Book of Calamity

Now that he had entered the "Vanishing Library," Luke no longer bothered to maintain his disguise.

"Professor Felix... your current state is due to the influence of the Book of Calamity. You've been trapped here for over a hundred years; don't you wish for release?

Give me the Book of Calamity and liberate your soul."

The temperature in the library rapidly dropped.

This was different from the cooling in the Ice Dance Garden; the chill began from within the body.

Felix's body continued to transform, not only taking on a physical form but also contorting and deforming.

His features squeezed inward, and his entire body trembled as if enduring unbearable pain.

"No, I will never give you the Book of Calamity. It is the highest achievement of our Department of Secret Arts, and the origin of all disaster.

I remain here precisely to guard it, to prevent tragedy from recurring.

Elf! You used my kindness to deceive me, and you will pay the price!"

At this moment, Felix's face became a black hole. He floated, and cold, negative energy emanated from him. The books on the ground flipped rapidly in the chilling wind.

Luke extended his right arm, gripping the Ancient Rock.

White light radiated from the glove on his right arm, and righteous, sacred energy dispersed all the invading negative energy.

"Professor Felix, you just said energy is neutral, and knowledge is neutral. Now you claim the Book of Calamity is the origin of disaster?

That tragedy was man-made, the result of some secret art practitioners falling into darkness and the abyss. Yet, the Book of Calamity has shouldered the blame for over a hundred years, its name even changed later.

Its true name should be... the Original Encyclopedia of Secret Arts, recording all the secret art entries collected at the founding of the Aolu Academy's Department of Secret Arts. All your future achievements and works are based on this book, and it became the most precious treasure of your Department of Secret Arts.

Its greatest mistake was probably entrusting your passion for secret arts, becoming a mystical item."

Sacred light illuminated half of the room where Luke stood.

Before him, a clear line appeared between light and darkness. Professor Felix was in the dark side, his negative energy blocking the advance of the holy light.

"Sacred energy! How can an elf full of lies possess the power of justice?

And your knowledge of the Book of Calamity surpasses my imagination.

You... are very, very dangerous! I must kill you!"

Luke sighed.

"Professor Felix, you are a good person and a great scholar. I don't want you to perish in pain. But I must take the Book of Calamity... If I don't, it will cause a greater disaster at Aolu Academy in the future.

In this world, only I know its true value.

It is not a book that can only bring disaster."

After speaking, Luke directly pushed Qingkong's level from 60 to 100.

Blinding holy light erupted from the blade of the Ancient Rock, like a high-powered searchlight, casting an incandescent glare at Professor Felix.

The darkness in the other half of the room was dispelled by the light, and Professor Felix, exposed to the holy light, let out a pained cry. The Holy Flame ignited the filth and resentment accumulated in his soul, while many soul fragments were driven out of his body by the sacred energy.

The responsibility of his life and the guardianship of over a hundred years after death had burdened Felix and his companions with too much.

Their obsession with secret arts made them reluctant to leave the Book of Calamity.

Annihilation was a release for them.

Under the impact of the sacred energy, after the negative energy was burned away, Professor Felix's soul transformed from gray to pale white.

Then it dispersed into specks of starlight, vanishing into the air.

The room became warm in the light.

"Elf, if you could see the future, what name would it have?"

"Brick," Luke said the name the Player had given the Book of Calamity.

"Brick?! What an unexpected name, but it's better than 'Book of Calamity'... Please treat it well."

Felix, who had guarded this library, completely vanished. Where he had stood, a hardcover book as thick as a dictionary lay there.

Luke dispelled the sacred energy, reset Qingkong's level to 60, and walked over to pick up the hardcover book.

The cover of the book read: Original Encyclopedia of Secret Arts.

This was the Book of Calamity.

If the Player had not taken the Book of Calamity in advance, another Aolu Mage interested in secret arts would have met Felix in this manner. He would have gained Felix's trust and learned much knowledge related to secret arts here.

Then, like many secret art practitioners, he would have become obsessed.

He would have dispelled Felix's soul and taken the Book of Calamity, repeating the ancient Secret Art Incantation.

Uncontrolled secret arts would once again trigger a disaster at Aolu Academy.

Now, it was the "Brick" in Luke's hand.

Brick, brick, move it wherever it's needed.

"Brick" not only represented the book's resemblance to a brick but also vividly described its function.

The Aolu Mage's use of the Book of Calamity fell into a misunderstanding: the entire setup of the Arcane Ritual was designed around the Book of Calamity, using it as the subject in the Secret Art Incantation.

Furthermore, the immense energy the Book of Calamity displayed during Secret Art Incantation experiments kept the Aolu Mages trapped in a misconception, always obsessing over developing a grand secret art with the Book of Calamity as the primary subject.

The result was the creation of uncontrollable disasters.

Yet, the true purpose of the Book of Calamity is to serve as a secondary subject, providing support to other mystical items acting as the primary subject.

If the Aolu Mages had discovered this characteristic of the Book of Calamity sooner, they would have realized it is a versatile "divine artifact."

The Book of Calamity can be added to the secondary subject sequence of any Secret Art Incantation; it can replace any secondary subject without affecting the effect of the entire Secret Art Incantation.

In high-level secret arts, it can substitute for a top-tier mystical item that you cannot find.

During the development of secret arts, changing the position of the Book of Calamity within the secondary subject sequence can significantly reduce the experimental procedures required for secret art development.

Moreover, after casting a Secret Art Incantation, the Book of Calamity does not disappear or lose its effectiveness like other mystical items.

It is an essential mystical item for any Player secret art master.

It is the first encyclopedia of secret arts compiled and written in the Era World, embodying the passion for secret arts held by all the secret art masters of the Department of Secret Arts at Aolu Academy.

It had been waiting for its value to be discovered, yet it was branded as a source of disaster and given the name "Book of Calamity."

Go to where you belong.

Luke opened Clear Sky's Spatial Backpack and tossed the Book of Calamity inside.

Then, he picked up the books scattered on the floor, placed them back on the shelves, and reorganized them.

Finally, he selected a few secret art books from the shelves and packed them into his Spatial Backpack.

With the work finished, it was time to leave.

Luke summoned the Book of Calamity and used the mystical energy within it to open a portal.