Nearly four days had passed since I began searching through the fourth floor for anything valuable.
Was I too indecisive?
I found some techniques that were pretty interesting.
Like a swordsmanship technique where the sword could cut through anything.
Even a movement technique where I could walk through walls.
They were all top-notch techniques, but they weren't really what I was looking for.
I wanted something that could support my Telekinesis.
But it seemed like my shitty luck extended to technique searching too.
Sighing, I plopped down onto the stack of books I had gathered in the corner, completely exhausted.
I was the only one here on this floor.
Everyone either went to the very middle or the very top.
Their loss, though.
Should I just get a movement technique?
At this point... I felt like I wouldn't get anything better.
I closed my eyes, deciding to think about it after I rested a little.
But after just a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming my way.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Isabelle standing over me.
"...Do you need something?"
She just stared at me for a moment.
"I came here to thank you."
Oh?
Is that really it?
I was a little flattered.
But I knew someone like Isabelle wouldn't just come here to thank me.
So I stayed quiet.
It seemed like Isabelle realized I wasn't much of a talker, so she got right down to the point.
She tossed a wrinkled book right beside me.
Curious, I picked it up and read its name.
[The Mastery of Telekinesis]
"This is..."
"I found it on the 24th floor," she said. "I read a little, and I thought you could use it."
She was right.
As I flipped page after page, I was left surprised.
The whole Mastery of Telekinesis book consisted of 12 major categories.
Up to the 6th category, it was pretty basic, and I knew pretty much everything.
The seventh category, Mass Manipulation, was a bit more interesting.
I could make a feather hit as hard as a truck or a truck hit as light as a feather.
The possibilities were endless, and the other categories were more intense.
But seeing the fine details in the first 6 categories, I knew that if I wanted to really master what was inside this book, I needed to read everything and not just skip to what I found interesting.
"This is great. Thanks, Isabelle," I said.
I thought that would be the end of it, but she didn't go away.
Instead, she sat down a few meters away from me and pulled out a book of her own.
Without saying a word, she began reading.
"..."
What an oddball.
Still, since I only had a few days left to learn this book, I wanted to memorize it.
And so, by putting all my focus into reading, that was exactly what I did.
***
I was done.
It took nearly 3 full days to memorize everything inside that book.
Honestly, I didn't expect something like that to be on the 24th floor.
It was just too good to be true.
But since Telekinesis was such an uncommon Gift, it was naturally not used by that many people.
Even fewer people made a book about its techniques.
Putting that aside, I quickly sorted the mess of books all around me, placing them back into their shelves.
When I was done, I turned toward Isabelle.
I realized she still had a bunch of pages left.
She must've chosen a hard technique.
"Just memorize the important bits. You don't have that much time left," I said.
Her brow twitched.
"Must be easy to say for someone who finished their book in less than three days."
I tilted my head in amusement.
"Is that jealousy I hear?"
"I'm not jealous."
"You sound kind of jealous to me."
She slammed the book shut and stood up with an angry look.
"How do you memorize everything so fast?"
Wow...
The Isabelle D. Quincy was asking me how to study.
How could I refuse?
I took the book right out of her hands and flipped to the page she was just at.
Then, I began to work my magic.
I reached into my dimensional ring and pulled out ink and a quill.
We couldn't take the books out of the library, but no one said we couldn't modify them.
So that was exactly what I did.
There were hundreds of words on the page, but I neatly highlighted only four sentences or so.
I moved on to the other page, then the next, and the next.
Within just five minutes, I had reached the end of the book.
Of course, I passed the book back to the bewildered Isabelle.
"What did you just do?"
"Flip the book open and see," I replied with a smug smile.
She didn't seem to trust me at first, but when she saw the sentences I highlighted and began reading them, her expression changed immediately.
Isabelle read the sentences and flipped the page.
After doing it a couple more times, she closed the book.
Then, she glanced at me with a dazed look.
"Were you taught by some kind of scholar before?"
Nope.
I had barely finished college.
"Impressive, right?" I tooted my own horn.
"It is... but now I owe you again, don't I?"
Isabelle's expression darkened.
"We'll likely be in the same class, so although I won't be able to repay you immediately, don't think I forgot this kind gesture."
Hearing her sounding like some kind of nun, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're way too formal for your own good."
"Pardon...?"
"I'm just saying if you loosened up a little, you might actually find some friends," I added. "Right now, you seem unapproachable. You just have these barriers erected all around you, where only people of similar status to you would dare to approach."
I glanced around.
There were people from both the bottom floors and the top floors looking at us.
When my gaze met theirs, they all turned away.
It was obvious they wanted to speak to Isabelle.
Some were admirers, while others just wanted to be friends with her.
I knew she couldn't see that yet.
But still...
"How about you repay your favor to me by becoming friends with a commoner?"
Isabelle's eyes widened.
"How is that beneficial to you?"
"Who knows? Maybe it isn't?"
Not yet anyway.
"I just don't have anything I'd want from you."
I should probably rephrase.
"There's just nothing I want from you."
Not her family.
But just Isabelle.
I could have asked for so many things from the imperial family.
However, knowing her past, I couldn't bring myself to do that.
It seemed like Isabelle understood the meaning behind my words.
She bit her lip and glanced down.
"Fine... you only want me to befriend a commoner?"
I nodded.
"Yep. Just any commoner. Oh, and to up the stakes a little, you have until the instructors come and get us."
That was in around an hour.
And since both Isabelle and I knew that, she didn't hesitate to leave abruptly.
She jumped over the railing and created an ice slide that led all the way down to the bottom floor.
Seeing her departing figure, I was filled with satisfaction.
A happy ending and a perfect route were never guaranteed.
I knew that much after playing the game.
But at the very least, I would make sure that the heroines didn't die like cannon fodder.
Is that too corny? Probably.
Though I didn't care.
Stashing her book away inside one of the shelves, I levitated in the very center of the grand library, then began making my way down.
The main character and a few of the other heroines were talking.
Kevin seemed a little roughed up after what happened against the demons.
Though it was nowhere near as bad as what I remembered.
He might have actually gotten a little stronger than before.
Just a little.
I hung around the first few floors of the library, just leisurely walking.
Though I also managed to spot Isabelle.
People were avoiding her like she was the plague.
But out of the hundreds who avoided her, there was one who didn't.
And I recognized that woman immediately.
Dark red hair and captivating green eyes.
She also had a tiny scar on her cheek.
Added to that, her body was toned and her muscles were defined.
In short, she looked pretty fierce.
But I couldn't stop staring in surprise.
That was Melina.
A heroine who was born in the slums.
However, she wasn't one of those street urchins.
In fact, she was the daughter of the most influential drug lord of the slums.
Most people knew her just from her face.
But since Isabelle was approaching so confidently, I'd bet my dinner she had no clue who Melina was.
And I was right.
I shouldn't listen in...
But I wanted to.
Eh... shit.
I leaned over the edge, and only then noticed that hundreds of other cadets were all leaning over the edge as well.
All of them were too curious.
This was like some confession, except it wasn't.
How scandalous...
Isabelle eventually stopped.
Her expression was way too stiff. I could see it even from up here.
"Hello... would you like to be my friend—"
"No."
"..."
Yikes.
I leaned back and rubbed my forehead.
That was brutal.
She couldn't even finish before being turned down.
It was almost hard to believe how those two became the bestest of friends just two months later.
Just then, the doors to the library swung open and five instructors walked in.
Their expressions were a little puzzled.
Mine would be too if I walked into a library and hundreds of people were this deathly silent.
Still, the blonde instructor cleared his throat, and after a dramatic pause, he spoke.
"Everyone! Get down to the ground floor! I will now be announcing the results of the entrance exam!"