DISCOVERY IN THE LIBRARY

"Hehehe... Hahaha! I found you..."

Sounds of evil snickering echoed out from one of the rocky passages proliferating out from the library archives. It disappeared soon after as if the owner regained rationality and muffled his mouth. Such thoughts, which occupied the minds of the few disturbed mages while scouring through the ancient books, approached the truth closer than imagined.

Sitting on a boxy desk in a small cave while surrounded by pigeon holes filled with books and scrolls, Chu clamped a hand over his mouth. He jumped up and walked down the passage standing for some time while accompanied only with a shaded lamp. Satisfied with the presence of no curious minds, he returned to cast his eyes on the open book.

'You cannot share any of the information we discuss besides the sacred stone table. Remember that you also cannot use any of the guidance from the Tower Academy Mages to become a mage or to teach anyone.'

The words of the oath he swore that day turned crystal clear in his head. The information Mage Norivak shared with him was meant to deter him from becoming a mage. The secrets focused on truths not even known to the wider mage population. Information gleaned from lectures in the academy or from books written by members of the academy would break his oath.

Chu grinned broadly like a starving fat man at a buffet.

"Norivak, Norivak, you sly old wizard you. With two sentences you blocked me from revealing the secrets and from teaching others to become a mage. Luckily, you forgot about the very thing you spent your younger years searching the archives for. No wonder the previous mages made the archives off-limits to apprentices and scribes."

Chu muttered before breaking out into a softer creepy giggle. He spluttered a cough while glancing around like a thief with a stolen diamond.

Ever since the birthday celebrations, which rocked the entire Limerock noble community and remained a hot gossip to this day, Chu spent his time buried in the library. When you had old men like Mage Norivak and Slovac pouting and complaining as to why they never received an invitation, one knew it was time to meld in the shadows.

Hiding in the library didn't serve only one purpose because for a month he strained his eyes searching. It became so bad that glancing out the window in the morning would cause his eyes to run water. He spent the day sleeping in his dark room and ventured out at night to check on the progress of Tye.

After a month of breathing dust and using his magnifying stone, he achieved his goal.

"Since I cannot use any guidance from the mages at the academy, I then decided to search the archives. Unfortunately, even written information caused my seal to activate a painful stab as a warning. You forgot old man, magic and Mages existed even before the formation of the Tower..."

He scrolled over the page of the book with his oval, clear stone. The translation for the title lay on his scrap paper beside it.

'The basic meditation steps of an Apprentice and a Mage, created by the Hakkim'

***

A week later, Chu finally allowed Ming to take him home to the villa. When Mrs. Thomas witnessed Ming and her husband literally carrying this emaciated, frail figure with sunken red eyes into the mansion she flipped. Four hours later, she sat on a chair beside the bed while a semicircle of fidgeting figures stood facing her on the opposite end.

"Did none of you see this happening? Have you all gone soft..."

Chu spent some time convincing Mrs. Thomas that no one was responsible for his deteriorating health. The excitement and anticipation had driven him to this state. After translating the last page of the book and browsing the contents, his body naturally broke down. For a week Mrs. Thomas kept everyone home to help in nursing him.

Sue controlled the kitchen while Lucy, Miki, and Ming assumed shifts at his bedside. Dyna sat on the balcony with the wolves prowling around outside the mansion. Chu felt safer than a President in a warring country. Nothing spoke of security than a girl sitting cross-legged on the bed beside him while cleaning and oiling a crossbow.

At the end of this recuperation week, they had an outdoor lunch on a small knoll within the estate. The sun shone above but the autumn days remained cool and comfortable. With large wolves lurking around and one sunning beside him, Chu felt refreshed. The only thing bothering him was the bird perched on a nearby branch, chipping away greedily at a gold coin. The vein above his left eye twitched.

"Can't you feed him a copper coin? It's all metal, he won't know the difference."

"Yes, he can. He hates copper but he likes rubies. You don't know how hard I have to try to keep him out of the jewelry chest."

Miki answered while munching on a jam tart.

"Forget it. Sakura, bring the saddlebag."

Chu opened the buckles of the saddlebag which looked like a smaller version of the kind used by messengers. He pulled out a stack of neatly bundled paper. Seeing Chu become serious, Amanda had Sally and Bella climb the wagon and act as lookouts.

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"I found it. The steps to becoming a mage. The information in this stack relates to ancient knowledge passed down from before the Tower existed. Before we initiate this, I need everyone to obtain their own starfield talisman."

"Chu, it's near impossible for us to gain an active starfield talisman. Even if you have a talisman, we still need a mage or someone to cast their spiritual power into it. A task like that for females in the academy is considered taboo."

After a long pause, Amanda replied. The news filled them with shock and excitement but also trepidation. They had also gained some knowledge from the time at the academy and were not as ignorant as before.

"Haha, don't worry, by next week you should have it. The next part is the tricky one."

Chu replied while placing the second stack on the cloth.

"While I recovered, Sakura helped me translate the pages of the book we discovered."

"The one Pug and I bravely tore from the clutches of the wolf demon?"

"Yes, the one from the dead demon beast. My hunch proved correct since the book contained something very important. We discovered a potion for aiding Mages in strengthening their starfield. I'll explain it later, but the reason why it's probably discarded by the Tower lies in that it needs an abundance of lifestones..."

Chu looked around while speaking at the faces of his companions sitting around him. The raised eyebrows and twisting lips verified to him that they understood.

"Chu, nobody in the Tower would use a lifestone to create a potion, no matter how good it works."

Ming said, breaking the silence. He rubbed his stubble beard while continuing.

"From our time at the academy, you can see that Mages don't rush out and fight. The Apprentices I chatted with say when they leave for the north, they spend time in the twin forts located at the entrance to the North Pass in the mountains. Mages stand on the walls of the forts and cast magic spells targeting the demon beast below. If the beasts have no reason to attack and run away, a Mage becomes useless."

Ming sighed.

"Do you know what the Captain of my troop said? Guards accompanying Mages north have one purpose. To act as bait and live long enough for the Mages to injure or kill the demon beasts. I think the Mages created Sersens to fill the void as combatants. Only a Sersen could roam the countryside slaying demon beasts. Mages can suppress a large-scale invasion but become useless out in the open, far from the protection of a wall."

Chu nodded while remembering the passage uncovered from the scroll he gifted to the Tower. Facing overwhelming foes and the need for close-range combatants who could stand on their own, the Ancient Mages introduced the Sersen. Unfortunately, such a move seemed to have waned the number of mages needed in the north.

He sighed while thinking through what Ming said. Most likely, the reason for discarding the potion which used an important lifestone lay in the Tower trying to create more Sersens. Even if adventurers and mercenaries turned luckily enough, they would still remain somewhere in the Empire. Having a resident Sersen in a town or village would certainly not become a bad thing. He placed the last remaining pages on the cloth.

"The last few pages in the book deals with casting a fire spell. Not a fireball but a fire spell. I require sufficient time to decipher it so we can save it for later. Sue, I still need you to learn about using mana in Alchemy. It's indispensable. Sakura, keep following the instruction to draw an Ancient Talisman."

Chu gazed at them in a serious manner.

"Let's see how far we can progress in this academy..."

***

The next week, Chu walked into the busy workshop located in the inner circle after sunset. A group of apprentices scurried around a large distillation tower supported over a fire pit.

"Tye, the alcohol you made for the birthday celebrations proved useful, however, I think the volume given the size of the distillation column seems inadequate."

"Boss, I mean young master Chu. We have been tweaking the temperature and trying to keep the level steady at the bottom. Leslie came up with a brilliant idea to add a small pipe from that landing over there. Whenever the level falls too much, we open the cover and pour in some buckets of cheap wine."

"Ah, but doesn't the vapor come out from the pipe when he opens the cover?"

"Hahaha, at first it did but I added a U pipe at the bottom. It keeps a portion of the liquid trapped so the air doesn't come out. The height on the landing also helps to keep the liquid in the U bend from splashing out for some reason."

Chu nodded while listening to Tye point out his modifications. The closest Chu ever came to industrial jargon, distillation towers, and chemical plants might be from what he saw on the news. He never expected to become the founder and inventor of every piece of modern technology.

Instead, he felt a level of satisfaction in that Tye and his companions built on his design. Maybe one day he might serve as inspiration for the next legendary scientist or inventor. How cool would it be if someone could invent the light bulb from his explanations?

'A Sage, I should become the wise Sage living up the mountain...'

Cough, cough.

"Tye, I know Chief Slovac has become interested since I demonstrated the use of alcohol at the birthday. However, there are many more uses for this product. It can serve as an antiseptic for wounds and bruises, a coolant to rub on the body during fevers and colds, and also a preservative."

Tye nodded while listening attentively as Chu lectured. Chu answered their questions while providing more information from his vague recollection. During this time Ming arrived at the entrance followed by a cloaked group.

"Alright, the lecture is finished for the night. Let me take a closer inspection of the tower. Ming, stay by the table with the girls, we will head out shortly. Wait Tye, I need you to activate this Star Field Talisman for me. Leave it on the table, I'll return in a minute."

Chu handed him a talisman and walked over to the base of the distillation column.

"Why is this temperature so low?"

On hearing his raised voice and question, Tye injected his spiritual power into the two talismans on the table and rushed off.

"Lesile, leave Tye to handle the temperature, come look at this sketch on the table. I think we can double the amount of alcohol if we use this. By the way, can you inject some spiritual power into these talismans? Hurry, I want to show you something."

"Gin, you have to instruct the blacksmith to make these pipes smaller when they enter the tub of water. Here, activate these talismans while we talk. Look at me and pay attention..."

When Chu escorted his companions from the inner circle visit, each of them held their very own starfield talisman...

****