Chapter 190 - Silence

When Jien and the others approached the counter one of the hooded receptionists looked up, though their hood hid their features still, impenetrable shadows resisting their senses. The others in his group didn't make any moves since they were unsure how the library actually worked. They lacked the knowledge of how to access the books, the upper terraces, let alone if and how they would be able to borrow books from the shelves to take and study in their own space.They were still within the first few days and though they had given it a short look through they had not given the rule book and guide a thorough read as Jien had. They feared that without him at this time they would make a mistake and end up being punished. This institution may be called an academy, but it was first and foremost a military bootcamp. The rules were strict and the punishments more so. Nobody wanted to be handed a punishment that they didn't even know. Beyond that they only recently were able to know about the workings of the academy due to the oath of secrecy that every member of the nation who had attended was forced to take.After seeing the receptionist raise their robed head Jien took a simple roll of parchment from his bag, seemingly prepared in advance. He set it on the desk and wordlessly the receptionist nudged it with their sleeve covered hand. The nudges roll of parchment seemed to open up, beginning to float before the receptionist and the group silently. What stunned the others of his group was that the roll of parchment was not short in the slightest, seeming to roll onto the desk and then behind it, supposedly onto the robed figure's lap.The robed receptionist seemed to scan the long parchment, only indicated by their hooded head lowering slowly. It was a long couple of minutes of reading the list in absolute tense silence. The other members of the unit beyond Jien and Julie seemed to be starting to sweat. The silence was just too oppressive, it ate at their nerves and minds nearly driving them mad.Their torment was finally ended when the robed figure nudged the parchment once more. The scroll rolled back up in a feat that looked almost like time rewinding before bursting into a ball of deep blue flames. The ball of flames then floated to Jien, who outstretched his hand, landing gently above his palm. It bobbed lightly for a moment, seeming to be turning in different directions like a compass. Once it seemed to settle on a direction it extended into the form of a flaming arrow pointing to a far edge of the room to the southwest.Jien nodded at the robed receptionist and wordlessly motioned for the others to follow after him. It was truly like speaking here or making noise itself was forbidden in the space. They were still sweating over the purity of the silence on their minds. They had not been prepared for such a scenario, expectation the library to be like some of the ones in their cities, towns, bustling and slightly noisy with whispered chatter and rustling of paper.It was a few more long minutes of walking in the direction of the arrow of blue flames pointed. The space before them was empty beyond the stone floor and tree like white pillars. The upper terraces were a maze of shelves from what little they could see but this bottom layer only had the outer walls filled. Despite this, once they finally made it to the southwestern area, they realized how much they had underestimated what was available to them,Before them was a section of bookshelves that when looking at them up close seemed to stretch for miles in either direction. From a distance it did not look to be this vast but when up close they were able to understand the breadth of the knowledge gathered for the new students to use. The pure volume of books, scrolls and slates of stone, so firmly packed that there appeared to not even be room for a single slip of paper to spare truly shocked even Jien to the core.Once they had finally made it within a few feet of the shelving the arrow floated forward and pointed to a thick tome bound in green leather with silver inlay. The text on the spine was simple and clean stating "Basics of Team Composition". Jien pulled the book from the shelf and as it slid free an identical book appeared to slip into place perfectly. None of them understood how this was possible but they understood the meaning of it. At least to a certain extent, no matter how many volumes of this, or any book were taken, a replacement would remain on the shelf for the next person.The blue arrow of flame descended into Jien's palm and spun like a compass once more before pointing to the right to indicate where the next book was. Jien handed the book that he had selected to Julie, who seemed to grimace at the thought of having to read such a thick book. Apparently, Jien had taken it seriously when he had mentioned tutoring her to make sure she was up to speed. Of course he was not just planning to find books for her. He was finally in a place that could offer him at least a touch of the knowledge he wanted.