Both of them stood up from their seats and vanished, the elf that was left alone clapped his hands as elves wearing decent attire walked in the room and started cleaning.
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Elora's Personal Room
Melanor stared out the window as she saw mana that was reaching towards the sky while Elora was sitting on the edge of the bed with a hand on her chin. Elora said. "This boy is full of surprises." Melanor nodded in agreement, she turned around and walked closer to the bed. Melanor said. "And loves to bring unnecessary problems… How should we deal with those old elves? They would have heard about it the moment he decided to release it…"
Elora lazily stretched on the bed as she laid down, she said. "Nothing. We continue with the plan, other than making sure he doesn't make contact with those slimy old elves or anyone in their faction, we don't have anything to worry about." Melanor gaze wandered to Elora's chest, she immediately looked at the ceiling and said. "Then what about the households?" Elora stared at the ceiling as she slowly sat back up, she said. "Other than the Haemir household, I hope he makes a good impression."
Melanor let out a sigh filled with disgust, she said. "Haemir… Just give me the word and I'll have all of them dead before daylight. They claim to be a neutral force so they can make excuses to not be included in any conflict but the moment something could be beneficial to them they'll act as if they're closer than your own family. Every one of them sickens me to my very core." Lightning started circulating in Melanor's pupils, she continued. "That goes double for that Revilor, that elf is just like his father and it rubs me the wrong way…"
Elora waved her hand, she said. "After, right now we need money to buy a few businesses so we can start… Developing." Melanor pupils turned back to normal, she said. "You mean those business ideas we came up with as they stole it with little to no adjustment?" Elora let out a cold chuckle, she said. "Correct." Melanor walked toward the bed and sat next to Elora, Melanor said. "Then why accept the deal with the boy? We already played along with his plan for the restaurant, that alone wasn't cheap and we don't even know if it'll work or not." Elora rested her head on Melanor's right shoulder. Elora said. "We can always use him to make it work." As she let out a chuckle.
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First Floor Library
Reiki was holding a medium-sized shard of crystal that was shining a faint blue color with, he casted. God's Eye. Information was sent to his brain.
『 Mana Crystal. 1,498/1,500.』
Reiki thought. It's easier than I expected. He looked at the six crystals of different sizes and placed them in a horizontal line and placed his hands at both ends. Reiki casted. God's Eye. More information was sent to his brain.
『 Mana Crystal. 0/480.』
『 Mana Crystal. 0/500.』
『 Mana Crystal. 0/400.』
『 Mana Crystal. 0/375.』
『 Mana Crystal. 0/300.』
『 Mana Crystal. 0/485.』
Mana started flowing towards the crystals as he tried to see how fast he could charge them.
[System: User has poured 50 mana into the crystal.]
[System: User has poured 45 mana into the crystal.]
[System: User has poured 60 mana into the crystal.]
...
『 Mana Crystal. 479/480.』
『 Mana Crystal. 500/500.』
『 Mana Crystal. 497/400.』
...
A moment of complete silence passed as the elves stared at the crystal in awe, Reiki picked up the biggest one and admired the faint glow of it. Vianola snapped herself back to reality and said. "How much for one?" She pointed at the crystals on the table while her eyes were glued onto the crystal on his hands. Esta picked one up and examined it with both her eyes opened, she said. "I'll offer you eighty elven platinum coins (¥43,200,000) for one of these."
Esta was glancing at the crystal in his hands as she tried to distract herself by staring at the crystals on the table. Reiki played with the crystal as he passed it between his two hands, both of the elves had a hint of worry on their faces as they watched. He spun the crystal in his hand and slightly three it in the air and caught it, Reiki passed it to Haruka and said. "My promise, you take the first pick."
Haruka stared at the crystal right in front of her, she subconsciously gulped and used both her hands to lift it. Both Esta and Vianola moved their gaze onto Haruka, both of them started thinking. Esta snapped her fingers and said. "Haruka, right?" Haruka looked at Esta and nodded, Haruka said. "Y-Yes?"
Esta flashed her a warm smile and said. "I know this may sound rude but, I'd rather be straightforward. Name your offer." Vianola faked a cough which got both their attention, she said. "If I remember correctly you're currently on a task for her majesty? How about I help you find the locations free of charge and we can negotiate."
Esta and Vianola glared at each other as the mana in the air turned heavy, the elves around were forced to back off from the pressure. Reiki picked up all the crystals on the table and started juggling, Haruka stared at the crystal in her hands and hesitated. Before she could say anything while the two elves were at odds with each other, Reiki said. "I don't understand why the two of you are so eager to fight? Can't you just bring me a couple of empty crystals roughly the same size? Problem solved."
Both the elves turned their heads towards him who was casually juggling six crystals. Reiki looked up to Haruka, he said. "What time is it?" He placed all the crystals on the table one by one. Haruka quickly placed the crystal in her hands inside her satchel, she said. "It's ten-thirty." Esta and Vianola rummaged their pockets and took out a talisman, both of them faintly glowed.
Reiki stared at the crystals on the table as he softly flicked them as they toppled over and hardly rolled. He said. "They're still over an hour till lunch?!" He let out a sigh and continued. "Since I'm still here I might as well look at some inscriptions and do some adjustments…" Esta's gaze immediately locked onto him, she said. "How much?"
Reiki's gaze wandered to the ceiling as he saw one chandelier size light sphere, he said. "Keep your money, as long as you let me see and the inscription I'll call it even." Esta was about to say something but Vianola placed a hand on her mouth. Vianola said. "That's all?" Reiki nodded as he moved his gaze onto her, he said. "Yep, but you do realize by doing that I can easily tell what the inscription does. So it's a two-way street… And form a proper line."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Vianola immediately appeared on the chair she sat on previously, she said. "Can you-." Before she could finish, Reiki said. "No, reservations. First come first serve." Reiki looked at the group of elves who were staring, he said. "Do you have an inscription to show me?"
A few seconds passed before the elves started rushing toward the table, the first one in line was a male elf who was on the young side. He had both his hands on the table as it was slightly pushed, the elf quickly rummaged through his pocket and placed down an inscription along with parchment of the same size. The elf placed it on the table in front of him as he patiently waited, Reiki picked up the inscription and started analyzing it. He said. "Hey, Haruka. Do you have a headband or a hair tie on you?"
Haruka walked to his left and rummaged through her satchel and took out a black hair tie. She passed it to him as Reiki placed it on his right wrist and started fixing his hair into a ponytail. While tying his hair into a ponytail, Reiki said. "Another double inscription… Earth base this time… It creates a square pillar in front of the caster to protect them from any frontal assaults… Pillar dimensions are sixteen by sixteen and are sixteen feet tall…" Reiki quickly finished tying his hair in a ponytail as he picked up the quill and dipped it into a bottle of ink, it started glowing as he started.
The elf was trying to get a better angle from the opposite side of the table by turning his head while Esta, Haruka, and Vianola were watching by his side. Before the elf could do anything Reiki passed him both the pieces of parchment. The elf gave him a quick bow as he quickly went outside, not even a couple of seconds passed as the ground visibly shook.
Reiki turned his head towards Saria who was standing behind the counter as the two elves in line were gone. He said. "Saria-san is that elf going to be okay? I was under the impression no one would cast magic near the library." Saria stayed behind the counter as she was trying to look for something, she said. "I-It's fine, as long as they clean after themselves no one would complain." Another elf placed down an inscription and some parchment, Reiki picked the inscription up. He let out a short sigh and said. "Let's see… Single type inscription, reusable. Wind blade…"
Reiki dipped the quill into some more ink as he made quick work of it and gave them back to the elf. Haruka had a pondering expression on her face while another elf handed Reiki an inscription and more parchment. Haruka said. "Won't you be using mana at a high rate?" Reiki passed the inscriptions to the elf, the next elf in line hesitated for a bit. Reiki said. "Not really… Because…"
He looked at the quill in his hand, all the elves moved their gaze on the quill. Reiki said. "How much is this?..." Vianola waved her hand which got his attention, she said. "Don't worry about it, that quill is mass-produced from how common the species of monster is." Reiki nodded, he inserted some of his mana into the quill as it immediately started glowing and made audible cracking sounds. The quill in his hand made a metallic snapping sound as it turned into dust and slowly fell to the ground, he looked up to Haruka and said. "That happens, the mana I used is the mana around the air. Which degrades the quality by just enough for me to make something decent."
As he flashed her a smile. Esta raised a finger, he looked at her. Esta said. "What do you mean by degraded?" Reiki reached out his left palm towards the elf, the elf placed the inscription in his hands as he took a glance at it. He looked up at Haruka and said. "Do you have a quill on you?" Haruka quickly searched in her satchel, Vianola held her hand out as she placed a long quill with white feathers near him. Vianola said. "Here."
Reiki took the quill of her hands and made another inscription, with the quill in his right hand he dipped it in a bottle of ink. Reiki's hands acted like a machine with his fluid movement, he said. "Nothing much, if you have a quill that can withstand my mana I can increase the quality of the inscription."
He passed the inscription to the elf, the elf quickly ran towards the door and immediately tested it. The sound of something quickly whistling in the wind was heard inside, Reiki continued. "Like those inscriptions, I made for you. If I had a quill that I can use with my mana I could have probably reduced the cooldown to six hours." He lazily stretched in his chair as he let out a yawn, Reiki said. "Next."
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Elora's Private Room
Elora was sitting at the chair by the workbench as she stared blankly out the window. Melanor appeared in the room, she said. "I did a quick search and learned Reiki is altering inscriptions. A couple has been transformed and met the future head of both the Amisra and Quilen household." A mocking smirk crawled onto her lips as she continued. "He even used Revilor for his ends."
Elora stood up from the chair and walked toward Melanor and hugged her right arm as both of them sat on the edge of the bed. Elora said. "Is that true? Or are you just putting words in his mouth?" Melanor let out a chuckle, she said. "The best part is that he even said it in the middle of a crowd of elves. I like him more already." Elora rolled her eyes at her, she said. "How about those relics?"
Elora placed her head on Melanor's left shoulder. Melanor said. "Nothing but bad news." The two of them stayed silent for a moment, Elora said. "Go for it." Melanor nodded and said. "They know one too many things about him and are continuing their search. The second thing is they sent their best elves to keep an eye on him."
Elora moved her head off from Melanor's shoulder, she looked at her oddly. Elora said. "That isn't bad news…" Melanor let out a chuckle, she said. "I know, I just wanted to mess with you." As she let out a laugh Elora repeatedly playfully slapped Melanor's forearm. They stopped playing as Elora let out a stressed-out sigh, she said. "Everything is going better than expected… At least no major adjustment needs to be made… Does Nora know about his encounter with Valen dousing him in wine?"
Melanor shook her head sideways, she said. "Not yet, I say that because he didn't take a shower yet to wash the smell off, and if she did know Nora would shoot arrows in his back regardless of the consequences. Right now we need all the coins we can get our hands on for the… Clean sweep…"
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First Floor Library
Reiki, Esta, Vianola, and even Haruka took a seat from a different table, the line became longer. The line was so long it started to loop around a few shelves down the hall, and a pair of elves wearing long green robes appeared behind Esta and Vianola. Both the female elves stood up and turned around to face them while Reiki was still scribbling like a robot. The elf in front of Vianola had a long beard that was neatly combed, he said. "Mistress… Your message and the concern of your father sent me here… He's not happy about you… Showing something… Especially to a human no less, so we concluded preventing you from handing out more inscriptions."
The elf in front of Esta leaned toward the younger side and had signs of a beard growing, he said. "Mistress, since your mother is out and she has put you in charge of her absence. Your mother specifically said to follow your every order, whether it brings the downfall or the rise of the household is on you." The elf pulled out a pouch from his pocket and took out a large parchment that looked like it was used for a map. The elf handed it to Esta as she slightly unfurled it and took a peek, she nodded with satisfaction.
The line looked like it had no end to it as Reiki slid another inscription he altered along with the original. Esta raised her hand and made a stopping gesture, she reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of golden coins, and passed it to the elf and said. "Are you fine waiting for a few more minutes?" As she spoke with a friendly smile on her face, the female elf looked at the handful of coins and nodded. Esta gave the coins she had in her hand to the elf and placed the large parchment on the table, with a slight touch it unfurled itself as it took half the space of the table.
Reiki stared at the inscription that looked like a labyrinth, dozens of elven words inside a circle, square, or triangle. Lines that overlapped each other and connected to at least six words each, Reiki thought. This is a big inscription… Reiki's eyes narrowed as he stared at it, he placed the hand that was holding the quill under his chin as he pondered to himself. He continued his train of thought. Shield type?… No, the other half is an attack formation… Counter type…
A big smile appeared on Reiki's face, he said. "This is what I call an inscription… A high threshold for absorbing spells and attacks and counters said attacks have double the original damage to the caster with a homing enchantment…" He continued. "I bet your household has been a royal family for generations." Esta nodded, Vianola had her arms crossed as she was trying to calm herself down while Haruka was stealing glances at the inscription on the table with interest. Reiki let out a chuckle, he said. "Called it…"
Using the quill in his hands he pointed at the top right of the inscription by the edge, he said. "But activating this costs more than an arm and a leg, hence you only activate it in dire circumstances." He scratched the back of his head and continued. "I'm going to need a couple of parchments of the same size as this…" Esta snapped her fingers as the elf behind her passed Esta two large pieces of parchment. The elf behind her disappeared and started cleaning the large table filled with books, the elf stopped when he saw the six crystals on the table to which Haruka hurriedly picked up and placed inside her satchel.
The elf glanced at Haruka and continued to place both of them down on top of each other, Reiki stood up from his chair and did some stretches, and before he could dip the quill Vianola lent him, Esta said. "Use this."
She held out a long quill that had black feathers from the top and slowly turned red. Reiki cleaned the quill with the inside of his pocket and picked up the quill she offered him, dipped it in a bottle of ink as it started to violently glow. He started writing and while he was making the inscription, Reiki said. "Who designed this?" Esta made a gesture at the elf behind her, the elf stepped forward and said. "Apologies for the late introduction, I am Voxalen. A member of the Amisra household, upon one of the few representatives I thank you on behalf of my household, and entertaining mistress."
Voxalen gave him a polite bow to show his sincerity, Reiki continued to make the inscription as he wrote words one after another. Reiki said. "It's fine, no need for thanks since I've been learning from all the inscriptions I saw." Reiki was speeding up but instead of the writing, becoming sloppy his motions became more fluid as he drew a perfect circle. He dipped the glowing quill in ink and continued, Voxalen continued. "To answer your question, the creator of this inscription is one of the few masters in formations. The household is fortunate enough to have given birth to one."
Reiki was already more than halfway finished, on the top right where the activation sequence starts he drew a large circle with three smaller circles inside that we're all connected. He said. "The reason why it needs so many mana crystals is because of this. Although it does work, roughly one-fourth of the mana used is to activate it alone. Combined with how many words are connected and the length of the line it, I'm just surprised it doesn't cost more."
He wrote the word activate that you could barely notice, right in the center where all three circles meet. He wrote the word boost in the middle of the three circles, he started to connect all the words as it started to look like a proper inscription. Reiki stretched his arm for a bit as it started to cram, Voxalen was about to touch the edge of the inscription but stopped when Reiki coldly said. "Don't touch it, I'm not done."
Voxalen frowned as he was about to say something Esta appeared in front of him and said. "It's fine, I apologize on his behalf for disturbing you. But I will ask for a reason for your abrupt rudeness." Reiki stretched his arm for a bit again as he dipped the quill in some ink, he said. "I'm only half done." He moved his gaze onto Haruka and said. "I need some help, can you hold the inscription for me?" As he pointed at the inscription he used as the reference.