Kane and Brian finished looking for lightning spell theory books and took several of them. They returned to the main entrance to meet up with Zumi and Athera as planned. Apparently, the girls were not done yet. Sometime later, Kane saw Zumi who was carrying a plethora of books, along with Athera. The book tower was at its limit, almost falling over. She dropped it hard and was panting loudly on all fours.
“That’s an awful lot of books you got there. Do you love reading that much, Zumi?” said Brian, staring at the pile of books. They were taller than her height.
“I've warned her but she… didn’t listen…” Athera uttered a sigh.
“Thera, I already told you that there are so many spells that I want to learn so I can’t resist taking them… hehe,” Zumi laughed awkwardly.
“Can you comprehend all of them—no, can you even finish reading them?” asked Kane.
“Obviously not. At least when I read this in my dorm, I don’t have to go to the library again! Isn’t that genius?” She tapped her head.
Kane gave up asking Zumi further, and so did Brian. They all decided to queue to borrow books from the librarian. Several moments later, their turn was up.
“Only up to three items are allowed for borrowing,” said the librarian in an ice-cold tone.
“Are you serious!? Why?” yelled Zumi, attracting attention from other people.
“Be quiet! This is a library,” hushed the librarian. “Because people tend to lose their items easily when borrowing in bulk. I’m afraid this rule cannot be broken.”
“Then, what should we do with the rest of the book?” asked Brian.
“I will return them later. Place the unwanted items there.” She glanced at the corner of the desk where dozens of books stacked sloppily.
They scoured the books before making their choice. Kane decided to borrow [Searing Arrow] and [Flaming Hand]. He had seen the rest of the spells and wasn’t interested in them except [Blazing Fence]. Finished with the process, Kane approached the three as he was carrying the books.
“Why are you borrowing just two, Kane?” asked Zumi. She and the others chose to borrow three books; it wasn't a strange question.
“I’m a slow reader, you see. It will take me a long time to finish a thick book like this,” replied Kane. It was the sole reason why he disliked reading. His time would often be consumed too much just reading.
“Alright, then. We can only borrow them for one month anyway. Beyond that, you'll get a temporary ban and a heavy fine,” said Zumi.
Brian looked upward toward the second floor. “Let’s read up there.”
“Why can't we go there right after picking the books?” asked Kane.
“Because it’s not allowed until your books are approved by the librarian. The library guardian will block your way,” said Brian.
They ascended using the spiral staircase. Arriving on the second floor, Kane saw hundreds of tables and chairs. Despite the number of people sitting there, almost no sound could be heard. Every step they took echoed in the giant area. A while later, they found four empty seats and a table.
They opened the spell theory book and began reading silently. Kane too was immersed in reading, although it lasted for three pages; the text was too complicated for him. He stood up and said, “I’m going to stroll for a while.” In reality, he wanted to check the special library for class S out of curiosity.
The others nodded.
Kane descended the staircase and headed toward the librarian. He leaned toward the desk and asked, “Excuse me—”
The librarian extended her palm while she was conversing with another person. When the person left, Kane asked her, “What is this card for?”
She took the card from his hand and inspected it. “This is a VIP card for entering the restricted area. Go toward the opposite end of this royal library, then show your card to the inspector.”
“Is there any class S who has already entered the library yet?” he asked again.
“As far as I am concerned, no.”
“Thanks.” He bowed his head.
“Yes, yes. Now please go. I’m busy here.” She shooed Kane away.
In the opposite end where no single soul could be detected, he found himself in front of a caged platform. In the back, dozens of round and jagged thick disks in various sizes were arranged, connected with other disks. He had never seen such an intricate device in his entire life. The cage itself was decorated with artistic animate and inanimate objects, making it beautiful to look at.
“Please show your identification card to access the elevator,” an androgynous monotone voice sounded from an unknown location.
So that cage is called ‘elevator’, eh? Kane looked around only to see nobody. He decided to pull out the golden card from his breast pocket and held it facing against the elevator. An invisible force grabbed the card, making it float in the air. The card then fell into his hand as though it released its grasp of the card.
“Welcome, Kane Foxsnove. You may proceed.” The gate of the elevator separated, sliding into two by itself, allowing him to enter.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Kane stepped into the platform. When the gate closed, the disks behind the elevator began rotating. The elevator ascended at a brisk speed while the constant sound of grinding disks accompanied him. He was uncertain how high he had ascended because there was no height indicator.
As the elevator stopped, the gate opened. He stepped out and saw large double doors in front of him. Holding the brass handle, Kane pushed one door open.
The bright sunlight greeted him, forcing Kane to squint and blinding his vision briefly. Upon reopening his eyes, he saw a spacious room, though much smaller than the main floor. Half of the walls were built-in white bookshelves which were filled with countless books. On the north side, three large windows illuminated the room. The floor was covered in silky white carpet except for the area at his left, where there was a dark wooden floor beneath a set of benches with pillows, a table with short feet, and a fireplace.
At his right, four rows of tall bookshelves were placed side by side. The length ended after fifty steps which then another row of them could be seen. A slanted staircase connected the lower floor to the exposed upper floor that seemed to be similar to the right side of the room, at least when viewed from below.
Kane stepped on the carpet and checked for life presences. He sensed someone upstairs. Did that mean that the librarian had lied to him? Either way, Kane minded his business and sought for interesting books downstairs by himself.
“These are… rank 1 spells!” Kane perused the books in one of the bookshelves. The entire section was full of them, albeit there were more copies than the variety. Each aisle had a different elemental attribute. Kane searched for the fire element one to match his first spell's element. Some spells caught his interest and conveniently, a protruding paper that had a mini description of the spell was slipped between the pages.
“[Fireball], hurls large flaming energy that condensed into a ball. When it impacts the target, it will create a field of flame.” A ubiquitous spell. Kane had seen many different forms of this spell during his time fighting with mages. They were much stronger than the rank 1 version. He found it interesting that a spell could be improved into a better version of them in diverse ways. Moreover, the spell was very flexible and powerful in many situations based on his experience.
“[Call forth: Scorching Sword], a rank 1 one-handed sword that constantly burns will appear on the caster’s hand. The weapon will drain the caster mana to maintain its form.” The spell was normally not needed for Kane since he had a weapon already. However, it might be useful in certain circumstances such as in magic tournaments as he excelled in melee combat. He disliked using swords, though, because it reminded him of his nemesis. Regardless, it was a useful spell in theory.
For the last spell, “[Marksman’s Bullet], shoots a lightning-fast tiny red-hot projectile from the magic circle, making it suitable for long-range combat. It has a long spell cast duration.” Kane chose this spell in case he needed to ambush an enemy. He most likely would not use it when engaging more than one opponent due to the spell cast duration. The enemy must stay still or have predictable movement.
Other spells were either not interesting or were deemed unimportant for Kane. He had searched for a magical ax spell but unfortunately, he could not find it. Swords and daggers were a more popular weapon choice, it seemed. In the end, he had to stick with [Call forth: Scorching Sword]. Perhaps he could change the form similar to [Fireball] in the future.
Kane brought the first volume of three spell theory books to the table near the fireplace. He decided to read [Fireball] since it had the fewest pages of them all.
*Thud!*
He heard the sound of something falling onto the floor upstairs. The disturbance did not catch his interest.
*Thud!*
Kane twitched his eyebrows. When reading a book with heavy text, he needed a quiet environment. He still paid no heed to it.
*Thud!*
He dropped the book immediately. He ascended the staircase with haste and searched for the suspect. In the distance, he saw a teenage girl lying on the floor, showing her back and her shiny platinum blond hair. She wore the same capelet as Sharon. Did that mean she was a class S student? Beside her, there was a fallen step ladder.
“What happened here?” asked Kane.
The girl immediately crawled backward and screamed, “Hyaa! W-who are you!?” Her voice was akin to a pleasant lullaby. “I have never seen you before and you look… peculiar.”
He took a good look at the girl. She gazed at him with a pair of childlike eyes, brimming with curiosity. When Kane looked slightly downward, he noticed what lay between her thighs due to how short the skirt was. He immediately averted his gaze, rubbed his nose. “The peculiar look is probably because of my horns,” he said, pretending he saw nothing.
“Oooh, I’ve never seen your kind before but that’s not what I meant. You are not like the others in a different sense..” She let out a low hum, still in the same pose.
“Let’s put that aside for now. Your underwear is showing, by the way.” Kane coughed.
The girl immediately closed her legs and covered it with her hands. Her rosy cheeks turned red. Standing up, she buried her face beneath her hands, muttering “Ahh! What have I done!? I've displayed such inappropriate behavior…”
Kane raised his eyebrow. He somewhat expected her to be angry for peeking. “I don't mind at all,” he said. It was a nice view.
“So, you don’t hate it? I’ll stay like this for a while, then.” She smiled.
Did she have a screw loose? Kane scratched his temple. “Err… Just don’t do it in front of anyone else. What were you doing before?”
“I was trying to get that book.” She stood up, pointed at the green book on the top of the shelf. “It’s too high for me as I kept failing to grab it…”
Kane eyed at the book, stroking his chin. The shelf was four times his height. “Is there any taller ladder around here? Or a golem to assist you?”
“This is the tallest ladder, and no, there isn’t a golem like that here. It does exist but I never thought I would need it… I didn’t think that I would run out of books to read.”
“I can get that for you so you don’t have to fall over and over again,” offered Kane.
Her eyes bulged out. A wide smile surfaced. “Really? But you’re way shorter than me. How can you reach it?”
Indeed, Kane’s height was around her bosom. Her forthright remark was akin to a sword stabbing his heart. Clearing his mind, he adjusted the step ladder and walked backward in a few steps. “Not a problem. Just watch.”
He readied his stance, then ran toward the step ladder. He sprung forth into the air, climbing step by step quickly by utilizing the momentum. His toes clung at the edge of the fourth row of the shelf for a moment. He extended upward, barely reaching the top. Kane pinched the bottom corner of the book and tugged it before the gravity pulled him down. He dropped down, safely landing on both feet.
“Here.” Kane offered the book to the girl.
“Woah! That’s amazing! How did you manage to do that?” She applauded lightly and received the book.
“I train my legs every morning. Never thought it would be useful for this situation,” said Kane.
“Ah, I see, I see.” She nodded a couple of times. “Well then, thank you very much for assisting me… Oh right, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Liana.”
“I’m Kane. A new student of this academy.”
“No wonder I can’t recall your face. Are you the new class S student? Where’s your cape, Kane?” asked Liana.
He did consider whether he should lie or not when he encountered a class S student. Because he did not know anything about class S, the lie would be uncovered when he was absent from the classroom. Earning distrust was one of the last things he wanted, so Kane chose to give an honest answer. “I don’t have one because I’m not a class S student.”
“What!? How did you get here then?” As she asked the question, the sound of the elevator gradually filled the room. “Someone’s coming! Hide!” shouted Liana.
“Why—”
“You’re not supposed to be here! Just wait there. You could be in trouble.”