The Mage of Primordial Chaos

"But what is he doing here in the Library of Infinite Beginnings...?" Mrs. Fang frowned, asking herself.

"A Celesticus...aren't they the race who dwells above the clouds, in Celestica? I heard they never interact with the other races down below. There are some Celestici who disguise themselves among humans, but they are few, and keep a low profile," I murmured. "What was it doing in the Library...?"

"That's my question too," Mrs. Fang replied with a sigh. "Celestici are extremely powerful in terms of individual strength. According to legends, they were born with four innate elements, with Sky always being one of them."

"Extremely powerful, huh..." I echoed.

That must be the reason why he could detect the Chaos inside me, although only faintly. Strangely though, I hadn't felt any extremely overpowering aura coming from the man when talking with him.

Then, remembering something, I continued. "Oh, wait. Do you have any knowledge of a Celesticus perhaps working in the Library of Infinite Beginnings as a high-ranking employee?"

"A Celesticus high-ranking employee...? No...well, not that I would know anyway, even if there was one," Mrs. Fang sighed. "My knowledge is very limited - as you can see, I can only work on the very bottom floor."

"That's alright," I quickly said. "I was just wondering because after talking to that Celesticus, I was given clearance to Floor 2 immediately. I didn't have to fight a Gatekeeper or anything like that. I assumed that whoever that man was, he held a considerably high position in the Library of Infinite Beginnings, able to just give free passage to certain people."

But to this, unexpectedly, Mrs. Fang frowned. "No...no matter how high your rank is, even if you're an employee, you cannot alter the base set of rules that the creator of the Library dictated."

"The creator of the Library..." Mei Gui murmured.

"Who was this 'creator'?" I asked after some thought. "This may be presumptive of me, but if no high-ranking admins can change these rules...can the creator himself do so?"

"Are you trying to say that the Celesticus you met was the creator of the Library?" Mrs. Fang sank into thought. "Hm...that's a valid possibility, but...why would a Celesticus build such an amazing structure for humans? The knowledge contained within the Library is something everyone wants to get their hands on, regardless of race. He could've easily constructed this building in Celestica, the land above the clouds. So...why?"

"I have a few guesses as to that, but for now, do you know anything about this creator?" I asked, taking a sip out of one of the three glasses of water the waiter had brought over earlier.

"I remember seeing some books about the origin of the Library of Infinite Beginnings on Floor 25 or so. I never read into them though, because I was already preoccupied with searching for a remedy for the 1 Year Curse. I can go back up there and read about it, then tell you, if you wish," Mrs. Fang suggested. 

"That would be nice," I said. "Thanks."

"No problem. You're already doing me such a huge favor, after all," she said, smiling softly. "Now then...what do you say we try out my nephew's cooking?"

"Wait, you mean...your nephew is both a waiter and a cook?" I blinked in surprise.

She nodded proudly. "His mother also works here, in the back kitchen, but we don't interact with one another because it could give my identity away. She is a great cook, and my nephew inherited that talent. Nowadays, all of the actual cooking is done by him. His mother only does preparation work and gives tips."

"Huh..." I used my chopsticks, and picked up a tomato slice from the plate in front of me, before placing it into my mouth and chewing.

After swallowing it, I nodded in satisfaction. "This is pretty good."

"Isn't it?" Mrs. Fang chuckled, taking a bite of her own food. "It...it reminds me of when my brother was still alive."

"...I see..." I murmured, eating some more, this time together with the rice.

Mei Gui did the same, and for the rest of that meal, we ate in silence. After all...Mrs. Fang seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the taste, and we didn't want to disrupt. No one else would ever understand, but to Mrs. Fang, this wasn't just a well-made dish.

To her, this, was the taste of home.

*****

After we all finished the meal, Mrs. Fang paid like she said she would, and drove us back to the Library of Infinite Beginnings. The ride back was just as exciting (and dangerous) as the ride there. Quite the experience indeed.

In any case, the whole lunch took about an hour.

Oh shit...I just realized. Mei Gui and I went off to eat without the other girls...damn, now I feel bad.

I'll treat them to a meal later, I guess...is what I'd like to say, but I really don't got any money, and that's a problem. Where is the Hunters' Guild in this place...actually, do they even have one? The entire Fortress is just a mixture of urban cyberpunk cities and slums. There aren't any Monsters or Magic Beasts to hunt. But if that's the case...then how the hell am I supposed to get money?

The three of us went up the spiral staircase. I scanned my library card on the device to the right of the door, and the door opened up for me - and just for me. According to Mrs. Fang, only one person could go through this door at a time. The door shut behind me, and Mei Gui came through soon after. Mrs. Fang came last.

I looked around in search of the other girls, and soon spotted Feng Mian sitting at a table, reading a book before closing it and sighing. Beside her, a large pile of books had already accumulated, neatly stacked one on top of the other.

"By the way, Mrs. Fang," I said quietly.

"Yes?"

"How does the Library make sure people return these books to where they belong? I noticed all the books are organized and categorized neatly on every floor, but some people may forget where they took the book from. That's unavoidable. So how does the Library still remain so organized and flawless?"

Mrs. Fang chuckled. "My child, there are thousand if not millions of Enchantment Element magic weaved into the architecture of this Library. Therefore, there are many magical properties about this place - one of which is what you mentioned. When no one is looking, the bookshelves automatically rearrange the books on them to the order they were meant to be placed in. At least, that's what I've heard from my fellow employees."

"Huh...that's interesting," I murmured. "What about people who don't put the books back on the shelves at all? It's pretty disrespectful, but I'm sure there are people who do that out of laziness."

"I've never witnessed such a thing myself, but I'm guessing the Library automatically returns the book to the shelves somehow after a while," Mrs. Fang said thoughtfully. "Anyway, I will head up to Floor 25 now, and begin searching for the information you wanted. Good luck with climbing your way up this building."

I nodded. "Thank you."

With that, she continued up the spiral staircase, up to further floors.

I wonder...is there an elevator of some kind in this place? Say you have clearance to Floor 80. Having to climb a staircase all the way up there, scanning your library card every floor of the way, would be pretty tiring and boring, that's for sure. There's gotta be some kind of faster travel method, right?

I sighed. I probably should have asked Mrs. Fang about this, but it was too late now - she had already left.

I walked over to Feng Mian, Mei Gui in tow behind me.

"Hey, bookworm," I called out affectionately.

"Hm?" she looked up, and finally saw me, before standing up and frowning. "Where did you go for so long? You said you would be back very soon...it's been more than an hour. Also, what the heck is 'bookworm'?"

I chuckled. "Sorry about that. Things got...more complicated than I had originally thought. But enough about me, where are the others?"

"We've all spread out to search the different parts of this floor," Feng Mian explained. "Just like what we did with the first floor. So far, I haven't found anything useful. Just a bunch of the most basic Level One spells, and also scarce few at that. Most of the books I've read so far from this floor are just legends and myths about magic."

Legends and myths about magic? Hm...I wonder, is the power of Chaos mentioned in any of these books?

"Well, that's good enough for now," I said. "I'm sure you're all tired and hungry, so let's get the other girls and find somewhere to eat."

Feng Mian nodded. "Got it."