Chapter Twenty-Two: The Vanished Spellbook

Hearing that he no longer needed to copy spellbooks, Zhao Xu’s mind began to calculate. For wizards, the greatest difficulty in transcribing spells lay first in finding spells to copy, and second in paying the cost of transcription.

But with Antinoya backing him, he could shamelessly borrow; even if she charged him, she’d probably give him a discount. Thus, his main challenge would be the transcription cost. Now, this specialty had unexpectedly spared him that expense, leaving him free of worries.

Thinking this through, Zhao Xu nodded. “Mentor, I’ll choose this specialty.”

Antinoya was somewhat surprised by his decision. After pondering for a moment, she said, “Very well, I’ll now—”

“Hmm? Mentor?” Zhao Xu noticed she suddenly stopped, and was particularly puzzled.

“Oh, apologies. I just searched my memory. It turns out that after the Cataclysm, ‘Keen Mind Caster’ changed from a specialty to a class feature. When I studied it years ago, it was still a specialty.”

Zhao Xu’s brows twitched slightly. Class features were possessed by everyone who chose that class. Yet, some could be selectively chosen, at the cost of sacrificing other features.

Antinoya went on to explain, “Under the new rules, the price for the ‘Keen Mind Caster’ class feature is giving up both ‘Scroll Transcription’ and ‘Summon Familiar’ as class features.”

“Mentor, are these class features important?” Zhao Xu wasn’t too familiar with the inner workings of wizards, but it didn’t stop him from seeking advice.

“If you’re not following the familiar path, giving up Summon Familiar isn’t a big deal. In fact, we planned to arrange for you to take another specialty, so there’s no loss there. As for Scroll Transcription, it’s quite important for wizards. Scrolls can substitute for spell slots, so a wizard who knows a spell but hasn’t prepared it can still cast it via a scroll. Facing rare or unusual situations, it’s unrealistic for wizards to prepare every spell daily, so scrolls are always kept in reserve.”

Hearing Antinoya’s explanation, Zhao Xu bowed his head in thought. If he gave it up, that meant he’d have to rely on buying scrolls in the future, rather than producing them himself.

“Of course, if you’re willing to spend a specialty slot, you can learn ‘Scroll Transcription’ as a specialty.”

This brought Zhao Xu’s thoughts full circle. Scroll Transcription was both a class feature and a learnable specialty, which made sense; otherwise, how would clerics—who didn’t have it as a class feature—produce divine scrolls for the market? It’s clerics who spent a specialty slot to learn Scroll Transcription.

To put it simply, first-level wizards got Scroll Transcription for free. Thus, for Keen Mind Caster, the price was clear—a specialty slot plus the ability to summon a familiar.

The Summon Familiar ability, exclusive to wizards and sorcerers, was also worth a specialty slot. How strange, the Cataclysm had caused abilities to inflate in price. What used to cost one specialty now required two.

“There’s another thing: after choosing Keen Mind Caster, although you don’t need material components to copy spells, you’ll still have to pay a similar price for the mental exertion.”

Zhao Xu’s face turned bitter on the spot. Waiting until the last moment to say this—was she teasing him?

“Mentor, who would choose this ability now?” Zhao Xu enunciated each word. He didn’t need to elaborate—the facts were clear.

He would copy spells into his memory, into his mind. Naturally, he couldn’t provide spellbooks for others to copy, nor earn borrowing fees. That wasn’t such a big deal, but the problem was, Antinoya had just told him about the ‘Blessed Book’—the dream of every wizard. Using Keen Mind Caster, he wouldn’t enjoy the 12.5 gold pieces per page cost, but instead face the original 50 gold pieces per page cost for copying from others’ spellbooks. The price had quadrupled out of nowhere. If Keen Mind Caster cost only 12.5 gold per page, he’d accept it.

“Don’t you think not having to carry a spellbook is wonderful?” Antinoya said, her tone full of the contented indifference of someone who’s never known hunger. “Every day, preparing spells means flipping through one spellbook after another—it’s exhausting. Not to mention, these things are heavy. Even with a dimensional pouch, it’s still annoying.”

That calmed Zhao Xu’s mood a bit. Wizards needed spellbooks to prepare spells, making them a vital weakness. If attacked at night, he’d have to grab his spellbooks and flee. Before acquiring even the cheapest dimensional pouch—at least 2,500 gold—players had to carry those books themselves. A dimensional pouch could hold two hundred pounds; with each ordinary spellbook weighing two or three pounds, dozens could easily fit.

“Mentor, perhaps it’s best to forget it,” Zhao Xu said after weighing his options. It might be tiring, but money mattered more.

“That’s fine. This ability can only be chosen at first level, so you can change your mind any time before completing your training.”

Antinoya’s words unsettled Zhao Xu again.

Sometimes, having no choice lets you walk a straight path. But for someone like him, with options unavailable to other players, it brought endless indecision.

Then Zhao Xu suddenly recalled that Antinoya had said when she studied, Keen Mind Caster was a specialty, meaning she paid only the price of giving up Summon Familiar. She too paid 50 gold pieces per page for recording spells. A legendary wizard made that choice; it couldn’t have been a mistake.

“Mentor, did you have other reasons for choosing it back then?” Zhao Xu persisted.

Antinoya was happy to clarify. “Yes, the path I took was all about battle, so I didn’t want spellbooks as a weakness. Besides, you have another advantage: if you become a ‘Archivist’ at second level, Scroll Transcription will be one of your class features.”

Hearing that, Zhao Xu almost slapped his thigh. It sounded as though Antinoya had deliberately withheld this information. Specialty slots were precious. He had chosen the human race, which granted him an extra specialty as a reward.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Xu said, “Mentor, then I’ll choose this alternate ability.”

Trading the ability to summon a familiar for an ability that required more money but no spellbooks—Zhao Xu decided it was a fair bargain.

“Alright, the awakening method for this ability will be brought over shortly.”

Zhao Xu glanced around the room. Aside from incense rising in the corner, the medieval-style furniture showed no sign of anything unusual. He knew Antinoya had set an alarm spell, but surely no one was eavesdropping.

“What are you thinking? I cast a telepathic spell instantly—how could you recognize my casting with your current spellcraft ability?” Antinoya chuckled softly.

Zhao Xu could only smile awkwardly, but inwardly he began planning for the future.

With this ability, at least he’d have no weakness when it came to spellbooks. Unlike other wizard players who’d be left helpless if their spellbooks were stolen or destroyed, he’d be safe. At the very least, during the hour spent preparing spells, he’d no longer fear being ambushed.