Gold-Shimmering

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

[You have gained the mage class specialty Arcane Mind!]

[Specialty: Arcane Mind—Intelligence attribute modifiers are doubled, Elemental Affinity +100%, Arcane Submodule unlocked.]

Looking at the newly refreshed mage class specialty on the panel, Li Si clenched his fist in satisfaction and gave the air a swing, then carefully rolled up Bobaka's Arcane Notes in his hand and placed them into his Storage Ring.

Even though he had already gained the Arcane Mind specialty, he had merely acquired the corresponding ability. These notes recorded Legendary Mage Bobaka's insights into Arcane Research and would still be of great help in mastering and improving his class specialty.

At worst, he could auction them off once he was done with them. These were the insights of a Legendary Mage, a treasure coveted by countless high-ranking mages!

For Li Si, who had once owned a gaming studio, leaving no loot behind was the most basic professional principle.

After confirming there was nothing else he had missed, Li Si casually picked up Magic Development History of the Fais Kingdom (Volume Seven) and headed to the second floor's eastern side, where the high-class lounge was open only to nobles and other visitors of sufficient status.

He lounged lazily on the soft fur sofa as the faint, refreshing scent of mint incense drifted through the air. Li Si had the attentive attendant replace the brewed black coffee with hot cocoa. He flipped idly through the hefty history volume in his hands, but his thoughts had long since left the words before him.

The Arcane Mind specialty was an extremely important step for his primary mage class, and its key was not the +100% Elemental Affinity effect.

To be honest, mages had quite a number of powerful specialties. For example, the Flame God class specialty Li Si had mastered in his previous life was exceptionally brutal, directly increasing the damage of fire spells by 50%.

The key lay in the words [Arcane Subsystem unlocked] that followed. It had essentially cleared the path for Li Si to advance into an Arcanist.

As for why he needed to become an Arcanist?

There was no need to mention anything else. According to records from the former Netheril Magic Empire,

Of all mages in history who had broken through and achieved the great feat of Legend,

More than half had taken Arcanist as a secondary class!

That conclusion had endured to the present day and was still being continuously verified.

Although no player in his previous life had yet broken through to Legend, the power of the Arcanist class was widely known.

It might be somewhat weak in the early stages, but once it developed in the later stages, as the number of Exclusive Arcane spells mastered gradually increased, the Arcanist's uniquely powerful lack of weaknesses kept it firmly in the top three most hated opponents in player polls.

Still, gaining the Arcane Mind specialty so smoothly came as quite a pleasant surprise to Li Si.

His ability to use his noble status to smoothly bypass the qualification review required to enter the Royal Library proved that his approach was viable.

He could completely take shortcuts, bypass those complicated chains of prerequisite quests, and directly obtain the final treasures and opportunities. That was undoubtedly an enormous advantage.

Although he still did not know whether those game players from his previous life would appear on schedule, at the very least, the treasures stored in his memories truly still existed in this world he inhabited, quietly waiting in the darkness to see the light of day once more.

At that thought, Li Si's mood grew even more fervent.

Just as Li Si daydreamed about becoming a Legendary Mage, commanding a Floating City, and leading dragons and armies of construct golems to conquer the boundless sea of stars,

"Yo, isn't this our renowned Viscount Kane? What, you finally decided to leave your laboratory and get some fresh air?"

A slick, frivolous voice interrupted Li Si's fantasy. He drew his gaze back from the passages describing the glorious achievements of the Fies Kingdom's Royal Mage Corps.

Before him stood a slender young man about his age, dressed extravagantly. What drew the eye most was his short golden hair paired with a white suit adorned with golden tassels. He seemed to glitter all over, though his complexion looked somewhat pale.

If this scene had appeared in one of the novels from Li Si's previous life, this guy would definitely have been some young master who had jumped out to show off and get slapped down by the protagonist.

Unfortunately, Li Si's memories clearly remembered this man. He was indeed a young master, but not one who disliked him and intended to teach him a lesson. Instead, he was one of Li Si's only two best friends since childhood.

The memories in his mind allowed Li Si to naturally slip into the social ties of his past identity.

Seeing this, Li Si could not even be bothered to stand. Still reclining on the sofa, he casually replied,

"Yo, isn't this the famous second young master of the Golden Rose Merchant Guild, Mora Karl? What, you finally decided to leave your little den of pleasure today?"

Mora waved the attendant beside him away, then slumped onto the sofa next to Li Si as though all the air had suddenly left him. He looked like a completely different person from the graceful gentleman he had been moments earlier.

"It's been a while. When did you learn to mock people?"

"Learned it from you. If you have something to say, say it. I've never seen you come to the library."

"Can't I come see you without business?"

Mora played with a Gold Coin in his hand. The coin bore the portrait of Quentin Fais, the first king of the Fies Kingdom.

"It's been a long time. How about we get Bernie together sometime and catch up?"

"Isn't he doing research in the academy's Magic Workshop with his teacher now?"

Li Si put down the book in his hands and thought of his other close friend.

"Come on, how can he keep researching forever? Who's like you, doing nothing but research from childhood to adulthood? I say it's better to get out and enjoy life more. Otherwise, you'd have lived this life for nothing."

The Gold Coin danced nimbly back and forth across Mora's fingertips as he spoke with casual ease. He had always wanted to pull Li Si into starting some kind of venture together.

"I'll be fairly busy lately. Set a time and let me know."

After saying that, Li Si closed Magic Development History of the Fais Kingdom and set it on the table beside him. Someone would naturally return it to its place. He rose, preparing to leave.

"You're leaving the moment we meet? Is that appropriate? Has our friendship already changed?"

Mora wore an expression of utter heartbreak, yet he did not move his backside an inch.

Li Si said nothing and casually gave him a universally recognized friendly gesture.

"I'm holding a party for my birthday next week. Remember to come."

Mora made a point of mentioning it, afraid Li Si would do as usual and toss his invitation onto the table with a pile of others without even looking at it.

Li Si waved to indicate that he understood, straightened his clothes, and walked directly out of the lounge.

Mora did not mind. He happily took a small sip of the coffee in his cup, rubbed his waist, and passed the rare stretch of free time.

Li Si left the Royal Library under the attendants' respectful farewells. Seeing this, Bende immediately drove the carriage over, opened the door, and helped Li Si aboard before respectfully asking from outside the carriage,

"Young Master, where would you like to go next?"

Li Si thought for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and said,

"Lan Gai Street, Number 16, West District."