Chapter 155: Memory Book Expansion Procedure
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: Memory Book Expansion Procedure
The next day, after a full day of rest.
Our party gathered again to settle our earnings.
First, we sold all the magic stones.
Then, we disposed of the other miscellaneous parts taken from the monsters' corpses.
The spore bodies from the mushrooms, the horns and scent pouches of the Verdure, the Gardener's mushroom staff, and scrap metal from the golems we acquired while passing through the 4th floor.
We set aside the items we would use ourselves.
Aimus decided to use the Tidal Iron Staff. It would take some practice to get used to it, though.
Back Attack took the Void Torpedo. It was more efficient for a rogue to use a throwing weapon, since his proficiency was compatible thanks to his dagger-throwing skills.
And as for the Nymph's blowgun…
“I’ll use this one!”
It seemed Yernil had taken a liking to alternating between her bow and the blowgun.
There was a similar playstyle in the game, known as weapon switching.
Changing weapons in the middle of combat cost one Action Point, but in other words, by swapping wands, you were essentially gaining a Memory Book slot for the cost of one Action Point.
But that was something wizards usually did. Running around with a bow slung over her shoulder and a blowgun in one hand, shooting them alternately, was honestly incredibly inefficient.
But there was a better way.
“We can extract just the Exhalation skill and the Poison Mist Darts from the blowgun. Then we can fuse them onto your magic-tipped bow.”
“What happens then?”
“Your magic-tipped bow will have two additional skills.”
In the game, this was a common way to enhance a bow when building an archer. The problem was that the procedure came with a hefty price tag.
“600,000 gold.”
“Gah…”
An amount 200 times Yernil's past price as a slave.
It was no small sum even for a high-floor adventurer, but surprisingly, Yernil was now wealthy enough to pay it in a lump sum.
“I’ve been saving up diligently.”
“Speaking of which, Caleb, how do you manage your money?” Aimus asked.
Our monk was like a patriarch from the 90s handing his paycheck to his wife, bringing home everything he earned. As for Back Attack, aside from what he spent in the back alleys, he was putting his money into some rather suspicious(?) investment products at the bank.
And me…
“I spent all of it.”
“What!?”
All three of them stared at me, their faces a mask of shock.
“As soon as I saved up a million gold, I underwent the Memory Book expansion procedure at the magic university.”
That was when I had made a ton of money after dealing with Ingelam and Lilweed and taking down two special bosses on the 4th floor.
I had gone to Professor Isilof and requested the Memory Book expansion procedure.
It was the crown jewel of a wizard's build.
I always did it, regardless of the game's difficulty.
“What does it do?” Back Attack asked.
“It removes the limit on learning magic.”
However, the procedure took some time to complete, so I hadn't been able to benefit from it while we were wandering through the 6th floor.
“I’m going to head to the university for a bit.”
If the expansion procedure was ready, I’d get it done. I also needed to do some spellbook shopping.
And one more thing.
I needed to look up theses on the God of Flames.
“You must be the only adventurer in the world who entered the 4th floor, defeated the 7th-floor boss, and came out through the 6th.”
Professor Meldini, whom I ran into in the lobby of the main university building, chattered excitedly as he followed me.
“How on earth did you defeat the Glutton? It’s not something a mid-floor adventurer should even dare to face.”
“Caleb!”
A moment later, Professor Isilof appeared as well. It seemed he was on his way back from lunch, and Clorence was with him.
“Is it true you can operate a wand without even touching it?”
“What did you say!”
Meldini leaped into the air. That wasn't a metaphor; he literally jumped in place with a little hop.
I couldn't believe people actually got surprised like they were in a cartoon.
“I heard from Clorence. He said you used that ability to activate the wand the Glutton had swallowed and defeated it!”
“Oh, my goodness!”
Until now, my silent casting, high-speed casting, psychokinetic teleportation, transcendent perception, and so on…
Every time I used the power of the Hourglass, the cheat-like situations that arose were perceived as extreme talent by other wizards.
So I had a feeling this time would be the same…
“A… a Wand Dominator.”
Just as I thought.
It seemed there was a talent for this, too.
“I’ve only ever heard of such an ability in legends, Caleb.”
Meldini covered his mouth.
“The Wizard of the Active Volcano, who lived in the age of myths, was known to be a Wand Dominator.”
“He was?”
Wait a minute. Professor, stop right there.
An active volcano? That sounds like a very familiar spell.
“The Wizard of the Active Volcano…?”
“It’s a famous legend among wizards, Caleb.”
Professor Isilof, who had joined us, added to the story.
“The ancient texts inscribed on the steles are, as is often the case, written like riddles. But they say that wizard was able to cast a spell called Active Volcano.”
No way.
Is that…
“The Labyrinth Master…?”
In the game, the spell Active Volcano appeared only once.
When cast by the Labyrinth Master.
One of the most shocking things for players starting the game on Classic difficulty was the scene where the Active Volcano spell wiped out their entire party on screen in a single hit.
The developers got absolutely flamed for that.
The way I broke through it was by forcing the Labyrinth Master's own minions into the range of Active Volcano, wiping them out too.
Then, I'd cast the Blessing of Final Resistance on my wizard to have them endure it with 1 HP.
After that, Raise Dead Body.
For the Labyrinth Master, the Clockwork of Order.
And then, it was a one-on-one duel between the Labyrinth Master and my wizard, using all sorts of CC items and spells.
That was the sequence I used to beat him.
Active Volcano was the Labyrinth Master's signature spell.
“Yes. According to legend, that Wizard of the Active Volcano became the Labyrinth Master,” Isilof said.
“But it’s only a legend. The title ‘Wand Dominator’ is ultimately just a form of praise for the greatest of wizards. After the Wizard of the Active Volcano, a few other wizards claimed to be Wand Dominators, but none were ever verified.”
“If you, Caleb, are truly a Wand Dominator, you will be the first verified Wand Dominator in recorded history.”
“…Could I see the records on the Wizard of the Active Volcano?”
“Ooh.”
Meldini was delighted.
“Have you taken an interest in the Labyrinth Master? You’re an adventurer on the verge of the high floors, after all. Yes. Caleb, you will surely go to the Deep Layers. Meeting the Labyrinth Master is the dream of every adventurer.”
“…”
“There’s no need to look up the materials. I’ve seen them so many times I’ve practically memorized them. What do you want to know?”
The ancient texts on the steles were all written like riddles. Just like the 3rd-floor stele that read, ‘The Silver Dagger Federation forbids them, labyrinth adventures, and songs.’…
The passage about the Wizard of the Active Volcano was as follows:
『The Wizard of the Active Volcano is the ruler of the earth. The master of all land, the creator of the walls that divide space.』
『Beware the wizard's eruptions and explosions. His heat is enough to incinerate the entire surface.』
『Beware the wizard's volcanic ash. His passion is enough to cover the sky.』
“Professor Dalstream, as you know, was someone who believed the labyrinth was a kind of giant trap,” Meldini said.
“According to Dalstream’s research, the Wizard of the Active Volcano has had only one goal since before the age of myths: to usurp the Ethereal Galaxy above the sky.”
Dalstream had said something similar before. That the Labyrinth Master's ultimate goal was to reach the Ethereal Galaxy, and that when the labyrinth soon caused its final great eruption, the floors extending underground would be inverted to become a staircase. This ‘tower’ would then reach the Ethereal Galaxy.
“Come to think of it, Caleb, aren’t you the wizard who summons clouds, unleashes downpours, and creates hailstorms and blizzards? The Wizard of Bad Weather! It seems Wand Dominators, one way or another, are environmental disaster inducers.”
Meldini cracked a grandfatherly joke and laughed by himself, Puhahat.
I didn't find it funny at all.
Active volcano and rain clouds.
Earth and sky.
The Labyrinth and the Ethereal Galaxy.
The bizarre feeling that I've been running on a parallel track in the exact opposite position to the Labyrinth Master was actually suffocating.
“N-No way…”
It was a coincidence.
Of course, it had to be a coincidence. I only chose the Cumulonimbus build because it had good synergy with the Hourglass.
“Caleb.”
Isilof looked into my face.
“Yes?”
“You look troubled. Did something happen?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“About your Memory Book expansion procedure.”
“Yes!”
Please tell me it’s done!
I desperately needed a power-up.
“It’s ready. Follow me.”
I remembered when I first created my Memory Book.
Back then, Professor Dalstream had drafted a Memory Book contract and sent it to Wizus via magical incantation.
The Memory Book was a gift and a medium bestowed upon wizards by Wizus. Using it as a channel, a wizard could borrow a small portion of Wizus's power.
It was like a faucet connected to a massive reservoir.
And the Memory Book expansion procedure was the act of drafting a new contract with Wizus.
That wizard would no longer ‘borrow’ magic as an agent of Wizus, but would instead cast magic with their own power as a member of Wizus's magical world.
That was the lore, anyway. In game terms, it was as follows:
‘Removal of the limit on learning magic.’
If you look at wizards like Ingelam or Clorence, the number of spells they possess is greater than the number of slots in their Memory Book.
That was why Clorence had removed a combat spell from a Tier 1 slot and inserted a dust-warding spell to use on Yernil and Back Attack.
Ingelam had swapped in a Sphere of Desiccation spell in preparation for his battle with me.
Swapping slots took some time, so it wasn't something you could do in the middle of a fight, but the Memory Book expansion procedure was essential for broadening the range of usable spell combinations.
“I wrote the new contract myself.”
Professor Isilof personally handled my Memory Book expansion procedure. The process was so demanding that a professor-level wizard had to focus solely on drafting the contract for days on end, unable to do any other work.
“Take a look.”
The contract handed to me was written with an ethereal quill pen concentrated with high-density mana. Once sent, Wizus would receive and review it, then newly adjust my status as a wizard.
“Your Memory Book was created with Professor Dalstream as your guarantor, but once you use this contract, things will change. You will become a complete wizard in your own right, one who wields magic with your own power and draws energy from the Ethereal Galaxy.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“This is normally something fourth-year students do, but you’re so fast with everything. Saving up a million gold is impressive in itself.”
“Can I use it now?”
“Of course.”
I held the contract in my right hand and summoned the Memory Book with my left.
“Memorize!”
Then, I pressed the contract against the Memory Book.
The contract seeped into the Memory Book.
Originally, I could only learn as many spells as I had open slots in my Memory Book.
For example, I had five Tier 1 slots, two Tier 2 slots, one Tier 3 slot, and now, after leveling up, one Tier 4 slot had opened. That meant the total number of spells I could learn was nine.
But…
“Have the spellbooks I requested arrived?”
Now, the limit on the number of spells I could possess was gone.
I could learn low-tier spells freely and create new combinations just by swapping slots in my Memory Book.
Theoretically, infinitely.
In reality, it would be limited by my finances and the availability of spellbooks on the market.
“Just a moment.”
The clerk at the university spellbook store brought over a few books.
The first was a Tier 2 utility spell.
[Spellbook: Compression]
Learning the spell would unlock a Tier 3 combat spell.
[Acquired Binding Spellbook of Electrostatic Coat and Compression]
『Book of Ball Lightning』