When the pair made it back to the cafeteria, the unassuming building was being assaulted by a veritable mob. Hundreds of teenagers vied with one another to be the first to get inside. Good thing I don’t have to deal with that. Rank has its privilege.

The picnic table was much as they had found it previously. Casper, Lillian, and Aster were already seated, lunches in hand. Lillian saw him immediately and waved him over. Both men took their prospective lunches from her and sat. Then the weird prayer ritual happened again. This time he was able to pick out the words lord and guide. Then the feeding frenzy began.

Everyone's faces glowed with satisfaction as they pushed away from their plates and leaned back. Lillian had outdone herself. Some light conversation followed with everyone sharing an anecdote or two about their day. It was the most peaceful moment Jack could remember. Peace proved to be a fickle mistress as the bell rang too soon for his liking, and off he was. Meditation was his final class of the day. All elective classes were after lunch and were two hours long.

The pair reentered the novice wing and made beeline for the classroom. This classroom was set up differently than the two lecture halls he had been to this morning. Instead of chairs or benches, linen yoga mats were placed at even intervals. Well, if I get bored listening, then I can just take a nap. He sat on a mat in a corner. Virtus loomed over him and completely defeated the purpose of picking his current spot.

This was the first class that seemed to comprise mostly commoners. “Why aren’t there any nobles in this class?” He asked.

“All noble children are taught to draw mana from a young age. It gives them every opportunity to get ahead of those with less resources. Thus no one of nobility would waste a precious elective slot on a skill they already possess.” He responded in a whisper. That makes sense, I guess.

When the bell rang to start class, a gaudily dressed woman gradually became visible on the mat by the podium. Being in a land of Etruscan-like culture and architecture had lulled Jack into believing the people here would act and dress a certain way. Thus, this woman with strong features, olive complexion, and her gypsy wrap surprised him.

“Welcome everyone, to your first day learning the sacred art of meditation.” She spoke in an ethereal voice. “Today we will be learning how to become one with the world around us and absorb the wonder of the universe.”

After that, she walked them through a series of exercises designed to put them into a meditative trance. This was filled with wishy-washy phrases and references to otherworldly powers. Since Jack had been forbidden to practice this technique, he just nodded along as the professor spoke. Even complete nonsense was nice to listen to if the speaker was talented. The next thing he knew the class was half over and some of the students had been able to get into a trance state.

The professor started to give the students individual direction until everyone had managed the trance state for a bit.

The bell rang, waking Jack up from his nap. Oddly enough, Virtus flinched as well. Did he just fall asleep standing up? Maybe he can teach me how to do that.

“Before you all depart, know that we will cover the basics of pulling mana during our next class. Continue to practice the exercises every night before bed. I will see you all next Monday.”

As they exited the class, it finally occurred to Jack that he had three hours to kill. Priorities cycled through his mind and a plan formed. “Virtus, where’s the library?”

Then the strangest thing happened. One moment he was talking to his taciturn bodyguard and the next he was running behind him. Only, Virtus’ face had transformed. He was beaming from ear to ear, with a goofy grin on his face. Man, he is really eager to go read some books.

Stolen novel; please report.

They traveled the distance so quickly that Jack lost track of how they got there. All he could remember was that many twists and turns were taken as they cut through several evidently private courtyards. Students in various states of relaxation or leisure balked and protested whenever the duo crashed through. Virtus only slowed down when he reached a wide marble staircase.

Two massive stone lions perched at the top, each with a paw on top of a tome. They served as the foreground to a massive edifice. Jack balked, this was easily the largest building In the complex. Hamsters worked tirelessly in his mind as he tried, in vain, to figure out how he could have missed it.

“How is such a huge building not visible from the rest of the academy?” He asked Virtus.

“We are inside of a folded space. The old academy library was bursting at the seams and was falling apart. When it came time to build the library, the founders ran out of space. So the Emperor ordered the most powerful spacial Magi to make more land, to put the library in.”

“Why build such a huge library?” Jack didn’t believe a world that didn’t have a printing press could create so many books.

Virtus returned a flat stare and spoke in the tone of one that can’t believe that an explanation is necessary. “Because, we are Magi!” They continued their journey into the library.

The foyer was much like the stacks of a university library, well, except for the map. It was massive, at least twenty feet to a side. That wasn’t the most impressive feature. It had hundreds of moving dots in a variety of colors, with names attached, on every section he chose to look at.it took him a few minutes to find his dot. It was a bright red and Virtus’ was silver.“There must be thousands of people in here.” He marveled.

Virtus was only half listening as he peered around the room. Then he seemed to spot someone as he waved vigorously. His eyes tracked the direction of the wave to a square helpdesk. Sitting there, was a scrawny brown-haired young man in his early twenties. He had yet to grow out of the acne stage and his Adam's apple bulged out of his oversized uniform. He looked to be very, very bored until he caught sight of Virtus. Joy overtook boredom on his features and he waved the pair over. Both men grinned.

This took Jack by complete surprise. Throughout his time here, Virtus had never expressed any joy or happiness. It was one of the things he liked about the guardsman. Only two kinds of people smiled a lot, in Jack's opinion, con men and their marks.

“I thought you were taking the year off brother, off to serve the Eternal Empire and all that nonsense. What brings you into this den of iniquity and vice.” the young man said to Virtus as they reached the desk.

“I am actually on duty brother. This is the Adjudicator, Jack Hearth. Jack, this is citizen Beevus. He is one of my best friends.”

The other man held his hands to his ears and howled. “I told you to call me Night Razor. That’s my citizen name.” He whined.

Virtus’ face showed just what he thought of that name.

“Wait, what’s a citizen?” Jack asked quickly. He wanted an answer before they started bickering.

“The citizenry are the lawful residents of the empire. When a Magi reaches the second tier, they can apply to become a citizen, much like Beevus did.” Virus answered.

“What were you before you became a citizen?” Jack asked.

The skinny man just gave him a look that said he asked a stupid question. “I was a commoner, duh.”

Virtus sniffed. “He still talks like one too. We have tried to polish him up, but he insists on speaking informally to everyone.”

Jack tried to get back on track. “I came here to check out a book. Can I do that?”

Night Razor/Beevus returned a look of confusion. “Of course you can check out a book. This is a library after all. What book did you want to check out?”

Jack thought for a second before responding. “The first book is novice runes for my introductory runes class and I also would like to check out a book on Fire sigils.”

Beevus reached for a silver bell on his desk and rang it. the air above the vibrating bell coalesced into a small, wispy orb. “This is a library assistant, it will lead you to the books you asked for. When you are done, come back here for check out.” The pair gave their thanks before following the floating orb.

Ten minutes later they were back with the two books. Jack decided on a book of simple Fire sigils, wrapped in red leather, that he had found. The explanations in the book were concise and easy to understand. Though it did wrankle when Virtus pointed out that it was a children's primer. When they put the books on the table, a glowing stamp appeared next to the books.

“Stamp the book inside the leaflet. There is a small box in the corner for it.” Jack flipped the books open and stamped the aforementioned squares.

He turned to Virtus. “I am going to grab a seat and do my rune homework. Let me know when we have to leave. Is that okay with you?” For some reason, it just didn’t feel right to order him about anymore. It was as if Jack had subconsciously thought of him as a tool, only to have that illusion stripped away.

Virtus smiled lightly back at him. “I will be fine. The guardians of the library make violence here impossible. It is one of the few places where one is truly safe. Which makes my job almost pointless. If you do not mind I would like to catch up with some of my friends while you study.”

“No problem. Just grab me at four-thirty.” Then they went their separate ways.