The Royal Library of the Masca Kingdom was not a place meant for noise.
It was a place where silence had weight.
Towering shelves stretched endlessly into the distance, forming corridors of knowledge that seemed to swallow sound itself. The deeper one walked, the heavier the atmosphere became—not physically, but mentally, as if the presence of accumulated history pressed quietly against the mind.
Knowledge. Power. Forbidden truth.
Everything existed here.
Samuel Krueger stepped inside without hesitation.
Edward followed behind, silent as always.
Near the entrance stood a young woman behind a wooden desk.
She turned the moment they entered.
Sara.
She wore the standard attire of the library staff—simple, clean, and carefully maintained. Her expression was gentle, but her eyes carried quiet awareness that did not belong to someone ordinary.
She looked at Samuel a little longer than etiquette required.
Not because he was a prince.
But because he did not feel like one.
"Welcome to the Royal Library, Your Highness," she said softly, bowing slightly. "How may I assist you?"
Samuel did not return the greeting.
His gaze had already moved past her, observing the structure of the library as if trying to understand it before acknowledging those inside it.
"I require knowledge of this world," he said calmly.
Sara blinked once.
Not because of the request.
But because of the certainty behind it.
As if knowledge was not optional.
But necessary.
"I understand," she replied after a brief pause. "Please follow me."
They moved deeper into the library.
The atmosphere changed with each step.
The outer sections contained general history. The deeper they went, the quieter everything became, until even footsteps felt muted, as if the library itself demanded respect for what it held.
Sara moved with familiarity, retrieving books without hesitation. She did not search.
She already knew.
Samuel noticed that.
Efficient. Precise.
Not ordinary staff behavior.
They stopped at a long reading table carved from dark wood.
Sara placed several books in front of him.
"These contain the foundational knowledge of the kingdom," she said. "Its history, structure, and systems of power."
Samuel sat down without a word.
He opened the first book immediately.
The world revealed itself in structure.
Mana existed as an external force flowing through everything. It could be absorbed, refined, and shaped into spells. Those who mastered it became known as mages.
But mages were not equal.
Their strength was measured through what the world called Arcane Circles.
A mage who had just awakened mana control was known as a First Circle Mage. Their spells were unstable, their capacity limited.
As they advanced, their control deepened. A Third Circle Mage could already influence small-scale battles with consistent spellcasting. A Fifth Circle Mage was considered a national threat, capable of altering terrain or overwhelming armies.
Beyond that, mages were no longer seen as individuals.
They were treated as disasters.
Samuel's eyes moved steadily across the pages.
So external energy is structured through capacity.
Predictable.
Defined.
He continued reading.
Aura followed a different path.
It did not come from the world.
It came from within.
Forged through discipline, strengthened through repetition, and refined through will, it transformed the body itself into a weapon.
Those who used Aura were known as Aura Users or more commonly, Knights of the Blade Path.
But they too were classified—not by numbers, but by ascension.
At the lowest stage were Initiate Knights, those who had only begun sensing Aura.
Above them were Steel Knights, who could reinforce their bodies and weapons with Aura, making them far superior to ordinary soldiers.
Then came Iron Knights, capable of coating their weapons completely in Aura, allowing them to break stone and armor with ease.
Above that stood Silver Knights, whose movements became fluid and unpredictable, their Aura flowing continuously rather than in bursts.
Next were Gold Knights, rare individuals whose killing intent alone carried weight. A single presence from them could slow weaker opponents.
And at the peak of known swordsmanship stood the Sovereign Knights.
These were not merely warriors.
They were authorities.
A Sovereign Knight did not need to move to dominate a battlefield. Their presence alone dictated outcome.
And among Sovereign Knights—
stood the King of Masca Kingdom.
Samuel's gaze paused slightly at that.
So that is the level of the King.
Sara, standing nearby, quietly watched him.
Most people would have paused to process what they were reading.
But Samuel did not.
He absorbed.
Without hesitation.
Without confusion.
He turned another page.
The tone of the book shifted.
The ink became darker.
The structure more restricted.
Sara noticed immediately.
"That section is not usually accessed," she said softly.
Samuel did not look up.
"What is it?"
Sara hesitated briefly.
"Forbidden systems."
He turned the page.
The information here did not belong to any structured path.
It was fragmented. Dangerous. Unstable.
Time Stop.
Spatial Manipulation.
Soul Extraction.
Reality Stitching.
Abilities that did not belong to either Mana or Aura.
They existed outside the system itself.
Samuel's expression remained calm.
But his eyes sharpened slightly.
So the world does not restrict power.
It restricts access.
Sara stepped closer slightly.
"These are sealed records," she said quietly. "Studying them without authorization is forbidden."
Samuel closed the book slowly.
"Yet they exist," he said.
Sara did not answer.
Because there was no argument against that truth.
He leaned back slightly.
Now the structure of this world was clear.
Mana users were called Mages, measured by Arcane Circles.
Aura users were called Knights of the Blade Path, measured by ascension ranks.
And at the peak of both paths—
stood Sovereign-level beings.
But beyond even that…
existed things the system refused to acknowledge.
A structured world.
But not a complete one.
Samuel stood.
"I will need all records related to Arcane Circles," he said calmly.
Sara blinked slightly.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
A brief silence followed.
Then she nodded.
"…I will prepare them."
Edward, watching from a distance, felt it again.
That shift.
It was no longer curiosity.
It was direction.
Sara walked away to retrieve more books.
Samuel stood for a moment, gazing across the endless shelves of the Royal Library.
This world was not weak.
It was structured.
And structure meant understanding.
And understanding—
meant control.
He turned back toward the table.
There was still much to learn.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
he had found a starting point.