With the spoils from their trip in hand, Donald and the others soon returned home.
In just five days, ever since Donald first brought home the game he'd hunted, the old Merlinar estate had been transformed.
The once-dilapidated courtyard had been thoroughly cleaned. After spending a few Silver Moons to hire gardeners to spruce it up, it looked brand-new. The house had also been repaired, and furnished with a set of plain but fairly elegant furniture.
Over the past few days, old Code had bought plenty of food and household supplies, as well as several small packets of expensive spices!
He had also hired a commoner woman as a cook and maid. Though the woman wasn't much of a cook, she was hardworking and had cleaned the house and courtyard spotless. She was well worth the two Silver Moons a month that old Code paid her.
Gods above, this body hadn't tasted anything as delicious as pepper-and-salt grilled lamb chops or potato soup seasoned with rosemary in nearly a dozen years!
Now that he had money to spare, it was time to acquire some of the things a noble ought to have. Power and status! He'd get them all, one by one!
"Young master, you're back!"
As soon as Donald got home, his butler, Code, came to greet him and report the day's expenses.
Donald waved a hand.
"That's enough, Code. From now on, you can decide how to spend the household money. Just tell me about it when you settle the accounts at the end of the month!"
Code's grandfather and father had both served as butlers to House Merlinar. He was a loyal servant from a family of loyal servants, and only a few years older than Donald's father. But the family's fortunes had declined, and Code had endured many hardships to make ends meet and raise Donald to adulthood. That was why he looked much older than he really was.
Code had always held firm to the rules governing master and servant, and had been utterly loyal to House Merlinar. Though Donald had always treated him like an elder, Code never took advantage of his age or forgot his place as a servant.
"The young master has grown up at last and become a true noble. I can die with no regrets! When I return to the kingdom of the gods and see the old patriarch and master and madam, I'll be able to tell them I haven't failed their trust!"
After joking with Code and sending off the butler, who had been excited for days, Donald hurried back to his room, barely able to contain his own excitement.
In the master bedroom, now furnished with a new bed, Donald sat down and carefully opened the book of parchment beneath the bright crystal lamp on his bedside table.
Elements and Meditation was a basic mage's manual written five hundred years ago by an elemental archmage. Many of its theories had been revered by mages in later generations, especially Elemental Mages, who regarded it as a classic.
The copy Donald had bought wasn't the original, of course. It was a transcription made by a later mage. But for someone like him, who was eager to learn the basics and become a formal Apprentice Mage, it was comprehensive enough. To study more advanced or broader subjects, he'd need more books on magic or guidance from a real mage.
"Heh, so that's how it works! Meditation is a way of putting yourself into a state of mental stillness so you can call upon your mental power. The breathing rhythm and visualization are remarkably similar to the breath cultivation and meditation practices of Daoism and Buddhism in my previous life!"
Donald couldn't help getting excited as he read. After all, who hadn't dreamed of becoming a martial hero at his age in his previous life? The education he'd received had only made him more susceptible to heroic fantasies.
He'd once dreamed of stumbling upon a miraculous opportunity, learning peerless martial arts, defeating enemies far and wide, punishing the wicked and becoming a celebrated hero!
As he grew older, fantasy games and novels about immortals had also captured his imagination. He'd been fascinated by magic and immortal arts!
Now that real magic was right in front of him, how could Donald contain his excitement? He stopped reading the book's later overview of spell theory and decided to figure out meditation first.
After preparing himself mentally, Donald set the parchment book aside, crossed his legs on the bed like a cultivator from his previous life, then closed his eyes and focused. He breathed in and out slowly, trying his best to enter a meditative state.
Time trickled by. After half an hour, Donald still hadn't found the slightest hint of a feeling, and his patience began to fray.
"Phew..."
"What's going on?"
"Why can't I find that feeling?"
After persisting for another ten minutes, Donald let out a long breath and reluctantly gave up.
He knew his mental potential might be limited, or perhaps he simply couldn't quiet his mind enough to meditate. So he turned to the Book of Truth, the divine artifact, for help.
As a high-level support artifact, the Book of Truth was subject to the highest-level restrictions imposed by its creator. Though it couldn't communicate face-to-face with its host like an intelligent being, it could still actively or passively help resolve problems and answer questions through abilities similar to those of an electronic intelligence from Donald's previous life: scanning objects, performing logical deductions, and searching for information.
The Book of Truth was much like the computer Donald had known in his previous life: intelligent, but without self-awareness.
After Donald contacted it about his inability to find the feeling needed to meditate, the Book of Truth examined his body, quickly reached its own conclusions, and offered a solution.
Its analysis showed that Donald's mental potential was indeed lower than average. Even merging with another soul hadn't changed that by much.
Moreover, as a shut-in, he had a cluttered, scattered mind that wandered from one thought to another. Without systematic training, it would be difficult for him to quiet his mind and find the meditative state anytime soon. It would take long-term training and practice. Otherwise, being a mage wouldn't be such a rare profession.
After learning about his aptitude from the artifact, Donald couldn't help smiling bitterly.
"I thought transmigrating would make me some heaven-blessed prodigy, with every magical treasure within reach! Turns out I'm still a good-for-nothing in this life!"
He wallowed in despair for a moment, then quickly rallied.
"Heh! At least I have the unbelievably powerful Book of Truth. As long as I have energy, none of these problems matter! I'll trample every so-called genius underfoot!"
The Book of Truth's solution was to improve his mental potential. Several items in its exchange list could do the job, including items from the Warcraft game. The cheapest was the Minor Purification Potion, which could restore a small amount of mana—in other words, mental power—and also cleanse minor negative effects and slightly improve mental focus.
The most effective options were special training books available only in the special shop, such as the Tome of Intelligence. Like the Book of Strength and the Book of Agility, the Tome of Intelligence could directly improve the user's potential after they studied it. This included their speed of thought, mental strength, maximum capacity, and recovery rate.
There were also more advanced magical items, such as the Energy Pendant and the Magic Pendant, which could be worn to increase one's mental power limit.
But compared with the boost from wearing equipment, Donald valued the permanent improvement to his own strength from the Tome of Intelligence more.
Donald checked the Tome of Intelligence's exchange price.
Tome of Intelligence +1: Raises the user's mental potential by one level, including speed of thought, mental strength, maximum capacity, and recovery rate. Equivalent to increasing the potential of the current level by 40%. Requires two units of low-grade Elemental Crystal.
There was also a strict limit on how many times this enhancement could be used. According to the rules of this world, as long as the user's life state remained unchanged, they could use the Tome of Intelligence to enhance themselves only once in their lifetime. This limit was imposed both by the rules of the world and by the capacity of the user's body and soul. Otherwise, if everyone could enhance themselves endlessly like in a game, they could overthrow the gods and become creator gods themselves!
If the host ever had a chance to use the Tome of Intelligence for a second enhancement, it would cost ten thousand times as much energy as the first. The cost would also increase with the host's strength. In other words, a second use would require at least twenty thousand units of low-grade Elemental Crystal.
Aside from his Magic Beast Cores, Donald had started with fifty Gold Sol. He'd spent thirty on books to learn magic, leaving him with twenty Gold Sol, not counting the money managed by Butler Code. Low-grade Elemental Crystal sold for five Gold Sol per unit, so he could afford four units. Four units were enough to exchange for one Tome of Intelligence enhancement, with enough left over to enhance another attribute at the same level.
"Looks like what I've earned over the past few days won't last long. The Book of Truth really is a money pit. I'd better focus on earning more! With the Book of Truth's special abilities, I should be able to make quite a bit of money!"
As he spoke, Donald suddenly thought of something. He got up, left the bedroom, and found Butler Code. He handed him the Gold Sol he had on hand and asked him to exchange it for Elemental Crystal in town. He also told him to buy a cartload of iron ore.
Butler Code looked puzzled and asked,
"Young master, what do you need Elemental Crystal and iron ore for? There's no use for crystal in our household. Are you thinking of giving up your noble status to become a crude blacksmith?"
Donald was speechless.
"Why would I become a blacksmith? How much money could a blacksmith make?"
Realizing that he ought to reveal some of his secrets to his loyal butler, Donald straightened his expression and said,
"Code, haven't you ever wondered how I, with my frail body, have been able to enter Green Cloak Forest again and again and hunt so many magical beasts?"
Instead of reacting with the curiosity Donald had expected, Butler Code smiled with relief.
"The young master has grown up and has secrets of his own. I'm only a servant, so I shouldn't ask what I'm not meant to know!"
Donald felt a warmth in his heart and spoke gently.
"Code, you're the only family I have in this world. I've always treated you like an uncle. Of course I should tell you my secrets!"
Then his tone changed. "Not long ago, I encountered danger in the forest and unexpectedly awakened my potential as a mage. I'm a rare type of mage, a Summoner. That's the truth behind how I managed to hunt those magical beasts!"
Code's tall frame trembled.
"Young master... you really have become a mage!"
Donald nodded solemnly.
"Of course. Otherwise, why would three powerful Warriors like Clinton choose to follow me? They recognized my potential and my status as a quasi-noble. That's why they were willing to serve as House Merlinar's retainers!"
"Haha! That's wonderful! House Merlinar will have a mage at last, and my young master will become a noble among nobles!"
With Donald's explanation, the worry Code had been suppressing for days finally vanished.
Watching the usually composed Code wave his arms about in delight, Donald couldn't help laughing. Deep down, he felt the warmth of family.
Before you continue