Sitting alone in her office, Killi had no idea how much time had passed while she’d been reading, each of her four arms holding a different document, her eyes scanning pages at a rapid pace to get through them as she absorbed it all, even if only one in particular was taking up the majority of her attention.

As the head librarian of the magic towers, she tried to go through all reports submitted to the mages guild for new techniques and achievements, always wanting to see if there was anything of enough value to take a place in the shelves of the main building instead of being relegated to one of the branch facilities off to the sides, even if that rarely ended up happening. Too often, someone would think they discovered something, only for it to be a rehash of an older study, perhaps having some novel differences to give it a bit more value, but little in the way of anything genuinely new.

But then I’ll get a gem like this. She sighed contently, reading it over one more time, even though every word had already been memorized. It’s at least a fourth-floor document, no doubt about it, even if the number of people who could make use of it are beyond limited. Let’s see, it really would just be that student that Vasta and Uliel took, wouldn’t it? If he was a little brighter at least. Of course, any enchanters that come in would get more than their fair share from studying the ideas presented alone. I should make a note to make sure the craftsman’s guild gets a copy too. Or at least what’s left of it.

Since the spirits all but destroyed craftsman’s tower, it did complicated things, but it seemed that the second largest branch had taken the role of becoming the head one since then, even if it was still in the restructuring period as the various branches worked to deal with the loss.

Just thinking about it gave her a headache. At the very least their library had been moved since the city had been an invasion point, she didn’t want to think of the loss of knowledge that would have occurred if that wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t like copies didn’t exist in other guilds. Even for her own, any truly relevant work from any floor would exist in the branches and general libraries across the world, ensuring they weren’t lost, but there was always the risk of something falling through the cracks. Just because she couldn’t see the value of a particular work enough to ensure it had a copy or two across the planet, didn’t mean it couldn’t be the seed that sprouted a major discovery for someone else entirely.

Still, she’d caught up on everything of value while she’d been away dealing with her own student, so she couldn’t put off dealing with the rest of her work any longer as she stretched out, feeling the ache in her bones from however long she’d been reading.

“You really can’t escape age no matter the level of skill,” She muttered to herself, rubbing some life back into her body as she got up. “Of course, I may have put off getting a checkup a bit longer than I should have. Adding that to the schedule too I suppose.”

It was something she could do later in the day. She was sure it must have been late in the night, so she decided to spare some words with whoever was minding the ground floor before heading off.

“Good morning miss Killi,” Ovale, a librarian who was firmly on day duty, told her the moment she left her office, alerting her to the fact that she’d been a bit too optimistic about how long she’d been reading. “I thought you weren’t due back till tomorrow?”

“Ah, I’m sure it’s about what you expect.”

“More trouble with Verbum?” She asked sympathetically, watching as Killi was left rubbing her head.

“He has the brain but zero backbone. I’m thinking I’ll just toss him with a couple adventurers for some of the other investigations and leave things at that.”

Ovale just shook her head, not saying a word. As careless as such a thing might seem given how important he was, her boss was just as much so. If she really thought that was the right course of action then as his teacher, it wasn’t anyone's place to say anything against it.

Of course, that wouldn’t stop her or anyone else from thinking the library head was just feeling justifiably sick of him.

I think there’s a rank one with an awakened space magic. She thought to herself, beginning to seriously consider the idea she’d said largely in jest. This might actually be a decent way to get him a bit more independent.

She filed away the thought in her head, saving it as something to be more deeply considered later. Since she’d clearly been wrong about the time and had read through the night, that meant she actually had work that needed to be done.

“So what have I missed?” She asked, already preparing herself for bad news. So often when she was out, either being asked to investigate different events or to help with the world’s strategizing, she was piled with work, but for a change it seemed she was destined for some good news.

“Me and Soso handled the majority, don’t worry,” She said, easing Killi’s mind and changing the library head's thoughts to handing out bonuses. “I wouldn’t say you have anything more pressing than the regular documents. Oh, but you do have a test scheduled. The taker was interested in doing it for the fourth and fifth floors back to back.”

Confident huh? Well, it’s not like that does any harm and can put expectations in place about what’s needed for the fifth floor, so not a bad idea in practice if he ever wants to retake it. Of course, if he really does think he can handle both he must be confident in his path of study.

“So what sort of magic is he looking to be tested on?” She asked, feeling just a little curious despite herself, only to have that curiosity instantly dashed.

“Ah, that’s where it gets interesting. He said it didn’t matter, he was fine being tested on anything.”

Never mind, just a cocky one then. She sighed. She had her favourites for what anyone might ask to be quizzed on, with what she enjoyed most always ending up being discussions where different branches would meet, but most would just play it safe and answer based on what they considered their main affinity. On the other side of things, every now and then they’d get people asking to be tested broadly like their new challenger had, but the vast majority would fail for either second or third floor tests.

Actually, I don’t remember anyone passing for the third floor who said anything along those lines.

“Do we know how he was tested for the third floor?” She asked, seeing Olave’s smile widen at the expected question.

“That’s the thing, he didn’t. He along with another both received recommendations from both Uliel and Vasta.”

“What?”

That just didn’t happen. Killi could only be surprised that the two even remembered they were granted that level of authority given how little they used it. Sure, their apprentice and the young soul mage were both given access to the fourth and fifth floors respectively, but that was more a matter of course given the skills they’d come to the world with than due to them actually earning the right, the exception only so they might have a chance to rise to the level they needed to be, even if it wasn’t fair for anyone who’d properly earned their place on those floors.

“And that’s not all,” Olave went on, her eyes alight. “He, well, he reads a lot. An unbelievable amount, and he’s been bringing in homunculi so he can read even more.”

“How do you use meat puppets to read more?”

“You’ve honestly got to see it for yourself. At first a few librarians and other patrons didn’t actually believe he was reading and thought he was just trying to look impressive, but a few people tested him on books he’d finished and he kept being right and since then he’s become something of an attraction with people going to quiz him.”

Hearing that, Killi couldn’t help but give a thoroughly displeased look. “If you all verified that he really is reading then nobody should be disturbing him, same as any other guest. How annoying would you find it if someone interrupted you in the middle of a book just to make sure you were getting it to their satisfaction? Learning isn’t some race.”

“I know, I know, but he doesn’t seem to mind it. Hell, he barely seems to notice, he just keeps reading more.”

Olave seemed positively giddy, to the point that she didn’t know what to think. Was he not just being cocky like she’d first thought? And how could he possibly be reading to make others feel the need to constantly bother him about it?

“I think I might need to see this boy myself,” She muttered. “When’s his test?”

“Tomorrow, but if you want to give him a look I think he’s just started reading on the second floor.”

“Second? If he plans on being tested for the fourth and fifth-”

“It will make sense when you see him,” She laughed. “It really is quite the spectacle.”

A vague explanation like that couldn’t help but pick at her interest as she parted, making her way up the stairs to see just what the big fuss was about. She had her convictions about how a library should be run, nobody should be bothered in their study. It was exactly why the floors had been divided when it was founded however many centuries ago, so that people who were best suited to learning more advanced branches of knowledge wouldn’t be distracted, nor have to wait for any document that was in the hands of someone who perhaps wouldn't be at a place in their study where they could put it to use. It was no place to gawk at anyone doing their reading.

At least that was what she told herself until she saw them, books floating in the air above the eyes of five identical people, what must have been a hundred of them with their pages all moving faster than even she would be able to read before going back into their place, only for more to be pulled out as in a matter of seconds they’d finished the case they were at to move on to the next, all of them moving as one.

…Okay, I think I see why people wanted to check if he really was reading. Is this why he’s not on the third floor? If he really is able to take everything in like that then he might have finished everything it had to offer.

She couldn’t begin to imagine what sort of skill would make such a thing possible, her mind going to the idea of a third-tier speed reading but dismissing it out of hand. If anyone had achieved such a thing, she would have been told.

But then what could it be? It has to at least be awakened but even an awakened speed reading wouldn’t allow this, or at least not if it awakened alone. Maybe if it combined with some thought speed skills or even time magic as a whole, but then there’s still the matter of learning it all and processing it. A person with magic knowledge then? Possibly even a proper knowledge holder? That would be exciting. Of course, there is always the chance that this is just some trick to pull attention, but if that is the case it really is too flashy.

She felt her heart swell with excitement as she let herself think that maybe, just maybe, testing him would prove to be more interesting than she’d first thought as her legs carried her over, off to do what she’d scorned only minutes before as she went to their side, pulling one particular book she was fond of out of the shelf they’d just finished, turning to them all as she did.

“Mind if I ask your thoughts on this?” She couldn’t help but question as one of them flicked his eyes at her before doing a double take along with the other four, all of them looking at her curiously before most got back to their reading while only one focused on the book, his eyes lighting up as he did.

“Ah, that was a good one. If you’re looking for a work on the intersecting points of dark and death then I’d recommend it, using both to enhance the power of the other is clearly an obvious thing, but the subtle mechanics behind it with the ratios of mana for different spells to bring out each effect was studied with rigorous detail. I assume you can access the third floor?”

“I can,” She told him, finding herself enjoying the exchange as he handed over a sheet of paper.

“These are my recommendations that build on the topic if you’re interested, I personally think they’re worth your time if this is your area of study.”

“Um, thank you.”

He wasn’t holding anything before he gave this to me, was he? And even if he was, why would he just have a list like this already prepared?

She let her eyes scan over it given what he said and found herself approving of his choices of further reading from the short list, but that only made her want to probe further.

“You don’t think that Cfafta’s ‘on debuffing and the long term potential’ Is worth a read too? I think it would align rather well with the rest you have here.”

At that, he stopped reading entirely to focus on her, even as the other four kept going.

Just what is it about them? She wondered for a second before finally picking up that they all had the same face. Ah, clones. So these must be the homunculi. But how is he using them to read as well?

It was a question to ponder later, she could see that he was getting into the topic and found herself more than a little interested too.

“It is a good book, don’t get me wrong, but if you’re interested in the intersecting points between dark and death then the first four I have listed do a far better job covering the topic, and if your interest lies in developing the area of study then the last three are better as well. If you were only going to read one then that would work fine as an allrounder, but you’d get a lot more from the seven I have listed there.”

Very good, I’d answer along the same lines. I wouldn’t mind discussing the topic a bit deeper, but that’s not the most exciting of options, is it? At the very least, it seems he has more than a superficial knowledge so he’s not just skimming.

She immediately pulled another, this one far broader in scope, only to see a grimace replace the previously cheerful expression he wore.

“I take it you don’t approve of this book?” She laughed, already interested in his response.

“I mean, I guess it’s not bad, but the author’s biases are pretty clear in it. They couldn’t find much potential in combining light and fire magic and wrote the field off as a whole after diving into a few spells that already existed. Just because they personally couldn’t see it, I don’t think it makes sense to decide an entire area of study is pointless just because they lacked imagination. Honestly, I don’t think it should even be in the main building. If I was interested in researching the topic, I wouldn’t really find it to be a helpful reference.”

“Oh? So do you see any potential beyond what they talk about then?”

“That depends, are we talking using different spells in tandem, or combining affinities to make a new unified spell? And are we looking at something that could be applied by a single person or as a group?”

“What option do you think would be most impressive?”

“Well, obviously how well using spells in tandem is going to work is only going to be limited to your imagination and the situation you're in. I can easily imagine using light and fire spells together to make an endless supply of traps for hunting, but that’s not the most technically impressive so let’s narrow it down to unified spells that will feed off both types of mana. What you usually see, as well as what the book discusses, is the idea that the only two aspects worth exploring are how to use light to enhance the illumination which a fire will already give off and the applications of such a thing, and how fire can pair with the healing aspects of light to regulate a patient's body temp for a more efficient healing process in the same way life can be used, only less efficiently since it’s not quite as good, but from there we can see an immediately obvious aspect that is going to pull from the third major aspect of light magic. Buffing. If temperature regulation can help with healing, then it can help with any aspect of the body. I can easily see how it would make any buffs more efficient overall, with the output depending on the caster’s affinities and levels, along with total mana and knowledge of the physiology of their target.”

A good answer.

She wasn’t being honest enough, it was exactly what she’d been looking for when she’d pulled the book to ask about, even if he said one thing that piqued her interest further.

“And is there a way to go beyond that if you have multiple casters then?”

“Ah, well for that we’d be going into the realm of ritual magic which really is going a bit farther beyond what most would expect, especially considering that not many types of mana are going to be at play, but given the increase of power, I think there’s a world where it could easily be used to create a powerful attack,” He started, handing over another piece of paper that had most certainly not been in his hands only minutes before, containing diagrams and charts of exactly what he was thinking as he went on with his explanation. “If you had five mages around the ninth level each with two having fire, two light, and one capable of both to help bridge things, there’d be a decent potential to create illusions and manipulate their temperature to an extent where you could have things that by all accounts looked like real people except for the moment you touched them. As long as the temperature was regulated properly, keeping any heat from seeping out beyond the confines of the illusion, then it should be enough to melt anything like an unenchanted sword or armour, let alone what it could do to flesh.”

This time she had to admit the answer impressed her, all of the more so for the diagram he’d pulled from nowhere, even if she did feel the need to push back against it just a little.

“Saying ritual magic is a way to push it seems a little unreasonable given the rarity of that particular technique, not to mention the issue that is keeping it running long enough to be effective.”

“The fact that it’s rare doesn’t make me any less right, even if it was just the first idea off the top of my head, and any spell takes practice. Just because that one takes a little more doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be useful, especially if there was a team of mages acting in tandem for any reason.”

Her eyes were gleaming with the talk, enjoying every second of it as she decided to forgo grabbing a book for the next one, instead directly asking about his thoughts on any intersecting point between life, dark, and water, picking three at random just to hear where he thought they would be applicable and seeing him answer without missing a beat, handing over yet another sheet of paper with books he recommended on the topic, as well as how he could personally see himself using them in tandem before she switched things up again, not asking how different affinities could be used together, but giving him specific problems and asking how he would use different spells to solve them, seeing him get more drawn into the conversation as well as he focused on her, an answer on his lips to every question asked while the time ticked by.

Eventually, she had to admit it to herself. She’d come out of curiosity given what Olave had told her, but she’d somehow fallen into testing him in all seriousness, finding him to be in no way lacking. If he was cocky for saying he could be tested on anything then he deserved to be. He clearly understood magic on a level that only a few others she’d spoken to had, there was no way she would deny him his access to the fourth and fifth floors, though a small part of her didn’t want to leave things like that. Even if in just a small way, she wanted to stump him before she gave him the good news and her thoughts went back to the document she’d read only a little earlier.

“You certainly know your stuff,” She told him. “So just one last question. If you wanted to quarter the mana cost of the enchantment for any singular gate being built on the network, how would you do it?”

For just a second, he looked somewhere between confused and amused, and she thought she’d stumped him, right until he handed over another paper, outlining a condensed version of the one she’d just read, leaving out some of the technical elements but showing not only a blend of all affinities along with plain mana, but the unique enchanting system used with it, leaving her to gawk.

“How could you possibly have this?”

She knew it wasn’t widely available yet, making her think he must have been some high-ranking member of the mages guild who for whatever reason just hadn’t bothered taking her test beforehand, but instead she was told something so very different.

“It would be weirder if I didn’t, given that I’m the one who figured it out.”