Orion wanted to stay longer. But his growing need for the restroom made the decision for him instead. He left all but one book on the table. The one tucked under his arm was Races and Elements, still unread.
They returned to Floor -2. Orion gathered every interesting book he'd marked earlier and dropped them into Kalista's arms.
Then he wandered deeper into the lighter sections. Fiction genres filled the area. He browsed titles with newer, colorful covers.
Romance dominated. Comedy followed. Adventure came next, along with random genres.
He would only take something truly interesting to the dorm.
Flying Fire Witch to the Stars.
Pass.
Poor Warrior and The Princess Series, Book Thirteen: Princess and Her Vibrating Toys.
What the hell is this? Pass!
Dragons and How to Tame Them?
Pass.
Flirty Phoenix in Human Body
Pass.
Unable to find a suitable magic book, Orion called out to Kalista.
"Is there nothing about mana or magic?" He looked over his shoulder, scanning the shelves with a frown.
The moment their eyes met, Kalista turned away. "Lower floors..." She spoke quietly, pointing downward with a subtle tilt of her head.
Orion had misjudged the general vibe of Floor -2. No serious things about combat or magic were here, no matter how deep he searched.
When they reached the stairs to -3, he realized his assumption was wrong from the beginning.
Floor -3 focused entirely on warriors. And this floor dwarfed even -2. It was a massive place with countless numbers of books.
After ten minutes of wandering, they picked a single book and continued downward, the scale of the place already beginning to blur his sense of distance.
The first half of the stairs felt normal. Past the midpoint, Orion froze. After everything he'd experienced today, he thought nothing could surprise him anymore. Then he saw the skeleton seated at the entrance of -4.
A large skeleton wearing a wig and women's clothing sat calmly behind a desk, flipping pages like an ordinary librarian. And she was reading a book from the Poor Warrior and Princess series.
Orion had to ask. "What is that, Kali?" He pointed a trembling finger toward the desk, his voice cracking slightly.
"Midka's former headmaster is a Lich. She retired and lives on this floor." Kalista didn't even blink, as if a cross-dressing skeleton was the most normal thing in the world.
"A Lich? Why would a former headmaster live in the library? And why is a skeleton dressing like that and reading that thing?" Orion stared in disbelief, his brain refusing to process the image.
"Don't ask me..." Kalista shrugged and walked past casually, clearly uninterested in the fashion choices of the undead.
She gestured for him to move forward when she noticed him lagging behind. The skeleton's permanent smiling face made Orion quicken his pace and dive into the shelves.
Looking around, he realized something. This floor was the library's true core. If the warrior floor felt massive, this floor felt like a small town.
The lighting intensity multiplied. It felt like standing under open sunlight.
The whole floor wasn't only big but under extra care. There were other skeletons in different clothing working like a cleaning army.
Apparently, this place was the important part for Midka Academy.
Harry Albon's Lightning Element Observation, Volume One.
Fire and Water Opposing Element Theory, Entry Level.
This floor belonged entirely to magic. More importantly, the books followed a deliberate structure.
A wide circular area surrounded the stairs, expanding outward. The farther from the center, the deeper the magic level became.
Directions likely mattered for finding an element or category under the library's sorting system. Walking in the wrong direction on this massive floor would cost too much time.
But Orion didn't care for today.
He stood at the center and looked for basic magic books to check if his body was compatible with mana.
Fire Element Theory and Ember Reflections Mo. 12.13.01.
Water Bearer Tips for Clean-Water Creation.
Orion realized that even magicians needed deeper experiments and tips for the use of difficult spells. It was interesting but not enough to take and read.
Another reminder from his bowels sent Orion back toward the stairs. He grabbed a useful-looking book around the corner.
Magic and Mana, Volume One by Rogery A. Fairchild.
That brought his total to nine books. Some were short. Others stretched into hundreds of pages. The last magic book was the longest.
On Floor -1, he rented them free of charge. Even without cost, returns were required within a week or an extension. Usual library rules mostly applied here.
"Lastly, if the return time passes and you try to open the book anyway, that book will explode. Please be careful and return them in time!" The librarian didn't blink, her gaze fixed dead on his eyes.
"Exploding books... You are messing with me, right? You wouldn't." Orion laughed nervously.
The library employee was still looking at him with the same face. Orion vowed to never forget about bringing them back.
He asked about a paper bag and learned that the books would be sent to his room in two hours.
By the time Orion and Kalista exited the library, three hours had passed inside. It was almost afternoon.
On the way back, Orion focused on the massive balloon-shaped building with curiosity.
Orion hadn't paid anything for the books again. He really liked this situation. He was only just beginning to grasp what having unlimited school credits meant.
"So if I want, I can rent one of those mini balloons and tour the academy, right Kali?" He pointed at the sky with excitement.
"Mm..." She nodded, her face impassive.
"And if I want to, I can go to that moving... sorry, flying café and drink whatever I want without paying?"
"Yes..." She sighed softly, likely tired of his questions.
"Then what about that building glowing with red and pink lights? The one advertising their most expensive prostitu..." He stopped himself before the word finished forming. He wouldn't ask that out loud. That was a solo investigation.
They kept talking as Orion asked and Kalista answered all the way back to the Royal Dorm.
When they returned to the dorm Orion rushed to one of the outer restrooms of his floor. As he sat on the warm toilet, he started thinking to himself.
"First of all, I'm in a real magical fantasy world. I'm eating inside a luxurious dormitory provided by a school here. And things are complicated."
"Secondly, they think I have some kind of fast-healing or immortal mage-warrior potential. And chose me as a Top Tier Genius. A Champion."
"Lastly, they expect me to be strong. Strong enough to carry humanity through racial wars I don't even understand yet."
Orion wasn't sure how long they would wait for their investment to return as a war achievement. He wasn't fond of risking his life after losing that broken ability.
"But leveling up in war would be nice." He muttered with excitement, clenching his fist.
He had done a brief analysis but wasn't sure about his future or ideals. The only thing he wanted was peace until he figured out the potential of his System or Production System.
And for now, living as an S-Tier student here was nice. There was nothing he could complain about in this luxury. He was sitting on the most high-end toilet even Earth probably didn't have.
A sound interrupted his thoughts. Leile's beautiful, melodic voice drifted from the kitchen. She was probably singing to herself, thinking no one else was around yet.
Unlucky for her, they came back a bit early.
"Her voice is actually nice. But isn't Kalista inside there?" Orion whispered to himself, tilting his head toward the door.
AHHHHH!
The singing stopped abruptly, followed by startled noises. Leile must have noticed Kalista sitting stiffly on the couch with her usual cold stare.
Orion laughed a bit, then let his thoughts drift across the past three days, this unfamiliar magical world and countless other things.
Once he finished, he pressed the button beside the toilet and waited as warm water washed and dried him. It felt like magic.
Orion leaned back slightly, genuinely impressed. Even Earth hadn't prepared him for luxury like this.
Tomorrow would be his first real combat training. And for the first time, he would enter a real dungeon.