Editing Tosho Meikyuu:Volume1 Chapter5 (section)

===◇◇◇331 Pages until Memory Loss===

The next day, 6am.

You have packed all the necessary supplies for Labyrinth exploration into your backpack, and have arrived at the door of the old-fashioned mechanical elevator closest to the third tower.

You are headed towards your Father’s study in the Library Labyrinth, intending to seek out the ‘Book to Cure Memory Loss’.

"…Haa, haa, whew~…I finally, made it up to the elevator…"

You lower the haversack that is digging into your shoulders, and let out a huge sigh. This is the first Labyrinth search in your subjective memory, and being seemingly overly cautious, you brought excessive belongings.

"Phew…seems like I brought too much equipment. If I can use the shadow world to store them, I should be able to carry much more." 

''"Nyamu, mmmm..…"''

The silver white bat, illuminated by the light, lets out an impatient graon from within the hood of your robe.

Perhaps it was due to her vampiric nature of preferring the shadows, Arteria appears to be a late riser.

"…Haa, since there’s no shadow storage to use, I should look for a ‘large inventory storage book’ at a grimoire store and buy one…"

Of course. The further you go into the labyrinth, the more difficult it shall be to procure supplies and food, and thus a ‘storage book’ is an imperative equipment for explorers. You could have purchased one in advance if possible, but unfortunately, in the Far East islands, there are few opportunities to buy ‘books’..

"And ever since I stepped into Library City Alexandria, I got killed by the murderer, and turned into a vampire. I didn’t have time to go to a grimoire shop…oh!"

You push aside the safety door of the elevator and toss your belongings into the luggage basket. At the very least, you do not have to endure the itchiness of the shoulder straps that would dig into your flesh until you reached the terminal..

"Phew…it’s the closest to the dormitory, but it sure is an old elevator."

Behind you, you close the bostwick gate that comprises of metallic rods, and scan the interior of the elevator.

A thin layer of dust covers the floor of of this cramped carriage, and footprints are left behind. The The bronze control panel has greenish-blue rust all over the place, indicating the many years this elevator has experienced.

Compared to the large elevator in the main lecture tower, it appears this elevator is hardly used.

(…The floor indicators are gear type instead of lights, and even the emergency brake is to be kicked…since it’s not locked, I guess it should be able to work…)

"…Hmm, I’m still uneasy about this."

With a tinge of apprehension, you check the rusty door lock repeated to see if it is locked, and presse the old-styled▼ down button.

''Creak''…a squeaky sound is heard, and the elevator begins to descend with a light thud.

The old and slow mechanical elevator passes through a few levels of the lecture tower, and then into a long, long continuous section of darkness.

After a bit of intermittent tremors, the collar of your robe begins to wriggle.

''"Nyam nyam…ha-have us reached the bottom of the Labyrinth…?"''

"…Good morning Arteria. We just got onto the elevator. You can keep sleeping., you know?"

''"Unyu…hmm, I suppose I should awaken…"''

The silver white bat rubs rubs the tip of its nose and mutters with ultrasonic waves. The darkness blotting the elevator seems appears to have become the morning sun for the vampire.

''"…Nyammmm, when did you put I into the robe? And where is this elevator headed? "''

"Ermm, it definitely leads to the Labyrinth. Given this speed though, it doesn’t seem to be a route that can reach the bottom floors of the Labyrinth directly though."

''"What now, merely to the shallow layer…uuu, finally rid of sleepiness I am, it is boring to be in the same darkness. How slow this ‘Apothecary’ elevator is."''

"Not like we got a choice. The high speed elevator of the lecture tower should be much faster, but it’s hell to carry such a large backpack down that aerial corridor.

''"Mmm, You are beginning to explore the Labyrinth, but you do not seem sentimental…"''

"…Well yeah, I assumed there would be a emotional homecoming, but I'm not descending down the Labyrinth just to sightsee, you know?"

The still half-awake bat is bored to tears, and nibbles at your neck…as the bat (Arteria) says, the interior of the elevator's vertical shaft is musty and cold, and seems to intensify the gloomy unrest of exploring the Labyrinth rather than stirring your expectations.

You are headed towards the study where the Doctor Magna once used as a base. It is a little safer than the deepest level exacavated thus far, but it is still dangerous level.

(…Still, that study might have some clues related to the truth from five years ago. The collection of ‘books’ Father left behind may have something that can cure memory loss and vampirism. The Labyrinth is a dangerous place, but it is definitely worth the trip…!)

Your fingertips touch the talisman on your chest to rally your heart that’s fading into anxiety.

You have left your faraway hometown and family to return to Library City Alexandria yearning to reclaim the past in the Library Labyrinth, for you seek the truth of that tragic night in this place where your father was murdered.

"…I’ll get them back. My lost memories, my magic, and the truth of five years ago."

If, within the darkest depths of this Library Labyrinth, in the study where Kai Okutsuki was assassinated, there await ‘A book to cure memory loss’, ‘A book to regain the truth’, or ‘A book to become Doctor Magna’.

You must overcome any adversary and retrieve those books.

''"Umu, now that is the vigor! As a kind of I, you shall not let this darkness cow you!"''

"Yeah. I finally returned to the Library Labyrinth, and I can't die with my memories lost and the truth still unrevealed…and I can’t leave you alone either."

''"'Fmyu! …C-Certainly, no? You belong to I, and I shall not let you lose your memories! Now then, you have to prepare for exploration! Even in this very slow elevator, we should be reaching the dark abyss of the Labyrinth…umu?"

Arteria suddenly pauses, and looks down at the elevator floor.

''"…I-Is it not getting a little brighter?"''

"Eh?"

You look down just as Arteria does, and spot some faint light seeping through the dark depths of the vertical shaft. It is unusual for a descending elevator to have light shining in from below.

"Th-That’s strange, shouldn’t it be connected to the Labyrinth…argh!"

The light shining through the gaps of the carriage cause your vampire skin to feel itchy.

It's '''sunlight'''.

"Su-Sunlight!? Shouldn’t we be underground by now!?"

''"Y-You! This is weird! Sunlight should not be shining into the pits of the Labyrinth—"''

The vampire, panicked by the sudden sunlight, is about to say something to you—



''Boom!''

Your dimly-lit field of vision suddenly expands, and '''the sun shining brightly in the sky''' etches onto your retinas.



"!?Th-This is …!"

You pry open your eye lids that are sealed by the sun glare. The iris contract to reduce the retained light—and your eyes see magnificent islands floating in the air.

"… Th-The 'library'…!!"

You mutter, feeling breathless at the majestic sight spread out before your eyes.

The first thing that amazes you is that there exists a sky underground. The sun shines brilliantly at the ceiling, fading into an endless azure sky.

Against the blue sky backdrop, a beautiful archipelago of pure white clouds stretches far into the distance. The islands are connected by long stone bridges, and further down, one can see the wings of birds and rows of houses.

[[Image:ToMei_v1 Illustration 07.jpg|thumb]]

This is the ‘Floating Peak Library’, one of the many ‘Libraries’ lying in slumber within the abyss of the Library Labyrinth.

This is a relay point of logistics, commerce, and culture between the surface and the Library Labyrinth.

The heart of the ‘Apothecary’ exploration guild, the beautiful floating islands city, continue to extend into the endless skies.

"…I-I thought we would arrive at that dim ‘Reading Room’…"

Most of the Library Labyrinth are hexagonal ‘Reading Rooms’, but there are rare moments where a large book storage called a ‘Library’ would be excavated.

Each ‘library’ has its own unique characteristics, and is known by its nickname, like ‘The Library of the Blade Metal’, ‘The Library of the Black Forest’, and ‘The Library of the Waterfall’. Once the excavation of ‘books’ is settled, these now barren ‘libraries’ become living spaces for people, just like this ‘Floating Peak Library’.

"…I didn't know such a large space exist beneath the 'Apothecary' lecture tower…!"

Beyond the steel shafts that support the elevators, you look up in amazement at the sky where domesticated eagles and dragons ferry their cargo.

Typically speaking, a sky composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen requires a dense, Rayleigh-scattering atmosphere extending 30 kilometers into the sky.

However, there is no way that a slow, antiquated elevator could descend such a distance in mere minutes. In other words, the physical law of ‘distance’ is invalid within this ‘Library’.

''"…The ultrasonic waves (ping) are not reflecting back. It appears this ‘Library’ has a distorted space."'

"Pi-ping? Space is distorted? …?"

''"…To put it simply for a fool like you to understand, the Library Labyrinth is a divine realm, and the shallow conventional wisdom of the world has no place here."''

"Mgh…an-anyway, it just means this is a large space, right? "

You blurt out your doubts, and get ridiculed by Arteria. Your knowledge of physics is insufficient to describe how blue the sky is, and you look downward.

The floating islands to which the elevator is heading towards has rows of moving stalls with colourful roofs. It is yet to be 7am…no, it is because of this timing that there are students and explorers preparing to head into the deep levels of the Labyrinth.

The Domesticated Labyrinth creatures are ferrying cargo, and hordes of people are passing through the wide streets, reminiscent of blood flowing the massive living organism called the ‘City’.

If the lecture tower on the ground is the brain of the ‘Apothecary’, this is the heart.

The ‘Floating Peak Library’ is the center of economic activities to spread the wisdom of the Library Labyrinth to mankind.

''"You! If there are so many bookstores on the island, you may find ‘a book to cure your memory loss’…!"''

"Yeah! I was planning to head straight to Father's study, but let's visit at the shops!"

You continued to look down at the ‘Floating Lake Library’ with growing anticipation.