At the far end of the corridor on the thirteenth floor of the "Holme Royal Magic Tower" stood two heavy iron-gray metal doors. When
"This is the demiplane warehouse, jointly owned—half by the Elemental Will and half by the Holme Royal Magic Court. They say this demiplane was where Lady Hathaway's magic tower once stood." Lazarus had visited once before, after joining the Elemental Will.
Lucian tried to peer inside with his quasi-knight's keen eyesight, but the chaos was utterly impenetrable.
"Mr. Evans, please enter."
Lucian nodded slightly and stepped inside without hesitation.
It was as though he had pushed through a thick layer of mist. Suddenly, Lucian saw a sky full of stars; their light passed through the transparent, crystalline ceiling and bathed the vast, seemingly boundless warehouse in a serene glow.
The warehouse was empty and still—everything frozen and lifeless—until Lucian,
"
"Is that so?" At the sound of the cold, mechanical voice, the mysterious badge vanished from
Thanks to the Earth knowledge housed in his Soul Library, Lucian occasionally felt a flicker of disdain toward ordinary magicians. But now, a genuine awe of overwhelming power and the unknown rose unbidden within him. There was still so much knowledge within Arcane Magic that he could not begin to comprehend—he must not become complacent!
Of course, in the long run, Lucian's main efforts would continue to focus on researching and transforming Earth's knowledge into Arcane and magic. Only a fool would abandon his own advantages! Once those advantages had been largely converted into real strength, there would be plenty of time to study other magical knowledge he didn't yet understand.
That said, during this process, dedicating some energy to studying the soul, consciousness, and spiritual power—the three foundational pillars of magic—was something every competent magician ought to do.
"Verification complete. Mr. Evans, you may select potions, materials, unique spells, magical items, Magic Circles, books containing rare knowledge, and so on, up to a value of two thousand Arcane Points." As Ziederman's voice sounded again, the starlight glow surrounding them slowly receded, revealing row after row of magical shelves and cabinets, each bearing a number and filled with items—some dull and plain as mundane objects, others radiant and dreamlike in their brilliance…
Lucian's eyes darted from one item to the next, more captivated than he had ever been inside the legendary magician Maskylin's tower, where only magical materials had been on display.
Suppressing his impulse to splurge—for fear of exchanging points for some bizarre and useless thing—Lucian quickly followed
"Robe of Davin (Imitation). A replica of the legendary magical robe worn by Council member 'Creator' Davin Rodell. Grade-nine advanced: reduces spellcasting cooldown by three seconds, provides defense equivalent to a Sixth-Rank Sky Knight, and enhances magical resistance to the level of a Grade-Nine Archmage… Requires spiritual power at the Seventh-Rank Magician level to wear; otherwise, the wearer will become an imbecile."
Though merely an imitation, its value was incalculable. It could only be obtained through substantial contributions—ten million Arcane Points—or by trading a full duchy or a march. — Davin Rodell
The very first item—a black hooded robe styled after the ancient Magic Empire's aesthetic—nearly blinded Lucian with its magnificence. This was the finest magical robe he had ever seen! A three-second reduction in spellcasting cooldown alone would allow anyone below Sixth-Rank to cast spells in an unbroken barrage, demolishing enemies like a tempest before spiritual power ran dry. Even for Sixth-Rank and above, the cooldown reduction would be substantial. It was the kind of item any true magician would dream of possessing.
But the price was simply absurd. As far as Lucian knew, the Violet Clan's annual income from their directly administered territories plus ducal taxes amounted to only eight hundred thousand Gold Thalers after expenses—and they were already among the foremost noble families.
Tearing his eyes away from that robe, Lucian spotted other blood-pumping equipment: a Grade-Nine Mirror Robe capable of reflecting ranged attacks and single-target damage spells, and more.
After a long while, Lucian finally found two robes suited to his means and rank: the "Nixie Robe" and the "Metamorphic Robe"—every other option was either too expensive or ill-suited to his needs.
The Nixie Robe was valued at just fifteen hundred Arcane Points. It provided the permanent magical effects of "Brilliant Radiance" and "Irresistible Charm," along with the defensive capabilities of a Third-Rank Knight.
"Any magician who wears this robe—whether man or woman—will become extraordinarily charismatic and attract frenzied attention from the opposite sex. Vendors will offer unbelievable discounts, or even pay you to take their wares. Please be advised: there is a considerable risk of being pursued by members of the same sex and of being harmed by admirers who have lost all reason."
After reading the description, Lucian shuddered. He felt his charm was already sufficient, so he set it down and picked up the Metamorphic Robe instead.
"Grade-three mid-tier magical robe. Grants the permanent ability to alter one's appearance, provides magical resistance equivalent to a Third-Rank Magician and defensive power of a Second-Rank Knight, and allows the wearer to transform once per day each into a mouse, an owl, or a troll."
"The appearance changes; the heart remains unchanged." — Asonso Philip
This Metamorphic Robe was priced at nineteen hundred and sixty Arcane Points, making it relatively expensive among items of its grade. But after some thought, Lucian decided to choose it, because it compensated for one of his shortcomings.
After arriving at the Magic Council, Lucian had borrowed numerous books, including magical knowledge from the Transmutation school. Unfortunately, the portions dealing with human body transformation had been extremely difficult for him—he simply could not grasp the principles or reverse-engineer the spells.
According to those texts, human body transformation required first dissecting the subject's body to understand and memorize its precise structure, magical patterns, and so on—without needing to comprehend the underlying principles—so that the spell could be reverse-engineered and learned, enabling the transformation. Lucian was not unfamiliar with anatomy, but the actual principles of transformation afterward demanded extensive study, as they contradicted his prior understanding of the world. Fortunately, he knew this was a magical world and could anticipate and accept such things; otherwise, transformation magic would forever remain beyond his reach.
With this robe, however, Lucian only needed to activate it to gain the power of transformation—an ability that could prove critically important in certain situations.
After informing Ziederman and