[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img] [color=salmon]Word Count: 1042 (+2 exp)[/color] [color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 173/90 [b]Location:[/b] Edinburgh MagicaPolis[/color][/center] The shelves in the Noumenon were well stocked to say the least. Even here on twenty-sixth floor each bookcase was crammed full of writings, and there were still dozens or more floors above them. As the Ace Cadet ran his eyes and fingers over the books on offer, he judged that there was little rhyme or reason to the way they were shelved. In fact it seemed unlikely to him that they were categorized at all. They were grouped almost at random, with instructional aids to fictional novels together with autobiographies and children's stories. He supposed that with the magic bookmark it didn't much matter that they weren't sorted... well, it wasn't like he was looking for anything in particular so it wasn't a great inconvenience to him at the moment anyway. [i]I wonder if someone collected everything here or it just showed up like this when all the world-remaking stuff happened,[/i] he thought to himself, noting that some sections all appeared to hold books similar to each other in aesthetics even if not in content. They were likely from the same universe, he assumed, like the [url=https://i.ibb.co/9bfNmWJ/Item-The-Miraculous-Adventures-of-the-Traveler.png]adventure book[/url] and the [url=https://i.ibb.co/19L2r84/Item-A-Firsthand-Guide-to-Summoning-Spirits.png]summoning tutorial[/url], or the [url=https://i.ibb.co/sQFg5Mw/Book03.png]fantasy novel[/url] and the [url=https://i.ibb.co/0VTKB6D/Book06.png]language guide[/url]. The latter two he took from the shelves they were wedged into. The first's simple title, [i]King[/i], intrigued him, but upon cracking it open he was greeted a mildly disappointing notice: [quote][i]Gentle reader, you will not understand a word of what follows unless you have read and commited to memory the first three volumes in this series, Beggar, Thief, and Warrior, which leads up to this, the conclusion. I encourage you to seek them out at your favorite bookseller.[/i][/quote] [color=salmon]"Shucks,"[/color] he mumbled, glancing back at the bookshelf. He'd been walking, so finding the spot he'd pulled it from would be more trouble than it was worth. Leaving it on the ground didn't seem right, so he tucked the novel into his bag anyway. The other book he'd picked up, [i]Dragon Language: Myth no More[/i], did not have any such foreword. That was the one he was more interested in reading anyway. He passed over a [url=https://i.ibb.co/tpjRQSn/1522661240-preview-braille-divine-tome-of-carim.png]huge tome[/url] to check out a book with a [url=https://i.ibb.co/Xxy7pvm/scarletbook.png]monster on the cover[/url], stopping briefly while he did. He couldn't tell if it was supposed to be fact or fiction from the blurb on the back nor the first couple of pages, so he set it back in its place. Some items on the shelving weren't even books at all. Wherever there was space, collected [url=https://i.ibb.co/Ky3dj69/1522661240-preview-Sages-scroll.png]scrolls[/url] and even [url=https://i.ibb.co/5s8jYhS/Commandment-Stone.png]stone tablets[/url] of [url=https://i.ibb.co/x11Rf03/Bag-Legend-Plate-LA-Sprite.png]all types[/url] were stacked. Every now and then there were also [url=https://i.ibb.co/ctVVMym/Large-Magazine-Rack-NL-Model.png]magazine racks[/url], and like the bookshelves their collected magazines ranged in content from advertisements, hobbyist niches, fashion trends, to natural wonders of their respective worlds. In one of these racks a glimpse of the familiar immediately drew the Cadet's eye. It was a thick [url=https://i.ibb.co/cJYrHv7/mhhlm.png]collection[/url] of pages, once paperback but rebound into something a little sturdier. The cover didn't appear to be in the best condition, not that it bothered the Cadet - he could still make out the bold script that read [i]Hunting Life Magazine.[/i] [color=salmon]"Oh hey!"[/color] he exclaimed as he picked it up, the grin on his face running from ear to ear. He jogged to close the small distance between himself and the rest of the group, the monthly magazine opened up to display various articles and photos of his home world. It was an issue he hadn't read yet, which would be gargwawesome to go through once they had some down time. [color=salmon]"This place is groovios, it has all kinds of stuff - everything, from everywhere."[/color] What a resource it could serve as. Unfortunately it was just as unsafe for the Seekers as the rest of the city, proven by the disturbance that happened next. Something flew by the Noumenon, something large, fast, and presumably dangerous. With a quick response of [color=salmon]"Right!"[/color] as Band bid them to hurry on, the Cadet pulled his backpack around to his front to shove the magazine inside and prepare a weapon while sprinting the rest of the way to the next floor. On the next landing they found a scene much like the floors below, with shattered glass and scattered pages all over. They also found the friend they'd been intending to meet, converging on Albedo's location. [color=salmon]"D'you think they found us already?"[/color] the Ace Cadet suggested, unhappy with the thought. He took note of Albedo's sword and, thinking back to how Big Band and Wonder Red had handled the enemies in the subway in melee fashion, equipped the great bow. When the enemy appeared above them, its wings spread wide, he considered his strategy; starting, of course, with getting out of the way. Currently his armor was geared more toward protecting against the cold than monsters. If worst came to worst his shield was still strapped to his back, and loathe as he was to turn his back on something dangerous he could use it as a last ditch defensive measure while the bow was in his hands. At the moment though he had no such desires, and so the Cadet rolled out of the way of the projectiles. The demonic entity zipped away and unleashed more, sending the Cadet to cover behind a towering bookshelf. The impact of the rays practically exploded the wood and paper above him. The hunter frowned as he prepared his arrows - the thing was really fast, and there were still civilians on this level including the group he'd glimpsed under the table that Albedo stood on. Locking it down somehow seemed to be the best bet for curbing the damage it was doing and giving people time to escape. Once the demon's latest volley was over, the Cadet popped out from behind his crumbling cover with the drawstring of the great bow pulled back. He shot a couple of arrows at Artemis, judging his own attack speed. [color=salmon]"Don't you know you're supposed to be respectful in a library?"[/color] he told the monster. As soon as he spotted an opening he fired a Blade Wire. Though it didn't exactly seem like it needed those wings to fly, at the very least it might pin the thing down for a moment.