The people from the Raging Wave City Administrative Hall should be outside Aolu Academy by now, right?!
Luke pretended to be absorbed in his book, but his mind was on the Imperial Secret Agents and the security officers hunting him.
The Library Room 36 was very quiet. A chilly atmosphere had been gradually building, almost imperceptibly.
It was here!
"Elf, you seem very interested in this book."
A voice sounded behind him.
Luke turned around and saw a ghost floating behind him. He was a middle-aged man with chestnut curls and a weathered air, wearing the old-fashioned robes of an Aolu Mage. His body was gray and translucent.
"You're... the author of this book, Mage Lowell Felix? I've seen your magical portrait in the Hall of Honor at Aolu Academy. You were one of the founders of modern Aolu Academy, and your Introduction to Alchemy is still required reading for scholars of spellcraft.
"I just didn't expect to meet you like this.
"My name is Clear Sky. I'm an amateur enthusiast of Secret Arts."
Having successfully lured Lowell Felix out according to the walkthrough, Luke continued following the script to advance the plot.
"I've been watching you for a while." Felix floated over beside Luke. "Your fascination with Secret Arts made me feel compelled to appear and warn you. Secret Arts originated in ancient rituals. They are techniques for releasing mysterious power.
"People who study Secret Arts are easily affected by mysterious power. Once they become obsessed, they lose themselves and descend into darkness and the abyss.
"Aolu Academy once paid a terrible price for that lesson. Although the academy never officially banned the study of Secret Arts, just look around here and you'll see how much Aolu Academy rejects them."
Luke closed the book in his hands and asked Felix, "Professor Felix... I've read your book, but I still don't understand. Do Curse Arts belong to Secret Arts, or do Secret Arts belong to Curse Arts?"
When the conversation turned to scholarship, Felix forgot why he had appeared.
"The words I wrote on the title page—'These are two very interesting questions!'—had already answered that, in a way. The boundaries between fields of study are blurry, and there's a great deal of overlap between them. This is simply an interesting question; it doesn't need a definitive answer.
"Besides, I wrote this book early in my research into Secret Arts. These days, the mainstream view probably leans toward classifying Secret Arts as Curse Arts.
"Academic classifications have nothing to do with the actual field of study. There's no need to draw clear boundaries."
"Thank you for explaining that, Professor. I have another question... Secret Arts release mysterious energy, and mysterious energy comes in many forms, both positive and negative.
"But why do you say studying Secret Arts makes people descend into the dark abyss?
"I've also studied many cases of failed Secret Arts research. Just as you said... people who study Secret Arts always end up uncontrollably steering their research in a darker direction."
Felix replied, "Whatever its nature, energy itself is neutral. People are what make it shift.
"To be precise, it's human nature.
"Secret Arts have almost no theoretical foundation and rely heavily on the practitioner's experience. Everyone has their own understanding of them, and there's no standard unit of measurement for Secret Arts that everyone agrees on.
"That makes it difficult for practitioners to discuss their work. They become completely immersed in their own worlds, which makes them prone to psychological problems.
"That's why practitioners of Secret Arts often choose very dark, secluded places for their laboratories. This mindset and these surroundings make it easy for their research to veer in a darker direction.
"Judging by your current state, you've only just grown curious about Secret Arts.
"Before they consume you, you should break free of them. That's my advice. If the academy finds out you're studying Secret Arts, it will have a very bad effect on you."
"Thank you for your advice, Professor Felix."
Luke thanked Felix, but thought to himself, *Why aren't those people here yet?! I came to the library in broad daylight, and I even made a point of greeting people I met on the way.
There's no way the Imperial Secret Agents couldn't find me!
Fortunately, just as Luke was about to ask another question to keep Felix occupied, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside.
There were a lot of them.
Felix heard them too.
"What's going on? Why are so many people coming to the library? They seem to be heading this way."
Luke said anxiously, "Professor Felix, if they find me here, will they expel me from Aolu Academy?"
The footsteps drew closer!
"I'll take you somewhere," Felix told Luke. "I'll bring you back out after they've left. Don't tell anyone about me or that place."
"I promise I won't tell."
A portal opened in the library room, and Felix floated through it.
Luke followed.
Just as the portal closed, a security officer reached the doorway. He warily surveyed the dusty library room, then moved on to search the next one.
The light flickered before Luke's eyes, and he found himself in another library.
It was sealed on all sides, with no doors, windows, or visible exits.
The books on the shelves were in complete disarray. Some were scattered on the floor, showing just how hurriedly they had been moved.
Felix carefully made his way through. Even as a spirit, he was afraid of damaging the books.
He also reminded Luke, "These books are all over a hundred years old. Be careful not to damage them.
"I'll take you out once the people outside have left."
Luke looked at the titles on the shelves and asked, "These books are all related to Secret Arts, and... they should all have been destroyed by now.
"Professor Felix, did you move them here and hide them?"
Felix answered with a sigh, "Yes... Back then, the dean ordered all books related to Secret Arts destroyed. But what did the crimes Victor and the others committed have to do with these books?
"Energy is neutral, and so is knowledge. These are the results of nearly a century of research by the Department of Secret Arts. They shouldn't all be destroyed just because a few people lost their way.
"So we forged a batch of books on Secret Arts to send for destruction, then created a space to store these research results.
"We hoped that one day the Department of Secret Arts would be reestablished and research into Secret Arts could resume under supervision. But that disaster hurt Aolu Academy too deeply. No one wanted to reopen that wound.
"Secret Arts became a taboo here."
Experiencing this part of the plot firsthand was a completely different feeling from going through it in the game.
Looking at the books filling the room, Luke could imagine how much the Department of Secret Arts at Aolu Academy had invested in their research—and how much they had sacrificed to preserve these books.
But Luke hadn't forgotten why he had come here.
"The Book of Calamity should be here too, right?"
At the title, Felix's ghostly form instantly became solid.
He watched Luke warily.
"You know about the Book of Calamity! You deliberately got me to bring you into this secret room!"
Before you continue