of his feet. Archivist grabs any wondering white light closes to him and bend it into his control. Tabitha converts the dispelled magic into a negative buff on him, where he suddenly stops. Archivist is paralyzed and with his magic items are not strong enough to block the paralysis.
Tabitha opens up of many magic circles around her, all in different drawings in common ring designs. Archivist is in the midst of countless spells in front, without any preparation to fight an Isekai. Tabitha is about to unleash what she is capable off, then she fell down on the ground where something hits her. One or two people appear in the dark where the white lights continue to stray away. Kiege and with some help, the same person who joins Daygen into Isekai City.
"Her head is being indulge into a dream, and it's not about women this time"
Kiege almost hits him, as she also joined him from that day. Reluctantly stop, it is more important for Tabitha's well-being.
Kiege hits his head anyway of how she still hated it. Archivist recovers after that negative buff, where the guildmember just read their minds as they must not show any distraction for him to find. The man with a hat, who uses telepathy.
"I see, the white lights phasing through. Never once it absorbing to its full power"
The two stood silence and they know what he can do.
"You people should learn more about telepathy, you're blocking the right thoughts in my short time reading yours"
This guildmember is one of the rare few Raker Mawn with exceptional skill. His telepathy rarely been use unless he was called for.
The guildmember reads their mind for all the questions in their head including the unconscious Tabitha. His murmurs are the least of their worries as he is one of the veterans of a free agent working in Raker Mawn.
"No, I won't tell you all the complete detail of the foundation. Learn it by your own since the consequences must be seen, I only give a few"
"Perhaps, like you could be listening to me in your sleeping state"
The two bluntly figure it out it was Tabitha he was reading.
"More like both of you didn't know that white lights are appeared mostly to spell casters, high mana value"
"No Archivist, your powers are different, the existence of mana is not a spell or a good amount of magic for it to appear"
"Come to think of it, there should be another one of our members is entering the archive in different means. Don't forget the archives are wide and materializing. For a few more hundred years, it would be enough to recover some lost artifacts over the years. Especially those called data"
"Oh, I got someone who is on the other room of the archives . . . so she is the one in there for sometimes now"
"No, I won't tell you who she is. But I will tell what she is doing. She is preparing for the new quests in the south Kinteinou forest"
"Did you already forget that there is also a mission with Myrrkei and U'ecin? Hmm"
"Ok you're right Kiege, the strange possession of Tabitha and . . . wait the archives is becoming an arena"
"It's too dark for me to see, it only happens where the magic user can damage the room where the archives is protected or not"
"Yet the white light manages to suppress her, and she has some unique abilities to fight while sleeping. Interesting"
"Tabtiha, we never knew you could do that. She seems to learn a few tricks in Agatheus City"
"You two, she learns a handful of special skills. I can't describe it because how poorly it said in her thoughts, even she describing it to me in her dreams, it is still a dream"
"Ok let's end in a complete summary. First Kiege enters the archive to unlock all the hidden rooms for research purposes along the way, the quest giver enters, uses magic and the surroundings open up the white light closely to her area, another one appeared where Tabitha enters the archives while Kiege found another passage to where they are, Tabitha fell into a sleep where the white light ceased her, put her into a sleep, and raised her personal defense. The only way to put her to sleep where she held a protective book like it has preserve/seal/ethereal or more that won't let you read it . . ."
". . . Now I'm getting lost in my phrases after the last one. Archivist, give me the book I mention"
The last phrase is out of context, but Archivist brings it anyway.
"Clothery, modern name for world travelers. Don't judge me on this, those other worlders have strange terms like calling the gobins as goblins. Runic Gardening, secretly code for the structures of the foundation, Guide of Mannerism is a secret research data if it is stable enough to return to their world. Cold War Propaganda is the last author of the other worlder had come to this world. It is easy to say it was the time where they fight over it, because of different people and their different worlds"
"How am I already know about it? It is simple, I already know someone who actually knows about this book in the first place. Now first take your research Archivist and wake up Tabitha. Kiege, continue your adventure to unlock the rest of the passages. Non-magic user like you should be able to access all of its secrets"
"Helping you? The archives are complex, and lucky for you to found out the secret passages that there is some magic user nearby to show it . . ."
The guild member leaves, continue his squabbling words in a soft far distance, yet they pestering him in his mind but never know that he stops his telepathy in some point.
Kiege is confused but understand a small amount.
"Only him talking made everything too confusing"
"This telepathy thing made rather amusing where we can't read his thoughts"
"It doesn't matter. I'll be heading back to find new passage way in this grim light of an archive"
The white lights always move around while the archives return back into a library again. Archivist sees Tabitha is waking up, he plays along to her what he knows from the guild member's mind readings. She is quickly sitting up being all surprised where Archivist begins to ask her.
Tabitha says first
"Wait! I need to relax first"
"But I have a clue regarding about the foundation"
She stays quiet and look somewhere around the archives, transforming and returning back to normal.
"I want to apologized what happen"
"I am about to mention the Foundation, and you want to apologized now?"
"Stop playing around. Someone had entered my head, and he gives me the description about it. We should take a break and thoroughly understand these books later"
"How!? . . . No matter, I believed you have telepathy too"
Tabitha collects all the borrowed books by hand instead of her magic. Remembering in the dream made her guilty what she did to him.
"I don't know Archivist, but he explains to me that these are just experiments from other worlds. It is proven to be functional but the requirements didn't meet"
Archivist is looking up her books as they are now in original name.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"You know these are research books according to him when he was here"
"I thought about it too, but its origin he gives me is a bit different point of view. More realistically, those technology before are outdated"
"Outdated must be, but it can be useful in this world"
"Do you think so?"
"I don't think, I just read how did they succeeded then hope to master it"
Archivist is holding the Cold War Propaganda, holding secrets that might falsely written or better known for recycling according to history. Tabitha sits down on her chair and begins collecting her thoughts after the incident. Her mind is in mix memory between reality and dreams, she is glad the accident is not severe yet she is still guilty during her sleep.
"Hey, what did I do when I was asleep?"
"Using destructive magic in multiple sequence. I was surrounded by many magic circles after that paralysis magic"
"Paralyze? multiple magic cast? Did I do that? I never use that kind of large amount of magic before"
Tabitha stares at the white light and its mysteries. Her telepathy with the man only mentioned about the foundation but not this archive, she starts to wonder while Archivist explained more in detail.
"Heh, so you didn't use that kind of power while sleeping. Disappointing but lucky for me to live another day"
"Hey, I said I was sorry"
"Yet with all that power around you, one of my guildmembers managed to hit you on the head and back down where you're unconscious"
Archivist sees it too well where that man hits her so normal, probably he knows more about them.
"It was just a short moment, and that's not enough time to get someone to get here"
The two take a break after what is happening, while the other one continues on in her research. Like the incident was quickly forgotten, there is nothing for them to waste their grief or confusion. The woman who is in the archives remained in the mystery for now or be forgotten, as she is still there filing up some paper works with the private information had handed down to her. Expecting for her to finish it for the next upcoming quests, and with her relief it’s the old missions that were postpone a long time ago. From her past predecessors, she is glad to fill up to date papers.
Kiege continues to wonders off through the archives, she founds another door. After what happens to her before but never believe it could be worse in a single day. She opens the door and looks like an office as she steps in. She enters cautiously, and she could not recognize the room from its dark view. Once she gets in as her vision can see a little bit, it's look like the entrance and the office looks like the entrance desk. She turns back to the door and opens where she enters. She opens it and only see the towering hallways outside.
"No! I forgot about the loop traps"
Meanwhile,
"Look all of my little children sleeping so forcefully"
"Bringing an entire clan of your family, are they really going to get the big pay?"
"Even my own daughters in their sixties or less are joining too"
"How about your sons?"
"Oh, my dear husband blessed them without any worries except to these children"
The elder lady puts her children sleeping on the one of the open rooms in the towering halls. She is with the guildmember who helps her great grandchildren sleep.
"I heard the packages are here from Isekai City"
"It did finally reach here through the foundation, someone from Enders managed to use it"
Elder lady sees one of the packages already open. She reads the letter with multiple senders this time.
"From our guild, Haw Edan & Myrrkei but there's no Ironno . . . strange, given a late report and added a personal note . . . Hmm, Edan doesn't have one"
She reads only the personal note and let the other reports to be taken any available Raker Mawn like last time.
"The delay on the survey in the new called "dungeon" in the forest, even more if we continue to search in the surrounding area. I have never seen these types of citizens since my first visit with their existing civilization, they fear these insects like a plague or maybe too lazy to clean after its mass migrations"
"There are also added more letters from the city guild including one Agathean into the package. I have no obligation to read their letters, and it has no special concealment when they give it to us. Respect their oaths and give it to Daygen. While I read the letter of the Agathean, which he is not one of them from my obligation, he needs a book before the fall era. As of I, Myrrkei, will bind my request letter in Haw's reports, it is attached and not opened. I continue to separate a few more pieces of requests as an individual papers for preparing what will soon to come. Tell the new recruit that so called "I foans (I-phone)" is the new latest product combine both magic and their technology"
Elder Lady checks more of the letters, where she places it there on top of the packages while the guild member already read her mind knowing what Myrrkei's personal note was. Only to himself he reads anyone through telepathy, and this called ‘I foans’ were not given to description by Tabitha. He ends there and have to bring the entire package outside of guild master's office. A ray of white light appeared and phasing through the packages, and it began to float up to the highest floor. This same light that most young members never recognize to exist inside the tower. The elder lady sees it to her nostalgia.
"The marks of shinning lights, oh how it’s gone but the legacy remains"
The white light floats up the package where no one is there, only remains the people who knew its existence. They no longer explained where its origin is, it is like myth to them now. The years gone by from its founders of Enders Bridge. 80 years more or less, but the powers of their capabilities turn to an end because of the years of mysteries and events reaching to Rune Isles from upcoming rebellion. The white lights are still here though, with its scarcity to see the youthful own eyes. The elder lady and the guild member might forget when and where those lights appeared, but the archives are one of them that opens up these lights.
The lights disappeared where Archivist and Tabitha leaves the archives, a strange timing and the two people below treated that it was finished. Archivist and Tabitha see a package in front of them and look around for anyone that was here. None, yet across the distance below saw the elder lady and guild member passed by. Tabitha stares back to the package and her curiosity pulled her to the package where a familiar cover place on it. It is in the same literature in Isekai City, she hesitates but Archivist tempt her
"It's alright to read it, in this guild, we actually read someone's report out of curiosity . . . Only in Isekai City of course"
"WHAT!? This is for the guild and . . ."
"And what? The guildmaster always letting them read it instead using their free time to venture off to the city. Because of that incident, many more really question of their staying"
"Then why would they not say that to me"
"You alone is the same as one of our own describing the experience. You are an ordinary citizen, not a person with an ambition of staying here. Even you try to explain it to us by your view, views alone won't match the impact to . . ."
"Then how about I explain a few"
Archivist sees her a bit annoyed without her expression showing it. She remained calm that she knows it should be useful for them, but.
"Alright, let's pick out from the letters after you explain it"
"Hey!"
"I already check the package earlier, and respecting the letters from your city will tell you the difference of expectation"
Archivist pulls out the letters and one of the packages from the city guild itself. Tabitha let him be and was given a letter from Myrrkei himself, one of the separate requests from him, and she almost forgot about him.
"A request letter?"
She opens it and sees only a scroll. Archivist helps her by tapping the scroll as it starts to burn as it is revealed to her.
The scroll opens and the writings translated match to her language. Tabitha already prepares her device and glad that the one she recommended cared for her convenience, and Myrrkei did his best but the guild knows more to his quality than he made for her.
"Seems your recruiter already thought of your weakness, but your device is already solved it"
"Yeah, and this writing is so neat in calligraphy"
"Cali . . . Ok I'm going to think it as cultured writings instead"
Tabitha read the request letter, without Myrrkei knowing of her objectives and motives to be part in Enders Bridge or anything about the guild that would help her. She reads it to her surprised.
"I have talk one of your people about certain topics. According to this item that would help you for so called "convenience", and these slangs of "latest", "touch of screen", and "face recognition" or more where it's like reading your city library in this small looking thing. The only request I ask of you to learn more about other guilds. The most reliable guild that matches your civilization should be the Dexter guild. You'll be hearing rumors about you and Dexter guild being so called Techwise or you didn't understand what they said anyway . . ."
The device was given to her was him himself, she is kind of lucky to where she is now.
Archivist reads along with Tabitha about Dexter, he heard rumors about her and them to be alike. For people here and learning in an indirect perspective, he agrees what Myrrkei meant.
". . . Remember one last thing, this is just a favor in case that it will happen again like the expedition to Rune Isles. To whoever is assigned to help you, there is no limits what you ask for, IF you first follow my request, and they are willing do any crazy things you can think off . . . especially in b . . . e"
She blocks the last part where Archivist didn't finished reading the part about helping her.
Archivist talks to her what he read so far.
"So, what are you planning to do that you need to learn more about the guilds?"
Tabitha is blushing and embarrassed and Archivist don't care.
"Hey! If we really want to continue about the foundation, we first to follow some clues you have"
Tabitha hears him seriously and ignore the parts about helping her, and continue to read the rest.
"Sorry Archivist, the parts of the letter had my personal information in it"
Archivist look at her suspiciously, she can't read the mood of a man with a blank face hoody. Such dark presence he has to say it to her.
"How did that kind of a man have interest regarding privacy?"
"Well, uhmm, he added a little private message in the letter"
"Like what?"
Archivist is getting too serious and she grow more embarrassed than she should. She can't say anything and accidentally drops the letter. He picks it up while it falls, and reads the rest of the letter.
"NO!"
Her letter was returned quickly than she could read that fast. Archivist read it in such a fast pace and responds what he read.
"Myrrkei wants you to learn more about our city, so you could have more variety to help you in your research. Dexter guild is probably for the best, and as your helper, he is right"
Tabitha is getting complicated and ask him
"Do you really . . ."
"The real question is are you going to do it?"
"I don't"
"Really!? I heard too much rumors by some mad folktales and you thinking about that during your research. I know"
Tabitha felt like he is trying to get close to her, without his expression puts him in a mysterious vibe until he responds again.
"If this shows you affection, don't try it. Why would you want to live this world when your offspring will ever see your dead bed first?"
Tabitha don't know how to react, and living this world give her the freedom but unpredictable where she ends.
"You're right, and thank you"
"Thank me none of it"
"What?"
"It means to say your "thank you"s only be the last time, I'll be with you until you succeed"
Tabitha smiles and hugs him out of joy from his words. Archivist let her do what she like as he didn't understand this kind of behavior. They continue to read the last parts of the letter.
". . . I give you what I know about our city states leaders, who gave support to your city last month. The foundation is a one-time use only, it can't be repeated as it must use for mass teleportation. However, it was improved over the years since the after the fall . . ."
". . . According to the time scale recorded, many other worlders fought among each other to claim to their return. Then it began the foolish stalling causing many sources of books to mingle each other. One of our own writers who have the passage to return to their world, but the flawed of it that each other worlders have almost identical trait. The reality of each worlds differed and their histories didn't match. I once read the book called "Cold War Propaganda" sealed quite well that tells what the world is about"
Tabitha sees a parenthesis and learn a few details about the book, it's not the same what she learned in the 20th century Cold War.
". . . The propaganda is under between other nations, tells the world about somewhere in the northern continent. It's kind of hard to explain but if you think that didn't match your history, then this is must be one of the false texts. I only presume during their fight to returning home, they must be tricking the other worlders to bring them to their own worlds instead. If those hypotheses are wrong then it is true that all of you other worlders are the same in different eras or . . . what the Dexter guild called them dimensional sentients share the same knowledge but different factual worlds"
The letter ends there, Tabitha brings out the book the so calls Cold War Propaganda. Sealed with a hidden degree. Her research should have been started with this book.
"Archivist, my employer "the rat" have given me my first mystery"
"The rat? His Isekai City's name? He has too many names . . . but . . . it seems like we should find other sources instead"
"He gave his advice without knowing me, yet he knows"
"He has his ways, we could just wait for him to settle this problem quickly? or maybe"
"I'm fine I could wait a little longer, by the way, what's the rat's real name anyway?"
"I only know his explorer's name, Myrrkei"
The two realized the books they borrowed left inside the archives, so they decide to wait for Myrrkei when they need to understand those books. Tabitha thought about the elder lady, and decides it’s better for Myrrkei to explain it to them. Decrypting the books would be easier for them. Archivist checks on the package where a list of letters formed together by the city guild. He reads an open letter from the packages itself, a hidden letter. Archivist didn't show to Tabitha as he read the hidden message
"Lori'es, marks by the after effect of the foundation. In case of invasion"
Archivist used his ability to bend the markings and sense its origin. In his observation
"Cleansing magic in a mix of other source of magic, this must be the procedure how to leave the world by removing their mana. But why . . . I should ask Myrrkei about the process. Did he find something?"
Archivist act normally after his observation leaving his dark blank face into question. Tabitha sees him walks to her where he is started to prepare his own research. She feels uneasy to see him remain quiet then he asks her
"Do you want to read your city's letters?"
"Is that what you're thinking?"
"You knew?"
Tabitha goes back to her room, and pulls out her diary and convert it to her new phone. She speaks in her mind with all she had learn for the pass week.
"Juela, Daygen, The rat (Myrrkei), telepathy man, the girl from the archives, and the visitors who entered Isekai City. I managed to spot who actually support Isekai City in the very beginning"
Tabitha learned first-hand about the situation of Enders Bridge. After Juela's guidance, she is getting hard to remain calm in front of Archivist.
"I should trust him a bit more, but how he hid something from me put me on edge. Why did he changed so suddenly after looking at some packages?"
She starts to frustrates herself where her isekai city's common trait, intent senses, is causing her doubt.
"These 5 people I met freely show their mind to me, but the rest are showing distrust because I'm invading their private space. I know that it is wrong. After the east mountain incident, the goblins managed to kill one of us"
Tabitha remembered again the horror of this world, even how powerful they are. The sacrifices those goblins gave until they found the way to end her people. Now she believed even more of her people will die after that discovery.
Tabitha hears the thought of the guildmember.
"Keep your mind straight woman, the guildmaster will not let them hurt you, especially your so called the rat. I too have the experience in invading someone's senses. Make sure to treat Archivist well by your own accord"
"But what if . . ."
"It's alright to doubt, but never to those who you really knew. Juela is doubting your city too"
Tabitha loses contact with him as he knows when to stop. Tabitha remembers Juela's aura, that slowly fading her light to dark when they met a few times. Juela continues to believe it, as Tabitha too. She talks to herself
"The next day, I should be preparing some ways. Which is it?"
The guildmember ended his interference in her mind. Archivist walks down to reach him, and gives thought.
"Is Tabitha still don't like me keeping secrets from her?"
"You should just think about it, well except for the elder lady who just like her words out"
"I better not, I rather talk to you normally"
"Yeah, starts to overthink now. I can still understand randomly"
"Let me be sane for a bit"
"Your words, and about Tabitha . . . She is not going to wait and do somewhere else in a mean time"
"Same goes what you told to Myrrkei, right?"
The guildmember nods his head while looking at him and acts like a newbie again.
"You already know how I did it"
The guildmember contacted one of the other members by telepathy.
"Tabitha will having some favors soon"
"Winding up*"
"Yeah, only dangerous missions"
"Clanking sounds*"
"I only said it to your head . . ."
"Bolts firing*"
"I know it is not the right time to reach you"
"Bones Cracking*"
"Just be prepared, in case she asks in Isekai City"
"..."
The man he contact with was busy during a mission. The man didn't complain and will prepare when the time comes. Because of the few acknowledged Isekai City, he knows about the failed expedition, the other guild in east mountains, and the old quests from the Eldesune. He prioritized what comes first.