They made their way further and further into the city, closing in towards the center. They headed towards a very specific giant tree, over three hundred meters wide at the heart of Elenora. This was where the Great Library awaited.
As they got closer, it was visually obvious that magic had been used to shape the growth of nature to form arches, doors, windows, and balconies. And standing outside the entrance was a guard.
She was dressed in blue robes, with markings over her cheeks and silver hair. Most notable however were the dark bags under her eyes.
As the two approached, she spoke to them flatly. "State your purpose."
Lumi took a step forward. "My name is Lumi." He gestured towards Lena. "And she is Lena. We've come to request permission for entry to see Merath. We wish to become magicians."
This was subtle, but important. Merath did not like excessive honorifics such as "Lord", so it was best to say his name directly.
The guard's eyes flicked toward Lena, who gave a wide smile and a small wave.
In truth, the guard was less of a guard, and more of a gatekeeper whose presence served to remind everyone that you shouldn't bother Merath with trivialities.
There was a long pause. She scanned Lena, Lumi, then back to Lena. She looked like she wanted to ask a question, but simply sighed instead. Then the guard slowly moved aside. "You may enter."
The two made their way inside. The vast majority of the walls were composed of bookshelves. Even the ceiling had pockets for extra scrolls or books.
A man was inside standing on the second floor, flipping through a book. He was visibly ancient, with a long, flowing silver-gray beard and matching mustache on a solemn, aged face.
He wore a tall, pointed white hat decorated with various yellow stars along the brim. His robes were long, white and flowing, with more yellow stars across as accents. Floating next to him were a glowing blue orb and a wooden staff.
"Welcome to the Grand Library. I am Merath." Merath started, his voice both deep and gentle. "You are here for a class?"
Lumi bowed, then introduced Lena. "This is Lena. She wants to begin her road to be a Bishop. Her heart is pure and I can attest to her potential."
Merath looked at Lena, who stared back without blinking.
Merath turned his attention to Lumi. "Why is it that you speak on her behalf?"
Lena stepped forwards and imitated Lumi, giving a small bow. "Apologies, I am not used to social situations like this, much less meeting someone of such importance. I was worried I would mess things up, and thus pestered my friend to accompany me."
Merath rose up into the air, floating. He neared them ever so slightly, raising a hand. A faint golden light passed over Lena and Lumi.
He showed no outward emotion, simply evaluating them through his spells. Once he finished, he spoke, "Very well."
So close, a pity, or not?
Lumi didn't let it show on his face, but with his future knowledge, he understood just how close that scan was to revealing everything.
The Dark One weaved his magic in just the right way to guard against Merath. Because otherwise Merath could very well detect the hidden abnormalities within the body of a player if the Dark One was careless.
Perhaps Merath wasn't the strongest, but his magical knowledge was nearly unmatched.
Wait…
That doesn't quite make sense? I remember Merath's great power from my previous life. Yet I remember no mention of him when the method to detach ourselves from the system was made.
Why?
Was it omitted? Did I miss it? Or did he truly have nothing to do with it?
What could this world gain if I informed Merath of what we were?
But how could I do that? The system restricts speech that would state or otherwise imply our origins. Even simple talk about Earth or the real world was restricted when within earshot of a native.
The same applies to magic. Unless my magic message can surpass what the system can detect, I cannot do that. Yet without free access to my energy, I cannot do that either.
While Lumi was deep in thought, Merath extended his hand and, from thin air, drew a slender wooden card shaped like a leaf. Runes flowed across it, forming Lena's name in soft blue light.
"Lena, you are to carry this. It marks your identity within these walls. With it, I may contact you and summon you if needed. Do you accept this?"
Lena took the card. "Will it talk to me?"
"Only if I do." Merath said with a small smile.
She nodded. "Okay, thank you."
A drawer opened in the living wood beside them. From it, Merath pulled a stack of parchment bound in soft leather. "This book is Intro to magic." He passed it over to Lena, who took it with wide eyes. "You may return once a month to report your progress."
Lumi bowed again. "Thank you."
Merath then turned to Lumi. "Lumi, you said that Lena wanted to begin on the path to a Bishop. How about yourself? I can see that you have yet to begin your journey with a class."
Lumi gave a respectful head shake. "I have other things to discuss with you."
Merath gave a small pause at that, then turned to Lena. He couldn't quite place it, but the two of them felt strange. "Say, are the two of you already familiar with this process? Or do you need a summary?"
Lena could only force a smile. "I don't particularly understand."
Merath let out the smallest, imperceptible sigh as he reached into his knowledge base to try to diagnose why he felt strange about the two in front of him.
That didn't stop him from explaining to them, however. "There are many ways to gain power. Whichever specialization you train in has a name, which is your class. From there, there are several ranks. Rank One, Rank Two, and so forth. You begin by learning the majority of the skills in a Rank One class. When you are strong enough to learn more advanced skills, you then advance to Rank Two, and so on."
He turned specifically to Lena. "The magic path I teach starts with the same Rank One for everyone. It splits off into various specialities later. I offer three, here. Ice and Lightning, Fire and Poison, and the Holy path."
"The holy path!" Lena couldn't stop herself from exclaiming. "Yeah, that one. That's what I'm going for."
Merath gave a gentle nod. "Noted. Be that as it may, everyone starts with Intro to Magic for Rank One. Start with learning that, young one."
Merath's hand brushed the air, and a narrow staircase unfurled from a nearby wall, spiraling upwards into hidden rooms of the Great Library.
"There are plenty of rooms," he said, "If you need a quiet place to study, I can shift the library to make space. It will automatically shift relevant books to your current studies near you, which you may read. But the only book you are allowed to take out of this place is what I have given you."
Lena nodded in understanding.
After a moment of silence between the three of them, she asked, "Should I… go do that now?"
Merath gave a nod.
Lena glanced at Lumi, who gave her a small encouraging nod. She clutched the Intro to Magic tome to her chest and stepped toward the staircase.
…
It didn't take long at all.
[System Alert - Player "Lena" is the first player to obtain Rank One in a class. Extend our congratulations to "Lena" for his feat!]
Lumi let out a small smile.
Merath of course could not see the system announcement. Looking at Lumi, he started. "You. There is something about you."
Lumi didn't deny it. "Indeed." He then fell into thought.
I need to enlist Merath's assistance in countering the Dark One.
Merath is already working against the Dark One. Yet he could do so much more with my information. And yet things are not so simple. I am a suspicious party right now. Perhaps I could speak of future events, but why would my words be believed?
Even if Merath trusts that I believe my own words, that doesn't mean he would believe I am correct.
After a moment of silence between the two, Merath continued. "It is just the two of us now. You may speak freely."
"I may not." Lumi replied cryptically, though it wasn't by choice. "I cannot say what I wish, though I will say, I am on your side."
That gave Merath pause, as he more closely examined Lumi, whilst running calculations in his mind. After a moment, he replied, "Your intentions I can see, they are pure." Merath replied. "And you do not lie to me."
Lumi nodded slowly.
"You do not object to getting a card made for you too, under the same conditions?" Merath formed yet another wooden card, this one for Lumi.
"I would love one." Lumi replied, receiving the card. He put it away, and then stated. "There is a place where I originally was going to head, by myself, to receive my class. Plans have changed. You should come with me. I know where the old home, and a laboratory, of the ancient Hero of Light, Alton. It's in a pocket dimension, I know how to get in."
Merath's face slightly shifted for a second before returning to normal. The information could shock even him. "Can you tell me how you know?"
"I am incapable of that." Lumi replied once again, relying on Merath's powerful spells to carry the conversation.
As Lumi had thought, mana shifted in the air as Merath cast a spell only known to himself. Merath then inquired, "The consequences are too large?
Lumi shook his head. "No consequences. I am incapable."
"I understand." Merath replied.
Merath tapped his fingers gently on the floating orb beside him, deep in thought. Whilst anyone else would consider Lumi to be speaking nonsense, Merath was an old genius, who had casted countless spells to gleam information about Lumi. Merath had independently verified countless variables, such as if Merath held malice towards him, or was deceiving him.
"The Hero of Light's laboratory, my student…" he murmured. "This is old. Old knowledge and locations of nearly eight hundred years. We have fragments of information, but none knew where it truly went. That you claim to know not only its location, but a means to access it…"
As he let the implication hang, his eyes sharpened slightly.
"You're not a normal adventurer. There is a special history behind you," he said. "And yet, you are bound."
Lumi didn't answer. He couldn't.
As frustration built up inside of Lumi, the answers did indeed come to him.
I was stupid to ever consider truly keeping the information of my regression to myself. It is illogical. There are many natives that surpass the power of even the players of my past life. There are demi-gods. There will be an alliance against the Dark One.
It will be difficult, very difficult to get them to believe the words of a nobody.
But what I do know, is that I know these people! I know dozens of trustworthy high ranking people! So what if I might get thrown in a dungeon for weeks or interrogated? It's fair, it's okay. My information is crucial.
Yet still, any speech about what the system is, is bound, still.
I must free myself from the binds of this system much, much sooner than I did in my past life.