An astonishing discovery

But Allen was in no mood to do anything else now. As soon as he returned to his lodgings, he began leafing through the book of basic spell runes. He had been unable to find this book anywhere in the second-floor library, and it most likely was not kept there at all. Now he was even starting to feel glad that the Archmage had summoned him for a mission. This book of basic spell runes was exactly what he needed most right now.

He did not sleep that night, spending the entire time studying the book. It contained few runes, and they were relatively simple. They were only the basics, after all.

The next day, just as he was about to conduct a small experiment using these runes, he discovered an astonishing secret. Previously, he had been unable to verify the relationship between Mental Power and mana. Judging by spellcasting, Mental Power could not replace one's own mana to cause changes in external mana. This was a principle all mages accepted.

But now he discovered that the fundamental reason Mental Power could not cause changes outside the body was that mages lacked sufficient mental strength. Most importantly, their mental strength was nowhere near enough to form a Soul Space. Although mages had powerful Mental Power, it was all forcibly built up through mana, as though it had been diluted with water. Without mana, their Mental Power would fall all the way back to its original level, so they simply could not construct a Soul Space out of pure Mental Power the way Allen had.

The formation of a Soul Space was crucial, because only after forming one could he construct runes inside it without them dissipating. His previous attempts to construct runes in the air using Mental Power had failed because his Mental Power dissipated immediately as he formed the runes in the air.

Mental Power had to rely on something external to remain active. Those mages, for example, attached their Mental Power to mana to construct runes. Once pure Mental Power lost its connection to the soul, it would immediately dissipate. That was why, whenever he had constructed a segment of a rune in the air before, the Mental Power had immediately dispersed. This was the fundamental reason his previous attempts had always failed.

Now that he had discovered this great secret, he was delighted, but he also quietly remained on guard. If this secret became public, it would certainly cause an uproar no smaller than the current Council of Six election. That would hardly be good for him. Those frenzied mages would most likely seize him to study him. It was better to keep a secret like this to himself.

To settle his excitement, he decided to leave his research alone for the day and deal with his other affairs first. He would be leaving for Pelaven's territory in a few days, and there were still things he needed to prepare. First, he informed the merchant that he would be leaving. The merchant was clearly unhappy, because he had said the same thing before. Only after repeated explanations and a promise to increase his supply upon his return did the merchant reluctantly agree.

Afterward, he bought some supplies from the merchant, then headed to the shops in the eastern district, hoping to find suitable equipment. When he had first arrived in Dalaran, there was no way he could have afforded anything in the eastern district. Now, however, he had sold quite a few Healing Potions and had considerably more money to spare. This trip to Highlord Pelaven's territory was definitely not just about defending against magical beast attacks. There was probably some other special mission involved. So, to keep himself alive if he encountered danger, he had no intention of holding on to his money now.

There were many shops in the eastern district, selling practically everything. Naturally, there were plenty of things Allen wanted, but they were all far too expensive. With his current means, he could not afford them at all. As for the cheaper items, none appealed to him.

Finally, he came to another shop, which looked like a general store from the outside. While he was still hesitating over whether to go in, the owner spotted him from inside and walked straight over to him. "Do you need any help, sir?"

Seeing the owner approach, Allen felt awkward simply turning around and leaving, so he went inside to take a look. "I'm a mage, and I'm about to go on a long journey. Do you have any recommendations?" Allen did not know what the shop sold, so that was all he could ask.

"I have plenty of newly arrived staves and spellbooks, as well as some accessories. Would you like to take a look?" Allen nodded. The owner then led him to the back, where the goods had already been sorted into categories. The accessories were each packed in small wooden boxes, the staves hung on the walls, and the spellbooks lay on a table. Although none of these items had prices marked on them yet, he could guess that they would not be cheap. After all, he had just visited so many shops.

He looked at the staves first. They came in all shapes and were beautifully crafted, but he did not need beauty. What mattered was their properties. He picked up one of them and asked the owner, "What about this one?" The shopkeeper replied, "It's one of Master Faran's proudest works, imbued with powerful fire elements. It can enhance the power of your fire magic and also speed up your mana recovery. Only 1,200 gold coins."

Allen put it straight back after hearing the owner's description. Not only was it too expensive, but he was not a conventional mage. He cast spells using Mental Power, so it was completely useless to him. He asked about several nearby staves, but none satisfied him. Almost all the staves he had seen enhanced magical power, accelerated recovery, or came with a few spells. For someone like him, who cast using Mental Power, they were simply not worth the money. Besides, he could not afford them. A good staff was far too expensive. He therefore skipped the remaining ones and went straight to the accessories.

The accessories here were also beautiful and exquisitely crafted. Female mages would probably love them, but he only cared about what they did. Allen picked up a necklace and examined it with his Mental Power. Without waiting for him to ask, the owner beside him spoke. "This is a work by Master Jennyshi, made from a pearl of a Giant Deep-Sea Magic Clam. It has a very powerful healing effect and can even heal minor injuries instantly. Most importantly, it can be used repeatedly. For 2,500 gold coins, you can give it to the woman you love most. Women would go wild with joy over it."

The necklace was good, but Allen could not possibly afford it. Finally, he simply told the owner the truth. "These are all too expensive. You see, I'm only an ordinary Alchemist. Do you have any better recommendations?"

The owner did not look down on him. Instead, he led him into another room. The things there were nothing like the neatly arranged items from before. Many were piled haphazardly together, making it look like a junk room. After bringing him inside, the owner turned to him and said, "These are some defective goods I acquired recently. I haven't had time to sort them out yet. See if there's anything that suits you."

So he rummaged through the pile, while the owner beside him explained the items that passed through his hands. When he picked up a dull bead, the owner told him, "This is also a work by Master Jennyshi. Unfortunately, the final enchantment failed. There's still some mana left in it, but its effect falls far short of the one you saw earlier."

Allen put it down, then picked up a book about a centimeter thick. "This is Master Keshus's most regrettable work. It was made from a very unusual material: the trunk of a tree called the Deadman's Tree. Deadman's Trees only grow among graves, and the more dead people there are around them, the larger they grow. The master originally intended to make it for an important figure in Dalaran. Unfortunately, it failed in the end."

Failed? Yet Allen's Mental Power told him there was nothing wrong with this spellbook. He could even temporarily lodge his Mental Power in it. How could that count as a failure? How powerful would it have been if it had succeeded? Without betraying anything, he asked the owner how much it cost. The owner quoted 200 gold coins, twice the price of the others.

At first, he was still considering how to bargain, but the owner immediately said, "Although this spellbook was a failure, its material is very unusual. I spent 150 gold coins acquiring it myself. You have to let me make a little profit." The owner sounded so earnest that Allen almost believed him.

But no matter what he said, the owner refused to lower the price, insisting on 200. Left with no choice, he had to bring out everything he had. Only after spending all his money and throwing in several potions did he barely scrape together enough.

Having spent all his money, Allen did not linger and immediately returned home. The first thing he did upon returning was examine the spellbook. He felt that it could only be controlled with pure Mental Power. Mages whose Mental Power contained mana could not use it or even enchant it, which was why they thought its creation had failed.

In fact, this spellbook was not quite a finished product. Those mages had been unable to complete the final step because the spellbook could not accept mana. It could, however, accept his Mental Power. He planned to study it carefully before filling it with Mental Power to activate it completely.

Next, he began packing. He was not bringing much, mostly things for use in the wilderness. The most important items were his Healing Potions. He kept the two best potions close to his body, where they could save his life at a critical moment. He also kept the newly purchased spellbook on him, while everything else went into his backpack.

Two days later, Allen was charging the spellbook. In fact, he had started yesterday and still had not finished. It was not because the spellbook required a great deal of Mental Power, but because the charging process was very slow. Although it was made from the unusual Deadman's Tree, accepting outside power was never easy. The process also wasted a great deal of Mental Power, and he had already stopped to rest several times.

It was not until the following day that he gave it its final charge. Once the charging was complete, activating it was simple. After he activated the spellbook, the entire book radiated a mysterious aura. There was nothing written in it, so it could not yet be used to cast spells. However, the book had another important function: replenishing his Mental Power. He could fill it with his own Mental Power beforehand and draw it back out when he needed it. After roughly gauging its capacity, he found that it could provide about half as much Mental Power as he himself possessed. That was already a tremendous amount, especially since his Mental Power had undergone a qualitative transformation not long ago.

Allen held the activated book, reluctant to put it down. He decided to give it a pleasing name: the Soul Book. To avoid attracting attention, he also gave it a "coat," making it look like an ordinary black-bound book. Taking the book and his already packed luggage, he hurried to the meeting point. He had not forgotten that today was the day they left for the territory.