Chapter 50: The Library

After some casual small talk, the conversation gradually shifted to serious matters. Shaoke took a sip of wine and said, "Francis, I just asked the innkeeper. He said there's a library in this city. I think we should go there this afternoon to copy a few Second Rank spells. If we wait until we return to the capital to do it, it'll cost us a lot of time."

The Female Mage's eyes lit up, and she was very interested in Shaoke's suggestion. "Really? That's great! Let's go later. I just hope the library has a complete collection. I also need to look up some information!" She began eating a little faster.

Lunch quickly ended as the two mages, ignoring formal dining etiquette, continued their conversation. Looking at the leftover food on the table, the Female Mage pulled out a napkin, gently dabbed the corner of her mouth, and said with some regret, "Mage Xueye, this is really too wasteful. It would have been better to save the money for some necessities in the capital."

Shaoke shook his head. "Let's not talk about that, Francis. Let's rest for a bit and then go. I'll go inform the innkeeper first, so he can have a carriage ready for us."

The two mages rested in their respective rooms for a while, then gathered their copying materials. With the innkeeper's help, they took a carriage to the city's library.

When Shaoke saw the library before him, he felt as if he had come to the wrong place. The so-called library wasn't large at all, and its surroundings were quite remote. Only a few pedestrians occasionally passed by. The walls were built with long, dark bluestone, and only a few scattered households lived nearby. The snow on the surrounding stone-paved roads hadn't been cleared, but fortunately, there were few passersby, so the snow hadn't been churned to mud, at least giving the mages clean footing.

The Female Mage got off the carriage and stood staring for a moment. Finally, the two exchanged a glance, shook their heads helplessly, and dismissed the carriage, telling the driver to return for them that evening.

Shaoke took a few steps forward and carefully examined the somewhat worn wooden door. He sensed a faint magical fluctuation on it. After carefully feeling the fluctuation, he turned to the Female Mage and said, "Francis, this door requires us to leave a unique imprint before it will open. Come over and imprint it as well."

After saying this, Shaoke slowly mustered his mental energy. His hands continuously formed one Gesture after another, each infused with magical power. Finally, the gestures formed a small black sphere the size of a fingernail between his hands. However, as mental energy was injected, the sphere gradually turned into a faint silvery-white color. After reciting a special Spell, the small silver sphere transformed into a stream of light and imprinted itself onto the magic circle on the door. After the Female Mage completed the same process, the two patiently waited outside for someone to respond from inside. They didn't dare to simply push the door open, as they didn't know if there were any magical traps on it. Moreover, they hadn't yet learned the spell to identify traps.

Shaoke felt as if they had waited outside for a full magic hour before the somewhat worn door emitted a strong magical fluctuation, followed by a series of creaking sounds, and finally opened.

An Elder Mage with graying hair, wearing a first-tier mage robe, opened the door. He rubbed his eyes, carefully examined Shaoke and the Female Mage for a moment, and said, "Are you the two whose imprints these are? Follow me inside! The curator is waiting for you inside."

After carefully observing the Elder Mage before him, Shaoke took the Female Mage's hand and followed him inside. The courtyard was also paved with the same long, dark bluestone as the walls. The snow on the ground had been cleared to form a winding path. The Elder Mage slowly led the way in front, and the two young mages had no choice but to follow slowly. After passing through a corridor, the Elder Mage brought them to a slightly taller stone house built with large white stones. He gently knocked on the oak door carved with various strange patterns and said loudly, "Curator, two young mages have arrived. Would you like to come out and see them?"

Both the Female Mage and Shaoke were momentarily stunned. Was this how a mage spoke to their own curator? It felt very disrespectful to them.

"Hmm! Let them do whatever they need to do and don't disturb me. Oh, by the way, do you two need to rest here? I'll have someone clean a room for you early." A gravelly voice came from inside the room, followed by the sound of something being thrown. "You really shouldn't have disturbed me. Go attend to your business! I'm very busy now and have no time to talk to you. Damn it, ten thousand gold coins, down the drain..."

Just as Shaoke was still in a daze, the Elder Mage who had led them turned and slowly walked away. "You two, follow me. No need to greet that old fellow. He's a Fifth Tier mage with a very strange temper. He never goes out during the day, only venturing out at night wearing a cloak like you do. He really doesn't like being disturbed. He hides in his room all day experimenting with things. And..."

Shaoke listened to the Elder Mage's rambling for a while but soon lost interest. Only the Female Mage appeared to be listening attentively. The Elder Mage glanced back a few times and, seeing this, spoke even more enthusiastically, as if he hadn't had a chance to talk for a long time.

Shaoke suddenly interrupted him and interjected, "Esteemed mage, why is it so quiet here? Are there no other mages around? Are you the only one taking care of this place?"

"Alright, this is where the spells are stored." The Elder Mage led them to a stone house and pointed, saying, "There are no spells on the door. You can enter anytime." He then stroked his snow-white hair and sighed with emotion. "There are still some mages here, but my rank is the lowest, so I'm the one who has to greet the mages who come here. Sigh! No matter what, they shouldn't make a mage like me clean the courtyard, right? The laborers aren't allowed here. When there's nothing to do, they don't stay here. The houses outside are their residences."

Shaoke looked the mage over again and said, "Esteemed mage, we still don't know how to address you. Have you been on the battlefield before?"

The Elder Mage's somewhat cloudy eyes suddenly brightened for a moment before dimming again. "Yes, I was once a border garrison mage. After being promoted to a formal mage, I was assigned to the battlefield by the military department. In the end, I was injured there by mages from an Enemy Country, which is why I ended up like this... Are you also border garrison mages? Heh! I never thought there would be female mages going to that harsh border."

The Elder Mage knew the mages before him had things to do, so he tactfully bid farewell and left, saying that if they needed anything, they could find him in the small house near the gate. If they needed to stay overnight, he could arrange rooms for them. Shaoke and the Female Mage had already decided to return to the inn in the evening, so they declined the Elder Mage's offer.