The interactive map had said it would only take 20 minutes to get there, but after three mile-long cableways and a brisk walk through some popular zones, he realized what Eve said was right.
He was lost. And it would take an additional 30 minutes to finally find his way through the flying facilities and magic cables.
It was all still so surreal to him. He had passed many grand halls on his way, hearing the crashing waves as he hurried along the blue tower for water mages and the sound of bending earth near the gold tower for earth apprentices. But more radiant than all before him was the library of St. Fanne who had rapidly stabilized the church after the great devil war.
With the church's manpower and resources, he established this library amongst many other things, etching his own name into history despite truly not doing much of anything else.
Rain approached. Even the stairs had circuits on them, running through the stone and to the ground.
After passing through the barrier, he felt a buzzing on his crystal tablet. Pulling it out from his pocket, there were words:
Rules
1. The books of the library must stay inside.
2. Any attempt to damage school property will result in punishment depending on the severity of the damages.
All disputes can be settled through battle.
And at the end, it showed Rain that he could only access the first floors. A magic barrier, it seems, would prevent him from venturing further up.
He had been so preoccupied with this technology that when he actually looked up and opened his eyes to the library, he was in awe.
There were innumerable floors that stretched to the sky and likely hundreds of thousands of books per floor. The bookshelves were all lined with gems and runes, packed full of books so high up that floating platforms were taking students up and down.
A calming scent of the mahogany colored wood made it feel like you were outside, and the dark brown of the interior felt like a cozy home despite its grandeur.
For all intents and purposes, this library was perfect.
Then he felt a sudden ethereal pressure on him. It felt like someone was staring. And as quick as it came, it went away.
Rain turned around, trying to find the source, but was unsuccessful.
Maybe it was just the barrier.
Anyways, where the hell am I supposed to start?
None of the shelves were labeled.
Not wanting to dwell long, Rain moved to a shelf, and as soon as he stood in front of it, his crystal plate buzzed again, registering in front of him the section of the library he was in.
"Well, that's convenient."
Now he just needed to find something about the underworld.
He passed through the sections and eventually arrived at: World History.
It wouldn't take long for him to find plenty of books about the entire war between devils and terrestrial races. It was, afterall, the most well-recorded event in all of history.
He started with a small one titled The War Between Worlds:
100 years before the creation of the alliance between terrestrial races, an enormous rift connected to the underworld was opened at the bottom of the Sapphire Abyss, flooding the sea with devils and hell-spawn that climbed to shore and overran the land.
Not only that, the rift brought with it the unending dark mana of the abyss, corrupting the already monstrous creatures deep within the ocean.
It was only after three years did we discover from the memory of a dead seafolk that the rift resided in the Sapphire Abyss. But it was too late.
The rift had grown too large by then; the demons were as fruitful on land as they were any other animal, tearing apart villages and eventually kingdoms.
In the tenth year the Arch-demon Aamon appeared. He was undefeatable, killing kings and tearing down nations with relative ease. That was why we called him a demon king.
In the 27th year, we learned that Aamon was no king, and that the so-called demon kings lay silently in the underworld. Aamon was only a general, but his strength was so immense that only the saintess Angeline with the power of the nations' alliance could maintain a status quo.
In the 51st year, the demon Aamon was sent with heavy injuries back to the underworld…
In the 94th year, most hellspawn had been purged…
On the 100th year, the new calendar began, setting the stage for a more peaceful age despite the smaller rifts that would spring up occasionally.
Those were the main points. Otherwise, it was mostly filled with small-time battles and politics during the war.
The Sapphire abyss…
He looked for books on the Sapphire Abyss next. Stepping on a floating platform, he tapped on a button to make it fly up, eventually stopping on a book called The Seven Forbidden Zones of the Oceans.
It detailed, as the name implied, seven different aquatic areas that housed unimaginable dangers.
As a standard for areas, there are five levels of danger from levels one through five–one being a relatively safe town, three being for skilled adventurers, five being for special forces and coordinated operations.
Above all, there were forbidden zones that were one level higher. They were eldritch in character, filled with dangers beyond the capabilities of any single mortal. The Sapphire abyss was one of them.
Previously, it had been a fifth category hazard zone, but after the rift appeared, it had been corrupted with the heaviest dark mana in the world, eliciting wild mutations amongst the fauna there.
But despite its danger, it is the most well-known of all forbidden zones as annual checkups are done by the nations' alliance's most powerful forces to ensure no rift reappears.
Rain was engrossed in the books. There was a certain pull to them, and before he knew it, the day turned to night.
Time sure flies.
He had to go back now.
Today was quite fruitful and he left with a smile on his face.
*********
Far off in a dimly lit room, a mature looking lady was staring at a pendant with an image of Rain projected on it.
She frowned, but was also amused by the sight, and closed it soon after he exited the library, taking a sip of cherry wine as she leaned back in her sofa.
What a peculiar creature…
She smirked a little before teleporting away.