Chapter 14

In the past month, Lin Yun had indeed been quite exhausted. To quickly understand this era, Lin Yun had swept through more than a dozen rows of bookshelves in just one month. Such a terrifying reading volume would have driven anyone else to the brink of mental breakdown.

Today, as he walked into the library, Lin Yun decided to take a rare day off, not to catch up on those tedious historical knowledge, nor to compare the differences in magical knowledge between the two eras. He just wanted to find a leisurely read to pass the time...

So, Lin Yun picked up this book on the Van Risen formula.

For Lin Yun, the level of magical knowledge at the High Mage level was really no different from a leisurely read. It didn't require much brainpower, just flipping through page by page, occasionally finding some errors and muttering to himself in criticism.

Basking in the sun, reading a leisurely book, and cursing the author, life was truly wonderful...

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're already a High Mage, yet you still believe in nonsense like the Seven String Theorem, contracting magic spirals, and cross arrangements. It's all a mess..."

"What mess?" As Solon approached, he happened to catch the tail end of the comment and couldn't help but give the young mage a strange look.

"Good morning, Mage Solon. There's no mess, did you hear wrong?" How could Lin Yun admit to it? He immediately lied without hesitation.

"Is that so..." Solon smiled ambiguously, not really pursuing the truth of the statement. After all, that wasn't the point. He had come to give this young mage a friendly reminder.

Perhaps because the pass had come so easily, this young mage didn't value it much. His standards for selecting books and his attitude towards reading were both too casual. He might not feel it now, but in a few years or a decade, when he started striving to become a High Mage, he would certainly regret not being more serious back then.

As a veteran, or a senior, Solon really didn't want to see this happen. Sometimes, once an opportunity is missed, it's gone for good, and no amount of regret can bring it back.

"Um, Mage Merlin..." Solon hesitated slightly before speaking, after all, the other party was just a Level 1 Mage, but behind him might stand a Great Alchemist, so he couldn't just scold him like he would the young mages at the Sage Tower.

"Ah, what is it?"

"Nothing important, just wanted to ask if Mage Merlin has any specific requests. After all, you are one of our esteemed guests with the highest-level pass. If you have any requests, we will certainly prioritize them." After a few polite words, Solon paused slightly and then casually mentioned, "By the way, Mage Merlin, do you need any book recommendations? I've worked here for two years and am quite familiar with the magical books here."

To be honest, Solon felt quite helpless saying these words. There was no way around it; behind the other party might indeed stand a Great Alchemist. In such a situation, even his teacher, Saruman, wouldn't act rashly. If he wanted to give some advice, he could only do so in a more subtle and indirect way, after all, he had to consider the consequences. If he was too direct, he might end up angering the other party...

So Solon could only sigh inwardly. The opportunity was already given to you; whether you can seize it is up to you.

"That's too much trouble..." Lin Yun immediately felt a headache. He had just decided to take a day off, so why did he have to give him recommendations? This was just causing trouble. But he couldn't refuse, as he could see that the other party was genuinely well-intentioned. So, while Lin Yun spoke politely, he was already thinking of an excuse.

"Mage Merlin, you're too polite. You are, after all, an esteemed guest of the Sage Tower. Providing you with some assistance is absolutely necessary." The young High Mage introduced enthusiastically, "You're a Level 1 Mage now, right? If you're interested, I suggest you study 'Gaud's Notes.' It was left by Gaud, the last Archmage of the Third Dynasty, and comprehensively records his various experiences as a mage. Oh, and 'Ferrall's Conjecture' is also quite interesting. Although many of its theories have been proven wrong, I personally think that the imaginative thinking methods are very worth learning from."

"Sure, sure, I'll look for them later." To be honest, despite the young High Mage's enthusiasm, Lin Yun found it hard to muster any interest in these recommendations. They were too basic and introductory, not even meeting the standard of a leisurely read. Reading them would only serve as a soporific.

"Alright, if you're not interested in those, then I suggest you study the incantation of the Flame Spear. It's the closest to a High Mage-level spell, and you might find it useful in the future..." Sensing the other party's somewhat perfunctory attitude, Solon's tone gradually became a bit stiff, especially emphasizing the word "future" to remind the other party that he was just a Level 1 Mage!

Unfortunately, Lin Yun showed no reaction to this, but the incantation of the Flame Spear reminded him of something.

"By the way, Mage Solon, I heard that the Sage Tower seems to have the complete incantation of the Path of the Stars. Could I have a look?"

If there was any incantation in this era that could interest Lin Yun, the Path of the Stars would be one of them. Even in the peak period of magical civilization millions of years later, those incredibly powerful mages had extremely high praise for this incantation.

In that decaying library, Lin Yun had seen the incantation of the Path of the Stars, but that was already the version perfected by countless sages. The original version, even Lin Yun had never seen with his own eyes.

"The Path of the Stars?" Solon almost laughed out loud when he heard this. Yes, the Sage Tower did indeed have the complete incantation of the Path of the Stars, but it was a forbidden spell, and even the three giants working together couldn't cast it. A Level 1 Mage actually dared to think about it?

After being made to laugh and cry again, Solon's words were no longer as polite as before: "Mage Merlin, isn't it a bit too early for you to study the Path of the Stars? To put it bluntly, with your current Level 1 Mage level, there aren't many magical books in this library suitable for you. Your choices are really limited. In the world of magic, no one can reach the top in one step. Even if I put the Path of the Stars in front of you now, could you understand any of the runes on it?"

"..." Lin Yun really wanted to say that he could understand them, having read them countless times, how could he not understand?

Unfortunately, the young mage didn't give him the chance to say anything else: "Alright, Mage Merlin, I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

Leaving the library with a belly full of resentment, Solon thought for a moment and then returned to the top-floor study of the Sage Tower.

Saruman was still sitting by the fireplace, his emaciated body covered with a gray blanket, a magic book half-open on his knees, occasionally bursting into a violent cough...

The teacher's health was getting worse...

Sighing inwardly as he entered, Solon knew that Saruman had suffered a serious injury twenty years ago, a secret known to only a few in the Sage Tower. It was because of this injury that Saruman had been living a secluded life for so many years, his strength remaining at the peak of the High Mage level without any breakthrough.

"Teacher, your cough has worsened. Should I ask Mage Soph to prepare some potions for you?"

"No, Soph's potions are too bitter. I don't want to suffer through them. Anyway, I've been like this for so many years; this body won't get better, but it won't die either."

"Understood..." Solon's expression was somewhat gloomy. Saruman's injury was a thorn in the hearts of all the mages at the Sage Tower. Everyone hoped the High Mage would recover soon, but no one could come up with an effective solution. Even the Great Alchemist Soph, after two years of attempts, had to declare his failure. The only thing they could do was to occasionally prepare alchemical potions for Saruman to alleviate his pain when his injury flared up.

Saruman himself didn't take it too seriously: "By the way, you just came from the library, right? How is that young mage from the Merlin family doing?"

"Still the same, always the first to arrive and the last to leave."

"Since you've been in contact with him for so long, what do you think of this young mage's character?"

"He's very nice, very smart, and very polite, but..."

"But what?"

"But he seems a bit too ambitious."

"Oh?"

Solon thought for a moment and recounted everything he had seen in the past few days. After hesitating, he added, "By the way, today he was reading a book on the Van Risen formula. When I went over, I heard him muttering something about 'nonsense' or something like that."