Chapter 167: _Knowledge Can Be Dangerous Elian’s POV
He could barely keep his cool when Kyren finally opened the door to the grand library, revealing a sight he didn’t see coming. "Holy..." His jaw slacked, his eyes bulging as they scanned through the large space. The library definitely deserved to be classified as "grand". It had a curved ceiling covered in glass tens of meters high, giving a breathtaking view of the ashen red skies of the Dark Lands. Large marble pillars stood lining the left and right sides of the library, all lifting a large gallery upstairs. Rows of well-arranged shelves were stacked with books of so many varieties, the floor was made of polished white marble for a change and as if that wasn’t all enough to accentuate the library’s grandeur, a magnificent holographic projection flashed and changed appearances above the room. The hologram changed shape to different scenes every ten seconds or so, glowing with a soft red light. From a constellation Elian couldn’t recognise to save his life, to a projection of comets shooting through the skies, and even projections of cities rising and falling with the desert sands. "This is..." Elian managed to catch his breath again, turning his head slowly to Kyren. "I... I’m officially speechless." The Rogue king merely smirked, taking the lead and stepping into the library with his arms behind his back, his footsteps echoing with each click.
He could barely keep his cool when Kyren finally opened the door to the grand library, revealing a sight he didn’t see coming. "Holy..." His jaw slacked, his eyes bulging as they scanned through the large space. The library definitely deserved to be classified as "grand". It had a curved ceiling covered in glass tens of meters high, giving a breathtaking view of the ashen red skies of the Dark Lands. Large marble pillars stood lining the left and right sides of the library, all lifting a large gallery upstairs. Rows of well-arranged shelves were stacked with books of so many varieties, the floor was made of polished white marble for a change and as if that wasn’t all enough to accentuate the library’s grandeur, a magnificent holographic projection flashed and changed appearances above the room. The hologram changed shape to different scenes every ten seconds or so, glowing with a soft red light. From a constellation Elian couldn’t recognise to save his life, to a projection of comets shooting through the skies, and even projections of cities rising and falling with the desert sands. "This is..." Elian managed to catch his breath again, turning his head slowly to Kyren. "I... I’m officially speechless." The Rogue king merely smirked, taking the lead and stepping into the library with his arms behind his back, his footsteps echoing with each click.
"Oh, this old place?" Kyren chuckled, his long white hair flowing behind him. "I built it to be what you see today shortly after building this palace."
[Ouuu, this man just keeps finding new ways to make himself sexy, huh?]
Elian blinked before shaking his head, waltzing in as well. The doors closed behind him slowly when he did, sending cold air rushing in alongside a deafening silence that made him flinch.
Kyren glanced over his shoulder at him, his crimson eyes scouring him. "All the books, artefacts and knowledge here are... Treasures I’ve collected from all parts of the continent. Even beyond."
Even beyond Evaros?
[Your knowledge ends in this continent and it’s barely helpful at best... You just hit gold!]
"You have this whole place to yourself..." Elian muttered, arching his back slightly from how hard he was trying to stare at the high shelves which easily dwarfed him. "Yet you never told me anything about it."
Kyren’s lips curled. "You know how we are when we’re together. Besides, you have all the time in this world to explore all parts of the palace."
Elian wasn’t buying it, folding his arms across his chest. "Yet when we were outside you insisted on Sylas not letting me in here."
Kyren raised his hands in defeat. "Forgive me. But you see, knowledge can be... Dangerous."
The Rogue king clapped his hands twice, causing Elian to squint at first.
But the next thing that happened seemed completely out of left field.
Elian had already imagined that they’d need some kind of ladder or hover boards to navigate through the high shelves.
What he never imagined was a translucent, holographic-looking pillar to rise up to Kyren’s knee level. The rogue king stepped on the platform much to his surprise, completely calm.
Just then, another translucent pillar flickered out of the ground, this time propped beside Elian.
"Hop on." Kyren blurted as his pillar elongated, changing size until it got to the top of the shelf. "I like keeping things traditional sometimes... But this library also has a robotic system that helps with operations."
Elian hesitated for a moment, his eyes rising past the high pillar and landing on Kyren. Then they trailed back to the small translucent pillar beside his legs.
[You’re boring the fuck out of me. You know, right?]
Elian rolled his eyes, hopping onto the translucent pillar. The thing elongated just like Kyren’s, giving him a view of the books on the top shelves.
"Move," Kyren muttered, causing the pillars to glow softly.
With a ripple, they moved through the ground, leading through the rows of shelves and the books stacked in them.
Kyren didn’t say anything else, his cloak and hair blowing behind him as he scanned his eyes past every book.
[Running a scan on every book we pass for general data...]
[There’s a plethora of topics... From cooking, wildlife classifications, history of tech on Evaros, and of course—]
"Ah ha." The pillars came to a sudden halt, Kyren raising his right hand.
A book suddenly floated out of one of the shelves and right into his hand.
Elian furrowed his brows but before he could speak, the rogue king turned his head to him slowly.
"Beginner’s guide to practical magic. Taken from one of the best magic academies in Arcadia." Kyren grinned but then paused, his eyes glinting with a mischievous light.
Elian gawked at the large brown book in his hand. "Uhm... Taken or stolen?"
Kyren shrugged. "Same thing."
The pillars slowly lowered back to the ground, disappearing out of existence when they finally got down.
Kyren walked to Elian, handing the book to him with a plain face. "This was one of the first books I ever opened before my parents abandoned me in the Dark Lands. It might not be any use to you now..."
He took a few steps closer, brushing his lips on his ear and making his body stiffen.
"... But I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Since you seemed so eager to get it."
There was something about the way he said that. As if he were probing Elian. Trying to let him know he knew he was up to something... But he was choosing to ignore him.
"Well, I’ll leave you to it." Kyren finally moved away from him, tapping him on his shoulder. "I need to debrief my staff after that traitorous maid tried to kill me. Not to mention your pets..."
He stopped himself on time. "Right. Your other mates are still out there. I wonder if they’ll give up after everything."
With that, he walked past Elian, his footsteps echoing through the library. His absence left an odd feeling on Elian, right until he closed the doors with a soft boom.
[Alright! Operation: Learn how to harness the magic you get from the Bond Resonance skill—is a go!]