Phoenix Academy’s library was the largest in the empire. To contain all the books and protect them from thieves, it was built inside a dimensional pocket similar to the ones used by the magic and swordsmanship teachers.
Only three spells affected this area and they were written clearly on the door:
1. No book or material may be damaged.
2. No book or material may leave.
3. Reading speed and retention is enhanced three fold.
It was truly a nerd’s paradise, a place Finn planned on visiting often from now on. The floor and ceiling were made out of wood, and there were private reading rooms to the side. There was a barrier cast on the ones deemed “occupied,” so Finn could only hope Annie was not inside them.
Fortunately, he found her easily enough, in the library's magic section. She was sitting at a reading table, looking through a mountain of books, across from another mountain and another girl who was doing the exact same.
Finn approached her awkwardly while forcing a smile.
“Hey, that’s quite a lot of paper. Do you think it was made with magic too?”
Annie pretended not to hear him and turned a page. On the other hand, the girl across from her rambled “Yes, mr. ladies man, Dean the smooch, archmage of the skirts. It’s how actual archmages make most of their money.”
At exactly five feet tall, the girl had short, frizzled, pink hair and huge, round spectacles. She had small, blue, crystal earrings and a bracelet with an orange crystal on each of her hands. Going by her well fitting, pink clothes and jewelry, she was clearly a noble, and her height hinted at some kind of a dwarven descent.
While Finn stood dumbfounded by her words, Annie finished her book and grabbed another. She was already a fast reader, but with the speed increase provided by the library, she was going through pages like a hungry cat through treats.
Eventually, Finn recovered and tapped her shoulder.
“Do you have a moment? I want to apologize for…”
“Apology accepted.”
There was no warmth in her answer, so Finn pulled back his arm. ‘Should I have brought her a snack?’
The boy shook his head and dragged another chair over. “So, what’re you reading?” He tried to sound genuinely interested.
However, Annie did not react, and worse yet, the girl sitting on the other side of the table smacked it with her tiny palms, stood up, and all but growled. “Keep. Quiet! can’t you see she’s busy? This is a place for serious study, not skirt chasing. And you should know that dating is frowned upon as it has been proven to reduce focus and performance over the long term. You do not even look like a scholar, so go swing a sword, muscle man. Buzz off, leave, scram, shoo, shoo.”
The girl ended her rant just as abruptly as she had started and then sat back down and grabbed another book. Noticing Finn staring at her, she eventually raised her head with a look of disgust. “Why are you still here?”
The boy panicked and turned to his friend for help. With a sigh, Annie closed her book.
“Reina, this is my friend, Andrew Finn. Finn, this is my colleague Reina Silverbeard. You can call her Rei.”
Immediately, Reina slammed the table and stood up. “No, he cannot! And why is he your friend while I’m just a colleague? We shared blood and sweat together, woman!”
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‘For what, a day during class?’
Passerbies signaled her to shush, so Reina became beat-read, sat back down, and covered her face with a book.
“Did you get permission from the teacher?” asked Annie.
“Y-yes. She has forgiven me.” Finn smiled widely as he showed her the glasses and the earpiece. Though a bit hesitant, Annie took and put them on.
“Thank you.” He let out a breath in relief.
At the same time, Reina’s green eyes could be seen peeking at them from the side of her book.
“Are you two really boyfriend and girlfriend? Because if he’s forcing you to wear those glasses, then this is a toxic relationship. Annie, you should run, or better yet, beat him up.”
As her face disappeared behind the book once more, the other two’s cheeks became red. ‘Who the hell is she!?’ Finn’s face seemed to say as he clenched his fist with half a mind to punch her.
Annie got closer and whispered in his ear. “Rei’s second in class, a prodigy at magic engineering and alchemy. She has a loud mouth but she’s harmless, so I thought you might want to recruit her for your company.”
“Oh… Wait, who’s first in class?”
Annie ignored the question and continued reading.
‘An eccentric genius, huh? These types are the biggest pain to work with.’
Still, Finn needed talent above all else, so it wasn’t exactly a bad idea. ‘But how am I supposed to befriend this one? She already hates my guts, so… Maybe I should introduce her to Tommy?’
Finn nodded to himself and made a mental note. ‘My man, it’s time to work your magic. And, since I’ve made up with Annie and I’m already here…’
The library was separated into clear sections with large signs above each one. There were also maps in each area showing how one could get to the others. Finn walked over to one of these maps but nothing seemed to catch his eyes.
“Whatcha looking for?” asked Reina.
“Huh? Why do you want to help me all of a sudden?”
“Anything to get you to leave.” The girl stuck out her tongue.
Finn took a deep breath, massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment, and then explained: “I’m looking for any experiments or records of people who’ve tried to master magic plus swordsmanship, brawling or archery. Hell, I’ll settle for archery and swordsmanship if there’s anything like it.”
“Shelf six, row six, books one through five.” The girl answered curtly and then returned to her book.
Finn’s eyebrows went up, and Annie gave him a look like ‘I told you so.’
‘Well, I’ll be damned.’ Instead of going to the shelf, Finn sat back down at the table. “What do you know about this topic?”
Reina contorted her face and pretended not to hear him.
“Please help him.” Annie pulled the girl’s book down which made her blush.
“...Fine. Year 23 after God’s blessing, Archmage Merlin Grigori sought wisdom from the empire’s brawlers to cover his weakness in close quarter combat. After studying under the Great Warrior Antheus the Destroyer, his connection with mana suddenly weakened and he was reduced to the rank of a normal crystal mage.
Grigori dedicated the remainder of his life to uncovering the cause of his affliction. He carried out numerous experiments on mages and all types of warriors, crippling hundreds of them until the hero captured and sentenced him to death. Afterwards, his discoveries were gathered and compiled into five volumes, supposedly as a warning to anyone who might try to replicate his experiments.”
“Wait, isn’t Michael trying to use magic too?” Annie leaned forward.
“The brawler has no talent and Miss Bella knows it. At most, he’ll learn how to use magic items better.”
“Still…”
“Hmph,” the little pipsqueak stood up and crossed her arms. “First the boyfriend and now this. Annie, I’m sorry to say this but you’re too naive.” She grabbed Annie’s hands and looked her straight in the eyes. “You need to surround yourself with people you can trust. This womanizer…”
“Enough.” Finn grabbed Reina by the nape of her neck and put her back in her chair. “Thank you for the explanation. Annie, do you want to help me with those books she mentioned?”
“Sure.”
“Hey, I want to help too!”
Annie got up while pretending to ignore her and the two walked off towards bookshelf number six. Not even five seconds later, Reina went after them while shouting, until a librarian came running and told her to “Shush.”