The guiding orb was gone. Just… gone. Alex checked around every corner of the narrow library aisle. Nothing. It was nowhere to be seen. He could think of only two reasons why that might be. First, it could be that the location of the book he was holding was just nearby enough that the orb reached its destination in the short time he wasn't able to see it. Though given how slowly it had floated when Miss Philaxter demonstrated it, he doubted this was the case.

  Second, and more disturbing, whatever caused that scraping voice inside his head had caused the orb to fizzle out. It did mention the power source being depleted. The only way to test both theories was to use the Catalogue Stone on the book again. If it were nearby, he could just follow the orb again. If that voice had somehow depleted the stone, well then holding the stone against the book would probably do nothing this time.

  He took a deep breath and held the stone against the leather-bound book, closing one eye, already anticipating the pain coming from the voice. Nothing. Maybe he wasn't holding it long enough yet. He waited longer. Still nothing. Okay, last time he had felt the pulse by now. There was no doubt about it. Whatever had caused that voice in his head had completely drained the stone. How was he supposed to explain this to Miss Philaxter? He could tell her the truth, or at least partially the truth.

  It didn't take long for Alex to find the head librarian. She was only a few rows beside his, carefully re-shelving her own cart of books. She turned her head towards him as soon as she saw him enter her row, an annoyed look already on her face.

  "Can I help you, Mister Vansteen?" she asked, her eyes darting between the book in Alex's one hand and the depleted stone in the other. "I know for a fact the Catalogue Stone didn't send you in here for that book."

  "Miss Philaxter, I am sorry, but I think the stone might be depleted." Alex said, his voice trembling from nerves. He knew he had done nothing wrong, but it still felt like he had.

  "Depleted?" the librarian asked, one eyebrow raised high in the air. "Did I not tell you to use it only when absolutely necessary? It hasn't even been an hour yet."

  "I swear I only used it once. The orb of light appeared, and then it just fizzled out," Alex tried to explain. He didn't actually see it fizzle out, but that had been his best guess at what happened.

  "It fizzled?" She said, her eyebrow still raised. She clearly didn't believe him. "Tell me exactly what happened."

  "Okay, I didn't actually see it fizzle," Alex admitted. "I used the stone like you showed me, slightly touching it against this book. A moment later it pulsed, and I pulled it away again. The orb of light appeared, and I was ready to follow it when I got another headache. This one hurt more than the previous one, so I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the orb was gone. I looked for it, but I couldn't find it again. So I assumed it fizzled out. When I tried to summon a new one, nothing happened."

  "Another headache? Seems I was right in calling over someone from the infirmary. They should be nearly here. Go wait for them at one of the tables near the entrance. In the meantime, I'll check out this Catalogue Stone, because they do not fizzle, Mister Vansteen. Not without reason." Miss Philaxter said, holding out her hand for Alex to give her the stone.

  Alex was hesitant about handing over the stone. It was clear he, or at least the voice inside his head, had done something to it. He just hoped she wouldn't be able to figure out where he came from by examining it. But then again, would that be so bad? Aro had said she was mean, but so far she had just been stern. And she probably knew more than anyone else on campus. So she might even be able to help him get back home. Did he want to go home though? Sure, he missed his parents and his friends, but life back there was boring to say the least. Here it was still exciting. Here, he had a second chance to be more than just an office drone.

  He dropped the stone in Miss Philaxter's hand and was about to walk over to one of the tables when she spoke up again. "The book, Mister Vansteen," she held out her other hand, "I'll put it away. Unless you want to read it while you wait?"

  Alex looked at the cover of the book he was holding to check what it was about again. Wards, he knew nothing about wards and from the short blurb at the back it looked like a pretty advanced book on the topic. He shook his head and handed the book over to the head librarian.

  His hands now free, he walked over to the tables at the front of the library. A few more people were sitting at them now compared to when Alex had first entered the room, but most spots were still empty, including those around Henry. The tall Fairy was still sitting at the same table, his nose buried deep within the book in front of him.

  "Hey again," Alex said as he sat down next to the black-haired boy.

  Henry looked up surprised. "Hey again to you too, runt. Did Miss Philaxter already fail you on the job? Don't worry, happens to a lot of first years. You'll do great in Combat; you won't have to read a single thing," he said with a smirk on his face.

  "Funny, but no, she made me stop after I got a headache twice in a short time period. Someone from the infirmary should be on their way."

  "Twice?" Henry asked, the smirk on his face fading. "Are you alright? You didn't come into contact with any unstable wards, did you?"

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "I don't think so? Just something called a Catalogue Stone."

  "Figured, but I had to ask," the Fairy said, showing Alex the cover of the book he was studying, Patterns of Runic Corruption in Unstable Wards. "The coincidence would just be too big."

  "That sounds complicated," Alex said as he read the title of the book.

  "It is. Advanced Warding is probably the only class I'm dreading the exam of. I never was good at wards, but since I have a single skill associated with them, I had to take it."

  "You had to? Do skills determine what classes you can take?" Alex asked. He wasn't completely sure what kind of skills the Fairy was talking about and hoped he could gain some more information from him.

  "Some do, some don't. Most of the Basic classes don't require any related skills. The Advanced version of them do. Then there are the outlier classes like Cartography, which is an elective that doesn't require a skill. I recommend you take that one though. It's taught by Professor Ghestalt, and he often takes his students out with him to the field instead of being stuck in a classroom like Professor Hightorn."

  While it wasn't the information he had hoped for, and it didn't tell him more about what these skills were Henry was talking about, it was something to keep in mind when he had to pick classes, whenever that may be.

  Still, those skills, Alex doubted it would be things you could learn naturally like... close-up magic, or drawing. If he had to guess, they would be more like the skills you would find in a video game. But how would that work, and how did you get them? Do people in this world level up? Could that be what that scraping voice inside his head was about?

  "Professor Hightorn?" Alex asked, not immediately recognizing the name from anywhere before.

  "Garrus Hightorn, one of the founding members of the academy, and he also happens to teach both Basic and Advanced Warding," Henry laughed, slightly tapping the book in front of him.

  "Take it you're not a fan?"

  "He's not too bad, just dry, always has been. He also expects way too much from me."

  "Why? Are you some kind of prodigy? Some master of support skills?" Alex joked.

  "Oh, if only. I'm not bad, good even, but definitely not a master," The Fairy shoved the book in front of him a bit further away. It seemed he was done studying for now and would rather talk to Alex. "No, I've known Garrus and most of the board since I was eight. My brother is one of them."

  "Your brother? How old are you exactly? I remember hearing the academy was still pretty new and that the board were its founding members, but still," Alex said. He hadn't actually heard it, but rather read it in J.D. journal. By the time J.D. had started school, it had only existed for six years, and given they were now graduated, Alex guessed the school would be in either its tenth or eleventh year.

  "Uh-uh, Zeth Rixtor, my full name is Henricks Rixtor. And he's way older than I am. I have nine siblings, with him being the oldest of the bunch and me being the youngest."

  "Henricks?" Alex smirked.

  "Yes, but please just call me Henry. I'm already regretting telling you my name."

  Alex was glad Henry felt comfortable enough around him to tell him his real name. He had never heard of the name before, but it wasn't the first unusual name in this world. Though, given the dark-haired boy's reaction, it was clear he didn't like his name himself. Alex liked the Fairy, so he wasn't going to use that fact against him. His last name though, he had heard that one before, hadn't he? Wasn't that the teacher that Fillonia said brought him in? He would have to thank Henry's brother for saving him from that murderer when he got the chance.

  "Don't worry, I won't mention it to anyone. Though speaking of family. Aro said that Fillonia and Miss Philaxter were related. I thought Fillonia's surname was Fillibaxter?" Alex asked. It had been something that had been bothering him ever since he had heard Aro say it. Of course, depending on how closely they were related, they didn't need to have the same surname.

  "You met Ms. Fillibaxter?" Henry asked, confused.

  "Oh, you don't know? I thought Aro might have mentioned it last night. I saw him dancing with you and Cynthia. Yesterday, I woke up in the infirmary with almost no memory of anything before that. They offered to enroll me to keep an eye on me. Apparently, your brother brought me in."

  "Really? And he did?" For a moment, Alex thought he saw worry on the Fairy's face.

  "So are she and Miss Philaxter related?" Alex asked, hoping that bringing the question back to attention would prevent the dark-haired boy from asking further questions himself.

  "They are. Ms. Fillibaxter and Miss Philaxter are cousins. Though among us Fairies, surnames can even differ between siblings. I do get the confusion. A lot of the other races find it strange."

  "What do you mean?" Alex was genuinely curious how your surname could differ from your siblings.

  "Our surnames aren't passed down from generation to generation like the other races do. They depend on who your parents are and whether you're a boy or a girl. Sons get their surnames from their fathers and daughters from their mothers. For example, my father's name is Rick, hence my surname being Rixtor, as in Rick's son. If I were to have a son, his surname would be Henrixtor. Same goes for Miss Philaxter; her mother's name was likely Phila, while Mrs. Fillibaxter's mother was called Filliba. Does that make sense?"

  "It kind of does," Alex said, still internally trying to wrap his head around the whole naming convention. He had heard of people back on Earth naming their kids after themselves, though that was done using their first name, and even that made little sense to him.

  The door to the library swung open with force, hitting the wall with a bang. Alex didn't actually hear the door open, but the fast motion was enough to draw his attention. Out of the door walked a familiar face, and he knew she was here for him. It was good to see Fillonia again, her auburn hair tucked behind one of her pointed ears. It hadn't even been a day since he had last seen her, but she had been the first person in this world who cared about him. When she spotted him sitting at one of the tables, she smiled.

  It didn't take long for Miss Philaxter to walk over to her cousin, and judging from her stance, she was berating Fillonia on the way she had entered her sanctuary. Once again, Alex couldn't actually hear what they were saying, but judging from the gestures the stern woman was making, it was clear she was mad at her cousin. Fillonia remained calm and collected throughout the entire conversation. At one point she pulled something from inside her chest pocket, and Miss Philaxter smiled. She smiled. It looked strange on her face, but the librarian actually smiled. Afterwards, the conversation seemed to turn to why Fillonia was actually here as Miss Philaxter pointed towards Alex. The smile he had seen on Fillonia's face earlier had now turned into a look of worry.