Melch knew he couldn't take the cryptic note with him. He found a quiet corner in the library, away from the other students and the librarian's gaze. He opened the note carefully and began to examine its contents. There was only a single page, its parchment very aged and brittle. It was unfamiliar words, a string of characters and words that did not look like any language he'd ever seen. Yet he transcribed it all into the extra notebook he had brought along with him, paying attention to getting everything exactly right.
The text was in red ink and stood out against the yellowed page. The content in it was "Licriren waris fordis ma rng'to breck to fromis margun dis resquci dios caram adla vdsav ivric mornciv feron astor gravolok derma mcuhi deglsa ferdi amin."
Melch looked at the sentence he had just copied and something strange seemed familiar. It wasn't the weird wordage, it was the way it echoed in his mind when he read it. He remembered something a faint memory or rather something from the moment he was dragged into this world. The oddd gibberish he heard in his mind back then returned:
"Vrak'thor bazzilom pendarvash Frelmox quindrith gol'vurnah Zhorna plimzok treshkaron Gravolok Balthrin quozzith tra'mok."
A chill ran down his spine as he compared the two texts. Coincidence or was it something more? He needed to dig deeper.
He turned to the inside cover of the note and found a borrowing record. The first name on the list was barely visible faded, almost as if it had been erased by time. Only the last name remained: Reyson.
After Reyson, there were two other names: Zale and most surprisingly one of which was Idor Giflyn, His own magic professor had borrowed this very book in the past.
Melch frowned. Why would a professor borrow something like this an apparently insignificant cryptic note? Was this related to the professor's work? If that were the case, did he already know the weird language that filled it? That complicated matters.
He exhaled and slowly he returned the cryptic note to where he found it. He didn't want to make more of an issue than needed out of something. He required more information for now.
Taking the book he had chosen for decoding the ancient forsic mixed writing, he pressed his academy badge against it and stored it safely in the spatial compartment of his badge. With this accomplished, he left the library. He was still absent minded.
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When Melch returned to the dormitory, he found an unusual sight. Leif was sprawled at the very edge of his bed, his limbs hanging off in a precarious manner. Just as Melch stepped into the room, Leif rolled over completely and tumbled to the floor with a loud thud.
"Argh..." Leif groaned before turning his head to look at Melch with a sheepish grin. "Morning, Mr. Serious"
Melch raised an eyebrow. "You call that a graceful landing?"
Leif quickly pushed himself up, using his hands and by spinning himself now into a standing position. "I meant to do that" he said smugly.
Melch sighed. "Of course you did."
Leif grabbed his academy badge and stretched. "I'm starving. Let's go eat."
They made their way to the dormitory dining hall but upon arrival, they found that breakfast had already ended. Leif groaned dramatically.
"This is an injustice" he declared. "They should at least warn us before cutting off food supply."
Melch gave him a look. "They did. It's called a schedule."
Leif ignored him and dragged Melch toward the kitchen instead. Fortunately, the food storage was still accessible and they managed to grab some snacks to tide them over. With that, they stepped outside munching on pieces of bread and dried fruit.
As they began walking around, they bumped into Elissa, who was strolling around the academy grounds.
"Hey, what are you two up to?" she asked taking in the fruit from Leif's overflowing hands.
"Exploring" Leif replied quickly before Melch could decline.
Melch sighed. "I was going to stay in and study."
"Oh, come on, Melch. You always have your nose in a book." Leif said nudging him. "Live a little. Breathe in the fresh air."
Melch looked at him dryly. "The air doesn't seem any fresher today than it was yesterday."
Elissa laughed. "Well, if you're going to explore mind if I tag along?"
Leif clapped her on the shoulder. "Of course, The more the merrier."
Melch shook his head but gave in. He couldn't see how it would do any harm to explore a bit. After all, The academy was huge and he hadn't seen everything yet. With Leif leading the way, much to Melch's dismay the trio set off to explore more of the campus.
As they wandered past the training grounds, they ran into Edwin, Eric and Matt, who seemed to be deep in discussion.
"What's going on?" Elissa asked.
Eric turned to them. “We were just talking about the upcoming arena matches. Apparently, Professor Idor mentioned something about sparring with senior students?”
Leif’s eyes lit up. “Oh, That sounds fun. When is it?”
Matt shrugged. “No exact date yet, but soon.”
Melch frowned. “Why would first years be fighting seniors this soon?”
Edwin crossed his arms. “It’s probably meant as a learning experience. We’ll likely be paired up in teams.”
Leif grinned. "Great. That means we can all fight together. And by 'we', I mean you guys can do the fighting while I provide moral support."
Melch rolled his eyes. "So, nothing useful then."
"Hey, my moral support is invaluable" Leif said putting a hand over his heart dramatically.
Elissa chuckled. "Well, we should prepare regardless. No doubt the seniors will take this as an opportunity to crush our confidence."
Edwin nodded. “Agreed. We’ll need to train hard before the matches begin.”
Melch still preoccupied with thoughts of the cryptic note and its connection to Professor Idor, barely registered the rest of the conversation but he made a mental note to prepare for the upcoming challenge. If anything, it would serve as a good distraction from the mystery he had just uncovered.
For now though, he decided to follow along with his friends. Maybe a day of exploration wouldn't be so terrible after all.