Chef in a Mysterious Land (Challenge)

Chef arrived to a mysterious land. This land consists of $N$ worlds (numbered $1$ through $N$), called *ages*. Chef can travel from an age to another one by the process of *linking*; this process is facilitated by *linking books*. Each linking book allows Chef to travel to a specific age from any age. There may be multiple linking books that link to the same age; all such books are indistinguishab