Back at the Infinity Magic Library
…
Someone was shuffling between the endless rows of books like a cricket jumping from plant to plant. Naturally, this was Mwana.
“There is nothing here!”
“I have even looked through the least browsed books like recipes known to everyone yet they have all been kept clean.” Mwana quietly lamented.
He was currently filled with endless disappointment.
“Did those books lie?”
As a youngster who loved martial arts, Mwana had read many martial arts novels depicting the heroic journeys of many legendary figures.
“In those books the hero always finds the god-level techniques by browsing through the old, dusty, and torn books that are neglected by everyone and stashed away at the corner of the library.”
This was so in those novels but reality was different. In the Milele town library, even the least important books were kept clean and tidy.
With the first novel-inspired plan failing, Mwana had no choice but to do everything by the book.
When it came to the rules of the library, they were not so strict. In fact everyone could walk in into the library at any time. Given the size of the library, even if all of Milele’s residents came to read they would never be able to exhaust all the books off the shelves.
“From outside the library looks like a normal building but inside it is truly infinite!” From Mwana’s guesses, the library was probably constructed with the laws of space infused inside the building.
When one walked inside the building, it was like entering another world – a world of books. This was the reason why the library could hold an almost infinite amount of books. It was also the reason why it was ridiculous for Mwana to try shuffling between the shelves without even knowing what books he was looking for.
While anyone could read in the library, there were naturally rules governing things like borrowing books, purchasing books, exceeding the allotted library time, getting a private reading room, setting up in-library book clubs, and having one’s own books on the shelves as a publisher.
However, there were several types of documentations that could grant the holder significant library privileges. One such document was a badge from an educational institution or national identification documents. Badges included items like the Jua and Mwezi village moon bracelets while identification documents included Education Certificates, Military Service Certificates, Awakening Certificates, and other such documents which served as proof of some sort of achievement.
Overall, there were many other ways but each carried different privileges. Even just how residents and non-residents were treated was different. After all, it was much easier to track down a resident compared to a visitor to the town who could just leave the town with borrowed books and disappear forever. Even with the existence of magical ways to track and retrieve the books, it would still be a hassle for whoever had to do it especially for just a book.
This time Mwana walked to the librarian section. The person at the desk was not a sloppy old man who was hiding his true abilities like in the martial arts novels that Mwana read. Instead it was a young woman dressed in black formal clothes and with her hair neatly tied at the back.
Surprisingly, despite the large size of this library and the huge inflow of people, there was no one at the librarian’s counter. It is only when Mwana talked to her that he understood why.
“A Book Catalogue, It looks like a light magic scroll.”
In front of Mwana there was a translucent projection shaped like a cone that was cut in half. The scroll looked like a digital gaming screen in medieval fantasy games. To move across the contents of the projected scroll, all one had to do was to move their finger in the air as if scrolling and pointing.
“What an ingenious way of using conjuration magic. No wonder no one bothers to disturb the librarian. They can just pull up the book catalogue in mid-air!”
The projected screen contained a collection of all the books in the library. However, since the library had over a million books, they were divided into different sections and categories which made it easier for readers to find what they were looking for. The books and techniques in the library were further arranged into sections like biographies, fiction, educational, martial arts, and so on and so forth.
Fort techniques, they were also divided based on general categories such as the body, mind, soul, and magic. There were also more in-depth categories such as elemental arts and animal-based techniques. Since the library was so large, it would almost be impossible to find what you were looking for without checking the catalogue first.
Fwish!
“It can actually do that!”
When Mwana chose a martial arts book on the projected scroll-like screen, a book instantly appeared in his arms.
“It is like teleportation.”
This book was one Mwana had chosen on a whim to test out the functions of the scroll. Looking at the purple covered book in his palm, Mwana flipped to the first page. This martial arts book was titled “The Core Technique of Shango's Thunder Lightning Mansion.” The book’s cover seemed to have been made of some strange beast’s purple hide and its pages were all a pale brown color. Clearly, this was a slightly older book.
Although this book recorded information about martial arts, it did not actually contain the martial arts themselves. Instead, it was more like a historical account of the Thunder Lightning Mansion established by Shango – a prominent Sky God.
Within this book, one could read about the different form of the Violet Lightning Dragon, an extremely domineering fist technique that existed in 7 parts, as well Jakuta’s signature technique – the Violet Dragon Roar. There was also a breakdown of the development process of Gudi za Dhoruba [Storm Fist], a common fist technique among lightning practitioners in Toro.
Nevertheless, while these martial arts greatly interested Mwana, he did not have infinite time or memory. After all, he had come to the library with a very particular purpose.
“Anyway, these techniques are not going anywhere. I can always learn them next time.”
Mwana still proceeded to look through many other books before making his final choice. Among them were the Bright Moon Martial forms of the Mwezi village as well as a book that he was intent on borrowing: “A Book on Scientific Magic.”
This book recorded a lot scientific knowledge that would be useful to magicians, warriors, and even ordinary laymen. One such example was the Alkane Series Fire Control Method which included the Super-acid Formula and extensive knowledge about Free Radicals Reactions.
“Maybe this can expand my magical knowledge before I forge my Azama. I am about to become a Magic Student so I have to make all the right preparations.”
In addition to books that just recorded knowledge, Mwana also looked through the Technique Section in the scroll. What entered his eyes was a sea of techniques that seemed to cover anything and everything one could think of. There were many categories and subcategories covering every field of martial arts or magic.
When Mwana chose a technique, what entered his hands was an engraved stone tablet.
Unlike books, the techniques in the library were usually in the form of thin manuals or engraved tablets whose content had been written using magic penmanship.
“Volcano Fist? I already have Solar Scorching Fist so this is of very little use to me.”
“Tornado Wave Strike. This can help me improve when training the Sword Dragon Wave. If I integrate these two techniques, it might bear some results!”
Mwana found a place to seat down within the library and started choosing some techniques.
While he intended to borrow some books from the library when he left, he did not plan on leaving the library while carrying any martial techniques.
“I will just read and memorize them all here.”
If it was just one or two techniques, anyone could read and memorize them when given time. However, Mwana was confident in memorizing over a dozen techniques, perfectly at that.
“It is finally time for these eyes to show their worth.”
Mwana’s confidence came from his unique power originating from the Dragon Mirror Eye – the 4 Directions.
- Eastern Eye of Perception - Awareness Eye (Mashariki-Jua)
- Western Eye of Discernment - Appraisal Eye (Magharibi-Elewa)
- Northern Eye of Contemplation - Reflection Eye (Kaskazini-Kioo cha Fikra)
- Southern Eye of Insight - Inner Eye (Magharibi-Wazia)
Mwana’s right eye, the Sun Eye or Awareness Eye, was mostly used to gather information and investigate phenomena. Naturally, it also enhanced Mwana’s combat ability.
As for his left eye, the eye of discernment, it had the ability to understand, discern, and appraise many things. With his right and left eye, there were not many things in this world that could escape Mwana’s eyesight. His vision was extremely powerful and clear. Reading even books with thousands of pages would be like drinking water to him.
However, at the end of the day mastering magic or martial arts was not all about being able to read well. One had to memorize the techniques and most importantly, one had to understand these techniques.
“With the Reflection Eye, I can directly imprint the things I read on the Dragon Mirror itself. Even if I want to forget them I won’t be able to forget. And with the Inner eye, I can slowly decipher and train these techniques in my inner world.”
The remaining two abilities of the Dragon Mirror Eye were Mwana’s main reliance.
With a plan already set in place, Mwana continued looking through the different categories:
Psychic Arts
In this section, Mwana chose to memorize the Basics of Shadow Boxing. This was a psychic method recorded in an informative book format rather than a technique. Nevertheless, the knowledge in this book would be extremely helpful in helping a warrior sharpen their minds.
Aura Techniques
This section included a lot of suppression techniques such as aura, bloodline, and even willpower suppression techniques. Some of them included:
- [Dragon Roar Bloodline Suppression technique]
Description: this technique excavates aura from one’s bloodline and expresses it outward through a mighty roar.
- [Lion Sovereign Roar Aura Suppression technique]
Description: the warrior exudes the unique sovereignty of the king of the jungle suppressing the weak and the strong alike.
Naturally, Mwana chose the dragon technique without a second thought since he had a matching dragon bloodline.
The next section Mwana looked through was the section on invoking the power of a god. There were many warriors across the world that used such methods to greatly boost their powers. One prominent example was Kaskara who was previously able to boost his power from the peak of the Void Core rank to the peak of the Lord realm! This was like transforming from an insect into an elephant.
Divine Invocation Methodology
- [God Invocation Seal]
Description: even the lowest level seal can call unto a fraction of a given god’s power.
“Can I really use these methods?”
At his young age, Mwana had never thought about borrowing power from any gods. Frankly, he was not that religious. Although he worshipped his ancestors and prayed to the creator deity everyday, he almost paid no heed to the other minor or major gods.
“Those who have the invocation seal in the village are usually connected to the god of smithing. But since I don’t plan to really follow the blacksmith path, this type of seal is mostly useless to me. It cannot be used in battle.”
“It would be nice if there was a God of Painting or something.”
In the end, the divine invocation methodology was something that required careful consideration before choosing to follow that path. After all, there is no free lunch in this world. Apart from the creator deity who held love for every living thing, one could not expect the same from other minor deities. If one received their power, naturally they would have to give something in return.
