Chapter 6: Which One to Pick First?

The group thoroughly visited the eastern district all the way to the central district.

Rowen guided the group to many places within the academy; one of which were the cafeteria, the central office, and the medical center

They eventually reached a large tall building. The exterior of the stone building was designed in a simple manner. Viewing through the windows, they could see several people with books on hand.

From the outside, one could tell that the building had 5 different floors; each one significantly smaller than the next. Unlike the first two floors, the upper three floors did not have windows.

Teo and the group approached the entrance door.

Two young looking guards stood by the entrance as Rowen lead the group inside.

"This is the academy library"

An old man sitting by the entrance inside gazed at the group but slowly recovered his gaze from them.

"What were those guards for?", Windle asked

"Those guards? Those guards are there to keep order in this place. Making trouble within the library is strictly forbidden so there are many guards outside the library as well as some guards within it", Rowen explained

"They sure are young for guards" Lia commented

"Oh, its because they are students of the academy as well. Certain places in the academy offers jobs to students. Although we do get free meals and board, we still need some spending money for ourselves"

As they went further in, they saw several bookcases chairs and even private rooms.

Windle and Lia were awed by the sight of so many books. Teo on the other hand was like an arrow, patiently waiting to be released.

"This is the first floor of the library. The books are organized into different topics. As for the second floor, you will have to wait until you reach third year."

Rowen looked at the eager Teo, she had heard stories of her brother through the letters sent by Fei

"Little Teo, I heard from mom that you love reading books, but don't forget your studies. The academy gives us students a small allowance for attending classes, doing homework and getting good grades. If you forget to concentrate on your studies, you might not get any money from the academy. If you skip class you might even get banned from the library, at worst, they might even punish you or expel you, so be careful not to over indulge yourself"

When Windle and Lia heard Rowen's warning to Teo, they stared at Teo as if he was some kind of freak. Similar thoughts went through their heads

'Can someone be really that addicted to reading that they would need to be warn?'

Rowen guided them through all the different sections on the first floor

"This is your first time in a library right?" Rowen asked the three

All of them nodded in confirmation

"Okay, then I will explain the basics. You see those bookshelves?", Rowen said as she pointed at a few nearby bookshelves

Teo, Windle and Lia all noticed that all of the bookshelves were full and people did not seem to be removing any from the shelves.

"The books on the bookshelves can't be removed. People here have to use a 'Blank book' to copy the text of the shelved books"

"How do these blank books copy it?", Lia asked

"I'm not too sure on the details, but there are special inscriptions embedded inside the blank books that allows it to copy the text. All you need is to tap the blank book with another book and it will instantly copy its contents. If you tap it to another book, the previous content will be overwritten", Rowen explained

She pulled out a blank book with the academy's insignia on the cover.

"These are the blank books that the academy sells. It is much cheaper, but the text will disappear once you go outside the academy, so be mindful when you go outside the academy. Of course there are blank books with no restrictions sold in the Southern district but it is more expensive."

Teo was practically drooling over all the books he could read; there were just too many to choose from.

'Which book should I pick first?' Teo wondered

He had the intention of dropping everything and start reading, but he soon later found a slight problem

"Big Sister, how much are these blank books?"

"They are worth 10 silver coins. Do you want big sis to buy one for you?"

Teo would have usually declined the offer mainly because he did not want to bother Rowen too much, but the allure of the books were too tempting so he did not decline and compromised instead.

"Big sister, can just lend me money and I'll pay you back later"

"No such thing! You don't need to do that little Teo"

"But.. but.. ", but before Teo could insist Rowen interrupted

"No buts!", she insisted

Both siblings were pretty stubborn, but they both cared for each other

'Okay big sister, if you won't let be borrow money today, I'll just give you a gift later on', Teo secretly planned

"Okay", Teo agreed

Rowen went over to the counter in the library and bought Teo a new blank book.

"Thanks big sister"

"No problem", Rowen smiled as she saw Teo rushing over to the shelves

Teo started looking at the books among the shelves, completely forgetting about everything else.

As for Windle and Lia, they did not find the library too interesting. Although it was their first time in a library, instead of being excited like Teo, they were just overwhelmed by it.

Rowen approached Teo, who was like a little kid in a candy store, and started recommending some books he could start with.

Windle and Lia decided to separate from the siblings and look around by themselves.

Teo and Rowen spent some time together within the library

.....

After spending time in the library, Teo and Rowen headed back to the eastern district.

"So that's where your cave is. Mine is over there, at the opposite mountain", Rowen pointed at the other mountain.

They chatted inside Teo's cave for a while. She told him where he could find her if he encountered any problems or had any questions. They talked about their family back in Char village as well as their elder brother Aran.

Teo did not know much about his elder brother. Aran had already left the academy by the time Teo could remember anything. Teo could learn about Aran through his parents and sister, but that was all of it. Aran's existence to Teo was nothing more than a shadow in the wind.

Rowen explained that Aran was also part of the Martial faction before he graduated. He was skilled in fights and invited Rowen to the faction because he knew that once he left, no one would take care of Rowen. Aran wanted Rowen to become strong enough so that she can take care of herself as well as their little brother.

Similar to Teo, Aran had only a few memories of Teo, but he still cared for the brother he had not seen for 10 years.

When Aran graduated he declined all invitations towards him and decided to travel across the empire, perhaps even go outside the empire. Although there was peace within the empire, that was only in respect with the surrounding empires. There were still many internal conflicts with the various factions within the empire.

Once the war that occurred 50 years ago ended, the many surviving factions strengthen themselves and attempted to expand their influence within the empire. These factions fought each other for dominance and the Imperial family did not intervene too much and only oversaw the conflict. Competition strengthen the empire and the last one standing would clearly have strength to support the empire.

....

After a while Rowen too her leave.

She had other matters to attend to.

The first month of the school year for new students were for them to get used to the new environment, but for the senior students, this month was for the yearly ranking tournament; where students can compete with each other and find out who were the more outstanding ones were.

The school encouraged students by using this tournament to motivate students to become stronger. The higher they were in the rankings the greater the fame and rewards.

Rowen planned on participating on this year's tournament as well, so she had to prepare herself. As for Teo, he did not know about the ranking tournament so he rested and went to the library on the following day.

....

A few days had passed

Teo had been going to the library in the morning and went into the inner world at night to read the array book.

Despite having 8 years to read the books within the library, he did not slow down in his pace at all. He also did not slow his pace when he read and studied the array book. It was because he had no way of telling when the old man Cien would decide to leave him.

During lunch and dinner, Teo, Windle and Lia would often eat together.

Within the academy cafeteria, the trio sat together.

"Teo did you know? The seniors are having a tournament amongst each other"

Windle was surprisingly well informed on the matter. He can easily make friends and knew how to deal with people.

"Only the seniors who were fourth year and older are the only ones that are participating. It's going to be exciting, we should all go watch", Windle said

"What about you Teo? Do you want to come? I think senior Rowen is going to be there", Lia also asked

Lia seemed to have hit it off with Rowen a few days ago. She even asked Rowen if she could join the Martial faction. Apparently, Lia wanted to learn how to fight.

It was a huge advantage for the students who learned combat before their third year. They would be taught how to strengthen their bodies, increase their stamina and speed. They were also taught how to fight and how to handle weapons if they wished. Upon starting their third year, they would have a huge advantage compared to other students.

Windle on the other hand was invited to join the Emerald Pavilion by his cousin. With his personality, he could easily handle customers and make a profit. It was also beneficial for gathering information and making connections.

On the other hand, Teo did not intend to join a faction. Normally, the new students would be eager to join a faction. Some would be invited by their families, friends, people from the same village; some would decide to make their own faction.

Students who did not join a faction would be easy targets for bullies and seniors, but the school protected new students until they were third years. They did not want young seedlings to be trampled before they knew the rules of the world. The senior students were not allowed to attack or bully the first and second years. If caught by the academy, a harsh punishment would be given out.

Killing or maiming were strictly forbidden within the academy. The academy wanted the students to grow. The whole purpose of the academy was to strengthen the empire with a stronger and smarter younger generation.

Although the senior students were not allowed to use violence against the first and second year students, there were other ways to bypass this rule. The best way to be protected from such threats for new students was to join a dependable faction.

Teo thought about his situation differently though. The benefits of joining a faction was not too appealing for him. Maybe if the faction had a secret book collection he might have considered it, but right now, he wanted to indulge himself with the academy's library. He had one full month to enjoy himself before the school started.

"Not too interested in it" Teo responded while thinking deeply

'I also need to find a job so I can buy a present for big sister. I wonder if they are hiring in the library..'

....

Three weeks had passed

The tournament was such a huge event that almost all the students came to either watch or participated.

Teo was the only exception.

He took the time to look for a comfortable job near the library. Luckily, he found a job at a restaurant that was close by to the library. It was usually quite busy before and after the tournament, but during the tournament was taking place, the restaurant would become empty. The restaurant was pretty popular and many rich visitors would often come in and provide huge tips to the servers. The library was also like a ghost town, Teo would be the only one there besides the staff member and a few guards.

After under a week, he had saved enough money to buy his sister a necklace with the help of the tips he got. Though the pay was not particularly big, but he would get tips from the customers which was larger than normal during this time of the year. He took the time to work everyday because the usual seniors who were suppose to work participated or watched the tournament.

When the tournament was over and class had started, he could only work a few days a week.

[Author's Note: Second Revision]