After seeing Kvedo and Erich off, Fullen—who had never truly explored the Trier National Library before—decided he should first familiarize himself with each floor before choosing what to read. Only after gaining an overview could he form a proper study plan.
The classification of libraries was a rigorous discipline. Making it easy for readers to locate the knowledge they needed, so their time was spent learning rather than searching, had cost countless hours of effort from renowned scholars. This principle was universally accepted—as long as books existed, as long as books remained precious, and as long as people wished to build libraries, whether on the original Earth or on this mystical Earth, tremendous effort had always been invested into classification.
Perhaps because civilization in this world had developed on the foundation of the previous Earth, the library systems of both worlds were unexpectedly similar.
The Trier National Library divided its books into ten main categories:Generalia, Theology, History, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Industry, Arts, Language, and Literature.In addition to these ten, the library had one extra category—Livelihood, referring to the books housed on the first floor.
The primary difference from the old Earth system was that Philosophy had been replaced by Theology. Even in modern times, philosophy had never broken away from the scope of Theology. Perhaps the reason was simple: the divine powers of the gods manifested frequently and undeniably. Even Intis's most famous philosopher, Gekai Allen, a thinker often compared to Loen's Lurmi, publicly declared:
"Philosophy is an extension of Theology; only through Theology can philosophy develop."
Secular philosophers were all staunch supporters of Theology—at least outwardly.
Lurmi was a devout believer of the Lord of Storms and had been awarded the Disciple of Storms medal—the highest honor a non-Storm believer could receive.Gekai Allen was similarly devout toward the Eternal Blazing Sun and possessed the Early Morning Sun medal, the equivalent highest honor granted by the Sun Church.
On Earth, people often said:
"The end of science is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is Theology."
It was a controversial and illogical saying.But in this world, where real gods existed, where divine power suppressed even royal authority, and where true gods guarded a polytheistic civilization, this saying had become literal reality.
Returning to the library's floor divisions:
First Floor — Livelihood
This floor contained simplified, practical books drawn from the other categories (except Generalia), focusing on knowledge that could easily be turned into income.The classification here was looser, and the knowledge was shallow but functional.
Second Floor — Generalia, Theology, History
When Fullen stepped onto the second floor, the layout immediately caught his attention.It was divided into three sections: left, right, and center.Though the left and right areas were physically larger, it was the middle section, the Generalia, that mattered most to newcomers.
Generalia was updated frequently. Since new books constantly entered the library, Generalia—being introductory summaries of many subjects—required constant revision, especially in this era of rapid technological advancement.
Most Generalia texts were compiled by believers of the God of Steam and Machinery, who possessed abundant Savants. Creating Generalia was an excellent way for the Steam Church to nurture—and recruit—believers.A smaller portion was compiled by believers of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, simply because some foundational texts were too classic to replace.
The left area was Theology, and the right was History.
History officially recorded only from the Fifth Epoch onward.Books from the Fourth Epoch were destroyed long ago or survived only as incomplete fragments. After all, the Fourth Epoch was the renowned Age of Gods, and mortals of the Fifth Epoch wished to distance themselves from the direct manifestations of gods, which blurred mystery with terror.
A quotation came to Fullen's mind from The Fourth Epoch — Age of Gods by Ron Louis:
"The reasons are complex—no deity directly rules nations anymore, and the method through which gods acquire faith has changed.In the Fourth Epoch, gods took form directly.Faith was given partly due to sheer divine power, and partly because mortals recognized the gods' thoughts.Back then, there was no distinction between true gods and evil gods—they were the same.There were only two kinds of gods: those who ruled nations directly, and those who did not appear openly."
Ron Louis had lived at the end of the Fourth Epoch and witnessed the transition into the Fifth. His book once became a best-seller—until the churches banned it after his death. It undermined the newly formed Alliance of the True Gods.
Today, only fragmented copies remained.His naming system, however, endured:
Fourth Epoch — Age of Gods
Third Epoch — Age of Cataclysm
Second Epoch — Age of Darkness
First Epoch — Age of Chaos
Fifth Epoch — Iron Age
Fullen shook his head.
Such knowledge was useless to ordinary people.Mortals didn't care whether gods had emotions; it had nothing to do with them.Being a shallow believer was perfectly acceptable—no church punished minor faith—but one must have faith.
Third Floor — Social Sciences, Natural Sciences
Of course, "science" in this era differed significantly from the broader definition of science on Earth.
Fourth Floor — Arts, Language
Language books were fewer, mostly focusing on North Continent languages, South Continent languages, and a handful of minority tongues.The South Continent had not yet been officially discovered, but countless works pointed to its existence—a dreamlike, idyllic land waiting beyond the sea.
Fifth Floor — Literature
Novels, poems, songs, epics—endless shelves of written art.
Sixth Floor — Technology, Engineering, Industrial SciencesSeventh Floor — Industry
New disciplines were sprouting like mushrooms.Although the sixth and seventh floors were still sparse compared to the others, it was clear they would soon become the most rapidly expanding parts of the library.
Many scholars believed that the seven floors symbolized the Seven Churches of the world.After all, the God of Steam—the youngest deity—had risen last and, out of necessity, conceded minor symbolic aspects to the six older gods.
In addition, the library contained several vast underground levels dedicated to book storage.These served the borrowing system.Most books had only one copy; only a few classics possessed five copies.The sheer quantity of texts made it impossible for the library to store multiple copies of everything.
Fullen felt a sense of awe.
This library was not merely a building.It was a monument to human thought—a place where mortals touched the edge of eternity.