Chapter 3

Edward was annoyed. The colleges were kind of low to not let him in. It was kind of annoying for them to laugh at him. Saying he was nothing but an airheaded brat. He's smarter than most of those idiots!

"You got some business here? Well, screw you. Anyone here might've let you in, but not on my watch brat."

They weren't friendly to him, well, he could accept that, because who would want to be outsmarted by a kid who is more than three times younger? Even Mustang had - albeit grudgingly - accepted the fact that Edward surpassed a lot of his fellow officers in terms of military capabilities. He was never really one to make his own image anyway. He went to the next known College in the neighborhood. Silently hoping that they wouldn't throw him out this time. He wanted to learn new things. The anatomy of the human body was something he knew a lot about. But it was only partial. He wanted to know more about the healing techniques to able to apply it in Alkahestry. Who knows? No one said this neighborhood was completely safe. He wanted to save lives. And the town library didn't have the right type of information for it. He needed to go somewhere with enough books. Like Central's library. Which, to his disdain, was only accessible to those who had a State Alchemist watch. It was one of the reasons he chose to join the military. Funding and Intel being two he mostly needed.

He shuttled to the building. Amused by the surprised looks everyone was giving him. "Kid! No running in the hallways!" one shouted. Some didn't even pay any heed to him like it happened every day. Maybe some of the teachers bring their children to school. He went to the lobby, taking quick directions from the floor plans. Right there, left… left once more then second on the left corridor. Then took off once more.

He stopped on the place where the library was. He stopped for a while. Then slowed his breathing. I shouldn't have ran… The he entered. He froze. The library was monstrous! Not as big as Central's… but still! He was so excited. He would read every single book in here. He walked slowly inhaling the scent of olden books, the scent of knowledge.

"Hey, kid." A raspy voice sounded from his right.

"Huh?" he said intelligently, looking at the source of the voice. It was from an old woman, late fifties. Graying hair and thin rimmed glasses. Probably the librarian.

"You do know you aren't allowed in here right?" she said. He was disappointed.

"Why the hell am I not allowed? Libraries are supposed to be open to the public." He grumbled. Low enough that was for the library.

"Heh, if you aren't from here, kid, you need a letter from either a teacher or the supervisor to let you use this place. They would be kind enough to do that and the letter would last till the paper disintegrates." The librarian said humorously. "Though I have no idea what reading material you might want to read here since all of these books tackle subjects even the seniors can't understand."

"Thank you miss." He bowed respectfully. It wouldn't be a good idea to get on the bad side of someone who I might see everyday… He then ran to the lobby once more. Memorizing the map. Teacher's lounge… lounge… There it is! Room 112. He decided not to rush. It was still early. He walked casually, his sense of direction was something he took pride in. He seldom got lost, but it was more of luck – so to say the lack of it – that he did. After a few minutes, he spotted the teacher's lounge. He knocked once. No answer. He knocked again. Still none. So he decided to see if it was unlocked or not. To his surprise it wasn't. He entered and saw no one. Huh… Now how am I supposed to get that f***ing slip? He looked around, looking for something that would resemble a human being.

No such luck. He sighed. What was he to do when everything he planned lacked resources or people to contact? It annoyed him to no end. He turned to leave when something caught his eye. It was a chalkboard with several problems and their corresponding answers. But something felt wrong. He read through the problems and their supposed answers, nothing was right! It was maddening how the people in this world couldn't solve such simple problems. Who the hell answered this? He took the eraser and started erasing the 'answers'. Then he started solving them just for the heck of it. He knew he didn't have any benefits in doing so, but figured it was enough to ease his boredom. He liked thinking critically. Borrow 1… sigma…psi7 multiplied by… all over…

He wrote the answers on the board with frightening speed, erasing and rewriting things here and there, double checking everything if they were right or wrong. After several long minutes, he wiped his brow and admired his work. That's better. Though,my mind finished it earlier... He left the room, his boredom sated, and fished out his pocketwatch.

He didn't notice the teacher who had seen everything he did.

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