When Alternis opened his eyes, a unique scene appeared before his eyes. Instead of the black, smooth roads and sidewalks that he was used to back in Fortuna, it's made up of beautifully arranged cobblestones everywhere he looked. The buildings surrounding himself are taller than Fortuna's, as well as made with a different sense of aesthetics. There were multiple windows with some of them even having an outer cage that reached half-way up their own windows. According to the academy's textbooks, this environment took after London's architecture during the Industrial Revolution. What 'London' is or what the 'Industrial Revolution' referred to, Alternis couldn't find anything in the academy's library. As he marveled the unique architecture, he heard a synthetic voice talking down from the bright skies.

"'Help us as much as we invest', huh."

He then looked at his immediate surroundings. He and the other students appeared at Moltimania's town square. Surrounding the area were prominent buildings with signs in multiple languages. Some of these signs, written in a language the students could read, denoted the type of facilities they were representing. There were 'Potion Fountain', 'Annihilation Sword School', 'Steel Armory', 'Mystic Forces', etc. Although the names were dubious, they were still informative to the students. Speaking of which...

As he focused on the entrances of these facilities, he witnessed total chaos. The pubescent teenagers channeled all of their unstable emotions into 'connecting' with the facilities' locals.

"Hurry up and give me my Unique Quest!"

"Just shut up and get to the point!"

"Who cares about how it all works!? If it works, it works!"

"If you don't quickly give me my Unique Quest, I'll shank you!"

In accordance with the academy's teachings, the students were were quick, desperate, and threatening to the locals. No shred of mercy or kindness were afforded to the NPCs of Moltimania. Rushing, threatening, blackmailing, and beating these poor NPCs were all viable methods taught by the teachers. If they don't, their potential of being one of the strong will fail to be established. Even so...

'Why are they smiling?'

As seconds went by and the mania gradually worsened, they started to revel in these horrendous actions and smile more prominently. If certain girl showed a distressful expression before, she's showing a smirk now as blackmailing becomes more natural to her. If a certain boy was smiling while threatening before, he's certainly laughing as he's trying to beat up an NPC. The more he watches, the more he's reminded of... the people back in Fortuna City. The only exceptions were himself and a certain red-headed, cheerful classmate.

'How can she still smile amidst this mania?'

She was joyfully talking with a cook from the 'Intense Feast' facility.

'...Time to go.'

Whether it was to avoid a disturbing sight or to proceed with his experiment, he went to a certain facility he had his eye on for a long time. He opened the door to 'Sadistic Collector', a library with a very questionable name. As he entered, the familiar smell of books hit his nose. He subconsciously smiled as he proceeded to walk through rows of bookshelves. He shortly arrived at the reception's desk and looked at the person managing it. He was a skinny, tall man with brown hair and brown eyes. His sharp glare gave off the image of a guy who would shank him in a dark alleyway if he ever got the chance; one wrong move and he'll be kicked out.

To such a glare, he nervously said, "H-Hi, I'm here to get a library as m-my first Unique Skill. What do I need to do?"

"...First, I'll show you the room."

He opened a drawer and took out a dusty, flimsy-looking key. The librarian walked towards the left with Alternis in tow and arrived at one of the many doors alongside the wall. He inserted the disappointing key and turned it. The door shined in murky gray for a second and returned to normal. He turned the doorknob and opened it.

"Here's your library. Just complete my request and this will become a part of your mindscape."

After the announcement, the quest info appeared in front of him.

Before he could fully read the info, Alternis's mind was shocked after entering the room. The room was decently big, but nowhere near the size of the academy's or Moltimania's libraries. The room was dusty, countless books were randomly strewn about all over the floor, the bookshelves were in disrepair and placed in random spots, the signs were also strewn about and illegible, and many more problems were present.

He couldn't believe it. Where did it all go wrong? He prepared as much as he could before the test, he didn't participate in the terrible treatment of the NPCs, and he certainly didn't commit any wrongdoing against this librarian. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with an answer to the question. If he couldn't find the answer within himself, he'll have to find the answers from his surroundings.

"Why...?"

The librarian took a good look at him and said, "Why what?"

He began to get irritated and sharply questioned him, "Why on Abellis did you give me this garbage dump?"

During the conversation, there were a number of bugs and maggots having a rave party on top of the books. This sight did nothing but increase his irritation with the librarian.

"Why does that matter to you? You're in a rush to get a library as your aspect, correct? Who cares if it's a little dirty?"

These questions vexed him to the point of yelling, "I'm not here to get a garbage dump as my library! I'm here to get a real, awe-inspiring library! I want a library that can help me memorize and comprehend the countless books of knowledge I store inside it! I want to instantly access the information I need, not wait minutes or hours just to access a book damaged by insects!"

"Well, too bad! This is all you're going to get!"

After getting yelled at, he noticed that the expression on the librarian's face was familiar to him. There were signs of anger, frustration, and even exhaustion within his expression. These were the same feelings Alternis felt whenever he went out to town surrounding the military academy. He calmed himself down, took two steps back within his mind, and asked, "Alright. Then tell me this: Did I do something wrong other than complain?"

"...Where are you going with this?"

"I'm just trying to clear up my confusion. Ever since I came in here, you menacingly glared at me, refused to talk unless necessary, and when I asked you questions, you answered bluntly and refused to elaborate on it. What's going on?"

As he stared at the librarian's eyes, he 'tsked!' and started explaining.

"Fine. You wanted to know why I want you out of my sight? I'll tell you and ALL OF YOUR F#@KED UP COLLEAGUES!!!"

He flinched at the unbridled resentment being pointed towards himself. The librarian proceeded to pour out his grievances.

"Every single year, me and my friends have to put up with spoiled teenagers who do nothing but treat us like garbage every step of the way! I can still clearly remember the countless times we were threatened, beaten, and humiliated by you scum! It's only because this environment was created to nurture the countless generations of humanity that we have to tolerate you all! It's only when we defend ourselves and the guards come by to punish you lot is when we experience a reprieve from you pampered idiots! The only think we can look forward to are the times when very few of you horrid creatures enter! You lot are the parasites that suck the happiness away from our very lives!"

Alternis couldn't do anything but stare wide-eyed in surprise. Seeing this sight, the librarian exhausted out a sigh and pushed the same dilapidated key to his chest and said, "Since you've accepted my request, this key is now yours. Use this on any door in Moltimania to access your library. Complete the minimum amount of repairs and leave. Please don't bother coming back to me or this library afterwards."

His eyes continued to follow the librarian until he made various turns within the sea of bookcases. He looked back down at the key he was holding in his hand and asked himself, "...What do I do now?"