The winds blew through the city as usual, carrying with it the special flavor particular to that day of the month. Those with a keen nose would have immediately noticed the difference in the air caused by the combination of hundreds of visitors. The city was bustling that day, strikingly distinct to the quiet grounds only touched by the ever-blowing breeze.

If one looked around, they would notice the abundance of color foreign to the city. Many groups of well-dressed people stood out among the grey-robed locals, chatting rather excitedly about that day’s event.

Today was when the Great Library would be opened to the public. A day that occurred once a month, a day when the city’s dull atmosphere was lightened up a little. It wasn’t as if anyone could enter; one had to have the proper documents and identifications to be allowed into the massive structure.

“Don’t lose the tickets,” Lytha warned her pupils. “You won’t be allowed inside otherwise.”

Though she always seemed to laze around and go off to somewhere, she had always been prepared for big events like this. Shaden had never seen her go off to purchase something, but she always had everything she needed at the right time. Perhaps that was the power of being an experienced adult.

Shaden was excited, but not as much as he wanted to be. Just repeating his experiments had taken a toll on his mentality, and now, only the sessions he had with Eilae had been enjoyable. So far, he hadn’t been killed by poison, and they had begun to practice conjuring barriers in the morning. Eilae was making progress, but him?

Still no mana crystal. When he had asked Eilae’s agent to obtain a book on creating crystals, he had told him, “If such a technique existed, it would be very closely guarded.”

It had reminded him again not to create mana crystals in front of anyone like his tutor had once warned him. Every day he explored his limits, he felt less human. He felt less real.

It was a strange feeling, like walking on thin glass. One mistake, and his reality could be shattered. It probably wasn’t as serious as he thought it to be since he overthought a lot, so for now, he would enjoy the tour of the library.

“I can even spot some elves in that direction,” Eilae whispered to him.

“Do you see anyone from your country?” asked Shaden.

Eilae was from a prominent household in the Rvuvick Empire. It being the largest human nation in the world (and being right next to the Unclaimed Lands), it wouldn’t be unnatural for some of them to visit the Library.

“Yes. Quite a few. It would be better if I’m not recognized,” she said, tightening the oversized hat over her head. Her silver hair had been tied into a bun at the back of her head, taking the appearance of a pretty cyclone rose. Had Lytha helped her?

“The reason being?”

“That your family is unknown to many, and it would cause quite the gossip if I was seen traveling together with someone unrecognizable far away from home.”

“Oh.”

“But it seems like I won’t need to worry that much,” she said, glancing over at the other groups again. “There aren’t any important families present that I can see.”

“Does that matter? Whoever sees you can gossip about it, right?”

“People don’t tend to pay attention to small families’ gossips. But I suppose you are right. Anything can happen, really.”

Their reserved time was coming close, and they would have to join a group to continue on with the tour. More people were approaching the area in their carriages, so Shaden’s group proceeded to the front.

“That’s it. Group number three,” remarked Shaden, looking at his ticket. “They’re already forming.”

So far, around six people were present at the designated location. Following their example, Lytha motioned for them to come to sit at the chairs that had been set up in the area. They looked more like tree stumps.

The Library was closer than ever, and Shaden noticed something strange about the building. While he had thought that the giant structure was a cylinder, the sides weren’t angled correctly. The curves were too round and seemed to furrow in at the sides, connecting to another round wall.

His thoughts were interrupted by a stranger who came approached their area.

“My, my, what could a lady and her children be doing here?” coughed the stranger.

At a glance, he looked very wealthy, adorned in in a velvet robe decorated with finely woven silk. His pants outlined his muscular legs, and a perfectly white linen undergarment shone under his robe. The skin from his hand to his elbow was exposed, with a classy ring on his right thumb and a silver bracelet on his left wrist. The greatest part about him was his handsome face. It brimmed with confidence, and his long, blonde hair was stylishly swept to the side.

“They are my students,” Lytha replied, lifting her chin. Though she wore a simple black dress with the only decoration being a long flower, her beauty was evident without a hat. Shaden still didn’t know how old she was. She looked younger than his father.

“They must be very bright,” the handsome man said, inspecting Shaden with a hand on his chin. Shaden smiled awkwardly.

Was this person…hitting on his aunt?

“I was wondering if you’d like some tea,” the man said, twirling his hand. Behind him, a suited man, also very handsome, walked forward with a small box in his hand.

“That would be wonderful,” Lytha replied with a wonderful smile.

And through that unexpected meeting, a small table was set up where a small tray of cookies and a small set of teacups lay neatly for consumption. Only then did Shaden realize that all the people there were part of the man’s group, with two butlers, one maid, and one younger lady as well as a younger man who seemed to be accompanying him. They all seemed over eighteen, and the two younger people had books in their arms.

“It was boring without much company,” the man said sipping on his tea. “I was hoping to chat with people, but sadly, we were the only ones here. I had quite the trouble resisting these treats.”

The butler offered Shaden and Eilae each a cup of tea, which they took gratefully. It tasted very sweet. It had a mellow aroma like vanilla, but fresher.

“Still, bringing children to the Library. That’s something you don’t see much often.”

“You look like a teacher yourself,” observed Lytha. “Are those your students?”

“Yes! I knew it, we teachers have this connection. I’ve kept telling my students, but they wouldn’t believe it.”

Shaden just chewed and sipped his drink while the two teachers chatted together. He looked over at Eilae, who was naturally sitting there without saying anything. Shaden, on the other hand, was suffering inside.

A few minutes later, another group of four joined the makeshift tea party. This time, it looked like three students and one teacher. The students were all older than them, of course, and Shaden and Eilae stuck of like a sore thumb amidst the group of well-dressed adults.

Considering that they were students, they all looked over twenty. With the interference of mana, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were older than that, like his aunt.

The adults chat amongst themselves while the children silently sat there. Even the students were conversing together. No one seemed interested in them.

Finally, after twenty-two minutes of waiting, the guide emerged from the Library, took their tickets, and lead them inside.

〄 〄 〄

Shaden had never seen so many books in his life.

Shelves, flying objects, robed scholars, glyphs, symbols, writing—the place seemed infinitely filled with stacks of knowledge. Everyone was carrying some kind of parchment with them, and he felt the presence of thick mana overflowing through the air. The whole place felt enchanted, and they were only in the outer areas.

“We are at the Thirty-Sixth Petal,” explained the guide to his ten guests. “Most of the outer buildings are similar to this one. We will travel to the center and go to the lower areas, so make sure to not get lost. Yes?”

The man addressed Shaden who had raised his hand.

“Why is it called a Petal?” he asked.

“Perhaps I should have begun with the Great Library’s local name,” he articulated. “The Library is also known as the Rose, or the Rose of Knowledge. I’m sure you could guess why.”

“Because of its shape,” commented a student.

“You are correct.”

That would explain the irregularity of the outer wall.

They continued forward, and the further they went, the greater the number of books seemed became. The shelves began to span over ten stories high complete with ladders to reach them. There were even some scholars flying around, some simply floating, others riding various objects like wavy cloth, their staffs, or wooden planks. That’s what it looked like to Shaden.

Their path became increasingly complicated as stairs, splits, ramps, and random ladders began to intertwine. The place soon became a maze, and they were led like sheep between gargantuan shelves that spanned eternally upwards and sideways, filled to the brim with books and books. It was very quiet despite there being many guests on that day. The Library was just that large.

So many books and it only seemed to increase. The shelves only became bigger and taller. The number of flying objects multiplied in addition to the density of mana. It was becoming similar to the air back at Skotos—so very thick with magic’s influence.

The guide continued to explain throughout, pointing to various sections. That over there was where history was stored, over there was information on animals, and in that direction was where his favorite food recipes from around the world were stored…

Shaden could read the labels as well. History 32. Did that mean the number of books or the section? The year it was written?

The number stood for the section as he soon found out. Whoever was organizing the Library, they were doing a marvelous and tenuous task. It would take a millennium if he were to organize all the books by himself.

A million? Hundred million? One billion? Some texts here dated back to twenty thousand years ago—maybe more. The sheer size of the Library made it seem like it was from a fairy tale.

Here was a world of books. To read them all, a lifetime would never be enough.

But within this sea of knowledge, there was a possibility of fishing out a solution for the absence of a mana crystal. Thousands upon thousands of years of knowledge were present here. There had to be at least one.

“Remember, don’t touch any of the books. They are all enchanted with magic.”

Alas, he was here for a tour. He was here to sightsee, not to borrow books. Looking around at the mindboggling records collected from all around the world, a sort of insignificance and wonder welled within him.

Everything he was doing…did it hold any meaning?

His mind snapped back to reality as the group suddenly turned a corner. His ears caught the guide’s words once again as they traveled deeper into the Library.

〄 〄 〄

Chaotic silence.

It was a fitting description for the central sector of the Library. Despite the multitude of objects flying around in the vast, hollow expanse above the giant amphitheater-like chamber, the area was quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the flipping of pages and the hushed whispers of scholars.

But the flying objects couldn’t possibly be called chaotic. No; they were moving around with a mesmerizing pattern with the scholars who oversaw their movement. They were like graceful birds decorating the air.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

No. It wasn't the books.

It was the pillar of light.

Shaden immediately noticed the atmosphere change when the thick doors to the central room were opened. He had been blasted with the pillar’s presence, almost choking from the unexpected concentration of mana in the air.

The mana was not stagnant. It roared and flew everywhere like an everlasting gust, hitting everything in its path with great force. Shaden had covered his ears instinctively until he realized that there was no sound.

“The mana is very thick here,” remarked the handsome teacher who had been nodding at everything. “I can see why. Oh, how great that light is! I can’t fathom the power it holds.”

Very thick? This wasn’t on the level of very thick. Everything was screaming at full volume, and the weight of it all was crushing down on Shaden’s spirit. He was recovering very rapidly, but it would take some time.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Eilae. “You look like you’re struggling.”

“Can’t you feel it?” he whispered back. “The mana.”

“I can. It’s thicker than usual.”

“That’s…it?”

“Why? Is there anything else?”

“N-no,” he staggered, shaking his head. The pressure was becoming more bearable now.

He blinked his eyes and gawked at the pillar. He couldn’t believe something so concentrated could exist in one place. The mana was blindingly white, unlike its natural blueish hue. It incessantly flowed to the sky.

This was what enveloped the whole planet and made Saiton’s magic usable. A network of magic that allowed normal people to use spells just by chanting. Some spells, anyway.

Time-telling magic was Saiton’s invention. It required little to no understanding of its properties, so everyone could use it as long as they had mana. There was a reason why Saiton was deemed as the Sage.

But where did this all come from? Mana was produced by living creatures only.

A chill went through Shaden as his group walked around the pillar of light. No one had known where the dragon had gone. Maybe Saiton had imprisoned the dragon in the earth, forcing it to endlessly squeeze out mana for the whole world to use…

No way. One dragon couldn’t possibly contain this much mana.

“We will have an hour of break time here,” said the guide after he had finished explaining the different sections within the place. “Feel free to go anywhere as long as it is in this room. Please don’t go through any doors. We will meet at the north—” He pointed towards the opposite direction. “—entrance. Does anyone have questions?”

Seeing as they were none, the guide nodded and flew away. His feet rose from the ground and he levitated to somewhere in the room. Everyone watched him go.

Many would have liked to fly with him, but magic was unusable in the Library. There was a spell that prevented mana from exiting the body, which the guide had clarified before.

It had been Shaden’s first exposure to flight magic. He suddenly had the urge to fly.

The group soon dispersed, each teacher departing with their students. When everyone had left, Shaden approached his tutor and asked her in a low voice.

“Does stealth work here?”

“Likely not. But if you can use it, no one will be able to detect you. Whatever you are thinking, I’d advise you not to do it.”

“There are so many books here, I might get tempted,” he joked, to which Lytha frowned.

“Your grandfather snuck into this place once,” she exhaled softly.

“Really?”

She nodded. “Worst experience of his life, he says. Like a mouse caught in a game of catch with a tiger. I always wondered how that would feel.”

“You wouldn’t…”

“Never. With this much mana around, only your grandfather could have pulled anything off.”

Shaden scanned the room again. There weren’t any guards, or golems, or mean-looking devices that might shoot fireballs and lasers. There were only scholars. He wondered what a scholar could do against an undetectable assassin.

“I’ll take a look around,” he told his tutor. Eilae had already begun walking around, looking at the vast array of shelves and books.

For Shaden, there was only one thing he wanted to see at that moment. Books were unavailable for reading, and they would not be allowed to leave the room. What else was there to see other than the immense source of magic at the center of the room?

It was quite a long way down to the center of the area. He went down a series of stone steps, careful not to hit anything along the way. He looked above him. The sky was overflowing with birds of paper, rotating around the central light like the stars in a galaxy. All that in the absence of sound.

The mana became heavier and heavier as Shaden continued down the steps. It made his head a little dizzy, but he had gotten used to the mana. Circulating (which he could still do) helped him clear his mind.

The lowest floor area around the pillar of light was free of books. In fact, it was free of any objects or any signs of life, though there seemed to be some engravings that Shaden recognized. There was the character for ‘entrance’ and ‘open,’ and even ‘activate.’

He placed his hand on the cold floor and slid his fingers over the marks. It was a mystery how he was able to recognize these symbols. Now that he was conscious of his ability, he was seeing things in a new, confusing light. There was no explanation that he could think of.

Shaden turned his attention to the pillar of light. Now that he was very close to it, it looked larger than ever. The space between himself and the light was blocked off by a slanted wall, which was a pity, but he could still feel the throb of the magic within.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

Someone had addressed him from behind. Because of the mana around him, he had been too distracted to notice. He’d have to work on that.

“It’s not just pretty. It’s marvelous,” replied Shaden in honesty.

The man who had spoken to him appeared to be a scholar with grey locks of hair and a long, tidy beard. There was something misplaced about the man, though Shaden couldn’t quite place his finger on it. Maybe it was his lack of wrinkles that made him look weird. Or his grey eyes that seemed to glow.

“How do you feel?” suddenly asked the man. “Do you feel uncomfortable? Dizzy?”

“I guess I feel dizzy with excitement,” Shaden said. Now that he was at the bottommost layer of the central library, he could see just how large the whole room was and how numerous the number of books was. He felt like an ant before the magic pillar.

The man frowned. “That’s it?” he said with a little confusion.

“Am I supposed to feel anything else?”

“Yes. You should have fainted on the fifth layer, with a puddle of vomit around you as you moaned for help. The pressure of the seventh would have prevented you from venturing so low.”

The place was very empty. But it didn’t feel that bad.

“I don’t understand.”

“That mana is too thick here for people to breath in it. You should be dead from mana poisoning by now. It has already been five minutes.”

The man observed Shaden with excessively keen eyes. Shaden felt a little uncomfortable from being stared at so intently.

“When are you going to die?”

“I’m not!” Shaden said. Something about this man unsettled him. “Who are you anyway? If what you say is real, why aren’t you dead?”

“Little child, I am too powerful to die. I asked you a question. When will you die?”

“I won’t. I feel amazing.”

“Let me restate my question. Why are you not dying?”

It sounded more and more like a demand, as if the man wanted Shaden to fall over and perish on the spot. His eyes felt even more intense now, and—was he imagining it? Shaden swore he saw some flames within the man’s irises.

“I don’t know. I’m just very good with mana,” he replied nervously. His heart was beating faster for some strange reason.

“Good with mana?”

“I should be on my way now,” apologized Shaden as he turned his footsteps away from the place. The man didn’t do anything other than just watch. Shaden felt the stranger’s eyes on the back of his head, and he tried to get out of the place as quickly as possible. He thought he saw a few scholars glance in his direction.

When he looked back at the base, it was empty again and the man was nowhere to be seen.

〄 〄 〄

“That concludes the tour,” announced the guide. “Thank you for your visit.”

The party clapped as the man shut the giant entrance to the Library with magic. Usually, one would expect a short visit to a souvenir shop, but the Great Library being just a library, a tour was all they received.

It had been a little disappointing, not being able to rummage through any books. At this rate, he would have to resort to something else, which he didn’t want. He wasn’t sure if it would work but practicing every day had allowed him to feel something. Like a spider’s thread on the tip of his finger—invisible and ever-present.

He sighed. He would seriously have to find a solution soon. His time in Saiton was diminishing every second, and if he ever did begin his project with the materials, he predicted that he would require even more information then.

“It was nice meeting everyone,” said the handsome blonde magician. His servants had joined him along with a lavish carriage. He departed just like that, as fast as he had come. Shaden was surprised at how quickly the vehicle traveled. The dust trail behind it was enough for him to tell.

The other magician with his students left as well. This time, through the air on their staffs. It was quite a sight to see them fly away gracefully, their hair fluttering behind them.

“I wish I could fly,” muttered Shaden.

Honestly, the reason he had never tried it was because it was too eye-catching. Not to mention dangerous. How did one make himself float and accelerate anyway? Using wind seemed tricky. His ‘gravity’ magic was limited to attraction—basically telekinesis. All his mana hands did was lift him. Theoretically, he could fly by stretching his mana hands to extreme lengths to float in the air. Yet he didn’t want to. That simply wasn’t flying.

“All decent magicians can fly,” stated Eilae. “Perhaps you should become a magician.”

Indeed, many individuals had been flying around in the Library.

“Maybe. Can I, Lytha?”

She snorted. “Aren’t you already a magician? How many spells can you use?”

“Many. That doesn’t make me a magician. It makes me a spellcaster.”

“Same thing.”

“They’re different!” argued Shaden. After reading through his four books so much, he had developed a sense of respect for those who had spent decades to create spells for everyone to use. These were the doctors and scientists of this world.

Lytha shrugged. “On your fifteenth birthday, you can decide then. Until that moment of revelation, we have many things planned for you.”

“That sounds so far away.”

“Believe me, it isn’t. Time will pass in an instant.”

Shaden looked at his tutor. There was something personal about the way she worded her sentence.

“Did you go through the same thing too?” he asked.

“Naturally. Everything you are doing and will do, I did too.”

“Really?”

“Your father would have done the same if he didn’t run away.”

She sighed. “It would be him who would be teaching you rather than me.”

“Come to think of it. Do I have any relatives besides you and grandpa?”

“Distant ones. They are all living peacefully like your father, oblivious to the family’s worries. I should have been like them. The responsibility of teaching has always lied with the sole male heir. Did I tell you how much I dislike your father?”

“You said ‘hate’ the last time.”

“It’s ‘dislike’ now,” she snapped. “I’ve had my share of fun. You will too.”

Had her meeting with his father changed her opinion? Most likely. She had met his mother and his sister, who seemed especially interested in her.

Still, to think that he would have to train until he turned fifteen.

“It sounds boring, training that long.”

“Think of it as a trip. If I had been locked up in Skotos, I would have killed myself. The good news is, four of your five years of training will be spent around the continent.”

“Oho. What will I learn?”

Lytha glanced at Eilae. “You’ll learn what she will learn, and many more.”

He didn’t understand what she meant.

“You mean…I’ll learn about politics.”

“Oh, never. Just wait and find out. It will be a special surprise for you. Where should we eat today?”

Shaden sighed. He wished his tutor would explain things better sometimes. It had always been like that during their two years of training in the wild. Always ‘feel first then understand.’

At least it sounded interesting, something to loosen his disappointment of not being able to check out books. What was a library if only a certain few could access it?

Infiltration sounded like a bad idea. Not that he would, but he was curious. What exactly had his grandfather encountered?

〄 〄 〄

“I knew it would be you,” said the stranger. “Who else could expend so much mana so rapidly?”

The grey-haired man descended from the sky, his grey robes flapping in the natural wind of the plains. His brilliant grey eyes were fixed on Shaden, and a menacing smile displayed his larger-than-usual canines below his lips.

Shaden took two steps back. “We are two kilometers away from the city. How did you find me?”

He swore that the man had teleported above him. He hadn’t felt anyone approach until a wave of mana had surged above him—and suddenly, the man was floating down from the sky with arms stretched out and hair flying.

“Simple. Have you heard of radar magic?”

“Er—never.”

“There is such a thing. It is very helpful when finding large outputs of mana. After you visited, I assumed I should use it. I was right.”

The man gently landed on the ground and put his arms behind his back like an old man. His face was empty of wrinkles as Shaden remembered it. He looked weird. Unnatural. Not ugly, but misplaced, like a baby with a mustache. But awfully intimidating.

“Ah, experiments,” said the man, looking around the area. “Very elementary.”

“Who are you?” demanded Shaden, as nicely as possible. He didn’t want to upset the man. There was something strange and terrifying about him that made his hair stand the longer he looked into his eyes. Now that he was away from the Library’s thick presence, he could tell just how massive the man was. Something was radiating out from the man.

“I am Raash. People know me as the Librarian of the Rose of Knowledge. There is no need to be afraid.”

Librarian?

“You’re very good at concealing your mana. I can barely sense a thing. You surprised me back there.”

Shaden’s dread grew, and he felt uneasy. Why had the man come to him? There was no reason to. The man took a step forward, and Shaden responded with two steps back.

“Now, why so wary? Unless you have malicious intentions.”

“You don’t feel right,” spoke Shaden. The man’s name sounded familiar. He couldn’t quite remember.

Something wasn’t right. His body was slowly sinking into the earth.

“Hm. You’re perceptive. If you would just relax and let me examine your body—”

Shaden tried to run but instead looked down in horror. The low grass was at his knees now, and the dirt was clumping onto his legs like clay.

Dread overcame Shaden, and he began to panic. First with circulation, he placed his hand on the ground and tried to pry himself away from the gulping earth. No use. The sinking surface was solid as concrete. He punched it. He hammered the earth with his fists.

“Don’t worry. It will only take a few seconds.”

“Wha—”

Before Shaden had time to react, the man grabbed his head and uttered something. Shaden felt mana flowing around his body, entering every nook and cranny with invasive hairs of magic. Before he had the chance to scream and unleash a fireball, the man let go and the hold on Shaden’s legs grew loose like dry sand.

“Interesting. Ask for a reward with this.”

The man threw something at the floor before Shaden, who was swallowing deep breaths from the shock of being so drastically scrutinized.

“Hey, wait—” shouted Shaden.

He looked up only to find the man gone, leaving behind wisps of mana than quickly dispersed in the air. Shaden got up, confused from the situation. It had been so sudden.

A wave of sudden anger and regret filled his emotions. Who the heck was that person anyway? If only he had used his mana-hands, he could have fended himself. He had failed to act in a desperate situation. If Lytha heard about this, she would be severely disappointed, telling him to train again.

But as he collected himself, he sighed in relief.

“Hah. Ha.”

He laughed. The experience had been so absurd. And he was alive.

“What the heck.”

With a clearer mind, he picked up the object on the ground.

The silver markings of the card-sized golden plate glimmered in his hands. It read, “Special Favor Coupon.”

Emotionally, he wanted to chuck the plate far away, head towards the Library, find the man, and—demand an apology?

From a person of that much pressure? That much power?

He looked at his hands. Just how strong was he anyway? He had lots of mana but the spells he could conjure were elementary, learned from a common spellbook. They were crude since he didn’t practice magic that much. The binding magic that the man had trapped him with—it had been something else.

Shaden was skilled enough to break boulders with his fist. But the magic had been stronger than his fists.

Before he knew it, he had fallen to the ground, his bottom on the grass. Why did he feel so powerless all of a sudden?

But…a reward. He had gotten a coupon. Judging by the weight of the object, it was genuine gold. Should he be happy? Maybe he could ask for a book with it.

So many emotions. Anger, relief, regret, astonishment, amusement—and hope. For the price of being humiliated, he had received a key to his problems.

The man had meant no harm, supposedly. But Shaden still felt irritated. Shouldn’t he have asked for permission first?

Great, now his mood was ruined. Grumbling all the way, he began to head towards the city.