The library was one place that had managed to survive the centuries unscathed. Since the Darknight was historically given no help from the kingdom of Galdea, the library was their only hope of learning about the new world they had been unceremoniously dumped in. Every Darknight had expanded on it and placed their own seal of protection over it, ensuring every book in the collection managed to weather the years. The result was a cavernous room filled with thousands upon thousands of books. The shelves had long since been filled, until there was no choice but to start piles on the floor.

“How are we supposed to find anything in this mess?” Alix asked when he was led into the chaos.

“I guess the previous Darknight’s didn’t think organising the library was the best use of their time. It would take a lifetime to go through everything and sort it, but even then, the library would need to be expanded. I’ve spent quite a lot of time here so I know the general layout. There is an old card catalogue that is generally accurate, but the newer books are uncatalogued. It is a task I have found too daunting to undertake. There are some I can’t read, written in the language of other worlds.”

Other worlds? How many others are out there? It was a question that made his head spin to think about. If he was going to succeed without having a panic attack, he needed to remain grounded, focus on the things he could control.

“I wonder if the skeletons will be able to help?” Alix asked. It was obvious that they could see somehow, but he didn’t know if that extended to being able to read as well. He could get them to cart the loose books to a new room, build some shelves and organise them by genre. He wondered what sort of genres existed in this world. Did fantasy exist within a fantasy world?

“They might, but I think it is more important now for them to work on clearing the path to the crypt and rebuilding the castle. There are enough books for us to get started on for now.”

Tifayn motioned for him to take a seat, then headed into the stacks to retrieve some books. He took a seat in a plush chair beside a table stacked with books, the ones Tifayn or the last Darknight had been reading last. He picked up one to pass the time. It was called Deulatorum, and it appeared to be a combat manual of some kind. Part of it was an autobiography, which he found more interesting than the many pages of fighting forms.

Alix suddenly wished that he had made more of an effort to stay in shape as he read of the training regimes. He wasn’t fat, but he didn’t have any muscle to boast of. The book had been written by a previous Darknight that had called himself Lector. He had found the warriors of the time woefully untrained and created the book as a guide for anyone wishing to improve themselves. He had to write it in the main language of Babyl, which the book mentioned that the ring had given him the ability to do with ease. Alix wondered if any of his wisdom had spread. He was just about to pick up another book when Tifayn returned with her arms full of various volumes.

“I think you might find these useful. There are a few basic volumes on potion making in there, detailing recipes and methods,” Tifayn said as she deposited the pile on the table. “Get started on these and I will bring you some more.” Tifayn headed back into the stacks, leaving him alone with the books. How fast did Tifayn think he could read? He had been a much avid reader in his youth, but now he was lucky if he got through a few novels a year.

Alix picked up the first volume, Practical Potions. It was nicely bound in a dark green leather, the name emblazoned in fading silverleaf. The print inside was still fresh, the enchantments on the library sealing it from the effects of time. He opened it to the first few pages to find an introduction from the author and a foreword on the art of potion making, but he wasn’t interested in reading that just now. It ran for several dozen pages so he skipped ahead to the first potion, assuming it would start with the easiest and work up to the hardest.

Just as he had hoped, the first potion was a healing potion. It was one of the things he had been thinking about since the first mention of a fight and he was glad to find that such things existed in this world. He hoped there would be all the staples of an RPG within the book, or at least enough to keep him alive until he could learn more.

The first recipe, for a Basic Healing Potion, looked fairly simple. The ingredients were listed as 5x Aloe and 1x Ivory Leaf. He had plenty of both from his time spent clearing the garden. By the time he was finished clearing the whole thing, he would have stockpiled enough for thousands of potions, although from a quick flip through the next few pages, almost all of the basic potions seemed to require Aloe. He would have to spend his resources wisely.

The method listed was fairly simple, but he soon realised he didn’t have the tools to carry it out. First, he had to add the liquid Aloe to a beaker of some kind, which he didn’t have, and bring it to a boil over a flame he also didn’t have. Once it was hot, he was to add the Ivory Leaf to the beaker, which would melt into the Aloe and change its colour from colourless to a grassy shade of green. Then it was ready to pour into a vial, another thing he didn’t have. He was ready to give up then, feeling like the ring had lied to him, but as he finished reading the page, the notification bell rang again and text appeared in the air in front of him.

* Acquired Crafting

* Recipe Acquired: Basic Healing Potion.

Alix opened his menu and found a new submenu named Crafting had appeared. He opened it up and tapped on Basic Healing Potion and more text appeared in the activity log.

- Removed 5 Aloe

- Removed 1 Ivory Leaf

- Obtained 1 Basic Healing Potion

Alix closed the Crafting menu and opened his inventory. The number of Aloe and Ivory Leaf had decreased and a new item had appeared; Basic Healing Potion. There was a small x1 marked beside it. He tapped on it, and a green liquid appeared in the air, then fell with a splash into his lap. He cursed to himself, but the liquid shone and quickly sunk into his clothes without a trace. He should have expected that. The potion had appeared as a green blob in his inventory. He would need something to hold it in.

Alix picked up the book again, unscathed from the falling liquid, and noticed an asterisk he had missed the first time. It pointed him to a footnote which read; Vial, pg248. He skipped ahead to the page and found the method for crafting vials. He was surprised to read that it only required 1 Aloe to craft a vial. It could be cast into a shock resistant rubbery material. Glass could also be used, but that required sand and a furnace, it was more costly, time consuming and the end product was infinitely more fragile, which wasn’t a good thing for a healing potion to be.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

As he finished reading the page, another text box appeared.

Recipe Acquired: Basic Vial.

“Let’s try this again,” Alix said to himself. He opened up the Crafting menu again and found Basic Vial as a new option. He tapped it ten times, and the log showed -1 Aloe, -1 Aloe, -1 Aloe. He had plenty to spare so he stocked up. Then he tapped Basic Healing Potion ten times and the corresponding items left his inventory. He dragged the ten green blobs and dropped the icon over the Vials x10. The icon changed to a vial filled with a grassy green liquid and he finally had his potions. He didn’t know how effective they would be, but he felt safer knowing that he had them.

Tifayn was still gone so he decided to move on to the next recipe and see if he could learn that one just as easily. The potion on the next page was called Lesser Antidote. The recipe to craft it appeared when he finished reading the ingredients and method, which was similar to the healing potion, but he didn’t have all of the ingredients. It took 4 Aloe and 3 Abyssia. He hadn’t encountered any of that in the garden, but if such a basic potion required it then he hoped it would be a common plant, if it even was a plant. Abyssia could be a fruit or a vegetable for all he knew, or some sort of mineral.

Alix read through page after page, unlocking as many recipes as he could. Out of the ones he read, he could already craft about half of them, and he felt like he would have no trouble crafting the other half once he managed to clear the overgrown garden. After learning ten new recipes, the notification bell went again and he saw he had unlocked a new Title: Botanist. It was always cool to get something new but he was disappointed to see that the new Title had the same effect as Herbalist. Increased Potion Efficiency.

It was sorely tempting to craft as many potions as he could, but now that he saw just how many there were, he became wary of running out of his supplies. He was still on the first book as well. The new Title reminded him of the essential oils he had created from the herbs, but he had yet to come across a recipe that used them.

There was one potion that stood out to him; Mana Potion. Like the healing and antidote potions, it came in various strengths. Antidote potions came in Lesser and Greater varieties, the pair of them able to deal with the majority of inflictions, although he wasn’t familiar with all of the curses and venoms they were effective against. Healing potions came in Basic, Greater, and Perfect varieties, although he only had the ingredients to craft basic ones just now. He had the ingredients to craft a Basic Mana Potion as well and he was curious to see its effects. The book said that it restored Mana, which he assumed was the MP gauge under his status menu. It was full at the moment, but he didn’t know how to deplete it in the first place. He had played enough games to know that magic was usually the thing that depleted mana. The book referenced and recommended he turn to Practical Magic if he wanted to learn more. He hoped the book existed somewhere in the library. If he could learn magic then that might make this whole ordeal worthwhile.

Alix had another reason for wanting to craft a mana potion though. Near the end of the book, some composite potions were listed, those that could be crafted from combining other potions instead of raw materials. They could be created from the pure ingredients as well, but they required rarer ones and in greater quantities. He decided to practise with crafting an Elixir. It required one healing potion and one mana potion, with the types determining the potency of the final draught. He only had basic and lesser potions to work with. It was a simple process of combining one with the other.

- Removed 1 Basic Healing Potion

- Removed 1 Basic Mana Potion

- Obtained 1 Elixir

“That is very impressive, master,” Tifayn said as the Elixir appeared in his hands.

Alix almost dropped the vial in surprise, but he managed to grab hold of it and return it to his inventory before it could fall to the ground. It wouldn’t shatter like glass but he didn’t trust it not to spill everywhere.

“It is easier to craft things here that I imagined,” Alix said as she dumped a fresh pile of books on the table. He caught sight of a few of the titles.

Practical Potions: Volume 2, Practical Magic, Metallurgy, The Woodsman’s Guidebook, The Home Hearth, Cakes & Delicacies. The others had names that were too long and finely printed to read at a glance. What use did he have for a cookbook? Was Tifayn hinting at something?

“Crafting potions is usually a time consuming and tricky business. I am surprised you managed it without any tools, but I wouldn’t expect anything less of the Darknight. I found a few books written by previous ones that you might find helpful. They detail their experiences and tell of things you might need to know. What have you managed to craft so far?” Tifayn asked.

Alix showed her the vials he had created. He had too many to take out and show her, so he settled for showing off one of each.

“These are very fine,” she said, ogling each of the colourful vials. “I could probably take these into town and sell them for good money if you can make some more, if the skeletons can’t unearth the vault. There is said to be a great wealth lying in the castle, but so far, I have been unable to find it. We will need to find some money soon. I have been able to manage by myself, but you won’t be able to find everything you need by foraging alone. You would need to travel across the whole land as an adventurer to find all the materials you need for every recipe in these books.”

“I better get started then. It looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do,” Alix said, gathering up a handful of books. Tifayn picked up the rest and they headed to more comfortable surroundings. The library was still in good condition compared to the rest of the castle, the spell on it a particularly powerful one, but it had little natural light and the air was still and heavy with the scent of wood and paper. Tifayn’s rooms were warm and had plenty of sunlight. He wondered if he would be able to find a recipe to craft coffee in the books. It would make his circumstances infinitely more bearable. He tried to forget about everything else he missed.

Alix spent the rest of the day lazily reading, unlocking new recipes, and for a while he forgot about all the crazy things that had happened to him. He lost himself in the books and felt like he was back home with the latest fantasy novel.

The book on metallurgy proved to be very interesting. He hoped it would be just as easy to craft blades as it was potions, but he didn’t have any of the materials just yet. They weren’t anything he expected to get from cutting plants in the garden either. Unless there was some sort of quarry in the castle grounds, or stores in a hidden room, he would have to venture beyond the walls or buy in the materials he needed. He would trade whatever potions he could for them if he had to. He had always wanted a sweet sword and the book gave him a few good ideas.

When the light faded, and his eyes began to ache from reading too much, he decided to head to bed. Tifayn blew out the candles and crawled in beside him.

“Are you sure there is nothing more I can do for you?” she asked, suggestively stroking his chest.

“You are a very attractive…demon…Tifayn, but I have a girlfriend back home. Or at least I think I do. I’m not sure anymore.”

Tifayn blushed at his words. “Thank you, master. I apologise if I have been too forward. I’m afraid I can’t help it. I mentioned that my family, and the demons as a whole, have always served the Darknight, but it is more than that. Like the Terminus Ritual draws the Solknight and the Darknight irresistibly together, us demons are drawn towards and have a connection to the Darknight.” As Tifayn spoke she pressed herself closer, but made no further move other than to nuzzle up against him. “They used to live near here but once they decided enough was enough, they moved far away to start their lives anew, so that they wouldn’t be drawn to the next Darknight. I should have explained this to you before, but I was just so glad to see you had arrived. I never expected the effect to be so potent, but I will keep my distance for now, no matter how much I can tell you wish it were otherwise,” Tifayn giggled softly, and then quickly fell asleep with him tightly in her grasp.