"A theft at the Hall of Truth?"

Elvire quickly received a call from Elise and thought she must have misheard.

The Hall of Truth was a structure in the Spiritual World. How could it be robbed?

"The library," Elise said.

She hadn’t understood at first, either. Only after the other person explained it did she realize what had been "stolen" were books.

The books in the library couldn’t be removed from the Hall of Truth, but they could be "checked out" from the library itself. If someone were to take a book and hide it in some inconspicuous corner of the Hall, then practically no one besides them would be able to find it.

This had happened a few times before, but those were mostly unintentional mistakes on the first and second floors, where there weren’t any overly important books. Afterward, the Dawn Council hired several administrators to work in 24-hour shifts, and borrowers were required to register their identities. There hadn’t been any more slip-ups since then. Until today. Books had gone missing again.

And this time, it was on the third floor.

This should have been a joyous occasion.

After so many years, someone had finally earned the statue’s approval again and entered the Holy Sanctuary on the third floor.

He had gone to the library at the first opportunity to seek out the knowledge left behind by Lord Blake. He was eager to obtain more new things passed down from the Era of Polymath, to fill his mind to the brim—preferably until it overflowed. He had all the time in the world to digest it, after all.

But as he searched, he suddenly noticed a few books missing from a shelf. Looking further in, he found a few more gone. Deeper still, an entire row was missing... Arriving at the center of the library, he discovered that the most precious Book of Ancient Language, which was supposed to be in a glass display case, had vanished into thin air.

Sean, overhearing bits and pieces of the conversation on the phone: "..."

’Are they talking about me?’

"Could it be that they were never there to begin with?" Elvire asked.

No one knew what it was like on the third floor of the Hall of Truth and above. Perhaps those books on the library’s third floor were already lost back in the Era of Polymath?

"That’s a possibility," Elise said. "But he supposedly found footprints. Judging by the tracks, they were made within the last week."

Elvire: "Supposedly?"

"Yes." Elise sounded resigned on the other end of the line. "The man is difficult to talk to. I had to ask his student to find out."

"Even *you* find him difficult to talk to?" Elvire sounded skeptical.

Elise was the most skilled diplomat in the Dawn Council. She was good-natured, beautiful, and spoke with a gentle voice. Besides, the very words "Dawn Council" carried a certain weight. Who would be so bold as to not even show Elise respect?

"Sopea," Elise said.

Elvire: "..."

’Oh, Sopea. That explains it.’

"That guy was already arrogant and cold to begin with. Now that he’s made it to the third floor, he’ll probably start looking down his nose at all of us," Elise grumbled.

Sean chimed in with a strange question. "You can see footprints in the Void Technique Space?"

"Others can’t, but he can," Elvire answered.

Sopea’s Mental Power is exceptionally strong. He knows a Magic Spell that allows him to see residual spiritual traces left behind within a certain time frame. If Sopea really did see fresh footprints from the last week, as Elise heard, then it’s highly likely the books from the library’s third floor were all taken by the person who left them. This is an extremely serious matter.

Sean asked tentatively, "How serious?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Elvire said. "If he doesn’t return the books, every Wizard who enters the third floor in the future will be missing a crucial portion of knowledge."

’That’s it?’ Sean had been expecting something he didn’t know, like a rule that "the library will collapse if the books aren’t returned in three days." He muttered, "Won’t everything be fine if he just returns them?"

"And how do you know he’ll return them?" Elvire asked.

Sean: "..."

’Take a wild guess.’

He couldn’t answer that question, but he could argue on his own behalf.

Sean retorted, "Then how do you know he *won’t* return them?"

"Because he’s being too low-key," Elvire said.

’Low-key’ is a conservative way to put it. ’Sneaky’ would be more accurate.

Part of it was a woman’s intuition, but beyond that, there was also logic.

The Hall of Truth is a Holy Land in the hearts of all Wizards. Everyone wants to enter the Holy Sanctuary, even if it’s just the first floor. Successfully entering is proof of one’s potential. Compared to the Wizards who can’t enter the Holy Sanctuary, the status of those who can is automatically elevated. One could say that a Wizard’s status in the Void Technique Space is almost entirely determined by which floor they can reach.

Until yesterday, the second floor was the highest anyone had reached.

Currently, every Wizard who can access the second floor possesses the formidable power of Tier Four or above and is highly respected in the Void Technique Space.

But the person who took the Book of Ancient Language has entered the third floor—a place no one in this era has ever set foot.

This is an unparalleled honor.

Any normal person would be dying for everyone to know they’d accomplished something so great. But this person was stealthy and silent. A week has passed without a peep, and no one saw them go up to the third floor. This indicates that the person is deliberately avoiding the eyes of other Wizards, trying not to be discovered.

No matter how you looked at it, he gave off a strong ’thief’ vibe.

Elvire wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that this person was trouble, but the logic of the situation told her they were most likely not a good person.

Sean: "..."

He wanted to argue that just because someone was secretive didn’t mean they were a villain—they could just be your brother-in-law, for instance.

But he thought better of it.

’That assessment isn’t wrong, though. Judging by the things I’ve done, I’m probably not a good person.’

Elise’s voice came through the phone. "Hello? Hello? Are you two finished chatting? I’m still on the line."

Sean: "..."

Elvire: "..."

’Oh right, I completely forgot we were still on the phone with Elise.’

’This is all Sean’s fault!’

"Anyway, why don’t you come to the Void Technique Space?" Elise said. "I’m still going to find Sopea and ask him for the details."

"He won’t give me the time of day, but he’ll definitely show some respect to Miss Flame Crow."

"Flame Crow" is Elvire’s title. Like "Light Attendant," it signifies a Tier Five Wizard. Sopea is also a Tier Five Wizard, known as the "Dream Builder." In his own obnoxious words, only another Tier Five is qualified to speak with him as an equal.

That alone shows just how arrogant Sopea is.

’But what can you do? The man really is that powerful.’

Even before he entered the third floor of the Holy Sanctuary, when it came to pure combat ability, very few Tier Five Wizards could beat Sopea. This Dream Master’s individual combat strength is terrifying to an almost ridiculous degree. He can make his enemies fall into a dream without them ever realizing it, defeating them directly on a spiritual and mental level. They wouldn’t even know how they lost.

"Wait, what did you say his title was?"

Sean asked, "Dream Builder?"

Elise replied, "That’s right. Why?"

Sean said, "I’m going with you."

He needed a Wizard specializing in dreams to help him remember his past faster.

"Okay," Elise agreed immediately, making her position clear.

She didn’t mind Sean coming along, and she was sure Elvire wouldn’t mind either.

But there was no telling if Sopea would mind.

And even less telling if the statue of Blake outside the Holy Sanctuary would mind.

"We’re going to the Hall of Truth. Can you even get in?"

...