Neither of them argued. They simply followed Robert to their new residence in the Arcane Federation: a brand-new house he had just purchased.
Finally, Robert handed the keys to Anaxa, who seemed more reliable than Hyacine (who looked too delicate), bowed to them, and said, "Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything. I'll take my leave now."
Anaxa nodded, accepted the keys, and unlocked the door. The two first stored their luggage in their respective bedrooms. Then, without wasting a moment, Anaxa headed to the Arcane Federation Library, while Hyacine went to the commercial district.
Let's start with Anaxa. As he walked down the street, he surveyed his surroundings. The place was remarkably clean and orderly—no trash littered the roadside, and no one relieved themselves in public. While still not quite on par with Okhema, it already surpassed ninety-nine percent of places in this world.
After all, the vast majority of residents here were wizards—highly educated intellectuals with impeccable standards.
The streets were sparsely populated, with only scattered figures in Mage Robes hurrying by. Their brisk pace and urgent demeanor suggested they were rushing to some important task.
Periodically, one or two wizards would streak across the sky. Some used the Third-Level spell Fly, while others rode enchanted brooms powered by Magic Items.
There seemed to be no public transportation here—no Okheman Magitech Vehicles, no horse-drawn carriages from normal nations—nothing. Wizards traveled solely by flight.
What? You can't cast Fly? Can't even manage a Third-Level spell? Pathetic! If you're weak, train harder! Who else is to blame?
This proved somewhat inconvenient for Anaxa. Having originally planned to hire a carriage, he was now forced to walk. Fortunately, the Arcane Federation's Grand Library was massive and centrally located, making it impossible to get lost.
After that... his journey took a full three hours. When he finally arrived at his destination, Anaxa gazed up at the towering structure before him. The Library resembled a massive cylindrical tower, at least twenty stories high, with entrances on each floor. Looking up, he could see wizards soaring through the air like birds.
Each floor undoubtedly housed different collections of books. A wizard seeking a particular volume could simply fly directly to the appropriate level. But for Anaxa, this presented a frustrating dilemma.
For Mydei, Tribios, Aglaea, Hyacine, and others, flight seemed as natural as breathing—a matter of pure willpower. If they wished to fly, they simply did. But Cipher, Castorice, and Anaxa lacked this innate ability entirely.
Fortunately, the Library wasn't solely accessible by flight. Inside, spiraling staircases wound around the central core. Anaxa took a deep breath and began climbing.
Huff... huff...
What was truly absurd was that after only a short climb, he already felt a twinge of fatigue. It wasn't just the stairs; the three-hour trek had already drained a significant portion of his strength.
But he was a demigod! How could such a short climb leave him even slightly fatigued? The mere fact that he could feel fatigue was absurd.
Suddenly, he remembered a story quest in the Honkai: Star Rail game where Anaxa had to climb a mountain. As a scholarly recluse who never exercised, Anaxa was utterly exhausted by the climb. In that quest, Anaxa was still a mortal, not yet a demigod, which seemed perfectly reasonable.
However, the quest also included a flashback: when the previous Reason Titan, Calypso, had climbed the same mountain, she had been equally exhausted. She even declared, "I'd rather leap from this peak and fall to my death than exercise a single step further!"
But the Calypso in that memory was already a Demigod of Reason! This meant that becoming a Demigod of Reason didn't improve physical stamina in the slightest.
Anaxa paused, resting his hands on his knees, silently griping to himself: This is ridiculous! If Cipher or Aglaea were here, they could have sprinted the entire way without breaking a sweat.
His current body inexplicably reminded him of his frail, former self from his previous life. Well, perhaps Anaxa's physique was actually slightly better than his own had been.
After resting for a while, just as Anaxa was about to continue climbing higher, a librarian stopped him. The librarian's gaze swept over Anaxa, lingering on his chest. Finding nothing there, he said, "The upper levels are reserved for Nine-Tower Teachers and Gold-tier Wizards. You're just a newbie who can't even cast Fly—better save your energy. Use your time to review the basics on the first floor instead. You wouldn't understand the advanced texts up there anyway."
Anaxa: "?"
Hey buddy, is this really our first meeting? Why the snide remarks?
Still, Anaxa didn't get angry. After considering the librarian's words, he realized there was some truth to them—not the snide parts, of course, but the part about the upper levels being reserved for more advanced Wizards.
In the Arcane Federation, knowledge wasn't free; on the contrary, it was the nation's most precious and expensive treasure, and naturally, not just anyone could access it.
Calmly, Anaxa asked, "And what about after that? Are there further access restrictions on the higher floors?"
"Ah... ah?" This time, it was the librarian's turn to be dumbfounded. In the past, when he'd mocked novice wizards like this, they would either flush red with anger and argue with him or lower their heads and slink away. But he'd never encountered someone who calmly pressed for more information like this.
Perhaps driven by professional instinct, he paused for a moment before saying, "Only Legendary-grade wizards can access the fifteenth floor and above. But this Library only records Seventh-Level Magic at most. For more profound arcane knowledge—Eighth-Level and Ninth-Level spells—you'll need to consult the Nine Tower Lords."
If that were true, did it mean all Nine Tower Lords had mastered Eighth-Level and even Ninth-Level Magic? Were they all at a power level Beyond Legendary?
To think, the Empire and Alliance each had only one such powerhouse, yet the Arcane Federation boasted nine of them!
As Anaxa pondered this, he said, "Alright, I understand. I'll try to visit the upper floors next time. For now, I'll browse the lower levels."
With that, Anaxa turned and walked away, leaving the librarian utterly bewildered. The librarian muttered to himself, "Wait, what did that guy mean? He'll become a Gold-tier wizard by his next visit? What nonsense!"
Little did the librarian know, his next encounter with Anaxa would come far sooner than he imagined.