by Zhuang Bifan
Chapter 537 - Reading the Book of Eternity
Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages, had said something that was still regarded as the golden rule by all mages.
"Knowledge is the true faith of a mage!"
This sentence was written on the cover page of the Book of Eternity, which Lin Li was holding now.
People nowadays couldn't imagine how difficult it was for humans to learn magic, and how much people d.e.s.i.r.ed knowledge during the Dark Age.
Under the control of the High Elves, humans couldn't expect the High Elves to teach them magic, although learning magic was not forbidden for humans. Humans could only explore the misty realm of magic on their own, and record everything down in their own magic books. These books were then passed down generations after generations and perfected along the way.
During that time, the typical items that a human mage had were a magic staff and a magic book; even Geresco was no different. Now, Geresco's magic staff was housed in the Guild of Magic at Alanna, shielding the guild from harm for over 1000 years. The Book of Eternity, a book which recorded all of Geresco's findings in his lifetime, was now gently flipped open in Lin Li's hands.
The pages of the Book of Eternity were made of leaves from the Tree of Eternity. The ink used in the book was the tree sap that Geresco had gotten from the trunk of the Tree of Eternity. The Tree of Eternity which once supported the entire Anril had leaves and trunk that held more power than any ordinary person could imagine. The Book of Eternity made from these things contained so much power that it could easily be considered the most powerful magical weapon during the Dark Age.
However, just like what was written on the cover page of the book, its value didn't come from its power, but rather the knowledge, experiences, and revelations the God of Mages Geresco had throughout his lifetime about magic. This was the true priceless treasure to mages. Be it the powerful seventh Sky Castle or the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant which could increase mental strength, neither and nothing was more useful to mages than the knowledge in their minds.
This famous Book of Eternity was lost in Anril for more than 1000 years until Lin Li obtained it, making many mages actively searching for it. Though nobody had ever seen the Book of Eternity before, based on the fact that it belonged to Geresco, many a Legendary-mage had announced that whoever held on this book wouldn't face difficulty in reaching the Sanctuary-realm.
This was just a wild guess by people who had never seen the Book of Eternity before. However, Lin Li knew after he had gotten the book that although those people's guess seemed to be an exaggeration, the truth was more complex than that.
The Book of Eternity could be considered the most complex magical book Lin Li had ever read. Before obtaining this book, Lin Li had speculated more than once what kind of content Geresco would write in his magical book. When Lin Li had flipped open the book for the first time after getting it from Tutankhamun, he finally knew that the contents of this book were very diverse.
For 1000-plus years, all kinds of speculations about the contents of the Book of Eternity existed. Even the most absurd and exaggerated guesses didn't cover 0.01% of its real contents. Anyone who had read the book would know that Geresco didn't rely on the slightest bit of luck to become the God of Mages. He had achieved it through hard work.
As a mage, Lin Li was concerned about magical spells the most. When he was at the small wooden hut of Tutankhamun, he had watched a battle between Geresco and an Evil Eye Tyrant through a Spacetime Beacon Spell. During that battle, Lin Li had seen Geresco use a level-23 Legendary magic spell—Starfall, but what he was more shaken by was the Void of the Stars which only existed in legends.
There was no mage who had the slightest knowledge of the Void of the Stars now in Anril. Nobody even knew about the existence of that magic spell. Even knowledgeable people like Andoine could only find remnants of the Void of the Stars from legends. They only knew that was a realm only gods could reach.
Legend had it that mages who mastered the Void of the Stars could entrust their bodies and souls to nothingness, and were no longer subject to any harm from earthly magic and weapons. How could Lin Li not be interested in such powerful magic? From the first time he had opened this book, Lin Li had been looking for information about the Void of the Stars. He didn't want to learn it immediately, though. After all, despite not knowing the exact level of this magical spell, he guessed that it wasn't something an ordinary Legendary-mage could accomplish.
This kind of curious mentality wouldn't change with people or the level of ability a person had. The only thing that differed among people was whether they could control such mentality well. In fact, curiosity was not a bad thing. For any intelligent race, curiosity drove development. It was precisely curiosity that made people explore and learn. The act of learning magic, in some sense, was precisely for fulfillment of curiosity.
Lin Li wanted to know how much Geresco knew about a magic spell like the Void of the Stars which only existed in legends. However, he soon realized that he had never seen at least 90% of the magical spells recorded in the Book of Eternity before.
These spells contained Ancient Dragon language, Demon Language which Connoris had mentioned, and even some Titan language. In contrast, the language of the High Elves and modern languages were rarely used in them. It was evident from these spells that Geresco was extremely knowledgeable.
One needed to know that Connoris had directly passed a paragraph of Demonic runes to Lin Li with mental strength back at the Throne of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. This had allowed Lin Li to break through all barriers and step into the Legendary-realm. However, the Demon Language was merely a small part in this book. Be it Demon Language, Ancient Dragon Language, or Titan Language, all of them pointed directly to the origins of power and core knowledge about Rules. It wasn't surprising that people speculated that reading this Book of Eternity would allow a person to reach Sanctuary-realm effortlessly.
Other than a large number of spells which Lin Li couldn't understand, the more important part of this book was Geresco's thoughts on magic. Geresco had handed this book to Tutankhamun because he wanted to create a powerhouse who could save humanity in time of crisis. Thus, Geresco had recorded his thoughts and experiences down to every magical spell, every word, every syllable, every way of mana distribution, and every kind of elemental sequencing. It was right to say that reading this Book of Eternity was like being taught by Geresco personally.
However, everything that Lin Li could see was just a small portion of this thick book. Lin Li could see more blank pages than he could see words. Of course, Lin Li was aware that they weren't truly blank. He couldn't see what's written on those pages, because he hadn't reached the realm required to see those words.
Though Lin Li had already reached the Legendary-realm which most people couldn't, he was still far behind Geresco during his time. Lin Li knew that he could only get to see everything in the Book of Eternity when he had reached the same realm as Geresco.
Since Lin Li had gotten the Book of Eternity, reading this book had become a daily task for him. Though he could only see a small part of it now, every sentence in this limited portion he could see was worth analyzing repeatedly.
The room was exceptionally quiet. The thick Book of Eternity lay on the table, and its pages made from the leaves of the Tree of Eternity radiated a faint fragrance. Lin Li recited the contents on the book word by word, carefully inferring ideas and thoughts between the lines.
Compared to Connoris directly passing Demonic runes to Lin Li's mind via mental strength, reading this book word by word and then coming up with his own thoughts had slowed down the process of learning. However, though Lin Li was able to rise to the Legendary-realm through obtaining Connoris' understanding on that paragraph of Demonic runes, his own understanding of Demonic runes was still very much limited.
Lin Li could possibly become a second Geresco with just passing of mental strength. However, if he wanted to exceed th
e achievements of Geresco, he needed to continuously acc.u.mulate knowledge by trying to understand and appreciate knowledge by himself in the long run. This way, there wouldn't be any limitations to the knowledge he had obtained. In addition, maybe Lin Li could even discover something Geresco had missed out on and work on it. Eventually, when Lin Li reached Geresco's level, he wouldn't be just another Geresco, but someone far greater than Geresco.
Actually, this was part and parcel of human development. No matter how great the forefathers were, they all served to lead the way for later generations and build a strong foundation for their descendants to walk even further on the path of development. This applied not only to mages—pharmacists, blacksmiths, and all other occupations all followed the same principle. This was the so-called inheritance of knowledge.
More often than not, Lin Li had an illusion that Geresco was standing in front of him, answering his queries regarding magic when he read the Book of Eternity carefully. Whenever Lin Li encountered a difficult question, he could certainly find an inspiring paragraph in the book which would clear up all his thoughts.
Stars hang in the night sky outside the window, The magic lamp in the reading room was already automatically switched on, and bright light illuminated the room. Lin Li was still reading the Book of Eternity with full concentration. He seemed to have chanced upon a difficulty. He frowned slightly, murmured a few syllables, and repeatedly chewed on the contents in the book.
Suddenly, Lin Li's eyes lit up, and his murmurs became quicker as if heavy rain landing on leaves. With the sudden cease of recitation, Lin Li's brows relaxed, and a smile spread on his face. Lin Li could clearly feel that his comprehension of magic was deepened, which was brought by the resolution of one problem. He could vaguely sense that his true realm was close to level-21 now.
The next morning, William came to the castle and personally invited Lin Li and his companions to attend the auction.
When Lin Li's carriage had reached the City Square of Roland City, the entire square was filled with all kinds of luxurious carriages. Although the carriages varied in design, they were arranged in an orderly manner, and didn't seem messy despite the large number. Perhaps it was due to the tendency for people to compare with others. Even for a vehicle, the carriages were luxuriously decorated. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that a gem taken from any carriage would be enough to support an ordinary person for a lifetime.
However, Lin Li's carriage didn't stop there, and drove directly into the courtyard behind the Elven Theater. There were already some carriages stopped there, and they appeared much humbler than those outside. However, after some inspection, Lin Li knew that they were more expensive than the ones outside which were adorned with gems.
To ask an Inscriber to inscribe mageweath for a horse-carriage wasn't something that could be achieved with money alone. One needed to have sufficiently high status and power so that the Inscriber wouldn't feel insulted. Among these carriages, Lin Li saw one that made use of Alchemy Arrays and even one that used magic gears. If the carriages outside were completing for money, then these carriages in the courtyard were competing for status.
However, those mageweaths that the carriages used were too rough and rudimentary for Lin Li. The purpose of these mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays was no more than making the carriage more comfortable and less drowsy, or adding some defensive properties. The carriage that used magic gears, however—if it could even be considered a carriage, since it didn't even need to be driven by horses—made Lin Li think of cars which existed before he traveled to Anril. Unfortunately, it looked too unsightly, just like a plus-sized box.
"The owner of this carriage is Prince Hilary of the Ledin Kingdom. Prince Hilary's greatest interest was to find and recover lost technologies from the Dark Age. If President Felic is interested, I can help to introduce you to him," William suggested upon seeing Lin Li looking at the ugliest carriage.
Lin Li smiled and shook his head. This kind of introduction was rather meaningless. That Prince Hilary could greet him a bit because of William's introduction at most and forget who Lin Li was immediately after. Moreover, it wasn't necessary, as Lin Li wouldn't need to deal with the Ledin royals for a long time to come.
Even in the unlikely case that Lin Li had to deal with them, he still had Englos and Sendros. Lin Li could always ask them to introduce Prince Hilary to him when necessary…
Chapter 538 - Twilight Dragon Armor
Seeing that Lin Li shook his head, William was rather disappointed. However, he didn't say anything more, and led Lin Li and his companions to the front hall of the Elven Theater. The massive front hall was filled with people who had arrived early, all waiting for the commencement of the auction and chatting with people they knew about various topics.
Although some were sharp enough to spot William enter with another person, nobody dared to approach, as they knew very well that they didn't have the right to speak to William. At the same time, they were very curious about the background of the youngster who came with William as it was clear that William was the one leading the way for him.
One needed to know that even the guests of honor on the second floor had never received such treatment from William. After all, William was even respected by Castellan Arathor of the Roland City. But now, this eminent William led the way for a youngster whom nobody had seen before. Perhaps even the king wouldn't receive such treatment if he were to come!
Most people at the front hall were mostly leaders or representatives from the various factions. Some were from families with over a thousand years of heritage, some were new factions that emerged in the recent centuries. Any one of them had power no worse than Sienna, yet they didn't even have the right to speak to William.
Lin Li scanned his surroundings, and saw some familiar faces who seemed to have given presents to the Tower of Dusk's pharmacists. Were they here to present Wilkinson with gifts? Lin Li found it rather funny.
On the second floor was a small but lavishly decorated hall. The ceiling sported a delicate magical crystal lamp, while the ground was laid with a lash purple sheep yarn carpet. All those Elven-style decorations could probably only be otherwise found in the underground palace that Osric had built.
There were also some people talking in this hall. There seemed to be more familiar faces here compared to downstairs. The Castellan of Doland City led his son Lasorick to talk with Castellan Arathor of Roland City joyously. That bastard Lasorick kept staring at Arathor's daughter Yvonne, and didn't even want to move his eyes an inch. It was better this way. If not, heaven knew what fuss he would throw if he saw Lin Li.
The President of the Blacksmith Guild, Master Garza, tapped on the shoulder of a bitter-looking young man with full strength. He spoke loudly and seemed to be saying some words of encouragement to the young man. The young man was full of despair, yet he didn't dare to show any disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to his father.
"President Felic, do you want to have a chit-chat here, or directly proceed to your guest room?" William had wanted to introduce these people to Lin Li at first, but he rejected this idea once he saw that the Castellan of Doland City had brought his son Lasorick along.
Lin Li wasn't close to any of the people in this hall to the extent that he would sit down and have a conversation with them. So, he greeted a few people and proceeded to the guest room with William.
The guest room wasn't small at all. Lin Li had brought Wilkinson and a few other high-level pharmacists along, yet the room didn't feel packed at all. William explained as if seeking praise that his guest room was different from others in the sense that it was built for the king. How could the king watch a show alone? There needed to be at least a dozen attendants serving him.
William didn't feel there was anything wrong with letting Lin Li use the VIP guest room. After all, just in the team that had followed Lin Li here, there were six high-level pharmacists. Moreover, those pharmacists were all very respectful to Lin Li.
If Lin Li was just the owner of the Tow
er of Dusk and the President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy Plains, William would not have lowered his stance so much. He wouldn't have done this even for the six high-level pharmacists. What made William do this was the fact that the existence of these six pharmacists meant that there was a pharmaceutics power comparable to the Pharmacist Guild out there.
Moreover, how could a person these six high-level pharmacists looked up to be just a President of an ordinary Guild of Magic? William had witnessed the arrogance of high-level pharmacists before, and he knew very well that they wouldn't lower their heads even to typical Legendary powerhouses. There was only one type of people who could gain their respect. Though William hadn't gotten the exact answer from Lin Li, he knew very well that this young mage was not simple.
After Lin Li and his companions had been seated, William called for attendants personally. Delicate containers with precious fruits and drinks were served onto the table. It was right to say that in terms of service, William had used the highest standards, hoping that Lin Li wouldn't feel the slightest bit neglected.
"President Felic, please do tell them if you are unsatisfied with something. Now, please excuse me for the moment," William said politely. After all, he was the master here, and couldn't leave the other guests by themselves no matter how much he valued Lin Li.
Lin Li waved his hands, unbothered. He didn't feel too shocked at such treatment. His mentality was now at the stage where the external environment could no longer affect him. Meanwhile, from the perspective of Wilkinson and others, Lin Li deserved such treatment given his status as a pharmaceutics Master.
After William had left, Wilkinson and other pharmacists made use of the time before the start of the auction to ask Lin Li questions regarding pharmaceutics. Nobody's success was coincidental. Though Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were more talented than ordinary people, they could only get where they were today because of their attitude to learn anytime, anywhere.
