「Purchasing the stat ‘Magic Power’ for 1,100 points.」
「Stat ‘Magic Power’ increased by +110.」
An unreal phenomenon where magical power suddenly surged around the Circle.
It was a mysterious sensation that could only be described as divine power.
No matter how you looked at it, the feeling was good.
More magical power appeared at once than combining the First and Second Circles.
The Third Circle should be more than enough now.
“Hehehe. Finally, I’m going to visit the Imperial Palace Library.”
Although for slightly different reasons, Furnel also looked pleased.
They had just received permission from Sylvia to enter the Imperial Palace Library.
The most honorable post for a Guardian Knight in the Empire, as well as Benefactor of the Emperor.
Well, Hio was already friends with the Emperor, so there was nowhere he couldn’t go, but still, formal procedures had to be followed.
“Did you really want to go to the Imperial Palace Library that badly?”
“Of course. Unlike other places, this library would hold all history accurately recorded—with little exaggeration or lies.”
That’s why Furnel sang praises of the Imperial Palace Library so much.
“Isn’t it strange how little is known about the War Against the Abyss?”
Everything should have been faithfully recorded and stored there.
We came to find out the reason.
“Not only mages fought in that war. It was the Golden Age of Magic, so they had a big role, but all humans and other races fought together.”
Yet no one in the present day remembers it.
Dragons? Fairies? Elves? Spirits?
They’ve become little more than fairy tale creatures.
The war never happened, and no one remembers their sacrifices.
“This feels different from the loss of magic. Magic might be unlearnable now, but records have been preserved.”
Though people now view mages as frauds or clowns, the memories and records remain.
But nothing about the war has been passed down.
Hio himself found this puzzling.
In the game, there was no way to know such background.
Because of the limitations of being inside a monitor-world.
Even until the moment everything they had built collapsed under the overwhelming Abyss, little was uncovered about this phenomenon.
In fact, they hadn’t tried very hard to find out.
It was just a game after all.
But now, they had to find out and be curious.
Because this was reality.
So Hio headed to the Imperial Palace Library.
He showed his entry pass to the guards and stepped into the vast interior.
High ceilings and countless books arranged below.
Traces built up over a thousand years.
A tomb of history, possible because no external intrusion had ever been allowed.
“But this can’t be all.”
I agree.
The Empire existed even before the war, in an age when dragons breathed fire and magnificent magic was commonplace.
‘Could the Imperial Palace Library built in such an era be just this?’
Even without explanation, finding the way to the lower floors was easy.
Magic stones naturally embedded like ornaments.
Following the faint flow of magical power there naturally revealed a path.
When the entry pass was brought close,
the empty floor smoothly split open on both sides, revealing stairs descending below.
“They managed to maintain it well without understanding the mechanism.”
The secret stairs opened smoothly.
Magic stones seemed regularly replaced.
As befits the Imperial Palace, well maintained—yet the mystery only deepened.
If the method of entry itself had been lost, it would be one thing.
But entry was still allowed and maintained, yet no history of the past war was known.
Holding these doubts, they descended the wide staircase.
A space noticeably smaller than the upper floors.
But the books here were the real deal.
[Finon-Style Swordsmanship Manual]
[House Bidellue Secret Swordsmanship Manual]
[Barbary-Style Qi Training Manual]
[Parmenion-Style Fist Technique Manual]
[Gervas House Secret Spear Manual]
From striking martial arts manuals that looked extraordinary at a glance, to [Magic Tome – Ring of Fire]
[Magic Tome – Rain of Ice]
[Jerman Babel – The Future and Improvement of Gravity Magic]
Though fewer in number, there were also magical tomes and related dissertations.
“No need to envy the magic tomes much. Nothing special seemed to be in them. Before coming here, they had already been reviewed at the Tower of Mages and sent to the palace, so that was natural.”
Furnel said everything here was probably already at the Tower of Mages.
No matter how grand the thousand-year-old empire was, the Tower of Mages was supreme in all matters magic.
Regardless of country, the Tetraidia Magic Tower held absolute magical authority.
In the end, the real target here was historical records.
[Gumak Commercial Kingdom]
[Gumak Commercial Kingdom, Volume 2]
[Yeonrijeon Eastern Alliance, Volume 1]
[Yeonrijeon Eastern Alliance, Volume 2]
[Yeonrijeon Eastern Alliance, Volume 3]
The history books with the most volume.
From distant ancient kingdoms not revealed in the game, to the names of still-existing nations.
Records of the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms.
“Oh… as expected, the Empire was deeply involved in the politics of other countries. They denied it so stubbornly, but…”
Besides national history, there were detailed writings on important families.
Secret histories within the Empire.
Confidences of the royal family and such.
Among these, one book stood out.
[The Struggle Against Strange Entities]
Buried among numerous history books, one book.
Because the meaning of ‘Strange Entities’ was immediately obvious from the title, Hio quickly pulled it out.
Surprisingly thin.
He read through the neatly written contents.
[1005: Eastern Taulin County, Wadad County, Nuits Viscounty. Consumed by Strange Entities.]
[1006: Western cities Kaelrot, Ideneye, Ravel County. Consumed by Strange Entities.]
[1007: Emperor Perdicas Verden, Order to Assemble. Official declaration of war against Strange Entities.]
[1008: Superhumans Graf Markov, Felipe Diosoti, Harke Ruad, Senior Mages Pascal Cadon and Hamilka Saint-André dispatched to critical Strange Entity zones.]
Reading on… something felt off.
The beginning was too abrupt.
No record of what Strange Entities were, when, or how it started.
He flipped through a few more pages.
“This is… the end?”
Too short.
And the important content was missing.
“…Huh.”
Furnel gave a hollow laugh.
At the same time, Hio realized the cause of the strange feeling.
“This is…”
Faint marks barely visible unless closely examined.
“Someone tore pages out.”
No wonder the beginning felt abrupt, the book was too thin, and some parts were strangely missing.
Someone had deliberately torn the book.
Concealing the content.
“Check the other books quickly!”
He put the book down and searched others.
[Rifue Cult Oracle]
The cult’s oracles recorded year by year.
Same thing.
The prophecies from the war period against the Abyss were all torn out.
[Shurdin Cult Oracle]
[Venus Cult Oracle]
[Mercurius Cult Oracle]
…All the same.
Only the prophecies from that period were missing.
They weren’t just unrecorded.
They were torn out.
So naturally that you wouldn’t notice unless looking carefully.
“Just a bit more… keep searching.”
After a long search… it was all the same.
All records from that period had been deliberately erased.
There wasn’t a single mention of other races, nor books related to them.
More than torn, they were completely erased.
Nothing else to do but speculate.
“…Let’s return.”
Ultimately, nothing was gained.
All that was left from the Imperial Palace Library was an uneasy feeling.
***
If we’ve reached this far, at least within the Empire there are no related records left.
They even tore out all records about the Abyss and other races deep within the Empire’s core.
“What could the reason be?”
“Well… honestly, I have no idea. From the middle of the war onward it’s become like a ghost.”
“Sigh. It can’t be helped.”
Who did it, and why, no one can guess.
And the missing records of that day… if not in the Imperial Palace Library, there’s no way to find out anytime soon.
“Then it’s time to leave.”
The business at the palace ended with the library.
Sylvia’s powers were also drawn out with a little help from Kingking, and with Teordo nearby, there was no need to worry… emergency contact could be made through Teordo.
It was time to leave the palace.
“Where to next?”
At Furnel’s question, Hio grinned.
There was a decided destination.
“I’m going to meet Sirbert.”
Hasn’t it taken too long to meet?
He had said back on Earth that he would visit soon.
But so much happened in the meantime.
Berga’s death. Tetraidia Magic Tower. Meeting Furnel and properly learning magic. Meeting Sylvia and making her Emperor.
After all that, he arrived.
The Imenia Academy.
And as Hio expected.
“There should be a mage’s house hidden there.”
Somewhere in Imenia Academy, there must be a portal leading to the Tetraidia Magic Tower.
The plan was to meet Sirbert, talk, find the mage’s house hidden underground, and head to the Magic Tower.
“This time, I’ll have to stay at the Tower a while.”
Because the civil war forced magic training into the background.
If there was a portal at the Academy to reach the Tower, he planned to invest time and properly master Third Circle magic.
“Smart thinking. You might even get to meet the other you at the Tower after a long time. Hehehe.”
***
Imenia Public Academy.
A sprawling campus with a history long enough to call it a city.
Talented rookies dreamed of studying at Imenia, and proven elites saw it as an honor to join as professors.
Thus, it was one of the Empire’s largest and most important institutions.
Training skill users and knights.
Building networks among future leaders of the Empire.
A place for social gatherings, unseen political struggles, family grudges… and so on.
In many ways, a complex and grand place called Imenia.
“Just because skills seem similar doesn’t mean they’re the same. The most important thing is to understand exactly what effects your skill has.”
Professor Sirbert.
“Once you understand the effects accurately, you must next find your own traits. Skills and traits—these two must be separated.”
His lectures were popular.
Clean appearance and easy-to-understand personality.
Unlike other skill faculty professors who demanded brute force and practical application alone, Sirbert had a well-established theory.
And the students who attended his lectures improved by leaps and bounds.
Not only that.
He had proven his own strength.
At least among students enrolled at Imenia, no one was unaware of Sirbert’s power.
His incredible feat of annihilating an orc tribe that had long troubled the Western Lugo region in half a day.
He had even earned the title “Master of Telekinesis” from the royal family.
His classes were always crowded with students.
Knowing exactly what their skills were,
and what innate traits they had to amplify synergy with those skills—
“That’s the key to easily strengthening your skills.”
A packed lecture hall.
Countless eyes focused on the renowned Professor Sirbert.
His calm voice echoed clearly.
“To clearly determine your skill’s effects…”
While Sirbert continued his lecture, suddenly the wide lecture hall door cautiously opened.
“Um… Professor Sirbert.”
At Assistant Professor Hoppen’s appearance, all eyes turned to him.
“I think you need to step outside for a moment.”
At those words, Sirbert’s brow furrowed.
Had Hoppen ever barged into class like this before?
He knew well Sirbert’s dislike of interruptions.
So Sirbert approached Hoppen with suspicion.
Outside in the hallway, after closing the lecture hall door, Hoppen explained.
“Well… someone came looking for you, and it seems you should go as soon as the lecture ends.”
Sirbert’s expression tightened further.
“Is that all you came to say, interrupting the lecture?”
“No, that visitor has the Guardian Knight’s Medal of the Empire.”
“Guardian Knight’s Medal?”
The figure that immediately came to mind.
“…Is the Sword Saint looking for me?”
Guardian Knight meant Sword Saint.
Sword Saint meant Guardian Knight.
It had been an ingrained notion for a long time, so Sirbert’s question was natural.
Hoppen shook his head helplessly.
“Definitely… it’s the Guardian Knight’s Medal representing the Emperor, but it’s not the Sword Saint. It’s someone else.”
“Someone else with that medal? Who?”
“Well…”
Hoppen trailed off.
He didn’t know how to explain it and searched for words.
Finally, he blurted out the one word he could think of.
“A clown… something like that?”
Sirbert was speechless with disbelief.