NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: Library
When Ye Yan passed through the entrance hall and could see the inside of the library, he doubted if he is still inside the library or if have been teleported to another place. The place is so big that it seems to have no end, with rows after rows of bookshelves. The library's interior looks like the dream of every bookworm. There are many magical chandeliers lightning all the place and each of the 50 light balls from every one of them is more potent than any 150w lamp. The floor and the bookshelves are made of polished wood, giving a feeling of cleanness and wisdom to the place.
When Ye Yan looked at the splendor of the place, he becomes jaw dropped for one whole minute before coming to himself and look around for the reception. Next to him, on his right side, there is a large balcony with two mage attendants, a male and a female. Both of them are wearing long formal gray robes with a coat of arms representing the Yan Empire on their chests. He became so amazed by the place that he didn't even notice them until now. He approached them and the male mage spoke politely to him.
"Welcome to the City of Ji's Library. Can we help you with something?"The male mage asked him while the female just smiled sweetly at him. She wore glasses queue suited her well, making her cuter.
"My name is Ye Yan and I come here to find the location of some items. There is some catalog that I can read to find it here?" He answered him while looking at what seen to be thousands of bookshelves.
"Yes, there is. This is Miss Yao and she will help you locate what you need. You only need to pay one silver for the service" He said, nodding to the female attendant.
Ye Yan only thought that the library looks more like a slot machine now wanting the user to lose his pants trying to get something from it.
"[Replicate]." She used the book that is in her left hand, which showed to be her weapon, and cast a spell. Soon after, another Miss Yao appeared beside the original. "This way, sir."
She walking with him to the central part of the library while explaining about the library. Each library in Gaia contains every book released in the language of the country and the author of these books in real life receives the royalties for every time players read it and 90% of the book value if they purchased a copy of it in the library. If a player wants to read a book in another language, they will need to make a request on the library and pay 10% more for the book in taxes.
She leads Ye Yan to a kind of altar in the center of the library. There is a table made of gold and precious gems on this altar and each side of it points to one of the four directions. Each side has a picture of one Chinese legendary animal adorned with gems on it, the Black Tortoise on the North, the Azure Dragon on the East, the Vermilion Bird on the South, and the White Tiger on the West.
The Black Tortoise, Xuan wu, was depicted with a snake wrapped around it and the symbols of winter, longevity, and water on both sides and above. The union of the Black Tortoise and the snake was thought to have created the earth by the ancients. The Azure Dragon, Qing Long, is an eastern dragon with an elongated body and the symbols of spring, benevolence, auspicious, and wood on each side. The Vermilion Bird, Zhu Que, is a beautiful phoenix with the symbols of summer, Good fortune, and fire. And the White Tiger, Bai Hu, is an imposing white tiger with black stripes and symbols of autumn, guardian, and metal.
A magnificent huge book is closed on the table. Its cover is made of leather and has a circle with a five-pointed star inside and a closed eye in the middle. The book emanating so much pressure that it's difficult to get near it.
The "Miss Yao" made a gesture with her right hand as if she was shooing something and the pressure disappeared. Probably, the players can only get near it with one of the library's NPCs.
She brought him up the altar and in front of the book.
"This is a Divine Artifact called Book of Knowledge. This book is was given to us mortal by the gods a long time ago and can answer any question of the mundane world." She said with an air of deference while looking at the book."You only need to say what you want to know and the Book of Knowledge will show the answer."
"I wan..." Ye Yan started to speak but the female mage gave him a look as if saying 'show respected or get out of here!', then he stopped what he was saying and started again. "Can the Honorable book of Knowledge answer my humble question? I would like to know where I can find the following ingredients: Witch's powder, Stardust, Deer's Antlers, Tunicate, Starfish, Salamander, Alcohol, Vinegar, and Rejuvenation potion." He said everything in one go.
When he finished, the eye in the cover book opened almost scaring him to death. The human eye on the book cast a scrutinizing look at him and the book opened on its own, turning several pages until it stopped and the two pages that were previously empty start to appear written characters, and he started to read it.
Witch's powder: Can be found killing [Eriovixia Gryffindori]. This spider originated from the Kan Forest in Hindu Empire invaded Yan Empire by its southwest and now they are living in the middle of the Empire, inside the pyramids.
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Stardust: Can be found in the astrology room in an Ancient Palace near the pyramids.
Deer's Antlers: Can be taken from deers found in any forest of the Yan Empire.
Tunicate: Can be found floating in the ocean waters or attached to rocks, docks, ship hulls, and other hard surfaces bathed by the ocean water.
Starfish: Can be found under the sea on the entire coast of the Yan Empire.
Salamander: Can be found near water in the entire Yan Empire.
Alcohol: You can purchase it from the Alchemist's Guild.
Vinegar: You can purchase it from the Alchemist's Guild or in most of the restaurants of the Empire.
Rejuvenation potion: You can purchase it from the Alchemist's Guild.
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Some of the ingredients can be purchased in the city but to get most of them, he should go to different parts of the Yan Empire to collect. Now, what he needs most is money to buy the ingredients in the Alchemists' Guild and to pay to use the arrays because if he wants to walk to those regions, it would take half a year at the minimum.
When Ye Yan finished reading a little light ball come out of the book and went to his right hand. The little light ball materializes into a scroll with the same information the read on the book written on it.
After getting what he needed, he left the library and went to the Alchemists' Guild to look at the ingredient's price. He will buy it later, as he may need every single coin he has now to afford his travels through Yan Empire.