As promised, Kalistra led me to the bathhouse. Before we entered, she turned around and said, "We meet at the entrance at the next bell." Then she paid her fee and entered the bathhouse using the left entrance.

I paid a silver to the hostess and received a towel. I walked through the right entrance, which was designated for men. I noticed that the setup was similar to the bathhouse in Tregome: Separate entrances for women and men, pay up front, locker room to store clothes, and then a communal bath separated by a fence.

I hurriedly took off my clothes in the locker room, folded them neatly and placed them along with my scabbard in a locker. Then I went through a long corridor and entered the communal room. I slowly entered the water, which was very warm. I plunged my entire body into the water for a few seconds and then pulled my head above the water to take a deep breath. It had been far too long since I had a proper bath. I walked across the pool, which was not very deep, to an empty area next to the fence, sat down, and relaxed again in the hot water.

Unlike the bathhouse in Tregome, however, the pool in Bristol was much bigger and there were more patrons soaking up in the water. Some of them did recognize me as a contestant in the Melee Tournament and they offered me respectful bows as I passed by them in the pool. But thankfully, I did not encounter any noblemen with hostile intentions toward me. Everyone kept to themselves and whatever conversations were engaged in the communal bath were done quietly.

Honestly, I found the quiet atmosphere of the communal bath to be very relaxing. I sat down on the floor cross-legged and the water rose to my chest. I leaned my back against the divider and eventually, I drifted asleep . . .

*Slap*

I awoke from the sting on my left cheek. "-1 Health." The slap jolted me awake. In front of me was a youthful looking man with an annoyed look on his face.

"Idiot! Your head almost fell into the water! You would have drowned without my intervention!" the man screamed in my face.

At first, I was very angry at this man for the insult and the slap. But I quickly squelched the angry retort on my lips. I took a deep breath and then I bowed deeply to the man. After all, the man DID save me from an ignoble death by drowning. I looked at the man's caption and saw his name was "Dankebe Alaran." Before he moved away from me, I asked him a question. "Lord Alaran, has the seventh bell rung yet?"

The raven-haired man with a feminine looking face turned and looked at me again. His harsh, icy blue eyes softened. "The church bell rang a good half hour ago. I bid you a good evening, Lord Mulligan."

I bowed deeply again and then quickly rose from the water. I hurried back to the locker room and put on my clothes. When I left the bathhouse, I saw Kalistra sitting on the ground near the entrance, meditating. When I approached her, the cat girl sprang back to her feet.

Without warning, Kalistra swatted at my left arm with her claws unleashed, leaving three thin rips on my sleeve.

A second later, blood squirted out of my wound. "-10 Health." Ouch!

"You fell asleep," she said. It was a statement rather than a question.

I bowed deeply from my waist. "I'm sorry," I apologized.

My bodyguard sighed. "I should have expected it," she admitted. After all, I had a very hectic day. "Now heal that wound before it becomes infected," Kalistra ordered.

I blinked my eyes for a moment. The evil minx ripped my sleeve in anger for being late and now she wanted ME to heal the wound that SHE had caused? Unbelievable! My gaze lowered to the pouch full of potions at Kalistra's belt.

However, the cat girl pointedly turned her head aside, as if she was surveying our surroundings for thieves.

I rolled my eyes at her antics. I put my left hand over my wound on my right arm, closed my eyes, and invoked Gaea's power to cast a minor heal. I felt energy travel from my palm to my arm. My arm tingled and then I felt warmth over the wound. A few seconds later, I received a pop-up notification which read, "+10 Health." I checked my blue colored Mana bar and I saw that it was down by a third. No surprise considering that the spell healed my Health at the inefficient rate of one Health per Mana, and I had a total of 30 Mana.

Kalistra saw that I had finished casting the spell. She said, "Let's go!" and started walking again.

I stayed to her left as we navigated through the still busy streets of Bristol. Mindful of what happened at the water fountain, I kept a hand on my pouch, which was tied to my belt.

Finally, we arrived at our next destination–the Mage Guild.

I turned toward Kalistra. "Why are we here?" I asked.

"You said you wanted to visit their library," she replied.

"That's true," I nodded.

We stepped in front of the sliding doors and they opened automatically. However, when we entered, I remembered something important: I didn't have the passwords to teleport to different areas of the building!

I turned toward my bodyguard and said, "I need to wait for someone to show me the way to the library."

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The cat girl's whiskers twitched in annoyance but she kept silent.

Thankfully, it was not a long wait because someone entered the building a few minutes later.

I looked at the newcomer. The person was an ancient looking man with a long white beard and long white hair that dropped to his shoulders. He was wearing a white robe which was decorated with intricate symbols and patterns. He also wore a blue colored wizard's hat, which was in the shape of a cone. He was hunched over and needed the aid of a wooden staff in order to walk. I looked at the man's caption and his name was "Master Oggrieg Yugrieg."

The mage saw me standing in the corridor and looked up at my caption.

When our eyes met, I saw a pair of gray-blue colored eyes that shone with great intelligence.

"Good evening, Mage Mulligan," he said. Despite his physical frailty, his voice was strong and clear.

"Good evening, Master Yugrieg," I bowed deeply. "I beg your pardon. Would you kindly show me the way to the library? I just joined the Mage Guild this afternoon," I explained.

The mage stroked his beard for a moment and then nodded. "I see. Welcome to the Mage Guild, young one. The power word you seek is 'Bibliotheca.' Now let's hold hands and say the word while thinking of the library as your destination," he instructed.

Kalistra took my left hand while Master Yugrieg took my right hand. Then I followed his instructions and said, "Bibliotheca." The world became a blur for a moment. Then my vision cleared and we stood in front of a set of double doors.

"And here we are," the old mage chuckled. "Tell me, young one, what affinities do you have?" he asked.

"All six," I replied.

"All six?" Master Yugrieg repeated incredulously with his bushy white-colored eyebrows raised. Intrigued by my answer, he reached into his robe and took out a white stone the size of a small pebble; it was an albite. "Catch!" he said and threw it at me.

It was a slow throw and I easily caught the stone.

The mage then muttered a power word and the stone started glowing. A white hue poured out of the stone and the light slowly increased in its brightness. Mercifully, Yugrieg then released his spell and the light vanished. "Please give the stone back to me," he requested.

I handed the stone back and it disappeared within the folds of the ancient one's robes.

"It appears that your affinity in Light magic is very strong. I would like to teach you Light magic, if I may," he offered with a nod.

I bowed deeply in appreciation of his offer. "What does Light magic do exactly?" I asked.

"It's life magic. It involves creating and bringing inanimate objects to life. The highest tiers of Light magic can create doppelgangers and simulacrums," he explained.

"That is pretty useful," I admitted.

"Who is your magic instructor currently?" Yugrieg asked.

"Rijana the Enchanter," I replied.

"I see," the master mage stroked his beard again. "Enchanting and Light magic are very complementary. For example, you can create things from thin air and then offer temporary enchantments to your creations. If you are interested in learning Light magic, please ask your instructor to contact me. Now, I bid you a good evening." Yugrieg said another power word and disappeared.

Once the mage was gone, I opened the door and entered the library. When I stepped inside, my jaw nearly dropped; the place was HUGE! I stood in the reception area, which offered a nice view of the overall layout. The library had four floors and I saw that each floor had floating discs for library patrons to move between floors. Each floor had rows of bookshelves alternating with rows of tables and chairs. There were floating orbs above the tables and in front of shelves; each orb emitted a soft light to illuminate the surroundings. Evidently, the guild library was located in another pocket dimension, because the building I had entered in Bristol could not possibly house this library. After all, the Mage Guild was only a three-story building.

"Ahem!"

I turned toward the source of the sound and I saw that it came from the gnome sitting behind a desk in front of me. As I walked over to him, I read his caption as "Assistant Librarian Hanseg."

The librarian had a small set of glasses draped over his long nose and he peered through the tiny lenses at me. "How may I help you?" he asked.

"Good evening. I just joined the Mage Guild this afternoon and this is my first time visiting the library," I explained.

Hanseg nodded in understanding and adjusted his glasses. "The Mage Guild library in Bristol is among the finest in Britannia. Small wonder it is overwhelming to first-time visitors like yourselves. The library hours are from ten to ten daily. Eating and drinking are strictly forbidden and violators may have their visiting privileges suspended. We ask patrons to remove no more than ten books from the shelves at a time and to return books to their proper locations as a courtesy to fellow guild mates. If there are any specific research topics you are seeking, our Research Specialists are available from ten to five to help you locate books and other materials for your topics. Certain books require special permission from guild officers to gain access; the librarian will let you know when that is the case," he lectured.

"Are there spellbooks that I can copy from here?" I inquired.

The gnome readjusted his glasses and shook his head. "While the library does retain the spellbooks of certain deceased members of our guild, these books often contain special and unique spells unavailable elsewhere. Thus, special permission is required to borrow these books. The books freely available on our shelves cover histories and many topics of interest. However, there are no spellbooks on the shelves," he explained.

I was visibly deflated by Hanseg's answer. What was the point of me coming here if I couldn't copy spells from spellbooks?

The Gnomish librarian apparently read my mind because he said, "A tenet of our Mage Guild is to share knowledge with each other. If we freely allow access to spellbooks in the guild library, then our members will have little reason to learn from one another and trade spells. The guild was founded on the premise that we are stronger when we work together and cooperate with each other rather than to work alone as hermits."

"I see," I nodded. "In that case, where would you suggest I go to find books regarding the application of magic in machines?" I asked.

Hanseg addressed his spectacles again. "You wish to indulge in tinkering?" he smiled broadly. The gnome opened the drawer at his desk and searched through the drawer. Finally, he found the book he sought and placed it on the desk.

I looked at the title and it read: "Mana and Machines: A Treatise by Hanseg." My brows were raised. "You wrote this book?" I asked.

"Tinkering is a hobby of mine," Hanseg smiled. "The material may be a little dense in certain chapters, but it offers a good foundation if you are seeking to create machines of your own. Please give it a try."

I took the book from the desk and walked toward the reading desks in the back. I decided not to go to another floor. I sat down and started reading the treatise.

Kalistra took the seat across the table from me. She placed her arms and her head on the table and started napping.

Chapter one of the book explored the sources and retention of mana. It turned out that all living things had mana and some species (like elves) had more while others (like orcs) had less. Additionally, non-living things could not generate mana on their own but they had the ability to absorb mana. The big issue was the transference of mana and how to enhance the efficiency of the transfer. The chapter very quickly became esoteric and confusing. Eventually, the book put me to sleep.