บท 186: Chapter 96: A Vain Attempt (3)
After leaving the dungeon, I looked up at the gloomy sky. Asher and Ti-Yong, who were standing around me, noticed that I had come out and approached me.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
I felt tired. This time, I really wasted my effort.
While riding on Ti-Yong with Asher, my mind wandered to the next destination: Raphid, the biggest city in eastern Sanctia. The renowned Elphon Academy, a prestigious institution for fostering talent in Sanctia, was located there. The mystery I was trying to find next lay hidden in the public library of the Elphon Academy.
Most of the mysteries I found before were located in a sparsely populated wilderness of nature, but there were very rare exceptions. Just like this next one.
In a sense, it could be said that its location was the most ambiguous in all the places I visited so far.
***
Shuuu!
I descended into the forest below while looking at the giant city in the distance.
Ti-Yong was supposed to stay in the forest near the city and I was going to enter Raphid on foot to quietly obtain the mystery and then leave. I couldn't attract attention by dragging a Wyvern into the city and wandering around.
"I'll be back soon, so wait here. Avoid people as much as possible and don't attack, even if you meet someone."
Grunt.
The creature flapped its wings and nodded its head.
Since we left it in the middle of this forest, there would hardly be any people to meet, so nothing was likely to happen.
Asher and I proceeded towards the city on the road, leaving Ti-Yong behind in the forest.
"Hmm."
We passed through the city gates with no problems and entered the city.
I walked along the main street, looking around at my surroundings.
As the largest city in the eastern part of Santea, the streets were crowded with numerous pedestrians.
Among them, there were people who were particularly noticeable, dressed in similar uniforms like those belonging to the same organization.
"Oh, Professor Humil. You're going out for the first time in a while. Did you take a vacation?"
"What vacation… Professor Taizi started a new experiment again. I'm just going to the store to get the necessary materials, you know."
A man conversed with a woman he met while passing by, with tired eyes.
As I passed by them, I listened to their conversation and looked at a huge building in the middle of the city, partly visible beyond the buildings.
It was a building that looked different from castles or palaces and was somewhat reminiscent of a school.
The Elphon Academy.
That was the academy located in this city of Santea.
As in most fantasy settings, the academy was an institution that educated students like a real school, except that the subjects taught were different, such as swordsmanship or magic. This was a fantasy world, after all.
In RaSa's setting, the academy was the only institution of its kind in Santea, but in fact, it was not a major part of the game's main story, except for some minor side quests related to the Elphon Academy.
Anyway, my goal was to find the mystery hidden in the public library located within that academy.
For now, I need to take a look around.
I decided to find an inn and wait until nightfall.
While waiting for the sun to set, I reviewed my knowledge of the rough internal structure of the Academy by recalling my memories.
As time passed, complete darkness fell upon the night.
Walking alone on the street, I avoided the eyes of those around me and made my way to the vicinity of the Academy.
The place I had just arrived at was the western wall of the Academy.
The location of the public library was on the outskirts of the western side of the Academy.
While there were several libraries within the Academy, the public library was open to anyone associated with the Academy with no special conditions.
It was a good thing for me that the security wasn't very tight, as I would have to sneak into it from now on.
If the mystery was hidden deeper inside the Academy, I would not have even considered attempting to obtain it and would have given up.
It would be difficult to infiltrate the deeper parts of the Academy, and if I were caught, it could make things complicated.
I can try at least this much without much risk.
High walls surrounded the Academy on all sides, making it almost impossible to see the interior from the outside.
I looked up at the towering walls like a castle and heightened my senses.
Inside the Academy, I sensed that there were guards patrolling near the outskirts, around the wall in the direction I was currently located.
Judging from the faint magical energy, they were likely guards.
After confirming all of their positions, I immediately used space leap to jump into the airspace just above the wall.
It was unlikely that my presence would be revealed on this dark night.
Hovering high in the sky, I fixed my body in a floating veil and peered inside the Academy beyond the wall.
It was a vast area consisting of dozens of soccer fields combined, with numerous buildings spreading out around the giant central main building.
It wasn't long before I was able to easily find the public library building on the western side.
Since it was nighttime, there were hardly any people walking around inside the academy. There was no one around the public library, which was my destination.
I descended onto the ground and teleported onto the wall, lowering my posture and looking down.
It didn't seem difficult to get to the public library in the first place, as the property was very wide and my super sensory allowed me to detect all the surroundings. Plus, I had the ability to teleport.
I boldly infiltrated the academy and moved between buildings to avoid any suspicion.
I safely moved to the vicinity of the public library and hid my body behind a building.
The public library was a two-story building with only windows on the first floor.
Is that the librarian?
I saw a man sitting near the entrance of the library through the closed glass window. He seemed like a librarian.
Other than that, I didn't feel any other presence inside the library.
Now, how should I proceed?
I decided to secretly enter the library and find the mystery inside, then leave.
Coincidentally, the librarian seemed to be dozing off, and he might not even notice if I opened the front door and entered.
But it was better to be cautious, so I decided to enter through the window.
I couldn't teleport if there was an obstacle in the middle of the space, so I couldn't teleport past the closed window.
I checked the surroundings once again and approached the library's window. It was an angle where the librarian's line of sight couldn't reach.
I gently pulled the window open and immediately teleported inside.
Done.
I safely entered the library.
After confirming that the librarian was still nodding off, I closed the window facing outside and headed upstairs, passing by the bookshelves without hesitation.
The place where the mystery was hidden was the bookshelf on the second floor, where old books related to history were gathered.
The second floor was much narrower than the first floor, but I remembered the location of the bookshelf that was stuck in the corner, so I was able to find it quickly.
Looking around the books that were almost left unattended and covered in dust, I clenched and unclenched my hands.
I think this is the bookshelf.
I found it, but there was one last problem.
The place with the symbol of the mystery was the wall behind this bookshelf.
In other words, to see the mystery, I had to move the bookshelf and make it fall off the wall. But…
How am I supposed to do this alone?
It was not very big, but it wasn't small either. It was much taller than me, and the width was about the span of two outstretched arms.
I could try to pull it and move it away from the wall, but then the noise would be a problem.
In the end, I couldn't drag it on the floor and had no choice but to move it even a little by lifting it.
I tried to grab the bookshelf and apply force to it, but it didn't budge.
There was no other way.
So, I carefully took out the books that were stuck in the bookshelf and started to pile them on the floor.
If the bookshelf was empty, I could lift it a little.
After a considerable amount of time, I finally took out all the books from the bookshelf.
And when I tried to lift the bookshelf again, I succeeded.
Carefully lifting one side of the bookshelf and pulling it off the wall, I looked inside the gap.
I expected to find the symbol of the mystery on this wall. But…
"···"
There was nothing visible.
Only piles of dust.
Even after scouring the crevices again, nothing had changed.
I furrowed my eyebrows.
···What's going on?
Why wasn't the mystery here again?
I checked the surrounding shelves again, wondering if I had mistaken the location, but it was definitely the right spot.
I crossed my arms and got lost in thought.
Did someone else discover the mystery before me again? But how?
If someone had discovered it first, then they would have moved the bookshelf to check the back wall just like me, right? Even if my actions might cause a butterfly effect, could someone really have done this before me in this library?
…Or maybe the timing wasn't right.
Perhaps the mystery hadn't been created yet.
If the mystery was created sometime between now and the future gameplay point, then it was natural that it wouldn't exist right now.
I couldn't know for sure which was the case.
But one thing was certain: I had once again wasted my time.
Even if it was only two in a row, it was still disappointing. I couldn't help but chuckle.
I really have no luck.
Did I use up all my luck finding mysteries in Calderic?
I succeeded in finding all the mysteries in Calderic, but failed at every turn in Santea.
I felt a little disappointed, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I looked once more into the gap between the bookshelf and then turned around.
If I had another chance later, I would come back and check it again.
I left the books that were taken out as they were without being organized and headed towards the stairs leading down to the first floor.
Since all the errands were done, I was about to go out through the window and escape from the library again, but…
"Ah!"
I quickly stepped back on the stairs and hid behind a nearby bookshelf.
The reason was because someone suddenly came in through the door, which was located directly across from the main entrance of the library.
[Lv. 46]
…A student?
The person who entered the library was dressed like an academy student – a woman with blonde hair, a golden complexion, and a strangely lonely atmosphere.
The librarian, who had been dozing off, suddenly woke up and looked at her, then checked the time and cautiously opened his mouth.
"It's time to start restricting entry and exit…"
The woman nodded her head and spoke politely.
"I'll only be here for a short while today. I'll leave before 10 o'clock."
"Um, alright. Please return it on time tomorrow, since it's a spare key."
And then the librarian, having confirmed that all the windows on the first floor were closed, went out.
The woman who was left alone approached a bookshelf and began to look at the books.
I hid between the bookshelves on the second floor and narrowed my eyes, watching her engrossed in reading.
What now, seriously…
Since I happened to be standing near the stairs, it became difficult to secretly go down.
Since there was no need to take unnecessary risks, I decided to just wait a bit. It seemed like she was going to leave before 10 o'clock.
Shhh, shhh.
In the quiet stillness, the only sound that echoed through the library was the turning of pages.
It was when I was waiting for the woman to leave and staying quiet without making a sound…
"There, the rat on the second floor."
The sudden voice of the woman startled me.
She slowly closed her book and looked up at the second floor.
"Since you've been caught, come out obediently. Are you an assassin who came to harm me?"
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