Library

Jax had been vehemently warned against training physically for the next two days at the very least. The nurses in the treatment section had done their best, but his body needed time to naturally heal.

Jax was okay with that since he was planning on training his spell anyway, but luck wasn't on his side, it seemed.

"What do you mean I can't use my spell?" Jax asked. "I have my Navi back, don't I?"

"You do," Gemma said. "But you destroyed your Navi channels because of the Opal stone you used to cast your spell. So you should give it some time for that to heal as well. You can still use your spells, but if you do, they won't heal back properly. At that point, there is a chance of permanently crippling your channels and never being able to use spells again."

Jax frowned. "That sounds horrible. What happens when that happens? I'm done for good?" he asked.

"There are rare treasures and potions that can heal you again, but I can't imagine you would find them anywhere before the 4th Carriage."

"Alright, no spell for two days," Jax said with zero hesitation. "But then, what do I do? I can't train. I can't go hunt."

"You could always try and learn more about this world. For instance, do you know how you're supposed to get to the 10th Carriage?"

Jax narrowed his eyes. "Don't I have to find a ticket or something?" he asked.

"Yes, but where can you find that ticket?" she asked.

Jax wasn't sure. "I don't know. Where?"

"You should go learn about it. It will be helpful to keep in mind the requirements for going to the next carriage."

Jax agreed with that much. And since it seemed that Gemma wanted him to be active and find that information, he left his room to go search for it. It was a good way to pass time as well.

He soon found Danny in the training ground.

"Wait, you can't be here. You need to rest," Danny said the moment he saw Jax.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to train. I want to learn more about the 10th Carriage and how I can leave for the other carriages. Can you tell me where I can find that information?"

"You want to learn about the maze?"

Jax's eyes narrowed. "The maze? That's how you go to the other carriage?" he asked. He was finally finding some information.

"Yeah, it's—"

"Hey Danny, can you help me practice a sword skill?" someone in the training area called out.

Danny turned and nodded. "Around 200 feet before you reach the crossroad we separated at yesterday, there is a library that will let you read for free. Go there."

After saying as much, Danny went to help the other guy who needed his help.

"The crossroad from yesterday… you remember the way, right?" Jax asked.

After Gemma affirmatively hummed, Jax left.

No one stopped him from leaving the training center since no one truly cared about him. The only person who could take care of him was himself.

"I think the medicine is wearing off a little," Jax said as they walked. "My chest stings a little."

"What? They didn't give you the whole day's dose?" Gemma asked.

"I don't know. I don't mind the pain, though. I can handle it," Jax said. "But are you sure it won't leave a scar? I'm worried it will."

"No, wounds don't leave scars on anyone in the Celestial Express who are sticking to their own carriages."

Jax got curious. "Meaning?"

"Meaning only people who go back to the previous carriages are scarred if wounded. Otherwise, you are good as new."

"Huh…"

After a bit of searching, Jax found the library Danny had told him about. The library was small in size, just a large room with a couple of desks, but it was truly free, paid for by several donations left behind by the many settlers who came and left.

There was an old librarian behind a large desk, whom Jax asked about which books contained the information he was looking for.

"The maze would be… this book," the man said, pointing to a decently large book. "And if you want to learn about monsters too, it will be… where is it now? Ah, there, that book."

The second book the old man brought out was a massive tome that was large enough to be a weapon itself. Jax held the two books, surprised that he was going to have to read them all.

He sat down at one of the empty tables and opened the book on the maze. The letters in the book were not in a language he could understand, but he understood the meaning behind them.

It was an unusual feeling.

Jax continued reading the book, learning more about it. The parts he didn't understand, he asked Gemma.

The book was written after consulting with a variety of sources that had been to the maze and failed.

No one knew where the maze was, but the way to get there was plenty. There was a gate two towns over from where Jax was that could lead him directly to the maze.

The maze was a dangerous place where people were forced to fight each other. These people were also restricted from entering the maze for another whole year, so they were desperate to pass and, in doing so, were willing to kill as well.

Boss monsters were available inside the maze as well, and wherever there was a monster, there was likely to be a ticket as well. The type of ticket one received was apparently fully dependent on one's performance in the maze.

Reading further, Jax saw that there were five types of tickets, each starred.

"So I need to find a five-star ticket, is that it?" Jax asked.

"The better the ticket you find, the better your reward on the other side," Gemma said.

Jax continued reading further. And once he felt he had read enough, he moved on to the book about monsters.