The uncomfortable feeling of sweat woke me up – It was too hot… I was sweating like a pig! Oh, I think I slept through to midday, looking at the blaring hot sun in the sky. Crap, I should get going. So, I ate what's left of the bread from yesterday and set out to the same fountain. A woman with a young boy walked past me, "Oh, excuse me lady, do you mind telling me what the date is today?"

"It is Tuesday, 28 July." She gave me a weird look.

"Oh thanks, I lost track of time…" I trailed off, watching the woman and her son walking away quickly. 'Damn you, woman, so rude!' I thought, shaking my head. 'Whatever.' I looked at my reflection in the fountain. Of course - a talking cat. I rolled my eyes at myself.

I went to transform in the alley and walked around for a bit, and then I crawled under the tables of the clothing stall and hid there. Discreetly, I reached up and grabbed a piece of clothing which turned out to be a tank top and I quickly put it on. Then I crawled out and walked away casually – another clean getaway. I walked past the weaponries shop, oh I almost forgot about my plan… Tonight then, I'll go tonight. I saw a huge building ahead of me with stone stairs leading up to a massive double door, also made out of stone. There were two pillars supporting the roof that extends from the door. Curiosity got the best out of me, and so I went in. It turned out I didn't have to push hard on the big door. It opened by itself.

I arrived in a big hall, where on the sides were lines of desks next to each other with men and women, young and old sitting behind them, scribbling away on papers and books. Straight ahead were rows and rows of bookcases and places to sit and read. People were milling about, in search of particular books. Ladies and gentlemen! Tthe great half-cat Lia Katmist, has found the library! I imagined a silent cheer in my head.

"Wow, look at this place!" I said out loud. I was mesmerised by this massive library; the amount of books and people dedicated to books! I love this place already. I loved to read books ever since daddy taught me how to read. I walked up to one of the desk in which an old lady wearing glasses hanging from a chain around her neck sat and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find books about magic?" Suddenly, I felt timid.

"Oh hello dear, there are plenty of books about magic here dear. Come on, I'll take you to the children's section." She said in a sweet grandmotherly voice. I decided I liked her. She got up from her desk and gestured for me to follow her.

"Umm, please, I don't want to read from children's section." I said. No, children's books will not help me with this.

"Oh my, alright I'll take you to the normal section. You know, it's nice to see a young person like you interested in books. Books are very useful and valuable in our lives." The old lady said.

"Really, why's that?"

"If not for books, people would not know the past, the history and would not be able to gain knowledge. Books records events which we can learn from." She explained.

"But, in order for books to have those events recorded in them, people have to write it down in books, right?" I asked.

"Yes darling, why I hadn't thought of that. You are a smart girl!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Oh, nowadays, there are books that records events magically."

"Oh I see." I nodded. She looked down at me through her glasses and said, "Still, books are important." She said sternly. I nodded again.

We turned right and walked past 5 rows of bookcases and went up to the aisle of the sixth row. "Here we are sweetie. This section is all about magic that is known in the world. If you need to get the books on the top shelves, just use the ladder over there. Enjoy yourself." She smiled and walked away.

"Thank you!" I called after her and she waved back at me. I walked over to the ladder and tried to lift it. Good, not too heavy for me to lift. I picked it up and put it down at the beginning of the shelf. I climbed up and scanned the shelf. Hmm, these books are sorted alphabetically. I found a relevant title: 'All about Magic by Yamazeku Yuzo'. I flipped through it and found that it is just a brief summary of common magic such as ice, fire, wind, etc.

I walked further, scanning the shelf and found another book called 'Just Magic by Itzui Tomo'. It turned out to be a list of different types of magical items in the world and their uses. Boy, this is going to take some time… I carried the ladder over till one book caught my eye. I placed the ladder down and climbed just one step and grabbed it: 'Magic of all types by Hazeku Sawako'. Thank god it's not on the higher row. The summary: 'One of a kind book which explains all different types of magic in the world and basic instructions on how to practise them. It is best to learn in depth with an instructor.' Awesome! I found the ultimate book – silent applauds in my head. Oh, I need to stop with these imaginations.

I flopped down onto one of the sofas nearest to the bookcase and found the particular magic I was looking for: Take-Over, Page 502. I flipped through till I arrived on the right page and read: 'Take-Over is the art of changing one's body form into another form. One who has mastered this magic can transform into any beings or objects. One can transform into another person, animals and objects. Take-Over can be divided into three categories: Beast Soul, Satan Soul and Animal Soul.'

'Animal Soul is based on transforming the whole body or body parts into that of animals. Mages also gain the abilities that the animals they transform into has.'

Wow! I can learn to transform into other people and also turn into objects? That is so cool! I continued to read; 'Beginners level should not try to change into a whole different form at once as it may be fatal and dangerous. Beginners should only try to change one's face into another's person face first and once mastered, they can move on to harder tasks such as transforming his/her body completely into another person.' Hmm, I have successfully gained the ability to transform back and forth into a cat – A cat is an animal… oh. OOH! That means I'm like at the top level! I think I will have to practise turning into something else other than a cat. 'Basic instructions: Look closely at the person you are going to transform. Remember the details and close your eyes. Have their image in your mind and picture yourself and feel yourself in that person's body. Concentrate your energy and magic into that image and feeling.' Yeah, that's what I basically did. Surely, to learn magic is a little harder than this. This is just the basic instructions. If I want to know more, I will need a teacher, or go to a magic school.

Okay, what else is there in this thick book…? Oh, what is this? Urano Metria? 'Urano Metria is a caster-type spell, known as the "Ultimate Magic of the Stars". When the caster recites the incantation, the spell is initiated, resulting in several orbs of light gathering around the location of target. The lights then converge with tremendous force upon the target. Incantation is not known. The only mage known to be able to perform this spell is Lucy Heartfilia, a member of Fairy Tail.' Wow, that is awesome! I would love to meet her, she sounds so cool!

Another type of magic caught my attention, 'Requip is a caster-type magic. This magic allows the users to store items in a pocket dimension, so they can easily summon it any time, which gives them a high flexibility in combat. This magic allows users to change weapons while in combat and clothing anytime. The only known mage using requip magic that is able to change weapons and armours instantly is Erza Scarlet, an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail.' Hmm, this book seems to mention a lot of mages from Fairy Tail.

Oh wait, the shopkeeper mentioned something about Celestial stuff. I scanned the index upwards – Hmm, Celestial, Celestial, C, C, Oh here, Celestial Spirits! 'Celestial Spirits Magic is a holder-type magic used by Celestial Spirit Mages that involves the summoning of celestial spirits from the Celestial Spirit World. They summon celestial spirits by opening their gates through the use of Celestial Spirit Gate Keys. The Gate Keys are separated into two classes: more common Silver Keys and rarer Gold Keys. Celestial Spirit Mage has to set up a contract with the spirits when opening the celestial gate for the first time. Mages can call upon them to aid the mage in battle. Some celestial mages have acquired the ability to summon their spirits without using the key. Gold keys open the 12 gates of zodiac: Aries, Aquarius, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Taurus and Virgo. There was a myth of a 13th and 14th gold keys. The 13th key does exist and was used by Yukino Aguria, (former member of Sabertooth) in the Grand Magic Tournament. Lucy Heartfilia, a member of the guild Fairy Tail is the current celestial mage to have collected 10 of the golden keys. Note: It is harder for holder-type magic to learn caster-type magic. How to summon a spirit for the first time: Focus your energy into the key and say these words: 'I am connected with the path to the celestial spirit world! Heed my call! Pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the (Name of Key), (Name of Spirit)!' I took out the Gold Key from my pocket and stared at it.

I ran to the old lady's desk with the book in my hand and gasped for air before asking, "Excuse me, can I borrow this book? I want to bring it home and read please." I took another gulp of air.

"Oh hello dear, of course you can. Here, let me stamp this on you, to show that you borrowed a book from here. Now, you can return it whenever you like but please do not exceed a month. If it has been a month and you haven't return it, the stamp will glow red and stings your skin to remind you that you have a book to return, unless you lost the book then you will have to pay. Do you understand?" She said.

I gulped. "Yes ma'am!"

"Good, run along now."

I ran back to the shed without stealing anything else apart from a bottle of milk from my excitement. I sat down in the middle of the shed and opened the book again. There were some pictures shown on different pages of magic, mostly basic magic such as the elements and celestial keys. Hmm, I am particularly interested in Requip. It said, store items in a pocket dimension… How do I do that? It does not contain any instruction. Hmm…

I decided to experiment; I put the book down at my side and closed my eyes. Oh wait, I need that armour for this to work, so I got up to retrieve the armour I stole and sat back down in the middle of the shed. I hold the armour close to me and closed my eyes. I tried to focus my energy and magic into the armour. I kept thinking about the word 'pocket' and imagining the armour being stored in a pocket in a colourful room. I opened my eyes; the armour is still there in my hands. How disappointing. I tried again. I focused my energy again into the armour, having the imagination of putting the armour in a pocket in a colourful room in my mind. I took a peek and thought I saw a glow of light – I opened my eyes; the armour was still in my hands. Oh, I guess that was just my imagination. God, this was tiring. I drank some milk and ate an apple.

I think I must have dozed off because it was dark when I resurfaced. I yawned and took a sip of milk. I left my armour, the library book and the blanket in the shed, and then set out into the night to the marketplace. I then transformed into a cat as I arrived at my destination: the weaponries shop. I rubbed my hands together and licked my lips, well rephrase that: I rubbed my paws together and licked my lips. I guess I still have human traits even in a body of a cat. Well, technically I am human, just transformed into a cat. Jeez, ok stop talking to yourself Lia, you're hurting your brain.

I squeezed through the small hole under the door and took in my surroundings. I transformed back into myself and unlocked the door as quietly as I could. Next, I grabbed the weapons I wanted most: two medium-sized pitch forks with short handles that was called a pair of Sais. So, I grabbed the Sais and hooked them on my belt. I also grabbed another pair of short swords and placed them outside the door, quickly replacing the empty spaces on the table with new weapons taken from the basket next to the table. I should not stay longer, so I locked the door again, transformed into a cat and squeezed back through the small hole. Shortly, I was safely outside, I transformed again and took the pair of short swords and made my way back to the shed. I felt like a professional.

I still had the adrenaline from stealing; thus, it was impossible for me to find any sleep. I decided to give practising Requip another try. I sat yet again, cross-legged with my armour and newly stolen weapons in front of me (excluding my Sais). I placed my hands on each short sword and closed my eyes and concentrate again. This time, I felt my magic coursed through my body to my fingertips into the short swords. I frowned, concentrating harder, willing for the swords to disappear from my touch into the so-called pocket dimension. I felt like I was not in the shed anymore, I mean it felt different, like time had stopped. My surroundings have changed to another realm, and everything was so quiet, not even a hoot from an owl or the slightest noise of leaves rustling. That's kind of weird but it felt like that. It felt like the swords had gotten warmer in my hands and I saw the image in my mind – of the swords floating next to me and as I opened my eyes in surprised, the swords disappeared. My hands grasped the air; I looked around for the swords, surely, they can't be gone just like that… I searched and searched frantically, I think I was struck by lightning – THEY'RE GONE!

Oh crap, crap, what did I do? What did I do? I really hoped I didn't send those swords to someone else's pocket dimension or worse, to another world, if it exists! Okay, don't panic. 'Do not panic or you won't be able to think straight.' I told myself. I took a deep breath, exhaled and concentrate again; feeling the magic in my body, travelling to the tips of my fingers and willing and feeling the swords to appear in my hands. I opened my eyes – Nothing.