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SomethingOtherThanRain

Path to Transcendence - [Isekai/Litrpg] by l-Ryn-l

Chapter 54: Goldencrest Library

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Julius finally found the library. It was an entire massive building and reminded him of the Notre Dame Cathedral in many ways. Large, complex architecture and arches made up the structure, and gorgeous artwork was placed tastefully around the library, giving it just the right amount of elegance, sophistication, and coziness. There were multiple levels of bookshelves upon bookshelves. It was truly a library that deserved its renown.

When Julius walked in, he had to show the badge he had gotten when he had gotten his room key to the librarian. Julius thanked the older woman, who let him know that she was there if he had any questions.

"Do you know where I can find books on possible [Mana Manipulation] evolutions?" Julius thought to ask her.

The librarian directed Julius to the section where he would find some books detailing some skill evolutions. She did let him know that skill evolutions were private to most people and therefore there were fewer books discussing skill progressions than other books. Most of them were biographies of people who died long ago.

She also mentioned that not all skills were the same, even those with the same name. For example, someone with a [Mana Shield] may have a totally different version of another person also with [Mana Shield]. Names were just general descriptors, but skills varied from person to person, depending on how they used them and how they evolved. So she told him that he could find some useful information, but also take whatever he reads with an open mind.

Fortunately, [Mana Manipulation] was the most popular skill in the world, so there was much more information about that skill than others. There were even entire dedicated books that talked about certain versions of [Advanced Mana Manipulation].

Julius chose a few that seemed like they would fit his needs, and also a few that sounded interesting. Then he searched for a place where he could consume these books in peace. Luckily, there weren't many people in the library. He did see several upperclassmen and even a girl his age, who he assumed was also a first year considering they both weren't wearing a uniform. The lady who checked him in told him that first-years would receive theirs tomorrow morning.

Julius ended up finding a very comfortable chair sequestered in a private nook on the third floor. It had a small table and some lamps placed for convenience. There was also a window that overlooked a lush garden and a small pond just outside of the library.

It was as good a place as any other. So he dropped into the soft chair and picked a book at random. It was labeled Applications of Mana Layering by Richard Striker. For many hours Julius sat there as he read the book while munching on some of the cookies Rae had packed him. He was enjoying himself, it reminded him of the days back when he was young in his old world. After his parents died, he secluded himself from friends and found himself often alone reading a book. Reading became a place of solace, that helped him forget his own problems for that moment.

Julius didn't usually read anything this dense though. The book was honestly beyond Julius's level, it was like reading a scientific article from Earth. Many of the finer details he completely missed and could only follow a fraction of what Richard Striker was talking about.

However, what he did follow was that [Mana Layering] had many applications in combat and everyday magic use. It was like Orus said, [Mana Layering] skills that focused on combat were used to create more sturdy and powerful constructs. With that said, there was an entire field of study of how [Mana Layering] could be used for fields such as enchanting, blacksmithing, and other professions. There was so much that the skill could do, using it like Julius had been thinking about was only one part.

He finished the book and made sure to bookmark it to take another look at it at a future date. He wanted to come back to it once he learned more. He checked the clock and it said it was only early afternoon, he should still have a couple of hours before the cafeteria served dinner.

He thought he could get another book or at least be able to skim through it before then. He picked up another one, this time it was the one named Mana Manipulation Evolutions by Ghelisene Marks. It was the smallest book on his pile and he should be able to get through most of it before a couple of hours were up.

While he was reading an upperclassman wearing a black and gold uniform, with three dashes across his shoulder walked into his nook where he was reading, however upon seeing Julius, he apologized and walked just around the corner to another nook. It seemed like Julius wasn't the only one who was looking to do some research before the semester started. Also, he had noticed that many of the students with uniforms had lines on their shoulders. Julius was thinking that those lines indicated one's year, which would mean that upperclassmen was a third-year.

Julius forgot about the guy and focused back on his reading. The thin book was a fun read. It mentioned many of the skill evolutions of [Mana Manipulation], but it didn't describe the ones he was offered in too much depth. He was hoping it would detail each skill and some of the potential pathing it might take down the line. He did learn of some funny skills though.

There was a skill called [Mana Moisturizer] which was a skill that a famous actress had used to keep her skin looking perfect. It replaced lotion and had the unique ability to revitalize and improve one's skin for optimal beauty.

Another one he found was a skill called [Mana Chicken]. A weird skill that created a construct that looked exactly like a chicken down to its feathers in intricate and precise detail. The man who used it was a farmer who was having problems with animals eating his chickens and learned the skill to create illusionary chickens as bait to trap the predators.

There were many other skills just as weird and unique. If you could think of it, it was there. Julius didn't find much useful information, but he did find himself laughing at some of the skills and how they were used.

Once it was around six he collected his stack of books and put away the two he read. Then he walked down to the front counter where the librarian was still there reading a book of her own. Julius cleared his throat to get her attention and she put her book down and asked him, "What can I do for you, hun?"

"I wanted to know what your checkout procedure is like. Like how many books I can check out and so forth," Julius told her.

"There is a limit of two books a person can check out at one time, you can request for more, but I or another library staff member has to authorize it," she explained to him.

Julius looked down in his arms and counted four books. Two too many it seemed. He thought about which ones he would like to keep and which ones to leave here for another time. He chose to leave the ones on the bottom and take the ones on top. It wouldn't matter too much, he could always come back once he was done anyway.

The librarian took out a sheet of paper much like the one he saw used during his exam and wrote down the books he was checking out under his name.

"You can keep them for two weeks, but after two weeks you either have to return them or extend your rental. Otherwise, a penalty will be enforced. Also, you may only keep them for a maximum of four weeks. This is to prevent students from hoarding books all year long. You would be surprised how many times that happened before we implemented that rule," the lady said to Julius.

Julius did notice multiple copies of some books, but he also saw some with only one copy available, so he could see how that might be a problem, especially for a rare book.

"Oh, and each book is enchanted just in case it is lost or damaged," she added.

Julius thanked her and placed the books in his bag for safekeeping. Then he left, heading toward the cafeteria. There was a dedicated cafeteria for first-years and second-years but since it was early in the school year, it wasn't open yet. So Julius had to head over to the main cafeteria where staff and upperclassmen ate.

Technically, it was allowed for underclassmen to eat at the main cafeteria, as there was no rule stating that they could not. Underclassmen had a smaller but exclusive cafeteria built after some problems upperclassmen caused for the younger students. It became an unspoken tradition that the underclassmen would only eat in their dedicated area, at least that was what Declan told him.

However, for now, he would have to eat in the main one regardless. He walked through the doors, following a group of upperclassmen who had arrived back to school early. They were talking loudly, asking about how their breaks went and what they did.

Julius maintained some distance but followed them to the line where they each picked up a metal tray and started to choose their food. Julius was surprised at how good the food looked. He was used to awful cafeteria food back in his old world. Frozen pizza, overcooked chicken, and sad vegetables. He even once went to a school that had given him bagged milk, which was just milk in a sandwich baggie that you would punch a straw through.

The food at Goldencrest was much better than that. Declan said the food was pretty good, but Declan also wasn't a picky eater. Julius was pretty sure Declan could live off of dried rations, so Julius didn't take his word for it.

There was a wide array of food available. Everything from chicken and rice to fish and salads. They had it all. It was like a Las Vegas buffet. Julius was salivating as he waited for his turn.

Some of the boys ahead of him noticed him following them but didn't pay him any mind. Once it was Julius's turn, he piled his tray with something that looked like steak, a nice pile of crispy potatoes covered in herbs, some vegetables, and a drink that looked like lemonade.

He didn't have to pay for anything. The one thing about Goldencrest was that other than the application fees, which Declan took care of for him, you didn't need to pay any tuition. They were properly funded by former alumni, sponsors, donations, the city, and also events they held during the year, such as the Intra and Inter-School Tournaments.

Those tournaments raised a lot of money for the school, as many people from Heston and all over came to watch the students fight it out.

When Julius got his food he found himself an open cafeteria-style table away from some of the busier parts of the cafeteria. Although the year hadn't started officially yet, there were still many students who wanted to come early.

Maybe, they wanted to avoid all the traffic and move back in before all the first and second years came back, Julius thought to himself.

The food tasted just as good as it looked. The steak was tender and perfectly seasoned, with a nice char all around. The potatoes were divine, he didn't know how they kept them so crispy and fluffy even after sitting out for a while.

The "lemonade" wasn't lemonade. It was a sweet fruity drink that reminded him of the liquid of canned peaches, but better. It surprisingly went well with what he was eating.

While he was enjoying his food, he was also observing the other students. Most of them were laughing and talking to each other, most likely describing their breaks and talking about what classes they were planning to take. Speaking of that, Julius still hadn't taken a good look at the list.

With a mouth full of potatoes, he opened his pack and took out the list they provided him of the available classes.

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Royal Road

SomethingOtherThanRain

Path to Transcendence - [Isekai/Litrpg] by l-Ryn-l

Chapter 55: Meeting Other Students

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The list was quite extensive, offering classes ranging from practical combat to sculpting. There were four mandatory classes that he had to do, he just needed to pick out what times he would like to take them. He also got a choice of at least two electives.

The mandatory classes, for combat-focused students, were: Physical Training, Applied Combat, Intro to Mana Control, and Tier Advancement. Everything except for Applied Combat was one hour long. Applied Combat was two hours a day, meaning that he would have at least five hours a day taken up by these classes. If he took two electives that would make it seven hours a day for school alone. That wasn't taking into account breaks and eating.

It was going to be a busy schedule from here on out. He was interested in what kind of electives they offered and checked the list over. However, just when he was reviewing the first few, he felt a group of students sit down at his table.

Julius looked up to see the people who chose to sit at the secluded table he chose for a reason. There were half a dozen open tables between him and the busier part of the cafeteria. He wondered why they chose this particular table to sit at.

He thought about getting up to sit at another open table, but he didn't want to come off as rude, especially on his first day here. The group didn't bother him in the beginning, they just sat down, ignored him, and started to eat. However, they soon began to talk very loudly with each other, making it difficult for Julius to think about what classes he was going to choose.

There were three guys and two girls included in the group. The guys were wearing the men's gold and black uniform and appeared to be fourth-years. All of them were tall, but the one on the right was lean-looking with pale, soft features, wearing a pair of glasses. The one on the left was the complete opposite, he was a scary-looking big boy with rugged features and light brown skin. Not quite as large as Gabriel but for a guy around eighteen years old he was massive, the poor guy was barely able to fit on the bench.

The one in the middle looked like he was the leader of the group and was a perfect combination of his two friends. He had long blond hair swept back, and sharp features. He was fit, but not too bulky, just the right amount of muscle. He was incredibly handsome with an air of charisma about him. He seemed like a picturesque example of a noble scion.

The other two girls were sitting across the table across from the boys. One was a tall beauty, with long brown hair that fell across her face, framing her model-like features. The other girl was also very pretty, just a different aesthetic. She was a few inches shorter than Julius's average frame and had dark blonde hair curled in delicate waves, that bounced up and down every time she laughed or moved.

The girls were laughing and having a conversation on one side of the table, the blonde girl was talking about her trip to Sevilm, a coastal city just up north from Heston. The other three boys were discussing the trip all three of them took together amongst each other.

Julius didn't get up and leave immediately, he forwent looking at the classes until he got back to his room. Instead, he just decided to finish the rest of his meal.

However, the blonde noble seemed to finally notice that they were sitting with another person and got up from his seat and sat down next to Julius, wrapping an arm around Julius's shoulder.

"Hi there! My name is Derek, what's yours?" The guy asked with a smile.

Julius looked at Derek, then at the arm that was wrapped around him, and back at Derek. It seemed the guy realized he might've come across as too friendly and quickly released Julius.

"It's Julius," he finally answered Derek.

"Nice to meet you Julius, I noticed you were a first-year and saw your class list over there. I just wanted to ask if you need any help or have any questions about which classes might be best for you, we are all fourth years so we know some things," the guy said.

That was nice of him to say. Julius didn't know what to expect when he sat down but he was glad the boy wasn't awful so far.

"Actually, yeah, I have a question. It said that we need to choose at least two electives, which ones do you think are most useful?" Julius asked him.

The guy thought about that for a minute before saying, "I think that answer would depend on what you are looking for. What is your focus?"

"Combat. I am specializing in close combat but would rather have something that would fit all ranges of combat."

"If it is combat, I would take a weapons elective. Whatever weapon you use, as long as it's not too uncommon, you can find an instructor." Derek helpfully informed Julius.

That was a good idea, his [Swordsmanship] skill was his lowest-level skill so far and he wanted to see what kind of evolution he would be offered, maybe even try to get a specific one that he felt would fit his needs.

"I usually use my fists, but have picked up the sword recently," Julius said.

It appeared Derek's group of friends were no longer talking amongst themselves and were listening in on their conversation, because the large guy interjected and said, "If you use bare hands, Professor Keller is one the best hand-to-hand combat experts in the school. I don't know if he is doing an elective class though. He usually teaches Applied Combat to upperclassmen but sometimes decides to do both. If you want a swordsman, I would choose either Jerod Trench or Sarah Hashen. Professor Trench is more defensive and Professor Hashen teaches a more aggressive style so I would choose whatever would fit you better."

That was a very well-thought-out answer, Julius thought, impressed at the big guy's knowledge.

"Edgar said it better than I ever could. You can trust him, he is one of the best close-combat fighters in the school," Derek assured Julius.

Julius looked through the list and found Sarah Hashen's name listed under "Blade Instructor". He mentally added that elective as one of the top ones. He was surprised to find Gabriel's name, or rather Professor Keller's name under "Hand-to-Hand Combat". When they last talked Professor Keller didn't mention him having an elective he could take, so it was unexpected.

"Isn't Professor Keller a Senior Professor? Wouldn't that mean that only upperclassmen can take his class?" Julius directed his question toward Edgar.

"Not if it's an elective. For electives, it is first come first serve, which is why many of the older students get here early," Edgar told him.

"You haven't signed up?" Julius asked.

"Oh, is his name written down for the elective?"

"Yeah, I saw his name," Julius said while reaching over and showing Edgar the paper.

Julius saw Edgar get up immediately, grabbing his tray. The tall girl spoke up, "Right now Ed? It is already pretty late, they might be closed for the day."

"You never know, but I don't want to wait for tomorrow, it might be all full by then." he turned to Julius, "If you're interested I would recommend you come with me as well. I took Professor Keller's elective in my second year and it was one of the best classes I have ever taken."

Julius saw the guy's eyes light up like it was Christmas morning. He must have really liked Gabriel's class to be this excited.

Julius decided that we rather not risk letting the class fill up before he made his choices, if Gabriel's class was as popular as Edgar was saying, then it was better to be safe than sorry.

Julius got up and cleaned up his tray too, he was already practically finished anyway. Edgar's friends all said bye and Julius made sure to thank them for their help before leaving with Edgar.

The two of them left the cafeteria, heading for the admission building at a brisk pace, hoping they made it there in time.

Neither said anything for the first couple minutes, but Edgar finally broke the silence, "So what do you think of Goldencrest?"

"I have been enjoying it. So far everything has been beautiful and you guys were certainly nice." Julius said to him.

"Yeah, the four of them are some of the nicest people on campus. There are a lot of snobby nobles running around, I am sure you will meet plenty of them in your own classes, but those four are the exception." Edgar proudly said.

"All of them are nobles?" Julius asked.

"Yep or at least close enough. The other guy is Kyle Quincy, he is the second son of the head of the Quincy family."

Julius had heard of the Quincy family, they were a renowned mage family, they only had the title of Baron but they were very powerful and very influential. They weren't a house anyone wanted to mess with.

"The tall girl is Aubrey Crysalia, daughter of Fiona Crysalia, a Tier 6 powerhouse. The other girl is Lily Violet, the granddaughter of Count Violet. And you met Derek already, he is the grandson of Duke Zenith," Edgar explained to Julius as they walked.

Julius wasn't familiar with Fiona Crysalia but being Tier 6, though not officially a noble gave one more influence than a lot of nobles. Count Violet Julius had heard about though. Edwin had told him that House Violet had built a trading empire that impacted the entire Empire as well as Corvus and The Alliance of Morning Sun.

Duke Zenith was considered one of the strongest people in the Empire. There were rumors that he was over Tier 6, but Julius didn't know if that was true. He was an old monster and Derek was his grandson. Julius made sure not to offend Derek in the future, otherwise his scary grandpa might drop a mountain on him.

"And you? Are you not a noble?" Julius inquired.

Edgar shook his head, "Nope. Just a commoner, those four had already known each other before coming to Goldencrest, but I made friends with them in my first year. If you are ever in trouble or just want to talk, don't hesitate to ask any of us."

Julius smiled, he had been having a lot of good luck lately. There was a point of time in his old life when he felt like everyone he met was an asshole or was having a bad day. Therefore, he was able to appreciate when he met kind people. So far, other than an occasional rude person he had met a lot of nice people, such as Declan, Orus, Rae, Gabriel, and now these five. It felt nice.

They finally arrived at the building and walked through the doors, hoping they weren't too late. Julius saw a group of staff members starting to put things away, and getting ready to leave. Edgar saw the same and quickly intercepted them.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" Edgar ran up to them, getting their attention.

"I'm sorry, but we are just about to head out." A lady apologized to them.

Julius spoke up as well, "Please, we ran here from the cafeteria mid-meal. It won't take long I promise."

Another man off to the side said, "What do you need help with?"

"We noticed that Professor Keller was teaching Hand-to-Hand Combat this year and wanted to fill in our schedules before there are no more spots," Edgar explained.

The man smirked at that. "Ah, I understand your rush. There have been a lot of people already signed up…" He turned to the lady, "Jen, you can go, I will take care of these two okay?" Then he turned back to them, "How does that sound to you guys?"

They both profusely thanked the man for his help. It didn't take that long, Edgar already knew what he was going to take, and was just adding a third elective to his schedule instead of the two he had planned on.

He also helped Julius with figuring out what times he wanted to do his mandatory classes. He advised Julius to do Physical Training first thing in the morning, then do Intro to Mana and Tier Advancement afterward, leaving Applied Combat for last. Then he chose his electives which were all after his mandatory ones. He went with Sarah Hashen's and Gabriel's electives. He also selected an aura control class. Julius didn't want to openly tell people he could use aura, but it was too important of a skill not to take a class on. Plus, it wasn't said he had to use aura to take it, so he could always lie and pretend he couldn't use aura, then practice what he learned later at night.

Edgar approved of his choices, he was a little confused about his last class, but he didn't say anything about it. Before they went their separate ways, Edgar told Julius to stop by their table whenever he felt like it. Julius told him he would and made sure to thank Edgar for his help.

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