Chapter 19
Bien said.
"But asking her to join the society in exchange for helping find her friend is too transparent. On the surface, we have no reason to want Maiya to join that badly. She’ll be suspicious."
"My father used to say, ‘If you want something, don’t ask for it—make them want to give it to you.’"
Maiya said.
"What are you two whispering about?"
I turned around.
"If students sneak into the Great Library and get caught, it’s a big deal, right?"
"…That’s right."
"But if even one professor takes the students’ side, it might not be such a big problem. What do you think?"
"…Maybe?"
"I’m close with Professor Rebilton, and if things go wrong, both of us are part of the Combat Magic Society, so we can claim we went in for Combat Magic training. The Combat Magic Society does sometimes go down to the Great Library Labyrinth as part of its activities. But you’re not a member of the society. So we were discussing whether just the two of us should go down to the Great Library."
At that, Maiya seemed to ponder for a moment.
"Wait, doesn’t that mean if I join the Combat Magic Society, I could use the same excuse?"
"That’s true, but joining the society just to go down to the labyrinth might feel like a burden."
"It’s not for the labyrinth—it’s to save my friend. And from what I heard last time, studying Combat Magic doesn’t sound bad either."
I looked at Bien. She seemed impressed but was trying hard to keep a straight face.
"We’ll need to find Senior Rinave."
"Understood. Even Senior Rinave would gladly approve Maiya’s membership."
I felt a bit slighted, but it was as Bien predicted.
∞
"This way."
Maiya led us to the basement of the dormitory building. The basement of the dormitory wasn’t much different from the ground floor. It was just filled with countless rooms. Back when Yurmus Magic School had more students, the basement was used for dormitories, but now, with enough rooms for everyone to have a single, the basement rooms were used as storage for unused items.
At the end of the basement, Maiya approached a loosely hanging padlock, held her magic wand to it, and chanted a spell.
"→Four riddles, three answers. Forty-two. Seventeen. Four hundred four."
The padlock trembled as if in pain under Maiya’s magic.
"→I won’t answer the final question."
The padlock gave up with a clunk and unlocked. It was the ‘Unlocking Spell’ I had learned about. Of course, I couldn’t use it. The room was almost identical to the dormitory rooms I knew, but it was completely empty, without furniture or belongings. When I asked why it was locked if Koshe had gone to the Great Library Labyrinth from here, Maiya explained that she had locked it to avoid detection by patrolling automatons.
Maiya walked to one side of the room, where a wardrobe would normally be, and stopped.
"There must have been a school senior who thought about sneaking into the Great Library."
When Maiya reached out toward the wall, her hand passed right through.
Bien said.
"It’s Illusion Magic."
"Exactly. The automatons probably moved items around and never noticed this secret passage. Follow me."
The two of them went in first, and I followed. I stuck my head in and pulled it back out. The illusion broke, revealing a large hole big enough for a person to walk through. Meanwhile, Maiya cast the ‘Light Spell’ on the tip of a short wooden stick she had prepared.
"→Eternal silence, beyond which pours, let there be a scream."
A warm white light shot from the tip of the stick. The three of us carefully descended the roughly hewn stone stairs.
Yurmus Magic School had the ‘Great Library,’ but beneath it lay the ‘Great Library Labyrinth.’ The two were distinctly different.
In ancient times, a mage believed that to reach the truth, one must know all the knowledge in the world and collected every book by any means necessary. In his later years, the mage realized he could never reach the truth, but he had no regrets. He believed that with so many books, even if he couldn’t, another mage would reach the truth. Since then, countless mages came to the library seeking truth, only to reach similar conclusions. Over time, the place where countless books were gathered became known as the Great Library.
Many mages lived in the Great Library, but none found the truth. Some came in admiration and left disappointed, others lost their goal of finding truth and fought with fellow mages, and some coveted the vast knowledge the library held. These individuals clashed, and spells were devised to protect the books from them. As the magic of the spellbooks themselves got involved, countless spells enveloped the Great Library. Thus, it became a labyrinth.
In Damarat Yuma, a labyrinth generally referred to a highly complex structure infused with magic, and the Great Library Labyrinth was one of the oldest, possibly the first, with origins unknown. Because it was infused with magic, the labyrinth was extremely dangerous, could change organically, and might even have a will of its own. Some said the Council of Mages was created to control and manage the Great Library Labyrinth.
Perhaps for this reason, the Great Library Labyrinth was less frequently raided by adventurers compared to other labyrinths. Occasionally, a mage or scholar would offer a huge reward to hire adventurers to retrieve a specific book, naming the Great Library Labyrinth as the final destination, but there were no tales of gold, ancient kingdom treasures, or divine artifacts sleeping within. Of course, defying the will of the Council of Mages from the outset was another factor.
According to labyrinth scholars who studied the Great Library Labyrinth, ancient spells still protected it. The shelves were filled with magical beasts disguised as books, meaningless jumbles of text lay flat on the floor like tiles, and ‘librarians’ roamed, killing intruders, book defacers, and unauthorized borrowers. Finding a desired book, let alone a useful one, was no easy task.
Yet the tale that ‘the Great Library Labyrinth holds every book in existence’ persisted, quietly fueling the ambition and adventurous spirit of challengers, even if it wasn’t as bustling as other labyrinths.
While walking, Maiya turned to us and said.
"I know Bien is good at magic, but Ethan… are you okay?"
"What?"
Maiya cleared her throat and said.
"I’m grateful you agreed to help. But the Great Library Labyrinth is a dangerous place, especially for someone who can’t use magic. Aren’t you scared?"
Before I could respond, Bien said.
"Well, he’ll be fine."
"Any basis for that? I heard he passed Basic Magic Practice with strength."
Maiya hadn’t taken that class with Rebilton, so she hadn’t seen it herself.
"It wasn’t strength. It was Body Enhancement Magic."
"That’s the kind of power knights use. It’s not real magic."
"Maybe. I don’t know how great Ethan’s abilities are either. I’ve never seen them myself. But since he’s a rare student Professor Rebilton acknowledges, if Ethan isn’t trustworthy, we can at least trust Professor Rebilton."
"Oh, really? I’m seeing him in a new light."
I suddenly felt like picking a fight.
"Test scores don’t guarantee ability in everything, you know? Grades aren’t everything."
The two didn’t back down an inch.
"What an obvious thing to say."
"Grades aren’t everything, but low test scores don’t prove you’re good at other things either. It’s not something to brag about."
I admitted defeat and decided to change the subject.
"Fine, forget about me. How’s your rabbit?"
"You mean Weavre? What about Weavre?"
The brown rabbit Weavre was nestled quietly in Maiya’s arms.
‘At some point, Weavre stopped being visible.’
Few first-year students kept familiars, and not all mages traveled with theirs. But Maiya was one who did, so she stood out. I used to observe other students visiting the Great Library, hoping to find books on the Mazok, in case it might be useful. That’s how I knew Koshe, Maiya’s friend, hadn’t gone missing in the Great Library.
However, since observation wasn’t my main goal, I wasn’t thorough, but I noticed that Maiya’s brown rabbit Weavre was no longer visible. While it was rare, it wasn’t unheard of for a mage to dismiss or reverse-summon their familiar due to an accident or necessity. So, I was probing to see if there was an issue with Weavre.
I said.
"No, I mean, maintaining a familiar constantly consumes Magical Power, right? Isn’t that tough?"
"Oh, you’re worried about me? It is, but it’s also a form of training. Besides, small creatures like this are easy to maintain once you have enough skill."
Bien chimed in cluelessly.
"Opinions vary among mages, but some say that beginners summoning small animals actually helps build a mage ’s capabilities."
"…Right."
"Ethan, if you keep working hard, you might one day summon an impressive familiar like your sister."
"Oh, yeah. Didn’t Arka summon hers before enrolling? I heard she passed the magic school entrance interview without even taking it."
"That’s the opposite of what I heard. During Arka’s entrance interview, every professor in the school, even the Dean, lined up to talk to her."
I sighed as the two talked about my sister Arka and her familiar. I wasn’t on great terms with that familiar.
Soon, the stairs ended. A small cave-like space appeared, with a rotting, collapsed wooden bookshelf coming into view first. Below it, books were piled like a grave, damp and moldy, with fluorescent mushrooms growing on them.
Bien said.
"It’s a ‘book tomb.’"
"Book tomb?"
When Maiya asked, Bien explained.
"I read about it in a book on the Great Library Labyrinth. It’s said that librarians managing the labyrinth, as well as intruders who entered the library, discarded worthless books here to lighten their load before leaving. Book fanatics or adventurers who gave up their quests sometimes took books from these tombs. Over time, only trash-like books accumulated, forming these book tombs. We’ll probably see more of them for a while. The books around here have been checked thousands of times by passersby, so they’re likely worthless."
As Bien said, more bookshelves and larger book tombs lined both sides, leaving just enough space for one person to walk, forming slopes. The books were practically encroaching on the path, and the three of us felt an odd guilt as we stepped on them.
We had entered the Great Library, but since nothing significant happened, Maiya seemed to relax.
"This entrance area is probably safe, right?"
"Maybe. But we can’t let our guard down completely. Once we’re in the labyrinth, we’re under its influence. Anything bad that can happen in a labyrinth shouldn’t surprise us. And…"
"And?"
Suddenly, a slope of books on one side collapsed, trapping all three of our feet under books, rendering us immobile. Maiya even fell. I knew this wasn’t a coincidence.
Bien pointed at the collapsed pile.
"‘Bookworms’!"
I knew this one. A beetle-like magical beast the size of a human head that lived hidden in books. It looked like a flat, worn book page but was strong enough to move easily under the dense weight of books. It used this ability to lurk under books, waiting for prey, then toppled books and shelves to trap its target before leaping up and tearing into flesh with its powerful jaws.
"→If you don’t call, the pitiful one that disappears…"
Maiya chanted a spell, but she stumbled over the words, and it was too slow. I saw Bien’s crystal forming, but it didn’t seem like it would fire in time. I knew well, having been hit by that crystal before.
The bookworm leaped toward Maiya’s face.
I took a deep breath. The Mana in the air entered my lungs, circulated through my system, and converted into Magical Power in my lower abdomen. The Magical Power flowed through my vital channels, strengthening each muscle I needed to leap toward the bookworm. But this alone wasn’t enough.
Through ‘Archive: Human Anatomy (C),’ I knew the existence and location of the nervous system. This pathway, from peripheral nerves to the spinal cord’s central nerves, transmitted sensations from the body’s extremities to the brain and relayed the brain’s commands back to the extremities.
‘In other words, the nervous system is about transmission. Just as strengthening muscles with Magical Power increases strength, strengthening the nervous system with Magical Power…’
I kicked away the pile of books tangled around my feet and sprang forward.
‘…makes you faster.’
My sword sliced through the bookworm.