- Later, At the Hotel -
(Xuan Kai's Perspective)
"So," I said once we were all in our hotel room, room 420 to be particular. "What did you guys find in the Ross Estate?"
"Well, as expected, it's not what it seems on the outside," Feng Mian started off, sitting down on the couch. "On the surface, it seems like a normal company...that is, if you don't account for the lack of employees. The 2nd and 3rd floors we explored both contained office cubicles - a fairly standard company lay out."
"Why did you stop at the 3rd floor?" I asked. Not demanding, just asking.
"Because we found something that may hold the secret to the building," Feng Mian replied.
Lan Xiao Su nodded. "I-It was in the washroom."
"Right, and the suspicious thing is that there was no bathroom on the 2nd floor, even though the two floors' layouts were otherwise completely identical," Feng Mian continued. "So, of course, we went in to investigate. And indeed - there was something off about the place."
"Oh?" I tilted my head, waiting for more answers.
"We found...what seemed to be a hidden button," Lan Xiao Su said. "It was concealed quite cleverly, so undoubtedly, whoever put it there didn't want anyone else - like us - finding it."
"A secret button, huh..." Yu An Yan murmured. "That practically screams 'suspicious'."
"We debated whether or not to test out what it did, but after some thought, we decided to just report back our findings first," Feng Mian said with a sigh. "Just to be safe."
I nodded. "That was the wise choice. There's no telling what could've happened if you really did press that button."
"So, what's the plan from here?" Xiang Peng asked, shrugging. "Or, in other words, who's gonna be the sacrifice to go in and press the button?"
"No one's getting sacrificed," I immediately said, glaring at Xiang Peng. "Actually...maybe you should."
"E-Eh?" Xiang Peng jumped back 10 feet away from me, and quickly swayed her hands in denial. "'Twas a joke, don't kill me!"
I shook my head and sighed at her immaturity. Despite being the oldest among us, excluding Obsidia, Xiang Peng seemed to be the most immature, even compared to Qing Yue.
"Anyway...I haven't thought of a good plan yet," I announced, turning to the girls. "Give me some time...when I have thought this through, I'll talk to you all."
The girls nodded in confirmation, and that was that. Afterwards, we each did our own thing for the rest of that day.
Mei Gui and I returned to the Library of Infinite Beginnings to see if Mrs. Fang had discovered anything about that male Celesticus we encountered within the Gatekeeper 'world', while Feng Mian and Lan Xiao Su stayed within the hotel to get some rest. The Yu sisters as well as Obsidia said they wanted to get some training with guns done, so they went to see Old Man Leng. Qing Yue and Amane surprisingly didn't tag along with me, but instead chose to remain at the hotel as well, for some reason. Xiang Peng, on the other hand, wanted to come with Mei Gui and I, but since I was extremely annoyed at the time, I rejected her and told her to go by herself if she wanted to.
As an aside, Flaria was still asleep, and there was no telling when she would wake up again.
After sparing one last glance at my phoenix girl, I left the hotel, Mei Gui tagging along behind me.
*****
- The Library of Infinite Beginnings -
After a short while, we arrived at the massive tower known as the Library of Infinite Beginnings. Mei Gui and I entered inside, and headed up the 2nd floor after noticing that Mrs. Fang wasn't behind the receptionist counter. I assumed she only worked morning shifts...which within the Fortress, was from 6 PM to 11 PM, more or less. Yes, I said PM. The biological clocks of everyone here are completely different from those on the outside.
In any case, the two of us went to the 2nd floor, and...
"Oh, you two," a woman's voice said from behind us. We had just arrived on the 2nd floor, and we turned around to see who it was.
"Mrs. Fang - good timing," I said. "Have you found out anything about the Celesticus?"
I kept my voice quiet so no one else could hear us, and even if they tried, it would take effort.
"Yes, I have...and your initial guess may not have been too far off, after all," Mrs. Fang murmured with a wink.
My...initial guess?
I tilted my head, frowning slightly in confusion.
"You see..." she began, leaning on the wall. "From what I've read, the creator of this Library was actually not just a single person. It was actually sixteen different founders, one from each race. They came together to form this Library for unspecified reasons...but that's about the most I understand."
"How so? Did the books you read not provide any more information?" I asked, slowly getting more and more curious.
She shook her head. "Not exactly...it's more like the information it's giving me seemed all too surreal for me to believe and comprehend. I can't describe it quite well, and taking books from one floor to give to others is impossible thanks to the Enchantment Magic I told you about the last time we talked, so..."
"...In order to understand, we'll have to reach Floor 25 ourselves, huh," I finished the sentence for her.
She nodded slowly. "Sorry - I wasn't of much help."
I shook my head. "No worries, your information has been more than helpful."
With that, we parted our ways, and I found somewhere nice and isolated to sit down to talk with Mei Gui.
"Mei Gui, what do you think Mrs. Fang meant earlier?"
"Master, this is mere speculation, but...I believe the 'surreal' thing she was talking about may refer to a higher world."
"A higher world?" I frowned, even more puzzled than I was just now.
Mei Gui nodded. "As Master gets stronger and the Chaos within him gets purer, I also regain more memories. And recently...I have been seeing glimpses of a place unlike this planet, but instead almost like outer space - or rather, where the Primordial Chaos originally came from, you could say."
"Outer space...but aren't there spacecrafts and such exploring out there? If there were really upper worlds, wouldn't news have gotten out a long time ago?" I inquired.
Mei Gui frowned, and looked downwards apologetically. "My apologies, Master. I cannot explain these visions I have been seeing nor provide an answer to your questions. Perhaps...once Master gets a little stronger, I will be able to acquire more of my old knowledge."
"That's alright," I replied. "But if what you speculate is really the truth, and word gets out...it will cause a global uproar. After all, even the idea of there being higher worlds than our own has never been thought of before..."
Mei Gui nodded, and we fell silent.
And then, I remembered something.
"Oh, shit - I forgot to ask Mrs. Fang something-!"
Immediately standing up and rushing for the stairs as fast as I could with Mei Gui following closely behind, we tried our best to catch up with the lady. I even cast some Blessing Magic to boost my speed.
Potentia Excitant: Celeritas!
Luckily, we did manage to catch up with her in the end. Right as she was about to exit the Library of Infinite Beginnings, we caught up to her, with me panting heavily. Mei Gui, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine - she wasn't even out of breath.
"Oh...um, what can I do for you, my dear child?" Mrs. Fang blinked a few times, surprised at my sudden appearance.
"Hah...Hey....hah...I just got...hah....a few...questions..." I panted.
Mrs. Fang smiled. "Sure! Just catch your breath first - and walk around a little; it's not healthy to suddenly stop moving after vigorous exercise."
I did as told, and after around a minute or so, I had finally caught my breath again.
"So, my dear boy. What is your question?" she asked as we walked across the busy streets. There were plenty of people walking about, but I wasn't worried, since unlike before, the questions I would be asking now weren't private anyway.
I scratched my chin nervously. "Er...this might be a stupid question, but...is there a Hunters' Guild within The Fortress?"
Mrs. Fang looked at me, and didn't respond.
"Ahaha...as I thought, there isn't, right? Haha, no, of course not....there isn't even a single sign of nature around, much less Monsters or Magic Beasts..."
"Oh no, no," Mrs. Fang immediately shook her head. "There is a Hunters' Guild here - I was just slightly surprised you didn't know of it. It operates just like any other branch...well, kind of."
I raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?"
She sighed. "You see...what you said just now is true - there aren't any Monsters or Magic Beasts within The Fortress. But that doesn't mean there aren't any outside."
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