The first thing he did, after a rather exhausting negotiation with the woman running the show at the Cloudy Day inn, that he suspected was something more, he walked up to the second story, where his room would be for the foreseeable future (he rented for a month), inserted the key and opened the door.
The moment he was fully in the room, alone, and the door locked behind him, Lucky, in his shadow, jumped up, almost high enough to reach the ceiling, then landed right next to him with an unnaturally quiet thud. The now black wolf looked up at him, with an appropriately wolfish smile, then began to sniff around the room.
Curious about his future accommodations, Sam followed after his companion, while trying to parse the bursts of feelings coming from him. Currently, it was mainly happiness (though he could tell that by looking at Lucky’s tail), curiosity and a little hunger. At least, that was how he interpreted the feelings. It was all sorts of new feelings and experiences, and while they were incredibly confusing, Sam loved every minute of it.
It wasn’t a fantasy isekai, but with the technology used to create Magic Unbound, it might as well have been.
The room he rented wasn’t anything special, though, while Andrea called it a room, it was actually a main room with a bed, dresser, and a table next to a small shelf, it had a small bathroom, and another small room that was, based on the shelves and boxes, used for storage.
All in all, it wasn’t the highest quality, but it was secure, and based on what he got from Andrea’s personality, it was pretty safe.
Nodding happily, Sam fed Lucky with the usual meat scraps and a little vegetable added to it for the wolf’s health, then took off his dirty armor, and cleaned it with his Clean spell, though he made a note to take it to an armorer as the Clean spell did not repair it.
‘Or I could go for the Repair spell…’ he thought, then he shook his head. “Nah, too much trouble for now.”
Lucky looked up from his meal hearing Sam speak, but he just smiled back. “Go on, finish it.”
Lucky barked quietly, then returned to messily munch on the hog meat.
When Lucky was finished, Sam took out a few clothes that would suffice for sleeping and got into the bed, Lucky following him, settling down at his foot, forming a giant ball of fluffy darkness.
The last thing Sam saw as he logged out was Lucky yawning and settling in for the night.
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Removing the VR helmet, Sam laid there for a minute, as his body and mind adjusted and chased away the phantom sensation of the Mana Exhaustion debuff.
He shuddered a little as the bone-deep exhaustion left his body, leaving behind normal exhaustion.
Realizing that he had been playing for a while, Sam put the helmet onto its stand, then stood up and stretched a little and looked around the room.
“Right! I need a little break…” he spoke out loud, still stretching a little.
Then headed for the shower.
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After taking a long, hot shower, he dressed up in warm clothing and left the apartment. On the way out of the building, he once again ran into the bundled-up neighbor, nodding at them, and receiving the same back. Leaving the complex, Sam looked up at the sky, where for a change it wasn’t snowing, and spring was peaking through the gray clouds.
Looking around, he searched for inspiration for something to do. Not finding anything that sparked an idea, he was almost ready to turn back when his stomach growled.
“Food it is!”
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Returning to the game, after a little break in the real world, where he ate some good noodles, exercised a little, checked up on his investments and other administrative matters, and made sure that everything was heading in the same direction with the game, he woke up with Lucky snuggled up to him.
Chuckling slightly, he extricated himself from the wolf, and out of curiosity, took a shower. While a simple Clean spell would have been enough, Sam still wanted to know how it felt to shower in the game.
The water was at best lukewarm, but the feeling was the same as if in the real world.
After dressing up and coaxing Lucky back into his shadow, he left the room for the eating hall of the inn.
Getting a meal, he sat down along the wall, observing as people around him ate, chatted and consumed their own breakfast. Similar, to how back in Greenwood he could barely see any players at the inn, the clientele of the Cloudy Day inn was mostly made of NPCs with a few scruffy-looking players munching on the cheapest breakfast option and staring at nothing (their status screens).
The ‘hidden’ satiety system was already known to the players and the community, but at this point, everybody thought that spending the least amount of money was enough. So the order of the day for most people was water, maybe some tea, and hardtack. Maybe a few people who had access to fresh meat would use it to make jerky.
Sam wished them the best.
Magic Unbound gave only the most basic information to the players, forcing them to discover the details on their own. That was why the status screen and skill descriptions were so vague. After all, while a person knew their body, not everybody was a doctor.
Conversely, if somebody would get training as a healer in Magic Unbound, they would get more information about their body from the status screen thanks to their skills.
As of now, it wasn’t in the focus, but later, getting information-providing skills were considered one of the most important things. People lived and died by the information they gathered. That was why the other Sam was killed. He was good at collecting, collating and extrapolating from data. Plus, access to a few niche skills, and he got a recipe for a disaster.
The only reason Sam didn’t go after those types of skills, was because at this level he practically knew everything that he needed. Later, of course, he would need to get those skills, but for now, he could navigate the world of Magic Unbound quite easily.
And with his debuff in play, what better time than now?
Finishing his meal, he returned his plates to the counter, thanked the serving girl, and getting a sparkling smile back, he left the inn and with slow, but deliberate steps, practicing his footwork and breathing.
First, he headed for the armorer, leaving behind his gold and armor after a short conversation, then still leisurely walking, took a quick circuit of the market and general shops, refilling his inventory with general items, while also keeping his eye open for anything worth buying.
He threw a few longing glances at the Auction House, but in the end, he turned away and headed for his ultimate destination for the day, the library.
Sam read enough web novels to remember that most main characters started their rebirth by monopolizing several materials and making bank when those materials inevitably become the hot topic items.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Sadly, maybe he could get away with one item, maybe if he was careful. But the moment he started to hoard items that he had no way to know would become important, the system would strike him down.
Frustratingly, he would need to play the game properly.
The library in Ironwood was naturally bigger, and better equipped than the one in Greenwood. The building itself was built in the same style as the town, though Sam could see a few repairs there were made recently.
Stepping into the library, the first thing he spotted was an elderly woman, more than likely one of the librarians, struggling with a cart, heavy with enough books that a small library wouldn’t have enough space to fit them.
Smiling slightly, Sam stepped close and called out to the woman.
“Excuse me, miss. Do you need some help?”
The woman jumped a little, but then turned to him, gave him a once over, then smiled back at him.
“Ah, young man. Please be careful, my old ticker can’t take much stress!”
Sam bowed his head.
“My apologies!”
The librarian simply waved it away.
“No worries, no worries! Now, you mentioned some help?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then I would respectfully accept it, young man. My body is not as it used to be, and my helpers are off today, and some inconsiderate out-of-towner left all these books here for me to return. Would you be so kind and help an old woman out?”
Sam simply nodded, took another step and grabbed the handle of the cart, while thanking the nameless (and careless) player who gave him this opportunity.
“Of course, you lead and I follow.”
The old librarian chuckled, then turned on the dime, showing much more spryness than was natural, then began walking forward while Sam followed after her.
“Onward to face our adventure, young man!”
Sam continued to push the cart laden with books forward, straining ever so slightly thanks to his debuff, while taking a quick look at his new notification window.
[New quest acquired!]
[Toil, toil, toil!]
[The elderly librarian of Ironwood (you should really learn her name) is in need of help after some inconsiderate and uneducated fool disrespected the books. Help her clean up her domain.]
[Time limit: -]
[Penalty: She will be disappointed in you.]
[Reward: The knowledge that you did a good deed. Maybe a cookie.]
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It only took a few hours following the librarian around, whose name was Martha, to put the books back in their rightful place, help clean up the reception desk after one of her helpers left it covered with crumbs and drinks, and bring out a few new books, sort some paperwork, and fetch lunch for them from a nearby eatery that the library had a deal with.
But in the end, Sam completed the quest and even got a cookie. It was a pretty good cookie. Librarian Martha was rather thankful, and after they were finished, left him alone with a few books to learn from.
Throwing a glance at the elderly librarian as she hummed an unfamiliar song while dusting some shelves, Sam chuckled a little and turned his attention towards the book in his hand.
Learning new languages couldn’t happen without any effort after all…
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“What are you doing, young Sam?”
Sam looked up from his notes, a little frustrated, and eyed the librarian standing above him as she stared at him with an inquisitive look.
“Trying to make sense of these runes… But I think I’m missing something!” he complained. And for once, his complaint was genuine.
Runes were never something that the other Sam made use of, or researched. They were too time-consuming and hard to learn. Especially for somebody who didn’t have the resources of a guild at their beck and call. But his gaming senses, enhanced by the fact he got isekaid told him that it was a useful thing to learn.
But without his cheat, it was rather hard, thus his frustration.
The woman reached out and took a quick look at his notes, which were full of the runes he had learned and a few other basic ones that he copied from the books during the last few days while he waited for his debuff to disappear.
He tried to put together a few rune schemes, but apparently, he was missing something because none of them worked, and none of the books in the library contained any working rune schemes. Even replicating the one he saw at the bandit’s hideout refused to work.
“Hmmm… A conundrum indeed,” murmured the woman, then turned towards him, placing his notes back on the table. “Your runes are excellent, but you’re missing something important.”
“I know! But none of the books says what!” he exclaimed, grabbing his hair.
“And none of them will,” came the calm reply from the librarian.
Sam practically froze, hand still in his hair.
“What?”
“Indeed. Working rune schemes are extremely valuable. Nobody would share them. Not at this kind of library,” explained the woman, aiming a disapproving glare at nothing. “Creating one requires effort beyond the capabilities of most people.”
“Huh…” Sam slowly lowered his hand, then looked back at Martha thoughtfully. “That actually makes sense. Do you know what is actually missing, ma’am?”
She gave him a long look, then nodded.
“Indeed, I know.”
“Would you be willing to share it?”
There was a small silence, and then the librarian chuckled.
“I like this about you, young Sam. You don’t demand, like those fools. You ask.”
Sam didn’t even have to ask. Over the days he was banging his head against the wall that was the study of runes, he witnessed several times as players of all types came in and treated the librarian as one would treat an NPC in other games. No courtesy, no respect.
Most left without getting anything for their trouble. The rest were thrown out after the librarian called the guards.
The local forums back in the real world declared the library and the librarian a forbidden area, ‘impossible’ to enter.
Before Sam could say something, Martha stepped forward, pulled out a chair next to him, took a seat and pulled a clean paper towards her while picking up a pen.
“What you need is an anchor rune, or as they call it, a Heart Rune, which is unique for everybody. Without it, you can’t connect a scheme to yourself, and can’t control it,” she explained while starting to sketch out something on the paper. “Pay attention, because I won’t explain it again.”
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Over the next several days, when the old librarian had time she gave him a few lessons on runes, while Sam toiled and tried to create his own Heart Rune. He needed to review hundreds of runes, sketch them out, and see which one ‘resonated’ with his own magic. Then he had to take those runes and merge them into one all-encompassing rune that was more than the parts it was created from.
In the end, he found seven simple runes, and after some sweat and tears, he managed to put together an equally simple Heart Rune.
Staring at the symbol on the paper, while Martha stood behind him, he felt elation.
He was finished.
Then, as he was about to ask his newest teacher about the next step, the rune began to glow lightly, pulsing with a rhythm, that after a second Sam realized was the same as his heartbeat.
It flashed strong enough to cause spots to appear in his eyes, and the rune went inert. Instead, he was blinded by a few notification windows.
He ignored them for a moment and turned toward his teacher.
“That was supposed to happen, right?”
“Indeed, young man. And might I say congratulations. You just became a Journeyman Runecarver.”
“What?”
“An apprentice can carve runes for the master to power, while the journeyman has their own Heart Rune constructed. A master can create and undo rune schemes whenever they want.”
“That’s…”
“Amazing indeed.” The woman smiled and reached into the pocket of her robe, retrieved a small scroll and placed it on the table. “You impressed me with your dedication, young Sam. This is my own small reward for a task well done.”
With that, she gave him a small pat on his head, then turned around and left, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts and flashing notifications.
[Congratulations! Thanks to the teachings of the Librarian Martha, you became a Journeyman Runecarver!]
[Journeyman Runecarver: Level 0/50 (0%) You have constructed your Heart Rune, and are capable of carving and drawing runes without an error. The cost of activating Rune schemes cost is reduced by 25%. Increased chance of recognizing hidden runes and rune schemes.]
[Thanks to you skipping over being an Apprentice Runecarver due to your hard work, and luck, you receive +1 LUK and +1 PER!]
[You learned the following Rune Schemes: Silencing Ward, Ritual of Evolution, Basic Shielding Scheme…]
Closing the list of schemes that he had apparently managed to put together while he studied, he picked up the small scroll and unfurled it.
Upon it was a small skill, and the moment he began reading the scroll flashed, and burst into an ethereal fire that burned up the scroll, leaving him holding nothing, and once again blinking spots out of his eyes.
[Congratulation! You were given a gift from Librarian Martha!]
[You learned the skill, Grimoire!]
[Grimoire: Level MAX (MAX%) Allows you to summon your own ethereal Grimoire, which automatically records the spells, runes, rune schemes and recipes you have learned. Can summon a simple ethereal pen that allows you to record your thoughts as well in the book. Every spell, rune, rune scheme and recipe costs 10% less mana to cast and use.]
‘Well, that looks useful as hell… pity I can’t level it…’ he thought as he processed what happened.
When Sam looked up, he caught the librarian’s eyes, who just winked at him.