On the way out of the section of rooms my people were in, the voice of Mao reaches my ear.

“… If I may ask, where are you from?”

I’ve been prepared for such a question since I arrived in this world, so it doesn’t take much to suppress any errant subconscious actions in myself as I respond.

“From somewhere quite a distance away, Mao. How about you guys?”

I can see her eyebrow raise from the immediate rebuttal. With a slight smirk, she responds.

“Hmm… quite a distance away, you could say.”

Clearly, she got the message from it.

Normally, I wouldn’t handle it this way, but her origins seem to be also strange. Coming at it in this direction allows me to neutralize the conversation.

Despite her sister’s action, though, Ling still seems curious.

“So… can you tell us what your home was like?”

Hmm… that’s not as bad, but still dangerous in some ways. I’ll give a softer answer for this one.

“Maybe once we get to know each other better, sure.”

I smile a bit after this, which seems to be enough to satisfy the two that there’s a chance of knowing more.

After this, I tap the cart bracelet to summon the vehicle over to us. And just as expected, I can see one of them approach along the rails in the distance. I finally have time to see how it lifts off from the rails, floating up as if picked up and carried by some unseen force.

Which it isn’t. It’s just the formation at work, pulling it along in the air.

It stops in front of us, with its doors now open. The two wait for me to climb in before following closely behind. After another illusion sequence, we are soon off to another area in the library.

The underwater portion.

This library section is actually mostly underwater, filled with methods, knowledge, and technique that are related to the concepts of water, liquids, and other related attributes.

All the items here are protected or impervious to the detrimental effects of the water, with some even being tied into the features of the area. Which is like how the modular buildings in the previous area had some higher realm messages hidden within the structure.

Now, the real question is… how the heck do other people survive there?

It should only take a few moments of searching to get full details, but the answer comes to me quicker than the scan does, as pools of water cover the track. And it is only getting higher and higher.

I immediately think of the two beside me and whether I might need to do something, but quickly realize that this would have to be normal for the library, because otherwise it would be a death sentence to choose this area. And things like this within the sect, for new members, would definitely have some form of protection or warning beforehand.

Adding that the twins aren’t panicking, I decide to sit back and watch what will happen before making any sudden moves.

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Interestingly, the path we are traveling on seems to dip down at an extremely slow rate. While the water level is also growing, it is still on the track level, below the platform/ground level. Once water reaches just under the platform level, the slope of the rails angles downward. Deeper into the dark waters below.

While I keep my eyes trained ahead to maintain appearances, something that seems to make the twins disappointed that I’m not reacting to, my senses are watching as the water finally crosses the point at which it should pour into the cart.

But it doesn’t.

An invisible bubble surrounds us. Supplying air, while keeping us safe from the waters below.

And, from what I can sense, the water pressure. Because as we keep going deeper and deeper, it’s easy to see that all of this will be far below the safe range for a regular human being.

Despite the dangers, the surrounding area is truly awe-inspiring, though. Various types of architecture of all styles seem to be in play.

Romanesque courtyards, with books lined along the pillars. Buildings and pathways reminiscent of Gothic styles sprawled about. There are even a few different styles that I’ve only seen in space fantasy, almost maddening in shape, made of materials not like those on earth.

… this feels like I’m delving into an ancient underground storehouse of different cultures. Maybe the common theme is that these are all areas that fell beneath the oceans of this world.

We are quite the distance from the oceans, though. But, if I think about it, I think a portion of this country, The Chiu Continuum, borders one of the massive oceans of this world. If I’m not incorrect, this whole country is just an alliance of nation-states and sects. Maybe this is related somehow to all of that?

I have little time to mull over this, as one twin speaks up.

“Oops, sorry! We forgot to check some books from a shelf near here. This will only take a moment.”

Ling sounds a bit rushed, as I can feel the cart slowing down a bit. Luckily for me, this change in pace has the cart go off the rails and towards one of the buildings.

We actually float over to one of the Gothic style buildings that reminds me of a cathedral with it’s massive stained glass windows. The doors to the building are ajar, as the cart moves into it. In the corner of my eye, I can see a few shadows dart to one corner and out of the building.

It appears there are creatures that live in the library, as well.

Mao and Ling don’t seem concerned as we arrive at one wall near a window, with a stack of books laying within the rocky crevasses.

Just like the modular area, despite the great differences in appearance and styles, these storage areas and pathways are still clearly marked for their sections. Making it easy to understand how the two would know to come to this area for one of their tasks.

Even with my normal attempts to appear unfazed, even I pay particular attention as Ling reaches toward the edge of the bubble, out of the cart. As her hand passes through the barrier, I can see a membrane cover her hand and then the book.

Ahhh, so that’s how it works. I wonder how far it will go out?

Mao answers this unspoken question as she moves to assist her sister.

She opens the door of the cart and steps out, completely clearing the bubble. And around her entire body is the same membrane. She seems focused on flipping through several of the other books, which the water seems to have no effect on, other than the pages flipping in the water slowly.

This explains how people can still get things out here. It still raises the question of how far away from the cart you can get, but from what I can tell, it would likely follow you around a bit, making it a bit of a moot point.

While we are here, I can’t help but peer around at the crazy surroundings in this building. Artwork from another age, scrolls depicting and explaining about massive battles and historical situations.

I can see them sneaking peeks back at me as they seemingly mindlessly flip through the pages of their books before placing them back.

… why do I feel they were just using this as an opportunity to show off a little. Or to get a reaction out of me.

Well, if so, they succeeded, because all of this is pretty wild.

Seemingly satisfied with the interest I’ve shown, they head back into the cart. Mao then says something that immediately catches my attention.

“That should be it for here. We’ll head deeper into the more secure areas of this section then. The cart will take us through the outer court portion, then to the inner court, where your people should currently be.”

Interesting.

So, each distinct area has its own concept and has different levels of security within each. What crazy differences would there be between the public area and the outer court… if this is already the public one?

… and then we still will go even deeper.

This will certainly be something to remember.