17 Chapter 17 - The Path Filled With Weird Symbols

Immediately after class, both Mi Young and Jong In headed towards the school's library.

Mi Young was so excited to see all the books inside their library that she couldn't help skipping on their way there like a little kid who was promised with her favorite dessert. However, just as they were about to round the corner where the library was located, Lee Kwang Soo blocked their way.

"Congrats on successfully firing a fireball." The tall man says as he smirks at Mi Young.

"What do you want?" Jong In asks, he steps forward and lands a protective hand in front of Mi Young, an attempt to shield her from the other man. Kwang Soo didn't even spare him any glance as his eyes were fixated on the young girl.

"May I ask why you chose the Pyro faction?"

"Why so curious?" Mi Young asks in return, her voice sounding confident and dignified. Kwang Soo gives her a sinister smile before he leans closer to match their eye level.

"Am I not allowed to ask things from my rival?"

"I wouldn't say we're rivals." Mi Young says. "I never acknowledge you as someone who can match with me."

With her answer, Kwang Soo let out an amused laugh that garnered the attention of some passersby. When he was done, he smiled at Mi Young, "You are really a strange woman. I'm starting to regret betting with you. We could have been friends."

"No one wants to be friends with you." Jong In inserts. He gives Kwang Soo an angry look before he grips Mi Young's hands and drags her away from the senior.

This action made both Mi Young and Kwang Soo shocked and confused, but the latter didn't do anything to stop them. As soon as they were finally away from the other party, Mi Young asks Jong In, "What's up with you?"

"I hate that guy."

Mi Young snorts at him, "You hate everyone in school."

"That's true but I hate that guy the most." Jong In says. He crosses his arms as he eyes where Kwang Soo was standing earlier. "He's so arrogant and he feels like he owns this place."

"Why are there no teachers who punish him?"

It was Jong In's turn to snort at the girl, "Kwang Soo got punished a couple of times already but none of that works on him. Even though he's stubborn and arrogant, he still has some skills that can awe a lot of teachers. If he doesn't have such an attitude, I'm sure a lot of students would admire him."

Mi Young silently agreed to what Jong In was saying because she herself can see that Kwang Soo is handsome and can catch the eyes of a lot of women. However, his attitude is just worse.

"They say a teacher tried to punish him before by letting him clean the whole academy and embarrassing him in front of a crowd when he was still a freshman student. The next day, the teacher was found naked and hanging upside down on that huge oak tree in the center of the academy." Jong In shares as they start walking along a path filled with marble rocks. However, Mi Young wasn't listening to what the boy was saying because she was busy looking at the white rocks.

Mi Young was fascinated by them as they glitter every time the sun's rays hit their surface. Jong In must have noticed her awestruck look because he was chuckling as he started explaining, "Every time someone is new here they always have the same look on their faces."

Not able to contain her curiosity, Mi Young asks "What are they here for?"

"That time when that savage beast attacked the kingdom, the first Great Sage used these rocks and put his mana energy on them so they could serve as protection from the beast's attack. They say that when the beast attacked the academy, only the library remained undestroyed."

Upon hearing Jong In's explanation, Mi Young notices for the first time that there were a couple of Ancient symbols engraved on each stone.

⊎ ∵≼ Π⋄⋄ ∵≇ Π⋨∴ ∃≆≘₌∖≆ ≇≼≆ ≇∖≙≆ ≼≆∖₌

She looked at it closely and realized that it was another kind of Mage language. "What language are these?"

"No one knows." Jong In answers, a small smile playing on his plump lips.

Mi Young turned her head towards her, there was confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Only Great Sages know that language." The young boy says as he looks at the letter written on the white marble rocks. "However, long ago, there was a legend saying that even without the Great Sage's help, someone will come to decipher the message written on these rocks. That person will either bring peace or destruction to our lands."

The young girl just nodded at what Jong In said. She turns towards the stones again and couldn't stop the loud thumping of her heart as she eyes each one of them. Mi Young chose to ignore that inkling feeling bubbling inside her as she fixes her posture and tells Jong In that they should head to the library instead.

Not a minute or two has passed and Mi Young can already see the huge library building at the end of the white marbled path.

"That is indeed a huge building." Mi Young whistled as they stopped in front of the large white library.

As they walked closer towards the huge door, she noticed another set of symbols written on top of the entrance. It was the same language carved on the stones on the marbled path they used in order to get to the library.

≇≼≆ ≪₌∴∴≆∵∵ ≽≇⋄∕₌⋖≇∵ ≇≼≆ ₌⋨≆ ≽≼₌ ≙∵≆∵ ≽ Π ≇≆∖ ≽⊎⋨∴ ≘⊎∖≆ Π⋨∴ ≆ Π∖≇≼

"Stop looking at it." Jong In warns when he notices the girl looking at the symbols again. "No matter how much you try to understand it, you will never decipher that language. Many scholars and high ranked Mages tried to study the language of the Sage, but none of them succeeded. Aside from that, there are also stories regarding the people who tried to decode the messages written using that symbol…"

Mi Young notices the change in the boy's voice and so she asks, "What happened to them?"

Jong In had a look on his face that indicates something personal, but he answered Mi Young with all honesty, "…they grew insane and their mana went berserk. Some even died because they were consumed by their ability."

Mi Young remembered the story where a group of high ranked Mages, who used to study in this academy, died at the same time when their mana and abilities went berserk. "Was the story…"

"Yes. It was true. Most of the public do not know the reason why those Mages died. But people in the academy knew. Some even witnessed it in person. Those high ranked Mages tried to decipher the symbols, and they were so closed with their research. However, because they don't have the blood of the Sage or because they weren't the chosen one, the language rejected them and it took away their lives." Jong In explained, his eyes becoming more glassy as each word comes out from his mouth.

Mi Young nodded upon hearing the tragic story. She doesn't know what Jong In is hiding and why he looked so sad while telling her the past events that happened in the academy but she chose to keep her mouth shut and let the boy be. She'll ask him once Jong In is ready.

And so with a light tap on the boy's shoulder, Mi Young gestured for the both of them to go inside the library.

Once they entered the library, Mi Young's eyes immediately wandered everywhere.

The library is not what Mi Young expected. She thought it would look like a simple building filled with thousands of books. However, upon entering the building and seeing its interior design, Mi Young couldn't help herself from gawking.

Everything about the library is luxurious and elegant; from its ceiling down to the shiny marble floor. The library also has huge windows just like in her room. Aside from that, the bookshelves are so high that Mi Young feels like a tiny speck compared to it.

"How do you get those books that are placed way up there?" She asks Jong In while pointing at the top-most part of the bookshelves.

"The librarian specializes in materialization. A flick of her hand and you will immediately get the book you want. Just tell her the title of the book you want to read and she'll get it for you." Jong In explains while eyeing the table at the center of the library where a beautiful woman was sitting. "That's Lady Ning Gwang."

"Her name sounds foreign."

"That's right. She isn't a local in our area, which is why people find her very mysterious." Jong In whispers as they both near the high table where the librarian was sitting. "Some say she materialized out of nowhere. Others claimed that she came from the future."

When they neared her table, they both paused, waiting for her to notice their presence. However, she was too engrossed with the book she was reading that she didn't even spare them any glance.

Jong In clears his throat to get her attention. Upon hearing their arrival, the lady jumps in surprise before she closes the book and fixes her position so she could greet them.

"What can I do for you?" Looking at her closely, Mi Young can now clearly see her face. She has long white hair that looks so smooth, Mi Young wanted to touch it with her hands. Her features are splendid and very pleasing to the eyes as well. Her face is an indication that she comes from a different race, and she has an hour glass figure; not to mention that she also has a front part that would totally catch more eyes than her face. But what caught Mi Young's attention the most was her eyes.

Her eyes glimmer against the lighting of the library and it reflects knowledge that Mi Young can't quite tell and for some reason, her eyes looked familiar. Mi Young cocks her head to the side and wonders where she has seen those eyes before. She must have caught the attention of the lady because the next second, she was shifting her gaze from Jong In to Mi Young.

Mi Young shivered at the look in Lady Ning Gwang's eyes. A shadow passed the other's eyes and for a second Mi Young thought the other party recognized her. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light, Mi Young thought.

"What are you doing here?" The lady's voice asked in a monotonous tone, but aside from that you can also hear a tinge of familiarity laced with it.

Jong In and Mi Young exchanged glances. "Uhmmm..what are we doing here again?"

Mi Young was about to answer the boy but she suddenly felt an excruciating pain in her head. She kneels down on the cold hard floor, not able to tolerate the pain anymore . Mi Young grips her head to try and ease the pain she was feeling but it was like her mind was going to explode any minute now.

She can feel her surroundings spinning and she wants to vomit as she feels the nausea building inside her stomach.

Mi Young closes her eyes to try and forget the pain. But just like how sudden it came to her, it was gone in an instant. The pain subsided like it never happened at all.

The girl opened her eyes and realized she wasn't inside the library anymore.

"Ah. My apologies for causing you pain. Did it hurt?"