25: Chapter 25 Witchcraft Tricks

Walking into the Library, Byron did not head straight to the first floor as usual. Instead, he turned around at the main entrance and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Stepping into the second-floor lobby, Byron could clearly feel that this place was much more spacious than the first floor.

This was only the second time Byron had come up here.

Last time, he had only glanced around out of curiosity before leaving, since he had no need to purchase paid knowledge at the time.

But now, things were different.

The rules on the second floor were noticeably different from those on the first floor.

On the first floor, one could browse through books at will, and after registering, choose to read them in the Library or take them out.

On the second floor, one had to communicate with the staff, and once the desired knowledge was determined, the staff would retrieve the corresponding material.

Outsiders were not allowed to enter the book storage area.

The second floor was very quiet, with very few people, so Byron didn't have to wait and walked straight up to a staff member.

It was an elderly man with snow-white hair and a long beard.

Approaching the old man, Byron bowed respectfully. "Hello, I would like to purchase some Wizardry Tricks."

Without saying much, the old man pulled out a book from beneath the desk.

"All the Wizardry Tricks are recorded in here. Choose for yourself, and let me know when you are done."

The old man's voice was extremely raspy, like fingernails scratching a blackboard, giving Byron a sudden case of goosebumps.

Suppressing his discomfort, Byron took the book and opened it.

"Ignite Flame: Channels the fire element to ignite a designated target, stably maintaining a low-temperature flame. Prerequisites: Basic Fire Element Course, Low-Temperature Flame Shaping."

"Anti-Gravity Float: Briefly frees an object or oneself from gravitational constraints, allowing slow levitation and movement. Prerequisites: Basic Anti-Gravity Knowledge, Light-Matter Field Support."

"Light Refraction Concealment: Bends light and conceals one's presence, making the body nearly transparent. Prerequisites: Light Distortion Theory, Optical Illusion Construction."

"Mage Hand: Condenses an invisible hand of magic power to grab, nudge, and manipulate items from a distance. Prerequisites: Energy Evocation, Force Field Condensation Theory."

"Elemental Fireball: Compresses the fire element to form an explosive fireball, bursting with impact and burning damage upon impact. Prerequisites: In-Depth Fire Element Knowledge, Deflagration Construction Principles."

"Life Drain: Extracts the target's life energy, causing them to rapidly wither and decay. Prerequisites: Necromancy Basics, Life Energy Extraction."

"..."

Byron flipped through them all. Under the analysis of the Eye of Omniscience, he ultimately selected three Wizardry Tricks: "Light Refraction Concealment," "Mage Hand," and "Elemental Fireball."

Byron had already mastered the prerequisite knowledge required for these three Wizardry Tricks, so he didn't need to waste any more time learning them.

The reason he chose these three Wizardry Tricks was that they perfectly met his current needs.

Offense, utility, and research.

Among them, "Mage Hand" was a classic among classics, learned by almost every wizard.

When he had asked Colin about Wizardry Tricks, Colin had also strongly recommended it.

Because it could not only be used to attack, but also help wizards conduct experiments, serving multiple purposes at once.

Furthermore, many wizards used "Mage Hand" as a base template, modifying it to create their own unique spells.

"'Light Refraction Concealment,' 'Mage Hand,' and 'Elemental Fireball,'" Byron stated the names directly and asked about the price. "How many magic stones do these three spells cost?"

The old man didn't even raise his head. "Ten magic stones each for personal use. If you want to buy out the rights, it's fifty magic stones each."

Hearing the price, Byron gasped. He hadn't expected the buyout price to be so expensive—it was five times the regular price.

Purchasing for personal use meant only he could use it, with no permission to pass it on to others. Buying out the rights allowed distribution, though still not within the academy's territory.

Byron abandoned the idea of buying the full rights. "For personal use."

The old man handed over a piece of parchment. "Fine, sign here. Just fill in your name and the names of the spells you want to purchase."

Byron took it and scanned it.

It was a very ordinary binding agreement.

The general idea was that the buyer was forbidden from distributing the purchased spells. Any violation would result in corresponding punishment, and everything belonging to them would forfeit to the academy to compensate for the academy's losses.

After confirming there were no word traps or ambiguous terms, Byron cleanly filled out all the blanks as required and handed it back to the old man.

*Clack—*

The old man took the agreement and stamped it with the academy's seal. The agreement instantly burst into flames, turning into a contract mark that settled onto Byron.

"Now you can pay thirty magic stones, and I will go retrieve the knowledge for you."

Without hesitation, Byron paid the magic stones with his card.

Before long, the old man returned with three books and handed them to Byron.

Seeing this, Byron reached out to take them.

Just as he was about to pick up the books, the old man placed his palm over them.

Byron frowned and looked at the old man in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

The old man chuckled, revealing his only three remaining teeth.

"Don't be in such a hurry, young man. I can imprint the contents of these books into a crystal ball for you, saving you the trouble of memorizing them. It only costs ten magic stones in total. What do you say?"

Before the old man could even finish speaking, Byron smiled and pulled the books out from under his hand.

"Thank you, but I'm sorry, I don't need it."

With that, Byron turned and walked away.

He didn't care how the old man felt, and he certainly wouldn't waste ten magic stones just to avoid offending some old geezer.

[Target: Name Unknown]

[Age: 76]

[Physique: 12.36]

[Mental Energy: 26.43]

[Magic Power: 235.37]

Furthermore, with the scan from the Eye of Omniscience, Byron knew this old geezer was only a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice, so he was even less worried.

Besides, he had merely declined a transaction; it wouldn't escalate to the point of truly offending the man.

And just as Byron expected, the old man seemed long accustomed to such rejections. He didn't mind and simply sat back down.

...

Back in his dormitory, Byron laid the three spellbooks out in front of him. Starting with "Mage Hand," he had the Eye of Omniscience begin recording.

Byron flipped through them page by page. As time passed, when he turned the last page, the Eye of Omniscience sent a notification that the recording was complete.

'Omniscience, begin analyzing these three Wizardry Tricks.'

[Starting analysis of 'Mage Hand'. Estimated time: 237 hours, 29 minutes, 21 seconds]

[Starting analysis of 'Light Refraction Concealment'. Estimated time: 241 hours, 42 minutes, 11 seconds]

[Starting analysis of 'Elemental Fireball'. Estimated time: 211 hours, 11 minutes, 41 seconds]

Because he already possessed the prerequisite knowledge, the time required to analyze these three Wizardry Tricks was greatly reduced, taking only a dozen days or so to complete.

At this moment, in addition to these Wizardry Tricks, the Eye of Omniscience was also analyzing the Meditation Runes and deducing the 'purification of deep meditation potion'.

Although five tasks were running simultaneously, Byron still didn't feel much of a burden. This further confirmed his suspicion that the strength of the Eye of Omniscience was positively correlated with his Mental Energy.

In other words, the stronger his Mental Energy, the stronger the Eye of Omniscience's ability to analyze and deduce, and the more tasks it could run at the same time.