The Research Note

Melch decided that he would borrow the research note from the library and read it later. The research note itself was in terrible condition, its pages tattered and words scribbled in an erratic manner that made it hard to understand but from what little he could understand the Ancient Forsic, it seemed pretty intriguing from the words he read.

As he approached the librarian's desk, he was met with an unexpected restriction. "A student can only take two books." the librarian stated plainly.

Melch frowned confused. He was only borrowing one book but as he turned to his side, the answer became as clear as a day, Leif stood beside him clutching five books in his arms with a smug grin on his face.

Melch sighed. "Really? Five books? Do you even plan on reading all that?"

Leif shrugged setting three of them down on the librarian's table with exaggerated reluctance. "I like to keep my options open."

Melch glanced at the remaining books Leif had chosen. One was a magic spell book, that was expected for a student majoring in the magic department. However, The other one was a children's storybook.

Blinking, Melch turned to Leif. "Why... why is that even here? And more importantly, how did you find this among the other one's and pick it?"

Leif grinned. "Hey, don't be quick to judge me. Some of the best wisdom comes from children's storybook. Also, I like the pictures."

Melch shook his head amused. "I think your brain works differently from the rest of us."

"Thank you." Leif said taking it as a compliment.

The librarian accustomed to student antics remained patient as he proceeded with the borrowing process. "Badge, please."

Melch handed over his badge, watching as the librarian placed both the badge and the book within a glowing magic circle. The librarian then took a small black powder like substance and sprinkled it into the circle. At once, the circle lit up swirling with faint golden energy before dimming again. The librarian handed back the badge and the book.

"Return it within three months. If you need an extension, you can update the borrowing period using your badge at the library entrance."

Melch nodded. He was about to leave when Leif being the curious one decided to experiment. "Let me try that!"

Before anyone could stop him, Leif took his badge placed his two books into the circle and poured the black powder himself. The moment it touched the magic circle, tiny glowing symbols rose into the air before vanishing into his badge. Then, with a faint shimmer the books disappeared from the table and into his badge.

Leif blinked. "Whoa. Did my badge just eat my books?"

Melch being equally surprised checked his own badge. With just a small pulse of mana, the research note was now safely stored inside.

"You could've explained that earlier" Melch said turning to the librarian.

The librarian merely chuckled. "You first years will learn those soon enough. Your badge acts as a small inventory space. Each first year gets three storage slots. Every year, you gain an additional slot but the size of the slot can only be increased using contribution points. Not many students bother though, since most prefer to buy separate storage artifacts."

Leif looked at his badge with newfound appreciation. "So, we get free storage? That's actually pretty useful."

"I would've liked to know earlier." Melch muttered thinking about the times he had to carry his belongings by hand.

After wandering around the library a little longer, the two eventually left and made their way back to the dormitory. The halls were quieter now, the evening settling in with the distant hum of students still scattered throughout the academy. Dinner was a quick affair in the mess hall and by the time they returned to their room, Melch was eager to finally get a closer look at the note.

Leif sprawled across his bed with his books, flipping lazily through the pages. "Are you seriously going to read that thing now? It looked like it was written by a drunk scholar."

Melch smirked. "That's exactly why I'm interested."

With a little bit of mana in his wrist, he activated his badge summoning the note into his hands. The worn pages felt fragile under his fingertips, their edges rough as if they had been exposed to the elements for years. The ink was faded in places but the scribbles carried an intensity that suggested the writer had been desperate to record their thoughts.

Leif peeked over from his bed. "So, what's it about?"

Melch ran his fingers over the first page trying to decipher the scrawled words. "It mentions something about 'his journey through the unat??'... and 'the lost knowledge of the ancients.' but the phrasing is weird. It doesn't read like a normal academic text or Ancient Forsic."

Leif yawned. "Sounds like one of those conspiracy theories. Next thing you know, it'll be talking about hidden realms and ancient beings watching us from the stars."

Melch hesitated. That was exactly what some of the fragmented sentences hinted at and he was really interested in that because of that. He didn't say anything though knowing Leif would just brush it off as nonsense.

As he continued reading some words seemed deliberately scratched out, as if someone had wanted to erase parts of the content contained within. Other sections were written in a much older script one that Melch recognized very faintly but couldn't fully understand.

Leif rolled onto his stomach. "You look way too serious over there."

"Because this might actually be important."

Leif chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't get sucked into some ancient prophecy or something. I don't want to wake up one day and find out you're part of some secret cult."

Melch ignored him flipping to another page. There, a particular phrase caught his attention:

'The path is obscured, hidden between what is seen and unseen. Only those who have touched the void may understand.'

A shiver ran down Melch's spine. There was something unsettling about those words something that resonated deep within him.

Leif noticing his reaction raised an eyebrow. "What? Found some world ending secret?"

Melch slowly closed the research note. "Maybe."

Leif snorted. "Well, if it tells you how to top exams without studying, let me in on that."

Despite the light-hearted remark, Melch couldn't shake the feeling that the note contained more than just scattered ramblings. Whatever its true purpose was he had a feeling this was only the beginning.

As he set the note aside for the night, one thought lingered in his mind; why did he keep seeing the same things over and over, as if the world itself was trying to show him something?