I turned and saw what may have been the oldest man that I had ever laid eyes on. His skin had a rough, leathery quality, and his hair was gray and patchy. The man’s gentle smile juxtaposed his sharp, calculating eyes. His gaze swept over us, landing on Magum, who had finally turned to face him. The man's lips turned upward in a world weary smile.

“Old friend, what brings you here?” said the elderly, wrinkled man

Magum’s eyes widened.

“TYLER, YOU’RE ALIVE!” In an act of shocking spryness, Magum ran towards the man, almost knocking him over with a hug.

‘What the hell?’

I wasn’t sure how to process this. The stodgy, pain in the ass old alchemist was behaving like a human. His unguarded expression of joy looked as foreign as it did natural. Who was that man?

“Yes, Magum. I am happy to say, this greeting never gets old.”

Magum straighten himself. “Had this conversation before, have we?”

“Just a few times.”

“Well I-”

“Have precious few friends left.” Their faces dropped, Magum suddenly looking as worn as the old man across from him.

“I’ve said it before, but my condolences about Grace. She was truly the best of us.” Tyler offered.

“She really was, wasn’t she?” Magum paused and stared off into the distance, if only for a moment. “But I’ve grieved enough for several lifetimes. Old friends reuniting should be a cause for celebration. Do you have any-”

“Dragon Brandy?

“That is very-”

“Annoying? Yes, you’ve mentioned that before.” Tyler smiled, “I’m done. And of course I have Dragon Brandy. What do you take me for, a Koltari Fishman?”

They shared a look, then doubled over in laughter.

“Ahem,” I coughed.

“Oh right, You’re still here. Tyler, this is Noah and his sidekick Lydia.”

“I’m not his sidekick.”

“I mean, you’re not not my sidekick.”

“Bite me.”

“Interesting friends you’ve made, Magum.”

“Indeed.” Magum said, glaring at me, “Perhaps I should address the matter at hand before we catch up. I’m here to see Peter.”

Tyler’s frown returned. "That may prove a challenge.”

I rubbed my temples. My innate desire to quip only held back by knowing I was likely about to be told that someone had died. Magum drew the same conclusion.

“When…?”

“Not yet. But he’s close.”

“Damn,” Magum whispered. “What happened?”

“He has Malthus Mana Degeneration - Stage 4.”

“Then why is he dying?! I cured that 400 years ago!”

“The Ryvkin went extinct 200 years ago. There are no more hearts left on the market.”

“Then we could just-”

“The spragle toad went extinct 300 years ago.”

“How about-”

“Gixtarian red bat? 50 years ago.” Tyler placed a hand on Magum’s shoulder. “We’ve been doing our best to search for alternatives, but we simply cannot find a suitable binding agent.”

“Do you have a lab?”

“… I’d tell you it's too late, but that won’t stop you, will it?”

Lydia tugged on my sleeve.

‘Should I say something?’ I activated Meditation to clear my mind and speed up my thoughts.

‘Should I try to help them? Magum believed that Peter was the best option to help Jessie, but it is possible there are other ways… and who knows if I can even help him. I’d be flying blind. Though, mana is my specialty… and I decided to try out the life of a healer. This seems like as good of an opportunity as any.

From Lydia’s comments, it seems like he deserves the help… and the only thing weighing against it is keeping my secret. But we are in the Forgotten Library…’

“Can I take a look at him?”

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They both turned to me, staring incredulously.

Tyler spoke. “Young man, while I’m sure your heart is in the right place, I believe you're out of your depth.”

“And I’d agree if it wasn’t a mana condition. But that’s an area where I have some… advantages.” I turned to Magum. “How’s the headache from when you got nosy?”

Magum reflected for a moment, then shrugged. “The kid’s… I’d let him take a look.” Then Magum turned his head to me. “Supervised, of course.”

“Why are you saying it like-”

“Fiery. Ball. Of. Ash.”

“… fair.”

*****

Tyler led us through the library. Somehow, it felt even bigger than when viewed from the top. We walked through winding stacks and vast open spaces, packed with desks, crammed with people pouring over tattered texts. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have told you it was impossible for a person to study… aggressively, yet, somehow, these people managed.

“It’s rather lively here.” I said.

“The Forgotten Library is the only center of pure research in the Empire. Knowledge learned in these walls, never leaves these walls. So it's all untainted by outside considerations. No king turning your research into a weapon. No patron demanding practical application. No busybodies imposing their moral demands on that which they do not understand. The people outside may not understand us, but for those living here, it’s paradise.”

‘So what I’m hearing is that I can learn things here that I can’t learn anywhere else.’ I thought, my eyes going green.

“But how do you sustain yourselves? Surely this all costs money?” I asked.

Tyler cocked an eyebrow and looked at Magum, “It is not common knowledge out there?”

“Oh it definitely is. Make some allowances for the kid, he’s a bit provincial.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Magum opened and closed his mouth several times, then muttered “He’s a bit provincial.”

Tyler laughed. “Secret Keeper activated then?”

“He’s a bit provincial.” Magum repeated, looking exasperated

‘Well, At least I know that he actually can’t expose me.’

Tyler nodded knowingly. “Well, Mr. Hero candidate, as a repository for forbidden knowledge, we offer skill training services… for a fee, a high fee.”

“But won’t they forget whatever they learn?” I asked

“The memory charm is stronger than almost any magic in the world, but the system isn’t of this world. It retains memory of the training even if you don’t.”

‘Of course.’ I remembered the yellow lights from the dungeon. He was dead wrong about the details, but the principal was the same. The essence that entered the person when they skilled up wasn’t something that could be “forgotten,” since it literally became part of them.

“So someone can learn something stupid dangerous to increase their level, but they’ll only have the increased skill level when they leave?” I said, playing it cool.

“Exactly.”

We finally stopped walking, having reached a door marked Infirmary, and entered the room.

It was quiet. The décor was sterile: grays and whites with simple adornments. The odor of antiseptic clung to its surfaces. There were long rows of beds with nurses flitting between them.

We walked through all of them to the back of the room. Lying in a well tended bed was a broad framed man, still imposing despite his unconsciousness. His skin was loose, its slack suggesting it had once covered more than there currently was. An IV was attached to his arm, feeding him a deep amber liquid.

I activated Ephemeral Sense and saw Peter's problem. His mana core was flickering: a blue that faded to clear, before resetting with a surge back to blue. Each time it faded, the mana supply to the rest of his body was cut off. It was like a car battery was draining, before receiving a jump, only to drain once more.

“What can you tell me about the condition?” I asked.

Tyler spoke, “Malthus Mana Degeneration is a drainage of the body’s mana. It initially presents as fatigue and diminished magic capacity. In the next stage, the afflicted cannot use skills or magic. After that is coma, and, finally, death.

“And the IV is feeding him mana?”

“Very astute. It’s a special concoction we developed. It’s not very efficient, but it provides enough energy to stave off death… for a time.”

‘I’m a mana entity, could I just let my mana flow into him…’ I would need to be exceptionally delicate if I didn’t want to damage him further, but that certainly wasn’t insurmountable. ‘Of course, that won’t actually fix anything, but it should stop the progression.’

“May I try something?”

“What?”

“I’d rather not say.”

Tyler looked at Magum. “He’s a Hero candidate?”

Through gritted teeth, Magum uttered, “He’s a bit provincial.”

Tyler 's eyes shifted towards me. “Okay, but please be careful.”

I placed my hands on Peter’s shoulders. Concentrating, I slowly, very slowly, began pushing tiny amounts of mana into his mana channels. Just a trickle. I paused every few millimeters, making sure it was having no ill effects.

The process required more focus than I anticipated. I activated Meditation and slipped into my own mind. As I allowed my drop of mana to flow, I contoured it to his channels. Its indentations followed a pattern, a complex pattern, but a pattern nonetheless. It was as though something was being written—something coded into them that could be deciphered. I set that aside as a mystery for another day.

Eventually, I reached his core. I was convinced that the process that I had just followed could not have been used by anyone without Ephemeral Sense, so I was likely in uncharted territory. I pushed my mana ever so slightly into his core. There was resistance. It was as though I’d hit a wall.

I let mana wash over it, allowing me to experience its form. The cores outside shifted and swirled. Its solid nature was an illusion. There was a regular flow—ever sliding, ever twirling, but always coming back to the same place. I studied it. I learned it. I came to know it.

Finally, I attuned my mana to it, matching its quirks and nuances. I twisted my flow and wound it into the depths of his core. Eventually, the frequencies matched perfectly, and it disappeared into his own mana, stabilizing it. I could still see it fade, but this time, it was far slower than before.

Congratulations, You have unlocked the Cosmic Mana Entity Ability: Mana Transfer.

Mana Transfer: Skill governing the ability to pass your mana to another living being.

Skill detected, “Autodidact,” would you like to transfer 10,000 experience points to level Mana Transfer? Y/N.

‘10,000 experience until level 2! What the hell did I stumble on this time?’ I cut off my mana. A man’s life was on the line, so I needed to be methodical and assess the results. I canceled meditation and allowed myself to return to the real world.

The first thing I noticed was that my clothes were drenched in sweat, clinging to my body. I looked around. Peter’s eyes were open, but quickly returning to their original state. Still, his color was worlds better than it had been only minutes before. Tyler and Magum stared at me, agog.

Tyler opened his mouth first. “How did you…”

“With great difficulty and a whole lot of cheating. Now, where do you keep the books on mana?”