"Here goes nothing," Cole whispered as he downed the vial in his hand.
"Hmm," Cole unintentionally moaned.
The medicine seemed to spread across his body instantly as he felt a cool energy everywhere.
Cole felt like he was soaked in a perfect hot spring outside and then bathed in ice on the inside.
The two contrasting feelings attained an equilibrium that could only be described as perfect.
Bryan watched Cole slowly melt into his sheath with a slight smile on his face.
"You seem to be feeling better," Bryan said.
"Yeah, thank you very much," Cole replied.
Over the next thirty minutes, the effect of the drug gradually wore off, and Cole was able to move again.
"I am never trying that again," he said while mentally adding it to the list of things not to do.
Now that he was back to full health and his mobility was unhindered. He began setting his plans again.
The long moment of idleness allowed Cole to see and realize something about himself and his situation.
Cole realized that he was heavily lacking in an aspect of his life. Compared to the people around him. He lacks some basic knowledge.
There's actually no one to blame for his situation except his origin. He wasn't even able to access basic amenities easily, not to speak of spiriters' knowledge.
As someone that is determined to grow in every way possible and after Bryan's words. Cole decided to visit the library.
The library, though, was very detached from Cole's current life. Classes in the morning and combat training in the evening. He had no time.
"How do I go about fixing the library into my schedule?" Cole thought for a while.
After a while of thinking, he decided to head to the Combat Hall for training now and then proceed to the library.
He wasted no time and directly decided to enact his plan. He bade Bryan farewell before leaving the room.
About twenty minutes later, Cole arrived in the Combat Hall. Unlike what he expected, Eleanor wasn't there.
"Did she go to a class?" Cole asked quietly.
He then began walking deeper into the Combat Hall, prepared to do some physical training while waiting.
Suddenly the hair all over Cole's body stood on end; without even thinking, he directly utilized a stance before turning around to guard.
Bam!
Cole's hand collided with something unfathomably heavy, but he kept his stance as best as he could.
"A Spiriter should always be prepared for combat," Cole heard in a familiar
He looked up to see Eleanor staring down at him with a smirk.
"You didn't do too bad though," she continued before separating from Cole.
She continued deeper into the Combat Hall with Cole following closely behind her.
"Continue your stance training," Eleanor ordered as she headed towards a bench.
Just like that, Cole continued his stance training for about two more hours.
By the time he was done, he realized he wasn't feeling as exhausted as he usually did.
"I guess the drugs are still in effect," Cole said while leaving the Hall.
Like he already planned earlier, he didn't head towards his hostel; he checked his Academic Watch map and headed towards the library.
The library is located at the center of the whole academy. An edifice that keeps all amazed.
Cole watched the library with glowing eyes as he got closer to it. The details and his majestic aura captivated him like never before.
The library was a skyscraper that could dwarf any other building surrounding it.
Unlike the crowd Cole expected to encounter in such a large building, instead he could only see a few students going in and out.
"That's weird; shouldn't this place be packed?" He questioned but didn't halt his steps.
Cole entered the library slowly, and immediately his already opened mouth widened even more.
The building was almost completely hollow in the center, with shelves of books surrounding the hollow center.
In the center, unique and beautiful plants were grown, giving the library a natural and serene vibe.
"10 academic points," Cole suddenly heard from the side.
Startled, he turned to check who it was.
"Ohh, old man," Cole suddenly said with a pleasant smile but instantly regretted it.
Boom!
An indomitable pressure hit him heavily, sending him straight towards the ground.
"That's not how you greet your elders," the old man said while still smiling.
"Good evening, elder," Cole forced out.
"That's better," the man responded while the pressure disappeared.
Cole fearfully returned to his feet and headed towards the old man behind the counter.
"Swipe your watch across that," the man said while pointing at a machine in front of Cole.
Cole did like he was told and swiped; instantly 10 more points were deducted, leaving Cole with just 20 more points.
Seeing his deducted point, Cole's heart sank for a short while, but he soon got over it.
"Sacrifices that must be made," he consoled himself.
"You only have access to the first two floors; go get started." The old man said.
Cole didn't want to waste any more time, so he turned away and directly headed towards a section of the library.
"Starting on the right path, I hope you are able to follow it through." The old man muttered as he watched Cole receding back.
Cole kept scouring the library's first floor, checking different sections, looking for things that could interest him.
After ten minutes of searching, Cole came to a conclusion.
"The first floor seemed to just about normal word knowledge; geography, etc., nothing about Spiriters."
"Then the second floor must be the right one," Cole concluded.
After his conclusion, he didn't bother checking the first floor anymore; he directly headed toward the second floor.
The second floor was quite different from the first floor; it had fewer books, and the books had a more otherworldly vibe.
"Haaa," Cole breathed a sigh of release, his body feeling a sense of peace and acceptance.
"This feels so good; I feel completely at home," he muttered.
He then moved towards the nearest bookshelf and directly picked up a book to check the title.
"Core of Spiriters," Cole read from the cover.
"Now we are talking," he said with a smile as he headed towards a seat with the book in hand.
He opened the book, and on the first page, a large text was boldly written.
"I know what you are."
Cole's heart skipped as he read that, the words drilling into him as if they possessed a soul of their own.
"What is this?" Cole asked with a sweaty face.