Chương 248: Chapter 244 - Cranky librarians

When Scarlett and the others reached the bottom of the stairs, they stopped for a moment to take in the sight before them. The room was vast, far larger than the chamber above, with countless rows of stone shelves laden with books and other texts. Spectral entities, clad in thick, grey robes, glided gracefully between the aisles, pausing now and then to peruse or touch the spines of the books with an almost reverent delicacy.

"…Alright, now this looks more like a library," Rosa said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"I suspect this is the true Veiled Library," Yamina replied, touching the rim of her glasses with a look of fascination.

"The initial chamber was likely created to serve as a physical dialogue with this place. The books had to be kept somewhere, after all. Considering how expansive this space appears to be, the Zuver likely employed spatial magic to accommodate the contents, but even so, its size surpasses my expectations."

"How extensive is the Veiled Library's archive supposed to be?" Shin asked.

"No one knows for certain. Since the founding of the Rising Isle, we've catalogued over one hundred thousand unique volumes and contributed nearly as many ourselves. Among these are numerous rare and unique texts, though many are also mundane or in such a state of disrepair that they're mostly unreadable. Judging from what we see here, I would say that the Isle has probably only uncovered half of the Library's full scope."

Scarlett considered Yamina's words for a moment, then turned her gaze to the endless rows of books. She hadn't really considered that aspect in the game, but unearthing this place might actually be more significant to the Rising Isle than the Astral Sanctum or Hall of Echoes. Although she supposed that depended on the value of whatever unread works were kept here.

Given that the chamber above seemed designed to provide what one sought or needed, it felt like the Isle should already have found most of the important works. Her eyes fell on one of the spectral figures meandering through the aisles, seemingly indifferent to their group's presence.

"Are those supposed to be the librarians?" Allyssa pointed towards another one that drifted by, disappearing down one of the aisles. Their faces were obscured by grey, semi-transparent hoods that emanated a dissonant aura.

"They likely serve a similar purpose," Yamina observed.

"They're the caretakers of the library, in all probability." Fynn stepped forward, lowering his stance.

"Are they dangerous?"

"It would surprise me if they weren't. Whether they are inherently hostile is another matter."

"From their actions, that does not appear to be the case," Scarlett said.

"Assuming their role is to protect this repository, they will likely only retaliate if we harm the books or do something to anger them." Allyssa, clutching her crossbow in one hand and a vial in her bandolier with the other, glanced at Scarlett.

"So it should be safe to proceed?"

"There is only one way to know for certain. Fynn, lead the way." Nodding, Fynn began walking ahead. He halted at the entrance to one of the aisles, allowing a librarian to glide past him. The spectral figure paused briefly at a shelf, its arm glowing faintly as it touched the spine of a book before continuing on its path, paying no attention to Fynn.

"They don't seem to mind," Rosa remarked.

"How novel. I don't think we've ever run into anything on one of these adventures of ours that hasn't tried to kill us in some way."

"We will have to see whether that holds true." Scarlett moved after Fynn. The others followed her lead, stopping behind Fynn as he studied their surroundings with knitted brows.

"Is there something wrong?" Scarlett asked. He turned to her, shaking his head.

"No. But these things are strange. They don't feel dead or alive. I don't know what they are."

"They remind me of those Auranthial thingies that we ran into before," Allyssa said.

"Or is that just me?" Yamina regarded the girl with interest.

"You've come across Auranthials?"

"Yeah, when we were in this old Followers shrine."

"It's rare for anyone outside the Followers to even be aware of their existence, let alone encounter them."

"These feel different," Fynn said, looking thoughtful.

"I don't think they're Auranthials."

"The underlying principle might be similar, but the process behind their creation would differ significantly," Yamina mused, watching another librarian glide by. The lenses of her glasses took on a light shine as she observed it.

"Unlike Auranthials, these entities are not animated by divine power or mana. In fact, I cannot detect any energy whatsoever from them. It is as if they are only acting as conduits."

"Conduits for what?" Shin asked.

"That is the crux of the matter. Typically, the Zuver use constructs as vessels for their animancy spells. Those are powered internally, and I can usually detect such spells." Yamina paused, appearing contemplative.

"These, however… I'm not sure there is anything beneath those robes."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Rosa said dryly. Yamina smiled faintly.

"On the contrary, I think it sounds rather fascinating. It begs the question of why the Zuver would employ such a method here when there are no records of it elsewhere."

"I am sure that the Rising Isle will have ample time to investigate the matter." Scarlett peered down the numerous aisles.

"For now, our priority is simply to move forward."

"Where are we heading?" Allyssa asked.

"Does this place even have anything other than books?" It was true that, at first glance, this chamber seemed to contain nothing but endless shelves of texts. Scanning the space, Scarlett eventually pointed down one of the aisles. Far in the distance, there seemed to be a wall that had an opening in it.

"That seems like a good place to start." They began making their way in that direction, passing more and more shelves filled with volumes accumulated over centuries. Eventually, they did reach the end of the chamber, where the wall was nothing but dark bedrock. Hewn straight into it was a single passage, its entrance adorned with Zuverian symbols. Yamina examined the symbols closely.

"Only those authorized are permitted beyond this point." Rosa crossed her arms, tapping her foot on the ground.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's a bit late to apply for that authorization."

"Presumably." Yamina moved her hands in a series of intricate gestures to cast some sort of spell, but from what Scarlett could tell, it didn't have any immediate effect.

"The wards against divination remain active, so I cannot ascertain what lies ahead. One possibility seems likely, however."

"And what's that?" Allyssa looked at the wizard. Yamina's eyes shifted towards Scarlett.

"Perhaps you would like to guess, Baroness?" Scarlett held the woman's gaze for a moment before turning to the passage.

"It is obvious, is it not? This is a library. What is a library without a forbidden section?" Rosa chuckled.

"Dull, I'd say."

"While I wouldn't go so far as to call it dull, I do agree with the general sentiment," Yamina said.

"Despite its extensive collection, the Veiled Library is conspicuously lacking in materials on certain subjects. I have always found that peculiar." Scarlett nodded.

"If there is a restricted area, the Zuver likely implemented safeguards to deter intruders. Remain vigilant from here on." The group steeled themselves as they began descending the passage, with Fynn leading. Illuminated by more of the green crystals, the passage stretched on before taking a sharp turn. After a few minutes, they emerged into a chamber that looked strikingly similar to the one they'd just left, with the aisles extending out in front of them. In fact…

"Did we just circle back to where we started?" Allyssa voiced the group's confusion as they watched one of the librarians flit by.

"What a seamless spatial translocation," Yamina murmured. Rosa turned to Scarlett.

"I'm guessing endlessly wandering around the same place all night isn't part of our plan. Any bright-eyed insights on what to do from here?" Scarlett turned around to inspect the Zuverian symbols on the wall above the passage, then surveyed their surroundings. She had been wondering if they would run into a problem like this one down here. If she recalled correctly, multiple passages like this one were scattered throughout the dungeon, some looping back, others leading to combat encounters.

There wasn't really any particular trick to it other than exploring them all, as far as she was aware. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"We will simply have to be thorough and patient in our search," she said, preparing to go find the next passage.

"Wait a moment, if you will," Yamina interjected. Scarlett looked at the woman as she scrutinised the passage they'd come from, deliberately touching the rim of her glasses.

"Not sure engaging it in a staring contest will do much," Rosa joked.

"Then again, given the stubbornness of certain people in our group…" Allyssa looked at her.

"I don't think you should be the one saying that, Rosa." The bard grinned.

"Never said I was exempt." Yamina retrieved a leather-bound emerald tome from her robes, its cover embellished with silver and gold accents. It opened on its own, revealing a page filled with convoluted crests.

"While I don't dare compare myself to the great Zuverian arch mages of the past and their formidable accomplishments, I do have some pride. Unraveling the type of spells used here is supposed to be my specialty. It wouldn't do for me to be outwitted so easily." The air around them came alive with runes, flickering in an assortment of colors. Scarlett eyed the wizard.

"Do you think you can bypass whatever conjuration is at work here?"

"Possibly. I would first have to determine its nature before I can say for certain. For that, we'll need to go through it once more."

"…Very well. I see no harm in at least allowing you the opportunity to try." If it could save them time, she didn't mind. Fynn led the way as they re-entered the passage, moving more cautiously. Yamina remained focused, casting various new spells as they progressed. Despite their efforts, however, they soon found themselves back in the main chamber. Yamina stopped, analysing the runes floating before her, then turned back to the passage.

"Hmm. Perhaps… I will have to look more carefully this time." Scarlett studied her. It seemed the woman was more stubborn than she had thought. Without further ado, the group once more set down the passage, and after a few more minutes of walking, they were back where they had started. Yamina wore a serious expression, deep in thought.

"I see. I believe I understand the mechanism at play here." Wordlessly, she left them behind to venture back inside. The group exchanged uncertain glances, looking to Scarlett for guidance. After considering it for a moment, she nodded, and all of them followed Yamina. This time, the wizard stopped midway through the passage, her attention fixed on a certain section of the wall. To Scarlett, it looked like nothing more than a flat piece of carved stone, but Yamina was intensely focused on it.

After a few more seconds, the woman turned another page in her spellbook, causing the runes around her to vanish abruptly.

"Fascinating. Fascinating and clever. I wish I could have met the mind behind this arrangement. It is beyond any contemporary formation I've faced. Ingenious, in a way."

"Is that good or bad?" Allyssa asked.

"From a scholarly standpoint, it's the former. However, for our immediate situation, it presents somewhat of an obstacle," Yamina explained.

"Dissecting this array in order to deactivate it could take months."

"Then we will have to find an alternate route," Scarlett said.

"Not necessarily." Yamina shook her head.

"This formation integrates multiple magical disciplines in its spellcraft, primarily employing a complex application of arcane geometry to create a looped spatial configuration. Given its intricacy, it likely involves a series of localized reality warps anchored to several ley-line intersections in the walls, though I have yet to confirm this.

The most intriguing part, however, is that it appears to have mixed in umbramancy wards to subtly shift the perceptions of intruders, concealing the phenomenon from those who would otherwise detect it." Rosa gave the woman a blank look.

"…I did not understand a single word of what you just said."

"I understood some of it," Fynn said.

"Good on you. Please teach me later." He nodded earnestly.

"Alright." Yamina placed her spellbook down on the ground as she began casting a new series of spells.

"Though I think you may be inflating its complexity, I can give you a lesson once we are finished here." As she moved her hands in complex gestures, more runes materialized, converging on the wall section she'd been focusing on earlier. Her spellbook lit up, and the runes pulsed erratically before settling into a steady pattern. Then, with a deliberate motion, Yamina clasped her hands together.

Scarlett didn't know what, but she felt something shift in their environment, as if a mismatched puzzle piece had been corrected.

"…Did that do something?" Allyssa asked after a few seconds.

"It did," Yamina confirmed, picking up her spellbook and returning it inside her robes.

"The formation will not consider us intruders for now, but we must hurry. Our window of opportunity is brief." Exchanging quick looks, the group hastened to follow the wizard down the passage.

"So, what exactly did you do?" Rosa asked, keeping pace with Yamina.

"I simply adjusted the formation's detection mechanism. While the underlying structure of the umbramancy ward was ingenious, it relied on what is called 'Essence Resonance Detection' to identify our presence. Essentially, it attuned itself to the unique magical signature that each being carries, much like an arcane signature, and aligns its matrix with the intruder's essence to create a disturbance in the ambient magical field.

This triggers an alert, but that alert can be intercepted by creating an opposite disturbance in the environment."

"Okay, I'm not gonna pretend to make much sense of that, but it does sound nifty. Still, I thought you said it would take months to figure that one out."

"It would undoubtedly have taken months to completely unravel the underlying enchantments, yes, but interfering with its detection is far less complex," Yamina said.

"Seems kinda counterintuitive to set up such a spell if it's that simple to bypass," Rosa remarked.

"Maybe the Zuver weren't quite as adept at the ol' magic as they're reputed to be." Yamina tilted her head thoughtfully.

"It is true that this shortcoming compromises the formation's integrity, but perhaps I am slightly understating the difficulty of what I just did. I don't know any others who could reproduce this feat without significant preparation."

"Oh." Rosa looked over at Scarlett, then back at the wizard.

"That's one way of acknowledging your skill, I guess." As they progressed through the passage, they eventually emerged not into the familiar chamber from before, but rather into another, smaller, space. It was mostly empty, save for the rows of motionless forms draped in robes lining the walls, similar to the spectral librarians from before but hanging limply in the air. As they stepped further into the room, the robes stirred, taking on more human shapes as they faced the intruders. Rosa grimaced.

"Sometimes I hate when you're right, Scarlett."

"I do share that sentiment on occasion," Scarlett replied, readying herself.

"Miss Ward, can you neutralise these entities?" Yamina's hands glowed briefly as she cast a spell, then shook her head.

"No."

"Then we will have to engage them directly," Scarlett declared.

"Prepare yourselves." As one, the librarians were all enveloped in a grey aura and surged forward. Fynn and Shin stepped up, forming a defensive line. Rosa played her klert, weaving her music throughout the area to buff the rest of them, while Allyssa pulled out two vials from her bandolier. Scarlett activated the [Foxfire Charm] given to her by Arlene, summoning the fox Emberling as well as unleashing several pyrokinesis attacks.

She was somewhat surprised to see that the grey aura surrounding the librarians shifted to douse some of her flames, giving them at least part resistance. Not wanting to waste too much of her mana, she redirected her efforts to herd the librarians towards Shin and Fynn instead of attacking directly. Shin, fortified by Rosa's charms, relied on his armor and shield to stand his ground as the first librarians reached him, their auras coalescing into thin spears that shot at him.

Fynn, meanwhile, leveraged his supernatural agility and fortitude to simply tear into the attackers, his wind magic sending several of them flying across the room. As for Allyssa, she'd already tossed her two vials to both sides, which spilled a flammable liquid over a large area that Scarlett had ignited to form barriers of flame on their flanks. The Emberling stood in front of one of these barriers, amplifying the fire's ferocity even further.

While Scarlett started preparing to use her hydrokinesis to strike at the librarians' weak points—she was hoping water would work better than fire—she glanced to the side as Yamina began casting a spell next to her. Suddenly, all the librarian's vulnerabilities already highlighted by Scarlett's [Charms of Apperception] became clearer, and the others in the party all seemed to pause for a moment. Had the woman just provided the same effect for everyone?

Fynn was the first to take advantage, his attacks growing markedly more effective as his conjured claws sliced straight through the librarians' defences with ease. Yamina met Scarlett's quizzical gaze.

"Did you perhaps not expect me to help at all?"

"…I was uncertain what to expect, frankly." The woman's lips turned up.

"Well, consider this my contribution." Giving her an appreciative nod, Scarlett refocused on the fight. While Yamina's spell wasn't quite as useful to her, given her artifact, it greatly benefited her companions as the librarians began to fall in quick succession. Fortunately, Scarlett also found that her hydrokinesis attacks—sharpened into fine blades and spears of water—worked better than her pyrokinesis here, piercing through their foes' weakened defences.

It took them roughly five minutes to bring the fighting to an end. At that point, both Shin and Fynn had suffered several injuries, but nothing that Rosa couldn't patch up. As the final librarian collapsed, its robes shredded into pieces, Scarlett looked to Yamina.

"Your assistance was invaluable."

"I'm sure you would have managed without me, but I'm glad I could be of help," the woman replied, watching Rosa heal the last of Shin's injuries. She then turned her analytical gaze to Scarlett.

"Warley mentioned that you were likely more capable than appearances would have one believe, but I think he still underestimated you somewhat, Baroness."

"Is that so?" Scarlett didn't really know what Godwin thought of her combat abilities. As far as she knew, he'd never actually seen her fight, and whatever evaluation he might have of her was likely outdated by this point.

"Your magic is also quite unique," Yamina continued.

"A curious blend of schools. Although I'm sure you have been told that before."

"Yes, more than once." The woman regarded her thoughtfully.

"If I may ask, how did you come to master both true hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis? Who taught you?"

"Perhaps it should not surprise me that you could discern what I was using so easily," Scarlett said.

"As for who taught me, much of my learning was self-directed. I have received some guidance from an acquaintance of mine, but their identity is one that I must keep confidential, unfortunately." Yamina raised her eyebrows.

"Is that so? I understand. Nonetheless, your prowess is remarkable. The mastery you exhibit over both hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis is something I've never seen in a single mage. Your command of pyrokinesis alone may well exceed that of Grand Wizard Hartford."

"Truly?" While Scarlett didn't think it was that impressive, given her reliance on the system, she couldn't help but feel somewhat smug by the acknowledgment.

"We try not to inflate the boss lady's ego too much," Rosa cut in, having finished tending to the others' wounds.

"She already has enough things to lord over the rest of us as it is." Scarlett offered her a light frown. The bard shrugged.

"I'm not saying you haven't earned the right to do that."

"… Let us move on," Scarlett said, preferring to leave her thoughts unspoken. It was true that she often lorded around her power and knowledge. There wasn't much she could do about it, given it was essentially ingrained in her personality. Still, it was a tad embarrassing to have it pointed out so directly. Before they could advance, Yamina took some time to investigate what remained of the defeated librarians with her magic.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to find anything that shed light on their nature or how they worked, which seemed to disappoint her. Still, with that out of the way, they continued on. Unlike the first passage they tried, the next one didn't employ any fancy tricks that had them moving in circles, instead leading them immediately to another room filled with more of those hostile librarians.

Defeating them was no harder than the first encounter, and after several more repetitions of this pattern, they arrived at what seemed to be the final chamber.