Leila walked cautiously through the corridors of the Alderic mansion, carefully observing her surroundings. The high ceilings and walls adorned with old paintings and tapestries evoked a sense of a bygone era. The floor was covered in rugs with intricate patterns, though they had long since faded and gathered dust—it seemed the cleaning artifacts hadn’t been recharged either. The dim light from the magical lamps only heightened the gloom, casting long shadows on the walls and creating strange patterns of light and darkness.

Leila stopped by the first lamp, which looked particularly weak and barely emitted any light. She carefully touched it, feeling the faint pulse of magical energy still lingering inside. Closing her eyes, Leila focused and began channeling her magic into the lamp. Slowly, the light grew brighter, filling the corridor with a warm glow.

"One down," she whispered to herself, moving on to the next lamp.

The corridors of the mansion seemed endless. Leila continued, recharging one lamp after another. Each time her fingers touched the cold metal, she felt the energy flow through her, bringing the lamps back to life. For a moment, the corridors became less gloomy and foreboding.

As she passed between the lamps, Leila couldn’t help but notice the many old artifacts scattered around: vases, statuettes, and decorative clocks—each item seemed to hold a piece of the Alderic family’s history. In some places, the walls were adorned with portraits of ancestors—stern and proud faces that seemed to watch her every move.

Each lamp had the rune *Kenaz*, the rune of light, engraved on it. Leila carefully traced it with her fingers before recharging the lamps. This ritual helped her focus and set her mind to the task. Thoughts about rune navigation swirled in her head, but she realized she didn’t know much about it—nothing useful came to mind, which was frustrating, though expected.

When Leila reached the library, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The room was enormous, with endless shelves lined with heavy tomes. Books stood in rows, filling every available surface. Their leather bindings were faded and cracked with age, and the gold lettering on their spines gleamed dully in the light of the magical lamps.

“Halfway there,” Leila muttered to herself, feeling a tinge of excitement. “The library’s found, but how do I find the right book?”

She began recharging the lamps in the room, thinking it over. The task seemed impossible. Searching for the right book among thousands of others was like finding a needle in a haystack. Leila sighed, feeling far less confident than she had earlier.

“How can I do this?” she whispered, running her hand along one of the old tomes.

Nevertheless, she refused to give up. As she recharged the lamps, Leila tried to think of a system to organize her search—time was running out, and she needed to act quickly, but wisely. She didn’t know how long Lord Alderic would allow her to stay.

The light grew brighter, and the library slowly came to life under her touch.

Leila was charging a lamp near the far wall when, suddenly, a terrifying, translucent green face appeared from it. Leila jumped back, gasping, clutching her heart. The face floated in mid-air, staring at her with wide, curious eyes. It bulged its eyes out, seemingly inquisitive.

“Greetings,” the face croaked in a low, raspy voice.

Leila, still trying to catch her breath, stared at it with wide eyes. They both remained silent for several long seconds, simply gawking at each other.

“Is this a joke?” Leila muttered, unable to hold back.

“Is this yourrr...request...?” the face mumbled, tilting its head to the side.

Realizing she had said something wrong, given the unusual response, Leila quickly corrected herself.

“Hello. Who do I have the honor of speaking with?” she asked, trying to be polite.

“I...am...rit of the libr...,” the creature said slowly, but its words were garbled. It sounded as though it, like the lamps, was running low on energy.

*He introduced himself as grit... of what?* Leila thought in confusion. *Fine, we'll figure it out.*

Leila stepped closer, reaching out her hand to share some of her magic, realizing that they wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation otherwise. As soon as the creature received the boost of energy, its form shifted, losing its green hue and transforming into a black cat. Leila blinked, astonished at the sudden change, thinking once again about the unpredictable nature of magic—a green ghostly face had turned into a cat. Well, a creature that vaguely resembled a cat, but Leila decided to call it that anyway.

"Hello, then," Leila said, now staring at the creature, who was slowly stretching and shaking off its earlier sluggishness.

She smiled.

"You don’t really look like grit."

The cat paused for a moment, rolling its eyes upward in contemplation, then responded, "Request received...Highlighting section with mentions of ‘grit’..."

Part of the library glowed, and Leila saw a shelf lined with books, each one mentioning grit on its spine. She raised her eyebrows in surprise – well, that was unexpected\!

"Please specify: are you searching for natural grit or synthetic grit? This will help narrow the search," the cat asked, all businesslike.

Leila couldn’t help but snicker and muttered under her breath, "I’m not looking for grit, I need a book on rune navigation, preferably by Valerian Alderic. I heard he was good at rune navigation..."

"Valerian Alderic...did not work with grit...no such books found," the spirit-cat replied, flashing a set of sharp teeth, fortunately still translucent, so they posed no real threat. The spirit seemed quite pleased with its response.

Leila rolled her eyes and sighed. Apparently, making requests in a way the library spirit could understand wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. It was going to be a long day.

"Alright, let’s try this again," she said, determined to be persistent and keep her phrasing simple. "Find me a book by Valerian Alderic, any book, on rune navigation."

The spirit froze, rolled its eyes again, and blinked a few times, as if it had darted off to another plane of existence, then slowly nodded and floated toward another section of the library, highlighting the shelves along the way. Leila followed behind, hoping she’d finally get lucky this time.

As Leila followed the spirit-cat down the library’s corridors, the shelves seemed endless. They stretched so high that you’d need either a ladder or levitation skills to reach some of the tomes. What wealth of knowledge\! What a dream it would be to read them all\!

At last, they stopped in front of a shelf filled with such ancient books that their covers appeared battered, and the lettering on the spines had been worn away—so many hands had once held them. It turned out Valerian Alderic had written numerous works on rune navigation. Leila stared at the books, unsure which one to pick. Her eyes darted between them, overwhelmed by the choice.

"Which one should I choose?" she muttered, glancing at the spirit-cat. "Can you recommend something specific?"

The spirit froze again, its image blinking in and out as if processing too much information. Leila was about to apologize and cancel her request, but the spirit spoke:

"Valerian Alderic...wrote...many books...on rune navigation..."

Leila sighed. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She looked back at the shelf, feeling a creeping sense of despair. How was she supposed to pick the right book from so many?

"Very well, let’s narrow it down," she said, deciding to make her request more specific. "I need information about three runes: Ansuz, Raido, and Kenaz, and how they’re used."

The spirit blinked thoughtfully for a moment, then replied, "These runes form the Symbol of Wisdom and are used in rune navigation."

Leila’s eyes widened. So the spirit didn’t just find books; it could offer brief explanations too\! She marveled at the spirit and the incredible work that must have gone into creating it—what a monumental task to make it so knowledgeable\!

"Yes, exactly," Leila agreed, her excitement growing. "That’s what I’m looking for. The Symbol of Wisdom in rune navigation."

The spirit nodded, and a few books on the shelf lit up. Leila carefully took them down and glanced at the titles: *Runes of Guidance: Fundamentals and Applications,* *The Art of Navigating the Rune Path,* *Secret Techniques of Rune Maps and Compasses.* Three books that, at the very least, matched her request. That was progress.

Leila grabbed the first book and hastily opened it, feeling like her time was running out.

The book seemed to open by itself to the right page, as if it had been waiting for this moment. Leila’s eyes immediately locked onto the heading: *Using the Ansuz, Raido, and Kenaz Runes to Create a Magical Compass.* Her heart raced—this was exactly what she needed\!

The pages of the book were yellowed with age, and the text was written in an elegant, slightly faded script. Leila quickly skimmed the lines:

*Using the Ansuz, Raido, and Kenaz Runes to Create a Magical Compass:*

*Ansuz symbolizes inspiration and knowledge, helping the user intuitively sense the right direction.*

*Raido represents movement and travel, guiding the user along their path.*

*Kenaz illuminates the way, removing obstacles and revealing hidden trails.*

*When activated, the compass runes glow, pointing to the correct path. The incantation to activate the compass is as follows:*

*"Ansuz brings wisdom on my way,*

*Raido leads the path to stay,*

*Kenaz brightens through the night,*

*Runes, show me the guiding light."*

Leila felt a warm surge of satisfaction. At last, she had found what she was looking for. But her triumph was short-lived. Just as she finished reading the page, she noticed a warning at the bottom:

*Warning: This spell requires significant energy. Activating each rune demands around 100 lumens. Use caution to avoid exhaustion or overloading your magical channels.*

Leila began calculating how much strength she had left after all the trials and charging the light fixtures. Internally, she sighed, realizing that such a powerful spell would require considerable effort. But now was not the time for doubts.

A stern voice sounded behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Leila jumped, her heart pounding in fear. She quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it back on the shelf, almost knocking over a couple of neighboring tomes in her haste. Regaining her composure, she stepped out from behind the shelves, trying to look as innocent as possible.

The library’s corridors felt endless as each step echoed in the heavy silence. The old, weighty books on the shelves seemed to watch her, silent witnesses to her little secret. The spirit-cat, to her surprise, had returned to its translucent form and was following her, like a concerned guardian.

"I was recharging your library spirit," Leila said, trying to sound confident, though inside she was trembling. "It was hungry."

Lord Alderic stood in the doorway, giving her a suspicious look. His unshaven face was harsh, like it had been carved from stone, but a glimmer of understanding flickered in his eyes.

"I appreciate your help, but it’s time for you to go home," he said, nodding, though his watchful gaze never left her.

Leila quickly nodded, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.

"Yes, it’s getting late. Thank you for telling me about my mother. And... for everything else. I’ll be going now?" she asked, her voice almost pleading.

Lord Alderic nodded again, a hint of weariness crossing his face.

"Go."

Leila thanked him once more and hurried toward the exit. As she passed the shelves, she could still feel the weight of Lord Alderic’s gaze, like that of a guard dog watching its territory. She left the library, her heart pounding in her chest. Walking through the now brightly lit corridors, she stepped outside, surprised to find it was already dark. She needed to return to the orphanage quickly, or Madame Grimm would lock the gate, and Leila would be forced to spend the night on the street. The headmistress had made it very clear that she would not tolerate late-night wanderings.

Leila quickly found the path she’d taken earlier and hurried along it. Despite her fast pace, she couldn’t help but enjoy the walk. It was so beautiful outside—the dark sky was dotted with stars, like someone had scattered diamonds across velvet. In the distance, the colorful lights of the magical quarter twinkled.

Leila stopped for a moment, took a deep breath of the fresh night air, and felt a sense of relief. There was a long road ahead, and she knew this was just the beginning of her journey. But now she had a clue, and she was one step closer to the Academy.