“We’ve arrived sooner than the seller, so you can check out the place in the meantime. It’s a bookstore,” Nanik said,

“You still have money, right?”

“Yup-!” If I remember correctly, I have some 9 Aero, 5 Mira, and 8 Arin remaining.

‘I hope there’s some interesting reads in there…’

…Ding~! Artificial door-strung bells rang as we opened the door.

“Welcome in.” We were greeted by an elderly man who was wearing a black apron over a beige shirt and jeans, hugging a few boxes,

“Don’t mind me and help yourselves!”

Nanik and I split up, with Nanik going back outside to take a smoke break. I wanted to take a look around, but I was kind of lost on which section I should check first; the shelves were like a maze.

Thankfully, it was a relatively small store, or I very likely would have gotten lost down the line in here.

The elderly man, who was leaning over, tidying up a box full of books and organizing it on a shelf of the “Arts” section, noticed me wandering about aimlessly. “Kid, are you searching for something?”

“Yes, but not for anything in particular… Are you the owner here?” I asked.

“Why, yes, I am,” the elderly man said.

“Uhm…Do you, perchance, have any personal recommendations?—Genres, I mean.”

He offered me a kind smile, grabbing a single book from the box. “You seem like you’d fit right in with our scholarly texts.”

He straightened his back, placing an arm on his knee, “Here you are, kid.” He handed me a hardcover book titled “[On Data]“,

“An apple for a curious mind.”

I held it in my hands. The book was a muted navy, plainly done with a matte finish, and was of moderately-hefty weight. Its title was embossed in a refined and unadorned typeface.

“How much for it?”

He elderly man thought, “With Goods Tax… 12 AE.”

I considered it, ‘The book’s unassuming and kinda vague. What “data” exactly? It could be a hit or miss. Nevertheless, it’s pretty cheap…’

“I’ll take this, thanks.” Even if it wasn’t a worthwhile purchase, it could be a nice keepsake.

“I’m glad you found it to your liking. If you still want to look for other books, the Magicks and Sciences section could be a good start,” he suggested.

“Ah, Okay. Um, by the way, I was wondering… Can I open the books to see what their content is about, or is that not allowed?”

“—It’s a bookstore, do whatever you want, kid~,” he said, waving me off as he retreated behind the counter at the far right end of the shop.

Taking his advice, I drifted toward the “Magicks” section first. ‘I feel like a dunce whenever Nanik talks anything magic, so maybe this will clear up some of the terminology…’

Reaching toward the shelves, I perused the different books that lined them. I read the spines of some of the books I saw: “Finn’s Thesis on Inorganic Structures: A Derivation on Earthly Magic and Which Soils are Best for Transference”, “Jeguk’s Concise Contemplation on the Interconnectedness of Mana Veins of Frog Species in Turun and Humans” (which was by far the least compact book in this section)...

‘Why are all of these titles so long?!’ They were mouthfuls, too. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they were too advanced for me to delve into as a beginner. I took some time scanning the entire shelf until I found one that piqued my interest:

“ ‘Mystique Compendium’... Doesn’t sound half bad.”

I read through the table of contents of the large book and found that it was the fifth edition of an older text containing elementary knowledge on Sethnine and the different specializations of sorceras. Additionally, there were a variety of lessons embedded with illustrations on weapon arts or combat arts that complemented sorceras and martial artists respectively.

Although the price tag was 34 AE, the amount of people that contributed to it, as seen from the “Acknowledgements” at the end of the compendium, convinced me that it was justified.

I grabbed the compendium and shifted over to the adjacent “Sciences” area. The section was furthermore partitioned into sub-sections, such as “Chemistry”, “Physics”, and “Tech & Computation”. Since the first book I got from the owner probably belonged to the latter, I just slipped out one of the slim volumes over physics principles and applications.

Then, I noticed that, sitting near the back behind the shelf, there was a cardboard box container that was labeled as a discount pile. It was a haphazard stack of neglected books and works that were marked at just 5 AE apiece. However, what immediately caught my eye was a singular book that sat aloft the pile.

“Magical ME!“

It had a peculiar title, and the bold, glittering lettering on said title was hilariously flashy. Flipping it open, I discovered that it was an autobiography of none other than Farthington Redsworth, the child actor for Glankist from the Galactic Battle Saga. The synopsis, upon a further read, was a wild preview of his escapades. It ranged from vanquishing cosmic deities to winning completely made up awards, such as the “World’s Greatest Ballroom Dancer” or “Best Monologues”.

I snorted unconsciously, “What even is this? This is way too absurd. No wonder it’s been thrown down here…” That being said, I had a feeling that it would be a fun read regardless, so I grabbed it from the pile.

…

Content with my picks, I came up to the front counter and handed the owner the four books. The elderly owner quickly slid the books through a scanner, but paused when he got to Farthington’s book, “Oh? You know this feller?”

I nodded, admitting, “I watched Galactic Battle recently.”

He narrated as though I’d just brought up a long-forgotten memory of his. “Heh. You youngsters are still fans of underground flicks, eh? Farthington Redsworth—now there was a prodigy in the making. He captured the hearts of many Galactic Battle enjoyers, and I was no different… A shame he was pushed out of the limelight when he got older; industry claimed he couldn’t keep up, that he was too unconventional.”

‘I didn’t know there were that many people who liked those movies. Perhaps I don’t have a good eye for it,’ I reconsidered my initial takeaways of the films. I was curious as to what his predicaments were now, given that it seemed like he wrote his autobiography not too long ago.

“So… What happened to him after?”

The bookstore owner closed his eyes and shook his head slowly after some thought, “In the past few years, he’s practically vanished from the media. What you have on hand is one of the limited copies, but it’s just that no one buys it these days,” he placed the books orderly into a tote bag that had on it an ebony design of the outside of the storefront.

“...Now that I think about it,” he said,

“He must be twenty-four or twenty-five by now. Just around your generation, I presume. I hope you can meet the lad in my place some day, haha!”

“Uhm… Yeah, I think that would be cool.” I replied with an awkward face.

“Bah, Don’t take this old man’s words to heart. It’s just that—it’s been a while since I’ve had anyone with similar interests, so I started rambling a bit… Let me get you sorted.” He typed on the keyboard of the register.

“It’s 73 AE, kid.” I gave him an Aero and received 2 Mira and 7 Arin in change.

“Thank you for your purchase,” said the elderly owner, giving me an affable smile.

Then, Ding~!

The door opened, and in walked Nanik and another man—the “seller”. He was a man who looked a little disorganized, wearing a slim-fit blue office shirt that was rumpled at the shoulders, paired with similarly wrinkled dress pants and his untidied black hair.

“Hello there, miss~!” The seller greeted with a merry and high voice, and made a swift movement, stopping right in front of me, offering a handshake,

“You’re Mr. Iman’s employee, yes?”

I took his handshake, “Uh- yeah… Something like that.” I didn’t want to cause any more unnecessary questions, so I just went along with it.

“Great..! I’m Hilgan, it’s a pleasure to be of your acquaintance,” he huffed cheerily,

“Now that she’s here with us, let’s get back to what I was mentioning earlier: I’ve hired someone to move out all of the degraded equipment in the base, so you needn’t worry about moving it all yourself.”

Nanik nodded, “Alright—”

Hilgan brusquely continued, “Of course, that means most of the refitting will have to be done on your end. But, but! I’ll cut the price down by half… How about it?”

“...Before then, you think you could show me and her around the base? That’s why I brought her with me today, after all.”

Hilgan slapped his forehead, laughing self-deprecatingly, “Ah! How could I forget about that? O-of course! I’ll set up a Conduit in a jiffy… Pops!” he faced the elderly bookstore owner,

“I’ll be heading out for a bit!”

“I’ve been listening,” the old man grunted,

“Don’t go writing runes on the walls, alright, Hilgan?”

“I don’t do that anymore, I’ve learnt,” Hilgan rolled his eyes, turning back to me and Nanik,

“How about I draw the Conduit on you guys?”

“What’s a Conduit, exactly?” I asked.

“—We call it that because it’s a gateway connected to someplace else. I like to do it through inscribed runes—it functions kinda like a pipeline.” Hilgan then pulled out a black marker from his pockets and pointed it at my arm.

“Here, hold out your arm. I can send you through first!”

“Oh, you can do it with something like that?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

Hilgan glanced briefly away, chuckling as he spoke, “It’s not really a matter of ‘can or can’t’ with me. Without this marker, I wouldn't be able to imbue runes… I’m still a Neophyte at Thirty, much to my Pop’s dismay!” The old owner didn’t make any comments to that. Hilgan’s words suggested that there were specific distinctions between a “Neophyte” and higher order powers.

‘I think Eve mentioned that she was an ‘Eminent’. I can’t really imagine her being strong, though…’

I raised my arm horizontally and Hilgan started writing on it. Somehow, the marker felt cold on my skin, making me feel ticklish. He stopped after writing a string of glyphs that traced a portion of my arm.

ᚽᛁ◟ᛁ ⸍ˎ ⸍ᚽᛁ◟ᛁ (ᛙ◟ˎ⠃).

“Have you ever gone through a Sethnic Gate before? It’s pretty similar, I’d say.”

“Huh?” Am I about to go already?

“—Guess you haven’t; just a heads up: even if you don’t have motion sickness, it won’t be a pleasant experience the first few times around. I projectile vomited all of my lunch on the floor every time until after the tenth experience!”

He sounded quite proud of himself for some reason, but I think I could’ve gone without knowing that last tidbit…

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“I-I guess I am.”

No later upon confirmation, Hilgan’s left eye, which had been pitch-black in color, glew a faint blue around the outer edge of his iris.

He whispered, “Dagaz.“

…