A library?
Karin had visited many libraries in his previous life, but he had never seen anything like the sight before him!
Countless bookshelves stood in orderly rows, seemingly stretching on without end. Black books were packed tightly onto every shelf, exuding an inexplicable air of solemn authority... The staggering number of books here was probably many times greater than the collection of the largest library he had seen in his previous life!
"An unfamiliar face!" A female Elf's voice came from behind him.
Karin turned to find a female Elf mage wearing a casual, low-cut robe. Her cleavage was positively overflowing!
"Hello, I'm Karin. I only received permission to enter the Sunfury Spire three hours ago..." Karin hurriedly explained.
"A newly promoted apprentice mage of the family?" The female Elf looked Karin up and down with a strange expression. "How unusual. On your first visit to the Sunfury Spire, you actually came to the library on the fourth floor!"
Her scrutiny made Karin feel deeply uncomfortable, and he stammered a little. "Yes, I came here to consult some books on Frost Armor and magic shields..."
"Tiffany, head of the Sunfury Library. A pleasure to meet you!" The female Elf interrupted Karin and leaned closer.
"Um... likewise, Head Librarian Tiffany!" Karin instinctively backed away a few steps!
"You look very young. Perhaps you haven't even lived through your first century yet?" Tiffany stepped closer again and asked softly.
"That's right... I only celebrated my fortieth birthday three months ago..."
"Even younger than I imagined... Perhaps you haven't yet experienced life's most exquisite pleasures in your short lifetime. Would you care to have a few drinks together at the bar next door, then savor what life has to offer..." Tiffany's red lips almost brushed Karin's earlobe!
"No, Head Librarian Tiffany. Thank you very much for the invitation..." Karin regained his composure and said slowly, "But I don't think I have the time right now. I need to find the books I came for first. If I have time in the future, I'll be sure to invite you!"
With that, Karin turned and headed toward the bookshelves!
Inside, however, he was nervous. Are you kidding me? Although he dared not summon the All-Knowing Eye to check her level, it took no great intelligence to realize that the head mage of such an enormous library had to be terrifyingly powerful... Hook up with a terrifying mage who could casually crush him? Sorry, he wasn't thinking with his dick to that extent!
"Books on Frost Armor are in row sixty-eight, column nine. Those on magic shields are in row eighty-three, column thirteen!" The female Elf's voice sounded behind Karin again. "Your rank allows you to borrow twenty books here. Naturally, they must be returned within a month!"
An hour later, Karin returned with a large stack of black books in his arms.
Tiffany glanced sideways at the thick stack. "Clumsiness, Hypnosis, Slow Fall... Your choices don't seem to match what you said earlier!"
"That's right!" Karin nodded. "I just thought these spells were interesting, so I brought them along too!"
"As someone with experience, let me offer a small piece of advice!" Tiffany said offhandedly. "As a first-circle apprentice mage, don't reach beyond your abilities and try to learn every spell you see... It's simple enough: don't bite off more than you can chew!"
"No, that's not it!" Karin denied it. "I'm merely interested in them and want a rough understanding, not to study them in depth!"
"Interested? An understanding?" Tiffany raised her head and looked Karin over again. "You're a very strange Elf!"
"Perhaps!" Karin shrugged.
He suddenly noticed a strange black wall behind her, covered in formulas he couldn't understand.
Tiffany finished processing Karin's book loans, then noticed his curious gaze.
"The Arcane Exchange Wall!" she explained flatly. "A place for low-ranking mages who fancy themselves clever to show off!"
With a light wave of her hand, the formulas Karin couldn't understand instantly vanished from the black wall. "But most of their work is utterly meaningless!"
"Um... Head Librarian Tiffany, I still don't quite understand..." Karin replied awkwardly.
"If a mage makes a novel discovery in arcane research or develops a spell of their own, they can write their process and conclusions on this Arcane Exchange Wall to discuss them with other mages!" Tiffany explained with rare patience. "But as I said before, decades might pass without a single meaningful piece of work appearing here..."
Karin frowned. An idea suddenly struck him!
It was a plan he had considered long ago, but now seemed like the right opportunity to put it into practice.
"Head Librarian Tiffany!" he said softly. "May I give it a try on this black wall? I actually have a discovery of my own!"
"You?" Tiffany glanced at Karin, her earlier warmth cooling considerably. "I thought there was something different about you. It turns out you're just like most Elf mages, arrogant and foolish..."
Her sharp assessment did nothing to change Karin's mind. "Whatever you say, I still want to try it myself!"
"Fine, suit yourself!" Tiffany said coldly. "But leaving your writing on the Arcane Exchange Wall costs five gold coins!"
Five gold coins was undoubtedly a large sum for a mage who had only just entered the first circle... Tiffany simply wanted to use the fee to discourage Karin!
"Five gold coins..." Karin frowned... Fortunately, he had brought all of the original Karin Sunfury's savings with him.
He took a bulging coin purse from his pocket.
With the fee paid, Tiffany had no reason to stop him... She shifted aside to let him through.
"Be quick... You only have ten minutes to write down what's in your head!"
Since Karin had yet to learn Scribing, he had to pick up a piece of chalk from nearby.
His clumsy movements drew a derisive laugh from Tiffany beside him.
"A detailed description of the original spell, 'Melf's Acid Arrow'..." Karin wrote slowly.
A flicker of contempt crossed Tiffany's eyes. What a strange, vulgar name. Perhaps this Karin is like so many low-ranking mages, making a slight modification to a basic spell and thinking he's invented an entirely new one...
But soon, the contempt vanished from her eyes.
"And its ingenious applications in countering Troll regeneration!"