It baffled me how quickly I forgot what descending deeper feels like. The first five steps heading down from floor one to floor two were relatively easy. However, everything below that was only getting worse and worse. At first, I didn't consider it that much of an issue. After all, it just felt like my limbs were heavier and as if the air around me got denser. Then it escalated. It felt like someone was squeezing my lungs, preventing air from flowing in them in sufficient amounts. Like half of my oxygen belonged to someone else. I grabbed the railing and began gasping, my other hand holding onto my chest with a corpse-like grip. I stopped. The idea that I was only halfway there and that it would only get worse discouraged me from going further. How much worse could it get?

"Hey, take it easy, alright?" Gier approached me, seeing that I was struggling to go on. "Take a deep breath as you raise your leg, and then exhale slowly as you put it down. But don't stop. That will only make continuing harder. Take it one step at a time. Ears ringing and such might be normal, but if you start losing balance, at least make some sound to let us know, okay?" He advised me before turning to our companions. "Well done, Amy, you're doing great," he praised her, seeing that she was already using the same breathing technique he had recommended to me. She didn't say a word and only gave him a weak thumbs-up.

"Corwyn, are you alright?" he asked the fourth member of our group.

"Yeah. I don't really feel anything," he replied, seemingly unfazed by our descent.

"Really? Nothing at all?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Huh. That's odd. Have you ever been in the library before?"

"N-No, this is my entrance exam and the first time here."

Gier shook his head in disbelief. "Weird. Guess you've got some natural resistance. That's quite rare. But a sign you'll make a great delver." He smiled at him.

"Y-Yeah. Great..." Corwyn muttered and walked over to Amy to help her out in case the descent would be too much for her.

As soon as we got to the bottom of the staircase, Amy and I dropped to the ground. I sat down near the centre, leaning against the cold railing, while she took a seat opposite me, at the wall.

"In through... your nose, and out... through the mouth," she gasped at me. "Will help... recover." This was not something I had read in the instruction booklet, but I was willing to try anything to help with these current feelings. Not to mention that she seemed to truly have the answer to everything, so I trusted her advice.

"So, let's see what we have on floor number two," Gier exclaimed and began scanning our surroundings. I did not notice anything special. Visually, it looked exactly the same as the previous floor, minus the chandelier.

"There's love triangle books that way, then nursery rhymes this way. Over there's... furniture manuals?" Corwin asked. We all looked the way he was pointing and truly, it was a section full of helpful guides on how to construct various models of furniture.

"That's rubbish," Amy replied and stood up. I couldn't believe that she had managed to recover so fast.

"There's something interesting!" Gier pointed to the corridor closest to us.

"Bottle cork making?" Amy read the sign and raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's nothing too interesting, but I can imagine a thesis on that topic. Could be an easy way for you to pass the entrance exam," Gier shrugged and picked up one of the books, tossing it over to Amy. "At least try it."

She looked at the cover with visible disgust dancing on her face. That did not surprise me. Writing a whole thesis about nothing but corks sounded like a nightmare to me. Especially since the book she was holding was apparently describing their types and history, and that alone seemed to have more than four hundred pages. Nevertheless, she opened it to have a look at the wisdom that was inside.

As soon as she could read the text, it began glowing with a pleasant golden colour. The individual letters flew out of their words and lines and began shooting right into her eyes. Her expression could only be described as "completely spaced out". Then again, everyone looked weird when absorbing the books from the library, so none of us intended to make fun of her. She stood there for a solid fifteen seconds until the final golden letter found its way inside her head. The book then automatically flew shut and turned into ash, awaiting its rebirth after the next Shuffle.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"So, what do you say?" Gier asked.

"I'd rather eat the corks than read anything similar," she replied and shook.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Feels like it just drained the life out of me. It's soooo boring!" she sighed and looked into the dimly lit corridor. "But I guess we could just look into the other sections too. I mean, there should be more books this way, no?" She pointed into the hallway with cork-related literature.

"Yeah. There are always these four categories going from the centre, then there is a big circular hallway that has some books too, and then beyond that, it's all random and full of Glassrooms," Gier explained.

"Well, can I go and have a look at what else is there?"

"Sure. You're an adult. You can go wherever you want. But do be careful and give us a call if you need help." Our blond friend briefly turned to me and Corwyn. "What about you two? Want to go with her? It's safer in bigger numbers."

"I need some more time," I said, still feeling a bit under the weather.

"Umm... I-I would prefer to stay with the majority," Corwyn mumbled. It seemed that he grew attached to the feeling of safety Gier was emanating.

"Alright, then I'll go on ahead and give you a call if I see a Guardian, alright?" Amy asked and headed off after we all agreed.

"Are you scared?" Gier asked when he saw Corwyn's concerned looks.

"W-Well..."

"It's alright. This place is scary. Fear is natural. It keeps our senses sharp, so having it is technically a good thing. Just make sure it doesn't keep you from your objective though, alright?"

Corwyn nodded, which was enough for Gier to stop worrying about him for a moment. He sat down next to me with a sigh. "And how are you holding up?"

"So so. Guess I'm just not used to descending."

"That's understandable. I wasn't too different when I was a rookie. Don't worry, it will get easier. Does any of the categories here sound interesting to you? Do you think you could write a thesis on any of them?"

"Honestly, no. I'm looking for something specific," I answered truthfully.

"Specific?" Gier looked at me as if I had just said something blasphemous.

"Yeah, my grandfather used to study robotics, but he never really told me what exactly. Back then, I was too young to understand anyway. All I remember is him telling me that he found something extraordinary and that he will go to the library to prove it. That was the last I saw him."

"He didn't return?"

"No. And his notebook got left behind. Whatever he discovered, I want to bring it out and show it to the world. He always made it sound like it was so groundbreaking."

"Groundbreaking? In the field of robotics? Sorry, but I think that particular field of research is just dead. I mean, sure, we have machines that can harvest crops on their own, and work in factories, but that's it. What else is there to research?"

"He said that maybe robots could think on their own."

"That's nonsense!"

"Is it? Some Guardians are machines and they can think on their own too."

"But those are Guardians we're talking about! Whoever built the library and everything inside was millions of years ahead of us in terms of science and magic. Besides, to reconstruct a Guardian... is that a good idea?"

"I don't know. Maybe that's not even what grandpa wanted to do. I just need to find those notes. His life's work doesn't deserve to be forgotten!"

Gier sighed and rubbed the root of his nose. "So the reason you went down here was to find that in particular? You don't actually want to be a university student? It's all just for the notes?"

"Well, I'd like to become a student and a professor too, just like my grandpa was. But... yeah, I came here for the notes primarily."

"You are stupid." Those were words I did not expect from Gier at all. I turned towards him and saw the anger and frustration in his eyes. It was as if he was suddenly a completely different person.

"What? I..."

"You're not the first person with such a goal that I've met. You know what happened to them? They never made it out alive!"

"But..."

"Robotics are a complex topic. Books about it will be on floor twenty at best. You nearly broke down just from going to floor two. Not to mention that you have no idea where to even find the book! You'd need an Index to locate something specific, and the university won't even give it to someone like me! This is foolish. It will only get you killed. I won't allow it!"

I stood up, fists clenched. "You won't allow it?! And who the fuck do you think you are?! You're not some grand overseer to tell us what we can and can't do!"

"Oh yeah? Well sorry, that I'm trying to save your stupid ass. Sorry that I don't want to see any more youngsters die!" His voice cracked. I felt something in it. For a moment, he did not seem angry, but rather frustrated. It reminded me of my grandma. Of all the things she said to me just in hopes to persuade me to stay at home.

"I... I'm sorry. I just... Just focus on getting to the university now. Get better. And then one day, you will be able to retrieve your grandfather's notes. But right now, it is much more than you can handle."

We paused our argument as we heard footsteps slowly approaching us. Rogier was heading our way, waving at us with his bleeding hand.

"Hey, where do you have that girl that has everything? I need some bandages!" he called to us. "Cristina cut me pretty damn deep back then."

"Amy went to look for books. We stayed here to let Elliot recover," Corwyn explained.

"Well, he looks fine by my standards. Heck, you two have been arguing so fucking loudly we could hear it all the way on the other side of the room! If that doesn't mean you're healthy like a fresh flower, I don't know what does." He briefly looked into the corridor where Amy went. "And you let the rookie go in alone? Tsk tsk, such irresponsible behaviour, Gier."

"Shut up!" he growled back at the hunter. "She is well-prepared and smart. I have no doubt that she will be able to take care of herself.

A high-pitched scream reached our ears. It was coming precisely from the corridor closest to us.

"You were saying?" Rogier said and gave Gier a smug smile.

"We have to help her!" I shouted at them in hopes to prevent an upcoming argument and rushed into the hallway. That alone was enough to get them moving. Didn't take long and I could hear numerous other footsteps following me into the gaping maw of danger.