Stop Writing! [Magical Academy Litrpg]

“So what you are saying is, I used to spend most of my time here?” Alec asked while looking up at the grandiose building made with gothic architecture. It reached up towards the clouds, its highest tower probably measuring around 75 meters. It seemed older than most of the other buildings Alec had been to so far.

“Yup. Not that different from other students. Most people spend a lot of their time in school here to study. Though, I had seen you read some weird books before, rather than more study-related books,” Evan answered as he started heading inside.

“What kind of weird books?” Alec asked while watching the back of his new friend. However, he was promptly ignored before Evan opened the door to invite him inside. As soon as Evan cracked the door open, a cold gust of turbid air carrying the smell of bibliosmia hit Alec square in the face.

“The library is filled with an air conditioning ward array. It’s always cold inside,” Evan explained before entering the door. “The professors don’t like it when we leave the door open for too long. They say it makes the array spend more energy than normal,” he urged Alec.

Nodding along, Alec followed him inside. When he did so, the chatters encompassing the campus accompanied by the nauseating songs of the cicadas faded out into the background. Instead, it was the gentle taps of the students walking amidst the bookshelves, the rustling of the book pages being riffled through, and the barely noticeable hum-buzz of the people studying together filling the library. The sudden change in background noise made Alec look around dumbfoundedly for a few seconds before he was alerted by Evan whispering into his ear.

“Let’s go. I’ll pick out a few books for you to read,” he said. Alec shivered in place before making a disgusted face, making Evan back off and start walking.

After going through maze-like corridors adopting the bookshelves as walls, Evan stopped and picked out a few books.

[Basics of Magic by Archmage Evelynn]

[Magic 101 by Commissar Petrovsky]

[On Telekinesis and Its Usage by Thomas the Awakened]

“Huh... That’s interesting,” Alec commented after reading the titles of the books. After taking out the last one and placing it under his arm, Evan turned around and raised a brow at Alec’s question.

“What is interesting?” he asked with a hushed voice, reminding Alec that they were inside a library.

“Those authors. They all use certain... Titles instead of surnames. Why is that?” Alec asked with a now lowered voice. Evan stopped for a few seconds before he gestured for Alec to follow him. They passed a few tables and turned a few corners before reaching a relatively isolated part of the library. There were only three students visible, and all of them were studying separately.

After settling down with the books, Evan finally started answering Alec’s question.

“Strength and capabilities are an important part of our society,” he said. Bringing his finger on the book called Basics of Magic, he underlined Archmage Evelynn’s name with a trail of mana. “Although surnames are an important tool to keep the society orderly, these people transcend the idea of familial heritage. They are too strong to share titles with others. That’s why, important people in history are recorded with their titles instead of their surnames. As long as Archmage Evelynn’s name is not lost to the dusty pages of history, there will be no other archmage.”

“Huh... Does anyone in our school have that kind of title?” Alec asked. Evan nodded.

“Yeah. Our headmaster is one such example. He is called Odiel the Unknowable.”

“The unknowable? That’s an ominous name,” Alec commented before leaning against the back of his chair. “What’s the reason they call him that?”

“Haha, yeah? I thought so too,” Evan confirmed with a light chuckle. “It’s because of his proficiency in an-”

However, before Evan could finish his sentence, he zoned out for a brief moment.

“So there’s a person like that, huh?” Alec said.

“Yup, pretty elusive if you ask me,” Evan continued. “None of the upperclassmen I asked have seen him. Most people doubt that he is still alive.”

“That’s interesting. Do you have any guesses why that might be the case?” Alec asked. However, Evan was just as clueless as him. “Is there anyone else that is noteworthy? Or is that all?”

“That should be all,” Evan said as he caressed his chin thoughtfully. His mouth opened and closed a few times, seemingly trying to formulate a sentence. However, he wasn’t able to as Alec continued talking.

“So? Are these the books I should read, and why?” Alec asked, pulling Evan’s thoughts in another direction. ”The Basics of Magic and Magic 101 seem pretty similar to me. Is there a reason why I’m reading both?”

“Of course. These are the first books they make you read when you enter the academy,” Evan said. “The Basics of Magic is for the layman. Pretty much anyone who comes to this place is initially completely clueless about magic. It teaches you the basics of the basics, more like a general case study on what magic is and isn’t.”

“Oh, I see,” Alec said. Although he could guess what the book Magic 101 entailed, he still gestured for Evan to continue.

“The Magic 101 is an introductory book for a proper student. If you were to pick up a random citizen from the streets, chances are, they wouldn’t be able to understand much from it,” Evan continued. “It deals more about the fundamentals of generalist magic.”

“Oh, I see. So I have to read that before branching off,” Alec said. Evan nodded before explaining further.

“Well, you still have to read Magic 102, Magic 103, and How to Magic by Tuelicus the King of Spellcasters.”

“Damn, all of that in one week?” Alec asked with a frown on his face. Studying a book and reading one for fun were two different matters. He might’ve been an avid reader in his previous life, capable of breezing through chapter after chapter non-stop, however, he wasn’t some prodigy. Before the semester started, he doubted his ability to consume that amount of knowledge. ‘Well, if I didn’t have anything to aid me at least,’ he thought while checking whether or not the author’s pen was there, inside his abdominal cavity.

“Not necessarily,” Evan said while tapping the Magic 101’s cover. “The more books you finish, the more sense the lessons will make. If you haven’t finished these three by the start of the semester though, you’ll barely understand anything.”

“The other three?” Alec asked.

“They are also important, but it’s still somewhat fine if you can’t finish them,” Evan said. “You can still study extra throughout the semester.”

Sighing deeply, Alec nodded. However, a question appeared in his head.

“Why did we come here by the way? Don’t I already have these books?” he asked. Evan tilted his head before chuckling.

“Yeah yeah,” he said. “You sold all of them as soon as you finished studying them. Which leaves us here.”

“Oh...” Alec muttered. His opinion got better the more he heard about this previous Alec. “Was I tight on money or something?”

“Nah,” Evan said. “You have always been a bit...”

“Thrifty?” Alec finished his sentence for him.

“Stingy,” Evan said his piece before registering Alec’s intrusion.

The word thrifty seemed to make Evan frown in disgust.

“Even with no memories you are like this...” he sighed. “Nevermind. You start studying, I will go and copy the necessary materials. I just brought you here so you could get started.”

“Oh, thanks!” Alec said. He scrambled his pockets for money but didn’t find any. Seeing his actions, Evan grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“There is no need. I can pay for it,” he said. “Let me do that much at least. I’ll go back to the dorm directly after that, so you can come back any time you want.”

Understanding Evan’s sentiment, Alec raised his head and nodded. As Evan was leaving, he stopped for a second and turned his head sideways.

“And by the way, you can use your student ID card to buy stuff anywhere in this academy,” he said. He had probably seen Alec searching his pockets for money.

Under the angry gazes of the other three students, Evan left Alec alone to study.

The sudden silence made Alec sigh and open the book called Basics of Magic.

The first few pages of the book were about a brief history of magic. Alec glanced over a few sentences and decided to skip those pages. He then found some essential theories about what magic was and how it came to be.

Which were mostly a few unconfirmed theories that all made sense when he first read them.

Then, finally, the book started telling about some more in-detail stuff.

For a moment, Alec sighed and stopped. No matter how much he wanted to directly skip to magic-casting, he still had to learn the general knowledge if he didn’t want to become a topic of ridicule.

Closing the book, gathering all three into a pile, and putting them under his arm, Alec got up and started searching for a cup.