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Chapter 260: Ripping Off the Library
🕑 Added 2023-09-14 17:36:01 +0000 UTCThe return trip was quick. Within a minute of recovering, Jack found himself in the mountaintop mansion, where a large meal was already prepared for him. There were sparkling steaks, rich salads, pies and fruit and cheese of all kinds.
Jack gaped. “This is all for me!?” he asked.
“Of course it is,” Sophina replied. “You used up a lot of energy just now. These are all products of D-Grade beasts. A single of these steaks would be enough to sustain an army of F-Grades for a week. For you… Well, I hope this table will suffice. We can prepare more if needed.”
“I… It is plenty!” Jack exclaimed quickly. “Thank you, master. This is great.”
“I hope so.” Sophina nodded. “Unfortunately, I have other business to attend to, so I cannot keep you company. I wish you happy adventuring, Jack. Return safe and strong.”
“I will try my best.”
“I expect nothing less.” With a smile, she cracked the door open and walked out. “Enjoy your meal.”
Jack was currently in a room adjacent to the kitchens, though the soundproofed walls could hide that fact. There was nothing besides himself, the food-stuffed table, and a few wooden chairs—this must be where the cooks ate. With one last, respectful nod at the closed door, Jack picked a chair at random and sat down to eat. He really was exhausted.
It was the best food he’d ever had. Meat that melted on the tongue, rich with flavor and juices; fruits and vegetables which infused his entire body with vitality; even the cheese was heavenly, with each bite activating his taste buds in different ways.
By the end of the meal, Jack was swimming in ecstasy, and he’d only eaten three quarters of the food—he simply couldn’t have another bite.
“Man,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair with hands folder over his belly, “what a meal…”
As he relaxed, the insights he’d gotten from watching the supernova tried to come to the fore. They wanted to be inspected, investigated, understood. Yet, Jack pushed them back; there would be time to meditate later. For now, he had more things to do.
Allowing himself five minutes of relaxation, he then pushed off the chair with a grunt. His eyes scanned the remaining food regretfully; it really pained him to let it go to waste.
On the bright side, he didn’t need to.
Mustering his courage, Jack walked to the nearby kitchen and asked to take the remainder with him. The cook threw him a funny look but didn’t decline. She even gave him a yellow metal box that would preserve the taste. Therefore, Jack left the mansion whistling and with the food of gods in his lunchbox.
The next stop was the library.
He took to the air, crossing the estate under the complicated gazes of the servants to arrive at the pyramidic building that housed the estate’s wealth of knowledge. This time, the librarian met him at the door.
“Jack,” he said with a slight smile. His white robes flowed in the soft breeze, as did his long, silver beard. “Shol told me you were a talented young man, but I have to admit, I still underestimated you. Making enemies of an Elder? Brave.”
“Isn’t that the duty of a disciple, brother Okmer? To make enemies of his master’s enemies?” Jack replied smiling.
“It is indeed. Have you come to choose your remaining two items?”
“Right.”
“Then, come on in.”
The inside of the library was as empty as last time. Spiraling bookcases climbed the walls, hiding enough knowledge to blind any mortal sage. There were books upon books, mystical texts, Dao Visions, weapons, armors, and all sorts of mysterious items.
Jack was a man of science. He would have loved to spend months here, reading about the mysteries of the universe and the discoveries of a million-year-old galactic civilization. Unfortunately, fate hadn’t given him time, only enemies.
Later, he promised himself, steeling his mind.
He’d had a long time to consider what kind of items he wanted. In the few weeks he’d been here, this had been one of his primary concerns, and he had settled on three options, of which he could only choose two: an escape treasure, a treasure that could increase his meditation speed, and a new Dao Vision. Thankfully, the supernova he’d just witnessed took the place of a Dao Vision, so Jack’s mind was set.
Of course, he still needed to see what specific items the library had to offer.
“First of all, I would like a treasure that can increase my speed of understanding the Dao,” he said. “Is that something you can offer?”
Since he would be leveling with extreme speed in the following months, he needed the Dao insight to match. Even if he did find one such treasure, and even if he combined it with the Dao Soul he already possessed, matching his Dao understanding with his cultivation speed would be a struggle.
The librarian fell silent for a moment. “It is,” he finally replied. “I do have one item like that…though it is usually reserved for deacons.”
Jack sensed the opening. “Come on, big brother. I can play a crucial part in the contest for the next Grand Elder. I’m sure Master Sophina would approve of a little courtesy.”
“That’s true.” Okmer nodded. “Fine. Here.”
He raised his hand, and an item floated down from the highest level of the library. It was a twelve-sided glass box, within which flickered a phantasmal crimson flame tongue. Jack tried to inspect it but came up with nothing.
“This is a Flame of Understanding,” Okmer explained as the box floated into his open palm. “At the end of their life, a C-Grade may choose to condense all their Dao Fruits into a flame such as this. By ingesting it, a D-Grade cultivator can accelerate their cultivation speed by approximately three times for a limited time period. It is an extremely valuable treasure…and, obviously, extremely rare.”
“Hmm. When you say ingest, do you mean that this is a one-time use item?”
“Precisely.”
“I see.” Jack’s eyes narrowed, and he hastily nodded at the librarian. It was clear this was the best he could get. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”
“Don’t worry.” Okmer waved a hand. “We have more of them. Investing one in such a talented cultivator is no waste at all.”
“Then, I will take it. Thank you very much.”
“The box itself is also a minor treasure,” Okmer said as he handed over the item, “but no need to worry about returning it. You can keep it to store any volatile items you harvest in your…excursions.”
“That’s great.” Jack pocketed the box—it barely fit, being the size of his fist. “Can I ask you one more thing? How come I couldn’t inspect this? I thought that every high-rank item could be inspected. I could even do it on some E- and F-Grades treasures on my home planet.”
Okmer smirked. “The question isn’t whether an item can be inspected, but whether you can inspect it. What if your Intelligence, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Um… I don’t really have that. All I have is Mental, which is at around two hundred, including the added Title efficiencies.”
“Ah. Pretty good for a Physical cultivator. However, two hundred is just too low to inspect any high-level items.”
“I see,” Jack replied. Now, it made sense why he couldn’t inspect the Dao Sprouting Pill at Trial Planet, or basically anything in the Final Ring, including Old Man Spirit. He’d always found that weird. “Thank you for the information.”
“No problem. By the way, have you made any progress with the Dao Vision of Space you got last time? I have a few tips to share.”
“I’ve already comprehended it, actually. Here, you can have it back.” Jack fished the globe from his robes and handed it to the librarian, who couldn’t help but raise a brow.
“You comprehended it?”
“I did.”
“In two weeks?”
“Right.”
“Well, that’s impressive. In my four-hundred-year career of being the librarian here, you are the first person to do that.” Okmer could barely contain his surprise. “Are you certain you comprehended it fully? Did you piece together the image and decode the vampire immortal’s finger movements? Did you perceive the dance of space particles?”
“Yes, yes, and yes. I struggled a lot, if it makes you feel any better,” Jack replied with a wry smile. “Took me several days of non-stop meditation.”
“Admirable!” Okmer exclaimed. “Experiencing the space shambling again and again while your memories deteriorate is the hardest part of this Dao Vision…but it seems you managed to skip that by going all-in. A risky prospect, as failure could have set you back to the very beginning, but an interesting one. Your willpower is admirable.”
“It was just in line with my Dao.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself, my young friend. D-Grades are the best of the best, but nobody could do what you did. I cannot help but wonder what you’ve been through to develop such mental fortitude.”
Jack’s smile darkened a hint. “I just never had a choice,” he replied.
“Of course. Forgive me for asking. Perhaps, when things calm down, we could exchange stories over a bottle of Star Dew?”
Jack didn’t know what that was, but it sounded alcoholic. He smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Okmer.”
“Great! Then, I shouldn’t keep you too long; have you decided on your third item as well?”
“I have…kind of. Back in the F-Grade, I once fought a guy who used a magical device to teleport away after he lost a fight. Is there something similar for D-Grades?”
“An escape talisman,” Okmer said, nodding. “Smart choice. A D-Grade version does exist, but it’s a highly valuable item, so I can only give you one.”
“One is plenty.”
“Then, here.”
A wooden plaque appeared out of thin air between them, almost causing Jack to jump—he’d forgotten about Okmer’s ability to suppress the presence of things. The wooden plaque was rectangular in shape, three inches tall, and completely smooth, save for the word “ESCAPE” written vertically on its surface in thick black ink.
Even just by looking at it, Jack could feel the Dao of Space thickly condensed inside the wood.
“This is an escape talisman meant for use by peak D-Grades,” Okmer explained proudly. “If you break it, you will instantly teleport one thousand miles in the direction of your choosing—way farther than the perception range of any D-Grade. Moreover, the spatial turbulence left behind will be so chaotic as to be untraceable. Just make sure to keep running, as a peak D-Grade can cross a thousand miles fairly quickly.”
“That’s exactly what I was looking for!” Jack replied, excitedly pocketing the talisman. “Thanks, Okmer. You’re the best.”
“I try.” Okmer’s smile was wide, though slightly complex. Jack couldn’t tell why, so he simply let it pass.
“That’s all from me,” Jack said. “If there’s nothing else…”
Okmer reached out for a handshake. As Jack shook the hand, however, the librarian’s voice rang telepathically in his mind.
“There is one more thing,” he said. “Master Sophina contacted me some minutes ago. She asked that, when you show up, I was to give you this.”
Before Jack could reply, he felt something appear between his hand and the librarian’s. It was an object that felt small, round, smooth, and cool to the touch—like a bead of ice.
“A high-level storage bead. Break it, and you will unleash power equivalent to the full-power attack of an early C-Grade. It only works once, so make it count.”
“Wow. Thanks, Omer.”
“Thank our master. These things are vanishingly rare.”
Thanks to the mental powers of immortals, this telepathic conversation took place in only a fraction of a second. On the outside, their handshake had been completely normal.
“Always a pleasure, Okmer,” Jack said like nothing had happened. He retracted his hand, gently wrapped around his new treasure, then used his Dao to move it inside his sleeve. From there, it flew into an inner pocket of his robes. “See you soon!”
“Good luck, Jack. May luck be on your side!”
Armed with a Dao treasure, an escape talisman, a C-Grade’s full-power attack in pocket edition, and significantly higher chances of survival, Jack waved goodbye to the elderly librarian and flew away. He couldn’t help the smile on his face.
Why the secrecy, though? he wondered. Could people be watching us even here, inside Master Sophina’s estate? Or is Okmer just being paranoid?
Well, whatever. I’ll just be careful too. Next stop… His smile widened. Brock!
