Chapter XLII - The Royal Library

The energy was high within the Enigmas' Estate as everyone took their orders and spread out to bring the rest of their members back in order for the Guild Promotion Tourney to take place. Some began to log out and get their friends to play if they were interested in a Professional Class and some were already talking to the friends they had left behind to get to Sterling.

Marcus took this time to speak with the current Elders of Mawu and Lisa with Artox "Alright guys, now that all of that has been taken care of, I'm gonna need you guys to take care of everyone coming into the guild. Creating that skill has caused me to lose a function of my character and I have no clue how to fix it. I'm going to go visit the Royal Library and see if I can't find some information on how to repair my Mana Circuit. Before I go I wanted to help you guys with your skill creation."

Mawu and Lisa smiled and was excited about their growth. Artox was intent on learning the secret as well. "So Lisa, I think yours is the most ambigous but also the easiest at the same time. You should probably begin my meditating and creating a Wind Bolt but don't release it and just continue to work on manipulating it. Your skills will improve as you practice but I feel like once you get the hang of it, as long as it's within the system's limitations you should be able to create new spells. Make sure to keep this all under wraps for the time being and if anyone asks you're just practicing a passive you have." Lisa nodded and ran off to the Training Hall to practice.

Marcus turned towards Mawu "I feel like you should most likely work on increasing your Herbalism skill and begin your sub-class of Alchemist... Based on your prior classes, being able to create poisons might be allow you unlock a few poison related skills, you may also want to attempt working on moving stealthily and see if you can unlock those skills from Rogue since you missed them." Mawu frowned but nodded and went off to begin his gathering.

Artox smiled and grinned "So what about me?" Marcus grinned mischievously, "You have the most important job of all my friend, I need you to head here..."

***

Marcus was casually strode through the Noble's District now that everyone had been given their directives. He was reviewing his status screen as he had increased a nice bump in his stats. With the effects of [Boost] his Health had reached 1,350 and his Stamina was at 750 while his currently useless Mana was sitting at 0/525. Nothing he did was increasing it and he had hoped that the scholars in the Royal Library would assist him in repairing his Mana Circuit.

Marcus had traversed through the Noble's District seeing a multitude of different nobles as they went about their lackadaisical routines ignoring Marcus. He had passed by a multitude of manors but he felt that they paled in comparison to the Enigmas' Estate. He enjoyed the whimsical and carefree Noble's District and liked watching as the younger children were running towards the Augustus Academy, which had strict requirements established by the first King of Sterling City which only accepted the brightest of the bright regardless of birth status.

As with the passing of time, this bridge between the nobility in the realm and the common folk had grown exponentially, which only served as a rift as the nobility preyed upon the common man and the leaders of the academy simply turned a blind eye to the torture the children inflicted upon themselves. This had managed to cause a schism as the commoners wanted to attend the academy but were also afraid as the brutality of the nobility knew no bounds.

Marcus had often fantasized about the Academy in his past life, due to his status of Guild Master, he had intentions with it, but he couldn't do anything at this time... It took a little while longer as he was simply not drawing attention to himself and running around but he had eventually navigated his way through and appeared before a magnificent white marbled with pillars 5 stories high that made up the entrance of the Royal Library.

The long steps leading up to the library denoted it's importance as it's size was greater than most of the Noble's manors spread throughout the district. Two heavily armed Knights were stationed on both sides of the two story double doors that lead into the library and both crossed their spears with each others and held out their hands to motion Marcus to stop "Halt!" They had said in unison.

Marcus stopped in his tracks and introduced himself, "Greetings, I am Baron Nobody, I am here to consult with the scholars of Sterling's Royal Library, I request admittance into the library."

One of the Knights stepped forwards "Greetings Baron Nobody, currently no one is allowed entry into the Royal Library due to the arrival of an esteemed guest. We apologize for the inconvenience but we will have to deny your access to the library at this time."

Marcus frowned, this is the last thing he wanted to hear... "May I request that a scholar come hear my request and potentially retrieve any applicable tomes I may need to cure this ailment?" He pleaded with the guard.

The Knight took some time to think about the reasonable request... "Please wait here Sire, I shall return in a moment..." He said before turning around and disappearing into the library. After about 15 minutes he returned and took his place protecting the entrance as a Scholar approached Marcus.

The Scholar was wearing a classical academic's hat and wore a very nerdy pair of circular spectacles. His frail frame seemed as if it would collapse at any moment under the weight of the long grey robes and sashes around the hem of the robes. "Greetings Baron Nobody, I have heard your request and would be honored to see if we have anything that can alleviate what plagues you, so what seems to be the matter?" The Scholar greeted him with a small bow.

Marcus bowed back "Greetings esteemed Scholar, I apparently have overloaded my Mana Circuit and it is currently blocked and I am unable to make use of Mana currently, are there any records within the Royal Library that I may be able to make use of and see if there is a way to remove this curse?"

The Scholar's jaw dropped "You said you are unable to make use of your Mana Circuit? This is truly a remarkable ailment, I cannot even begin to fathom what can be done to assist you..." He began stroking his long narrow beard as he pondered deeply about this issue "I may need to consult someone above me within the library..." He said as he turned around and waved him to follow "Please follow me, despite what may be happening right now, this is essentially the equivalent of an opposite of a Miracle and I don't think we have anything regarding this for the last 1,000 years!"

Marcus nodded and followed the Scholar as they approached the entrance to the Library, reluctantly the guard let the Baron pass despite their orders not to and as his vision adjusted to the interior of the library, a staggeringly innumerous amount of bookshelves and stacks of books and scrolls were littered everywhere. Floors upon floors were staked upon one another as each was littered in similar fashion.

Magical lanterns were floating everywhere throughout the floors emitting a soft blue flame as little daylight was piercing the stained glass windows all throughout the library. Marcus took in awe as he carelessly followed behind the Scholar towards a reception desk near the entrance. "Greetings Admin, we have an extremely rare case with Baron Nobody here and are requiring admittance to the following floor in order to review cases from a millennia ago." The Scholar had spoken to the receptionist sitting behind the desk.

She glared at the Scholar behind her half bespectacled face "Now you know that no one was to be admitted into the library today due to our esteemed guest, and now you wish to ascend to the following tier with a Baron? What craziness are you drinking now??" She chastised the Scholar to no end.

"W-Well, y-you see madam, he has somehow managed to damage his Mana Circuit and it is no longer functioning, we were hoping to go up to the next tier to review documents from that era and see if any potential links are available..." The Scholar meekly explained, which immediately caught the Admin by surprise.

"A damaged Mana Circuit?!? Fine, I shall relay the message to the guards stationed at the entrance to the second floor. Now, go!" She ordered as the Scholar flinched as she threw her arm and pointed towards the stairs.

'What the heck is going on....?' Marcus wondered and not long after, a system notification appeared before him....

<Hidden Quest Started!>