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'I definitely had to check those zones out once I have the chance.'
Raven thought silently, back in his previous life, he didn't have the chance to visit them since he was too weak to be even qualified, going there is just a certain death for him. Now however, he would have more time to prepare and who knows what he would encounter there?
"Well, I don't have have any say about the situation, since technically I'm not even a part of the faculty and I'm just using it for a disguise." Old Lee could only sigh helplessly, "This is why I want to remind you people to be extremely careful. This place is more hectic compared to the Outer Court. Sieze every chance to get stronger so that you'll be able to protect yourselves."
Old Lee grabbed this chance to remind the kids about the situation that they are in. What these kids will face here are more dangerous compared to what they encountered before. The kids bore his warning on their minds, there's no harm on being careful anyway.
"E-excuse me…"
The group's thought was interrupted because of an abrupt call. They all looked behind to see someone nervously rubbing her palms while cautiously looking at them. Old Lee flashed a friendly smile and asked:
"Is there something we could help you?"
"I-I…" The girl nervously stuttered, the group was a bit confused as to why she appeared to he extremely nervous. They saw her heaved a deep breaths while clutching her hands, after that she seemed to have calmed down and continued speaking: "I was sent by the Director. He said that there was something that he had to discuss with Instructor Lee and gave the task to give Young Fairies and Young Masters a tour through the facilities of the Inner Institute Branch."
"Oh, is that so?" Old Lee nodded and asked once more, "May I know your name?"
"My name is Alice Endrun, Instructor Lee."
"Your name sounds a bit familiar…" Old Lee murmured, he tried recalling his memories but he failed to recall informations about her. "Oh well, doesn't matter. I'll leave them into your care then…"
"I'll do my best to give them a pleasant experience." Alice bowed towards them after saying this.
'A pleasant experience? What's with those words?' Raven's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Alice. He had this weird feeling that she's not acting like she's supposed to.
While he was in deep thought, Old Lee bid farewell to them and walked towards the main building once more. Now there's only an awkward silence between Alice and the team
"G-greetings Young Fairies and Young Masters, I am Alice. On behalf of the Institute, I would like to congratulate and welcome you to the Genius Class. My deepest apologies for not preparing a banquet for you arrival since your colleagues aren't present yet. Nevertheless, there shall be a late gathering once they return."
Raven and the crew was flabbergasted by her words. They wanted to say something in return but Alice cut them off and continued speaking.
"Meanwhile, please allow this one to give you a brief tour of the Institute's facilities. Shall we go ahead?"
"Alright woman…" Ellen couldn't take it anymore and sharply replied, "Stop with these overly humble attitude. It doesn't suit you."
Alice instantly shivered in horror when she saw the fierce expression on her face, she wanted to apologize but she then heard Anne say this: "Don't take her words to the heart, she just tends to speak her mind freely. What she means is that, you don't have to be overly cautious on how you treat us. It's not like were gonna eat you or something. And it just makes us uncomfortable."
"I'm t-terribly sorry if I-"
"Alright girl stop!" Ellen prevented her before she go overboard with her actions again. "Let's just move on shall we?"
"Y-yes! This way please!" Alice hurriedly said in order to not piss off Ellen. The rest could only smile helplessly at her attitude, but at the same time, they were also wondering why she was acting like this.
They then proceed to walked towards the building not to far from the main building. Comparing the two, this one is much bigger for some reason. Once they entered the facility, then then became aware as to why…
"This is the Multi-Purpose Building, arguably the most important location of Inner Branch." Alice spoke with a great reverence to her voice.
They all arrived at a circular room after entering the main door. Then they saw five more doors in front of them, they followed Alice and entered a door that has a six pointed star symbol on top. Stepping in to the said room, they saw multiple portals that swirl with myriad of colors along with chairs, a shelf and an elder who's currently discussing something with a student.
"Welcome to the Information Section of the Multi-Purpose Building. This is where the rich trove of knowledges about myriad of things could be found. Historical records, informations about what's beyond our walls, details about influential people, ancient clans, and even the collection of known beasts. If it is information that you seek, then this is place where you should go." Alice became a bit proud when she introduced this section.
She then beckoned and went towards the elder. She then spoke on behalf of the team and introduced them to him. The elder looked at the team with a glimmering gaze and said:
"Welcome Young Geniuses. This Old Man's name is Norman, feel free to call me Old Man or Elder Norman whichever you prefer." He then looked at Alice and asked: "I assume you want to show them what's inside?"
Alice unhesitatingly nodded which made Norman chuckle, "Very well. I'll give you ten minutes for free. Be careful not to make too much noise nor damage anything inside."
Alice's eyes brightened and hurriedly said: "Thank you Elder Norman!"
"Off you go then…" Norman chuckled and waved his hands, the team also expressed their thanks by bowing towards him. Afterwards, Alice then beckoned them towards the portal on which they stepped inside.
Their eyes were momentarily blinded for a while, after their visions adjusted, the majestic scenery of what lies beyond the portal greatly astonished them.
It was a gigantic library. There's at least five floor with countless of shelves and books in them. They smelled the waft of old paper, glanced at the bright globes of light attached at the ceiling and sides of the room and saw many students that were currently searching for informations or silently reading at the wide array of chairs and tables at the ground floor.
Alice then gave them a quick reminder: "This is the Grand Library, a place that could only be found by going through the portal in the Information Section. Thanks to Elder Norman, we have ten minutes to roam here. Usually, one have to pay Merit Points to enter. One hour is equivalent to 10 merit points."
She then hurriedly grabbed the pamphlets near her and handed it to them. "In order to avoid wasting time, the librarian made it easy by writing the general category in these pamphlets, do check them whenever you plan on entering so that you can make use of your time in reading instead of searching."
The team nodded and took her advices to heart. She then told them to make use of their time left and roam the library.
On the other hand, Raven was feeling a bit complex in his heart. As he gazed on to the beautiful arrangement of shelves and books inside this place and silently compared it to the image that he saw back then.
'I stumbled onto this place after the destruction of the kingdom. Half of the books here were reduced to ashes and another 25% were destroyed, the rest that I managed to scavenged are just historical records and few bodies of people who were unknown to me.'
Back then, Raven wasn't allowed to step in here since he wasn't even a student of the Inner Branch. He could briefly remember how envious he was at those students who had all of this knowledge and resources on their hands, yet in the end, only him remained. He remembered how these students mocked and disdained him for being trash and talentless yet in the end, all of them died without a proper burial, leaving him alone for a very long time.
While he was reminiscing about the past, their free time passed quickly. Paul tapped him by his shoulder to remind him that their time was up. He got up and left the Library through the portal, together with Alice, they bid farewell with Elder Norman and left the Information Section as well.
They went back to the circular room that has five doors. The kids made a mental note that if they want to go to the Information Section, they had to enter the door that has a six-pointed star symbol on top. Alice then beckoned to them once more as they entered the next room.