The man said to Batara “Hey Bats, good to finally see you.” Turns out the man sitting in front of Batara was Klaus. Batara was too focused on eating that he didnt notice Klaus was around. Batara was startled and replied nervously “H-hi Klaus.” Klaus replied in concern “Where have you been Bats? I was looking for you. And why are you all roughed up?” For Klaus it may have been several days since they last met, but for Batara, its been only yesterday, so the situation is quite complicated as Batara hasnt had the time to think about their last conversation. Batara replied “It’s a long story.” Klaus insisted “Well I’m not going anywhere.” Batara scratched his head and sighed “Ughh… its hard to explain but I was looking for an artifact when a spirit attacked me.” Klaus was really skeptical but still tried to make sense of Batara’s story and asked “Where is this artifact then?” Batara pointed to the small black symbol on his forehead. Klaus looked at the symbol and got more confused and skeptical. However, he knew that Batara was not the kind of person who told unnecessary lies. So instead of asking for more details, Klaus asked Batara “But why did you risk your life for it?” Batara paused for a while before he replied hesitantly “To gain power.”

Klaus immediately understood where Batara’s answer was coming from since he thought about the same thing ever since the Murloc Swamp incident. Klaus then said to Batara with an assertive tone “I will ask you this again Bats. Lets form a party!” Batara knew that he eventually had to face this question, but he was still not ready. So Batara replied “Sorry I cant Klaus.” Klaus replied “Why Bats? Why cant I convince you that you dont hold responsibility over what happened at Murloc Swamp?” Batara was triggered and raised his voice “BECAUSE I AM! We’ve been over this before. Why would you even want to form a party with a helpless like me?” Klaus also raised his tone while slamming the table “BECAUSE I FEEL GUILTY!” The innkeeper across the room was startled and slammed his foot against the table. Klaus gestured his sorry to the innkeeper.

Batara was confused and didnt understand what Klaus meant. Seeing Batara’s reaction, Klaus scratched his head aggresively and said “Arghh… alright, since we’ve faced death together I will come clean with you.” Klaus continued “At first, I didnt go on the adventure with you just because I trusted you. The chief of Obenvale has told me about you and your circumstances before we even started adventurer’s training. So I know about you having basically no family which was convenient for me.” Batara got more and more confused that he asked “Whats that got to do with anything?” Klaus replied “I’m not done yet. The truth is, the Fenderer’s family has been waiting for me to get out of Obenvale to kill me since I am still in line to inherit the family’s throne.” Klaus continued “This is where you get relevant. I chose you to be my partner because I know I will face death threats from the Fenderers’ along the way. And since you dont have anyone to return to, my conscience wont be burdened as much if… you know…” Batara continued Klaus’ words and said “I was killed by your personal struggle.” Batara thought that Klaus reasonings are all starting to made sense.

Klaus looked very guilty after hearing Batara’s response and yet he didnt deny it. Klaus then continued “But I was completely wrong. Do you remember when we were attacked by three horned wolves back at Obenvale’s Forest and the King Kobold on our way to Quarzith?” Batara didnt know where Klaus was going with that but he nodded approving that he remembered. Klaus continued “Those were all Fenderers’ doing. My father’s acquaintance told me when we were training that a Fenderer Beast Master controlled them.” Batara was surprised to the fact that the Fenderers were able to do that much without him even noticing. Klaus continued “I felt very guilty that you always tried your hardest to overcame the situations when they were actually my personal issues. And to top it all, you even managed to always pull through despite lacking in talent. I on the other hand couldnt even bring myself to tell you about this earlier.”

Klaus then said “I’m sorry that I hid all this from you. But the fact that you even managed to save me despite all that, made me sure that you are more than capable. So I will ask you again, lets form a party!” Batara didnt feel mad after hearing that Klaus had used him for his cause, but instead Batara felt relieved because he finally knew Klaus’ actual intention was not just some blind trust. Batara then took his time to think about Klaus’ offer as Klaus waited nervously shaking his knees. Since the scale of guilt seemed to have even out between him and Klaus, Batara finally replied “Alright lets do this.” He accepted Klaus’ offer as he also had a hidden agenda in teaming up with Klaus.

Klaus was overjoyed and said “Thats what I’m talking about! You are a real one, Bats.” as he extended his hands asking for a toss. Batara wasnt familiar with a toss so he didnt know how to react. Klaus then said “C’mon dont leave my hand hanging.” as he gestured to clap his hand. Batara understood and went in for the toss. Batara then got curious and asked “How did you find me?” Klaus replied “What do you mean? I stayed in this inn.” Batara thought “Ofcourse he is, why didnt I account for this.” Klaus continued “Also you didnt make yourself conspicuous by wearing your indifferent hood and came running into the inn.” Batara just pinched his forehead in shame. Klaus then said “Alright shall we head to the adventurer’s guild?” Batara thought for a moment before saying “Not today, I have something I needed to do.” Seeing Batara full of wounds Klaus thought that he might still need time to recover, so Klaus replied “I see. How about tomorrow we meet at the adventurer’s guild in the morning?” Klaus seemed very eager to went adventuring again even though he just recovered, however Batara was also pretty low on money so he replied “Sounds good.” Klaus then left before saying “I’ll see you then!”

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Batara had planned to go to the library to find information about the strange magics he learned. So he went to Quarzith main library at northern Quarzith. After walking for a while and got lost around the city, he finally arrived at the main library. The library was very large and filled with thousands of books stacked neatly inside glowing shelves. Right in front of the entrance, there was a magic circle with a sign written “Directory”. Under the Directory sign there is a simple instruction that says: “Step into the magic circle, state the book you are searching, and look for the glowing shelf.” Batara followed the instructions and stepped into the magic circle. As he stated the book he’s searching “Anomalies of Mana” he felt some of his mana sucked into the magic circle. Suddenly, all the bookshelves stopped glowing, leaving Batara confused on where he was supposed to look. After a moment, a woman wearing a light grey uniform approached Batara. The woman said “Good morning sir. I saw you have been standing there for a while, may I help you search for the book you’re looking for?” Batara felt nervous that someone suddenly talked to him. Seeing Batara’s reaction the woman said with a polite tone “Oh apologies. My name is Mathilda Roa, I am a librarian here.”

Batara understood and replied “Anomalies of Mana.” Mathilda’s face turned panicked and she quickly pulled Batara out of the magic circle. While Batara was still very confused, Mathilda said while whispering “Where have you learned about that book!?” as she lost her polite demeanor. Batara just remembered that the book shouldve been disposed of but Isha got it instead through her friend. As Batara didnt want to snitch on Isha, he decided to lie his way and replied “I-I saw it lying around in some inn.” Batara’s brain works terribly under pressure. Mathilda replied “Inn?” before she pinched her forehead in regret and said “Could it possibly be Lorelai’s Reverie?” Batara nervously replied as he was about to get caught “N-no it was…” before his mind went blank. Mathilda sighed and replied “Heuf… as I figured, this must be Isha’s doing.” Mathilda then looked at Batara and said “You must be Batara right? Isha’s told me about you being the only one who reads in her inn.” As Batara was caught red handed, he just nodded in approval.

Mathilda then said “Thank god I’m the attending librarian today, else I would be in trouble if they found out Ive been giving away disposed books.” Batara felt relieved and said “Sorry.” Mathilda sighed and said “Its okay, I’m at fault too for not expecting someone would actually read in that old inn.” Mathilda continued “So about the book you’re looking for, last time I checked it was just some old scribbles that are barely readable. Why are you interested in that?” Since his mother fell ill, Batara, being stuck in his house, always spent his time trying to read anything. That habit persisted as he grew older and made him able to decipher most writings, thats why he spent until late at night to finish reading the Anomalies of Mana. Batara replied “I’m just curious, there are many missing parts in the book.” Mathilda replied “Thats how all the ancient books are. Now I understand why you are Isha’s acquaintance.” Batara didnt know how to respond to that so he stayed quiet. Mathilda continued “Even the timid nature is similar… Alright back to the book, the one you’re searching is way too old, and other related books are only available in ancient language. Even if I take you to the ancient section there’s no way you could read anything.”

Batara didnt expect having engraved knowledge of ancient language could actually come in handy. Batara replied “I could read ancient language.” Mathilda was surprised and said “You must be joking right!? I never knew anybody in this era who could read ancient aside from the Head Librarian who is 100 years old!.” Batara didnt realize that it was a rare knowledge. So he came up with a partial lie and said “I’ve also come from a family of old Librarians.” As Batara was not under pressure this time he could tell a more convincing lie. Mathilda replied “Why dont you become one then?” when she remembered that what she does is not the most fun job in Eidel, so she stopped prying and said “Actually, nevermind I shouldnt pry into other people’s business. Let me take you to the ancient section.” Batara was relieved that as gullible as she was, Mathilda let the matter go. Mathilda then took him to a very secluded area located at the highest and farthest corner of the library. The two then started taking the stairs as Mathilda told Batara about how Isha was a good friend to her and she has helped her many times. Batara didnt respond most of the time, thinking about how chatty Mathilda was.