By the time the last class ended, a light rain had settled over the Academy.
Most students headed straight back to their dorms, eager to get out of the weather.
Elora considered doing the same, but the quest had been nagging at her since last night.
Quest: Research Magical Artifacts.
Short, mysterious, and completely unhelpful.
But this wasn’t just about the quest.
It was about the necklace she had carried for as long as she could remember—the last thing her parents had left behind.
Fortunately, her mother had left her one clue.
There is a place within Arcane Academy known as the Silver Archive.
If the necklace awakens, seek it out.
Her mother had written those words years ago, long before Elora had ever received an acceptance letter from Arcane Academy.
Yet somehow, she had known about a place called the Silver Archive.
Meanwhile, the System hadn’t provided directions, clues, or even a vague suggestion about where she should start.
Apparently, finding out the truth about her necklace was entirely her problem.
After a few minutes of standing under a covered walkway pretending she wasn’t avoiding the problem, Elora admitted the obvious.
If she wanted answers, she’d have to look for them herself.
The library seemed like the obvious place to start.
If anything mentioned the Silver Archive, it would probably be there.
The Academy library was absurdly large.
At some point, it seemed to have stopped being a library and started becoming its own district.
The moment she stepped inside, she was greeted by towering bookshelves stretching across multiple floors.
Crystal lamps floated overhead, bathing the room in warm light, while students occupied nearly every available table.
Some were studying.
Others appeared to be losing a battle against exhaustion.
Elora stared upward.
This was going to take a while.
She spent the next twenty minutes wandering through shelves before eventually reaching the section dedicated to magical artifacts.
It seemed like the most logical place to begin.
The necklace was still the only unusual thing her parents had left behind, and the System had called it a hidden connection.
Maybe it was tied to everything that had happened recently.
She started with the artifacts section.
The first few books turned out to be completely useless.
Elora learned that artifacts could store mana, amplify spells, protect their owners, and occasionally explode if handled incorrectly.
One chapter spent six pages discussing enchanted spoons.
Another was somehow entirely dedicated to magical locks.
Neither helped.
She pulled another book from a shelf and dropped into a chair near the back of the library.
Foundations of Arcane Artifacts.
Her expectations were already pretty low by that point, but she opened it anyway.
A few pages later, she finally found something useful.
“Artifacts rarely remain bonded to a user after death.
In most cases, the connection fades naturally over time, causing the artifact to become dormant or lose its original function.” Elora sat up a little straighter and kept reading.
“Known exceptions usually involve deliberate inheritance rituals, bloodline bindings, or artifacts connected to significant historical events.
Such artifacts are often preserved across generations due to their historical, magical, or informational value.” Informational value.
That was the first thing she’d read all evening that actually caught her attention.
She turned the page.
“Several historical records reference artifacts being used as markers or keys, allowing information to be preserved and passed down beyond the lifespan of a single individual.” Elora read the paragraph twice more.
Her mother had mentioned in the letter that they were merely the guardians of the necklace.
There was a lot to process.
Elora hadn’t understood what that meant.
She had never questioned where the necklace came from or why her parents had it in the first place.
She’d never had the chance.
But if artifacts could preserve knowledge…
And if some were used to pass that knowledge on…
Then maybe the necklace wasn’t just a keepsake.
Elora exhaled quietly and looked down at the necklace.
She had spent years thinking of it as the last thing her parents left behind.
Now she couldn’t stop wondering where they had gotten it.
And more importantly, what it was supposed to lead her to.
Elora closed the book and rubbed her eyes.
After an hour buried in artifact research, every line of text was starting to blur together.
Maybe it was time to leave.
As she stood, her attention drifted toward a quieter area near the back wall.
Unlike the rest of the library, it was separated by a low barrier carved with silver runes.
RESTRICTED ACCESS was written on a silver plaque beside it.
That immediately got her attention.
Not because she planned to sneak in, but because people had a habit of putting interesting things behind signs that told you not to touch them.
A few older students sat nearby reading, while a librarian watched the entrance with the expression of someone who genuinely enjoyed denying requests.
Elora watched the students passing beyond the barrier more closely.
Every one of them wore black academy uniforms trimmed in silver.
Whatever was back there, they clearly weren’t letting just anyone in.
As she stared at it, another thought crossed her mind.
Silver runes.
A silver plaque.
A restricted collection of books.
Could they all be connected to the Silver Archive?
It seemed like a stretch.
Probably not.
Still, it was the first thing she’d seen all evening that even remotely matched the name.
Then she spotted a familiar figure seated at one of the tables beyond the barrier.
Lucien Arkhavel.
The silver-haired student didn’t seem to notice anyone else.
He simply sat there reading with a stack of books tall enough to qualify as architecture.
Of course he had access to the restricted collection.
Elora wasn’t even surprised.
Most students spent their free time gossiping about him.
Lucien, meanwhile, was busy reading books nobody else was allowed to touch.
How ironic.
“Well,” Elora muttered under her breath as she adjusted her bag, “that seems fair.” Then she headed for the exit.
The restricted collection wasn’t going anywhere, and neither were the books.
If her luck was anything to go by, she’d probably end up involved in whatever mystery was hiding back there eventually.
She had barely taken a few steps when the familiar crimson screen appeared before her.
______________________________ Small Quest Complete Research Magical Artifacts Host Level 1 Beginner Rewards EXP +30/100 New skill unlocked at level 2 _______________________________ Elora stopped in her tracks.
“…Already?” She stared at the floating screen, waiting for something else to happen.
Her eyes shifted to the line beneath it.
“EXP…
Experience?
Thirty out of one hundred…” She studied the screen for a long moment.
“So I gain EXP by completing quests…” she murmured.
It sounded strangely familiar.
She’d read stories where people grew stronger by earning experience and leveling up.
But that wasn’t what bothered her.
“If this System isn’t from the academy…” she whispered, her gaze lingering on the crimson screen.
“…then who’s behind all of this?
Is it really the Abyss?” No answer.
“…You’re really not going to explain any of this.” Before she could ask anything else, the crimson screen dissolved into countless crimson particles and disappeared once again.