Such a valuable thing given as a newbie benefit—just this alone made Ivan feel a strong sense of belonging to the Five Leaves Spear. Who wouldn’t love such a generous organization?
Suddenly, he thought if the organization were to assign him a task now, as long as it wasn’t blatantly a suicide mission, he guessed he would agree.
However, after finishing his business, Narnya casually picked up some papers to read, leaving him hanging there.
Time ticked by second by second, and Ivan sat there feeling somewhat awkward.
“Librarian, do you have any other instructions?”
“No, we don’t care about your living arrangements, nor do we restrict what you do. You’re free to go wherever you like, just don’t forget to report to the Enchanters Guild within half a month,” Narnya said without even lifting his head.
“Uh—okay, then I’ll take my leave first.” Ivan’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably a few times as he tactfully asked to leave. When he reached the office door, he heard a voice from behind.
“Wait.”
“Librarian, if there’s anything else, please instruct me.”
“This is a borrowing token for the archive; you can borrow archived materials from the collection. Your access is only one level below that of the librarian. Consider it a personal gift from me,” Narnya tossed him a token.
“Then I’m off.”
Seeing Narnya wave his hand indifferently, Ivan finally left the librarian’s office.
Following the route in his memory, he walked out of the Vernon Millennium Archive.
This is just too casual!
It wasn’t until this moment that Ivan realized the organization wasn’t playing any games with him. Given the current situation, the Five Leaves Spear seemed to have a hands-off approach to its official members.
He wandered around Neighborhood No. 63 for a while before coming to a busy commercial street with many people.
Since there was still some time before he had to report, he needed to find a place to stay and inspect his new possessions. So he found a hotel at the corner of the street, inquired about the situation, and rented a small courtyard.
“Two hundred magic stones a day, this is faster than robbing a bank.”
Since setting foot in the sorcerer world, Ivan never found himself short on magic stones, but such a price still made him wince a bit.
But as the hotel clerk said, this place after all was one of the four great capitals of the Chanay Continent and the very 1st District of East Capital.
To more conveniently confirm locations, people usually refer to Districts One to Ninety-nine as the ‘1st District,’ and so forth, with East Capital having a total of ten districts.
According to the hotel clerk, each district has its own pricing, and the 1st District naturally has the highest rates.
“Once I’m settled in, I’ll think of ways to earn more magic stones.”
Ivan never worried about running short on magic stones. If he ran out, he’d simply earn more.
He checked his new residence: a room, a living room, and a small courtyard with a simple protective membrane. The pricey cost had its reasons; the place was quite nice.
“You two stand guard outside.”
“Mhm, Big Black One and I guarantee no one will disturb you, sir. If you don’t come out, I will remind you on time to go to the Enchanters Guild.”
“Always so clever.”
After giving a few instructions to the Silkworm Queen and swamp ant, Ivan locked himself in his room and eagerly looked at the items Chairman had given him.
A splendid metallic book combined with crystal, equivalent to a high-level magicalized item, was actually an exclusive communication device of the Five Leaves Spear—the Book of Leaf Sift.
Through the Book of Leaf Sift, he could see various messages left by other members, including the tasks they dispatched.
If he wanted to get involved, he could use it to contact the person who dispatched the task.
“There are also those who advertise through missions, quite a clever tactic,” he said with a wry smile upon seeing certain tasks. Clearly, these people were indirectly advertising to drum up business for themselves.
The members of the organization had created a diverse range of factions: exploration teams, trading houses, assassins factions, taverns, apothecary stores, workshops, and even those specializing in selling information or intermediate puppets.
These puppets often had special identities to facilitate other members’ infiltration into certain factions, just like the former Wayne Steele.
Of course, these transactions required appropriate payments.
Ivan tinkered with the Book of Leaf Sift for a while and quickly became adept at using it. Then, he turned his attention to the Level 2 mental power potion formula.
‘Wind Language Cindy’
This was the name of the potion formula, which originated from someone named ‘Cindy’. The main ingredient was a substance known as Tears of Wind Language, found within raging winds.
Tears of Wind Language was initially a rare material, but after prolonged research, sorcerers had created a secret realm specifically for cultivating Tears of Wind Language, effectively alleviating the scarcity of the material.
Purchasing Tears of Wind Language was not difficult now, meeting his needs completely.
“As expected of the Chanay Continent, the richness of its resources is far beyond what the Moon Pincer Peninsula could compare with,” Ivan sighed in admiration after finishing his reading.
With the formula in hand and the ingredients not difficult to gather, he decided to quickly concoct ‘Wind Language Cindy’ to enhance his mental power, which had remained stagnant for a long time.
Having read through the mental power potion formula, his gaze fell upon the vessel of the ‘String Control Sacred Heart’.
A sphere, resembling a fluffy biological specimen about the size of a palm.
Ivan looked at it for quite a while but couldn’t tell what material it was made of; it seemed easy to overlook.
“Who would have thought that inside this inconspicuous toy lies a Meditation Method that people would fight over,” he mused.
Even with his limited experience, he could deduce how valuable an Advanced Meditation Method that could reach Level 4 was.
Just leaking a hint of it would undoubtedly lead to countless Level 3 sorcerers hunting him down; the mere thought was enough to send shivers down his spine.
Ivan shook his head slightly, casting aside such bizarre thoughts, and took a deep breath before cautiously gripping the vessel, squeezing it firmly in his palm.
Instantly, countless thin threads emerged from the fuzzy sphere, burrowing into his palm and arm, voraciously drawing blood, lifeforce, and spiritual power.
His expression remained unchanged as he intentionally channeled more power into it.
My Virtual Library Empire
A moment later, the threads retracted, and the vessel had transformed. It now resembled a disheveled, humanoid doll bearing a striking resemblance to Ivan himself.
As their four eyes met, staring into the doll’s dark pupils, Ivan’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly had an intense sensation as if the doll was him, or perhaps a future version of himself.
“Truly eerie,” he murmured.
He quickly composed himself.
It was, after all, a complete Advanced Meditation Method, and the Five Leaves Spear would naturally have protective measures. After his previous action, he was the only one who could access this Meditation Method.
He followed the gaze of the doll’s eyes and plunged into them.
It was only after engaging with the ‘String Control Sacred Heart’ that Ivan realized it was a perilous Meditation Method, one that involved cultivating and nurturing a puppet’s heart in the most crucial place of a sorcerer—his mental ocean.
Such a practice could easily turn one into another’s puppet if they were to be exploited.
Not to mention, the Meditation Method had a significant drawback: if the mental ocean was contaminated, the training sorcerer would become an soulless puppet, losing all spiritual intelligence.
The benefits were numerous, however. Upon reaching Level 4, or becoming a Level 3 Sorcerer, one could generate high-level puppet’s hearts on their own. Whether for selling or forming factions, they would bring considerable profits.
Take the swamp ant for example, a King Blood creature that can be controlled, illustrating the worth of a high-level puppet’s heart.
Moreover, it was indeed an Advanced Meditation Method capable of reaching Level 4, detailing even how to advance to that level, which alone made it highly sought after.