He turned the pages one by one, when suddenly-
Repairs have reached activation threshold. Converting from conceptual form to quantum form.
What was that voice?! Shane was startled, but apart from silently casting Alarm and Needle Sting twice in succession without changing his expression, he did nothing. He kept turning the pages, looking utterly absorbed in his reading.
Mages possessed exceptional control over their minds and did not suffer auditory hallucinations. If a voice inexplicably sounded in their ears, they had either fallen under an illusion or were hearing something real.
Conversion progress: 10... 20... 30...
The pain on the surface of his skin did not stop the voice. Shane silently held a large fireball ready, prepared to cause a considerable commotion if necessary.
Quantum conversion complete. Initiating cerebral link.
Was the voice coming from inside his head, or acting directly on his brain? Before he could work that out, what happened next caught him completely off guard. The residual arcane energy that normally spilled above his head when he cast spells abruptly withdrew inward, and even the mana within his body was sucked into the space between his brows. A moment ago, abundant mana had left him feeling wonderfully alert. Now he was utterly drained and tormented by an unbearable craving.
Mana addiction! From the moment the Sunwell was created, it had become the original sin of all high elves. Having lived in this world for so many years, Shane could hardly have made no preparations. There was no telling when the Scourge would destroy the Sunwell. Once their mana supply dried up, the elves would have to find other sources of energy to feed on, exercise immense restraint, or become Wretched.
Shane suppressed his craving for magic, leaned back in his chair, and devoted himself to meditation. He could absorb the Sunwell's radiated energy directly, but the pleasure would erode his will. Converting it through meditation and accumulating energy with restraint produced a delicate, ceaseless trickle of mana. That was the greatest difference between him and other elven mages.
This meditation session lasted longer than most. Only when the sun rose did he open his eyes. The swollen sensation between his brows told him that the thing inside his head had finally awakened.
"It actually gave me a fright." Shane sighed and prepared to close the book and get some rest. He needed to sort out his thoughts.
"I'll read the rest tomorrow... Hm? I understood it instantly?" The moment his gaze flicked across the page, its contents and their meaning flooded his brain. His thoughts became exceptionally clear as he grasped both the material and its applications.
"Amazing!" He turned to the next page and found that he could still remember and understand everything. Another page... done. Another... done again. In one sitting, he finished all the material he had originally expected to spend twenty days studying. Leaning back in his chair, he thought of the Eye of Truth inside his brain.
Report: based on this device's capabilities, analyzing each page of Basic Construct Creature Structures: Explanation and Application requires only 0.5 seconds.
The Eye of Truth responded the instant the thought crossed his mind.
"A decoder?" Shane rubbed his temples, still unaccustomed to the sensation. After all, not everyone could immediately adjust to something acting directly on their brain. "Since you can respond to my thoughts, tell me about yourself."
Understood. This device is a culmination of arcane scholarship from Faerûn. Creator: an indescribable great being. Function: analysis. Purpose: to assist the user with analytical work, saving time and thereby shortening the time required to reach the essence of the arcane. Report complete.
That's all? Too little, Shane thought after listening.
This device lost its database during transit between worlds. Only the information above remains.
"Then what form do you currently exist in inside my brain, and what is our relationship?"
Report: this device is currently attached to the user's cerebral neurons in quantum form. Its relationship with the host is that of user and auxiliary tool.
"So you have to obey me."
Yes. The user's commands take precedence above all else.
Having gained a little understanding of the situation, Shane smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting. He looked like nothing more than a young elf pleased by some small stroke of good fortune.
"For the next ten days, your task is to help me analyze every spellbook I read."
Understood!
An Introduction to Crafting Magical Weapons and Armor, An Introduction to Metamagic Casting Techniques, An Introduction to the Eight Schools...
Shane spent ten days learning everything he could get his hands on, storing it in his mind by category. With the Eye of Truth's assistance, he was practically a walking library.
But this is all the most basic of basics. I'll only be able to learn advanced arcane knowledge once I enter the library. Shane recalled the jokes from his previous life about loser warriors and almighty mages, and his current life had given him a deeper appreciation of them: warriors had it rough, but mages had it even rougher.
In Silvermoon City, any elf knew a cantrip or two. Floating buildings and eternal lights all testified to a thriving magical civilization. Yet prosperity did not mean magical knowledge was freely available to everyone. On the contrary, it circulated only among particular classes, such as arcane spellcasters.
"Obtaining that knowledge comes at a price. You must make enough contributions. Spend a few quiet months there first and learn a craft or two. That will give you a source of income and allow you to pursue further magical studies. Take your time. There's no need to rush. We elves live a very, very long time."
"I know the library's director. He is an aloof mage concerned only with his own research. You have almost no chance of receiving any guidance from him, and he pays little attention to what happens under him. You will have to rely on yourself, Shane. There is no gentle, peaceful atmosphere among mages, so..."
"So, a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye." Finishing his mentor's letter, Shane gained some idea of the life that awaited him.
The day he was due to report soon arrived. Shane made sure he was in peak condition before going to meet his future superior, Aldorron.
He passed through the busy docks and headed straight for the library.
"I am Shane Dawnblade. Archmage Aldorron instructed me to report today," Shane told the arcane guard at the entrance.
"Searching records. Identity confirmed: correct. Time: correct. Please enter, Mage Shane."
The single eye on the arcane guard's head flashed several times. It stepped aside, and a passage appeared on its own. Shane followed it inside. The light dimmed, then instantly brightened again.
"Greetings, Mage Shane. The director is conducting a very important experiment. Please allow me to show you the way." The speaker was an arcane golem, a kind Shane had seen during quests in Shattrath in his previous life.
"There are twelve mages studying in this mage tower, just like you, as well as three administrators. Some are conducting research in the library's private areas, while others are away. In short, you will rarely have an opportunity to meet them."
"Your private quarters are on the second floor. Please follow me." As it spoke, the arcane golem headed upstairs.
The room was roughly fifty square meters, divided into three spaces. The laboratory was the largest, followed by the scroll-scribing room, with the bedroom the smallest.
"The library will provide you with a fixed allotment of resources each month. In return, you must scribe thirty scrolls or produce an equivalent quantity of potions for the library."
Shane already knew about this arrangement, of course, and nodded to show that he understood.
"The library on the third floor primarily contains nonmagical books. You may borrow them freely, provided you remember to return them by the end of the month. The fourth-floor library holds magical books, which may only be read on the premises. The fifth floor contains the director's rooms. Unless summoned, you had best not go up there. The last person who did has already become seaweed in Sun Sail Harbor."
"Do you understand everything?"
"Yes," Shane said.
"Then goodbye, new! comer."
Pop! The magical construct vanished into thin air, leaving only scattered traces of arcane energy.
Shane made a circuit of his rooms to get a general impression, then entered the laboratory. A workbench stood inside, and shelves along all four walls were piled with materials: all kinds of herbs, metal ingots, powders, essences, and more. He even spotted an arcane crystal.
"This must be my monthly allotment."
Without lingering in the laboratory, Shane headed for the fourth-floor library. Knowledge was power, and time was life. Although the Eye of Truth had awakened, he still followed his original plan and chose construct crafting as his first magical craft. Having finished studying the fundamentals, he now needed to move on to more advanced knowledge concerning cores and limbs.
Shane saw no one else on the fourth floor. Even the librarian was a construct creature.
"I need books on construct studies."
"Section C4," the construct creature replied in an electronic voice.
Shane soon found the books he needed: Construct Creature Core Crafting and Construct Creature Design. He sat down in a corner of the library and began studying.
The instant he opened the book, its knowledge imprinted itself directly into his mind. He was just about to turn to the second page.
Attached spell detected. Functions: alarm, tracking.
The Eye of Truth's voice sounded in his brain.
The library's antitheft mechanism. It probably triggers as soon as a book leaves the library. Shane thought of the electricity flickering in the librarian's core. "From now on, there's no need to report identical spells on books here."
Yes, user.
The interruption lasted only an instant and did not disrupt his reading. He turned the pages one after another, quickly finished the book, and immediately began the second. Construct studies gradually took shape as a coherent system in Shane's mind, with arcane flows linking together like meridians to form a humanoid blueprint.
Put the core in the chest, Shane thought, and a core appeared in the diagram in his mind.
"A single eye in the head, designed to fire a destructive death ray capable of punching through Silvermoon City's walls. A drill and a giant pincer for its hands, with an output of a hundred thousand horsepower. Its legs need powerful traction and must also serve as thrusters."
Following his ideas, the Eye of Truth helped him gradually complete the blueprint. It took the form of a five-meter-tall robot.
Report: this design contains 388 arcane energy nodes and 5,791 arcane energy circuits. First, the core's output must exceed 150,000 horsepower. Even with sufficient output, existing materials cannot maintain structural stability. Core fabrication is also problematic. The greatest difficulty is that the user's present technical proficiency is wholly inadequate. Furthermore, the leg-mounted thrusters make it impossible to guarantee the construct's balance...
"Wait, wait!" Shane hastily stopped the voice in his head. Those ideas were simply a man's romantic dream, a taste he had developed in his previous life. He was only indulging in a little fantasy now that he had the chance.
"Do you know what a man's romantic dream is?" Shane asked.
Unknown. Establishing topic task. Accepting new terminology. Building database. Please provide a definition of "a man's romantic dream."
Knowing that the Eye of Truth could learn, Shane considered it, then conveyed his answer. "A man's romantic dream refers to something that sets a man's soul ablaze and makes his blood boil. Something that serves no practical purpose, but that he has long yearned for and finds utterly beautiful."
Understood. Definition stored. However, this device has detected that whenever the user thinks of this female, his soul also burns and his blood boils.
An image of Vereesa appeared in his mind.
This female produces the second-highest degree of excitement.
An image of Alleria appeared next.
Shane admitted that he liked Vereesa and felt a certain yearning for Alleria as well. But those were perfectly normal thoughts for a man. What was wrong with them? So-"Shut up!"
Understood. Topic task concluded. How should the design be handled?
"Save it." Shane figured it was doing no harm, so he might as well keep it.
Having finished the two construct books that served as overall design guides, Shane continued studying other volumes. Although the Eye of Truth's assistance made the work easy, he did not want to waste a single moment. He began studying Refinement of Construct Components and Construct Metalworking. Those two major disciplines alone filled dozens of five-meter-tall bookshelves.
Before you continue