Lucian woke up in an unfamiliar room, only then noticing the weight resting on his out stretched arm. His clear sky-like eyes searched for a golden hue, but found only a white pillow.

  That was right, after struggling to fall asleep, he remembered only the night and the lingering sensation of something heavy against his arm.

  “Prologue…”

  The word slipped from his lips in a faint whisper.

  Like morning mist dispersing with the rise of the sun, Lucian slowly began to recall the unfamiliar place before his eyes.

  It was a dormitory within the mysterious space of the Black Index.

  Lucian exhaled softly. After a brief search, he found a common bathroom and went through his morning routine on instinct alone, grounding himself in familiarity.

  When he returned, a neatly prepared set of clothes awaited him beside the bed.

  He dressed carefully, buttoning the vest, adjusting the fit, slipping on a pair of gloves, before walking to the window and pushing it open.

  In the sky, a pitch-black expanse stretched endlessly, completely enveloping the grounds of the Black Index.

  Lucian had been quite surprised when he first saw it yesterday. But now that he was seeing it again, he wondered about its mystery. Many thoughts drifted in and out of his mind.

  ‘I wonder if our clan has such a magnificent phenomenon. They must have something similar. After all, a great family is said to be far superior to the Eight Guilds. In fact, each family controls two such guilds.’

  Knock! Knock!

  The sudden sound snapped him out of his thoughts.

  Lucian’s body tensed. His gaze flicked toward the door as he picked up a flower vase near the window, gripping it instinctively. After taking a steadying breath, he opened the door.

  Standing before him was a girl who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and her eyes were lifeless, like someone exhausted by their job, yet forced to push on regardless.

  Lucian hid the vase and put on a smile, coughing lightly.

  “May I help you, miss?”

  Her gaze flickered briefly toward the half-hidden vase. Without any visible reaction, she simply greeted him.

  “I am here as ordered. I am an Underpage. Ruby Hale.”

  “Underpage?”

  “We are non-Librarians who work as assistants to Librarians,” she said in a single breath, as though she had repeated the explanation countless times.

  “Is that so? I had the impression that the world of Librarians was hidden.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  When she didn’t respond, Lucian changed his question.

  “The purpose of your visit?”

  “To show you around,” she replied flatly.

  “To show me around,” Lucian repeated.

  He closed the door briefly, returned the vase to its original place, then opened the door again.

  “Great. Then let’s go.”

  *****

  First, she brought him to the cafeteria. Lucian wasn’t impressed by the food, yet he devoured it as though he had never eaten anything so delicious before.

  After that, Ruby led him to Kasturi, who was supposed to be waiting somewhere for him.

  Along the way, she remained completely silent, answering only when Lucian asked questions.

  Lucian, who had experience dealing with all kinds of servants, didn’t mind it. In fact, he was rather pleased to know that asking questions wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.

  His gaze then drifted upward. Even though a dark, cloud-like mass covered the sky, the interior felt as though sunlight illuminated everything. The light within also shifted in accordance with the cycle of day and night.

  Along the way, he spotted two men walking toward them. Lucian soon realized it was Silas and the other man who had saved him from the Unread that day.

  Apparently, they were also members of the Black Index. They had been on a secret mission in the area before everything happened.

  Remembering all the lessons on etiquette, Lucian greeted them as they came closer.

  “Oh, you’re that brat. I heard you awakened. Good for you,” the childish full-grown man, whose name Lucian had forgotten, said with a laugh.

  Silas, whose name Lucian remembered, only nodded in response before they walked away.

  Lucian recalled that Silas was not a Librarian; only the other man was. Yet Silas could still fight using a gun.

  ‘Very interesting.’

  Lucian turned to Ruby, who walked silently ahead of him, guiding the way.

  “He’s not a Librarian, right? Is he also an Underpage?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Can you also fight?”

  “No. Mr. Brasswane is an exception.”

  “How so?”

  She didn’t answer.

  ‘Why is she acting like Mr. Tigerman?’ he sighed inwardly.

  “What about the gun he used?”

  “I don’t have the authority to share that information,” she said.

  ‘But you do know,’ Lucian noted silently.

  “Do you also know someone named Jack? And someone around my age?”

  “I do. Mr. Jack is out right now. As for someone your age, I’m not certain. But there are many new recruits of similar age.”

  ‘So he was also a newly awakened Librarian. No wonder he was scared,’ Lucian smiled inwardly.

  *****

  Soon, they reached their destination. There, Lucian saw a silver-gray-haired man sleeping under a tree.

  ‘In the morning? Seriously? Lucian scoffed inwardly. How can someone be this lazy?’

  Ruby, her expression barely changing, observed the man. Then she picked up a twig and poked it directly into the man’s nose.

  ‘What the—? Does she have a mental illness? No… does everyone here have some kind of issue?’

  Kasturi slowly opened his eyes, as though he was waking naturally, not even sneezing as Lucian had expected. He looked down to find the girl still poking at him with the twig.

  Lucian felt his breath catch when he saw the man’s deathly gaze. Ruby immediately threw away the only evidence and stood upright like a proper assistant.

  Kasturi, unaffected in every way, turned his gaze to Lucian.

  “We have a lot to do.”

  He dismissed Ruby, and Lucian followed him.

  Soon, they arrived at a building with the words “Containment and Incarceration Division” inscribed on it.

  Lucian glanced at Kasturi with wide eyes. Noticing his reaction, Kasturi chuckled.

  “They’re most likely not going to capture you.”

  ‘Ah, what do you mean, most likely?’

  “We are here for a reason,” Kasturi said.

  “What is it?” Lucian wondered aloud. “My Codex?”

  “Yes.” Kasturi nodded. “Do you know why Librarians never let anyone look at their Codex?”

  ‘But you forcefully looked at mine,’ Lucian complained inwardly, then shook his head.

  “A Codex is not capable of capturing just any kind of Unread. What kind of Unread you can capture depends on your Codex type.”

  “Codex type?” Lucian asked.

  “Yes. A Codex is the manifestation of a Librarian’s story. And it is a law that only stories of similar color can entangle with each other.”

  “Ah… color?”

  “Every aspect of a story, when combined, gives it a color. As for what type your Codex is…”

  Lucian waited in anticipation.

  “I don’t know.”

  What? I fell for this guy’s trick again.

  “So how do I find out?” Lucian asked.

  “That’s why we’re here. We’re going to meet with… a Librarian turned Unread.”