The main goal in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! is to put away all the books scattered around the library. You can go as slow or fast as you like, as there’s no time limit. However, if you want to get the job done faster, you need the four keys hidden around the library. These unlock chests that hold new non-magic abilities, helping you to speed up the task in hand.
Getting your hands on these keys ASAP is vital for speedruns, so this guide will help you locate them all with ease.
1. All Key Locations in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!
There are four keys hidden around the library in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! with no clues hinting at the keys’ locations; only the four locked chests inform players that there are keys that open them.
1.1. What Keys Unlock
The keys open the four chests located on the second floor landing of the library. Each chest has a corresponding key that unlocks it, matched by a gemstone. When you pick up a key, you should open its chest right away.
Inside each chest, there is a special item. Picking up these items grant special abilities that help with speed and efficiency in tidying up the library.
Inside each chest is either a letter or potion.
The unlockable abilities include:
- Sprint – By holding down the Shift key, you can move twice as fast
- High Jump – By pressing the Spacebar, you can jump high up
- Carry Capacity +3 – Allows you to carry 3 extra books
- Carry Capacity +2 – Allows you to carry 2 extra books
Together, these abilities can speed up how long it takes to put all the books away. Plus, as these are non-magic abilities, you can use these for the Anti-Magic Master achievement, which you get by not using any magic abilities during your runthrough.
These four abilities also have no cooldown period, unlike the five magic abilities, so you can use them as much as you like.
1.2. How Chest Abilities Differ From Magic Abilities
Chest abilities are separate from magic abilities earned through completing shelves. They are an optional side quest.
The chests, found on the second floor, grant useful abilities and upgrades when unlocked.
1.3. Emerald Club Key – Sprint
The first key doesn’t require any unlocked abilities. It’s hidden under the massive pile of books on the bench nearest the staircase near the scales. Move the books out of the way to reach the Emerald Club key. There’s also a note next to the key which you can read.
The Emerald Club chest is located next to the Warriors section. Open the chest and pick up the letter inside.
The letter grants you permission from the Principal to run in the library. Getting this ability first allows you to get to the other keys faster.
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- For the Emerald Club key, look to the tables in the middle of the first floor.
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- Move aside all the books off the bench next to the scales on the table to get the key.
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- The chest for the Emerald Club key is located near the Warriors section.
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- This key and chest unlocks the Sprint ability.
1.4. Crimson Octagon Key – Jump High
The second key is probably the easiest to find of the four in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! If you look at the University of Celesthall’s crest on the wall of the staircase, you’ll spot the Crimson Octagon key on the wall.
The chest for the Crimson Octagon key is located near the Warriors section nearest to the stairs. Inside is a letter. Pick it up to read it.
Opening the Crimson Octagon chest unlocks the Jump High ability. Getting the Jump High ability makes it possible to access the other two keys.
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- The crest with the Crimson Octagon key is located at the stairs.
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- Although easy to get, it’s still easy to miss the Crimson Octagon Key.
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- Look closer and you’ll see the Crimson Octagon key.
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- The chest for the Crimson Octagon Key is near the Warriors section.
1.5. Golden Diamond Key – Carry Capacity +3
The third key can be located with help from the Jump High ability. On the staircase railing facing the wall, you’ll see two pots either side. Go to the right-side pot by jumping up onto the railing and look into the bottom of the pot. You should see the Golden Diamond key.
The Golden Diamond chest is located near the Archery section nearest to the stairs. Open the chest and pick up the blue potion.
Opening the Golden Diamond chest grants the Carry Capacity +3 ability.
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- Look to the stairs again for the Golden Diamond key.
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- The pot you need is on the right side (facing the wall).
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- Look right into the bottom of the pot and you should see the Golden Diamond Key.
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- The chest for the Golden Diamond key is near the Archery section.
1.6. Azure Star Key – Carry Capacity +2
The fourth and final key in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! is not only the hardest to find, but also the hardest to get to. It requires the Jump High ability.
Go to the second floor of the library and head to the very back where The Travels of Otherworld section is in the middle (2O). On the right side of this section, where the shelves go diagonally, use Jump High to see the top of the bookcase. Up here, you should see another key: the Azure Star key.
Face the bookcase where the key is, line your cursor up with the key, and press Jump High to reach the top of the case. If lined up right and timed correctly, you should grab the key.
The Azure Star chest can be found next to the Archery section. Inside is a small green potion.
Opening the Azure Star chest unlocks the Carry Capacity +2 ability. This adds to the other Carry Capacity upgrade, totalling your carry limit to 15 books instead of the default 10.
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- The location for the Azure Star key is at the back of the second floor.
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- The Azure Star key is situated on the top of the 2O bookcase.
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- If you jump high enough at the right angle, you can grab the Azure Star key.
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- The chest for the Azure Star key is near the Archery section.
2. Best Time to Collect Keys During a Run
You can collect the keys at any point during your runthrough in Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! However, you should find these keys and open the chests as soon as you start your playthrough. This is critical for fast runthroughs, or completing the job without magic for the Anti-Magic Master run.
3. Best Key Order for New Players
For the smoothest route, collect the keys in the following order below. You can hold multiple keys at a time.
- Emerald Club – Quick to get after moving aside books, unlocks Sprint ability.
- Crimson Octagon – Easiest to locate, unlocks Jump High, needed for getting two other keys.
- Golden Diamond – Another easy locate, unlocks first Carry Capacity upgrade.
- Azure Star – Hardest to reach, requires Jump High, adds extra Carry Capacity.
You can unlock the chests in any order, but for speed and efficiency, you can plan the order.
4. Are Keys Required for 100% Completion?
If you want to get all the achievements for Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!, you must collect all four keys and unlock all the chests and their abilities. Doing this gets the Life Hack Wizard achievement. The chest abilities also help with two other achievements.
5. Do Chest Abilities Affect Anti-Magic Master?
If you want to get the Anti-Magic Master achievement, you can use all the abilities unlocked with the keys and chests to help you out.
The abilities from the chests are non-magical and won’t count against the Anti-Magic Master achievement.
6. Do Chest Abilities Help With Efficiency Librarian?
For the Efficiency Librarian achievement, which requires you to complete the job in less than 3 hours, you’ll need the run, jump, and extra carry abilities to help you.
