Surprisingly, the library isn’t beside the Center Hall, the core of the Grand Hall where all magic classes are held and research is conducted. I thought it was strange until Kierra and I arrive in front of it.
This place wouldn’t fit next to it. When I think of libraries, well, I’ve never been to one. They’re fairly rare as books are precious treasures. The closest thing to it I can imagine is the study in the Tome family’s estate in Summer Spire. A building filled with many more bookcases and maybe a few tables for people to read them.
Yeah…no.
Rising up as high as a small palace is the main building made of smooth, white stone, the top covered by an amazing stained-glass depicting legendary events I don’t have the knowledge to recognize. Surrounding it are four small spires, made of the same white stone, one for each corner. They all have two smaller spires to either side.
At the top of each spire are several gems that look suspiciously like the different affinity stones. Which I’m having trouble believing because if they are, at that size, they’d be worth more than a fortune. Nope, just very fancy decorations.
“Incredible. Those spires are giant artifacts,” Geneva says, dashing my denial. She asked to tag along as she’s also interested in a center of knowledge. I agreed, thinking the more my teacher knows, the better it benefits me.
“Can you tell what they do?” Kierra asks curiously.
“The inscriptions on the stones are quite fine. Hm, interesting. I didn’t know humanity had found so many words of power. It is a defense, using the stones’ natural ability to collect the different types of mana in the air to construct a barrier. Even more amazingly, the spires are designed to link together and share power, allowing the enchantment to run longer. When activated, I believe it can hold against all I could throw against it.”
“That is amazing,” I murmur.
“It is a good toy but it is far too inflexible. That shield is the only function and the enchantment is quite fragile. If someone were to sabotage even one of the spires, the entire thing operates at a fraction of its power and becomes practically useless. If two are taken down, I don’t think it’d be able to operate. Reminds me of the ancient artifacts sometimes found on Burning Earth.”
“You’re saying succubi are enchanters!?”
The look she gives me is pity mixed with amusement. “Lou, mana works the same no matter the plane. Spellcrafting has a good dose of intention as well as logic involved so creatures can use their own language to work them but mana speaks one language, the words of power. Of course we are artificers. Every suitably evolved race is.”
My thoughts race. This is…incredible. Enchanting is a relatively new field. New discoveries are slow as even the tiniest detail off will fail to produce a result. Because of the that and summoning’s overall low evaluation amongst the magical community, I don’t think anyone’s thought of asking an elemental for artificing help.
This could be a monumental discovery!
Ah, calm down for a moment. As much as progressing my field excites me, revealing this information won’t do me any good right now. This is another ace up my sleeve. “Does that mean you could put up a defensive enchantment around our house?”
Geneva smiles. “I could. However, without the stones to gather and store the appropriate mana, it would have to be powered by an individual, which would make it quite redundant.”
“Getting our hands on those stones will be difficult.” They don’t exactly grow on trees. Most likely the royal family has a restriction on their trade as they are essential for the defense of the kingdom. Even with our connection to the Guiness Company, convincing the merchants to trade us a simple stone of the four basic elements might take more than our ample funds.
“Oh? Are the stones so rare on this plane? Then you simply need to open a rift to another plane where they are abundant.”
Her words shock me so bad I trip. Thankfully, Kierra catches me. Frickin’ all-powerful elemental. If you keep throwing out these golden nuggets of information, you’re going to give me a heart attack.
That is an amazing idea. If I could summon an elemental and make a deal, we could agree to a time of summoning in which they could bring the stones over with them. Why has no one thought of this? Once again, summoning has proved itself to be the best. “You’re amazing and I adore you.”
Geneva gives me a big smile, tail waving happily. “I can almost taste your approval, my summoner.”
Shamelessly asking for a piece of me. It’s fine. She’s earned it. “How about this? One bite when we get home and a whole finger for every contract we can successfully negotiate.”
Her tail is whipping frantically. “I already have several ideas of those we may be able to contact.”
“I would like it if there were a few books on the body’s structure,” Kierra adds off-handedly. “My magic can help me gain an understanding of a creature’s form and I make judgments from there. It would be better if there were studies to help me understand that knowledge better.”
Our little group is filled with excitement as walk through the massive arch of the front door.
My first view of the library is…underwhelming. There are the many bookcases I imagined, all lined up neatly along the far-left wall, but the majority of the floor is dominated by what looks like a study space, a dozen tables in two columns with several chairs for groups. I can see several acolytes and even a few initiates sitting at them, books piled up beside them.
To the far right is a younger man standing behind a desk, checking books before stacking them on different trays. That completely ordinary sight is made amazing by the creatures circling him.
I’ve never seen one before but I recognize their appearance; pure white balls with a single golden eye and ethereal blue wings that leave a trail of light when they fly. They’re Snow Wisps from the Mirage Forest plane.
When he touches one of the stacks on the trays, a wisp swoops in. Flapping their wings, the tray is lifted into the air and they carry it off into the library.
This is my first time meeting a summoner outside of my family. Hmph, Grimoires don’t count. A strange warmth fills my chest. How to describe it? It’s like being in a crowd of strangers and suddenly seeing an old acquaintance.
He looks up from his books as we stop in front of the desk. His eyes first land on Kierra, unsurprisingly, then goes to Geneva and finally to Bell who is perched on my shoulders. He gives me a warm smile.
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Fellow comrade recognized.
“Let me guess.” He leans on the desk and points at me. “Initiate?”
“How could you tell?”
“Nothing special. This is just about the time the initiates come. Most of the senior students stay away for the first two weeks of the spring semester to avoid the mess. So, I’m guessing you need to know the basics?”
“If you would.”
“Simple, really. Everything on the first floor is fair game but it doesn’t leave the library. You need a special permit for that. You also need a special permit to reach the higher floors, though it can be waived up to the third floor if you have a teacher escorting you. No food or drinks allowed. You break it, you buy it. Simple, right?”
“Very simple.”
“If you want my advice, you shouldn’t bother. The books here won’t help much for initiate classes. Those you see here are trying to get an idea on what they want to specialize in or are being personally mentored. You’d be better off flipping through summoning records.” His eyes flick to my succubi. “By the way, I’m Kristoff.”
“Lou.” I shake his outstretched hand. “We’ll look around for now but I’ll definitely be around to see those summoning records.”
“Sure. I work here in the mornings on Restday and Saintsday but my evenings are open. If you want, I could show you around.”
Hm? Now, are you being friendly because you are impressed by me or my elementals? The fact that he may be a good person doesn’t come into the equation. The possibility is so remote that seriously contemplating it when examining people’s motives is stupid.
Huh? I’ve already met such a person? Alana is clearly a freak. I like her but I’m not going to let one saint candidate color my vision.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
We walk towards the bookshelves. Each bookcase has a gold plaque separating the different sections. Kristoff was right. Going into the Mana Theory section, I randomly grab a book and scan the content.
Ah. Seems the library assistant was right. Despite many of my classes being focused around the most basic uses of mana, the text heavy book’s dense information is far beyond what is being taught now. “So,” I ask putting the book back. “Thoughts?”
“A little friendly, a little horny, a lot of wanting to get close to a future influential summoner. He recognizes you from your paper on third affinity thralls. Those in the advanced class studied it.”
My ego comfortably inflates from being recognized. Oh, how glorious it would be let Geneva show off her true might and catapult me into summoner history. My time will come. “Hm. I want to learn more but I don’t want to jump ahead of myself here. Is any of this useful to you?”
“For my own advancement, no, but I have some hope for the higher floors. The enchantments protecting them are quite extensive for what I’ve seen of humans so far.” You can see them from here? How? “As for your instruction, I agree with Kristoff. It would be much more beneficial to focus on your summoning for now than try to skip over the basics.”
“Yeah. Let’s go. We’ve still got a party to prepare for.” Sigh. Today was supposed to be a nice outing with my family, and I do consider my elementals family as every good summoner should, but instead I have to waste time socializing with nobles. I won’t even have a chance of seeing the flying mounts, saints damn them all. “Where’s…”
My question peters off when I see Kierra walking back toward me.
“Seems even a favored teacher still has to follow the rules.” She shrugs. “I need a few permits before I am allowed onto the higher floors where advanced anatomy is stored and another to remove the books. Shame. From what I saw of the lower floors, they have information on not just people but several types of manabeasts.”
“Why? It’s just books on animal parts.”
“Ah. But those books also contain the alchemical uses for said parts, highly valuable information. Not that I care about suspicious potions.”
Alchemy. Strange profession. Things touched by mana retain their power in death for a time and if harvested correctly, can be used in elixirs and powders. It’s not completely illogical as a beast can be studied in life to gain a vague understanding of its alchemical use but still dangerous and unpredictable.
Especially dangerous. Bad potions tend to be either poisonous or explosive. At least that’s what Father told me. He never trusts an alchemist and I’ve inherited his skepticism.
“I’m sure Aurelius will be able to sort that out for you.”
“Mm. Probably over dinner.”
Ugh. That’s a low-blow, damn elf. I walk past her with a frown as she chuckles, dodging the hand that reaches out for me and waving to Kristoff on my way out. The get together isn’t until the evening so we have some time. While I did want to visit the Summoning Hall today, it can be put off now that I have a willing guide to take me anytime.
Therefore, the market takes precedence. I need to visit the Guiness Company. I can hit three birds with one trip there; visiting Maxine, obtaining a gift for the host of this party so I don’t seem like an uncultured swine from the start, and obtaining information on this Pot-or-whatever guy who’s suddenly taken an interest in me.