The best part of Lucas’s day was spent lounging on a couch in the library, a small pile of books resting on his lap.

Since Lucas couldn’t borrow books due to his lack of merit points—or any points, for that matter—he had no choice but to do all his research within the library. Still, he left feeling satisfied with what little he managed to uncover, especially regarding the Gloomfruit.

In an ancient book filled with detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Sawes continent—complete with a few colored illustrations—Lucas stumbled upon a passage about death-related vegetation. The text explained that certain plants thrived in places where powerful individuals had been buried.

While the book emphasized the rarity of such vegetation, Lucas wasn’t discouraged. It reminded him of some notes he’d seen in Faruk’s journal.

A quick glance at the journal confirmed his suspicions. Faruk had specifically mentioned royal tombs where he had found various valuable items that aided him in his exploration of dark magic. While most of these treasures weren’t plants or fruits, Lucas couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a connection.

Of course, the names of the tombs and those buried there were of little relevance to Lucas since they belonged to another planet. However, it did give him an insight. It became clear to him that it wasn’t enough to go to an ordinary cemetery and start digging. That was probably what made them rare.

After some reflection, Lucas theorized that, like the ancient Egyptians on Earth, the royals of Faruk’s world must have had sacred burial grounds, many of which likely held treasures. This assumption was supported by the fact that Faruk had listed the names of the tombs as points of interest in his journal.

Although their worlds differed, Lucas was optimistic about finding something similar on Ponos. This led him to his next objective and the next book he needed to read: The Great History of Ponos.

At first, Lucas was quite interested in the title, considering he didn’t know much about the planet and could use some information. However, he grew bored of it rather quickly.

To be fair, the title was a bit misleading. When they said “The Great History of Ponos”, Lucas had expected a linear story, tracing the planet’s journey from a primitive past to its current state. Instead, what he got was a list of royals and their deeds.

The worst part was that most of the things those royals had done—and that the author had chosen to include—weren’t even impressive. They ranged from “built a bridge” to “threw a great feast”.

Lucas nearly fell asleep multiple times while reading through the endless names and uneventful stories. Still, the book turned out to be somewhat useful, as it mentioned the locations where those lords and ladies had lived—and died. Now, all he needed was a better map, and he could start exploring.

Since that part of his research was done for now, Lucas shifted his focus to skills. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much luck there. He suspected the more advanced books were stored on the higher floors of the library—floors he couldn’t access.

This also dashed his hopes of learning anything about space magic, a subject far too advanced to be covered in the materials available to him.

However, one concept did catch his eye: synergy. The book only touched on the topic briefly, but it suggested that, in some cases, two skills could be combined to create an entirely new one.

Though the explanation was vague, it sparked a flood of ideas in Lucas’s mind. He began brainstorming potential skill combinations with excitement before he managed to calm himself down.

He needed to remind himself not all combinations would work. Despite how incredible some of his ideas sounded, he knew he needed to approach this carefully, studying each step before attempting anything.

Meanwhile, Aysha, unhampered by a lack of merit points, had long since left the library with several rented books in hand. Satisfied with his own progress for the day, Lucas decided it was time to leave as well, he would leave the matter of the glass for another day.

Just outside the library, he came face-to-face with someone he neither expected nor particularly wanted to see: the red-haired Tim, grinning brightly.

“Hi, sir! I didn’t expect to see you here!” the young man greeted him.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Why? Do you think I can’t read?” Lucas replied dryly.

“N-no, sir! Not at all! That’s not what I me—”

“Are you calling me stupid?” Lucas asked, feigning anger.

Tim’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His face turned as red as his hair, leaving him looking like a ripe tomato. Despite himself, Lucas felt a twinge of pity for the boy. His embarrassed expression was no doubt very amusing after a day of tedious reading, but Lucas decided to end the poor kid’s suffering.

“Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you,” Lucas said, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. To Tim’s great relief, he sighed and laughed, though somewhat embarrassed.

“I didn’t know you were so funny, sir,” Tim said after a moment.

“I guess I’m not, since you aren’t laughing—and what did I tell you about calling me sir? My name is Lucas.”

“Right, sorry, sir—I mean, Lucas.”

Lucas shook his head. “Forget it.” Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Listen, do you know where I can find a good map? The one I have doesn’t say much, apart from general locations.”

The map Lucas carried was the same one Rick, the NPC from the Dark Forest, had given him as a reward for freeing him. While it had been useful for finding the city, Lucas needed something better if he was going to search for tombs.

“There are plenty of maps available in the market streets, but not all of them are good, you have to be careful. Anyone can make a map, after all, and people make mistakes. Plus, there are quite a few liars as well.”

“What do you mean by liars?” Lucas asked, curious.

“Well, if you go around looking for maps, you’ll know exactly what I mean,” Tim explained. “There are maps out there that claim to show the locations of hidden treasures.” He smirked. “But if they’re hidden treasures, how can they be on the map? And then there are maps that include places that don’t exist or have been gone for ages—at least that’s what some of the NPCs say.”

Lucas nodded slowly, processing the information.

“Anyway, if you want a good map, it won’t be cheap, but I’m sure you can find one.”

Lucas considered his words for a moment before asking, “Do you think I can find a map that lists tombs?”

Tim looked at him, perplexed, before replying. “I believe you could if you really wanted—but wouldn’t it be better to get one that lists castles instead? I’ve seen quite a few of those. Maybe there’s even a few treasures hidden inside.” Tim spoke as if he’d thought about this a lot himself.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Lucas replied simply, not seeing the point in explaining his plans to the boy.

“Anyhow, si—Lucas, maps that list specific things are more expensive, but they also tend to include more detailed information. They’ll show you the best roads to take, places and creatures to avoid, and I’ve even heard that the pricier ones include shortcuts hardly anyone knows about.”

Lucas nodded. That was good to know. He couldn’t afford to be cheap when buying a map—it might end up backfiring. Who knew what dangers awaited him beyond the city walls?

“Thank you, Tim. You’ve helped me a lot again,” Lucas said sincerely. The boy’s antics could be annoying, no doubt, but Lucas had to admit he was quite useful.

In the short time they’d been in the city, Tim had learned so much about how things worked, it was quite impressive. It made Lucas feel the need to return the favor.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Lucas asked.

“That’s nothing. I’m glad to help, si—Lucas,” Tim replied, suddenly a bit shy. Lucas noticed a hint of hesitation in the boy’s demeanor and urged him to speak.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Well,” Tim started, looking at his feet, “I tried to follow your advice from earlier and took on a few quests today. I even picked three that I could do at the same time to maximize my gains.”

Lucas was about to praise his efforts when Tim continued.

“But even so, the amount I earned is barely enough to pay for an hour in the Training Center. So—so I was wondering… how did you manage to earn so much money? People say you visited the Training Center often, and after seeing their prices, I—”

Lucas sighed as the boy trailed off. Despite thinking he’d been discreet about his frequent visits to the Training Center, it seemed others, not just Aysha, had noticed. Hearing Tim phrase it that way gave Lucas pause.

Lucas had always considered himself an underdog. Born with brittle bone disease, it was all he could ever amount to be. However, he hadn’t realized how his “luck” in finding Faruk’s belongings—and money—might have given him an unfair advantage

Yes, his bones risked being shattered at the slightest impact back then, but he had never been forced to take quests just to survive like others. Instead, he’d had the luxury of spending hours in the Training Center, honing his skills with specialized tutors. Without that, he doubted he’d have fared so well at the Ten Floor Challenge.

And so, as Lucas looked at the honest face in front of him, hoping for guidance to get ahead, he realized he couldn’t simply brush it off by claiming he’d had a few lucky encounters as he often did. Instead, he decided to take a different approach.

“Where my money comes from is not important. Knowing that won’t help you,” Lucas said. He caught the disappointed look on Tim’s face before continuing. “However, I’ll be opening a business soon. We’ll probably need a few employees. If you’re interested, I could—”

“Yes! Yes, si—Lucas! Thank you!” Tim exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement. Lucas couldn’t help but laugh.

“But you don’t even know what it is,” he said after a moment.

“It doesn’t matter. If it’s yours, I’m sure it’ll be great!”

Lucas felt a little embarrassed. “Stop talking nonsense and get going. While I’m setting things up, you can’t slack off!”

“Yes, si—Lucas!”

Lucas shook his head as he walked off, nearly regretting asking Tim to call him by his name. At least before, he didn’t have to hear the boy stutter.

Still, he felt good about helping someone other than himself for a change. What job Tim would end up doing was a question for later. Either way, Lucas was certain Hilda would need assistance when the time came.

With his newfound information, Lucas had several plans for the coming days. He was ready to take his first expedition beyond the city walls. He couldn’t wait.