126. Magic Library

Ben finally finds the Magic Library without any prior event. It's quite surprising for him to find something big like this without any opening event. Usually, there will be a drama that happens before he finds something.

"Hmm? Why'd I protested? This is a good thing, so I should be happy instead. Let's call Gramps and inform him about this," says Ben as he takes out his lacrima vision.

Ben calls Roubaul and tells him about the magic library. Roubaul congratulates Ben and tells him to learn everything there. Of course, he needs to stop if the 1-year time limit for his journey has been met.

"Don't worry, we will only stay here for 6 months. We've been on this journey for around 3 months and I predict that the remaining locations will also need 3 months to finish. So there are 6 months to spare and I'll use it here. I can always return here in the future if I haven't finished," says Ben.

"Alright, that's a good time planning," says Roubaul.

They talk a little more before closing the call. Ben & Bella then go to the library's entrance and try to find a way to open it. He doesn't have the key to open the door, so he needs to find another way.

"Hmm, should I destroy it? But that will be a problem if someone from the Kingdom comes to check it. They'll know that it's me who causes it and it will be a problem for the Guild," ponders Ben.

Ben thinks of it and then looks at Bella who just drinks her milk happily. Then he gets an idea and tells Bella to fly around the library that is shaped like a tower. She needs to find any opening on the library's wall.

Bella nods and flies around the library as she goes up. Ben also looks for any opening at the lower level while Bella investigates the upper levels. The library tower is very tall and it is also wide, so it will take a long time to finish.

It takes them an hour to cover the whole area. Well, Ben finished faster because he just look at the lower level. Bella needs to investigate the whole area until the top level, so she needs a longer time.

After she returned, Bella reports what she found to Ben. She found some small openings that seem to be ventilation and water disposal systems. But they're very small and the biggest one is on the top level. Even so, it is only big enough for Bella to enter.

Ben also found some holes that seem to be water disposal systems. But all of them are too small and protected by magic too. It is to prevent anyone or anything to enter the library.

"Hmm, it seems the lower level has tighter defense because it is easy to reach. But the upper level's defenses are low because it's hard to reach. The upper level's ventilation and water disposal systems seem to be the main system, so they are wider," ponders Ben.

Ben decides to use the top level's opening, but he needs to do something to enter it.

"Bella, I will use transformation magic to be small. You need to take me to the biggest opening where you can also get inside," says Ben while giving Bella a bottle of milk as a reward.

Bella takes it happily and nods as she opens the bottle cap. Ben also eats first before starting his plan. He will read a lot after this, so he needs to fill his stomach first because he knows he will get too engrossed in it.

After eating, Ben starts his plan immediately. He transforms into a normal cat with brown fur & a yellow line from the head to tail. Bella walks around him and looks at him curiously.

"Enough, let's start the plan," says Ben.

"Kay~," replies Bella as she grabs Ben.

Bella then flies to the top level while holding Ben in her hands. She flies quite fast and reaches the top level in 3 minutes. They find the opening soon and it is also protected by magic, but it's weak, unlike the one on the lower level.

Ben can breach it easily even without AI Chip's help. He hacks the defense system without any problem and doesn't turn the alarm on. They get inside and walk slowly into the ventilation pipe system.

Ben needs to walk very slowly because Bella needs to crawl as the pipe is just as big as her. So she can't move easily in the pipe and needs to crawl slowly. They finally reach an exit after following the complicated piping line for half an hour.

"So this is the magic library. The interior shape is quite different from the exterior. How many books are here?" asks Ben as he looks around and transforms back to his real form.

The interior of this tower is shaped in hexagon, different from the cylindrical exterior. Ben can see the lowest floor from the top floor even though many bridges & stairs crisscrossing along the way. It is also very dark here, but it can't disturb his sharp eyes.

There is an unknown number of books on the shelves that are placed on the wall on every floor. It makes Ben very excited to see so many books in one place. So much knowledge about magic is placed in front of him right now.

"HAHAHA, ALL OF THESE ARE MINE, HAHAHA," says Ben like a maniac.

"Bad Ben," says Bella while slapping Ben's forehead angrily.

Ben sweatdrops and stops his laugh with a cough. Then he starts to explore the library while AI Chip scans the bookshelves. Ben & Bella walk from the top to the bottom floor.

The bridge & stairways are very complicated like a labyrinth. Luckily, Ben has AI Chip that can map the library & all its paths. They reach the bottom floor after walking for an hour.

The library is very tall & the paths are complicated, so it needs a long time to reach the bottom. AI Chip also has scanned all the bookshelves and the books' titles. Now it will be easier for Ben to find the books that he wants.

'How many books that you found?' asks Ben to AI Chip.

[1,083,143 books are found.]

Ben's jaw dropped seeing the number of books that AI Chip found on the bookshelves. There might be more books that are hidden somewhere.

The sheer number of books in this place is thousands of times than what he ever read in the past.

He knows that the number of magic types is less than the number of books because one magic type usually has many books about it. Besides, not all these books are magic books. Some are just other knowledge of magic like history, not the magic itself.

On the bottom floor, Ben finds some information about the library. There is a list book that contains all the book titles and where the books are located. But the number of books in the list is less than what AI Chip found, so they forgot to add the remaining books to the list or they wanted to hide the books.

Ben also find the library map, but it's not detailed, so AI Chip's map is better. There are 4 warehouses on each point of the compass. He knows there are hidden rooms in this library where important or dangerous pieces of information are hidden.

"Alright, let's start it," says Ben while grinning and cracking his neck.

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You can read up to 30+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.

I've uploaded:

1. Chapter 156 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater

2. Chapter 167 of Transcended as Lord Buggy

https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain

(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)