The Book of Calamity

Now that he had entered this "Vanishing Library," Luke stopped pretending.

"Professor Felix... Your current state is the result of the Book of Calamity's influence. You've been trapped here for over a century. Don't you want to be freed?

Give me the Book of Calamity, and I'll set your soul free."

The temperature in the library dropped rapidly.

This was different from the chill in the Ice Dance Garden. This time, the cold was first felt deep inside the body.

Felix's body continued to transform. Not only did he become more tangible, but his features also twisted and warped.

His features were being crushed together, and his whole body trembled as if he were enduring unbearable pain.

"No. I will never give you the Book of Calamity. It is the Department of Secret Arts' greatest achievement, and the source of all calamities.

I stayed here to watch over it and keep the tragedy from happening again.

Elf! You used my kindness toward you to deceive me. You will pay for this!"

Felix's face had now become a black hole. He floated in the air, radiating a chilling negative energy that sent the books on the floor flipping rapidly in the cold wind.

Luke extended his right arm and gripped the Ancient Rock.

White light shone through the glove on his right hand. The righteous, surging holy energy dispelled all the negative energy rushing toward him.

"Professor Felix, you just said that energy is neutral, and so is knowledge. So why are you now saying the Book of Calamity is the source of all calamities?

That tragedy was caused by people. It was the result of certain secret art practitioners succumbing to darkness and the abyss. Yet the Book of Calamity has been taking the blame for over a century, and even its name was changed later.

Its true name should be... the Original Encyclopedia of Secret Arts. It recorded all the secret arts collected when the Department of Secret Arts at Aolu Academy was first established. All your later achievements and works were based on this book, and it became the Department's most precious treasure.

Its greatest mistake was probably that it embodied your passion for secret arts and became a mysterious item."

The holy light illuminated the half of the room where Luke stood.

A distinct boundary between light and darkness appeared before her. Professor Felix stood in the darkness, his negative energy holding back the holy light.

"Holy energy! How could an Elf who lies through her teeth wield the power of justice?

"And you know far more about the Book of Calamity than I ever imagined.

"You... are incredibly dangerous! I have no choice but to kill you!"

Luke sighed.

"Professor Felix, you're 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 an even greater disaster at Aolu Academy in the future.

"I'm the only one in this world who knows its true value.

"It isn't a book that can only bring calamity."

After saying this, Luke raised Clear Sky's level directly from 60 to 100.

Blinding holy light burst from the blade of the Ancient Rock like a powerful searchlight, bathing Professor Felix in its white glare.

The darkness in the other half of the room was driven away by the light. Exposed to its radiance, Professor Felix let out a pained wail. The Holy Flame ignited the filth and resentment accumulated in his soul, while the holy energy drove many other spirits out of his body.

The duty they had borne in life and the century they had spent guarding the book after death had weighed heavily on Felix and his companions.

Their obsession with secret arts had made it impossible for them to leave the Book of Calamity behind.

For them, fading away was a release.

Under the impact of the holy energy, the negative energy burned away, and Professor Felix's soul changed from gray to pale white.

Then it scattered into points of starlight and disappeared into the air.

The room warmed in the light.

"Elf, if you can see the future, what name will it have?"

"Brick," Luke said, giving the Book of Calamity the name players had come up with.

"Brick?! That's a name I never would have expected, but it's better than 'Book of Calamity'... Please treat it well."

Felix, the guardian of the library, had vanished completely. Where he had just stood, a thick, hardback book lay on the floor, about as thick as a dictionary.

This was the Book of Calamity.

If players didn't take the Book of Calamity in advance, another Aolu Mage interested in secret arts would meet Felix this way. He would earn Felix's trust and learn a great deal about secret arts here.

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

He would dispel Felix's soul and take the Book of Calamity, repeating the Secret Art Incantation of old.

Uncontrolled secret arts would once again bring disaster to Aolu Academy.

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

Brick, brick—wherever it was needed, it would be carried there.

"Brick" described both how the Book of Calamity looked like a brick and what it was used for.

The Aolu Mages had fallen into a misconception about how to use the Book of Calamity: they designed the entire Arcane Ritual around it and used it as the subject in the Secret Art Incantation.

What's more, the tremendous energy the Book of Calamity displayed in their Secret Art Incantation experiments kept them from escaping this misconception. They were always trying to use it as the subject to develop a great secret art.

The result was a situation they couldn't control.

But the Book of Calamity's true purpose was to serve as an auxiliary component, supporting other mysterious items used as the subject.

If the Aolu Mages had discovered this feature sooner, they would have realized it was an all-purpose "divine artifact."

The Book of Calamity could be added to the auxiliary sequence of any Secret Art Incantation. It could replace any auxiliary component without affecting the incantation's overall effect.

In advanced secret arts, it could take the place of a top-grade mysterious item you couldn't find.

During the development of secret arts, changing its position in the auxiliary sequence could eliminate a great deal of experimental work.

And after a Secret Art Incantation was cast, the Book of Calamity wouldn't disappear or become ineffective like other mysterious items.

It was an essential mysterious item for player secret art practitioners.

It was the first encyclopedia of secret arts ever compiled in the Era World, carrying the passion for secret arts shared by every practitioner in the Department of Secret Arts at Aolu Academy.

It had always awaited the discovery of its true value, but instead it was branded the source of disaster and given the name "Book of Calamity."

Go where you belong.

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

Then he picked up the books scattered across the floor, returned them to the shelves, and put everything back in order.

Finally, he chose a few books on secret arts and put them in the Spatial Backpack.

With the job done, it was time to leave.

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