The fifth day of the week dawned calm and a little too bright. After a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, Noah slung his satchel over his shoulder and stood.
"I’ll see you later." He said to Arlo, who was still chewing a piece of bread, his new blindfold a shade of teal today.
"Good luck in the stacks." Arlo said, lifting his cup. "Try not to inhale too much dust. You’re still recovering from yesterday’s torture."
Noah gave a short wave, then made his way across campus toward the library.
It was much busier than usual. The free day ant that many students, especially those without training drills or lessons, had flooded into the building for various reasons. Studying, research, or just a quiet place to sit. The usual soft quiet was replaced by a gentle murmur of voices, footsteps on polished floors, and the occasional squeak of chairs.
He walked past the central desk and approached the head librarian, who looked up from her paperwork with practiced calm.
"Ah. You must be the punishnt assignnt." She said with a slight smile. "Professor Cecilia did say you were coming in today."
"Guess I’m famous." Noah muttered.
The librarian chuckled and motioned toward one of the side corridors. "You’re assigned to Miss Elira. She’s waiting inside. Third aisle to the left, then keep going straight until you see a desk tucked under a painting of a fox."
Noah nodded, thanking her, and followed the directions. He passed rows of thick bookshelves, the sll of old parchnt and ink growing stronger as he moved deeper into the heart of the library.
At the end of the path, he spotted a tall, slim woman with her red hair pulled into a tight bun. She was seated behind a small desk, precisely where the librarian had described. She glanced up, gave him a brisk nod, and handed him a feather duster.
"Books on farming," she said without any preamble, pointing to a long, shadowy stretch of shelves. "All of them need dusting. Be careful with the older volus. They fall apart if you sneeze near them. Don’t try to read anything. Just clean."
Noah took the duster and walked to the section, his curiosity mildly piqued. Books on farming? Maybe magical crops? Mana-infused soil?
His hopes vanished within the first few minutes. They were ordinary books. Dry ones. The kind with titles like ’Proper Drainage Systems for Hill Plantations’ and ’Fertilizer Ratios for Barley under Northern Climate Patterns.’ Each page seed like a challenge to stay awake.
He sighed, shaking his head as he got to work. There’d be no secret spell or hidden technique buried in these books. Just the simple, unremarkable knowledge of plows, rainfall, and crop rotations.
Still, he kept dusting, one slow shelf at a ti.
As he dusted a particularly thick layer of gri off a long forgotten to, he paused to stretch his aching shoulders.
His fingers ached, and the feather duster was starting to feel like a brick in his hand. The air was stale back here, and he yawned, turning to the next shelf.
That was when he heard it. A faint sound. A shuffle. A murmur.
He paused, head tilted, but the noise stopped.
’Probably just another student,’ he thought, returning to work.
But the sound ca again, soft voices bouncing off the tall shelves.
Noah narrowed his eyes. The area was buried so deep within the library, most students wouldn’t even bother to co this far. Why would anyone be talking here?
Curious, he crept toward the far end of the aisle, moving slowly past dusty spines. Then, between the gaps of two shelves, he saw a familiar face. Tall, slightly broad shouldered, and unmistakably smug.
Leo Hargreaves.
Noah tensed. The last ti he’d seen Leo, the second-year student had tried to crush him with a powerful ice spell to steal his B-rank spell token.
Now he stood casually in the middle of the aisle, arms crossed, glasses glinting under the faint overhead lighting.
Two other second-year students flanked him, one tall and gaunt, the other shorter but broad in the chest.
Between them stood a redheaded boy, who looked every bit as strong as the rumors claid.
Noah had heard of him. Galahad sothing. A known second-year, and a powerful one at that. His rank was F, but unlike most, Noah had heard that his strength was acknowledged even by the third-year students.
"I said no." Galahad snapped, his voice low but firm.
Noah crept closer, kneeling beside a lower shelf and pretending to dust while peeking through the cracks.
Leo chuckled, his voice like ice cracking on a lake. "You know, Galahad, I always admired your taste. Especially in won."
Galahad’s fists clenched. "Leave her out of this."
"Ah, but I can’t. See, your little dalliance with that girl from House rrow? Not exactly approved by your father, is it?" Leo stepped forward, eyes gleaming.
"If word got to him, he’d crush her family. Your little romance would burn in a day. She’d probably be married off to so sixty-year-old baron before sunset."
Galahad’s jaw tightened. "You wouldn’t."
Leo smiled. "I would. Unless, of course, you co along with us."
Galahad looked ready to explode, but then he exhaled slowly, like a balloon letting out steam. "Where?"
"E-rank monolith." Leo said, his tone almost casual. "This seventh day. I have a contact who’ll let us in. Don’t worry about the rules. We’ll be in and out before the Guild even notices."
"Students aren’t allowed to enter monoliths." Galahad muttered.
Leo shrugged. "Students aren’t allowed to burn down dormitories either, but you don’t see anyone stopping the Gold-tier brats from fireworks practice."
The silence stretched. Then Galahad said, bitterly, "Fine. But after this, you stay away from her."
Leo grinned. "Of course."
Galahad turned and walked away without another word, shoulders stiff and fists still clenched.
The mont he was gone, Leo turned to his cronies, his smile now cocky and triumphant.
"There," he said. "With Galahad, we’ve got the power we need. That monolith will be cleared, and the loot will be ours."
"Think we’ll find anything rare?" one of the cronies asked.
Leo adjusted his glasses. "It’s an E-rank monolith. If we’re lucky, maybe so rare type of monster at, or spell ingredients. But more than that, if we pull this off, we’ll gain advancent materials. Enough to finally advance and get bumped into Gold-tier."
The other crony snorted. "And the best part? No one suspects a thing. Who’d think a few students would sneak into a monolith?"
Leo nodded. "Exactly. Let’s keep it that way."
Then the three turned and began walking down the aisle, away from Noah’s hiding spot.
Noah remained crouched, his mind working on just what he’d heard.
Monoliths were dangerous. Even E-rank ones had claid the lives of many full-fledged mages. If sothing went wrong, they wouldn’t have the teachers or the Guild to save them.
But they were also a good source of money, which was sothing Noah was lacking, and needed, if he was going to advance. He couldn’t stay at FFF-rank forever.
He exhaled slowly, backing away from the shelves.
Maybe... he’ll do sothing about this.
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