Arcane Trading Room

Lynch finally understood why Officer Natalie had only ever mentioned this place in passing without ever actually bringing him along.

Back then, with just a few shillings in his pocket, he would have been kicked out before even setting foot through the door. He felt as though they would charge people just for breathing the air in here.

He couldn't blame these worshippers of knowledge for doing anything wrong. He knew that in this world, the higher the cost of acquiring something, the more it was valued.

Their actions did indeed force people to place greater value on knowledge and cherish what they obtained.

The problem was using it as an excuse for shameless extortion and lining their pockets. ‘Fine, if I don't read the books, that's that. In any case, I'm just here to try my luck at learning some abilities, so I'd better avoid causing extra trouble.’

The librarian let out a rather regretful sigh, though he didn't push any more reading services on him. Once he clarified Lynch's purpose, he led him into a special room.

According to the librarian, the screening upon entry checked not only whether a visitor harbored hostility, but also observed their physical condition—including an assessment of their arcane affinity. Unfortunately, Lynch's affinity was merely at the level of an ordinary person, neither good nor bad.

This meant Lynch could use arcana normally, but compared to those with an arcane-attuned constitution, it would consume at least ten times as much energy, and the effects would fall far short. As a result, it would be nearly impossible for him to rely on arcana as a primary means of combat.

Of course, compared to those who were “arcane-dull,” Lynch was already quite lucky. Supposedly, the daughter of an older Watcher was so dull to arcana that she couldn't even cast a basic Luminescence Spell, yet she still ended up joining the ranks of the Watchers later on.

However, Lynch wasn't disappointed by this, as arcana among the extraordinary powers of this world wasn't nearly as central as magic in the video games from his past life.

Most arcana in this world were functional utility techniques. Flashy effects like fireballs or ice bolts from games were practically non-existent. Instead, most were highly specialized tricks, much like Miss Valente's Feather Fall or Warming Spell.

Furthermore, as long as the methods were correct, even non-Soul Severers could cast them, though under far stricter conditions and with no guarantee of success every time. While Soul Severers consumed energy to use them, ordinary people consumed their own will. Every use eroded their will, which was difficult to recover. Because of this, ordinary people who delved deeply into occultism and arcana were rarely sane, and their eventual fates were usually tragic.

Yet despite how dangerous arcana was to ordinary people, before the Fourth Age—when Soul Severers did not yet exist—living beings relied on these very arcane techniques to fight off heteromorphs. Even now, ordinary people in certain specialized fields studied arcana, and some even rashly attempted them out of pure curiosity. In doing so, they generated plenty of business for the Watchers while effectively easing the population pressure in Lande.

In Lynch's view, arcana was something he might not use often, but he definitely needed to know a few. As long as he could cast them a couple of times in key moments to save his life, that would be enough. He didn't need to splurge power like in a game.

Therefore, Lynch was actually quite satisfied with the result. Pressing a hand against his pocket, he followed behind the librarian and entered the room at the end of the corridor.

The place resembled a lounge, featuring a wooden counter and a spread of individual armchairs. Four or five visitors sat scattered around, eerie in their silence as each huddled in a corner, head bowed over a thin catalog. When Lynch walked in, they merely glanced up for a second before shifting their attention right back to their catalogs.

Supposedly, this was the dedicated area inside the Knowledge Library for consigned documents, as well as one of its most dangerous areas. Strange disappearance cases even broke out here on occasion. That was because people often brought eerie goods in for consignment, every item emanating an irresistible allure that compelled anyone who touched them to open and read them.

And after that, there was no “after that.”

“You're different from them. They want to buy literature, so they need to read the sales catalog. You want to buy abilities and arcana, so reading the catalog is useless.”

The librarian brought Lynch to the counter, nodded to a young man in an academic gown sitting behind it, and pulled a thick, black-covered book from under the counter.

“Use this. Searching is much more convenient this way, though it's a bit of a pain.”

‘Don't you sound contradictory?’ Lynch thought. ‘And how much trouble could a book possibly be? It's not like it can jump up and bite me.’

Lynch opened it out of curiosity, only to realize he couldn't understand a single word. The text on the page resembled a pile of writhing earthworms, twisting together relentlessly. Looking at it for just a few seconds sent waves of dizziness and nausea through him, making him want to vomit.

The librarian chuckled and placed his hand on the book.

In the next moment, a faint red mist suddenly billowed from the pages—the signature manifestation of Dreamlands filth. The red mist quickly enveloped the tome, giving the entire book a hazy appearance. Then, a human face slowly emerged on the jet-black cover. The face abruptly opened its eyes, its lips moving as if it had come alive, and uttered its first words:

“Who dares disturb the great Sair's slumber? State your name, and the great Sair shall grant you eternal sleep.”

“This is a vassal of the Lord of a Billion Radiance. They mostly appear in the library chambers of various ruins and are very handy for searching. Sair, he wants to buy some arcana and abilities. Help search the items currently up for consignment.”

“Maintain your humility and respect, Daryl! Address me as Lord Sair!” The eyes on the cover turned to Lynch, suddenly letting out a burst of loud laughter. “Arcane dullness! Hahaha, struggling to cast even a single arcane spell, how utterly pitiful! Do you even know what arcane dullness means? See that ink bottle next to me? I bet even its affinity is higher than yours! Why don't you two swap places? You squat on the desk, and it can go learn arcana for you!”

‘What the hell...’ Lynch thought. ‘Can't you speak like a normal creature? I'm actually getting mocked by a book! What is wrong with this library? Everything here is bizarre and wicked.’

Lynch felt his eye twitching. Engaging in a shouting match with a book seemed a bit beneath his dignity, so he pulled his lips into a tight, polite smile while his mouth twitched.

“Daryl, the Lord of Radiance himself said that using me requires utmost caution! I am the noble Book of Arcana and Book of Wisdom! Don't bring just anything before me! I refuse to run searches for these arcane-dull savages! They only deserve to wear animal skins, hold wooden clubs, and dance in grass skirts! Hey, savage, why don't you perform a dance for me right now? On the off chance the great Sair is pleased... Ouch! What are you doing?! Wait! Savage, stop right there!”

Lynch didn't say a word. He simply picked up the ink bottle with a smile, unscrewed the cap, and hovered it directly over Sair.

“Calm down! I am the great Sair, you can't do this to me! Stop! I was wrong! Honored sir, I was truly wrong! Please forgive my foolishness, I'll search for you right away! Ta-da! Sair is indeed the greatest Book of Wisdom, the results are retrieved so fast and accurately! Let me see... Hahaha, you are far too unlucky, there's barely anything suited for you! I... Wait, don't pour the ink! I was wrong, I'm shutting up right now!”

Feeling his blood pressure spike, Lynch snatched the book away. It had already automatically flipped open to a page displaying the inventory records.

The librarian, Daryl, leaned in to take a look and sighed. “Unfortunately, not many people have been selling arcana recently. You'll just have to come back in a few days to try your luck. However, there is still one ability you can use. It falls under the death authority and is called End Resonance. It allows your mind to resonate with the soul of a dying person, entering their soul world. Most use it to hear last words, though some take the opportunity to discuss countermeasures. Regrettably, it's not a very useful ability, so it's been sitting here for a long time.”

It was practically useless, but Lynch asked anyway, “How much is this one?”

“Since it's completely unsellable, it's at the absolute minimum price: ten pounds. Adding the five percent commission, it comes to ten pounds and ten shillings.”

“Huh? The buyer has to pay the commission? I thought the seller covered that.”

Daryl offered a subtle smile. “The seller takes home nine pounds and ten shillings.”

‘Holy crap, taking commission from both sides? Are you guys real estate agents or what?!’

“Honestly, you'd be better off coming back in a few days. Maybe there will be a suitable item then,” Daryl said, spreading his hands. “There really aren't any suitable goods right now. A pity.”

Lynch didn't feel it was much of a pity. In fact, he was actually a bit tempted.

Soul Severers had no limit on the number of abilities they could possess, nor did abilities take up fixed slots. Having another skill never hurt. Even if it was temporarily useless now, there was no guaranteeing he wouldn't find an opportunity to use it in the future. Besides, it would deepen his understanding of the death authority from a different perspective.

The price was just painful enough to make Lynch hesitate. But just as he was agonizing over it, he heard a voice asking from behind.

“I happen to know an arcane spell that you Soul Severers love to use—Flash. Wondering if you might be interested?”

A young voice suddenly sounded from behind. Lynch and Daryl both froze in surprise and turned back to look.