Above The Sky
Chapter 548 - 548 517 Imperial Capital Grand Library 13

548: Chapter 517: Imperial Capital Grand Library (1/3) 548: Chapter 517: Imperial Capital Grand Library (1/3) The Imperial Capital Grand Library is located on the first level of the Central Urban District.

This is where the majority of the Imperial Capital’s public facilities and administrative headquarters are located, and it was also the Advance Base from which the Sertar people initially explored the capital’s great labyrinth—hence there are still many fortress-like structures here, but today, these black towers and sturdy castles have been transformed into offices for various departments, with the Imperial Capital Grand Library sitting at the center of these tiered fortresses.

The original purpose of the Grand Library was to store documents of pre-era civilizations discovered within the capital, and when the document managers were classifying all sorts of files here, the Setar Empire did not yet exist; there was only a city-state struggling for survival in the wilderness.

Today, it has become a behemoth, whose massive library from afar resembles a castle giant, seeming more like a fortress containing top secret items than a paradise of knowledge available for the majority to read and study.

This impression is not wrong.

Because indeed, the Imperial Capital Grand Library is not open to everyone.

It is a mysterious place that only grants access with a special reading permit, and is not entirely open to nobles either.

Ian had a reading permit, and so did Morphia—although theoretically, every Fae needed one, the library staff responsible for checking were not particularly keen on questioning the Fae about these matters, and since Morphia was indeed an old acquaintance, they let it pass, turning a blind eye for the Fairy Misses.

As for Ian, of course, there was no problem at all.

No difficulty or pretentious challenges occurred.

The staff, finding Ian’s face rather unfamiliar, even warmly asked if he needed guidance or help finding books.

“No, thank you very much, but I would like to appreciate the design beauty of the Imperial Capital Grand Library,” Ian courteously declined.

Honestly, for the young man, just being able to enter the Grand Library was like a dragon entering a treasury, wishing he could gather all the books together and then ‘Silver Chip, scan!’—Thinking about it, Inega II must have done this in the past, damn, aren’t emperors amazing?

Having a good starting point certainly makes things much easier.

However, partly because he started out in such a high position, Inega II was restricted in many of the things he did; after all, he was a man wearing shoes, very different from Ian.

The Imperial Capital Grand Library has three entrances: the front and side are the main and side doors for readers and staff, while the rear has an underground passage that leads to the mysterious internal network of the capital.

The black floor, cast from a kind of volcanic rock that is similar to obsidian but even more robust and tough, is covered with sprawling, twisting patterns of silvery-gray.

Ian realized that this is a type of ‘Maintenance Inscription’ very similar to those found deep in the South Sea Great Labyrinth, designed to ensure that all things within its effective range can be preserved as long as possible without decay.

The colossal bookcases required swiping a card to open, and before opening, one could only search for the needed books through the transparent showcases and labels—overall, it is a rather modernized large library that even provides crystal plates for querying.

Guided by Morphia, Ian walked past several giant stone pillars, which served both as load-bearing columns and as signs demarcating the storage areas for books, and the purple-haired Ink Wind Fairy hummed a gentle tune as they arrived at the Alchemy section.

“Look, here we are,” Morphia said.

Morphia clearly knew of Ian’s proficiency in Alchemy, naturally thinking Ian’s visit was to peruse the alchemical tomes—although that was indeed true, what Ian was most eager to see were actually documents about the capital itself and related historical materials.

Alchemy could be learned anytime, even outside the capital, while the historical documents of the capital were only available in the Grand Library!

Yet, Ian wasn’t in a rush.

Over the years, he had become very adept at concealing his true intentions…

After all, reading more books never hurt.

Therefore, he chose a volume of “Terra Potion Compendium: Royal Alchemy Association Supervised Edition of 762” and “On the Nature of Life and Alchemy,” sitting with three Fairy Misses in a reading room to enjoy an afternoon of reading.

Although Ian had already scanned and recorded both books using the Silver Chip when he picked them up, truly mastering the content would still require slowly understanding the essence within.

As for the fact that he casually selected and recorded dozens of other books in the process before he picked up these two, it was just standard procedure.

Furthermore, Miss Morphia would provide him with a list of books she thought most worthwhile—a list Ian would read in the coming months without raising suspicion and record all the relevant books.

Reading was a pleasurable activity, especially when indulging in one’s interests.

After an afternoon in the quiet room, even the Frost Butterfly was engrossed—perhaps genuinely so—in ‘Water Beastiary’ until the library staff came to ask if they needed to visit the dining area inside the library, which offered complimentary meals, and everyone realized how quickly time had flown by.

It was at this point that Ian temporarily shifted his focus from studying and softly mused, “At first, I thought the Imperial Capital folks calling South Ridge rural was a form of regional discrimination…

Now it seems rural might be a compliment; my hometown is practically a primitive tribe.”

“Just like Viscount Grant…

Once I return to my estate and sort out related issues, the first thing I’ll do is build a library.

Without these books, it would be nearly impossible to train an alchemist.”

In fact, it was impossible, because Viscount Grant had only managed to train one alchemist, Ian, who was an anomaly and could not be compared to ordinary people’s progress.

Through the afternoon’s reading and studying, Ian had a rough grasp of the overall framework of Terra’s alchemy.

Firstly, alchemy was not merely about potions—it encompassed potions, inscription light inks, spirit energy, material conversion, inscription structures, property changes, blessings, curses, and even the elevation of the essence of life.

In other words, during the former epoch, the so-called ‘Sublimation Skills’ were actually part of the ‘Alchemy-Magic Potion Studies-Life Essence Elevation-Self Elevation’ branch.

It’s just that the present-day Terra Continent had singled it out as a separate discipline for study, making it the current prominent science.

Similar to plowing machines, armor suits, and aether armaments, even massive constructs like these didn’t belong to mechanical studies—because these things were essentially the study of alchemical inscription structures, like the Aether Armament of the Ellen Family, which was a kind of bio-armament and had nothing to do with mechanical engineering.

The real core lay in the connection between inscriptions and alchemy, as well as the energy Furnace Core.

In a sense, alchemy was the science of today’s Terra, just as it had been for the civilization of the previous epoch.

After two epochs and over a millennium of development in the current epoch, the wealth of knowledge contained within alchemy, its complex and intricate legacy, and the vast detail were simply beyond one person’s capacity to master, which is why today’s alchemists have such clear divisions of labor.

This profession, seeking the Logos, encompasses everything and is certainly not just about brewing potions.

Of course, one cannot overlook the fact that potion making is the most profitable.

“Next time I come alone, I’ll look at historical books and design blueprints for armor suits…

If I get the chance, I’ll visit the precious items area.”

Ian was already prepared to come to The Grand Library alone the next day, but for now, he was ready to go back for dinner with the fairy ladies and to hand over his shopping list for his laboratory to Yisen Gard.

However, just as the group, or rather Ian alone, walked while the three fairies fluttered around him, preparing to leave the Imperial Capital Grand Library,

Miss Morphia encountered an acquaintance of hers.