The library building was made from obsidian and deep jade, with serpentine carvings spiraling up its walls, some gleaming as if alive.
Arched windows stretched high, framed in shimmering gold that pulsed faintly with spirit runes, casting an ever-shifting glow through the stained glass murals of ancient beasts and Tamers mid-battle.
The double doors were engraved with the Ouroboros snake symbol itself—its eyes set with two blinking crimson crystals that flickered with eerie sentience.
Some students were on the ground to the right side, sitting cross-legged with soul energy whirling in different ways around them, while a few just exited through the library doors, giving John a glimpse of tables and shelves.
"That's the Ouroboros Hall's library. Cool, isn't it?"
"It's impactful."
Upon Azelis' arrival, some students who were training on the ground rushed towards her.
"Senior Azelis!"
"You've returned."
"Who is this person, Senior Azelis?"
"I saw him on your dragon with you when I was at the arena grounds below."
John blinked, a bit surprised. 'It looks like she is well-liked by the people here.'
However, he saw the boys who were around his age and older had a clear crush on her.
'She indeed looks like a charming young adult rocking the hearts of young men,' John internally harrumphed. 'She is out of your reach, kiddos. Forget about her.'
"He is the apprentice that I've decided to choose. Now, you all return and resume your activities. I am busy."
Azelis said one sentence in response to all the noise and continued walking. John followed, glancing at the students with a wry smile.
In return, he faced confused gazes, eyes of disbelief, and glares.
'Fuck off.'
John turned his head to the front and followed Azelis into the library.
There was absolute silence inside, but when John tried to speak, he realized why it was so silent.
Some kind of power was preventing him from speaking.
However, Azelis's voice suddenly rang in his head.
'You can't speak here as an artifact is activated that prevents any kind of noise from appearing except for the natural ones.'
John was surprised. He perceived how that voice kind of hit his soul in a gentle manner and decided to copy the way it carried.
'Mic testing, one, two, three...'
Azelis blinked in surprise. 'Don't tell me you just learned soul whisper right now?'
'Oh… well, it's just shaping an intent with a soul targeted at another soul in my perception. It wasn't hard.'
'Your perception and soul sensitivity are high... no wonder your soul control is already very high. This is one of the reasons why I think you will progress faster in training for Monster Geno Art and might be able to at least become strong enough to show your potential in the tournament.'
'What are the benefits of having higher perception and soul sensitivity?'
'Tamers with above average aptitude in those two would gain higher control of spirit energy and also faster training in Monster Geno Art, given that you got resources, which you have to earn yourself.'
'Anyway, here, behind this door is the inner library where we put important stuff like Monster Geno Arts and Soul Techniques.'
Azelis and John arrived in a small empty hall with two draconic statues on the sides of a sealed magic door that only Executives, the Hall Master, or the librarian could open.
Taking out a mystical medallion with Ouroboros carved on it, Azelis put it in the slot on the door and it opened.
John blinked, not expecting a scenery like this.
Inside was a carpeted hall with a pillar in the center. The pillar had a hole in the middle, in which a mystical orb had colorful energy whirling inside.
Aside from that, to the pillar's left side were ten bubbles lined up in a row, and one hundred bubbles on the right side of the pillar in five rows.
"Left side are the ten Monster Geno Arts of Ouroboros Hall and the right side are the one hundred soul techniques we have," Azelis spoke, her voice physically ringing as the Noise-ban artifact didn't cover this hall.
Azelis snapped her fingers as faint soul energy pulsed out from her.
In the next second, names appeared above each bubble, along with different numbers of stars.
"The stars represent the difficulty level. The higher the difficulty, the faster the gains, but your affinity is also important. If you have an affinity with a certain attribute already, which most of the kids whose parents are King-rank or higher ranks have, then practicing Monster Geno Art and Soul Technique of matching attributes would allow for faster progress and better proficiency in them."
Azelis walked towards the pillar as she continued, "Come here. Touch the pillar. Let's see if you have any affinities."
"But I don't have high-ranking parents," John said with a wry smile as he walked beside Azelis and looked at the pillar, stretching his hand. 'Heck, I wasn't born from any parents in this world. Chuthulos just dropped me as a baby.'
"It doesn't matter. In rare cases, some kids have affinities with an attribute or more despite not having high-ranking parents. Even if you don't have any, you just need to build the affinity by practicing and using resources of the attributes you desire. That's how it is usually for most Tamers, and everyone progresses at different paces because of that."
As John touched the pillar, Azelis looked up at the orb and John also followed, gazing at the whirling colors inside.
After a few seconds of silence, the colors inside stopped shifting and settled on two.
Crimson red and metallic gray.
Azelis' eyes flickered with surprise and then glee. "Wonderful! You have an affinity with two attributes! Blood and Metal."
John looked at those colors, and a scene flashed through his eyes.
Alfred had lost his last breath right as he arrived by his side while those three kids switched targets and beat him a bit before running away as they saw a few people coming.
That smell of blood as he held Alfred in his hand, lifeless, made him feel suffocated like never before.
And when he saw them leaving court after paying a fine and making faces at him with no remorse, a cold-blooded rage took over him as he planned the retribution.
Just like how Alfred in his last moments suffered while he helplessly ran towards him, he made them feel the same.
It was his wooden bat with metal spikes making a bloody mess out of those three demons. At that time, all he saw was red with the intense smell and taste of iron. He had taken a few hits initially, but striking each of them with one solid hit as those metal spikes pierced them made it easier for him to continue as they writhed in pain shouting.
"Yeah, I think I like those two attributes."
"Blood and Metal are considered advanced attributes. Mastering them will surely make you powerful." Azelis smiled and turned to the left side, looking at the ten bubbles.
Waving her hand, she picked three bubbles as they floated down.
John looked to the left and saw three bubbles coming at him, stopping a meter away between him and Azelis.
"Make your choice."
1. [ Terra Golden Sentinel—Earth/Metal—Guardian type. Difficulty: ☆☆☆ ]
2. [ Ironclot Razor Swordsman—Metal—Hybrid Warrior type. Difficulty: ☆☆ ]
3.