Magister Algira, the head librarian, sat at a large oak desk in the center of the library. His sharp eyes scanned the latest batch of proposals with practiced efficiency, his hands moving with a chanical precision honed over years of service.
He had seen many groundbreaking works pass through his hands, but the day had been relatively quiet, the usual chatter of scholars blending into a familiar background murmur.
That is, until the alert went off.
A sudden chi echoed through the library, shattering the calm. Algira straightened in his chair, frowning slightly. The floating mana screen in front of him flickered to life, casting a pale blue glow over his face. At first, he didn't pay much attention, expecting another minor submission from one of the newer academics.
But as the titles appeared on the screen, his expression shifted from disinterest to sharp, calculated focus.
"Harmony Between Chaos and Necromancy: Balancing Disparate Forces"
"Familial Ideologies and Magic: Tracing the Origin Attributes in Bloodlines"
"The Dungeon Core Phenonon: chanisms Behind the Ergence of Dungeons"
"Mana Flow Disruption and Stabilization: Identifying and Repairing Imbalances in Magical Systems"
The library's usual hum fell into an eerie silence as the significance of the submission began to ripple through the room. Scholars who had been deep in their work looked up, their attention imdiately drawn to the glowing screen. The titles alone carried the weight of subjects that had eluded the magical community for centuries.
And there, at the bottom of the screen, the na that had been absent from such submissions for years: Professor Draven.
"Impossible…" Algira muttered under his breath, his sharp eyes narrowing as he leaned forward to examine the details. He had not heard that na in four long years, and the last whispers of Draven in academic circles had been full of doubt and dismissal. Many believed he had disappeared into obscurity, his research a failure, his potential wasted. But now, this—four abstracts submitted at once?
The silence was broken as whispers spread across the room like wildfire. Scholars leaned in close to one another, exchanging incredulous looks and hushed words.
"Draven? After all these years?"
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"Four abstracts? Is he serious?"
"Chaos and necromancy? That's dangerous even for him…"
"Isn't this the sa man who handed out that insane midterm test? The one nobody can finish?"
Algira barely noticed the growing buzz as his mind raced. He quickly pulled the abstracts up on his personal mana screen, skimming through the summaries. His pulse quickened as he read through them. These weren't just ambitious; they were bold, revolutionary even.
Each one tackled issues that had baffled the magical community for decades, concepts that were rarely discussed because no one had dared to address them—until now.
He stood abruptly, the wooden legs of his chair scraping loudly against the stone floor, causing more heads to turn.
"Send these to the peer review departnt," Algira ordered one of his aides, his voice calm but urgent. "Now. Make sure the council's top experts get them imdiately."
The aide, wide-eyed and clearly flustered, nodded quickly and rushed to fulfill the order. Algira knew what these abstracts ant. If they were as substantial as they appeared to be, Draven's return to the academic world would send shockwaves through the council—and not necessarily in a good way.
Draven had never been one to play by the rules. His thods were… unconventional, to say the least. And if his previous research was anything to go by, these papers were bound to stir more than just intellectual debate.
By now, the library was a hive of murmurs, each scholar and council mber speculating on the abstracts. Many had known Draven during his active years—so had even worked alongside him—but his fall from grace had been swift and brutal. To see his na attached to not one, but four abstracts all at once, well, it felt like the calm before the storm.
As the abstracts were distributed to the peer review departnt, the gravity of what had just landed on their desks settled in.
____
The peer review process began within the hour. The council's top scholars were called in, their expertise aligning with the fields Draven's abstracts covered. The first abstract, "Harmony Between Chaos and Necromancy
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