The Library was the Mage Guild's pride.
More than twenty levels of books, scrolls, pamphlets, journals, and grimoires packed tightly into shelves which seemed to be bursting with knowledge.
At first glance, an eager student would be overwhelmed.
But, on closer inspection, any real student of the magical arts would feel a great disappointment which dragged them into a deep well of despair. Then they'd discover that, hidden beneath those twenty levels was another Forbidden level which claimed to house some of the world's most dangerous grimoires and most destructive spells.
A student might eventually manage to worm their way into the Forbidden section one night.
They might creep down the dusty aisles, awed and hopeful.
Only to meet a despair greater than they'd ever faced before as they discover the Guild's definition of destructive were spells which allowed the caster to remotely peep on women in changerooms.
In short, most of it was pornography.
That made it crass, for sure, but hardly worthy of being called Forbidden.
The student might strive to keep their morale high by assuming there was yet another library where perhaps some more useful spells were kept.
But this was a delusion.
And, after breaking into the Headmaster's office after midnight, they might learn the Mage Guild was little more than a way to profit on eager apprentices by charging outrageous prices for tuition by promising the moon but giving only a confusingly simple diagram of it instead.
In short, the Mage Guild was a scam.
There was nothing to learn here. It was a complete waste of time.
So, why would I allow my beautiful little guests to return here?
The reason was simple.
It is not my place to take their dreams from them. Not everyone was like me. Perhaps they might get something useful out of it. They weren't void mages. They never would be.
If they wanted to study here, then they would.
Grudgingly, I admitted they might at least learn the foundational aspects of common magic from here. That would be enough for them to make proper use of my library in the future.
As I stepped into the Library for the first time in many years, I felt an echo of that hope and optimism I'd felt when I first arrived at the Guild as a student.
"Poppycock," I muttered. "What a pile of absolute poppycock."
"Pardon?" Enid blinked at me, not expecting my reaction. Clearly, she'd been hoping I'd hold some reverence for the volume of books here. "This is the largest library in the Empire!"
"No it isn't."
"Yes, it is."
"No," I said firmly. "It is not. For two reasons. One, there's one bigger. And two, there's no way any mage worthy of being called the same would consider this to be a library. At best, it's a storage space for unwanted drivel, Imperial propaganda, and insignificant scraps of recycled pish posh. The best thing one could do with all this is pile it all up in the courtyard and set it on fire."
"That's…" She struggled to find words. "Fairly offensive."
"Is it?" I rounded on her, my eyebrows rising high. "You are an historian, aren't you? Where is your copy of all ten volumes of Fletcher's Early Histories? Hmm? Or A Complete Record of Soul Transmigrators by Eague? Hmm? What about Peltzer's Origin of Magic? These three, at the very least, should be compulsory in any collection which dares to consider itself a library!"
She crossed her arms and glared back at me. "Nobody has copies of those!"
"Nonsense," I told her. "I have at least one of each. They weren't that difficult to find. Well. Eague's was a little trouble. I had to deal with a stubborn lich who refused to give up Volume IX. And I couldn't feed him to the Old Twit, because He hates the taste of lichs. But that's not the point. The point is students at an institution claiming to represent the height of magical learning should have access to the best reference material available. Not trash selected based on how cheap it is to procure or how closely related the publisher is to the Headmaster."
"Well…" She pursed her lips at me. "I can agree with that part."
"Hmph." I looked around for the stairs, feeling a bit flushed after such a long rant. "The Security Office should spawn on Level 17."
"Where do you think you are going?" A voice asked from behind me.
A smooth, silky voice.
Like a slick layer of cream on top of a nice glass of milk.
Only, this cream was also curdled.
"Mister Guile," I muttered, turning on my heel to face the man. "How pleasant to see you again."
He had a big nose, wide eyes, sallow skin and more hair inside his nostrils than on his head. Dressed in dark black robes, he stood with his hands behind his back and tried to exude his dominance in the form of a sneer.
"Is that you, Taran? Trespassing again?"
Not one to be intimidated by a sneer, I sneered back at him. Mine was much more sneery as I bent myself at the waist to meet his gaze at eye level. He was very short, so I had to bend quite a bit.
It was enough to make his cheeks red.
"Certainly not," I said, giving him my most dashing smile. It made his eyes twitch. "What possible reason would I have to trespass? If it were up to me, I wouldn't be anywhere near this place."
"Then if you'd be so kind as to show me your Visitor's Pass, I will let this matter drop."
"We're on our way to the Security Office," Enid said. "It seems it is about to appear on Level 17."
He glared at her. "You must be mistaken, Miss Squelch. The Security Office is located in the Forms Office. It has always been thus."
"Is that so?"
"That is indeed so," he nodded sagely. "As you should know. You are a teacher here, aren't you?"
"Bah," I wheeled away and headed towards the stairs again. "I don't have time for your shenanigans. I would like to be home for lunch."
"Stay where you are!" Guile's voice boomed with authority before spitting out a string of words which I recognised as the makings of a containment spell.
At the sound of his voice, the lights in the Library flashed bright red and a barrier of searing magical energy formed a bubble around me.
Nearby students mostly ran for the exits.
A few of the denser ones stayed to watch. Not one of them had even bothered to put up any kind of defensive shield.
I considered sending out a wave of void energy, but their frightened little faces took the fun out of that thought.
Still, I thought they should be taught a lesson. Honestly, I feel the Mage Guild's entry level requirements had dipped quite dramatically since I was a student.
Although, the more I thought about it, the more I realised it wasn't my place to educate them. So, I turned my attention back to the barrier which formed a dome around me.
It had been created using a high level fire spell, I noticed.
Very high level.
The kind used by the Emperor's own personal mages to capture assassins, thieves, or random women he thought should be his concubines.
I turned to regard the little man with a slightly impressed frown.
The little man was standing proudly in front of the barrier, a wand in his hand.
Really! A wand! Who uses a wand?
"Now," he said smugly. "About that Pass…?"
***
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