Cool water helped considerably.
Shen washed his face several times before taking care of the rest of his morning routine.
By the time he finally raised his head toward the mirror, most of the lingering heaviness had faded, though the person staring back at him still looked like he had slept badly.
Black hair, purple eyes, the same familiar face. More importantly, there were no obvious abnormalities.
Shen touched his cheek and turned his head slightly, a narcissistic smile appearing on his face. "Still as handsome as before. Good."
At least whatever had happened hadn't transformed him into something he would need to explain to his siblings.
With the kind of world he was living in, waking up with an extra eye or some other strange mutation wasn't something he could completely dismiss after being dragged through an unknown portal.
Satisfied that he was still physically human, Shen changed into fresh clothes and stepped into the main room. The apartment was completely quiet.
Arthur had clearly left for work hours ago, while Elara and Sera would already be occupied with their studies.
His stomach growled before he could decide what to do next.
"Right, food comes first."
In the kitchen, Shen found a covered plate waiting on the table. Bread, vegetables, and a small portion of leftover meat had been carefully set aside.
Beside it rested a short note written in Sera's familiar handwriting.
Shen, you were still sleeping heavily when we left. I saved some food for you. Don't forget to eat when you wake up.
Shen read it twice before a small smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, Sera."
He sat down and finished everything she had left for him. The meal was simple, but after sleeping through most of the morning, he was hungry enough that even the slightly dry bread tasted good.
Once he finished, Shen carried the dishes to the sink and began washing them.
The ordinary routine helped clear his head, though it couldn't completely prevent his thoughts from drifting back toward what had happened last night.
There was something beyond that portal. Something important.
The problem was that every attempt to remember what he had experienced after being swallowed by it produced nothing except vague impressions and a growing headache.
The missing memories bothered him, but he had already learned what happened when he tried forcing them back.
"Could that place have erased my memory?" Shen frowned as he rinsed the final plate.
It was possible. In this world, memory manipulation wasn't exactly unbelievable. But without more information, every explanation he came up with would be little more than guessing.
Before he could continue down that road, someone knocked on the apartment door.
Shen paused, set the plate aside, and dried his hands. Arthur shouldn't be home this early, and neither of his sisters normally returned until later in the day. When another knock followed, he headed toward the entrance.
"Coming."
He opened the door and found Erica Halloway standing in the hallway.
Her long black hair was neatly arranged behind her shoulders, while her emerald-green eyes immediately moved over him.
Several papers were tucked beneath one arm. With her elegant features and naturally gentle appearance, she once again looked more like a young professor visiting one of her students than someone capable of insulting someone while keeping that same gentle smile.
One of her eyebrows rose as she looked him over. "Good morning, Shen." Erica glanced toward the nearby window. "Although considering the time, perhaps I should say good afternoon. Did you only wake up now?"
"I had a long night. Don't ask."
"I wasn't planning to," Erica replied, examining his tired face once more. A hint of curiosity entered her eyes. "But now that you've specifically told me not to ask, I'm considerably more curious."
"Then practice some restraint on that curiosity."
"Ah~ how cruel." Erica placed a hand lightly against her chest, putting on an obviously wounded expression. "Here I came all this way to bring you good news, and this is how I'm treated."
That immediately caught Shen's attention. Ignoring her performance entirely, he asked, "The library?"
Erica dropped the fake sadness and nodded. "You got the job."
For a moment, Shen simply looked at her before his expression brightened. "Already?"
"I told you yesterday that I would speak with them. Your timing happened to be unusually good."
Shen immediately stepped away from the doorway. "Come in, come in. You can explain more before I start celebrating."
"Celebrating a library job?" Erica asked as she entered the apartment, giving him an amused look. "You really have changed."
She walked toward the dining table while Shen closed the door behind her. After taking a seat, Erica placed the papers she had been carrying on the table.
"The work is about what you'd expect," she explained. "Returned books need to be sorted and shelved, misplaced books put back where they belong, reading areas kept orderly, and you'll help whenever new collections arrive."
Shen picked up the first paper and looked over it. Nothing sounded particularly difficult. More importantly, the position gave him exactly what he had wanted when he approached Erica yesterday.
"And I'll still be allowed to use the library outside working hours?"
"Yes. The ordinary collections are open to you whenever you're not working. Rare books and restricted academic material still require authorization, so don't become too ambitious and make me regret recommending you."
A satisfied smile appeared on Shen's face.
That was enough.
He hadn't expected Erica to somehow give him unrestricted access to everything in the university. Being able to freely use the ordinary collections already gave him far more material than he currently possessed. History, mathematics, literature, engineering, economics, languages—whatever the university made publicly available was now within reach.
Erica noticed his expression and sighed. "You're looking far too pleased about being given permission to spend even more time around books."
"You already knew that was half the reason I wanted the job."
"I did. But knowing it and actually seeing you this excited about library work are different things." She shook her head lightly. "If you'd shown this much enthusiasm before, some of our professors might have died from shock or happiness."
"Then it's fortunate I waited. I don't want their deaths on my conscience."
"My, how considerate of you," Erica replied with obvious sarcasm.
Shen ignored the remark and continued reading through the paper. Erica soon tapped another sheet with one finger, drawing his attention back to her.
"There is one thing I didn't know yesterday. They need you to start today."
"Today?" Shen looked up in surprise.
"The Church of Steam and Machinery delivered a large collection this morning. Engineering texts, mechanical studies, technical journals, updated academic works, and several other collections. Apparently, there were enough boxes that the library suddenly became much less selective about needing another pair of hands."
The mention of engineering—and especially the fact that the books had come from the Church of Steam and Machinery—immediately drew Shen's attention away from the paper.
"How much did they send?"
"Enough that I saw people still moving boxes through the entrance when I left. Several of the librarians looked as though they were reconsidering their career choices."
Shen laughed softly. "So that's why they hired me this quickly."
"Humph." Erica crossed her arms and gave him a small pout. "I prefer to believe my recommendation was exceptionally persuasive."
"Yes, yes. Naturally. Without your recommendation, I wouldn't have gotten the job."
Her expression immediately became more satisfied. Erica pushed one of the papers toward him. "When you arrive, ask for Mr. Weber. He's one of the senior librarians and is handling staff assignments for the new collection. He already knows your name."
Shen looked over the information and committed it to memory. Mr. Weber. Senior librarian. Report to him upon arrival.
Then he remembered the other matter Erica had promised to discuss.
"What about the pay? Is it still five soli a week?"
To his surprise, Erica's expression became rather pleased. "They tried."
Shen looked up from the paper. "Tried?"
A proud smile appeared on her face. "I asked for thirty soli."
Shen stared at her for a moment, genuinely caught off guard. "You went from five to thirty? How?"
"Humph. Five was far too little for someone I recommended, especially when that person actually needs the money to support himself."
"And they agreed to thirty?"
The pride disappeared from Erica's face as quickly as it had arrived. She sighed in disappointment. "Of course not. We settled at twenty."
This time Shen genuinely stared at her in shock.
Twenty soli per week was four times the original amount. Considering he had already been prepared to accept five simply for access to the library, he hadn't expected anything close to that.
"Erica, that's more than enough!" The excitement in his voice was impossible to hide.
"Really?" she asked, clearly pleased with his reaction.
"Seriously. I would've taken the five if that was all they were willing to pay me."
After thinking about everything she had done for him since yesterday, Shen's expression softened into a sincere smile. "Thanks, Erica. I owe you a big one."
"Oh?" A teasing smile appeared on her face. "But I believe you already owe me several."
"Then add this one to the list."
"Hmm-hmm. I already have."
Shen looked at her suspiciously for a moment. He wasn't entirely certain whether she was joking or if there really was a list somewhere.
Erica spent the next several minutes explaining the few remaining details he would need for his first day.
His schedule wasn't particularly complicated, and because the library currently needed help with the new delivery, most of his work today would likely involve carrying, sorting, recording, and shelving books under the direction of the senior staff.
For Shen, that arrangement was almost ideal.
Still, he couldn't help sighing internally. If the previous Shen had completed his studies or had at least still been attending the university, acting as a Rising Star might have been considerably easier.
Instead, he now had to find different fields, learn them, become skilled enough to stand out, and somehow gain recognition from others without drawing the wrong kind of attention.
At least the library gave him an opportunity to properly test Proficiency.
Using it with mysticism had already shown him its limits. Proficiency could help him remember theory, understand instructions, and recognize mistakes more quickly, but it couldn't replace spirituality or spiritual perception.
Even constructing a stable spirituality wall had taken him six or seven hours despite the advantages the ability provided.
Ordinary skills were different.
If his previous experiments were anything to judge by, Proficiency was considerably more effective when dealing with knowledge and abilities that didn't depend on supernatural qualities.
A University library would give him an enormous amount of ideas and knowledge to test that assumption.
And if his understanding of the Rising Star acting method was correct, simply learning those skills wasn't enough.
Gaining knowledge is just a setup for me. What I need is an opportunity to actually display them in different fields.
Eventually, other people had to recognize what he could do. He needed to become someone they regarded as unusually capable in more than one field—a genuine rising star rather than someone who merely knew a little about everything.
There was no reason to rush, though. Becoming suspiciously competent only a few hours after starting a new job was a good way to attract attention he didn't need.
Shen folded the papers and placed them together. Erica, who had been waiting for him to finish looking through everything, checked the time and stood.
"I should go. I still have things to handle at the university before the afternoon."
Shen nodded and stood as well. "I'll change and head over to the library soon."
She gathered the papers she didn't need to leave with him and followed Shen toward the entrance. Just before reaching the door, however, Erica slowed and looked at him more carefully.
"Shen."
"Hm?"
The amusement in her expression faded slightly. "Are you certain you're alright? You look exhausted."
Shen touched his forehead. The headache had mostly disappeared by now, leaving behind only a faint heaviness.
He could hardly tell her that he had spent the previous night trying to reach an ancient Sefirot above the Spirit World before being kidnapped by an unknown kaleidoscopic portal.
"I'm fine. I stayed up much later than I should have and slept through half the morning. I'll be alright once I've been outside for a while."
Erica studied him for another moment. She clearly wasn't completely convinced, but thankfully, she didn't press him.
"Alright. Just don't make me regret sending you there."
Shen placed a hand against his chest as though deeply wounded. "Ah, how heartbreaking. I thought you were confident in your recommendation."
"I was." Erica's lips curved into a small smile. "But after seeing you today, I'm reconsidering my choice."
Shen gave her a flat look.
Apparently satisfied with herself, Erica opened the door. "Come when you're ready. Ask for Mr. Weber."
"I'll remember."
She stepped into the hallway, then glanced back at him one final time. "And perhaps try to look slightly less like you're a ghost."
Shen's expression froze for half a second.
Erica's smile deepened, but she said nothing more before turning toward the stairs. Shen watched until she disappeared from sight, then closed the apartment door.
Silence returned.
He remained there briefly before heading back toward his bedroom. After changing into cleaner clothes suitable for work, Shen straightened his shirt and checked himself once more in the mirror.
The exhaustion was still visible if someone looked closely, but at least he no longer appeared as though he had just crawled out of bed.
While checking his pockets and making sure he had enough money with him, his eyes fell upon the four pieces of bread left from the ritual.
Shen stopped and stared at them for several seconds.
His thoughts drifted back toward the gray fog and the chaotic Spirit World, to Sefirah Castle hanging impossibly high above him, and finally to the kaleidoscopic portal that had opened behind him and dragged him inside.
Shen walked over, gathered the pieces of bread, and threw them away.
"I am not touching that ritual again anytime soon."
It was probably for the best. His understanding of mysticism was still too shallow, and the previous night had made it painfully clear that memorizing knowledge from a book and actually applying it were two very different things.
Until he understood more or found someone trustworthy enough to properly teach him, blindly experimenting with rituals was asking for trouble.
For now, there were safer things worth learning.
Shen put on his coat and picked up the papers Erica had left for him.
The Church of Steam and Machinery had just delivered an enormous collection of technical material. If he got the opportunity to read some of it, perhaps he could find knowledge useful enough to apply elsewhere in the future.
Then that thought made him pause.
Shen rubbed his forehead and sighed.
Am I on the Reader Pathway or one of those two Knowledge Pathways? Why the hell do I have to study this much just to shine in the eyes of others?
If Backlund had more convenient jobs where he could easily develop and display different skills, he wouldn't need to chase one field of study after another.
Unfortunately, the world is still in the steampunk late-Victorian era, and the Great Plagiarist Emperor did not bring a new kind of job that helped his acting method.
And after what happened last night, even mysticism had turned into another subject he needed to study properly before he dared experiment with it again.
Shen let out another sigh, only to stop halfway through putting on his coat.
"...Damn it. I've lost count of how many times I've sighed today. I feel like I've aged twenty years."
Still, when he compared his current problem with being dragged through an unknown portal in the middle of the Spirit World, spending an afternoon carrying boxes and organizing books suddenly sounded remarkably peaceful.
Shen finished putting on his coat, locked the apartment behind him, and descended the stairs. A few minutes later, he stepped into the fog-covered streets of Backlund and headed toward the university for his first day of work.