Moving through the streets, Kai observed his surroundings. He was surprised by the contrast between the night and day atmosphere.
'One should definitely take a walk in the evening... I think you can find a lot of interesting things then...' - Kai strolled along smilingly.
He was currently within the Shadow Sect and was walking towards the Library. When he had ordered breakfast, he had asked about its location from the Shadow Palace staff. So, right now, he was leisurely heading that way.
As usual, Kai was completely oblivious to everyone's glances in his direction. Over the past month, many people had learnt about the new Personal Apprentice that had come out of nowhere. As with any closed society, rumours about him had already spread. Some of them were even quite amusing.
If one considered everyone from the Disciple Assistants to the Grand Elders, there were a huge number of people in the Shadow Sect. Even so, the hierarchy was quite structured, allowing rumours to spread quickly. Especially, there were many attendants at the banquet, which also added fuel to the fire.
Some passersby greeted him respectfully, while some simply lowered their heads or whispered quietly. Personal Apprentice status was indeed special.
'Where to start... Actually, I don't think I can find more than I already know... This is it!' - Pronounced in his thoughts Kai.
He finally saw the Library building! It was similarly made of white stone. But the exterior was rather subdued. It was a rectangular, tall building with many windows. It seemed to give off an aura of austerity and calmness.
Kai didn't bother to admire it and went straight to the entrance and then to the front desk.
Inside, everything was just as restrained. Tidiness and cleanliness immediately caught the eye. Everything was decorated very neatly. The building went not only upwards, but also deep downwards. Looking around, Kai realised that there were bookshelves everywhere you looked.
But most importantly, there was no mess! Everything was clearly in its proper place! When Kai looked at the crowds of quietly walking visitors, he could see how reverent they were about order. Everyone seemed to honour the rules of the Library with the utmost respect.
- Hello, I would like to know about your rules, as this is my first time here. - Kai said with a smile, addressing the woman behind the counter.
- Oh! This is Mr Immortal Drunkard! Welcome! - Respectfully, with a smile on her face, greeted her, - It's simple, keep quiet, do not disturb other visitors and return the book or scroll to its place. - The woman explained.
- What about the Reputation Points? I was told that they were needed to enter the Library. - Kai asked with interest.
- You don't have to pay anything for the top, first level, it's free. But for the next four, there is a daily admission fee. 1, 3, 5 and 20 Reputation Points respectively. If you want to rent a particular book or scroll, register it with me or my colleagues. You will find out the price at the bookshelf itself. - With a smile, the girl explained.
- Oooh... That's how it is... - Kai said thoughtfully, this was about what he expected, - How do you get paid? If you go down to level 5, you have to go through all the previous levels. Wouldn't I have to pay for all of them? - Kai asked with a smile.
Actually, he didn't care about the payment at all. He was just curious about the mechanism itself. It happened that the older Kai got, the more he realised that it was better to clarify all questions and nuances from the beginning. This manner of communication was slowly becoming his habit.
- You will only have to pay if you stay on the floor for more than ten minutes. Once the Reputation Points are removed, you can safely stay there all day.'' - The woman replied.
- So if I just go to look around, it's free? - Raising an eyebrow, Kai asked.
- If you put in ten minutes, yes! - Nodding, politely replied the employee.
- I understand, thank you very much! If I want to take something with me, I will come back to you! - Kai thanked her with a smile.
First of all, Kai decided to walk through all the floors to see what was going on. It was only when he started doing this that he realised why the employee was sceptical about the ten minute stretch....
There were too many bookshelves here... Even just to take a look at them would take a whole lot of time.
- Looks like I'm here for the long haul...' Kai said with a crooked smile.
Only after a whole day Kai managed to walk through all 5 levels... Fortunately, it was a bit easier than he had expected. As each successive level became less spacious. The density of books on the shelves was also noticeably decreasing. Thus, there were only about a thousand books on level 5. Whereas on level 1, there were countless.....
After going around all this, Kai deduced his own classification of the Library's floors.
Level 1 - The situation was no different from back home. There was too much variety of fiction. It seemed that there were mostly works there for those who wanted to pass their leisure time.
Level 2 - Books and scrolls that are more relatable to reality. But mostly they described things in a rather vague way. It was very similar to the book Kai had read yesterday. There were also a lot of questionable writings as well. Kai didn't even know if he could trust the information in some of them.
Level 3 - There were already a lot of works about crafts and their history. There were also various books with reflections and conclusions of obscure researchers. The works here could already be trusted. Ideally though, confirm the information in practice if possible.
Level 4 - Narrowly specialised books, as well as the basics of various basic sciences. Books on the theory of energy origins, attributes, and so on could be found there. Analysing the stages of development and cultivation. Naturally almost all of them, were only theory.
Level 5 - Books by the most famous researchers in various fields. The information there is almost guaranteed to be reliable. Some of the works you won't be able to understand if you don't have enough knowledge.
Naturally, after analysing all of this, Kai was most interested in Level 5. He already had enough secrets of his own that he didn't have an explanation for. If he started reading untested literature, he could only confuse himself more.
And he preferred to learn everything about the craft of Alchemy and Array from the works of the Alliances themselves. It was logical to assume that the most accurate information related to them would be found there.
Walking through all the levels, Kai noticed a few books that interested him, but he decided to save them for later. Right now he was interested in the 5th, the lowest floor.
- I wish I understood something else... - Kai said, scratching the back of his head.
At this moment, he was standing on level 5, looking at a book called 'Heaven's Barrier: The Movement of Stars'. Reading it, Kai didn't understand what it was all about... It talked about the positions of different stars, and how they moved. It even talked about some laws....
- This is bullshit... - Kai said and put the book back in its place.
After a few minutes, he finally saw something that seemed clear and interesting to him.
- Hmm... Let's see... - Saying that, he picked up the book and walked towards the tables.
Each level had its own vast areas where one could sit and read in peace. There was always someone there and looking at the book with interest. But unlike the other levels, there were quite few people on level 5....
But considering that the price for a day's visit, could be equal to someone's monthly salary... It wasn't surprising at all....
- So... I hope you won't disappoint me Kar Yorma. - Kai said thoughtfully.
It was the author's name written on the book, and the book itself was called 'Mysteries of the Heavenly Continent's Prehistory'.
This was exactly what Kai needed. Although he now had a better understanding of the structure of the Heavenly Continent, and who was in charge of it. But it gave absolutely no answer at all to the question of the previous civilisation, the catastrophe, its causes, and so on.
Kai was in the Astral City and had read the memories of the Astral Alchemy Emperor. He knew for a fact that ancient, forgotten history was not fiction. Except, he didn't realise how many of his contemporaries had come to a similar conclusion...
Kai would be lying if he said he had no expectations for this book. He was really eager to find out at least some of the details.