Noctis trailed Lira through the Nightryn estates' sprawling corridors, his footsteps echoing against marble floors that glead under the soft glow of crystal lamps.
The air humd with faint mana, He flicked on his smartwatch, and glanced at the date-
25th Jan, 1647.
"Hmm, I have a year and a half till the University begins," he murmured, nodding to himself.
His eyes fell on the ssages icon, a glaring red 999 , he can already fell it, 'Yikes, that's a notification raid I'm not ready for.'
He swallowed hard, steeling himself. "Ti to face the raid," he muttered, tapping the app.
The hologram shimred, revealing a flood of chats. Two group conversations caught his eye.
The first, with eleven mbers, buzzed with familiar nas,'hmmm, fairly a normal group consisting of the main characters and so key classmates from the ga.'
He scrolled through their ssages, a mix of banter and plans for the university.
"Just your average squad chat," he chuckled at the chat.
Lira turned a corner, halting before a sturdy oak door etched with the Nightryn crest—a lightning-wreathed bird with green wind blades around its wings.
Noctis dismissed the hologram, as Lira pushed the door open.
The Nightryn family library was a spacious, welcoming room with tall wooden shelves packed with books and scrolls.
Sunlight stread through high windows, illuminating sturdy oak tables scattered with papers and a few books left on the table nearby.
The air carried a faint musty scent of old pages, and a soft hum of mana lingered, barely noticeable.
Rows of neatly organized books stretched along the walls, a cozy quiet place, perfect for study or a mont of reflection.
Lira waited for mont before she spoke,
"Master, I'll return shortly after tidying your room,"
"I'll bring the snacks"
Noctis nodded as he walked towards the shelves, noticing the labels on each sections. Making it easier to look for the desired book.
As Lira's footsteps faded, Noctis scanned the labeled sections, 'Spellcraft, History, Resonance Theory. At least I won't be lost in this maze of books.'
He walked towards the history section, fingers trailing over several book, as he read the titles one by one and finally his fingers landed on-The Eldarlea Continent.
The book's felt quite heavy as he carried it over to a table, its cover opening to reveal a vibrant map,
It was an illustration of the two continents.
Noctis traced the map, 'The ga ntioned, Eldarlea was two continents a thousand years ago, fused after Drewrath's invasion through a rift 900 years back.'
He located the Starborne Empire in the south, his family's territory nestled at its northern reign, bordering against the Solvorn Empire's reign.
The Solvorn sprawled across the Eldarlea's middle and east, while the church claid the west.
Snow-capped mountains ford through the continent, their passes now riddled with tunnels for travel to the other side of the mountains.
The northern part of eldarlea blood green with elven forests, Further north, taller mountains stand with a few covered in snow, that's where the dwarves carved their hos.
'Pretty much the ga's map, but with extra flavor', he thought, yawning as he flipped to the next page.
For the next few minutes, Noctis skimd the text, cross referencing ga lore with this world's reality.
Most matched- so empires rising while others fell, wars raging, internal conflicts, cults, etc..- the usual.
New details erged, this were not in the ga, 'The other half of Eldarlea ca through a rift, just like Drewrath?' His brow furrowed, leaning back in the creaking chair.
'In the ga, it was ntioned that the other half of the continent was just further away from the human continent.'
'The ga frad the collision of both collision due to the rift phenonon caused by the Drewrath continent smashing into the human one. But this book suggests the elven-dwarven lands arrived a century earlier through a similar rift.' He rubbed his temples, piecing it together.
'If elves and dwarves ca through a similar rift before the Drewrath, why haven't they warned or prepared themselves for the monster invasion? Sothing's off.'
His mind raced, thinking of possibilities. 'What if they're all from the sa plane, just with different ti of their arrivals? But that doesn't explain their silence'. He sighed, continuing to the next part.
Skipping Chapters on Pre Eldarlea wars, irrelevant for now—he read the surface level on the invasions and empire collapses, As he read, his eyes caught an interesting question posed by the author.
'Why aren't there no more than ten Transcended Rankers?'
Noctis chuckled, the answer he rembered from the ga knowledge.
'It was the world's will limit imposed on this planet, this world can't handle more. As for why, never ntioned in the ga' He leaned forward, elbows on the table.
'In the ga, leveling up was just the usual monster hunts and quests, with clear rank-up chanics till S-rank, while the Transcended rank was much more challenging, clear a trial from the world's will and kill the Transcended Ranker of their resonance elent, and I am sure, that is just only a part of on how to reach the transcended rank in this reality'. His smile faded as he rembered is elent.
'My elents are Zephyr and Umbra. The Zephyr Transcended ranker is a no-go, ranks in the top 3 despite their young age. No way I'm ssing with that anyti soon.'
He slapped his cheeks, snapping out of the daydream. "Focus, Noctis. Transcended rank is the endga. I've got bigger things to worry for now." Closing the book, he returned it to its shelf, his gaze shifting to the spellcraft section. 'Ti to learn this world's ma-'
The door creaked open, and Lira returned, balancing a tray of cookies and a glass of milk. "Well, guess my brain deserves a quick rest" he said, striding to the table as Lira set the tray down.
"Thanks, Lira," he said, flashing a smile as he sat down, He powered on his watch, the hologram flickering to life as he resud his ssage dive.
"It's my duty, Master," Lira replied, her voice polite but warm. She moved to a nearby table, tidying the scattered books.
Noctis opened the second group chat, a smaller one with five mbers. 'Ethan, Trisha, Lena, Rain, Clara—yep, the childhood squad I guess.'
Their nas made him rember of the watch's photos, carefree monts that never existed in the ga.
He scrolled through their ssages- concerns for him, pleas for replies, and chatter about the Ethereon University. 'These guys sure are close,' he thought, chuckling at a goofy exchange about Lena's failed cooking attempt. 'Way more chill than the ga's Rivalry.'
He closed the group chat after read all the ssages. He looked at the DM's.
His eyes lingered on Clara's na, which was at the top with most ssages. He looked at her with a complicated look.
'In the ga, she despised Noctis. Here, she's... worried?', He opened her chat, relief washing over him as he read.
Her ssages were kind, asking about his health, wondering why he'd gone silent. 'Good, no hate arc yet and hope it doesn't happen', He closed her chat.
Moving to Ethan's profile, the big brother character in the ga, his ssages were of the similar one from before.
Lena's threats of 'smack so sense' into him when she she sees the next ti made Noctis shudder, while Trisha's shy, sparse ssages felt like she couldn't decide on what to send next.
Rain, was twins with lean , the opposite of her, the clumsy type, his rambling texts, half apologies, trying to send s- drew a laugh from him.
Noctis leaned back stretching his arms as the last cookie vanished from the tray.
Lira stood a respectful distance away, her presence quiet as the room. He glanced at her, thinking about the entrance exam. "Lira, which university did you graduate from?"
Her eyes widened briefly, caught off guard, but she recovered swiftly.
"Star University, Master," she answered, bowing slightly.
"Nice," Noctis said surprised, she studied in the top 2nd university. "So, what should I focus on for Ethereon's theory exam? It will be in a year and half."
Lira paused, thoughtful. "For the magic theory, mastering the 4 basics of E- and D-rank spellcasting - spell structures, construction ,deconstruction and weaknesses. Studying magic circle analysis and spell integration basics are required".
"The math side tests your grasp of calculations; a exceptional mage needs solid numbers to cast without the support of external staffs or a wand."
Noctis's face froze in a nod, but on the inside, he was screaming. 'Math I can handle, but spell structures? Magic circles? I'm toast!' His confidence wavering.
'No matter the world, exams are my true bad ending.' He sighed, the weight of study looming like a raid boss.
"Hmm, Lira. Can you grab so books on those topics?" he asked, masking his dread.
"Yes, Master. Please wait a mont." Lira bowed, walking to the shelves, she went around the room picking out the required books.
Noctis tugged at his hair, banging his head lightly on the table. "This is so gonna end ," he groaned, lanting his fate.
The library's coziness felt like a trap now.
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