Lowell had a headache. It wasn't a result of any physical malady, unless one counted being born with psychic abilities as such.

  Back before Lowell had become the City Leader of Xinling City, he'd been a reasonably successful monster coach. His ability to read his opponents' minds, quickly improvise strategies, and then enact them made his circuit a breeze to get through, relatively speaking. The ascent through the Shengli Path, while normally harrowing for most coaches, was practically a breath of fresh air.

  Lowell could not turn his powers off. Every moment of every day, he would receive the thoughts of people around him. In the wilds, he would be able to somewhat sense Mons, but not to the same extent. The first time in Lowell's young life that he'd known a reprieve from pain was when he'd become a monster coach.

  Walking in a city like this, let alone maintaining a facade of being an eccentric tour guide, was borderline torture in the most direct of senses.

  Of course, Lowell was no masochist and was not taking this pain on for no reason. No, Ondun here...what an interesting, to say nothing of wounded, mind.

  Ondun's suspicion of Lowell was, of course, well placed. Lowell was being deceptive in giving a nickname only a few people had for him, and maintaining that he was a mere 'tour guide' was a lie of omission. Even so, Guardian Alice herself had asked the City Leader to intervene in this case of a young man from a violent other world, so intervene he would do.

  Lowell owed not just his position, but his sanity, to Alice. He would never betray her, nor what her friendship and patronage had given him. It was the least he could do to pay at least one of those good deeds forward.

  Even as Lowell gave the two young coaches an introduction to the city's public transportation system—one could call either a modern electric car or a man-drawn rickshaw—he was scanning Ondun's mind, at least the surface thoughts. What he found made drowning out everyone else's thoughts easy.

  Ondun had been born in what some would call a backwards, primitive world. To be fair, Kongming hadn't been much more advanced two centuries ago when the Hero of Kongming was deposited on Monastria, seemingly by Olympus Himself. The woman had introduced strange technologies, even as she became a monster researcher of significant renown. When the Brittanian Empire had tried to poison Kongming with a potent and addictive drug, her quick alliance with a Brittanian scholar who'd had a change of heart led to her formulating an antidote to the drug's worst effects. While some were harmed by the plot to tear Kongming apart from within, the plot on the whole was largely stillborn from the word 'go.'

  However, as Lowell looked around in Ondun's mind, he found that now the positions were reversed. This otherworlder was a member of an organization that seemed to hold the ideas that the Hero of Kongming had acted on in a special place. As he paged through memories, he saw righteous battles against corrupt humans, feral monsters that were nothing like the Mons anyone in this world knew, and a special category of being: Astrals.

  Astrals lived in a special place of anger and respect for the young man. They could 'compel' faith by blasting someone with anima, the force that underlies his world's magic, and basically brainwashing them by brute force. If the process was continued, it would lead to physical mutation, and there was no coming back from it. Ondun had put down a few so-afflicted people in his time.

  The man was also still grieving. He saw an Elvidan Knight in the Order-State of Her Holy Justice, Althadamian, who was pierced by a Light spell from a knight serving a corrupt religious official. He heard the knight's words as though they were yesterday...

  Lowell had to physically slap himself and get out of the man's thoughts. He had gone far, far too deep. He returned his attention to the world, only to see Ondun having a similar experience, as the young woman, Sylvie—was she Lee Lee's daughter? She looked a lot like her—shaking Ondun and asking if he's alright.

  The two men locked eyes, Ondun suspiciously and Lowell with a great deal of understanding. Alice had been right to ask him to intercede.

  "Seriously, I'm fine, Sylphie. My gift that lets me speak any language sometimes allows me to transcend barriers of the soul, to see memories. It's very rare, and I can't control it, but I'm fine. I...I think I saw some of our friend's memories here."

  The man, "Lowe," raised an eyebrow...but instead of coming off as suspicious, he came off as wanting something.

  "Lowe, your condition, the headaches...did they ever go away?"

  Lowell shook his head. "No, they're a part of me, just like your gift is a part of you."

  Ondun stood his ground. "So. Let's speak plainly. You're clearly psychic. I understand the circumstances of my coming to this world weren't ideal, probably better than anyone else's." He tried not to think of his comatose friends too hard, because it invariably led to frustration. Ondun found himself doing his best to channel Aenora's methodical pursuit of fact.

  "Indeed I am. Someone is very worried about you and asked me for help. Even if you didn't need help, I would not refuse her."

  Ondun thought for a moment and realized that the man was referring to Guardian Alice of all people in light of the conversation around the Yongqi relic. That means this man is highly ranked, if not the city leader himself. For all I know, my circuit test has already begun.

  The man sighed and waved a hand in front of his face. "No, the circuit hasn't started, and believe me, you'll be unable to prepare for part of it. One way or another, you'll show your true colors. As to the other matters, you're right, but you've overlooked one thing: I do intend to be of help to you. I sense your frustration and your fears very clearly." Lowe paused. "For what it's worth, it's clear to me that you're a good man in a couple of bad positions."

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  "Then, I need knowledge. Dr. Wusiji told me this city was more academically oriented. I'd like to start at the beginning, if you don't mind. Also...some reading materials would help."

  Lowe nodded. "This 'Aenora' of yours would be proud. You want to get home, and our libraries here are second to none." He tapped his lip, then held out a hand in a taxi hail. "You will want to ride with me. I think I know just the book you're looking for. However...be warned it isn't the full story."

  Ondun raised an eyebrow. "How do I get the full story?"

  "Simple. Overcome this city's Circuit challenge. Do that, and I can tell you a few things that may be vitally important. 'Knowledge is the sharpest blade; do not hand it to those who can't handle it'."

  The adventurer narrowed his eyes. "That's an Allemand saying. That's from my world."

  Lowe nodded. "Yes. It is. You aren't the first to come here."

  Ondun's cab ride to the Xinling Library of the Historical Sciences was a very comfortable one. At first, Ondun had had many reservations about getting into a 'car,' as his first time had seen him wake up in a paddy wagon after being tranquilized when having a fight with that bladed, insectoid Mon. However, the streets were well-paved, the human driver was good, and even though the car went more slowly than the paddy wagon had, they made good time to the library.

  The first thing Ondun thought when walking in was, "Alice herself would have a hard time getting Aenora out of here. She would have to blast her with Amethyst." Though, to be fair, it's entirely likely the two women would just fort up in there and read until they passed out from hunger.

  Sylvie turned to him, with fire and excitement in her eyes. "OH! You follow Guardian Alice too? I want to fight her team soooo badly!" Ondun just shut his mouth and nodded. Is this how the rest of the Knowing Circle sees me when someone summons an Astral that I wind up gleefully agreeing to put down?

  "This..." Lowe started, "is the Library of History, for short. Please keep your voices down, no fighting, no magic, and remember that the books are your friends—treat them as such." He paused. "The head librarian was only narrowly beaten by Alice during her own circuit. She's good enough to be one of the Guardian's lieutenants, but she chose to do this instead. Annoying her is unwise."

  "Lowe! What brings you here? Don't you have all sorts of stuff to prepare for? The Circuit is only in ten days, you know!" A woman approached, and Ondun gave her a respectful Eastern bow because she was about his age, important, and had six capture capsules on a belt that wasn't quite covered by a rather well-loved cardigan. Everything about her demeanor shouted 'Librarian.'

  "Oh please, you don't have to be so formal. Oh, right! I know you! Weren't you the man who fought Alice's Faerrow with a spear of all things?"

  Ondun was confused. "Wait, how do you know about that?" Sylvie looked unusually interested.

  The woman pulled a smartphone from the cardigan, tapped the screen a few times, and showed a MonTube video of a bystander's cellphone recording of Ondun blasting the Faerrow with Medicus magic, then shifting to Dragon Knight and his powerful High Jump that wounded the odd Mon.

  "It's all over social media, dear. You're something of a minor celebrity, even if half the nation knows that you're insane, or half-Mon, or...something."

  Ondun's eyes went wide as he tried to parse this. Arcanis had word of mouth. This 'social media' was word of mouth on a whole other level. Sylphie wound up giggling. "Ondun, it seems you're very 'grammable."

  Ondun looked between the two women and cautiously asked, "What does that mean?" The two women shared a grin. "Don't worry about it," the woman said. "I'm Librarian Carla Guo. I'm sure an exotic young man such as yourself wouldn't come here for no reason. What are you looking for?"

  Ondun rubbed his chin. "I'd like to start with anything about the Hero of Kongming. I believe she may be from my world. I need to know more because I need to get back. My situation is...time sensitive."

  Lowe raised an eyebrow for a reason that wasn't obvious to Ondun, so he just continued. "Also...in my line of work, I've run into people who can conjure corrupted ideas of local myths. Given the Daemon that Sylphie and I—and Galebul here—ran into, it might not be a terrible idea for me to learn about this god-like figure, in case trouble has followed me from home."

  Lowe, Sylphie, and Carla all shared a shocked and scared look. "I sincerely hope no one is foolish enough to do what you just said. Lord Olympus is very real. The Creator takes a mostly hands-off approach, but He guards our world fiercely. Any fool who would 'conjure' a 'corrupted idea' of Him would live just long enough to regret doing so...just like the traitor to Creation that the Hero slew."

  Ondun followed the woman as she took the lead. Lowe and Sylphie did too, and Galebul flitted onto the adventurer's shoulder, very curious. Strudel poked at Ondun's shin, then quietly nosed the capture capsule at his waist. "You want to return, for the moment?"

  The canine Mon sneezed. "Aquepup..."

  Ondun pressed a button and dematerialized his companion. "Alright. I'll bring you out again when we're out of here." Strudel had never seemed inclined to go into his capsule before; Ondun intended to spend some time with his ally.

  "By the way, can you put your Galebul away too?" Carla asked. Ondun gave Galebul a look. "She's a provisional member of my team. She hasn't decided to join yet. The offer is still open, of course," he added, directed to the bird.

  "Galebul..." the tiny bird was thinking about it.

  "We don't allow wild Mons in the library. Capture her, or she waits outside."

  In light of the ultimatum, Ondun extended his arm. "Your choice. You might be waiting a while, because I have a few things I need to learn." He paused. "I do know about what happens as you evolve and that you may not always be this...calm. I may be able to empathize more deeply than you might expect. You have a place, if you want it, when you want it. I would love to help you grow into a strong ally, and a good friend."

  The bird took a moment. Carla, for her part, watched with a pleased expression. Eventually the bird nodded. "Galebul!"

  Ondun used his free hand to pull a capture capsule from his storage. "Then, welcome to the team. We'll figure out a name later." He held it out, and the monster pecked it with her beak, dematerializing into light that filtered into the red capsule. On his belt, Strudel's capsule gave a quick wiggle that Ondun interpreted as a happy wiggle.

  Carla and Sylphie smiled. The young woman patted Ondun on the back. "Congrats! We should get dinner after this!" she added brightly. Ondun gave his standard stoic nod...then thought better and gave her a pat on the back too. "I appreciate it. You helped save her, after all."

  Carla gave a loud A-HEM! "I'm pleased for you. Now that your team is settled, let's get you that knowledge you were after. Come along."

  Lowe, Ondun, and Sylphie all joined the librarian, and with her expert knowledge, she quickly and efficiently began picking books off the shelf. After she'd gotten a pile of five books, she gestured to a nearby reading table.

  "Now, I'll just leave these here. Best for you lot to find your own answers." Then Carla walked away. Sylphie nudged him with an elbow. "Think of this as...advanced practice. You'll get very good at reading, I promise. Besides, I'm here to help!"

  Lowe nodded. "My schedule's clear for a while. Besides, one can't help a person if one doesn't know how to help. Consider me personally curious."

  Ondun sat down and picked the top book. He couldn't yet read the cover, but there was only one way to find out what was inside.