We entered the large tower before us, known as the Library of Infinite Beginnings. The automatic doors slid open, and we walked inside. The interior was beautifully delineated, with lots of space all around so that it didn't feel cramped like lots of libraries on the outside. There walls of this cylindrical structure were all transparent, so they were more like windows, really. There was a massive exquisitely designed glass spiral staircase in the middle of the first floor, leading upwards. The floor above us was also transparent - we could essentially see through it and even beyond to floors further up, but curiously, we couldn't see any actual people.

"Is there no one on the upper floors?" I asked.

Old Man Leng chuckled. "Nah, they're there. Ya just can't see them from down here."

"But...the ceiling above us is transparent. I can see all the bookshelves and even other floors further up," Feng Mian mused.

"It's enchanted with some special magic," Xiang Peng explained, stepping up and making a sightseeing gesture, placing her hand above her eyebrows. "More specifically, it's a high level Enchantment Element spell. I've seen this kind of thing before. What it does is essentially hide specific entities from view in a given direction. In this case, they merely enchanted the glass floor so that it looks nice when looking from below - staring at shoe soles wouldn't be really nice, after all."

"You're right...this way, when I look up, it looks like a maze of bookshelves lined up in different directions, at different altitudes..." Yu An Yan remarked in awe. "You would think this makes it look messy, but in reality it looks intriguing and draws gazes in, almost like a hypnosis spell."

Old Man Leng sank into thought. "Hm...ya know of this technique? Where are ya from, girl?"

"Ahaha..." Xiang Peng laughed awkwardly, before turning to me for help.

Don't look at me, dude. You only have yourself to blame for this one.

Old Man Leng, seeing her reaction, sighed. "Heh. It's fine, I get it. Everyone's got a few secrets. I won't pry."

Xiang Peng clasped her hands together in a praying gesture. "My thanks!"

If she said she was from within Fragment now, that would only cause Old Man Leng to have more questions, which I would like to avoid.

"Anyway, follow me. We should get ya some library cards first, before anythin' else," Old Man Leng said, walking over to the counter further inside.

We did as told, and the receptionist, an old woman who looked to already be in her 100s, spoke. "Welcome to the Library of Infinite Beginnings. How may I help you?"

Living 100 years wasn't too big of a deal. The stronger you were as a mage, the longer you could naturally live. If I had to guess, I'd say this woman was at least an Ancestral Mage. But...most people retained their youthful looks when they aged - a benefit of the elemental energy in our bodies. However, people like this woman whose appearance also aged with her age weren't that uncommon either. Old Man Leng also appeared to be one of these people, while his wife, Mrs. Leng, was part of the majority - she still appeared to only be in her thirties, after all, while Old Man Leng looked to be around sixty.

"Good mornin'," Old Man Leng said in his usual coarse voice. "I'm just bringin' a few buddies 'round here for the first time. Think ya can get them their cards?"

"Of course," the old lady replied. "Quite the beautiful ladies and handsome young lad you have there."

"Heh. What if I told you these girls are all in love with the boy?" Old Man Leng chuckled.

The girls, caught off guard by this surprise attack, widened their eyes and began blushing, but because this was a library, refrained from saying anything out loud.

"Oho...what a lucky boy," the receptionist covered her mouth and laughed a little.

I averted my gaze, and sighed.

"Now then, your Mage IDs, please?" the old lady continued.

The girls and I all pulled out our Mage IDs and handed them to her, with the exception of Obsidia, who still didn't have one. Speaking of, we should probably get her a fake one somehow soon...

After a few minutes, the whole procedure was done. She handed me our newly printed library cards along with our Mage IDs back, and I distributed them among the others. I noticed that the library cards each contained our name, a long string of numbers on the back, and...

"Hm? What's this?" Qing Yue asked, pointing at the tiny text in the bottom right corner of her card that read 'Clearance Level: 1'.

"That number there defines the locations you can go to within this library," the receptionist explained. "Right now, all of you are only at Clearance Level 1. What this means is that you can only access the first floor of the library - going further up is impossible. You can try it yourself, but...only when you're ready."

"Huh...and I'm guessing the higher up the floor is, the better its contents?" I asked.

The old lady nodded. "Indeed. But I warn you - it is not easy, getting a higher clearance level."

"Nya...then, how dyo we dyo it?" Amane questioned, tilting her head and wagging her tail slowly.

"Remember where we are," the old lady stated, winking mysteriously. "Within The Fortress, strength is the only thing that matters."

"U-Um, so, in other words...we have to prove ourselves by fighting to obtain a higher clearance level?" Lan Xiao Su asked hesitantly for confirmation.

The old lady nodded. "That's correct. There are gatekeepers at the entrances of each floor. You must defeat them to obtain clearance for that floor."

"Old Man Leng...is this why you made us come here?" I muttered quietly.

The person in question, however, heard my words, but strangely didn't respond. Instead, he just looked at me and gave a faint chuckle.

"However," the old lady continued. "Beware that the gatekeepers are not easy targets. They are also merciless. There have been many people who went in unprepared, and got slaughtered - quite literally."

"You can...actually die from this..." Yu An Xue murmured thoughtfully.

"Yep," Old Man Leng agreed. "So, better prepare yourself first before trying to beat the gatekeeper."

"Hey oldie, what clearance level do you have?" Xiang Peng asked.

"Me? Level 26," Old Man Leng replied. "Couldn't get any further than that, back in prime. Even now, I still probably won't be able to beat that damned Level 27 gatekeeper..."

So even Old Man Leng is only able to get up to Floor 26, huh...

"How many floors are there in total?" I asked. "By the looks of this place, there's got to be at least fifty."

"A hundred," the old lady receptionist answered. "There are a hundred floors in total...and so far, no one has been able to conquer the 100th floor, no matter how strong they were. But it is said that...the reward for defeating the Level 100 gatekeeper is something extremely special..."

No matter how strong they were...? Just how strong is this final boss...?

But...I have to admit. I'm a bit curious about this 'extremely special' final reward...

"Well, I don't expect ya guys to do anythin' crazy like that," Old Man Leng laughed. "I just want ya guys to reach Floor 30. You have now until the start of the preliminaries, which are in a month."

Yu An Yan sighed. "Easier said than done...you yourself only reached Floor 27, and you're...what, an Ancestral Mage?"

"Actually, I'm only an Advanced Mage," Old Man Leng snickered.

"Still, that's higher than us," Yu An Yan continued. "We're only Intermediate Mages right now..."

"Which is why I'm givin' ya a month to get stronger."

"...Fair."

"From now on, I'll leave y'all on your own. I've already showed ya where this place is, and got y'all cards - my part is done. The rest...is up to yerself. Remember - if ya don't want to die, make sure yer sufficiently prepared before goin' in to challenge the gatekeeper."

With that, he gave us a wave, and left the Library of Infinite Beginnings.

"Well then...we should start learning," I said with a sigh. "Let's just go through this first floor and look for anything useful, since...it's the only floor we can access right now."

The girls nodded in response, and we each went to a different part of the floor.

*****

- ??? -

A silver knight, clad in shining metal armor, knelt before a masked man sitting on a throne. This man was wearing black robes, and was quite skinny. He had black hair, and his mask was silver, covering most of his face, but leaving one eye in sight.

"My lord, the boy you have been looking for is here. In the Magic Capital," the knight said. His voice was deep and rich.

The robed man chuckled. "Is he now..."

"Yes. I spotted him earlier today. He and his group of allies were with an old man who looked to be about in his fifties or sixties."

"I see...and the stone pendant?"

"Unfortunately, I was too far away to get a good look, so I may be wrong, but...I did not see the stone pendant on him," the knight replied, bowing his head in apology.

"Hmm...how intriguing," the robed man tilted his head, before gently resting it on his hand. "Hey...our men back in Shenzhen, they failed to get the stone pendant as well. Didn't they send in a thief into his dormitory or something, from what I've heard...?"

"Yes, they did, my lord. However, the thief was converted into one of that boy's allies," the knight answered. "I apologize for the uselessness of our men..and myself."

"Don't. In fact, I am quite thankful they didn't succeed back in Shenzhen. Otherwise, some of the other High Priests may have gotten word on what I was planning...remember, the invasion on Shenzhen was a collective project between myself and several other High Priests. The men who were stationed there were not all ours."

"Yes, you are right, my lord."

"However...District A is my domain," the robed man continued, a smile creeping up his face beneath the mask he wore. "So...you know what I am hinting at, don't you...Shingen?"

The knight, Shingen, got up from the ground, and saluted the robed man.

"Yes, my lord. I will succeed this time - I promise."

"Good...there is nothing in this world more reassuring than a knight's promise, after all."