Orion hadn't imagined shopping would turn out like this. At least, buying this much food wasn't part of the plan.
He spent ten minutes looking for clothes, but it seemed they needed to go to a main commercial district for quality items.
"We are in a district where Elites train, so the population is low. The real commercial district must be somewhere else."
Orion understood the reason. Still, he could see things other than fruit and vegetables in this area. From Kalista's gaze, he realized those unapproachable places were likely brothels or slave trading posts.
A few students in expensive clothes exited those buildings, followed by their entourages.
Orion decided he didn't want to learn about the dark side of this new world just yet. He chatted with Leile and walked toward the dormitory.
On the way back, Orion spotted the library they had passed a few times before. He instantly found the place where he would spend his time until evening.
"Classes start the day after tomorrow. Let's stop by the library. Is there an option to take books to the dorm?"
Orion's gaze shifted directly to Kalista. Leile was just as ignorant about the school as he was.
"You can buy or rent books by paying a few times more credits. But I think you should rent. Books pile up after a while, and it is forbidden to damage books with the Library stamp. Even if you bought them..."
Kalista whispered the last few words, but Orion could hear her easily. A pleasant side effect of his increased stats.
"I'll start getting ready for dinner then. I'll move my things too. You can come to the dorm when you're done." Leile smiled at Orion and nodded hesitantly at Kalista.
Orion and Kalista headed toward the library while Leile returned to the staff building where she had stayed for the last two weeks. Since they had agreed on dinner, everyone had a few hours to handle their own matters.
While walking along the path to the library, Orion occasionally glanced at Kalista. Every time he did, the quiet woman slowed slightly and fell back behind him.
They reached the library. Orion immediately noticed that the building looked surprisingly small for a school like this.
"Isn't this place kind of small?" he muttered.
As they approached the entrance, many students outside began sneaking glances first at Kalista, then at Orion. During the half minute it took to step inside, everyone near the entrance and in the courtyard was openly staring. Most of those looks were directed at Orion.
Orion remembered how much attention the S-1 marking on his shoulder attracted. These people looked like they didn't care about his status, but something else. This was the first time he felt something was off.
The main structure of the library, at least the building visible from the outside, sat above a cavity like a massive pit. Its huge windows let light pour in, but it wasn't enough.
Giant lamps and angled mirrors lined the entrance level, directing light downward into unknown depths. The entire structure formed a spiderweb of wood, crystal, and metal, carrying both sunlight and lamplight into the pit.
Orion was sure there must be mirrors or something similar inside those lines transferring the light.
The true library, with its books and people, lay inside a vast pit that spread out more and more as it descended. Orion paused near the stairs and watched for at least a minute before heading down.
"What is this place, Kali?"
"The Midka Library is extremely valuable to humanity. That's why the upper levels are open to students and faculty during the day. But the deep levels are under heavy protection." She looked around with familiarity.
"So the school is hiding all the knowledge in this pit in case of sudden attacks."
She acknowledged it with a quiet sound.
"Then where can I find books with general knowledge?"
Kalista walked ahead and used the center of the massive staircase leading down. After descending a bit, they reached a stone level surrounded by metal rails.
The minus-one floor was slightly wider than the ground level. Instead of mirrors, it was filled with study rooms, chairs and desks used by staff or students. Some walls were lined with thin pipes that looked like gas lines, yet somehow appeared decorative.
When Orion tilted his head up, he saw light reflected from the mirrors above bouncing off crystal stones embedded in the walls of this level. Their numbers were still few.
"Normally, something like this shouldn't even work. Something strange is going on here." Kalista nodded but didn't bother to answer. She continued downward.
As soon as they reached the floor below, they were met by brilliant crystals and majestic bookshelves. The -2 Floor marked the beginning of the true library, spreading widely in every direction.
The lighting on this floor had many more spiderweb-like lines. The environment was brighter than on floor -1, and the lighting was good enough to comfortably read a book.
This level alone likely held hundreds of shelves and tens of thousands of books.
When Orion looked down through the central opening, he realized the library descended even further, widening as it went. The depth was unsettling.
"How many books do you think this library has?"
"Millions."
They wandered around the -2 Floor for a while, browsing random sections. Even a core topic like history had its library section far away on this floor. The shelves closest to the stairs were filled with subjects Orion didn't care about.
Magic, elemental theories, spell techniques from various authors, blacksmithing, alchemy, synthesis and many more. There was even an entire corridor about archery before the history section.
While Orion looked around as if enchanted, his mind buzzed and his heart raced in shock. Then he wondered about something.
"Kali, I'm going to ask something a bit strange. Please keep this between us, okay?"
"Mm..."
"Have you ever heard terms like Stats, STR... Charisma or Essence?"
"No..." She didn't even hesitate. She thought the words were from some kind of slang or a strange book.
Orion, certain that his silent bodyguard didn't understand the words he said, turned his head back to the books. "Alright. Can we first find something about the History of the World?"
Kalista was wearing one of Orion's t-shirts and a pair of pants they had bought ten minutes ago. Although Orion had suggested feminine and beautiful clothes, Kalista had chosen simple attire.
From this angle, she looked like a gorgeous senior, wearing Orion's t-shirt.
The silent bodyguard brushed her brown hair away from her eyes. She searched the bookshelves briefly, then pulled out two books and handed them to him carefully.
"Is this enough?"
Orion looked at the two books, one thin and one very thick, both written by authors with unfamiliar names. The thin book covered world history. The thick one focused on war and magic history.
"Thank you. Should we head upstairs and find a place to sit?"
"Mm..." A cute nod.
On the way back, Orion grabbed a few more books that caught his eye. One was a small, thin volume titled Dwarves and Metals.
Another was a massive encyclopedia on alchemy. Its leather cover and two-thousand-page thickness were intimidating. The title read Introduction to Alchemy.
"It's clear I won't be taking alchemy classes. This isn't meant for humans. Anyone without masochistic tendencies or self-respect couldn't endure this."
Kalista agreed with his opinion and even nodded her head in confirmation.
The last book, which was hard to carry, was the most interesting. It was an observational study on different races and their elemental perception differences.
None of these were deliberately chosen masterpieces or definitive works. Both Kalista and Orion had picked fairly average books from random places.
They returned to the -1 floor. Only a few people were scattered around, wearing dirty clothes and looking about twenty-two or twenty-three. Both men and women lounged or sat on the floor as if the world didn't matter. One small girl even meditated at a round table, completely buried under books.
No one paid much attention to the two of them.
Orion leaned back in his chair and pulled the first book, the thin world history volume, toward him. He pushed everything else aside.
Thanks to the language skill he had acquired when he met Thalia, he could read it as if it were his native tongue. That was a huge relief because the language itself was dense.
The book began by explaining that the word "Midka" changed across races and wasn't a shared name.
For example, the Elf Kingdoms called this magical planet "Atani". Other races favored short names with dominant 'N' sounds.
Two moons were named Ithil and Ethil. From what Orion understood, these names had passed from Elves to Humans, who used the same names for them.
Overall, the book described the planet as ancient and chaotic. In antiquity, far older and more terrifying magics and creatures existed. Over time, the planet changed with different events.
Humans maintained detailed records for the last few thousand years by copying sources from elves and other higher races. They extended their records of history to ten thousand years.
The first page asked a simple question: What is Human?
Orion leaned back slightly. It was a question he hadn't expected to face so soon.