The street was more hectic than when I was last online. It was about midday and the library was open.

I could finally get a look inside and get answers to a few questions I had been thinking about for a while.

I took a few steps forward and pressed my hand against the large wooden door.

The door slid open fairly easily and the sound of a bells chime echoed throughout the library.

The library had a small entranceway, but the minute I crossed into the main room I realized how much larger the place was than it looked outside.

Turning my head I could see the librarian reading a hefty looking book from behind her desk.

I figured that the best thing to do would be to talk with the librarian first. I didn’t know what type of book system they used hear or if I could take books out or not.

The place was more like a large used bookstore than a traditional library, but that was most likely because Nulia was a small town.

I tapped my hand on the front of her desk in order to get her attention, without being to rude.

The librarian looked up at me with a smile. She was quite beautiful for an older woman. Maybe late thirties…early forties.

She had beautiful silver hair and soft azure eyes…along with a beautiful crimson gem in the center of her forehead.

My gem on the other hand was a more faded purple, almost white in appearance like a pearl.

“Come to acquire information or are you here for pleasure reading, young Thak.” She had a soft melodic voice.

“More for information than pleasure, but if I find something I like…maybe.” I said as I tried to seem charming.

Don’t get me wrong…my heart and soul were for my one and only Gwen, but as a man I wanted to be seen in a good light by beautiful woman.

“If its information your after then you might want to have this ability.”

I could see a mischievous light in her eyes as she reached out and grabbed my face. She pulled me close and I thought she was going to steal my first kiss, but suddenly she pulled up at the last second and kissed the gem on my forehead.

Yre’las has transferred the speed reading skill to you for as long as you are in the confines of this library.

I had my eyes closed the whole time until I heard a soft giggling sound.

“You thought I would take advantage of such a young boy…maybe in a few years when your older Aunty will teach you a few things.” She licked her lips and pulled herself back into her chair.

I blushed like mad…I wasn’t particularly used to woman coming on to me. I wasn’t ugly at all. Closer to handsome than ugly, but I certainly wasn’t the outgoing type that most woman sought after.

When I was able to get my blushing under control I finally asked her a few of the questions that I originally came over to ask.

“Do I have to pay a fee to read in the library or is that just to take books out…oh, and are there parts of the library that are restricted.” I asked quickly.

She looked at me with a bemused smile before replying.

“Reading within the confines of the library is free to all Cherubim, but if you want to take out books I am afraid you’ll have to buy them. We do not have a particularly large selection and what we do have is mostly catered to Cherubs and how we see the world.”

I was surprised. I felt a mix of emotions. On one hand I was happy that I didn’t have to pay a fee to read any of the books, but on the other hand I wouldn’t have anything to read during my travels to the south.

I was about to walk away until one final question popped into my head.

“I was looking for books about magic and maybe fencing styles. More specifically illusion magic.” I stated before I left.

Yre’las tapped her fingers on her desk as she reviewed the catalogue of books in her head.

“Illusion and Voice magic are the two types of magic that are most used by the Cherubs, because of our proficiency in them. We have a whole isle of books for each of them on the second floor. There might even be a few basic tomes. I haven’t checked in a while. As for other types of magic we have a few books that outline the other types and some uses. But the selection is much smaller than what we have for Voice and Illusion magic.”

“You’ll have to go to one of the bigger city libraries or one of the Magic guilds in order to get more advanced or specialized info on other types of magic. The fencing one might be a problem…hmm.” She thought about it for a few seconds. “We do have a book on spear styles and one with sword techniques. Those might be of some use since they have similarities.”

She brought out a small map for me and labeled the places that I would find all the books I was looking for.

I was surprised by the amount of knowledge she had and that she knew the exact locations, titles, and authors of every book in the library.

The library was broken up into three separate floors. The first floor was for fun reading basically. It had fiction and non-fiction that was written more for entertainment than education.

The second floor was for magic, magical artifacts, and magical beasts. The library had quite a few books on the many beasts and monsters that roamed the continent.

The third floor was for historical books or books about kingdoms and politics. It was a floor used mainly for research and had a few desks to read at. The third floor contained most of the older books in the library.

For now I had practically no use for the first and third floors so I headed straight up to the second floor in order to find a book and a comfy place to read.

My first goal was to find a book that explained the basics of magic and mana. My second goal was to figure out how many types of magic existed and how many I could learn.

At the moment even though I was a bard I was relying more heavily on my physical skills to survive than my bardic skills.

I walked up and down the first isle labeled ‘Introduction to Magic’. I picked out a few books. ‘Mana and Me’ ‘Magic: The Basics’ and ‘Magecore’

The skill that was given to me by the librarian acted more like a buff than an actual skill. I didn’t get levels or percentages from the amount of books I read. I had a set reading speed, which was boost by the skill.

I wasn’t complaining though. I was able to read at least three or four times as fast as I usually do.

The first book ‘Mana and Me’ was a complete waist of my time. It explained things about mana that I really didn’t care about or that I had already figured out due to my training in the Seven Pathways Meditation.

I did find out something interesting of the Cherubs gemstone though. Cherubs had the innate ability to store mana within their gemstone after reaching the 5th Order. The more vibrant and shiny the gemstone was the more powerful the person who had it was.

The gemstone acted like a gauge for someone’s power level…well as long as they were a cherub.

My gemstone was originally like fogged up glass with a purplish tint, but now that I had advanced two order my gemstone like a faded purple pearl. Looking at chart of gemstones it meant I had a closer affinity for illusion, steam, and charm magic.

I wanted to know what elemental affinities the librarian had since she a bright crimson gemstone. Her gemstone was around the 6th Order and it gave her a close affinity in fire, lava, and heat magic.

There were to many gem colors and affinities to list them all so I memorized my own and the ones that were within a few shades of my gemstone…red and blue.

The second book was a bit more enlightening. ‘Magic: The Basics’ gave me an outline of all the basic types of magic that existed within Ethaessa.

The basic magic types are: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Arcane, Blood, Dark, Light, and Body.

Body magic was often referred to as Body Manipulation or Enhancement, but each of the nine basic types of magic made up the basis for all magic that existed in Ethaessa.

For example, Air and Water combined to form Ice or Snow Magic and Fire and Water combined to form Steam Magic. The book had many combinations of magic that had been tried and recorded. A few lesser-known ones included Blood, Dark, and Body Magic merging together to create Soul or Necromancy Magic and Arcane and Light merging together to create Holy Magic.

I was curious about how the magic that I had a close affinity for was made. I knew how to make steam before I even saw the combination, but illusion and charm had an intriguing make up.

Charm Magic was invented by merging Body and Blood Magic. Apparently they found it released some kind of pheromone like an animal that could be manipulated in several different ways.

Illusion Magic on the other hand was created by merging Dark, Light, and Arcane magic. It had something to do with manipulating darkness and controlling the light as well as applying an arcane field. That was how they created the first illusions anyway. What they have now is far more advanced.

The last book ‘Magecore’ was the most disheartening, because it talked about the limits of each person and their ability to use different types of magic.

For Cherubs it was relatively easy to find which types of magic that you were good or better at, but for other races one would need to take an affinity test first.

I also found out that everyone who was under the 5th Order was unable to use more than three types of magic, unless you had a special type of mage class. Then you would be allowed to use four types.

Once you reached the 5th Order and your Magecore expanded. You would be allowed to use four types of magic and five types for certain a mage classes. The Magecore increased again when you hit the 8th Order and when you became a Saint.

It had been about half a day when I finished reading through the three books as well as a few tidbits from a number of other books.

For studying and learning more about magic. +5 Wis and Int.

I wanted to search for a few tomes in the illusion section. I knew from reading that the first part of my Magecore was inhabited by Sound Magic, which was a mix of Body, Arcane, and Wind Magic. The Sound Magic came from my Song and Voice Manipulation skills. It was a type of magic typically possessed by speakers and entertainers.

Normally I would have only had a normal affinity for Sound Magic, but thanks to my class I was able to overcome that boundary. Classes were the only known way to obtain magic that you didn’t have a close affinity with.

I knew without a doubt that illusion magic was going to be my second magic, but I was still on the fence about my third magic. Charm Magic certainly would come in handy with my class, but Steam Magic would provide me with more capabilities in combat. Whichever one I chose…the other would have to wait until I reached the 5th Order.

I stressed over the decision as I gathered a few tomes that I had found within the ‘Illusion’ section of the library.

Tomes were a unique and easy way to learn skills. Each tome had a set number of times it could be used. The higher level the tome was the less it could be used. So basic tomes like they had in the library could be used a few hundred times.

I had gathered a few Illusion tomes. The first tome was a standard illusion skill called ‘Disguise’. Disguise allowed my wrap a veil of thin mana around my body change the way I looked. The higher the level of the skill the more detail and things you could effect and change.

The second tome I found was called ‘Glamour’. It allowed the user to cast quick and basic illusions that were mostly used for distractions. The higher the level the longer the glamour lasted and more detailed you could make it.

The last of the tomes was called ‘Replication’. It was a hidden gem that I found stashed behind a pile of books. Replication was the only evolutionary skill that I was able to find in the illusion section. It allowed the user to make a single copy of oneself at the lower levels, but the higher the level the more substantial your clone became and the more it could do.

So I decided to learn all three…well who wouldn’t.

New Skill: Disguise

New Skill: Illusion Magic Mastery

New Skill: Glamour

New Skill: Replication

The skill [Replication] has evolved into [Multi-Replication].

The skill [Multi-Replication] has evolved into [Clone].

I stared at the sudden new windows…what?!

Chapter 14: Status

Status WindowName:KaiAlignment:NeutralLevel:14Class:BardRace:CherubGender:MaleTitlesSongscryerFame:120Infamy:950-Health:400 / 400Health Regen:3.5 / SecMana:500 / 500Mana Regen:4.5 / SecStamina:550 / 550Stamina Regen:6.0 / Sec-Strength:39 (+44)Agility:43Vitality:43Intelligence:54 (+5)Wisdom:64 (+5)Endurance:63Luck:32 (+44)-Attack:10-15Defense:25 (+65)Physical ResistancesSlashing:15 (+39)Piercing:15 (+39)Crushing:20 (+39)Elemental ResistancesFire:10%Water:10%Wind:10%Earth:10%Light:10%Darkness:10%

Skills/Abilities:

Spoiler : Iron Skin: Intermediate Lvl 3 (14%)

Willpower III: Intermediate Lvl 2 (31%)

Seven Pathways Meditation: Novice Lvl 8 (18%)

Mana Manipulation: Novice Lvl 9 (43%)

Voice Manipulation: Novice Lvl 6 (5%)

Music Mastery: Novice Lvl 6 (34%)

-Song of Renewal: Intermediate Lvl 1 (24%)

-Song of the Slumbering: Novice Lvl 5 (33%)

-Song of Sorrow: Novice Lvl 3 (2%)

Sword Mastery: Novice Lvl 5 (35%)

-Rapier Mastery: Intermediate Lvl 1 (11%)

+Rapid Thrust: Novice Lvl 4 (13%)

Illusion Magic Mastery: Novice Lvl 1 (0%)

-Disguise: Novice Lvl 1 (0%)

-Glamour: Novice Lvl 1 (0%)

-Clone: Novice Lvl 1 (0%)