Nether Scroll

Borne had no idea that Seventon was abuzz because of one of his articles. The Earl, who had been the last to catch on, was dumbfounded when he saw the piece Borne had submitted. Then he received a "kind" greeting from the dean, and the funding that had usually taken forever to approve was granted without a hitch. Even the Tower Spirit's permissions had been increased by ten percent.

Looking at the fully restocked materials storehouse, the Earl felt for the first time that some of its contents were a little "too hot to handle." He even wondered if sending Borne to the academy ahead of schedule had been a hasty decision...

It hadn't taken long for the boy to make such a huge mess.

Meanwhile, Borne hadn't given it much thought. With the points he'd received as compensation, he could finally exchange them for a few spells. At the moment, he was practically a "discount" version of Gandalf: the only magic he could manage was making a light, and whenever he ran into an enemy, all he could do was roll up his sleeves and fight.

When Borne entered the third floor of the Wizard Tower again, he noticed that it seemed unusually "lively" today. The Wizard Tower had a "Tower Spirit," which was basically a "terminal." Apart from people like Borne, who didn't even know what they were looking for and had to wander around browsing, most people simply used the Tower Spirit to search for information. They usually looked up what they needed and left, rarely lingering here, especially near the entrance.

But today was different. There were quite a few people around, and Borne could clearly feel that his arrival had attracted a lot of attention. These people, however, had obviously never received any proper "training."

Their attempts to hide it were so freaking fake...

One person held a book that clearly didn't belong here and pretended to read it. That was still acceptable; at least he was making an effort and knew enough to put on a show. Judging by his clothes, he was probably a commoner student.

The nobles farther away were worse. They didn't even have anything to use as cover. They stood in small groups with their heads bowed, pretending to chat, while sneaking glances over at Borne every now and then. He was speechless.

Were they keeping watch on him? Or looking for someone?

Despite his bewilderment, Borne didn't pay them much attention. He went straight to the spell section, then spent one point to have the Tower Spirit conceal him.

As Borne vanished from sight, the people watching him all looked astonished.

"Huh? Is that one of the new teachers? I don't recognize him."

"I don't think so. Didn't you see his clothes? He's wearing gray robes..."

"I couldn't see his face, but judging by his bearing, he doesn't seem like a commoner..."

"Could he be one of the senior students?"

"Probably not. I know pretty much all the academy's resident instructors and teachers, and I haven't seen him before. I couldn't get a good look at his face, but judging by his build and height, he's too short to be one of them."

The noble who seemed to be leading the group glanced to the side. His pupils contracted, and he said in a low voice, "Shut up! We're leaving..."

With that, he quickly led the way out.

"???"

The others exchanged glances, then followed him out.

Only after leaving the Wizard Tower did the noble in front look back. His expression was grim.

"So it was him. A new student!"

"A new student? How could a new student use an invisibility spell in the Wizard Tower?"

"Idiot, didn't you notice there was no magical fluctuation? The Tower Spirit hid him for us. If the image on the floor hadn't looked wrong just now, we wouldn't have noticed he was standing right beside us, eavesdropping!"

"The Tower Spirit? Damn, how many points would that take?"

"Nowadays, anyone submitting an article has to use his template. Do you really think he's short on points...?"

After the people watching him left, Borne reappeared. He wore a pained expression.

The Tower Spirit's invisibility had a time limit, and extending it cost points. Borne had only stood there listening for a few minutes, but it had already cost him more than ten points—enough to exchange for a level-one spell.

The high price was bad enough, but they'd still noticed him. This service deserved a terrible review.

Where did you go to complain to customer service?

Borne didn't know how intelligent the Tower Spirit was, so he could only gripe to himself.

He hadn't learned much, but from a few scattered remarks, he could guess that they were looking for the author of that article.

"Wait! Doesn't that give me away?"

Borne quickly realized that a new student couldn't possibly have that many points. Wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting he was the person who'd submitted the article?

He'd just been laughing at them, but it turned out he was the real clown...

Ever since he'd learned that he'd transmigrated to Toril, Borne had kept telling himself to watch what he said and be careful. He hadn't expected to expose himself completely so soon after starting school.

His identity had been discovered almost as soon as he enrolled. He'd stolen an article and used a "pen name," and they'd still found him out. Had he even made it out of the "newbie village" yet?

In a novel, a minor character like him would probably be cannon fodder...

If even the cannon fodder were this sharp, his prospects looked bleak!

Borne sighed softly. This was so hard...

He'd only just gotten his points, and people were already eyeing them. Money really did make people bold!

Though he hadn't been at the academy long, he already knew that points were its hard currency. Most people who traded points for gold coins were commoners, while nobles only accepted points, because the Tower Spirit only recognized points.

As long as you had enough points, you could exchange them for magical plants, laboratory access, or spellbooks in the Wizard Tower. That was why points were always in such high demand.

But there were few ways to earn points. Aside from ranking rewards, you could get them by taking on academy assignments, but there weren't many of those, and most were "monopolized" by the nobles.

Submitting articles was the real way to make a fortune. You got points as soon as an article was accepted, and if people borrowed it later, you received a "share" of the proceeds. That made it the commoners' first choice.

Although the nobles' elite education gave them an earlier start, any commoner who made it into the academy was one in ten thousand. Commoners generally had to wait until they were fourteen, when they'd finished growing, to have their talents tested and enroll. Nobles could get in at eleven or twelve.

The hardships of life, combined with exceptional talent, often allowed commoners to catch up from behind. And since papers required painstaking research, commoners' submissions were accepted much more often than nobles'.

That was why the nobles were always willing to collect points. The Enforcement Squad meant they couldn't openly steal them, but they still used other methods to get points from commoners. After all, points couldn't be eaten, and they had family and friends outside the academy, so exchanging points was "voluntary" on both sides!

Borne's first point had come to him the same way.

Wherever there were people, there were rivalries!

Even in an academy that seemed harmonious, the competition was fierce!

But now they were trying to shake him down? Did they think he was a pushover just because he hadn't bared his fangs?

He couldn't beat a Lich or take on a dragon, but surely he could handle a bunch of kids!

Borne gripped his wooden token and contacted the Tower Spirit to activate his permissions.

The scene before his eyes shifted. By the time he came to his senses, he was in an unfamiliar room.

The stone walls around him were completely sealed, protected by a powerful magic array. A delicate box sat on the table in the middle.

"This must be the box that holds the Golden Scroll."

Borne walked over and touched the box. A wave of magical energy swept across it, and his wooden token reacted.

A quiet mechanism clicked, and the box opened by itself. The golden scroll rested silently in its center.

Borne took a deep breath and calmed himself. He'd finally laid eyes on the legendary Nether Scroll.

When he unrolled it, he saw a thin sheet of gold foil, supple as a cicada's wing, measuring eight by ten inches—just a little shorter than a sheet of A4 paper.

As Borne looked at it, silver writing flowed across its surface, as if alive. The script wasn't anything he recognized, but he could automatically understand the meaning of every word.

"Knowledge transfer? Or 'divine script'?"

Legend said the writing of the gods had a similar effect. Though Borne had never encountered it, he was sure this wasn't the writing of the gods. These magical characters seemed almost like rules, and any intelligent creature could understand them just by looking.

The opening section described the analysis and construction of a longsword, complete with illustrations.

Borne quickly "read" the information on the scroll. As if it knew he'd finished, the writing moved on its own and rearranged itself into new content!

This time, it described the crafting and disassembly of a necklace. Borne was amazed. This really was magic!

Borne knew he only had an hour, so time was short. He immediately focused and began committing the information to memory.

Years of practice had taught him a different way of reading. He didn't try to understand everything at once; he simply crammed all the information into his brain.

Maybe it was his imagination, but the faster he memorized, the faster the writing on the scroll changed. The scroll in his hand slowly began to glow with a faint golden light. His active memorization turned into passive absorption, and the "words" on the scroll seemed to "drill" into his eyes. Knowledge mysteriously filled his mind.

The feeling was familiar, much like when he'd awakened the memories of his past life. If that had been like being swallowed by an avalanche, this was like snowflakes drifting down in a flurry.

But the snowfall grew heavier and heavier, until the memories hidden deep in his mind poured over him like an avalanche once more. And still the snow kept falling...

When Borne came to his senses again, the Nether Scroll in his hands had vanished. It felt as if his brain were about to split open.

"...Huh? My nose is bleeding?!"

Borne hurriedly tore off two strips of cloth and stuffed them into his nostrils.

"Is this clearing a blocked blood vessel in my brain...?"

He'd awakened a lot of "memories" this time. Maybe his mental strength had improved after advancing to Arcanist, because he hadn't passed out like before.

And those fragments of memory...

Had I really awakened? Had I really transmigrated?"

Or was I a native of Toril who'd somehow gained the memories of someone from another world?

The sheer volume of memories was making Borne's old symptoms flare up again. His scattered thoughts sent him straight into a spiral of self-doubt.

Fortunately, his body's normal functions pulled him back to reality.

He was hungry...

"Forget it. What's the point of thinking so much? Whether I'm a transmigrator or a native, what difference does it make? I'm still me!"

"I'd better fill my stomach first!"

Borne sat on the table, took some rations out of his magic pouch, and began to eat. At the same time, he started sorting through the new memories in his mind.

This time, he hadn't just gained a wealth of magical knowledge. He'd also recovered many fragments of memories from his past life. Most importantly, those memories included a great deal of information about Toril and the worlds of the multiverse.

My past...

No, let's call it my past life.

He hadn't expected that he'd been a tabletop game enthusiast in his past life. After all, aside from hardcore gamers, few people would look up the lore of a game they played.

And information about the setting, the timelines of major events, and other such details were exactly what he needed most right now.

So this was my cheat?

That was fine. If it had been some kind of system or other weird Golden Finger, he wouldn't have dared use it.

Along with all the newly acquired memories and information, another spell rune appeared in Borne's mental space!

The first spell rune had been [Light Orb].

"So it really is arcane magic..."

Hmm... his magical power had also grown a little. Advancing to Arcanist by exploiting a bug really did work.

But an Arcanist who advanced through the Nether Scroll was clearly inferior to one who advanced by gaining insight on his own. It was like how someone who advanced through pills in a cultivation novel couldn't beat someone who'd cultivated properly. Still, it had the advantage of being sustainable. This method could "produce" a large number of low-level spellcasters.

Once the lower ranks had a large enough base, the upper ranks could grow too—even gain a multiplier!

Borne connected his consciousness to the new spell rune.

[Identify]?

Judging from this, the spells gained from the Nether Scroll were mostly determined by the knowledge on the scroll.

Borne turned over the half-eaten piece of white bread in his hand and used [Identify] on the [bread].

The information immediately came back.

White bread: main ingredients—flour, milk, butter

Effect: increases satiety

Borne rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, then used [Identify] on the [bread] again. This time, he not only increased the amount of magic he used, but also probed it with his mental strength.

Half-eaten white bread: made from fine flour, mixed with a small amount of butter and milk, then fermented and baked

Effect: restores a small amount of stamina and reduces hunger.

"The name changed, and the information and effects became more detailed. It even gave a brief explanation of the process!"

Borne used [Identify] several more times. The results changed each time, and the descriptions became increasingly detailed.

Suddenly, an idea struck Borne. He used [Identify] on himself.

Name: Borne Ioulaum, race: human, male, affiliation: Netheril, healthy.

Borne:...

What the hell was that...

And what was with "healthy"?

But this wasn't the time to look into it. Borne contacted the Tower Spirit and discovered that more than a day had already passed.

After a few interactions, Borne realized that the Tower Spirit didn't seem to have much intelligence. It was a little like the mechanical intelligence from his past life—or rather, mechanical stupidity.

Just as he was about to give the command to "leave," an interesting idea suddenly popped into his head. The corner of his mouth curled into a crooked grin...