Garden Of The Abyss

"Hey, Hodwin?" Ren spoke up after half an hour of reading.

"What is it, human?" Hodwin spoke up in his usual tone that invited conflict.

"Do you know what is going on out there?"

Hodwin slid a feather bookmark into the crease of the book, shutting it before turning his gaze to Ren. For once, it felt as if he wasn't about to snap at him.

"I can see all that happens in the manor, not that I am interested in checking most of the time--but yes. I am assuming you want to know the situation, I guess I can check if you're so curious," Hodwin sighed and muttered a brief, incoherent incantation as he closed his eyes.

It was faint but he could make out a subtle aura of mana resonating from the librarian now. Tiny particles of silver mana floated about in the air before shifting into a gradient, spiraling around the man in a calming manner. There was a subtle difference between the mana he felt from him as opposed to Meinhard--the calming, almost harmonic trance he felt as he watched the mana residue gyrate was something that probably was natural to high-elves.

Even though the elf's eyes were shut, Ren could see his eyes frantically moving around under his eyelids as he continued to mutter quiet and incomprehensible words. It was definitely not a sight he would want to see in the dead of night.

The elven librarian's eyelids suddenly shot up as his hands tightly gripped the book he held.

"I...this man, he actually countered my own clairvoyance magic--he actually managed to reverse it," Hodwin stood up in a sweat.

"...what does that mean? Is that bad? That "man"--do you mean Rouge?" Ren watched the once composed man begin to pace back and forth.

"Yes, yes--this is bad. I--I have dearly messed everything up. Ren, he reversed the spell. Do you understand what that means? He managed to look into the library--he saw you," Those last few words struck Ren likes knives, "I was unaware of the situation, I should've asked Norbert. If I knew it was an Argonaut out there--one from the Sleuth Squadron at that, I would have never dared to do something so risky," Hodwin took his glasses off and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You said nobody can get in here without your permission or a bookmark, right? So what does it matter if he knows, he still can't get in," Ren tried to calm the man down.

Standing directly in front of him, it was clear that they were nearly the exact same height. Hodwin had a more slight build and despite his almost senior attitude, his elven blood gave him the appearance of a teenager.

"You don't understand, you don't. The fact that he knows you're in hiding is practically confirmation you're an otherworlder. Argonauts do not make any exceptions when it comes to helping otherworlders--he will kill everyone in this mansion, Ren. He will," Hodwin spoke in a tone that solidified his words directly to Ren.

"No...they'll be okay, right? Norbert is strong…" Ren slumped down against the bookcase.

"I'm afraid even that brute of an old man may not be enough to stop an Argonaut. Which is why…"

Hodwin cut himself off as he took a deep breath. A new resolve glimmered in his sharp, ocean-like eyes before he held his hand up in front of himself--pressing his palm against the air.

"Open, door of the forbidden chambers!" Hodwin commanded, his voice booming through the library as it was carried by the strength of his magic.

The same door that appeared when Ren first entered the library conjured in front of the librarian.

"What're you doing--?" Ren asked, looking up at the elf as he sat on the marble floor.

"Isn't it obvious? I am going to help them," Hodwin answered, "stay here, if I don't return when that clock rings--then stay here until it rings once more."

Ren turned his head to where the man was pointing, seeing a gargantuan golden clock hanging on the farthest wall. The hand on the clock ticked ever so slowly, dragging along in a time that felt much slower than in reality.

"If I were you, human, I would find something in that book that could be of some use," Hodwin glanced at the black book that Ren held in his arms, "knowing just one simple spell could be the difference between seeing tomorrow and living your last night in this world."

He could only nod in response before catching a slight smile from the elf as he exited through the magically conjured door. As it shut behind him, it faded once more into particles of mana--leaving him all alone in the seemingly endless chamber of knowledge.

"Great...just great," Ren sighed to himself as the previous anxiety he felt resurfaced.

The thought occurred to him to check out what was in the restricted section now that Hodwin was absent--but with the unknown mysticism of this world, he would undoubtedly be found out some way or another.

As for the book he already had, the text was older than anything he had read in this world before, written in a dialect that made him reread what he had just read a few times over, every single line.

"Visualize the shadow you cast with your body and internalize it, let the shade cast within yourself" Man, this is some weird stuff. Why did I get stuck with dark magic? It kind of makes me feel like a creep…" Ren complained as he read the passage from the book.

It was a guide on the most basic function of magecraft: using mana. He decided to give it a try, closing his eyes as he imagined the presence of the shadow cast by his own body. As he followed the process step by step, he began to fill his entire body tingle with an unknown sensation before growing cold then warm, cold then warm. His body temperature fluctuated, causing him to break into a cold sweat before--

"Ah--!" His eyes suddenly opened as a jolt of some sort traveled through his body.

Raising his hands in front of his eyes, he could make out the existence of a faint aura of darkness hanging around his body.

"I did it…? I did it!" He celebrated, squeezing his fists as he was left in awe at the sight of his own mana.

It was quite literally a useless development on its own, as mana can't properly function without spells, but nonetheless--it was a very important step. As he broke concentration, the aura of mana faded from him. With his first step towards the path of magecraft complete, he paid his focus to the book, desiring eagerly to gain the power to protect himself.

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