n

n

n'Was that a mummified hand-- claw?'

nIt seemed that it wasn't just me who noticed the thing. Nathan and I stopped in front of a marble podium, as high as my waist, with the mummified claw encased inside a velvet box. The iron plate said it was apparently a gorgon's claw. See, I have no idea what a gorgon is but this thing is wild. I mean, if you can just see those blackened nails? That leathery dried-up skin with scales in them? It looked sharp as hell it could definitely pierce someone without effort. And it's creepy too.

nBoth of us are looking at someone's or something's severed hand right now. For some, it might look ghastly. But to me, it was nothing short of intriguing. It made me curious about its origins and what these gorgons truly are. I have never heard of them before, nor does it belong to this world's myth. But who knows? Ultimately, I still have a lot to learn.

n

"I have read about gorgons before, here in this very room. They are females from greek mythology with snakes as hair and sharp claws, and wings and scales… They are believed to look very hideous,

" Nathan then stated.

n'I'm sorry, what?'

nSnake hair???

nI just heard Nathan say some crazy things just now. Out of all the characteristics he broached, the thing about snakes as hair is the craziest. How is that even possible?

nAnd obviously, they would surely look hideous! And probably creepy too! I don't want to meet someone like that. It's fine if they have claws, wings, and **, but snake hair??

nNope. That's a big nope.

n

"That's the only thing I could remember about them,

" Nathan added.

n

"You said greek mythology, I think I've heard of that before… I just… I just don't remember when and where,

" I grumbled with my brows knitting together as I thought hard.

n'Greek mythology… Was it from there? The world I came from?'

nNathan hummed,

"I also heard that there is another part of the gorgon's body here but it is on the upper floors. It's rumored to be its head.

"

nUpper floors?

nI instinctively looked up to the ceiling even though I couldn't possibly see through it.

nI wonder if I could get to see it? The head? I mean, I can access the floors above anyway. Though I am creeped out by the snake thing, my curiosity is as strong as ever.

nRight. After I get to gather all the stuff I want to research and have all my questions and queries answered, I will certainly come back to explore all the floors of this tower. There are still a lot of ancient mementos I haven't gotten to look at yet.

nWe then passed by an incredibly long table that has a lot of things on it. There are weapons, some shiny things... medallions? Pieces of exotic jewelry… rocks in different sizes and urns…

nCoincidentally, we saw a large chalice made of gold among them and both of us immediately veered away from that table. We just assumed that it's probably the same chalice that sucked that poor historian's soul and even if it's not, it won't hurt to stay alert. Chalices now, or anything resembling a cup, is an immediate no.

nWe were now going towards the floating book directory because it was my main objective for today after all. To find the mysteries surrounding me, magic itself, and more. And while we're walking, Nathan finally can't keep his curiosity from earlier down anymore.

n

"What did he mean by you being the king's guest?

"

nI glanced at him and met his imploring gaze,

"Ah, that… Well, before you came in and asked me. Lord Janus had sent me an invitation to visit the tower.

"

nAnd that was when I was just thinking about it too. I was so sure he would never invite me and the magician did the opposite. Maybe I should start saying the things I wish to happen aloud so it'll come true. At this point, I might just be an undiscovered silver-tongue.

n

"The Great Magician?

" Nathan then frowned.

"How did that happen? I mean, were you two always acquainted with each other?

"

n

"Hmm? Not really…

" I honestly answered.

"It's because we had met quite a few times during my tea party with the Empress… you know… He sometimes joins us and then we talk… All that jazz...

" I trailed on.

nAll of my meetings with him are entirely serendipitous. He just liked popping out of nowhere, that's it.

nThere was a short pause before he curtly answered.

n

"Is that so?

"

nI have no idea what my brother is thinking because his face was just blank, as usual. So I don't know whether he is satisfied with my answer or not.

n

"Yeah…

" I mumbled.

nWe reached the floating book and oh boy, it was actually gigantic! I thought that it's a big book from afar, but reasonably big is what I meant. It's not. It's humongous. It's half the size of my bed or more.

nHow am I able to browse this?! It would take me a whole freaking day just to see the books I wanted.

nNathan must have seen the utter look of bewilderment on my face and guessed what was probably on my mind. He then put me out of my misery by saying the next things.

n

"Just say the keywords out loud and it will turn to the specific pages.

"

nWith my mouth still slightly agape, I gazed up at him in astonishment.

n

"Say what again?

"

n

"Keywords. If not, titles. The things you wanted to read about, just say it,

" he elaborated.

"Here, I'll show you... Art of the sword.

"

nAfter he said that, the book faintly glowed before it started flipping its pages on its own. It then stopped after a split second and the texts, which are also big as well, showed where the affiliated books were located. I thought that was it but a tiny glowing orb, the size of a cherry, appeared out of thin air and hovered for a moment before it floated away.

n

"Huh?

"

n

"Oh, it's the thing that leads you to the book,

" said Nathan.

n

"Really?

" I voiced out, thrilled by it.

n

"Or you can just summon the book to you,

" a male voice piped in.

n

"Oh geez!

" I jumped back from the fright.

nIt was Z and he was standing there behind us. I didn't even notice his presence at all!

nHow did he get here so fast and without making a noise? Right, he's part of the arcane tower, he could have just teleported. But why must he surprise us like that?

n

"Just say the word, 'summon', and the book will appear in front of you.

"

nThere is such a convenient way like that?

n