Master Griffith acted with astonishing efficiency. The very next day, he sent his apprentice to help Reyn obtain a pass to Silverstar Academy. This mid-rank mage student was a fairly well-known figure within the academy walls.
Under his careful guidance, the process went at incredible speed. Name registration, form filling, identity and background verification, archive request from Klayden Academy, faith check—each step completed in record time.
Among all documents, two recommendation letters carried the most weight. By rules, guarantors had to be Silverstar Academy teachers or Mage Tower members. Master Griffith had naturally prepared one, and given his high status, it would have sufficed. However, Reyn, not wanting to bypass protocol, visited the Violet House and asked Viola for a recommendation.
She was also a Silverstar graduate and had spent three years in the Mage Tower. Only her duty managing family assets on behalf of the Silverstar Duchess kept her away so often. Her position was special; she was essentially one of the Duchess's students too.
In the end, both recommendation letters with the application landed directly on the deputy director's desk. This man, once the Duchess's student and now a legendary mage, handled all daily academy affairs. He had heard of Reyn and his services to Longsand, so he felt affinity toward him. Such weighty recommendations only strengthened his favor, and the petition was approved on the spot.
Thus, in just half a day, Reyn became the holder of a Silverstar Academy pass. He now had free access to the academy grounds and its Great Library. The only place still off-limits was the Mage Tower.
Under normal procedure, reviewing the application would take at least two months, with no guarantee of approval.
"Connections really decide everything," Reyn thought involuntarily.
The mage who helped him, satisfied the matter was done, immediately headed toward the Tower, as if not wanting to waste a second. Thanking him, Reyn set off for a stroll around the academy.
This wasn't aimless wandering. Activating the Voice of All Things, he searched for that Loxi follower he had spotted the day before. After half an hour of searching, the familiar voice hadn't sounded, but Reyn remained patient. Silverstar Academy, despite its vast size, wasn't overly crowded. It admitted just over a hundred students annually, with the total of students, alumni, and staff not exceeding three thousand. If his target was still in the academy, a meeting was only a matter of time.
Abandoning the fruitless search, Reyn headed to the Great Silver Star Library.
This grand edifice, second in majesty only to the Mage Tower, was built like a majestic temple. A vast square stretched before its facade, with a tall, austere statue at its center, visible from afar.
The nearly thirty-meter stone carving depicted a woman whose features were barely discernible, as if veiled by a thin shroud. Draped in a simple robe, with an elegant figure and long hair cascading down her back, she wore a crown. In her left hand, the Goddess of Magic held an open book, while her right extended forward. Silver flames danced on her palm, and her gaze shone with ineffable wisdom.
Reyn glanced at the statue briefly and immediately looked down, not daring to stare longer. He felt an inexplicable pressure, a force piercing straight to his soul, making his heart tremble. Even one extra look seemed like blasphemy.
"So this is divine power?"
He recognized the sensation—it resembled what he felt during his weekly prayers to the Goddess, but many times stronger. Suppressing his curiosity, Reyn wisely refrained from using Soul Eye. Such an act promised nothing good.
A low fence surrounded the statue, preventing too close an approach. Every passerby stopped to offer reverent prayer. Reyn was no exception.
He didn't know if it was suggestion, but praying before this statue felt far more effective than at home. A strange power enveloped his soul, bringing peace and serenity.
Lately, Reyn had prayed to the Goddess weekly to hasten the Discord Seal's disappearance. By all accounts, the mark would fade in no more than half a year. If he could accelerate it, he'd gladly come here daily. Becoming a true follower of the Goddess was quite appealing.
In the world of Ellunes, believers were categorized by zeal. The most numerous were pantheists, also the least steadfast. They worshiped many gods, prayed about once a week, and could easily switch allegiances. Their contribution to divine power was minimal.
More devoted true believers formed the core of any church. They prayed almost daily, lived by doctrines, and rarely changed faiths.
At the hierarchy's pinnacle were fanatics. They prayed multiple times a day, their lives strictly by canon; not only did they fervently believe, but they tried to force it on others, ready to die for their god without hesitation. Any deity had few fanatics.
Most people remained pantheists. True believers were a minority, usually holding leadership in church hierarchies.
The Church of Knowledge and Magic had a rather loose structure, far less rigid than the Empire Auriensky's other two official churches. It had no full-time clergy; leadership posts were typically held by mages part-time. Yet the Goddess of Magic remained one of the mightiest deities.
Since power in the empire shifted to the High Council, the entire state system was rebuilt top-down. The church existed in a more generalized, cultural form. Faith in the Goddess permeated subjects' hearts, becoming an integral life part, a habit. In such conditions, strict church organization was simply unnecessary—people believed naturally.
As a mage, Reyn saw nothing wrong with becoming a true believer.
He circled the statue and headed to the library's main entrance. The massive doors, a fusion of magic and mechanics, glowed with magical energy. Reyn presented his new pass; a light beam scanned the card, the system recognized him, and the passage opened.
Beyond the tall doors lay a vast, light-flooded space. The library's interior was almost entirely open. Aside from columns supporting the vaulted ceiling, nothing obstructed the view. The building had five levels, each offering sight of the lowest, where another Goddess statue stood. The whole structure resembled a giant square bowl. Space between floors was filled with countless bookshelves.
"What a grand library!" Reyn thought with genuine awe.
Even in his past life, such architectural marvels with unique, thoughtful layouts were rare. From years as a librarian, he estimated the collection at five to seven hundred thousand volumes, comparable to some provincial libraries back home. For a world far from past printing and info tech, this was staggering.
Organization was impressive too. Walking the first level, Reyn noted all books in excellent condition—clearly well-maintained. Like libraries in his old world, a strict classification system ruled: holdings divided into over a dozen major categories, each in its sector. All had unique ciphers; valuables under magical protection.
At the lower level's center, by the statue's base, stood a magical analyzer like those in the Mechanics' Guild, but smaller. A mage operated it for book search and return. Input a cipher, and it pinpointed the volume flawlessly.
About a hundred people, mostly mages, were in the reading halls now. Most clustered on the third level, housing the vastest magic literature section.
Reyn took a deep breath, feeling incredible comfort. Returning to a library was like coming home; that familiar feeling filled him again. Without thinking, he ascended to the third level.
Shelves bore labels: "Runes," "Alchemy," "Elements," "Magical Potions," "Spells," "Demonic Souls"… Tens of thousands of magic tomes stood before him, and he marveled at this world's boundless knowledge.
He approached the demonic souls shelves at random and immediately saw the Book of Thousand Souls. Here it was in full edition, dozens of copies. The twelve-volume set occupied a whole shelf and was hugely popular.
Taking the first volume, Reyn went to the reading area and claimed a free spot. Opening the book, he dove in. Familiar with the abridged version, much was known, reading flew. In half an hour, he finished the first book. The full edition was far more detailed and analytical. Each demonic soul got pages of description.
Even this one volume justified the visit. As Reyn rose to reshelve it, a thought hit about his personal artifact.
"Cell phone… and the 'Personal Library' app."
Since the first soul transformation activating it, he hadn't studied it thoroughly. Given the mutated phone's other amazing functions, something special might lurk here. The Great Silver Star Library was perfect for testing.
Reyn mentally summoned the phone interface and opened Personal Library. Instantly, a catalog unfolded in his mind's eye. It held all books from his past life—over five hundred volumes on diverse topics, neatly foldered. He could pick any and read immediately.
Suddenly, new catalogs appeared beside the familiar list. More kept coming, updating at blinding speed.
"I knew it!"
Though expecting something like this, reality exceeded guesses. New books were purely magic, topped by Book of Thousand Souls, all twelve volumes in perfect order.
He mentally selected the first. A progress bar appeared by the title. Five seconds later, it blinked done, and the first page opened before his eyes. He could mentally flip pages, thinking of a number or content—the interface responded instantly.
"Incredible… Like a mental search system!"
Reyn was stunned. The mutated phone's capabilities seemed limitless. He skimmed pages and compared to the physical book in hand. Content matched to tiniest details, even paper spots and ink traces. A perfect digital copy.
"I've read the first volume. What about the rest?"
Closing the first, Reyn burned with impatience. He picked the second. Same bar, seconds wait—and it opened.
"Damn, it works!"
If not for others around, he'd have jumped and shouted joyfully. He skimmed pages, then grabbed the second volume from the shelf and compared. Perfect match.
This discovery unsettled him. Sitting seriously, pretending to read, his mind was elsewhere. He "downloaded" nonstop from the list. Every few seconds, a new book joined his personal library.
Book of Thousand Souls complete, fifty-six-volume Kemitis Encyclopedia of Spells, Rune Knowledge, Mystic Elements Analysis, Potion-Making, Intro to Alchemy, Secrets of Hidden Magic, Demon Bestiary, Detailed Metamagic Techniques, Enchantments Encyclopedia…
He skipped nothing.
An hour passed. He hadn't read a line of the second volume before him. But his mental library now held over a thousand new books. Finally, the copyable list emptied.
"That's all?" Reyn exhaled softly, noting his phone charge dropped thirty units, head feeling light strain. He pondered. The library held hundreds of thousands; why only about a thousand?
He reshelved the book and headed elsewhere on the third level. Barely steps away, the interface list updated again.
"Spiritual Force Applications," "Fireball Explosion Techniques," "Existential Planes Research," "Four Great Elements Analysis," "Illustrated Alchemical Plants Guide"… All new, unfamiliar books again.
Reyn glanced at the shelves and realized: only those volumes that were nearby appeared in the list.
"So, I need to be near the book for it to show up in the list."
Realizing this, he grabbed the first book that came to hand, sat down, and with a smile continued his task. Along the way, he determined that the function's range was about eight meters.
"No matter. Even if I had to touch each book to copy it, this ability would still be priceless."
Reyn was more than satisfied. Considering the copying speed and energy cost, in half a day he could "download" around five thousand books. In just three months, he could transfer the entire Great Library of Silverstar into his mind.
He would become a walking encyclopedia.