Arcane Mind

Mornings were the busiest time at Kane Manor. After a night of silence, the estate awoke amid the servants' work.

The maids prepared breakfast, repeatedly wiping down the dining tables and chairs that had yet to gather any dust.

In the stables, the grooms replenished the troughs with fresh fodder and remembered to brush away any scraps clinging to the horses. This could not be neglected. If one day they failed to notice and Young Master Li Si rode out on one, disgracing him, they would be in for a hard time.

The maid Rosie cautiously knocked on Young Master Li Si's door. When there was no response, she intended to push it open as usual and wake him.

Before Rosie could push the door open, it suddenly opened from within. Li Si, already fully dressed, walked out.

"Rosie, let Bende know that I'll be going out later."

"Yes, Young Master Li Si." Rosie hurriedly agreed, bowing and stepping aside. The generous cleavage exposed by her black maid's dress with white trim came into view.

Even Li Si, who had weathered countless trials and had nothing in his heart, could not help taking a few extra glances. He could not help but admire the original owner's tireless dedication to learning.

In his memories, the original owner had been an eighteen-year-old virgin in the open-minded Fes Kingdom Capital, despite being a court noble. He stayed home every day, utterly engrossed in magic, never participating in any noble social events. In a sense, he had become "famous far and wide."

Even so, at eighteen, the original owner had only been an ordinary Novice Mage. Had he been born a commoner, he might have counted as a minor genius. But as the representative of a family of Court Mages—the Kane Family, whose head had spent more than a decade and countless precious resources and was rumored to have produced a Legendary Mage—being merely a Novice Mage truly did not make him particularly talented.

Rose Princess Taiya Fes had become a Gold Warrior at twenty, then broken through again ten years later to enter the Legendary Realm. The gap between them was enough to drive one to despair.

However, Li Si clenched his fists.

Having been reborn, he would not be content to remain an insignificant background character. I will seize control of my own fate amid the magnificent tides of the coming age.

Starting today!

In the early morning, bright, gentle sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of the manor corridor and fell over Li Si. Rosie secretly raised her head, watching his figure disappear around the corner with some confusion. The young master, who had never risen early before, seemed somewhat different today.

Kane Manor Dining Room

The Kane Family now had only one member left: Li Si Kane. In the vast, spacious dining room, Li Si alone enjoyed breakfast at the long white table.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Li Si set down his knife and fork with satisfaction. The cook at home was indeed excellent. The chocolate pancakes and white bread spread with butter and jam had tasted wonderful that morning—soft, sweet, and fragrant, with the slightly bitter chocolate perfectly balancing the cloying sweetness of the jam. Only the cup of black coffee in the morning was a little hard for Li Si to accept.

He was still accustomed to a rich cup of green tea in the morning to clear his mind.

Joyce, dressed in a black Butler Suit, with faint signs of age at his temples, saw this and gestured for a nearby maid to clear the tableware. He then bent down and presented the round tray in his hands before Li Si.

Li Si glanced at it. Several letters of different colors lay on the tray. The intricate, luxurious gold-thread patterns on the envelopes made it clear that they had been sent by nobles and wealthy merchants fond of balls and socializing, flaunting their abundant wealth and exalted status.

"Young Master, these are invitations from Earl Lei Yi, Viscount Peck, and the Golden Rose Merchant Guild. They invite you to attend banquets being held soon."

"I understand. Put them on the table in my bedroom. If I decide to go, I'll have you make the arrangements."

In any case, they had merely sent him invitations as a matter of courtesy. Whether an insignificant noble like him attended or not, no one would care.

"Yes." Joyce answered respectfully, as meticulous as ever.

"The carriage you asked for has already been arranged and is waiting at the entrance. Shall you depart now?"

"So soon? Then let's go."

Li Si could barely wait to set off and acquire the first—and most important—professional specialty in his plans.

"Young Master Li Si!" Bende, dressed neatly in a black tailcoat, had been continuously polishing the Kane Family's eagle crest on the carriage outside the manor. When he saw Li Si emerge, he hurried forward and bowed.

"Bende, you're looking quite spirited today," Li Si said with a smile.

"Of course. You haven't gone out in so long. Since you're finally using the carriage, how could I not put my full effort into it?"

Bende chuckled. His shrewd and capable air immediately vanished as he fawningly helped Li Si into the carriage, then asked, "Where are you planning to go today, Young Master?"

"Straight to the Royal Library."

"Right away. Please sit tight. We'll set off now."

After gently closing the carriage door, Bende respectfully bowed goodbye to Butler Joyce, who stood quietly nearby. He immediately perked up, seated himself on the driver's bench, and lightly flicked the reins. The two healthy chestnut horses steadily pulled the carriage forward.

Li Si took in the bustling scenes along the road. As expected of the capital of the powerful Fies Kingdom, and a place with transportation extending in all directions, it was filled with endless streams of merchant caravans, traders, and travelers.

Perhaps it was merely psychological, but the cries of vendors rising and falling around him seemed to carry even more of the warmth of everyday life than the supposedly one-hundred-percent realistic game of his previous life.

Fes Street, where his manor was located, was obviously an extremely important area of Can Guang City just from its name. Others also jokingly called it the noble district. It was not far from places like the Royal Library and the Royal Magic Academy, and they arrived before long.

With Bende respectfully supporting him, Li Si stepped down from the carriage. He looked up at the blue-gray granite entrance, more solemn and tranquil than the surrounding buildings, then lowered his head with a smile. Lightly adjusting his black top hat, he walked straight inside.

"Greetings, esteemed Viscount Kane. How may I assist you?"

As soon as Li Si entered the Royal Library, an attendant came forward to ask.

As the most important royal library in the Fies Kingdom, the Royal Library was generally not open to the public. One needed certain qualifications to enter and consult its books. For players, that meant having Friendly or higher reputation with the Fies Kingdom and spending contribution points to exchange for permission to enter the Royal Library. This had been the greatest hurdle to obtaining this professional specialty in his previous life.

But Li Si Kane was a Court Viscount. To him now, the qualifications to enter the Royal Library were nothing at all. That was also why Li Si had chosen to acquire this professional specialty first.

"No need. I'll look around myself."

Li Si waved to the attendant and strolled deeper into the library.

It was still early, and not many people were reading in the library. Li Si saw several people sprawled over tables in the borrowing area some distance away on the first floor, each with a towering stack of books before them. Clearly, they had spent the entire night there.

"Pulling all-nighters feels great for a moment; pulling all-nighters forever feels great forever!"

Li Si shook his head, then stopped paying attention and recalled the location of the book from that guide in his previous life.

The original owner had often come here to consult materials while studying magic, so Li Si looked around and quickly identified his target.

"Mm, the continental history section on the second floor."

"The innermost bookshelf in the seventh row."

"The top shelf. Found it!"

Li Si slowly climbed down from the rolling library ladder, holding a thick volume with a dark gray cover in his right hand.

Looking at Magic Development History of the Fais Kingdom, Volume Seven, in his hands, Li Si took a deep breath and slowly opened its heavy cover.

Between pages 352 and 353, in the section detailing Legendary Mage Bobaka's outstanding contributions to Spell Models, was a thin sheet of parchment.

Li Si gently took the parchment into his hands. Written upon it in smooth, elegant strokes were the words:

"Oh, congratulations! Mage who specifically found this place, this is a small reward from Lord Bobaka, the Elemental Manipulator. Accept it, and loudly praise the great Bobaka!"

[Obtained item: Bobaka's Arcane Notes]

[You begin studying Bobaka's Arcane Notes and gain profound insights!]

[Study progress: Version 1.0%... Version 5.0%... Version 10.0%]

[Your understanding of magic has improved. You can control the elements from a higher level. You have mastered a new Mage professional specialty—Arcane Mind.]

[Determining... Detected that you already possess the lower-tier professional specialty Magic Energy Thinking. It can be replaced.]

[Replacing...]

[You have lost the Mage professional specialty Magic Energy Thinking.]

[You have obtained the Mage professional specialty Arcane Mind!]