Chapter 266: The Extraordinary Grimoire

After much recalling, thinking, and comparing, George reached this conclusion: “Sigh! This seems to differ greatly from the Alchemy I know in this world. It’s more like a magical version of the Alchemy I knew before I traveled here!”

It seemed that since George had successfully cultivated the Steel Soul Style, the time flow in his mental space had changed even more drastically compared to the outside world. Now, even if George spent a whole day inside his own mind, the outside world might not have passed even an hour. However, this ratio was not stable; it seemed to change with George’s own mental state and emotional fluctuations.

“Now let me think about what benefits I can get from this.” George, still in his mental space, immediately began to estimate the profits these knowledge could bring. Because from the current situation, George did not have enough time or energy to study this kind of knowledge in depth.

Moreover, in the field of Occultism, talent is often more important than sweat sometimes. If he spent a lot of time on this without any return, it would be a huge loss. And this did not mean that this research did not require effort or time, after all, any research needs a process of initial accumulation.

“This is a brand new topic shown on the existing Alchemy of this world. If this new direction is disguised as lost ancient knowledge, maybe I can trade it for something good from an Alchemist Master who has been stuck in a bottleneck for a long time!” But then George sighed in great distress, “But the difficulty of finding an Alchemist Master who needs exactly this is not just a little big! Although it might be the type that can eat for three years, it is absolutely a three-year wait for the first business!”

Such knowledge, if used for in-depth research, is like building a new system from scratch outside the existing scientific system of the previous life. The time, energy, wealth, and required ability needed to invest are not something an ordinary person can afford. Any rational Alchemist would absolutely not touch these knowledge without a certain degree of confidence.

Of course, a small kid who just started his career and was full of fantasies about legendary stories was an exception. But a kid like that could absolutely not afford the price that made George’s heart beat fast.

“Originality needs to be as important as universality to gain the greatest profit! Like that ‘Chapter One of Herbalism’ last time, although it was just the foundation of the foundation, because it complemented the existing knowledge system, it played a good role in the hands of Mr. Daniel Coke. It will definitely be able to cultivate herbalist apprentices with a solid foundation in the future, but this Alchemy manual looks like it can only be kept in the bottom of the box for now!” Just as George was about to return to reality, something seemed to be forcibly squeezed into his memory.

“Ability of the Grimoire to Ascend?” George shook his head and said. It seemed that this kind of violent behavior had left a very bad impression on him.

Originally, it was a magic book with most pages blank, but the existing chapters recorded a large amount of Occult knowledge and unimaginable, incredible things beyond human imagination.

As the user continuously added content and nourished it with their own essence for a long time, this magic book would gradually gain a slight self-awareness. As the pages turned, many more mysterious and incredible words would appear inside. Such words could only be understood by the user themselves. They would make the user’s mind always transcend the current world and go to spaces that were hard to understand.

When it reached the next stage, the will of the Grimoire became stronger and stronger, and it could even have simple conversations with the user. And it would pour countless knowledge directly into the depths of their mind, but this would also make the user gradually lose control of their own mind and explore the deepest mysteries of the world.

By this time, the Grimoire could give its power to its master. Under such circumstances, the pages would break apart in the air into countless crystal pages emitting brilliant light, flying around and wrapping around the master. With the reconstruction of the magic words, a special magical armor would form. This armor belonged to conceptual weapons, just like the Holy Executioner of the Val Knights, and its performance varied from book to book.

With gradual perfection, the Grimoire could finally manifest its true form. With a single instant action, the manifested Grimoire would flip in the air, break apart into countless pages, and then reassemble into a humanoid shape. The appearance and specific abilities manifested by each book were different, and this could not be changed.

At this level, as long as they were willing, they could completely fuse with their master. This would not only greatly enhance the effect of the spell armor but also use magic to supplement the master’s physical abilities, allowing the originally fragile Mage to leap into a warrior with superhuman physical abilities.

By the end, these Grimoires usually gained special and powerful abilities. Of course, the specific abilities would vary depending on the direction of cultivation.

Of course, everyone could usually only own one magic book—they would repel each other.

“This! This! This! This is truly a priceless treasure! It’s like a universal artifact with logical deduction functions! The way it evolves and improves is also quite similar to the artifacts of the Cultivation path. If this kind of data were leaked out, it would definitely make those Mages outside go crazy, right!” George finally felt like a pie had fallen from the sky. With this knowledge, those Gold Coins would surely fly into his pocket like magic!

“No! That’s wrong! Such knowledge cannot be protected by our Bolerum Territory alone. Mages all over the Continent might go crazy because of this, and the gap between the existing Knights and Mages might even shrink because of it!” Suddenly startled, George immediately gave up the idea of using it to exchange for other benefits. The risk involved was simply too great.

“Never mind, I’ll just make a fortune quietly on my own.” After some deliberation, George decided that it was better to be safe.

After all, for everyone, spellbooks were often their most important wealth. And the knowledge that could strengthen spellbooks so greatly would indeed drive those guys crazy!

Although most people thought that a Mage’s spellbook was a book bound with parchment or high-quality paper, with a gorgeous cover and perhaps a lock, in reality, these scrolls could take any form: from a belt with linked metal plates as pages, to a shield, a game board, a lute, or anything else disguised by magic.

However, most spellbooks could be divided into two categories: Arcane Notes and Masterworks. Arcane Notes, or research notes, were scrolls used by Mages during their daily research. They usually included disordered spells mixed with annotations of legendary knowledge. Since they were often carried while traveling or used outside, Arcane Notes often bore stains or wear.

Masterworks, sometimes called Magic Volumes, were formal and orderly collections of spells. Masterworks were usually locked, guarded, or hidden in a Mage’s storage or residence. They were also usually large and had special proportions (for example, the height equal to the width), with decorations and ink paintings on them, and might even have pages made of smooth ivory plates or alloy plates, carved or engraved with text. Most also had gorgeous protective covers with metal-wrapped corners and embossed or carved covers.

Every Mage had a set of personal sigils, formulas, notes, and passwords to record spell research. Although the basic language and concepts were similar, no Mage could simply pick up another’s spellbook and immediately prepare spells from the strange spellbook.

When a Mage tried to read another Mage’s spellbook, including ancient scrolls found in ruined towers or portable notes taken from an enemy’s storage, the reader had to use the ‘Read Magic’ spell or try to make a Spellcraft check to identify the spell and its use. Until she finished deciphering the strange book, it was useless to her.

Of course, Mages might prepare spells from strange spellbooks or copy spells from them into their own books. There were usually two additional common situations.

The first was between a Master and an Apprentice: Mages who had apprentices often taught them their own familiar sigils and passwords.

The second was when mastering a strange spellbook. Besides laboriously copying interesting spells from the discovered spellbook into their own, Mages could try to master the specific passwords and sigils of that spellbook. This method could sometimes be classified as attuning with the spellbook, but this was just time-consuming research, not some mysterious procedure. Mastering a spellbook required ten days plus one day for each spell contained within it, and a Spellcraft check. If the Mage succeeded, she could treat the book as her own, and no Spellcraft check was needed when preparing or copying spells. If he failed, he could not try to master the book again for a very long time in the future.

It was precisely because of this that Mages cared so much about the spellbooks that recorded their own lineage. Besides decoration and forging false text, all spellbook pages were used to record relevant content. Most spellbook pages were treated for durability against fire, mold, water, beetles, and other occasional parasites and stains. Even a blank spellbook would become more expensive due to these processes.

The base price for buying a leather-bound, well-bound 100-page Parchment book was 15 Gold Coins. It was often used as a genealogy for Nobles and the wealthy, or as the original copy of works published by sages. If more strange materials were used, the price and weight of the spellbook would increase accordingly. Generally, these materials were used for Masterworks rather than Arcane Notes.

The weight, strength, and price of a specially made spellbook were the sum of its cover and page construction. For example, a book made with a steel plate cover, hard metal, and copper inner pages weighed about 25 pounds. Durable and long-lasting, its price was usually 700 Gold Coins.

All good spellbooks could be purchased with a double-layered leather waterproof case with carved and decorated designs. This kind of protection could even withstand heavy rain and being buried in snowdrifts, but it could not be submerged in water for a long time. The above prices included many physical treatments, such as soaking in secret herb tinctures and Alchemy solutions designed to protect against fire and mold. Of course, magical protection would increase the price of the simplest volume by thousands of Gold Coins.

Mages would protect their spellbooks as carefully as possible to prevent accidents, combat damage, or theft. Arcane Notes boasted cheap and low-cost protection, such as a simple explosion rune or fire trap spell. Most Mages could accept the loss of research notes and were unwilling to spend a lot of money protecting their portable spellbooks.

On the other hand, Masterworks received careful defense. They were hidden in compartments with traps or on other Planes, accompanied by mechanical traps, loyal guards, and deadly defensive spells, because Masterworks could absolutely not be lost.

Mages would hide Masterworks in compartments crawling with poisonous spiders and venomous snakes. The owner could stop them with willpower, protect them with bags of paralytic or sleep-inducing gas, or with other mechanical devices like scythe blades, or hide poison needles in the safe boxes and cabinets where the books were stored, including locks, covers, and frames. These traps rarely endangered the books themselves, but there were many other types.

Moreover, even before this, this world was not without methods to strengthen spellbooks: because every spellbook or formula book reflected the user’s unique personality and abilities. These books contained not only spells but also many other contents, such as the caster’s research notes, diaries, rough sketches, or even simple political treatises.

So some spellbooks had pre-set rituals. For casters who used these books to prepare spells, it might benefit their master—or at certain times bring some obstacles to enemies or even the user themselves. This mainly concerned the caster’s specialization and opposing schools, the spells on the book, and the pre-set rituals. Some spellbooks also contained protection measures against spies.

The type descriptions, protection measures, pre-set rituals, and spell contents in the spellbooks could be mixed and matched according to needs. High-level spellbooks could be easily modified for use by low-level casters—just by lowering the level of the spells contained and removing low-level spells that were not applicable. Similarly, if the content of the spellbook needed to be richer, one only needed to merge two books into one or add the desired spells or formulas into it.

The so-called pre-set rituals could be said to be a unique Enchantment ritual: when a caster used a spellbook with a pre-set ritual to prepare spells, as long as he used this book to prepare at least 3 spells that did not include cantrips, he could gain a temporary buff through the ritual.

This buff would last until the effect was consumed or the caster prepared spells again, at which time he could prepare at least 3 spells from the book again to regain the buff. However, no matter how many spellbooks with pre-set rituals a caster used to prepare spells, she could only gain one pre-set ritual effect when preparing spells.

Among such spellbooks with pre-set rituals, the most well-known to ordinary people was the infamous Book of the Tomb. It was said to emit the smell of rotting flesh or some even more foul odor. The cover seemed to be modeled after a tomb eaten by insects.

The pre-set ritual in it, the Breath of the Tomb, allowed its original master to spit out a 15-foot cone of corrupting stench. Creatures within the cone had to successfully pass a Fortitude saving throw, or they would be nauseated to the point of incapacitation. Of course, this strong smell itself was so notorious that more than 100 years ago, the infamous Necromancer Isobel Bannister used this spellbook to completely destroy two villages of Ulrich. Although it was finally thoroughly purified by the Church of the Sun God, this Red Iron Rank spellbook was displayed in the Church’s exhibition hall.

However, from this, one could see that the gap between the current Grimoire lineage and this was as vast as heaven and earth.

“Although I am just a Knight now, there are still quite a few spells in those Daoist inheritances! It would be nice to play with a spellbook. But according to what is written above, the image and abilities that these Grimoires will show later are closely related to their lineage. Let me take a good look at what they look like specifically!” After making up his mind, George could not forget to add a sentence at the end, “I hope the final image isn’t too disappointing!”

After careful sorting out, George found that the only Grimoire he could make was “Equilibrium” itself. Of course, the abilities he could finally obtain were also closely related to Alchemy.

According to what was written above, the very first magical armor that appeared was a sandy-yellow, simple, and tattered robe, along with a silver veil symbolizing the illusion of material forms. This incarnation of magic came from the source of Alchemy. It allowed the wearer’s body, under the effect of Alchemy, to ascend and approach the perfect unity of spirit and flesh that Alchemists sought.

The wearer was immune to natural toxins, diseases, and parasitic effects, gained strong resistance against curses or negative supernatural effects that were not direct damage, and possessed extraordinary defensive abilities. Moreover, since Alchemy was the path to seeking the truth, those who wore this armor were also easier to see through illusions, shape changes, or similar supernatural effects.

However, to maintain this state, a large amount of energy needed to be paid for every minute maintained.

When further strengthened, a pure white shawl would be added to the robe. The wearer’s body and soul were elevated to a level very close to perfection and eternity.

When wearing the magical armor, the wearer did not need food, water, or air to survive, and their body would not age. Any effects that worked through the passage of time, aging, or similar influences, the wearer would only suffer one-tenth of the final result.

And their defensive abilities were further enhanced, and even if they suffered injuries, they would recover quickly. In addition, the wearer could grasp the connection between themselves and the world and perceive the situation of the environment. Within a radius of 2 meters centered on the brain, he benefited from the advantage of blind sense.

The humanoid manifestation of “Equilibrium” was a middle-aged sage. His whole body was wrapped in layers of old, tattered robes and armor, with only eyes as bright as starlight exposed. His age, gender, and appearance could not be distinguished. His voice was clear and ethereal, seemingly concerned with things that could not be seen in the human world.

After a detailed understanding, George finally felt relieved: “An elder of unknown gender? At least that is much more reliable than something like a magical girl! Once I return to the Territory, I will start preparing the materials!”