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.


    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."


    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.


    "Return it within three months.


    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.


    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.


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


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "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.


    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.


    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.


    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.


    As he continued reading some words seemed deliberately scratched out, as if someone had wanted to erase parts of the content contained within.


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


    "Because this might actually be important."


    Leif chuckled. "Yeah, yeah.


    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.


    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.


    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?