~ Self dependency is grueling - 2 ~

The day soon turned to night and Sora was left gasping for breath, he was reluctant to part with the majestic boulder upon which his claws struck day and night, however he was receptive to his needs and the sleep over taking his senses alerted him of his body's requirements.

"I will continue this tomorrow." He was well aware of his lacking muscles, which weren't strong enough to give his strikes any value, and thus he was set on developing his core.

It was late at night so he was set to resume his practice tomorrow. Although, he was still left with one task which had to be completed.

He had heard from Rizel that a technique manual for the enchanters was kept in section 0198 of the library, so if Sora was interested in it, he could take a look. Obviously, Sora had been interested so Rizel helped him note down the name of the manual. Which was titled, 'Enchanting hundred red binds'.

Sora had been careful with what he spoke about his master, so obviously he did not speak out his grievances, yet Rizel came up with this on his own and even told him about another manual which was named, 'Heavenly Tribunal'. Rizel wasn't sure what all these manuals would contain, but one enchanter in his own circle of friends told him about how difficult it was to learn these techniques, and thus it was still left untouched even with the upcoming competition.

Chasing away such good opportunity would only harm Sora, so he decided to see how lucky he was today, in case he could learn something on his own, even his master wouldn't need to teach him anything anymore, not that he did.

~Reaching the library which was in block 2, Sora carefully skipped through the passage to reduce the chances of meeting anyone. The library was open the whole day since it catered to both day and evening scholars, and a book can be issued at any time, but day scholars had to strictly adhere to the rules and get back to dorm in their scheduled curfew time, obviously, being the president Sora had many leniencies, still, it would do him no good if he ended up getting caught by the patrolling guards.

Popping his head first into the turning corridor, he moved the rest of his body as well, trying to be as graceful as possible but feeling nervous at the same time. He rarely did such behind the scene notorious mischief, but as he was, he gave in to his impulse to become strong. What if he reached there tomorrow, and right in front of him someone took it? Or what if his choice of book was seen by others...? There were numerous 'what if's and he was getting anxious to have his hand on that manual.

The dark corridors had minimal lighting, as the moonlight reflected from between the parallel fins on the wall, the stone cold to touch and the drafty breeze freezing his bones.

The nights were always this chilly, silent and eerie.

Sora shivered, feeling restless as after a burst of adrenaline, he finally managed to escape through the passages and vigilantly sneaked around until he reached the library's main entrance. A horizontal plate of silver metal, engraved with the words 'knowledge is skill' loomed over his head as he moved to open the massive wooden door, the grey carpet lining the edge of the floor, flaring out into a welcoming curve.

Walking over, the soft padding of his shoes thumped over the carpet as he entered through the door, only opening the panel as was required for his body to escape, since he wasn't keen on making his presence known, and who knows if the door creaked while opening.

He did feel sneaky, but having already entered, his internal crisis also rested in peace as his mind solely focused on tracking down the section 0198. He had visited the library many times before, but this was the first time he felt ridiculously timid, as if some horde of beast was about to jump on him.

Shaking his head, he paced faster, the dim yellow lamps lighting up the hall with a dull resonance. The rows and rows of racks aligned symmetrically with a central array of passage connecting them. There were archives which were at the end of the hall, and Sora believed his manual would be positioned there, as was his memory recalling.

When he finally reached the end, the hall he concluded was vacant, since no librarian took care of it, and seldom did visitors come in. He was also very sure of those evening scholars hating such educational spaces so they would steer clear... or not.

He gulped, as just on his right, he saw Jeha standing by the other section, minding his own business as he put the book back in its place.

Really, what was he doing here?