Over the past month, the central library had quietly become Rein’s second home. That familiarity eventually led him to befriend a senior assistant librarian named Joanna—a third-year student from the DVM department, just like him, who worked part-time here.

  Joanna was easy to recognize—thick-lensed glasses perpetually sliding down the bridge of her nose, freckles dusted across her face beneath neatly braided red hair. She carried herself with constant nervous energy, yet beneath that timid exterior was a talent that genuinely impressed Rein.

  She could recall the exact location of hundreds of thousands of volumes as if every one of them were stacked beside her bed.

  Rein lifted his gaze from the letters on the page—now beginning to blur—and leaned back in his chair. His eyes drifted past the mountain of books on the table to the towering oak shelves that looked capable of swallowing the ceiling whole.

  The sight pulled him back to his first day here.

  That day, he’d wandered in a daze through a labyrinth with no end in sight. The library’s classification system was so bizarre that anyone raised on Dewey or the Library of Congress could only clutch his head in helpless frustration.

  He’d spotted a sign marked “D,” assumed it meant history, and marched in—only to discover that “D” here stood for District, filled with old tax records and ancient land deeds.

  When letters failed him, he gambled on numbers.

  He followed a sign labeled “7,” hoping for something like art—dragon paintings, maybe sketches of prehistoric beasts.

  Instead, he nearly collapsed.

  Here, “7” referred to the Seven Mage Towers of Arcadia. Nothing but construction histories and structural manuals detailing the physical design of each tower packed the shelves.

  “Then where am I supposed to find books about dragons…?” Rein raked a hand through his already messy hair and stared at the endless shelves in defeat.

  “You need the Outland section.”

  The clear voice behind him made him turn.

  A girl stood there, carrying a stack of books so tall it nearly swallowed her face. She crouched and set the pile down with practiced ease. Only then did he notice the red braid, the glasses—before she flicked her hand and released a thin thread of mana.

  The books lifted into the air and slid smoothly into empty spaces on the shelves—precise, effortless, perfect.

  Psychokinesis? Rein raised an eyebrow.

  In theory, it was a cantrip-level spell with enormous utility. But controlling this many objects with such precision demanded absurd mental processing power and brutal training.

  Yet she did it without even glancing at the shelves.

  “Outland?” Rein asked, exhaustion seeping into his voice. “And where exactly is that?”

  Joanna flushed. “If you’re not in a hurry… let me finish shelving these first. Then I’ll take you there.”

  That was how Joanna became his unofficial guide to this fortress of knowledge.

  As they walked, she explained the building’s history—centuries old—along with a classification system that felt frankly insane.

  Geography categorized this library.

  The ground floor gathered every discipline connected to the continent of Aetheria.

  The second floor split into two wings: north for Galathor, south for Arvandor.

  On the third floor, the east held tomes from Elderia, the west from Avonia.

  And the top floor housed miscellaneous collections, meeting rooms, and the archive.

  “They arranged it this way because of the founder,” Joanna said, weaving through narrow aisles with surprising confidence. “A geographer from Aetheria named Eratos. If you don’t know your maps, it’s easy to get lost.”

  Rein glanced up toward the ceiling.

  Hmph. Eratos, huh… more like an old ghost cackling every time some poor soul got lost in the labyrinth he built.

  “Oh—right. The Outland section.” Joanna adjusted her glasses. “It’s past the Angel Falls area. Just a little farther.”

  She led him between two shelves stretching endlessly in both directions.

  Who would have thought that librarians would file books about dragons under "Outland" simply because dragons didn’t belong to human civilization?

  Joanna climbed a rolling ladder, pulled out a thick volume, and handed it down.

  “Dragons are around this area,” she said. “High mountains. Deep caves. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”

  “Shouldn’t be hard…” Rein groaned, staring at the shelves that looked more like city walls.

  And how am I supposed to know which shelf is a cave… and which shelf is a mountain?

  On the way back, conversation came easily. Both were bookworms, and whenever Rein asked about spellbooks or old records, Joanna answered without holding back.

  She admitted—shyly—that she’d recognized him from the start. During the Arcadia Grand Magic Tournament, she and her group of commoner friends had quietly cheered for him in secret.

  It wasn’t often someone from DVM got to stand on a continental stage.

  They’d passed each other in Devil’s Den corridors before, but nerves had always stopped her from speaking.

  Back then, she said, to outsiders Rein seemed arrogant—cold—like he didn’t care about anyone.

  “Hah…” Rein sighed.

  The previous Rein really did leave behind a masterpiece of adverse publicity.

  Every new fragment of that infamous reputation carried the same realization: changing the Academy’s perception might be harder than solving any spell equation.

  …

  Rein returned his focus to the pile of tomes on the table.

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  His left hand flipped pages at speed, eyes sweeping over every line—then funneling those images to LIZ for processing, summarization, and reconstruction into a structure he could actually use.

  This kind of “data mining” slashed the time he would’ve otherwise spent drowning in paper.

  Most of the books stacked high around him dealt with dragonkind: spell treatises, ancient histories, fragmented legends. Since LIZ’s original database still had a massive hole, the smartest move was simple—vacuum up as much raw data as the Academy’s Central Library could offer, then analyze it until something—anything—linked back to the Ancient Dragonic Language or the Dragon’s Speech buried beneath centuries of time.

  Even without reading every line carefully, turning pages nonstop for hours still wore him down.

  His one cure for boredom was to take out “Nighty,” his black pen, and spin it through the fingers of his right hand—smooth, practiced—while his left continued its relentless work as a living scanner.

  Then, in the middle of his focus, his eyes flicked toward the glass-paneled wooden door of the private reading room.

  Joanna was there—waving frantically, panic written all over her face.

  Rein rose and opened the door.

  Joanna practically lunged inside, whispering with far too much excitement for a place like this.

  “Something big happened, Rein—!”

  She blurted the last word too loudly, then clapped a hand over her mouth as the weight of library rules finally caught up with her. She glanced left and right, paranoid.

  “What is it?” Rein asked with a faint smile.

  Despite being a third-year senior, with that jumpy behavior she still looked like a startled little girl.

  “The Student Council’s Guardian Unit is searching for you,” she whispered urgently. “They’re increasing manpower—blanket-search style. A few of them came here earlier, asking if anyone had seen someone matching your description. I told them I hadn’t. They only just left.”

  “And then what?” Rein raised an eyebrow, as if the danger creeping toward him were nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

  Joanna stared at him, eyes wide. “Are you seriously still calm? Everyone knows the Guardian Unit—they’re violence addicts. The Council’s bloodhounds. They won’t let this go.”

  Worry etched deep into her face.

  “Your situation is all over the Academy,” she continued. “And the Crown family has someone on the Council. Marcus’s half-brother—Lance Crown. Rein… I’m telling you honestly. That guy is not ordinary.”

  She swallowed, then met his eyes with anxious devotion. “You have to be careful.”

  Rein sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Peaceful time always passes too fast.”

  He returned to the table and closed the thick tome with care, asking Joanna to keep the books safe. She blinked, confused—because in her mind, he should’ve been planning the fastest escape possible.

  “Wait… you still think you’ll have time to come back and read these?”

  Rein clipped his pen to his cloak pocket and looked back at her, calm confidence settled beneath his expression.

  “I’ll come back,” he said. “But first—can I ask you something?”

  “Y-Yes! Of course!”

  Joanna responded instantly, almost relieved—eager to help the “commoners’ hero” she’d crowned in her own heart. In her mind, she was already digging through memories of secret places inside the Academy where the Guardians would never find him until the storm passed.

  “The student council building,” Rein said calmly. “Where is it?”

  He slipped on his black cloak. Joanna froze, mouth falling open, eyes wide—as if she’d just watched someone march up to the Dragon King’s fortress and knock with a bare hand.

  …

  To the students of the Academy, the Student Council building at the heart of the Foundation Zone wasn’t merely an office.

  It was a cathedral of power.

  White marble stairs rose like a road to heaven, pressing visitors into smallness before they reached the doors. Twelve massive stone columns bore the structure like guardian deities—each thick enough to require four people to encircle, a monument to the Council’s twelve-member committee.

  Above them, a towering triangular pediment displayed high-relief sculptures of legendary heroes. And crowning it all was a vast white dome beneath a clear blue sky—centuries of authority rendered untouchable.

  On the grand plaza before it, over fifty Guardians stood in formation.

  “Our target is a first-year named Rein,” the unit leader barked. “We will apprehend him and bring him in for interrogation. Authorization has been granted for full force.”

  Mobilizing fifty Guardians like this meant the prey was not ordinary.

  A murmur rose.

  “Wait… is that the Rein who took third place in the last grand tournament?”

  Unease rippled through the ranks.

  The leader roared to steady them.

  “His rank doesn’t matter,” the unit leader snapped. “We are the Student Council’s Guardian Unit.”

  He inhaled slowly, then lowered his voice.

  “And this operation is being led by two Masters.”

  He flicked a hand aside.

  Two third-year students stepped out from the rear of the formation.

  They looked like mirrored reflections—bright green hair combed to opposite sides, snake tattoos coiled along their necks in perfect symmetry. Even their earrings matched, deliberately swapped.

  “T-Twin Vipers…”

  The name rippled through the ranks in fearful whispers.

  Everyone at the Academy knew them. Lance Crown’s personal guards—slipped into the Guardian Unit without selection, backed purely by influence. The Academy whispered about them: sadists who enjoyed breaking victims, commoner or noble alike.

  People who crossed them ended up crippled, vanished—or withdrew just to survive.

  And yet, shielded by the Crown family, the Twin Vipers floated above consequence.

  “That first-year’s finished.”

  “The Crowns won’t let him keep standing in Arcadia.”

  The chatter thickened.

  “All right. Enough talk,” the leader said, flashing a savage grin. “Check your staves and equipment.”

  He raised a hand.

  “It’s time to hunt.”

  The Guardians answered with heated enthusiasm, inspecting their gear, ready to surge forward from the plaza.

  And then—

  “Ugh… took a while to walk here. I’m sweating for no reason.”

  A tired voice drifted from the very back of the perfectly aligned formation.

  A messy-haired boy in a first-year uniform stood there, dark-blue eyes faintly irritated. His black cloak fluttered, and the emblem of third place from the Grand Magic Tournament glinted on his chest.

  He scratched his head and glanced around the plaza.

  “So this is the Student Council, huh? Big as the rumors say…”

  He tilted his head.

  “By the way—are you guys lining up in the sun to buy something or what?”

  An oppressive silence settled over the plaza before the Student Council, lingering for a brief but suffocating moment.

  The same question echoed through the minds of more than fifty Guardians at once.

  Since when has he been standing there?

  And why did none of us—mages at the Expert level—sense even the slightest movement?

  “H-Hey… that’s him! That’s the first-year named Rein!”

  One guardian shouted in shock, like someone who had just seen a ghost in broad daylight. The target they had been preparing to hunt had appeared right in front of them—far too close, far too suddenly.

  For a single heartbeat, everyone froze—minds blank, bodies refusing to move.

  Then the unit leader’s furious roar snapped them back to reality.

  “What are you idiots standing around for?! Arrest him—now! And if he resists, beat him to death! Break an arm, a leg—whatever it takes!”

  Rein lifted a hand and scratched at his messy hair, calmly observing the chaos unfolding before him—his expression utterly indifferent.

  “Hey… don’t you people know how to sit down and talk things through like civilized—”

  He didn’t even get to finish the sentence.

  A storm of attack spells erupted, crashing down on him all at once.

  Dozens of Magic Missiles curved through the air toward their target.

  Ice Bolts—sharp as lances—followed in their wake.

  Fire Bolts burned crimson as they screamed forward, scorching the air itself.

  Each spell was released with ruthless efficiency, amplified by enchanted items that crushed cast time to the absolute minimum and compressed mana density to lethal levels.

  The intent was clear.

  They were trying to end it in a single volley.

  Rein stared at the incoming barrage, then let out a quiet, almost thoughtful remark.

  “So this is how they welcome guests around here, huh?”

  These entries expand the lore and mechanics introduced in this chapter.

  Completely optional—read only if you enjoy diving deeper into the system.

  Key Characters

  Joanna

  A third-year student from the DVM Department (Department of Variant Magic), Joanna works as a part-time librarian in the Academy’s Central Library. Despite her timid demeanor, she possesses exceptional memory and spell control, particularly in Psychokinesis. Rein refers to her as his “unofficial guide” to the labyrinthine library, and she previously supported him during the Grand Magic Tournament.

  Twin Vipers

  Identical third-year students and personal enforcers of Lance Crown, marked by symmetrical tattoos and matching accessories. Known for their brutality, they operate outside traditional meritocracy due to noble status.

  They appear here to lead the assault on Rein with full authorization to use force.

  Location

  Central Library (Arcadia Academy of Magic)

  An immense, multi-story structure arranged according to geographical classification rather than subject matter—an unconventional system devised by a historical geographer named Eratos.

  – Floor Layout:

  – Ground Floor: Focused on the continent of Aetheria.

  – Second Floor: Split between Galathor (north wing) and Arvandor (south).

  – Third Floor: Elderia (east) and Avonia (west).

  – Top Floor: Miscellaneous collections, archives, and meeting rooms.

  – The labyrinthine organization often confuses students unfamiliar with continental geography.

  Outland Section (Central Library)

  A specific library zone categorized under non-human, non-civilized regions. The library files books about creatures like dragons in this zone. The term “Outland” implies lands beyond the dominion of human nations or structured civilizations.

  Student Council Building (Foundation Zone)

  A monumental structure symbolizing the peak of political power at Arcadia Academy. Features include:

  – Twelve colossal columns (representing the council members)

  – A white dome and high-relief sculptures

  – Vast marble stairways designed to intimidate

  Described as a “cathedral of power”, this is where Rein confronts the Council directly.

  Magic & Spell Techniques

  Psychokinesis (Cantrip-Level Spell)

  A low-tier utility spell involving precise movement of physical objects through mental control and mana threads.

  Joanna demonstrates remarkable mastery—levitating and precisely shelving dozens of heavy tomes without error. Though often underestimated, true precision psychokinesis demands exceptional mental processing ability.

  Type: Offensive Magic

  Element: Water / Ice

  Tier: Primary Troposphere-Tier

  Common Users: Battle mages, military casters, Guardian Unit cadets

  Description:

  Ice Bolt is a classic offensive spell that forms a sharp, fast-moving projectile of magically compressed ice, typically the size of a dagger or short spear. Upon impact, the bolt can pierce flesh or armor and explode into sharp fragments, inflicting both puncture and frost damage.

  Function:

  Formed by rapidly condensing ambient moisture or caster’s internal mana into an icy spike.

  – Can freeze surface layers of the target’s body on contact.

  – Effective against unarmored targets and elemental enemies vulnerable to cold.

  – May cause slowed movement or numbness due to cold conduction.

  Range:

  Usually effective up to 30–50 feet (can vary based on caster’s power and focus).

  Casting Time:

  Fast. Often used in rapid succession in combat.

  Combat Use:

  – Can be used to suppress or wound opponents with low defense.

  – Often cast in bursts or sequences with other elemental bolts (e.g., fire or lightning).

  – In skilled hands, it can be sharpened to needle-thin precision or spread into a cluster shot.

  Risks / Weaknesses:

  – Ineffective against fire-based enemies or heavy armor.

  – Loses form quickly in high-heat environments.

  – Easily countered by barrier or deflection spells.

  Codex Note:

  In Arcadia Academy settings, Ice Bolt is a standard component of Guardian Unit training, used in crowd suppression and targeted attacks. Though simple, mastery over its control and precision can distinguish a novice from a disciplined combat mage.

  Other

  Library Classification System (Eratos Model)

  Designed by Eratos, a famed geographer, the Academy Library’s classification scheme organizes texts by continent and geography rather than academic subject.

  This results in categories like:

  – “District D” — tax records and land deeds

  – “Section 7” — histories of the Seven Mage Towers

  – “Outland” — creatures outside human civilization, such as dragons