Elysia entered into an immense grand hall which was made up of countless bookshelves on various levels and all of them were still on the first floor.
The Holy Library has five floors with different levels which indicate the importance and value of the information from the archives, books, or documentary records stored there.
‘Woah! The size! Look at the map over there, we are still on the first floor and have been presented with a hall this big and so many books… Where shall we start, Lil Ely?’
Elena was quite amazed to see the size of this library which was named the Holy Library. From the size and number of books that exist here alone, this place deserves to be called a state library, and it is still one of five floors…
‘Yes, they made this library a center of stored knowledge. Let’s read the library rules first before we continue.’
Elysia also shared the same opinion as Elena when she saw the immaculate magnificent interior of the many books on the shelf. She drew closer to the library map and list of rules on the wall right beside her.
The rules imposed in this library are not much different from the large libraries on Earth, but what makes Elysia interested is that the library provides a room to stay for knowledge seekers who usually spend the night in the library.
Then she proceeded to read some additional information listed beside the list of rules. There is a list of costs required to spend time in this library.
The cost of staying and spending a full day on the first floor is one silver coin, the second floor is two silver, the third floor is silver, and the fourth floor is silver four while the fifth floor requires special permission which Elysia doesn’t know.
After reading everything and understanding the rules she needed to follow, Elysia came to a counter to pay permission to go to the fourth floor.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I want to pay for access to the fourth floor.” Elysia greeted politely.
“Very well, young lady. How long would you like to spend here?” The library lady smiled in greeting.
“I’ll stay the night today and check out the morning of the third day.” Elysia is a bit hesitant in calculating the costs required, she only tells the point, and when she will check out.
“Hmm… Then you need 10 silver coins. Are you a student from the magic academy?”
“Yes, I am a new student at the Deterry Academy of Magic. This is the card they gave me.” Elysia took out a silver card encrypted with the magic academy insignia she was referring to.
“Ow~ Then you will get a twenty percent discount! You only need to pay eight silver coins, young lady. Your library card, please.” The library lady smiled kindly.
Elysia gave the library lady the library card she had just made and put back the silver card which also seemed to serve as her student proof card even though no personal data was written there.
The lady took the library card and did something to it then she returned the card to Elysia.
“Very well, now your permission has been made on this library card and your balance has been deducted. You can view your remaining balance by channeling a little magic energy into this library card, young lady. Have a nice day.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Elysia expressed her gratitude while receiving the card back and trying to see the balance in the manner told by the library lady. She channeled a little energy and then on the card she was holding appeared her name and the remaining balance was two silvers.
Then she went from the counter to go to the fourth floor via the stairs.
‘Ah… It is far and high… I wish there was an elevator or lift here…’ Elysia muttered in her mind as she just went up to the second floor.
‘For the sake of knowledge!’ Elena only cheered up with cheerful cheers.
Elysia gasped a bit after arriving on the fourth floor which had far fewer visitors seeking knowledge here. She gave her library card one more time to the guard and entered the great hall on the fourth floor.
Although here at a glance it looks similar to the previous floors, this floor holds more special knowledge than the previous floors.
Elysia comes to the historical knowledge section. In that section, strangely there didn’t have a single person apart from Elysia who had just come there.
‘The silence… Is the historical knowledge section being haunted? ‘Elena looked around and couldn’t find a single soul who was there.
‘Isn’t that great? I can seek knowledge in peace…’
Elysia happily took a look and wandered around then picked up some books to read. Then she came to a reading table that had been deliberately provided and put Vanessa on the table before diving into reading mode.
It was the umpteenth time she went back and forth to pick up several books and put them back in their original place after reading them.
Without realizing it, night had come and the sun had changed the moon but the library was still so bright and quiet for Elysia who was eager to seek knowledge after knowledge.
‘Lil Ely, it’s late at night. You didn’t notice because it’s always bright here due to the crystal lighting. Look Vanessa there, she was asleep. You also need good rest, you can’t have eye bags on your face.’ Elena expressed her concern when she felt they had accumulated enough knowledge for the day.
Elysia snapped out of the cacophony of knowledge when reminded by Elena. She didn’t feel tired at all right now, but when she saw Vanessa already curled up and snoring in her deep sleep, she couldn’t bear to continue her quest for knowledge.
Vanessa must be tired and sleepy after spending so much time reading with her master. Because of that, she decided to end for today and will continue again tomorrow.
She took all the books on the table and returned them to where she picked them up because that is one of the rules that must be obeyed.
“Oh. It’s rare that young people are interested in historical knowledge.” An old man with a white beard dressed in a white golden robe approached Elysia who was returning the books to their original positions.
Elysia is a little surprised by the presence of an old man approaching her in this lonely place, but she immediately calms down because she knows that the old man is a human being and not a ghost.
“Good evening, sir.” Elysia said hello as she put the book on the shelf. She let out a little sigh of relief when she didn’t see that this old man had evil intentions.
“What’s in the evening? It’s so late at night. You better rest in the special room that has been provided there. It’s not good for you to stay up all night, young girl.” The old man gave out kind advice when he accidentally bumped into Elysia.
“Thanks for your advice, sir. I was just about to… rest.”
Elysia appreciated the good advice from the old man, but her sentence broke when she saw the old man’s status. The last book she was holding fell to the floor as she was about to put it on the bookshelf.