Royal Library

Magic is a very complicated concept. The reaches of magic are far and unknown. It can bend the fabric of reality or manipulate the very essence of the soul. No one knew where it originated from, but records have shown that it existed before the Dawn of Men. Some say the Creator took pity and shed a little of His power onto the world, others said the Gods bequeath their power to the creatures of Neopagan, testing their mortal limits.

Hundreds of years after the discovery of magic, Men created the first grimoire. A book that contained a mix of spells, conjurations and ancient wisdom. The grimoire illuminated the path of Men and ushered in a new era, an era where learning magic was the new norm. Common folk now had an easier time to understand magicraft and the already accomplished mages aimed for newer heights.

Eric was currently in the Royal Library. Though the library was prodigious, it could not be compared to the vast and extensive collection that the dragons have accumulated over thousands and thousands of years.

The reason why he chose the Royal Library as a reward was because the most important place in the palace was not the weaponry nor the undercroft where the treasures are kept, but the library.

'A weapon stays with you temporarily, but knowledge is forever.' A wise sage once said.

With the right application, it will make one become the most feared being in the world.

Currently, Eric was using the 'Eye of Truth' to scan the library, looking for any hidden treasures. From his past knowledge, ancient and large libraries usually always contained one or more secrets.

Although there were a lot of grimoires, they were of little use to Eric. Some of them were made by amateur mages, others by experienced mages, but none of them can be compared to a dragon's knowledge. The grimoires (spellbooks) that the public and mage tower used were copies that originated from this library. Only the ones that are powerful and forbidden were not distributed.

There were several floors and scanning through thousands and thousands of books was hurting his eyes. After 10 minutes, he finally spotted and almost missed a grimoire shrouded by layers upon layers of illusion. It was hidden underneath a 'rubble of books' at the far corner on the top floor. The energy signature of the grimoire was so faint that it was barely noticeable.

After clawing through the illusions, Eric bent down and picked it up.

"Alp, there are some spirit seals on the book, do you think you can break through it?"

"These seals seems pretty weak, they were probably weakened over time, i wonder how long this grimoire has been lying here. It is an easy task to break it."

After using her own spirit energy to overpower the seals, the book shook and opened. The book was hollowed out with an empty center in the middle. Seeing what was contained within, Eric widened his eyes in disbelief. Inside was a ring, an orb and a letter.

The ring and orb were items that were so rare that even he doubted his eyes for a moment. Dozens of questions popped into his head. Looking at the letter, he hoped that some of his questions would be answered.

The letter read:

'To whoever that found this book, whether you are a descendent of mine, or from the royal family, I hope that after reading this, you will be inclined to help me. I am Erewhon Verdias Mirthstar, you know me as the first Mage King and the founder of this Kingdom. Long ago, I fought with a behemoth but did not manage to kill it. With no choice but to lock it away, I created this city as a giant magical seal for it. I'm not asking you slay it, only to strengthen the seal. But in the unlikely event that the beast break free from its shackles, give these items to someone who is powerful enough to kill it. The instructions to strengthen the seal are below, I wish you all the best.

May the Sun shine upon thee.'

~Mage King Erewhon

This entire city was a burial ground for the behemoth, this guy really was a madman. Putting away the letter, Eric returned his attention back to the items.

The first was the <Unicorn Ring>. Carefully picking up the ring as if it was a treasure, Eric slowly inspected it. A ring made from the a Unicorn's horn. Legends said that the horn upon a Unicorn's head can store an unlimited amount of energy. Due of this, they had been hunted to extinction. The horn has been shaped into an ivory white ring. Putting on the ring, he felt a cool sensation wash over him.

The second item was an <Evil Eye>. Evil eyes are the eyes that Evil-Eye race were born with. They are a physically weak race, but their eyes made up for their weaknesses. As a very secluded race, they were rarely seen by the world. Their eyes allows them to inflict a variety of harmful and debilitating effects on anyone they choose, just by gazing at them. The most well known evil eye power is Death Gaze. It was heard that an Elder Evil-Eye can kill with just one look. That is why even though they look weak, they were respected for their power.

But like all things, there was the good and the bad. With great power comes even greater price to pay. The large amount of magicules it consumes after every use was massive. If it consumed more magicules than the body can provide, the mind takes a heavy toll.

Usually the eyes come in a set, but seeing as there was only one left, King Erewhon probably used one eye. That meant that the eye prowess will be weakened by half, but that also meant that the magicule consumed will also decreased by half. Erewhon himself probably knew that he did not have the magicules to handle both eyes, so he left one for his descendants.

Using his 'Eye of Truth', Eric figured out the power that the eye contained. It was Petrifying Gaze.

"Well, this is not too bad compared to the other powers."

Picking up the eye, Eric sucked in a breath and readied himself. In one swift movement, he plucked out his left eye and inserted the evil eye in. Though it was precise and swift, a single tear of blood dripped down his face.

"Urgggh, I never want to do that again," he muttered clutching at his left eye.

A rush of cold energy invaded his body, and with it came pain. The evil eye on his left socket was burning with dark blue energy.

After an hour, his body finally grew accustomed to it. Getting up from his meditative position, he left the library and returned back to his dorm room. On the way back, he decided to use it on a few students. With no accurate control over the power of the evil eye, he depleted most of his mana rather quickly. But looking at the students fall over abruptly in mid step was worth it.

There was still much to do before the tournament arrives.